Cultivate Myself?

The voice was hard to make out, as if it had been distorted by some force.

Adler's body trembled as he hurriedly explained, "Cassidy has joined forces with the League of Fire. There are simply too many of them, and Cassidy is also a formidable spellcaster."

"Is that your reason?"

"No, no..."

Creed said flatly, "Adler, you have disappointed me greatly. You botched something the Grand Duchess personally entrusted to you, yet your first choice was not to report it."

Thud.

Adler dropped to his knees and cried, "I wanted to make arrangements before reporting back!"

"Then have you made those arrangements now?"

"Yes, yes... I've hidden all the remaining members of the Hand of Darkness. Nothing will go wrong. The League of Fire took action today, and Ryan... oh, thanks to Ryan, he has already become an official Investigator. His Magic Talent has reached C-Class as well. I pushed him into the position of captain at the Bureau of Investigation. The League of Fire will definitely value him more and more!"

"Oh? Not bad."

Creed nodded slightly.

A C-Class talent was indeed far superior to most people's. In theory, he could reach the Fifth-Order Transcendent level and was worth cultivating as a priority.

"This Ryan is your only hope," Creed said. "If the Grand Duchess were not planning to move against the League of Fire, you would have completely lost your value. Do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand."

Adler nodded repeatedly, inwardly relieved that Ryan had emerged from among his subordinates. Otherwise, he would not even know how he died right now.

"Enough. Lie low for the time being. I'll send people to support you."

With that, Creed's figure vanished from the mirror.

"Whew~"

Adler stood up and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Thank goodness. Looks like there's still hope."

Just now, he had been terrified that Creed would say, "Adler, you're useless now." Good thing there was Ryan... Right, I need to hurry and send him what he wants.

Whatever happened to the Hand of Darkness no longer mattered. Adler only wanted to cling to Ryan, his lifesaving straw.

Seven that evening.

A light rain fell over Berman City.

After dealing with matters at the bureau, Ryan drove to a bookstore in the East District.

There was no one else in the bookstore.

"Mr. Ryan."

Kaisa stood up from behind the counter and nodded in greeting.

"The things my lord provided have already been delivered. Would you like to take them now?"

"Wait a moment. I want to find a book first."

There was no rush to collect the items. Ryan wanted to see whether there was any information here about Cassola Prison.

Ryan walked into the bookshelves and casually flipped through a few books. Sure enough, the bookstore had everything it should have, with a full range of categories.

"What book are you looking for, Mr. Ryan?"

"It's from quite some time ago. Do you know about Cassola Prison?"

"That was indeed quite a while ago. Please wait." Kaisa walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book. "There are relevant records in here."

"Oh?"

There really was something?

Ryan opened the book. It contained information on places throughout the Empire. He found Berman City, then spotted the words "Cassola Prison."

Its construction, purpose, period of use, and even its locations were all recorded.

Cassola Prison had been divided into three areas. Two were within the city, while one was Outside the City. The ones within the city were located in the East District and West District, while the one Outside the City lay southeast of the city. Judging from the current terrain, it had already been covered by a stretch of woods.

"Three locations..."

Finding the place where Shari had been held would be troublesome. Transporting prisoners Outside the City was the most troublesome, but also the safest. The locations within the city were more moderate, so she could have been anywhere.

"Kaisa, do you know Karut?" Ryan asked. "I heard some news last night. The Gate of Janus is going after the Blood Cult, and Cassidy seems to be looking into Cassola Prison and Karut."

"Karut? I don't know him. Are you looking for information about him?"

"It's a map." After saying that, Ryan added, "A labyrinth map he designed."

He was not worried that Kaisa would tell Adler. First, Jonathan was watching the latter, so even if he had doubts, he would not dare come asking rashly.

Second, Ryan had framed it as a matter involving Cassidy and the Gate of Janus. Adler could not possibly go verify it with them. There was no need, after all—he was now Magana's loyal little lackey.

Grand Duchess, I am your most loyal subject!

"I haven't heard of it."

"So that's how it is... figures."

Ryan nodded, not particularly surprised.

Just as he thought the trip had been for nothing, Kaisa suddenly said, "Knowledge exists in the void. It is taken by the Deities and confined in places beyond humanity's reach. The more you grasp, the more ignorant you feel, because knowledge drifts upon the sea of ignorance... Lord Ryan, if you need it, I can help you."

"Oh? How?"

"Please go to the ninth bookshelf."

"The ninth bookshelf? This one? Then what?"

"The ninth book on the ninth row. Open it, and it will tell you the answer you seek."

Ryan: Why Are There Traitors Everywhere?

Ryan reached out, paused, then lowered his hand again.

He turned to look at Kaisa.

What the hell had she just said?

The ninth bookcase, the ninth row, the ninth book? Lady, did you know what you were saying?

In that instant, a chill crawled up Ryan's back, raising goosebumps all over his skin.

Fuck your grandfather!

Those dead memories were still chasing him!

In Empress Online, the game's setting had stitched together information from countless other games, novels, and even movies. That sort of thing had been common in Ryan's era too. It was a mash-up, after all—if it could be stitched together, then stitch the fuck out of it!

And when it came to the setting of the Outer Gods, it had borrowed certain elements from a neighboring hammer-themed world.

For example, the number "nine" was not merely a number. Add even a little something to it, and it could produce unimaginable effects.

Mental Pollution!

Damn Twilight Eye!

Twilight Eye worshipped Moras, Lord of the Cunning.

Wisdom, knowledge, and schemes were all names associated with Him. His followers believed He was omniscient and even called Him the Wisdom God.

It sounded perfectly normal, but in truth, this so-called "Wisdom God" was nothing more than the followers' self-indulgence.

Just as the Blood God's war was no good thing, the wisdom represented by Moras was equally ominous. Whenever His power appeared, catastrophe was sure to follow.

As for Twilight Eye, that was the name of Moras's religious sect. Its symbol was an eye, representing Moras Himself. The believers believed He could see through the essence of knowledge and weave ever-changing destinies from infinite wisdom.

Put simply, He was exceptionally good at screwing people over.

And nine was Twilight Eye's representative number. They believed nine was an all-encompassing number, signifying that all things could be controlled by wisdom.

However, only those chosen by the Lord of the Cunning knew what the number meant. Ordinary people, even members of Twilight Eye, had no idea what nine represented.

And now.

At a time like this, she was telling him to go to the ninth, ninth, and ninth? Damn, was she trying to set him up in broad daylight?

If Ryan had not read the official lore, he might really have fallen for it.

"What's wrong?" Kaisa tilted her head, asking in confusion, "Mr. Ryan, is there a problem?"

Woman, you had a serious problem.

Her light golden curls, warm smile, and rather lovely appearance made her look like a mature older sister. It really was hard to associate her with the word Heretics.

Ryan admitted that Adler knew how to recruit people. There was no issue with Singer Kaisa hiding in a bookstore, but as a Singer of Twilight Eye, that was a huge problem.

Lord Adler, was this organization of ours a sieve or something? There were traitors everywhere!

To be honest, Ryan had no idea that Twilight Eye had been manipulating things behind Berman City.

But one thing was certain: Kaisa definitely was not one of Adler's people. Twilight Eye and Hand of Darkness had nothing to do with each other.

So the question was.

What should he do now?

"Nothing. I just saw a book that interested me."

Ryan casually reached for the sixth book on the sixth row and pulled it out. Written on the cover were the words Noble Bai Jie.

Kaisa froze. "Mr. Ryan, your tastes really are somewhat..."

"That's what it's like when you're full of youthful vigor." Ryan laughed and put the book away. "I'll take this one. I'll return it in a couple of days."

"Of course, that's no problem. Then, regarding Kasora..."

"I'd better meet with Lord Adler first before discussing it. League of Fire is watching him now, so shouldn't I avoid acting rashly? After all, we lost quite a few brothers today."

"...Yes, that's true."

Kaisa showed no unusual reaction and merely nodded calmly.

"Help me take the stuff out. I'll bring it with me and leave."

Ryan said.

Kaisa went to get the items.

As expected of the organization's person in charge in Berman City, Lord Adler was far more generous than Jonathan. He gave Ryan a full five thousand Soul Jade alone, along with two Magic Scrolls for saving his life.

[Magic Scroll · Light Shield]

[Quality: First Tier]

[Effect: Forms a Magic Shield after use.]

[Magic Scroll · Explosive Flame]

[Quality: Second Tier]

[Effect: Casts the spell 'Explosive Flame' to attack an opponent after use.]

"Good stuff."

One for offense and one for defense—if he threw them out unexpectedly, he might even stand a chance against a Second Tier Transcendent.

Thank you, Lord Adler!

But this was not the time to celebrate. Ryan put the items in the car.

He started the engine and floored the accelerator!

Only after leaving the street where the bookstore stood did Ryan finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Whew... Damn it, Twilight Eye. Where the hell did this thing come from?"

The root of the problem was that he had no idea how strong Kaisa was. But anyone who could make use of the word "nine" was definitely no small fry. If she had forced him to open the book just now, he might really have been contaminated by wisdom.

Never underestimate Mental Erosion. It could happen in an instant, and you might not notice it at all.

Ryan carefully went over everything in his mind. Only after confirming that he had not given himself away did he begin considering his next move.

This trip had not been entirely fruitless. At the very least, he had confirmed the locations of three sites in Cassola Prison and uncovered the biggest mole by Adler's side.