Second Female Character 'Shally'

"Your subordinate will definitely complete the mission!" Adler said loudly.

"Mm, prioritize the arrests... Oh, right, that spy you mentioned earlier—the one who infiltrated the League of Fire. What was his name?"

Magana was somewhat interested, because the League of Fire was the Empire's official Transcendent Faction and one of the hardest obstacles to overcome in a rebellion. Her people had been trying to infiltrate the League of Fire as well, but the results had been far from ideal.

The Old Emperor had kept a death grip on it, seemingly aware that she was plotting something, so the League of Fire at the heart of the Empire was as unyielding as a steel plate.

According to Creed, breaking through the League of Fire would probably require slowly infiltrating from the periphery.

"His name is Ryan!" Adler said with some pride. "He's a member I've been focusing on cultivating. He's already earned the trust of a Level 3 Investigator in the League of Fire and should soon become an official Investigator."

"Oh? Not bad."

A Level 3 Investigator was at least at the peak of the Second Tier, perhaps even a Third Tier Transcendent.

"Does he have talent?"

"This... he has some, but the specifics are still uncertain." After speaking, Adler hurriedly added, "Your subordinate will arrange for him to take a Magic Potion as soon as possible!"

The main issue was that the Soul Eater's Class-Change Relic had been lost. Otherwise, Adler would not have been so passive. But he certainly did not dare tell Magana about that.

Still, he needed Ryan to change class into a Son of the Sun, so at most he could arrange an early Magic Potion adaptation test.

"Mm, handle this matter properly." Magana nodded slightly. "Give his information to Creed later. If he can become a manager in the League of Fire, bring him to see me. The great undertaking is at hand, and I have seen all of your loyalty."

"Your will!"

Adler shouted.

After a moment, the mirror returned to normal.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Adler still felt unsatisfied. Grand Duke Marganna had actually spoken with him just now. What supreme glory that was.

"Looks like the Grand Duchess intends to deal with the League of Fire. Then I need to properly cultivate Ryan... Mm, the position of Criminal Investigation Captain isn't enough. How about making him Bureau Chief directly? That way, he'll receive even more attention in the League of Fire..."

Adler pondered seriously.

He had always held onto the Bureau of Investigation Chief position precisely to prevent Jonathan from gaining more authority.

Jonathan had coveted the position of General Bureau Chief for more than a day or two. Rather than constantly guarding against him, it would be better to proactively place someone Jonathan trusted in that position... Adler's eyes lit up.

Honestly, it was quite a good choice.

That way, Jonathan would think the League of Fire had gained control of the Bureau of Investigation's forces in Berman City, never realizing that every word and action of theirs was actually happening under Adler's watch.

"Praise Grand Duke Marganna. A single sentence from her enlightened me."

The Second Female Character, Shari

Ryan knew nothing about Adler's thoughts.

If he knew that Adler intended to focus on cultivating him, he would probably consider sending "Lin Qi" out to risk her life.

If one "Lin Qi" died, countless more "Lin Qis" could rise up. But if he got promoted and became part of the inner core of the moles, that would be no fun at all.

Clear his name, clear his name!

Ryan was now wholeheartedly determined to turn over a new leaf, stay far away from the Iron Blood Grand Duchess, and return to the righteous path.

As for what exactly the righteous path was, that was another matter.

If Magana really succeeded in rebelling and seized the Emperor's throne in one stroke, he would not mind switching to Magana's path.

For now, though, Cassidy's path was safer.

But in the end, Ryan felt he still had to walk his own path. Once he had created all his Alt Accounts and his characters had taken off, he would no longer need to worry about so much.

The next day.

Ryan got up on time.

He had not played the game last night, so he went to bed early and woke up early.

After checking on "Lin Qi," Ryan switched the game mode to consciousness control and began his daily routine.

Breakfast, then the newspaper.

The news was still focused on yesterday's hot topic. Several city officials had been brought down, causing quite a stir in Berman City.

But more people were concerned with how Jonathan, a mere Precinct Bureau Chief, had the ability and nerve to arrest Nobles.

As the discussion continued, some news outlets attributed it all to the mayor's wisdom, never forgetting to flatter him while reporting the news.

Whether it was true or not did not matter. Speculation was not illegal, after all. Besides, if it had not been the mayor's intention, would Jonathan have dared do it?

"Ugh, the quality of the news is exactly the same as in my previous life. They don't report what should be reported, and they chase whatever gets traffic."

No one cared why Jonathan had arrested those people, or what the slums would have become if he had not.

Ryan shook his head. He was getting too old to stand this sort of thing. Tossing the newspaper aside, he prepared for work.

He opened the door.

"Captain Ryan, you're finally up!"

A bright, sunny smile greeted him head-on.

Ryan froze for a moment. "You are?"

"Me? Mr. Jonathan sent me. Just call me Jack!"

The brown-haired young man before him was around eighteen or nineteen, still somewhat immature and much younger than Ryan. He had the feel of a sunny, cheerful boy.

"The League of Fire?" Ryan asked with a strange expression.

"Yes, yes, yes. Hehe~ I only joined last year. Captain Ryan, please take care of me!"

Jack extended his hand with a grin.

Ryan shook his hand, suddenly understanding why Jonathan had sent Jack for him to command.

The guy was too young. He was probably capable, but lacked experience. Jonathan likely did not want to take him to the Train Station either. It would be too easy for him to die there.

"I joined the League of Fire later than you did, but I'm more familiar with today's mission. Just follow my arrangements."

"Of course. Mr. Jonathan told me so."

"Good... Oh, right. What do you do?"

"Ah, I'm a student at Berman University. I just started my sophomore year."

"A university student."

Ryan nodded slightly. Fighting and killing at that age... well, that was fine too. Young people should contribute more to society.

After chatting for a while, Ryan learned that Jack came from a wealthy merchant family in Berman City and had a bright financial future ahead of him.

However, when he was sixteen, he had been caught up in a heretical ritual and nearly lost his life. Jonathan had ultimately saved him.

The latter discovered that Jack had the potential to become a Transcendent, so after he passed the assessment, Jonathan invited him to join the League of Fire. Jack agreed without a second thought.

In truth, anyone who had come into contact with the Inner World rarely managed to cut off all ties with it completely.

Once someone knew that Transcendents capable of casually crushing ordinary people existed, they could no longer live as "ignorantly" as before. Rather than worry about being swept into a Transcendent conflict someday and dying without even knowing why, Jack would rather rely on his own efforts and take a chance.

Become a Transcendent and fight against Heretics.

If he died, then he would die while striving down his own path.

Ryan could understand that feeling. If someone had told him in his previous life that he had a chance of becoming Ultraman, he would have fought for it no matter what.

"Captain Ryan, what are we doing?" Jack asked excitedly. This was one of the few missions he had ever carried out.

"What is your ability?"

Ryan asked.

"Mine? Invisibility."

"Huh?" Ryan paused. "The kind where people can't see you?"

Jack scratched his head. "More precisely, it's a spatial distortion ability. It's a little complicated to explain. Anyway, I mainly use it to hide myself, but powerful Transcendents can still detect me."

"Damn."

He really wanted to say, Brother, with an ability like that, why do Investigator work? Why risk your life for a monthly salary of three thousand?

As they spoke, the two arrived in Central City. Personnel within the Public Security General Bureau had already begun mobilizing.

Cassidy's train would arrive at three in the afternoon, but personnel deployment had to begin early in the morning. Ryan had Jack sneak in to investigate the situation. Watching a living person disappear right in front of him was truly quite miraculous.

"Invisibility... a dream from my previous life."

Ryan sat in the Coffee Shop across from the General Bureau, drinking coffee as he waited for Jack's news.

His mission was actually easy. With the clues Adler had given him, Norman would have to fall no matter what.

As for the Train Station, he would simply wait for the flowers to bloom.

Taking advantage of the free time, he opened the game and began creating another character.

The twenty-four-hour cooldown after a character's death had passed.

"I need to cultivate an assassin."

Ryan rubbed his chin. "Lin Qi" had originally been well-suited to the role, but considering that she would later develop at the Gate of Janus, and that if she truly became the Janus Saintess, she would not be suited for this kind of work.

More importantly, the Silent Nun class was extremely versatile. She did not necessarily have to become an assassin.

[Please name the new character.]

"Mm... Sharlo? Forget it, I'll go with Shari again."

He had the feeling that Female Character Accounts generally had much higher stats. Ryan planned to continue playing this way, but the previous "Shari" image was not well-suited for an assassin. He wanted to see what kind of female assassin he could create.

If the stats were not good, then creating the previous version of "Shari" would not be bad either. The Soul Eater's Certificate could be used directly, after all.

"A female assassin..."

Black hair, black eyes, one meter seventy... Was that a little tall? Forget it. It was mainly because he liked it.

After spending more than ten minutes, Ryan created an appearance he was fairly satisfied with.

[Character Info Generation:]

Shari (Female): Constitution 9, Spirit 9, Magic 12, Comprehension 8, Charm 10

"Uh..."

Her Magic was actually a little higher than "Lin Qi's"?

Her Charm was a little lower, but that did not matter.

Looking at the stat list, Ryan's feelings were complicated. He remembered that when he created characters in games in his previous life, he had not been this absurdly lucky. The highest initial stat he had ever rolled was only 10.

Was he naturally gifted at playing Female Character Accounts?

Without hesitation, Ryan decisively confirmed Shari as the character.

He could choose the Female Knight next time, but the female assassin's stats were truly irresistible.

Initial random identity tendencies: Commoner, Knight, Servant, Hunter, Drifter, Noble...

[Game information confirmed. Shari, female, entering the game...]

After choosing the Augustus Empire again, Shari's Spawn Point was still locked in Berman City.

[Shari was a gladiator. Her hometown was destroyed by war, and slave traders sold her to an arena. Relying on her outstanding constitution and keen reflexes, she stubbornly survived countless gladiatorial battles until a group of people of unknown identity took her away.]

Ryan discovered that the character background description closely matched the Character Setting's personality. This might determine the direction of the plot while in AI Standby mode.

For example, "Lin Qi" had a cold Character Setting. She was not actually suited to being a nun, but what could be done when her identity had already been determined? Besides, a nun with such a contrasting Character Setting had unexpectedly become popular. It was truly bizarre.

Did everyone who went to church these days have a bit of an M streak?

"Where is this?"

Ryan looked at the Game Interface.

"Shari" had appeared in a dim space, surrounded by locked wooden bars. It looked somewhat like a dungeon.

Besides her, people were imprisoned in the other cells as well. However, she was the only one held alone. Several people were locked together in the neighboring cells.

Looking at the unfamiliar yet familiar surroundings, Ryan racked his brains for quite a while before finally remembering the name of this place.