Up to this point, Chu Lian had encountered three types of tasks:
One was the essential main quest issued by the system, forming the foundation of its existence.
The second type was optional side quests—non-compulsory but deeply tied to her personal growth and future development.
The last was sudden, high-difficulty, high-risk special quests, which also came with incredibly generous rewards.
However, the task triggered this time by the ten-year anniversary celebration was of an entirely new type. Judging by its name, it was also closely tied to her future: "Goddess Quest: Win the individual talent award at the Sudi High School tenth anniversary celebration, and help your class earn the study tour reward. Completion will yield one of the following rewards, based on performance."
"Individual Talent Award, Fifth Place: Special item 'Wanwan's Ribbon'. Ability: A soft and graceful ribbon, usable as both weapon and defensive equipment. Can also be used as clothing or accessory. When equipped, increases charm. Effect scales with host's charm attribute. Goddess Value +4."
"Fourth Place: Gain the talent 'Rei Ayanami's Smile'. Description: Ice shatters, and a beauty smiles, dazzling the world. How to use it is up to the host to discover. Goddess Value +5."
"Third Place: Gain the talent 'Basketball Technique'. Grants the host a basketball talent. Over time, even with an ordinary body, one can display godlike skills. Goddess Value +1."
"Second Place: Gain the talent 'Street Dance Mastery'. Instantly grants the host skills equivalent to someone who has practiced street dance for five years. Goddess Value +1."
"First Place: Innate Spiritual Body. Washes the body with the essence of heaven and earth, transforming it into its most perfect form. The transformation takes three months to complete, but does not interfere with the host's daily life during the process. Goddess Value +3."
When she saw the five rewards for the individual competition, she really didn't know what to think. The fifth-place reward clearly outshone the third and second, yet it was ranked the lowest.
And the fourth-place reward was the first talent she'd seen with no detailed abilities listed—just eleven simple words suggesting it had something to do with charm and smiling.
She had watched Neon Genesis Evangelion before and knew that Rei Ayanami was one of the main heroines, but the details of the plot had mostly faded from memory after ten years.
But the system didn't care about such things. You either knew, or you didn't. The reward was there—whether you could claim it, and whether you even wanted it, was up to you.
It also wouldn't provide any background information or allow her to look anything up, so all she could do was keep her curiosity to herself.
Her plan was: if she didn't get that particular reward this time, she would eventually exchange for it later. The system wouldn't treat such a common-sounding talent so mysteriously without reason—there was likely something very important hidden within.
If she had to sum up her thoughts on this set of quest rewards, it would be: "The system's reward setup this time is really odd. It feels like the rewards were tossed into a blender, randomly shuffled, and then slapped onto the list—except for one fixed item, the rest seem arbitrarily assigned."
And in truth, that was exactly the case.
She felt at least somewhat tempted by all five rewards—especially "Innate Spiritual Body," "Wanwan's Ribbon," and the mysterious "Rei Ayanami's Smile."
Unfortunately, the system had already shut down any chance of claiming multiple rewards. The task description clearly stated she could only receive one, making it a decision she needed to think through carefully.
First of all, she eliminated "Street Dance Mastery" and "Basketball Technique" right away. These were both relatively ordinary rewards. With enough corresponding points, it wouldn't be difficult to exchange for them later, so there was no need to forgo the more unique rewards for their sake.
Next, she hesitated for a while before ultimately giving up on "Wanwan's Ribbon" as well. Though she liked its ability to act as both a weapon and a defensive item, and its scalable charm-boosting attribute, she had just awakened the passive skill "Orchid in the Valley," making additional charm-boosting items or skills unnecessary for the time being.
After all, at her current age, charm wasn't as useful as "purity." On the contrary, it might negatively alter others' impressions of her—even worsen them. If that happened, it would be counterproductive.
As for using it as a weapon or armor, aside from a few harmless Integrity-based skills, she currently had no abilities capable of harming others. So using it as a weapon would be pointless.
As for defense... cough, if she ever did face danger, "Remilia-sama's Dignity" would give her five seconds of invincibility—hopefully enough to figure something out.
In other words, "Wanwan's Ribbon" just wasn't suitable for her—at least not right now. So no matter how reluctant she felt, she had to let it go. That left only "Rei Ayanami's Smile" and "Innate Spiritual Body."
The former was highly mysterious and seemed well-suited to her. What worried her most was whether it could even be exchanged for later. If it couldn't be, and she missed it now, it might be impossible to obtain in the future.
The latter, however, was extremely practical. The purification wouldn't just cleanse impurities—it would optimize her physical aptitude. In cultivation terms: "a rare natural talent with outstanding potential, unparalleled among millions."
Someone with such a body would progress rapidly whether they practiced martial arts, cultivation, or any other form of mystic power. Barring systems with unique entry requirements, she'd essentially be a cheat-level prodigy. Given the dangers she had just faced, this kind of upgrade was critical.
Though three months seemed a long time for the transformation, she understood why. Too rapid a change would invite not admiration, but suspicion—especially in such a place, it could easily draw unwanted attention.
For someone still in the early stages of growth, that would be very unfavorable. So this could also be seen as the system's way of protecting her.
After pondering for a long time, she finally asked the system a question before making her decision: "What is Goddess Value? Is it related to Goddess Points?"
This time, the system didn't stay silent. It answered immediately: "Goddess Value has a maximum cap of 100. The host's current value is 7. (Note: Goddess Points are not based on gender but on possessing both the external and inner beauty of a goddess.)"
But that was all the system would say. It didn't elaborate or explain the actual use of the value. Still, from what it provided, Chu Lian deduced that this attribute could only be increased slowly over time or obtained through specific triggers or quest modes like this one.
Realizing how important Goddess Value was, Chu Lian finally made up her mind: her top priority was to obtain "Innate Spiritual Body," followed by "Rei Ayanami's Smile" and then "Wanwan's Ribbon."
But after making her decision, she was stunned to realize just how devious the system truly was. Aside from the first-place reward—"Innate Spiritual Body," which was probably locked in—any other desired reward would require her to manipulate her ranking.
Yet rankings weren't something you could control. Unless you completely outclassed everyone else, you couldn't guarantee anything. And with her current ability, she might not even dominate in an average school, let alone this elite institution filled with talented students skilled in every art.
Audience voting was another obstacle. They ultimately determined her final ranking. Even if she performed at a high enough level, there were still many factors that could cause someone else to steal her spot. A single misstep could lead to massive consequences.
She understood all this. With her current strength, simply placing would already be impressive. Taking first would be like reaching the heavens.
Yet she had no choice.
Even with strong contenders from grades 8 through 12 in her way—even with thousands of other students watching for their chance—even with countless potential surprises lying in wait—even though this path would be grueling, she would not back down.
"If this is a challenge, then I accept it..." She was someone who, once she decided something, would never give up no matter what. That was true in her past life, and even more so in this one.
After reading through the individual reward list, she turned to the class reward for helping her class win the study tour spot—and was immediately shocked. Since when had the system been this generous? The reward was so over-the-top that even if others weren't scrambling for it, she would.
She had to get it. No matter what.