Cultivate Myself

Cultivate Myself?

Author: Zheng Jing Xiang Shi

Synopsis:

At the Continental Alliance conference, reporters looked at the various important figures attending the meeting. Their identities included, but were not limited to, the Imperial Empress, the Saintess of the Gate of Janus, members of the Witch Society, the Witch Society's greatest enemy, and the God's Chosen of the Gods, among others.

A reporter looked at Ryan (he) beside them and asked, "Mr. Ryan, how were you able to facilitate this alliance meeting amidst so many opposing factions?"

Ryan (he) looked at the Female Character Accounts (she) he had cultivated and smiled, "Of course, it's sincerity. As long as there's enough sincerity, convincing them isn't a difficult problem."

This book is also known as:

[I Cultivated Myself into a Game Character]

[A Real Man Should Play a Female Character Account]

[Aren't Game Characters as Pretty as Myself?]

[I Transmigrated to a Game World and Decided to Take Over Myself]

[The Mastermind Player]

Volume 1

Chapter 1: Great! It's a Cultivation Game!

Saint Virtue Calendar Year 1886, July 7th, Sunny.

Berman City, East District.

"Ryan, Ryan..."

The calls from a hazy to clear sound pulled his thoughts back to reality.

Ryan (he) turned his head and saw a brown-haired middle-aged man (he) in a black uniform glaring at him.

"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and patrol!"

"Ah, okay, Captain..."

Ryan (he) responded subconsciously.

After the middle-aged man (he) left, he suddenly felt dazed... Wait, who am I? Where am I? What happened?

"This is..."

The goose-warm stone ground stretched across his field of vision. On either side of the street stood clusters of buildings, both familiar and strange. Tall spires, roofs steep and intricate, under ostentatious brass plaques, pedestrians bustled back and forth. Their appearances, attire, demeanor, and speech styles all differed from the impressions deep in Ryan's memory.

But these differences quickly merged during a brief moment of daze, finally accompanied by the distant steam whistle sound. Ryan, as if awakening from a great dream, understood—Oh, I've transmigrated!

And it was in-utero transmigration all along. Only upon awakening his past life memories just now did he realize who he was.

Because he had integrated twenty years of memories, Ryan felt no rejection towards his current environment. He quickly sorted out the situation.

The Augustus Empire, an ancient kingdom on the Rhea Continent existing for thousands of years, was in turmoil due to the emperor's worsening illness over the past year. Imperial offspring disputes were endless, and princes and ministers harbored their own schemes, throwing the entire empire into chaos.

Good news: Berman City was far from the center of the kingdom's regime and was not significantly affected.

Bad news: The Fifth Princess, Cassidy, was returning to the royal city by imperial decree and was about to arrive here.

Good news: He was not one of Cassidy's people.

Bad news: He was one of the people sent to assassinate Cassidy.

Mr. Adler, the Secretary-General of Berman City, was a member of the Grand Duke Marganna Faction. That Iron Blood Grand Duchess held a pivotal position in the empire. Now that the old emperor was gravely ill, Marganna's ambition could no longer be suppressed.

Ryan, as one of Adler's forces developed in Berman City, had the honor of participating in this great change. On the day Cassidy arrived in Berman City, he would charge towards a bright future along with others—Grand Duchess Marganna promised great rewards to anyone who could successfully kill Cassidy!

As for what the reward was, Adler didn't explicitly say. But his operations in Berman City, coupled with Grand Duchess Marganna's reputation, had attracted many loyal and fanatical subordinates who feared no death. Ryan was one of them.

"Wait, isn't this the plot of Empress Online?"

The Augustus Empire, assassinating a princess, the Iron Blood Grand Duchess—this plot looked familiar no matter how you sliced it. It wasn't just similar to the game he played in his past life; it was identical.

Empress Online, a classic R18 Role-Playing Game on a certain S Platform, primarily focused on character development. While it was R-rated, it had a solid storyline and stunning character art. And while it wasn't R-rated, it still had a solid storyline and stunning character art.

This gaming experience, combining playability and controllability, once captivated a vast number of game enthusiasts, and Ryan was one of them.

However, when he played it in his past life, the game was already hugely popular. Although he had read many guides, his game progress was very limited.

"I remember Marganna's mission to assassinate the princess failed..."

The Fifth Princess, Cassidy, was the future empress to be cultivated in the Augustus Empire's storyline. If this mission succeeded, the game would be instantly cleared.

This meant that if the protagonists succeeded, the villain's ending as an assassin could be imagined.

Moreover, even if it were possible to succeed, anyone with a brain could guess that anyone involved, without exception, would likely be silenced.

"Damn it, what kind of 'great rewards,' are they treating people like idiots?"

After understanding the situation, Ryan broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't understand how anyone would be willing to participate in such an operation! It really was a case of people doing stupid things when their heads got hot.

The assassination operation was scheduled for three days later. Cassidy would arrive in Berman City by steam train and stay there for one night.

He was just a nobody. Once caught up in this grand upheaval, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"Or else, run away?"

"No way, I know the whole plan. It's either accomplice or traitor, there's no third option."

What to do?

"It's come to this, let's patrol first."

Ryan touched the Pistol hanging at his waist. As a member of the Berman City City Investigation Bureau, his current task was to patrol this jurisdiction diligently.

At six in the evening, Ryan returned to his rented apartment.

It was a small two-bedroom, one-living-room unit, less than eighty square meters. The rent was quite affordable, fully within Ryan's salary.

The entrance was on the Left Hand side. Ryan changed his shoes and went straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Everything was methodical, like muscle memory.

While cooking, he could even think of countermeasures. Unfortunately, he couldn't come up with any good ideas even after dinner.

"Forget it, I'll just die again if it comes to that."

He had picked up the bad habit of working overtime in his previous life. One stormy night, after finishing overtime and heading home, he encountered a large truck. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't escape it. He was reincarnated into this world and had lived for twenty years. He had already profited immensely.

Someone who had already died once, what was there to fear?

A broad mind makes the world seem vast!

He decided that if things really didn't work out, he would run away on the last day. Relying on his knowledge of the game's plot, he should be able to hold on. With this thought, Ryan's mood immediately relaxed. He lay down on the sofa, intending to pick up a newspaper to read. The days without a phone or games were truly agonizing.

"Hmm?"

"What is this?"

Ryan noticed a few lines of numbers had appeared in the bottom-left corner of his vision at some point.

['Empress Online' game loading complete.]

[You can start the game at any time.]

[Click anywhere to continue]

"Game?"

Ryan's eyes lit up.

"Click where?"

Ryan waved his hand casually in front of his eyes.

A larger virtual interface immediately appeared before him.

"Is this my Golden Finger?"

Having read countless web novels in his past life, Ryan tried to find an option to get stronger just by allocating points, but unfortunately, there wasn't one.

The game didn't seem to have AI functionality, so it couldn't answer his questions.

Moreover, the whole thing really seemed to be just a 'game,' complete with a string of disclaimers.

After the disclaimers, there were the familiar healthy gaming advisories. Ryan clicked through them all, skipping the extraneous stuff. After a while, it seemed like he was finally getting to the main point.

[Start] [Character Info] [Inventory] [Reviews]

"It really is Empress Online."

Ryan glanced over it, skipping the first option to look at the rest.

Character Info was empty; he needed to create a character first. Inventory was also empty. There were reviews, though, and only one at that.

[Rave Review: This game is awesome! (Default review for this game)]

There was also a game tag in the reviews: Simulation, Adventure, Open World, Fantasy, Multiplayer, First-Person Shooter, Adult.

"What the hell."

It seemed similar, but also a little different.

Ryan wasn't interested in these things. All he wanted now was to start killing.

Clicking Start, the interface transitioned to character creation.

[Please name your new character.]

"Lin Qi."

'Lin Qi' was his name from his past life.

Since it was just a game, he figured he'd keep it as a memento.

"Next should be Character Creation."

As expected, the interface shifted to a place Ryan was familiar with.

There were elements like hair, face, and body shape, and he could even choose the Gender.

[Initial character information will directly affect game content, including but not limited to character Identity, talents, and so on.]

The bottom of the character info also has [Character Info Generation]. The attributes below include 'Constitution', 'Spirit', 'Magic Power', 'Comprehension', and 'Charm'.

There were no explanations, but Ryan was no stranger to this.

Constitution and Spirit are the character's basic attributes, representing physical strength and soul strength. Magic Power is essential for the specific 'Mage' class in the game. The game Empress Online has a background somewhat like a magical Victoria, with many special classes possessing Transcendent Power.

However, changing classes is not a mandatory element in this game. Even if the protagonist remains an ordinary person from start to finish, they can still beat the game.

After all, the essence of this game is the manipulability of its development. Other content experiences are not considered part of the clear conditions. If it doesn't work out, you can just play a Second Playthrough, or a Third Playthrough. You can operate one character each week, and have a different experience every week.

Interestingly, the Character Creation in this game affects the game's opening. Creating different appearances will result in different initial attributes and Identities. This kind of random opening is one of the game's features. However, this also causes the game's memory usage to be severely oversized, comparable to some large AAA games.

Ryan glanced at it, then focused on Character Creation.

"This modeling looks even more realistic than the game."

Strong physique, go all out when facing problems.

After a while of modeling, a Tough Guy appeared on the interface.

He nodded with satisfaction, then clicked Character Info Generation.

Lin Qi (Male): Constitution 12, Spirit 8, Magic Power 1, Comprehension 7, Charm 6

Below the info interface, there was a simple explanation. Taking Constitution and Spirit as examples, the stats for an ordinary adult are between 8-9. Comprehension and Charm are similar, but Magic Power is something most people do not have.

"Not bad."

Ryan, with his rich experience in Character Creation, nodded slightly. The early game is afraid of mediocrity. Extreme attributes like these are easier to develop.

It's just that this name seems a bit feminine.

Initial random Identity leanings: Gladiator, Slave, Farmer, Soldier, Mercenary, Bodyguard, Male Concubine...

"Fuck, is it that miserable?"

Identity leaning means he might be born into one of the above professions. If it's Soldier or Mercenary, it's fine. But if he ends up as a Gladiator or even a Slave, then the opening is basically doomed.