The moment her fingers touched the surface of the box, it responded instantly. The lid opened on its own with a soft, smooth motion, and from inside, a faint glow rose up, gentle yet deep, like something alive. From within that light, a vial slowly appeared, floating up into the air before settling in front of her eyes.

The vial looked unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was slim and slightly curved, made from a material that looked like glass but far too clear and smooth to be ordinary, almost like it had been crafted from pure crystal. The surface of the vial had faint golden lines running across it, not drawn or painted, but embedded within it, like flowing veins of light that moved slowly and silently, giving it a strange sense of life. Inside the vial, a liquid swirled gently, shifting between colors that were hard to define, sometimes looking like deep gold, sometimes like soft crimson, and sometimes like a faint glowing amber, as if it held multiple layers of light within it. Tiny particles floated inside the liquid, shimmering softly like stars in a night sky, rising and falling slowly as if they were breathing. Even without touching it, she could feel a faint warmth coming from it, not hot, but comforting, steady, and powerful in a way that was hard to describe.

Yan Cijin stared at the vial, her eyes widening slightly as a strange feeling rose inside her, something between disbelief and relief, her fingers trembling just a little as she instinctively knew that this was no ordinary item. And just as she thought about what it could be, a line of glowing text appeared above the vial, clear and steady, as if announcing something important.

"Congratulations to the customer for drawing a mythical loot box!

The line of text shifted slightly, and more words slowly formed above the floating vial, glowing softly in the air as if they were being written one by one just for her to read, and Yan Cijin found herself staring at it without even blinking, afraid that if she looked away for even a second, it might disappear like some kind of illusion.

"This vial is a mythical item called the ’Celestial Origin Elixir.’ This item was forged from fragments of fallen star cores, condensed essence of ancient spirit veins, and the crystallized life force of high level celestial beasts that once existed beyond ordinary worlds. It also contains traces of primordial energy that was present at the birth of life itself, refined and sealed through methods that no longer exist in lower planes of existence."

As those words appeared, Yan Cijin’s breath slowly grew heavier, her chest rising and falling as she tried to process what she was reading, because even though she didn’t fully understand everything, she could clearly tell that whatever this thing was, it was far beyond anything she had ever seen before, even in all her previous lives combined. The description itself felt almost unreal, like something taken straight out of a fantasy world, and yet it was right here, floating in front of her, within reach.

The text continued to scroll down slowly, each word hitting harder than the last.

"Consuming this elixir will allow the consumer to awaken a top level SSS grade superpower. At the same time, it will enhance the consumer’s physical strength, stamina, dexterity, reaction speed, endurance, and all other biological limits beyond what is considered humanly possible. The body will undergo a complete transformation, breaking through natural restrictions and evolving into a higher state of existence. This process will also strengthen the consumer’s adaptability to spiritual energy, allowing faster growth and higher potential in the future."

By the time she finished reading, Yan Cijin’s mind had already gone almost blank. She didn’t even realize when her hand had slowly reached forward again, hovering just inches away from the vial, her fingers trembling slightly. She could feel it now, that faint warmth coming from it, not just on her skin, but deeper, like something inside her was reacting to it, calling out to it.

Her thoughts were a mess at that moment. Relief, disbelief, excitement, even a bit of fear, all mixed together in a way that made it hard for her to think clearly. She had prepared herself for the worst, had already accepted that she might get nothing or something useless, and yet somehow, against all odds, she had drawn something like this. A mythical item. A real one. Not just something good, but something that could completely change everything for her.

She swallowed lightly, her throat feeling dry, and stared at the vial again, her eyes reflecting that soft golden glow. If what the description said was true, then this wasn’t just an item. This was her turning point. The moment where everything could finally change. The moment where she would no longer be that weak version of herself who struggled just to survive.

"...So this is what I got..." she muttered quietly, almost to herself, her voice low but filled with something firm and steady.

For the first time since all of this started, a small, real smile appeared on her face, not forced, not bitter, but genuine, because deep down, she knew one thing very clearly now.

She finally had the power to fight back.

Yan Cijin stood there quietly, still holding the vial in her hand, but her thoughts had already gone somewhere else as she slowly processed everything she had just learned from the system earlier. Back then, when she first came across the basic information about superpowers from the interdimensional market, she didn’t think too much about it, but now, standing here with a mythical item in her hand, all those details suddenly felt a lot more real and important. She clearly remembered the classification of superpowers that existed in this world, how people all over the world would awaken abilities of different grades, and how those grades would basically decide their position in this new world from the very beginning.

The lowest level was F grade, something barely useful, almost like a weak trick rather than an actual power. Then came E grade, slightly better but still not something that could really help much in serious situations. After that was D grade and C grade, where abilities started becoming somewhat useful, enough to survive if used properly. B grade was already considered quite strong among ordinary people, and those who awakened B grade abilities would already have a much higher chance of surviving compared to most others. But then came A grade, and this was where everything changed completely. The difference between B grade and A grade was not just a small gap, it was like comparing two entirely different levels of existence. From A grade and above, every jump in grade wasn’t just difficult, it was almost impossible for normal people. The gap between each level became so huge that even if someone kept consuming crystal cores and training non stop, they might never cross that barrier in their entire life.

And above A grade, there were only three known levels. S grade, SS grade, and SSS grade. These were not just rare, they were almost mythical in themselves. Very little was known about them, what kind of powers they gave, or how strong they truly were, but one thing was clear, these were the real top tier existences in this world. The kind of people who could truly stand above others and control their own fate. Even in all her past lives, Yan Cijin had only heard rumors about S grade users and had never personally seen someone reach the level of SS or SSS. That alone already said enough about how rare and terrifying those levels were.

And now, she was holding something in her hand that could allow her to step directly into that level.

Just thinking about it made her heart beat faster again, not out of fear this time, but something closer to excitement mixed with disbelief. She understood very clearly that just awakening an SSS grade ability didn’t mean she would instantly become invincible. That wasn’t how it worked. Power still needed to be trained, controlled, and developed. She would still have to fight, still have to risk her life, still have to walk on the edge between life and death just like everyone else. She would still need to hunt zombies, gather crystal cores, absorb stronger materials, and keep pushing herself forward if she wanted to truly reach the peak of that level.

But even then, the difference was already huge.

Because this vial... this one single item... had already pushed her starting point far beyond what most people could ever hope to reach in their entire lives.

That alone was enough.

Yan Cijin wasn’t afraid of what came next. If anything, she felt more ready than ever. The hardships, the danger, the fights, all of it no longer felt as overwhelming as before. Because now, she finally had something to rely on. Something that could let her fight back instead of just barely surviving.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the vial as she looked at it again, the faint glow reflecting in her eyes. The liquid inside swirled gently, almost like it was alive, and the moment she focused on it, a strange feeling spread through her body. A slight chill ran up her arm, followed by a faint dizziness in her head, like her body was already reacting to it even before she consumed it.

She frowned slightly, not out of fear, but just to steady herself.

"...So this is how it feels..."

Her voice was low, almost calm.

Then, without hesitating any longer, she lifted the vial slightly, her eyes steady now, her mind already made up.

Because she knew, this was the moment everything would change.

She didn’t waste any more time thinking. Slowly, carefully, Yan Cijin brought the vial closer and twisted it open, and the moment the seal broke, a strange feeling spread out instantly, like something invisible had just been released into the air. It wasn’t a smell exactly, but it still felt like something she could sense, something faint yet deep, like the air itself had suddenly become heavier and clearer at the same time. A soft warmth brushed against her face, and for a brief second, it almost felt like standing under sunlight after being cold for too long, except this warmth wasn’t coming from outside, it felt like it was reaching directly into her mind. Her vision blurred slightly, not in a painful way, but more like the world around her had become softer, less solid, like she was half awake and half dreaming. Her heartbeat started to pick up again, steady but strong, and there was this faint buzzing feeling at the back of her head, like something was trying to wake up inside her.

She paused for just a second, staring at the liquid inside the vial as it swirled gently, the colors shifting slowly, almost like it was alive and watching her back. The closer it got to her, the stronger that strange feeling became, like her body was reacting instinctively, almost craving it without her even understanding why. Her fingers tightened slightly around the vial, and without letting herself hesitate any further, she raised it to her lips.

The moment the liquid touched her mouth, she felt it.

It was nothing like she expected. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

It wasn’t thick, it wasn’t bitter, and it didn’t burn like some kind of medicine. Instead, it felt smooth and light, almost like drinking water, but at the same time, it carried a strange texture, like something soft and warm flowing down her throat. There was a faint taste to it, something hard to describe, not sweet, not bitter, not sour, but something clean and deep, like fresh air after rain or the feeling of biting into something pure and untouched. For a brief moment, it even felt good, almost comforting, like her body was welcoming it instead of rejecting it.

.

.

.

To be continued.