Can't I raise myself?

After leaving the General Bureau, Ryan drove to Berman University. Not long after getting out of the car, he was stopped by someone.

"Bro, have you heard of 'Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God'?"

What sacrifice to what god?

The damn vendors are still chasing me!

Ryan instinctively wanted to shoot this heretic, but upon a second glance, he realized the person seemed to be just an ordinary person.

The young man before him was about twenty years old, around Jack's age, and definitely a university student.

As for whether he was a Transcendent, Ryan had seen enough to tell the difference between a wild boar and a domestic pig.

A fanatic?

Nowadays, there were quite a few young people corrupted by strange ideologies. At least thirty percent of the cases the Bureau of Investigation handled daily were related to cult disturbances.

These cults weren't true Transcendent beings, but rather people who had come into contact with related beliefs for various reasons. In milder cases, they might have experienced a surge of chuunibyou, suddenly wanting to destroy the world, only to cause a scene, get caught, disciplined, and then return to their normal lives.

In more severe cases, some were corrupted by the power of Outer Gods through sheer chance. Although not Transcendent, their minds were polluted, making them dangerous.

These individuals were often able to easily corrupt those around them with propaganda for Outer God beliefs, and their influence would grow. This was the most common way for Outer God religious forces to expand.

However, this guy in front of him seemed to belong to the former category.

Ryan crossed his arms and nodded, "Go on, I'm listening."

"The great Blood God Doklodus, He is the deity who governs war and glory. Do you know? When the enemy's cavalry treads upon our imperial lands, when our people die tragically by gunfire, when we lose all hope for victory, only the Blood God can save us!"

The young man's expression was excited, "If you've also heard His name, come, please say it with me – Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God!"

"Uh-huh, and then?" Ryan took out his work notebook and recorded what he just heard. "Anything else? How many people are in your group?"

"Wow, you're interested too, right?" The young man didn't seem to find anything amiss. He lowered his voice, "But this isn't the place to talk. Come with me, and I'll introduce you slowly!"

Ryan was about to say no, that he'd take him to the bureau to introduce him, when he suddenly remembered something.

"Berman University... Wait, I remember now. Isn't this a side quest from the game?"

He looked at the university's entrance, finding it increasingly familiar. He hadn't reacted when Jack mentioned Berman University before, but standing here now, dead memories flooded back.

Side quest, super item!

It couldn't be helped. He had lived in this world for over twenty years. Although he had only awakened his past life memories recently, he was still himself in both lives. The jumble of memories made it difficult to recall certain things clearly.

Like side quests in games, he wouldn't remember them unless he saw them with his own eyes.

"Young man, does your school have an old campus?"

The young man was taken aback. "You're not from our school?"

"No, my younger brother is. I'm here to find him."

"I see. That doesn't matter. Our Blood God Cult doesn't care about identity. As long as you devoutly believe in the Blood God, we are brothers of different fathers and mothers!"

Who the hell is your brother? Ryan grumbled inwardly.

"As for the old campus you mentioned, hehe~ Not only do we have one, but it's also our Blood God Cult's secret base... Come on, let me take you!"

The college student was very enthusiastic.

Ryan originally thought he'd need a student ID or something, but the gatekeeper didn't even look at him.

After entering the gate, there was a main road lined with lush camphor trees. It was evening, and students were coming and going, bathed in the setting sun, chatting and laughing. In June, the roadside was filled with fluttering skirts, making Ryan sigh inwardly – university life was good.

"Huh? Captain Ryan? What are you doing here?"

Just as Ryan was enjoying the youthfulness, Jack walked towards him, carrying his backpack and heading home.

Berman University allowed students to go home at night.

"Captain?" The college student beside him looked confused.

Ryan chuckled, "It's a special nickname for our brothers. Jack, kid, of course, I came to find you."

As he spoke, he looked at Jack.

"Ah, I'm... um, I'm Jack, kid. Captain, is there something you need me for?"

What a strange nickname. Captain Ryan's naming ability really wasn't great.

"I told you to come back for dinner, but this brother here says he wants to take me to experience the greatness of the Blood God... Brother, my brother is also very interested in these things. Can you take him along?"

"Of course!"

The college student didn't suspect anything and was happy that Ryan was bringing another person into their fold. "Come, follow me, we'll be there soon. We have a ritual at seven o'clock!"

"That sounds great."

Ryan wrote 'Illegal gathering, cult ritual' in his notebook.

The college student leaned over. "What are you writing?"

Ryan calmly closed his notebook. "Nothing, just recording your famous quotes. I'll tell my brothers about them later."

"Hehe, I didn't say any famous quotes. I'll introduce you to one of our Blood God Cult priests later. He's the greatest orator!"

The college student couldn't wait and quickened his pace.

Jack glanced at Ryan, wisely saying nothing more.

Police officers, investigating cases. But when did their school sprout so many heretical fanatics?

About ten minutes later, the three arrived at the old campus of Berman University.

The sun was setting, and streetlights cast a pale glow. The entire old campus had been completely shut down and looked eerily sinister under the night sky.

Ryan remembered. Many years ago, a major fire had occurred on this old campus, its flames engulfing a third of Berman University's grounds. The most severely damaged core area was then sealed off, eventually becoming the old campus over time.

For reasons unknown, the university leadership didn't dare to renovate the old campus and had left it as it was until now.

It was mentioned in a side quest that the fire was actually a cult's sacrificial ritual. Hundreds of students had died at the time, causing a city-wide sensation.

The transcendent relic that descended during the sacrifice had attracted a large number of transcendent beings competing with each other, but its whereabouts were ultimately unknown.

"Our spot is over there!"

The college student pointed towards an abandoned building not far away.

That place was on the outskirts of the old campus, so it was relatively well-preserved.

"Is everyone else here?" Ryan asked.

"Of course. We agreed to meet at seven o'clock. Most people should be here by now."

"Alright." Ryan walked towards a public phone booth not far away, dropped in a coin, and dialed the duty number at the Bureau of Investigation headquarters. "It's me, Ryan. Bring some people to the old campus of Berman University... Yeah, about a dozen or twenty should be enough."

The college student stood to the side, completely bewildered.

What's going on?

Jack patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay, it'll be over soon."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Wait a moment, some of my brothers are coming too... Jack, you wait here and don't let him wander off."

"Got it, leave it to me!"

"Hey??? What's happening? Why are you holding me???"

After handing the college student over to Jack, Ryan passed through the cordon of the old campus and walked deeper inside.

He followed a weed-covered path.

He had a pretty deep impression of this mission. After all, it was a campus, an old campus, and he had entered at night back then. The horror elements were maxed out.

But he was a transcendent now, and he had his Character Card, so he didn't need to worry even if he encountered a ghost attack.

It was just that he wasn't entirely sure where the item was.

In the dark, it was definitely different from operating in a game. If he hadn't happened to be here, it would have been more suitable to have 'Lin Qi' come over.

"Hmm?"

"This should be the place of the ritual. I remember it was somewhere to the west... Found it, it's that way."

A house burned to ruins appeared in his vision. To the west was a desolate ruin with only a few burnt walls. The house had collapsed, turning into rubble.

Ryan found an inconspicuous doorknob by one of the walls. He pulled it open forcefully, revealing a sloping staircase leading downwards.

It was a basement.

Because the place was very hidden, Ryan had spent quite some time looking for it back then.

The basement was pitch black. He took out a prepared lantern from his game backpack. This thing was originally for 'Shyarly,' but he ended up using it himself.

The lantern illuminated the stairs. The ancient gray floor was covered in dust. Ryan cautiously tested his way down, observing his surroundings.

The reason he dared to come in alone was that this side quest belonged to the early stages of the game. The monsters encountered in the game were not high-level, and even if he met one, there would be no danger. The worst-case scenario would be using up his Character Card.

However, that transcendent item was quite good, an 'upgradable' piece of equipment that could be used until the end of the game.

The basement wasn't wide. After descending the stairs, there was a room less than thirty square meters to the right, containing bookshelves, a table, and various daily necessities.

Inside, there was a bed, and a skeleton lay on it.

Wuwuwu~

A gust of cold wind blew in.

It made the lantern flicker twice.

A basement, where is the wind coming from?

Ryan stared at the skeleton.

[The transgressor never stops their offensive steps, and we all know this thing is extremely sinful. I have buried it my entire life. Oh Dawn, grant me eternal protective power!]

The voice sounded like an old man's low shout. Honestly, hearing someone suddenly speak in the eerie basement made Ryan's heart pound a little.

Kakakaka~

Just as he expected, the skeleton suddenly moved.

This side quest could only be accepted at low levels. Once you passed the level, you couldn't get it anymore. The overall difficulty wasn't high, but for low-level characters, the fight was still a bit strenuous.

The skeleton held an axe in its hand, which was burning with golden flames.

Dawn, golden fire – these were all symbols of the Son of the Sun. Ryan was curious about how the other party had managed to last for so many years.

"Let's test it first."

He didn't rush to use his Character Card. He extended his right hand, and a silver-white Cross Sword emerged from within his body, which he then grasped.

Since there were no outsiders, he didn't have to worry about being discovered.

Ryan also wanted to see just how powerful this thing was.

"Come on!"

Swish!

Ryan swung his sword down.

Then, silver-white flames erupted with a dazzling light. To Ryan's astonishment, the Cross Sword slanted down along the skeleton's body, severing the axe the latter was using to block, and splitting its entire body in two!

Clatter~~

The skeleton instantly turned into a pile of bones.

"Holy crap, that's strong?!"

One sword strike, and it was dead?

This skeleton was at least level fourteen or fifteen, and it was probably a mini-boss, right?

While surprised, Ryan felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. The Magic Power within him felt like a drained pool... not a single drop left!

"Hoo!"

He plopped down onto the ground, recovering after a while.

"This sword... it's ridiculously powerful, but it can only be used once. After a single strike, I'm completely out of combat power. If I can kill the enemy, fine, but if I miss, I'm definitely dead."