Ryan glanced at the time. It was one in the morning again. Yawning, he prepared to log out of the game. Ever since activating the game system, his biological clock had been completely thrown into chaos.
There was barely any entertainment in this world. He used to go to bed at nine or ten, but now midnight was only the beginning. Most nights, he did not sleep until after one or even two.
That alone would have been fine, but he still had to get up punctually at eight every morning, or he would miss clocking in for his early shift.
"Ah~ Things were better before."
Ryan found himself missing the days when he had been Lesser Camilla.
Being a peace officer in the Patrol Department and coasting through each day had not been so bad.
Just as Ryan was about to close the interface, a new notification popped up—
[Character Card function activated. Would you like to create a Character Card?]
"Character Card?"
He opened the detailed description.
[Character Card → Lin Qi] [After using a Character Card, you may obtain all the current character's abilities for one hour. Cooldown: 24 hours.]
"Huh?"
Ryan's eyes lit up.
He had to make one.
[Creation successful. You have obtained Lin Qi's Character Card.]
With a thought from Ryan, a dark card appeared in his hand.
The illustration on the card depicted Lin Qi after her class advancement. The words "Silent Nun · Lin Qi" were engraved across its top.
A line of text was written on the back of the card—
[While holding this card, after the original character dies, you may pass on this class and its skills to a new character exactly once.]
Ryan's eyelid twitched.
Class inheritance?
"So, as long as I make a Character Card, even if Lin Qi dies, this class can still be inherited?"
It could only be done once, but that still greatly increased his margin for error.
"Wasn't this a little overpowered?"
Then he should make more.
Ryan grinned and stroked the card. The Silent Nun's power gave him peace of mind.
After putting the card into his Backpack, Ryan entered the character information list. Beside Lin Qi's slot, a "+" had appeared in the previously gray character bar.
He froze slightly, then reached out and tapped the "+."
The next second, a new character creation screen appeared, just as he had hoped.
[Please name your new character.]
Grandpa Is Kindhearted!
" I can actually create a new character now. Was it because of the class advancement?"
Since the game gave no explanation, Ryan could not be bothered to dwell on it. He was more excited about creating future characters.
If the number of characters could keep increasing, then once he leveled every one of them to the maximum, would he not be able to take on the whole world by himself?
"A name... a name... This is really annoying."
He stared at the naming screen, thinking for quite a while.
For someone with naming difficulties, coming up with a whole string of names was more painful than taking a slash to the body.
"Let's call her Shari."
He was not used to giving himself a foreign name, but something like Lin Qi was too distinctive. Shari was much more ordinary.
Ryan had actually considered using the names of female characters he knew from his previous life, like Raiden Shogun or Cocolia. But then he thought again—those were all his wives. Naming himself after his wives felt weird no matter how he looked at it, did it not?
"Wait, why did I instinctively pick a girl's name?"
With that strange thought in mind, Ryan entered the character customization stage.
This time, he was already familiar with the process and created another character with a rather valiant appearance.
Hidden Professions were not easy to obtain. If he could not get one, becoming a Soul Eater would not be bad either. It was still a powerful tank class.
[Character Info Generation:]
Shari (Female): Constitution 12, Spirit 9, Magic Power 7, Comprehension 7, Charm 9
"Such high Constitution?"
She did not look particularly muscular, yet her Constitution had actually reached 12. That caught Ryan off guard.
"Damn it, when will us boys finally stand tall? Even if there's a female character with stats this high, I still..."
[Name Shari confirmed.] [Generating initial identity...]
"Even if she's a beautiful female character with high stats, I'm willing."
With numbers this good, what was there to hesitate over?
This was clearly a Female Knight template.
Not only was her Constitution high, but her Magic Power talent was not bad either.
In Empress Online, a transcendent's strength was not determined by Magic Power alone. Constitution and Spirit were just as influential.
If someone focused on Magic Power, Spirit had to be developed as a secondary attribute, because high-level magic skills required Spirit to cast.
Constitution faced fewer restrictions instead. For example, Ryan knew of a Hidden Profession called the Punisher Knight, which followed an extreme Constitution-focused path.
However, aside from those few extreme classes, most required secondary attributes. Even those who focused on body cultivation needed some Magic Power assistance, since Magic Power greatly enhanced physical strengthening.
Overall, Ryan was fairly satisfied with Shari's attributes.
Initial random identity tendencies: Knight, gladiator, refugee, soldier, mercenary, bodyguard...
"As expected, there's no Noble start?"
Ryan secretly shook his head.
It was about what he had expected.
Still, with his and Lin Qi's help, the initial identity was not all that important.
[Game information confirmed. Shari, female, entering the game...] [Please select your Spawn Point.]
"Augus," "Veldia," "Arcadia," "Holy Court"... Only the Augustus Empire could still be selected.
[Spawn Point confirmed: Augus.]
The Game Interface shifted to the Augustus Empire—Berman City.
"I'll probably have to unlock the map later."
As he pondered, the scene before him changed.
A rundown house appeared in Ryan's field of vision.
Compared to Lin Qi's modest room, this place could only be described as a refugee shelter. The floor was pitted and uneven, the ceiling was riddled with cracks, and the walls were filthy and split open in places.
There was no bed, only a wooden board with a pile of dried grass underneath it.
[Shari is a refugee who fled to Berman City. Her hometown was destroyed by war. Relying on physical abilities beyond those of ordinary people, you became the leader of the slums.]
"Did it have to be this miserable?"
She was actually a refugee. Even a farmer would have been better.
"Come to think of it, why does every start involve being an orphan? Is that a fixed Character Setting?"
Ryan grumbled, then controlled Shari as she wandered around the room.
After searching the place, he found nothing. He did spot a rat that had starved to death in the corner.
When he opened the door, there was a pitch-black alley outside. There were no streetlights. Based on Ryan's experience, this was definitely some slum district in Berman City.
After hesitating for a moment, Ryan decided to wait until dawn. Shari had neither levels nor equipment. If she ran into patrolling peace officers in the dark, he would have to bail her out of prison the next morning.
Besides, it really was too late already. It was two in the morning.
After setting AI Standby, Ryan yawned. Once he had washed up, he immediately went to bed.
Nothing happened through the night.
At eight in the morning, Ryan ate breakfast while opening the game as usual.
He checked on Lin Qi. Everything was normal, except he heard several nuns discussing how two chairs in the church had mysteriously broken. Father Peter was asking around about it.
The chairs had naturally been broken by Lin Qi, but given her status, Father Peter would never dare question her. He did not have the courage.
Aside from that, Lin Qi had received a letter from High Priest Lia early that morning, asking her to meet at the Coffee Shop on Shengning Street.
Ryan did not need to worry about that. AI Standby would handle it properly. He then switched to Shari's Game Interface, and the sight before him made him frown.
In the scene, Shari stood at the doorway while a group of Mafia members appeared in the alley.
After daybreak, Ryan identified the surrounding buildings. This should have been the border between the East District and Central City. He had patrolled here before, and it was inhabited by poor people and refugees.
"Come out! Every last one of you, get the hell out here!"
The Mafia leader shouted.
"From today onward, this place belongs to the Snake Mouth Gang! You lowlifes, get out of here now, hear me?!"
As he shouted, Snake Mouth Gang members repeatedly rushed into the houses and dragged people outside.
Those unwilling to cooperate were beaten with clubs. In an instant, cries and wails filled the area.
"Why?! Why are you making us leave? This isn't your territory either! Even the imperial government hasn't driven us out!" a gaunt young man shouted.
There were poor people and refugees everywhere. If the empire wanted stability, it had to tolerate their existence.
Refugees lived throughout the Major City Districts of Berman City. Generally, as long as they did not cause trouble, the government would not interfere.
Moreover, these places had been planned and built by the government as unofficial "slums." If the slums were abolished, where would all those poor people and refugees live?
"Why?" The Snake Mouth Gang leader sneered. "Because we have connections and strength! From now on, this is our territory. A bunch of sewer rats like you are only wasting air by staying alive."
"You—"
Bang!
The young man was kicked flying. The Snake Mouth Gang leader seemed to want to make an example of him and ordered two men with clubs to beat him half to death.
The others curled up and did not dare approach.
A child suddenly rushed over.
Ryan recognized him. It was the child Lin Qi had given Copper Coins to last night. There were no slums in Central City, but some poor people secretly went there to beg, since Central City had many wealthy people.
Maybe they would encounter someone kindhearted?
Clearly, the child had indeed encountered someone kindhearted, but it still could not change his fate.
The child threw himself over the young man. He was struck twice by the Snake Mouth Gang members, and one of them looked toward their leader.
"The boss said it's best not to cause any deaths."
The leader waved a hand.
"Alright, alright. I'm a kindhearted man. I can't stand seeing people die in front of me. Get lost. All of you, get out of Berman City. Don't say I didn't warn you—the other slums will be taken over by us too."
"Looks like the city is about to crack down on the poor."
Ryan understood immediately.
Before you continue