Ryan

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ryan
Alias(es)	Ryder; Balshatt
Species/Race	Human; a man from Earth who transmigrated into a soldier’s body in the Augustus Empire 1
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Bureau of Investigation (former Director); League of Fire; Primal Church (Holy Son); Augustus Empire
Occupation/Role	Investigator, political operator, territorial administrator, and later divine-level power
Status	Alive; recovered memories of his former existence as a Chaos Being and creator of the Rhea Continent 353 354
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
God’s Chosen / First Tier Transcendent	29, 30	Lit all six stars in the Magic Aptitude ritual, receiving an A-grade result; survived the Inner World incident, awakened as a God’s Chosen, and gained the summonable Cross Sword.
Second Tier Transcendent	122	Absorbed an Advancement Fragment, breaking through his advancement barrier; the event also revealed the Gate of Time ability.
Third Tier Transcendent	222	Claimed an Advancement Fragment within the Moon Temple’s Chaos Space while defending it from a demon army.
Fourth Tier Transcendent	293	Absorbed accumulated Power of Faith and an Advancement Shard, advancing directly to Fourth Tier Perfection.
Sixth Tier Transcendent	325	Absorbed an Advancement Shard and concentrated faith power in Janus’s trial space, reaching the peak of Sixth Tier.
Seventh Tier Transcendent	325	Absorbed the final Advancement Shard associated with Order’s protection and entered Seventh Tier.
Divine level	353	Refined Chaos authority and fused it with nine faith authorities through Doro, breaking through to the divine level.

Background / History

Ryan began as one of Lord Adler’s operatives in Berman City, assigned to support Grand Duchess Marganna’s plan to assassinate Princess Cassidy. His understanding of the situation changed when he recognized the Augustus Empire’s events as the plot of Empress Online, a game from his previous life 1.

He discovered a virtual interface that allowed him to create and command characters within the same world. His first successful character, Lin Qi, proved that the game was connected to reality: game items could be extracted, skills could be learned, and the actions of his characters left real consequences 2 5 6. Ryan initially viewed the system primarily as a means of survival, but gradually built a network of increasingly independent alternate characters.

While posing as Adler’s subordinate, Ryan solved the Midtown murder case, captured the Blood Cult Transcendent Sam, and earned Jonathan Jade’s attention. Jonathan recruited him as a probationary investigator for the League of Fire, while Deke urged him to use this new position to become more valuable to Adler 6 7.

Ryan ultimately turned on Adler during the Janus Church operation. After luring the wounded conspirator to the Clock Tower, Ryan shot him rather than helping him escape, eliminating a man who knew his former allegiance 42. He then exploited the resulting power vacuum, becoming Director of the Bureau of Investigation and later acting mayor of Berman City 48 58.

Appearance

Ryan is described as handsome, with sharp features, deep bright-black eyes, and a sunny, positive outward demeanor 102.

• Usually presents himself as an approachable investigator or capable noble rather than an overtly threatening Transcendent.
• Uses the identity Ryder when operating outside the Augustus Empire or concealing his political position.
• Later conceals his survival after his staged death and operates through alternate identities and proxy forces 134 135.

Personality

Ryan is pragmatic, adaptable, and intensely survival-oriented. After awakening in a hostile political conspiracy, he avoids direct commitments whenever possible, plays rival factions against one another, and keeps his true capabilities hidden until force becomes necessary. He routinely frames his actions as reluctant cooperation while arranging outcomes that benefit his own position 35 46 97.

Despite his opportunism, Ryan repeatedly acts to protect civilians and preserve social stability. As Berman City’s leader, he rejected continued protection-fee schemes, investigated the Dream Star Orphanage trafficking network, ordered arrests of corrupt officials, and expanded the city’s defenses against invasion 64 81.

He prefers delegating governance, combat, and long-term development to his alternate characters. Ryan recognizes that their autonomous AI behavior can surpass his own manual control, particularly in combat and social interactions, and adapts his plans around their growing independence 16 40.

Abilities & Skills

Empress Online System

Ryan can access a game-like interface connected to reality, create characters, equip them, direct their actions, and share an inventory with them.

• Creates alternate characters with distinct identities, personalities, starting circumstances, and growth paths.
• Extracts items from the shared inventory, including weapons, consumables, Soul Jades, and Skill Books 2 6.
• Uses AI Standby and Follow Mode to assign objectives while characters act autonomously 6.
• Relies on autonomous control for advanced combat execution; AI-controlled Lin Qi demonstrated superior tactical coordination to Ryan’s manual control 16 40.
• Uses the system to establish influence across governments, armies, religious organizations, and foreign states.

Character Cards

Ryan can create Character Cards for his alternate characters and temporarily access their jobs and abilities.

• Lin Qi’s card can allow Ryan to inherit her job and skills once if she dies 18.
• Used the Silent Nun card to access Janus-aligned powers, including Demon Spirit abilities and purification 72 183.
• Uses cards to conceal his actual class, passing borrowed abilities off as relics or one-use powers 74.
• Can call on Shyarly’s and other characters’ combat assets when his own strength is insufficient 222 259.

God’s Chosen Powers

Ryan awakened as a God’s Chosen after surviving the failed Magic Aptitude ritual and an attack within the Inner World 29 30.

• Possesses exceptional magical aptitude; the Hexagram Array lit all six stars during his test 29.
• Has unusually demanding cultivation requirements, consuming far more Soul Jade than ordinary Transcendents 48.
• Gains power through Advancement Fragments and, later, directly through accumulated Power of Faith 122 293.
• Can resist mental influence and magical manipulation through a combination of personal strength, marks, relics, and the Cross Sword 233.

Cross Sword and Sword of Order

Ryan’s Cross Sword is his defining weapon. He can summon and retract it at will, and its true origin remained unknown for much of his rise 30.

• Can be remotely controlled with Mental Power after Ryan reaches Second Tier, functioning as a flying sword 135.
• Its destructive power scales with Ryan’s strength and can cut through masses of Chaos Demons or threaten stronger Transcendents 222.
• The sword later awakens as the Sword of Order, with Doro—the God of Order—manifesting from it in fairy form 325 335.
• Through Doro, Ryan can interact with the Mist Space, break hostile contracts, and stabilize the fusion of multiple faith authorities 336 353.

Time and Space Authority

Ryan gained access to Time and Space powers through Lin Qi’s connection to Janus.

• Gate of Time can rewind a target to any point within the previous ten seconds, synchronizing their condition to that earlier state 122.
• Can use Time and Space authority to materialize sealed Advancement Fragments and escape altered timelines 222 334.
• Gains major protection against Time and Space-aligned attacks after integrating Janus’s power into his broader authority set 326.

Moon God’s Protection

Ryan received a direct blessing from the Moon God without undergoing a Moon-aligned class transfer 221.

• Creates a protective shield.
• Enhances Ryan’s own attributes and damage by 20%.
• Provides Moon God believers with a 30% all-attribute group buff 222.
• Allowed him to travel through the Moon Temple’s Chaos Space without suffering its usual discomfort 222.

Desire Power

Ryan bears the Mark of Desire and eventually gains access to Desire-aligned authority.

• The Mark significantly increases his charm and others’ favorable responses, though high-tier Transcendents can resist it 166.
• Is unaffected by the Pot of Greed’s widespread desire-inducing influence 259.
• Can use the Pot of Greed and his Desire power to overwhelm or control affected targets, as demonstrated against Kaisa 233.
• Later gains access to the path of Desire and its corresponding divine authority 202 353.

Divine Authority and Mist Space

After merging nine faith authorities with Doro as the stabilizing vessel, Ryan attains divine-level power 353.

• Can fuse and wield multiple faith-path powers rather than relying on one conventional profession.
• Uses the Mist Space as a foundation for receiving faith, communicating with believers, and projecting consciousness 294 302.
• Regains memories of creating and reshaping the Rhea Continent as a Chaos Being 354.
• Resists Milia’s possession attempt within his own sea of consciousness 354.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Cross Sword / Sword of Order — Ryan’s summonable signature weapon; later revealed to contain Doro, the God of Order 30 325 335.
• Razmod’s Sword of Death — Third Tier Epic cross sword given by Marganna; inflicts resistance-ignoring Death Corrosion 95.
• Ring of Death — Legendary ring that grants major attributes and twenty seconds of immunity to all damage 33 234.
• Pot of Greed — Forbidden Desire relic that releases a powerful desire-inducing mist; Ryan is immune to its effects 259.
• Death Puppet — Used with Shyarly’s Blood God sacrifice to fake Ryan’s death and enable his revival 134.
• System Backpack — Shared inventory capable of storing extracted game items and equipment across Ryan’s characters 2 79.
• Character Cards — Cards tied to his alternate characters, allowing conditional inheritance or temporary use of their abilities 18 72.

Relationships

• Jonathan Jade — Mentor, former superior, and trusted League of Fire ally. Jonathan recruited Ryan after the Sam case, repeatedly warned him about the dangers of the extraordinary world, and remained one of Ryan’s most dependable associates 7 74 166.
• Princess Cassidy — Political ally and patron in Berman City. She supported Ryan’s appointment as Bureau Director and acting mayor, later entrusted Southern Territory affairs to him 47 58 102.
• Grand Duchess Marganna — Patron, military ally, and public fiancée. Their relationship began as mutual political use but developed into substantial trust, with Marganna repeatedly relying on Ryan’s judgment and protecting him 89 127 182.
• Lin Qi — Ryan’s first alternate character and primary Janus-aligned asset. Her Silent Nun abilities, later Authority of Time and Space, form a major part of Ryan’s combat and advancement strategy 17 325.
• Shyarly / Shari — Ryan’s Blood Knight alternate character, commander of the Holy Blood Legion, and public fiancée. She carries out his staged assassination, battlefield campaigns, and Blood God-related operations 102 134 203.
• Vina — Ryan’s noble alternate character and political administrator. She develops territories, handles imperial governance, and becomes central to his control of Augustus politics 58 161.
• Amabena — Queen of the Kingdom of Lott. She signs a contract placing Ryan in charge of restoring her authority and managing the kingdom’s survival 140.
• Witch K — A powerful Witch and believer who comes to regard Ryan as Balshatt. She supports the Primal Church, assists his divine investigations, and helps rescue him from sealed spaces 294 314 335.
• Elviane — Queen of Verdea and a politically entangled ally. Their relationship is shaped by contracts, negotiations, and competing interests between Verdea, Lott, and Augustus 219 229.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Berman City Conspiracy

Ryan begins as Adler’s disposable operative but uses the Empress Online system to gain leverage over the city’s cults, gangs, and political factions. He joins the League of Fire, manipulates Adler into exposing himself, and personally eliminates him during the church operation 7 42.

Director and Acting Mayor

After Adler and Mayor Bill fall, Ryan becomes Director of the Bureau of Investigation and acting mayor of Berman City. He dismantles corruption, reorganizes criminal forces, investigates human trafficking, recruits soldiers, and equips the city for war 48 58 81.

Southern Territory Power Broker

Ryan expands beyond Berman City through Shyarly, Vina, Ina, and other alternates. He directs armies, acquires noble influence, forces hostile nobles into contracts, and becomes indispensable to Cassidy’s southern power base 102 114 118.

Staged Death and Independent Expansion

To escape competing demands from Cassidy, Marganna, and the Old Emperor, Ryan stages his public death using a Death Puppet and Blood God sacrifice. He then retreats into the Inner World and begins pursuing an independent power base through the Holy Blood Legion and the Kingdom of Lott 127 134 140.

Primal Church and Divine Ascension

Ryan establishes the Primal Church around the identity of Balshatt, gathers Power of Faith through the Mist Space, and expands influence into the Southern Continent. His pursuit of Advancement Shards, faith authorities, and the Sword of Order culminates in divine-level power and the recovery of his memories as a Chaos Being 294 302 325 353 354.

Notable Quotes

“Adler, I’m sorry. I’m a good person.” 42

“My finger wishes to point toward wherever hope lies.” 46