Then, sothing odd happened.
The panel she'd been studying quietly blinked out of existence, vanished without a sound.
In its place, a faint, translucent gauge materialized at the corner of her vision, almost like a subtle shimr on glass.
At first, it hovered at a ager 1%, ticking upward so slowly it was barely noticeable.
But minutes passed, and eventually, it inched its way to 100% with a soft, chanical chi.
A new panel unfolded.
Mize rested her chin on one hand, eyes narrowed with idle curiosity as she watched the new screen unfold like a scroll.
"Ohhh? That’s new."
"Real ti update gauge, you are getting better at this, system"
Her gaze narrowed slightly. "There’s actually an explanation icon this ti... at the bottom of the points?"
With a small, fluid motion, she tapped the icon.
The panel reacted instantly, expanding like a blooming flower into clean lines and tidy segnts.
Note: The exchange rate for appearance is 1,000 points per [increase]
0 – 70 appearance: requires 10 [increases] per point
71 – 80 appearance: requires 100 [increases] per point
81 – 90 appearance: requires 1,000 [increases] per point
91 – 100: [unknown]
101 : [Insufficient authority to unlock further data]
Scanning the chart, Mize gave a dry little smile and shook her head with a soft scoff.
"Would’ve been nice to have this kind of breakdown earlier."
A familiar voice flickered into her mind, cool, composed, and faintly apologetic.
[I apologize, Host. At that ti, this system's capabilities were limited. It is only thanks to your continued usage that I’ve been able to gradually evolve and refine my functions.]
Her brows lifted slightly in surprise. “Oh? So you’re saying the system and I grow together?”
[Precisely, Host.]
Mize leaned back a little, her posture loosening as she absorbed the idea.
So as her beauty increased, the system would keep evolving, unfolding more features, more functions, more mysteries.
She gave a small nod of approval. “Good.”
Her gaze slid back down the screen, settling on the largest block of text at the bottom.
"And I was right,” she muttered. Her finger pointed at the line regarding 91–100... and the one just beneath it.
“100 is not the limit.”
She tried calling the system again, twice, then a third ti.
Nothing. The connection had gone silent, like a signal disappearing into fog.
She was already used to it, the system would appear on its own and vanished the next seconds.
It used to banter with her, respond with cheeky quips and childish remarks.
Now, it only spoke when necessary, like a machine slowly becoming... professional.
Mature, even.
Maybe this was how things were supposed to be.
Maybe the novelty just wore off. Either way, she let the thoughts go with a small sigh and straightened her back.
“Dumping all my points into beauty now would be pointless,” she said aloud, voice calm but decisive. “I might as well raise the other gauges while I’m at it.”
Her fingers hovered over the interface, flipping it back to the character panel’s main nu.
A few precise taps and she slid into the exchange ter section.
With another fluid gesture, she tapped the confirmation line, 100,000 points instantly converted into 100 [increases].
A clean, chanical sound affird the trade.
Now ca the real decision.
She hovered between two gauges, fingers drifting indecisively from one to the other.
Her eyes narrowed.
“I’m already cute enough to begin with,” she murmured, slightly amused.
Then a pause. “And honestly... with enough cuteness, I doubt any protagonist would be able to resist anymore.”
Her priorities had shifted. It wasn’t just about being beautiful anymore, she wanted more.
Greedy? Maybe. But it was hard not to be, especially with the kind of payoff she’d seen lately.
Over forty thousand points in a single day from following Klein into that underground dungeon? The yield had been outrageous.
But, hold on, don’t get the wrong idea.
“I’m not cheating,” she muttered quickly, shaking her head.
Her expression turned a touch defensive, lips pressing into a line. “I’m just playing with their hearts. That’s all. And I am absolutely loyal emotionally and physically to Liam, one and only"
Her fingers hesitated for only a second before tapping the "cute" gauge.
Once. Twice. Then rapidly, like she was sealing a decision she’d already made long ago.
“I’m loyal to Liam.”
In the span of a breath, a strange, electric-like tingling spread across her skin, sharpest around her face, a current that danced just beneath the surface.
“Oh?” Mize lifted her hand, fingertips brushing her cheek in light, curious pats.
The sensation buzzed faintly under her skin. “It’s mainly focused on the face, huh? That’s new.”
Across the table, the so-called iceberg beauty blinked, the sa warmth crawling across her features.
Her gaze narrowed slightly as she raised her right hand to her left cheek, fingers grazing her skin with a kind of quiet grace.
“…It’s hot,” she murmured, tone flat but laced with mild intrigue.
“Brace for it,” Mize warned with a smirk, pulling her hand back and reclining against the plush cushion of her chair, limbs sinking slightly into the softness. “We’re about to beco completely irresistible.”
“I see…” the woman nodded stiffly, then slowly turned her head away again, eyes drifting toward the scenery outside as if lost in thought.
This ti, the transformation didn’t take its sweet ti. It hit fast, more vivid, more visceral.
Beneath her skin, sothing shifted. Her flesh rippled like disturbed water, features liquefying and reshaping as though sculpted by invisible hands.
To anyone watching from the outside, it would've looked unsettling, uncanny even.
Like watching a living face lt and reform midair.
But the mont passed, and just like that, it was over.
Her features stabilized. Familiar, yet subtly altered.
Still her, but impossibly… more.
With a soft clap of her hands, a mirror snapped into existence, blooming like glass from thin air.
She caught it midair and angled it toward her face.
“Oh?”
She blinked, and the reflection blinked back, mouth slightly agape in a perfect little O of surprise.
The face staring back at her looked less like a real person and more like sothing dread up in an artist’s feverish imagination.
A doll?
No, this was beyond that. This was divine design.
Her eyebrows had turned a soft, snowflake white, like frost dusting porcelain.
Her eyes were wide, deep, painfully cute, shimring like twin rubies beneath the warm shadow of the wooden beams above.
Her cheeks were plush and puffy, a rosy bloom kissed with just the right shade of warmth, while her lips curved in a soft cherry hue.
Even her chin had softened into a delicate curve.
Her beauty hadn’t vanished, it had only been enhanced.
The core of her remained, but wrapped in an unbearable cuteness that could lt the soul of a warlord.
“Woah…”
She poked her cheek once. Then again.
Poke. Poke.
Soft. Bouncy. Mochi-tier cheeks.
Her eyes lit up, practically sparkling as a girlish squeal escaped her lips. “I’m incredibly cute!!!”
It took a while for her to settle down, palms patting her cheeks as if grounding herself, her head bobbing ever so slightly with giddy energy.
She drumd her fingers rhythmically against the table, her mind humming as her gaze drifted upward.
“Alright, alright... what should we do next?”
Before the thought could finish forming, the iceberg beauty rose smoothly from her seat, her movents fluid and asured.
Mize's voice then continued, “You’ll be on standby. Follow the script if Klein shows up again in the dungeon tomorrow.”
“I see…” the woman replied, stepping to the side with quiet elegance.
But before she fully turned to leave, she paused, head angling slightly over her shoulder.
“Tomorrow should be the killing event-ish day or whatever,” she said, her voice tinged with little concern. “Are you sure he’ll co? The territory might be under lockdown.”
“We’ll adapt to whatever the situation is,” Mize waved a hand dismissively, her tone breezy. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Understood,” the woman nodded. And in the sa breath, her figure blurred, vanished like mist caught in a gust of wind, leaving behind a scatter of suspended snowflakes that shimred for a mont before fading.
Mize followed her departure with a faint smile, her gaze lingering for just a second before shifting back, slow and thoughtful.
“I wonder what kind of preparations Liam has made for tomorrow,” she mused aloud, fingers lightly grazing her chin.
Her expression was composed, eyes slightly unfocused as if already lost in scenarios and outcos.
But then, her lips curled again. “He probably won’t need to step in at all. A guy like him? I doubt he’ll let anyone else touch first place.”
Still, if he needed her, she’d act. No hesitation.
She was itching to send so democracy to the land, especially her sweet sweet nuclear blast of hug and love.
Stretching lazily in her chair, she exhaled softly and rose, lifting off the seat like a feather caught in an updraft.
Her body drifted upward with quiet ease before she floated outward, gliding past the wooden structure and into the open air.
Above the lake, she hovered, the wind brushing through her hair, her gaze sweeping over the vast field of flowers spread out like a dream along the water’s edge.
A gentle smile tugged at her lips as she slowly drifted forward, arms out slightly as if to embrace the breeze itself, her presence a gentle ripple across the calm afternoon.
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