'There are ghosts down there.'
'Huh?'
'Keep an eye on things for me.'
'Shally' did not explain much. Ordinary people could not see supernatural phenomena. The Harrier Guards' power would affect them through a form of Mental Pollution. If they encountered more vicious Harrier Guards, even murder would be normal.
So ordinary people were better off not knowing.
After equipping the Ring of Death, Ryan still felt it was not enough, so he took the Blade of Erosion from 'Lin Qi' and equipped it on her as well. Unfortunately, the Black Gloves had excessively harsh equipment requirements, so 'Shally' could not wear them.
Even so, level-one 'Shally's' current attributes had already caught up to what 'Lin Qi' had had at level ten.
"No wonder everyone likes raising Alts. Using a main account to raise an Alt feels amazing."
Just in case, Ryan also transferred some Steamed Buns and Roasted Chicken from 'Lin Qi.'
On the screen, 'Shally' climbed down the rope again.
"Who knows when those Blood Cult people will make their move? Better finish exploring the map as soon as possible."
The Blood Cult had pulled off something huge in the game. Ryan guessed that the people imprisoned in Casola Prison were all sacrifices awaiting ritual slaughter.
However, he remembered that before the Blood Cult acted, a war had broken out along the Empire's border. A neighboring country of Augustus had sent troops all the way to Berman City. In the end, the protagonist's group had turned the tide, helping Caslathdi seize control of Berman City in the process.
In other words, Ryan had time, at least until the report of the enemy invasion arrived.
"It would be nice if I could start out as a noble."
Ryan thought to himself.
There was still a huge difference between nobles and commoners.
It might look like he had risen to his current position through his own abilities, but that was all thanks to recommendations from Caslathdi and Jonathan, along with Adler quietly pulling strings behind the scenes. If he truly had no background, he would spend his whole life as nothing more than a lowly security officer.
As far as Ryan knew, more than eighty percent of the positions in the city government and military were occupied by noble factions. The remaining twenty percent were, more or less, filled by people with connections.
Ryan figured he could rise at most to the position of bureau chief. Even that would depend on Caslathdi and Adler putting in some effort, as well as Berman City's noble factions doing him a favor. But any higher than that was impossible unless Ryan became a noble himself.
But if he started out as a noble, promotion would be perfectly justified... well, as long as he had a suitable reason.
In Empress Online, there were actually many ways to become a noble. However, many players would not choose to become one, because they preferred having the protagonist, as a commoner, ride roughshod over young ladies and the Empress.
Once they actually became nobles, they instead liked playing commoners.
Look at that. What a weird way of thinking.
While he was thinking, 'Shally' climbed down through the hole again.
The moment she appeared, she drew the Harrier Guards' attention. Fortunately, Ryan had prepared in advance. While still in midair, 'Shally' jumped straight off the rope, wielding the Blade of Erosion as she began hacking away.
"There are quite a few of them. Good thing I didn't rush in earlier."
After 'Shally' landed, Ryan finally saw the situation below clearly. This was the end of a passage, where five Harrier Guards wandered around a treasure chest. Whether he wanted the chest or to proceed to the other side, he needed to clear out these Harrier Guards.
Whoosh!
The first Harrier Guard was killed, and the abundant experience immediately leveled 'Shally' up. Not only that, but it also dropped a small ball of light.
"The first monster dropped something? Does fighting monsters above your level give a bonus?"
Ryan did not pick it up, because the other four Harrier Guards had already surrounded her.
Immunity!
There was no way she could handle one against five. After all, 'Shally' had not changed classes yet. With no skills, relying solely on normal attacks left her with too little room to operate.
During the twenty seconds of Immunity, 'Shally' unleashed a frenzied assault, relentlessly hacking at one Harrier Guard.
Stab you to death, stab you to death, stab you to death, stab you to death...
The Blade of Erosion dealt tremendous damage. By the time the twenty seconds were up, 'Shally' had successfully stabbed two of them to death. She fought the remaining two while eating Steamed Buns, eventually taking them down without issue.
Three small balls of light dropped onto the ground.
'Shally' walked over to loot the bodies.
You obtained steamed bun ×1 You obtained Soul Jade ×36
"Tch. Just as expected."
You obtained the skill 'Swiftness.'
"Huh?"
Ryan's eyes lit up.
"Damn, it finally dropped."
Ever since 'Lin Qi' had obtained the Swiftness skill while grinding offline last time, he had not gotten a second skill book.
"As expected, Swiftness has a pretty high drop rate."
Ryan did not plan to have 'Shally' learn this skill. He had taught it to 'Lin Qi' because he needed to raise a main account. Now that 'Lin Qi' had some basic strength, he intended to prioritize arming himself whenever possible.
He could learn skill books himself.
After tossing Swiftness into the inventory, 'Shally' walked over to the treasure chest.
She opened it.
The dark-gold chest vanished from the game interface after it was opened.
Ryan froze, then immediately understood that this thing was a special entity generated by the game system's mechanics. Just like monsters could drop loot, it was a special mechanic triggered only by Game Characters.
People in this world could not see dropped loot, and they probably could not see these treasure chests either.
"By that logic, treasure chests might spawn elsewhere too."
He would need to pay more attention in the future.
You obtained Soul Jade ×500. You obtained Oath Shield. You obtained the skill 'Combo.'
Three notifications popped up, making Ryan's heart skip a beat.
Oath Shield Quality: Tier 1 · Excellent Effect 1: Constitution +2 Effect 2: Reduces damage taken by 10%. Equipment Requirement: Constitution 12 Description: There was never any such thing as peaceful years. It was only because someone carried the burden for you.
A Tier 1 supernatural piece of equipment. Not bad, but it was not very suitable for 'Shally.' This was clearly meant for a warrior. Jonathan would probably love it.
Combo (Passive Skill): When attacking a single target, while maintaining consecutive attacks, the damage of the next attack stacks by 10%, with no upper limit.
"Holy shit!"
Ryan could not help blurting out a curse.
The Combo skill!
A god-tier skill in the game!
Unlimited damage stacking, an essential skill for dealing massive damage.
"If I had an Overlord Body skill to go with it... my father's son would be invincible."
Still, while Combo was easy to obtain, Overlord Body was incredibly difficult. Ryan had never gotten it even before crossing over.
So who should learn it?
Used well, this skill was god-tier. Used poorly, it was garbage.
After thinking for a while, Ryan decided to leave it for now. He could learn Swiftness, but Combo was not useful to him at the moment. There was no need to rush when it came to something this valuable.
After putting everything away, 'Shally' began walking toward the other end of the passage.
The completely dark corridor revealed nothing. She took out a lantern from her inventory and slowly felt her way forward by its light.
This floor was completely different from the one above. There were no cells, only one crossroads after another.
At some intersections, she could even see skeletal remains on the ground. These people had been dead for a long time, and Ryan gradually recalled the details of this place.
Karut Maze. Like Karut's Blade, it had been created by the same person. As the name suggested, that person was named Karut.
This level had not originally existed and was not part of Casola Prison. It was only after someone named Karut had gone to great lengths to build a maze beneath Casola Prison.
And the reason he had done so was because he respected an enemy general once imprisoned here. Ryan could not understand the tangled love and hatred involved, but if he had been the leader and learned of this, he would have chopped that traitor down first.
When you set foot upon this path, you enter the netherworld.
At that moment, a stone monument appeared at the crossroads, bearing those words.
You heard the echoes of war.
Water the road behind you with blood, forge a throne from the bones of the dead.
Are you ready to accept the trial?
Before you continue