Cipher took a deep breath, calming her nerves before wiping herself down. After getting dressed, she waited outside the massage parlor for nearly half an hour before Aria finally emerged, her cheeks flushed crimson and her legs trembling slightly.
Tears welled in Aria's eyes as she lamented, "This is too... too embarrassing! I'm never coming to a place like this again!"
The next day, Cipher and Feidric were once again the first to rise and head to the market to resupply. There, Cipher spotted the same "orange juice" vendor she had encountered in Cloudsea City and naturally bought another cup, happily sipping it as they continued their shopping.
"You really love that stuff, don't you?" Feidric remarked, shaking his head in amusement.
"Of course!" Cipher replied without hesitation. "If I could, I'd drink a cup every day!"
It's worth noting that despite Cipher's seemingly lavish spending, the money she had stolen from Viscount Braun's household—even after distributing a large portion to the commoners—would easily last her quite some time at her current rate of expenditure. She'd barely made a dent in it.
This starkly illustrated the immense wealth possessed by the nobility of this world.
After purchasing a civilian map of the Alliance and restocking their dry rations, the pair returned to the Adventurer's Guild. Following breakfast, the group prepared to resume their journey.
However, Cipher's gaze swept over Aria, Feidric, and Douglas, but Dio was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Dio?" she asked.
"He stayed at the Harpers' Guild last night," Feidric said. "He mentioned meeting us at the town exit this morning, so he's probably already waiting. Let's just head straight there."
"Harpers' Guild?" Cipher asked, puzzled. "What's that?"
Feidric gave her an "I expected as much" look. "The Harpers' Guild is an organization formed by Bards who stick together," he explained. "Think of it as a mini version of the Adventurer's Guild."
The key difference, he continued, was that the Adventurer's Guild included Class Holders of all types and handled the posting and acceptance of quests, while the Harpers' Guild was strictly for Bards and didn't issue quests. Its primary purpose was to help new Bards find mentors within the organization to teach them their craft.
If a Bard ran into trouble, they could also seek assistance from fellow members.
And lastly, though it might not strictly be a defining characteristic, Bards tend to wander widely, accumulating vast stores of knowledge. This made the Harpers' Guild a treasure trove of information. If you needed intel, asking around there might yield unexpected insights.
As they walked and talked, Cipher spotted Dio waiting at the town's exit. He waved to the group and immediately announced, "I've gathered quite a bit of information about Chaos City that might be useful."
As a lawless territory within the Alliance, Chaos City was a melting pot of diverse elements, naturally fostering the rise of local power brokers. Among the most notorious were Nathaniel, the Northern Barbarian; Black Hand Jeff; and Carly Van Buren, the Archbishop of the Death Church.
"Pfft—"
Dio was in the middle of his explanation when Cipher suddenly burst out laughing. Noticing everyone's puzzled stares, she quickly waved her hand. "I'm fine, please continue."
Though curious about what had amused Cipher, Dio resumed his briefing:
"The Alliance, one of the Four Great Nations, shares a long border with the Far North, one of the three major powers in the region. As his nickname suggests, Nathaniel, the Northern Barbarian, is a Barbarian who fled from the Far North."
Perhaps the harsh northern climate drove him south, or perhaps he was exiled for some transgression—Dio couldn't say for sure. Whatever the reason, this individual ended up in Chaos City and, leveraging his formidable strength, swiftly rose to a position of great power.
Black Hand Jeff, on the other hand, was a notorious criminal banished to Chaos City by the Alliance. A Rogue-class Class Holder of unknown subclass, he had once attempted to assassinate a high-ranking Alliance councilor. Though the assassination failed, the councilor was left permanently crippled. Why Jeff hadn't been sentenced to death remained a mystery to Dio. Regardless, the man thrived in Chaos City, enjoying considerable influence.
As for the Death Church, they had migrated to Chaos City of their own accord. This highlights a fundamental difference between Death Church priests and those of other faiths.
For instance, if someone sought healing from a priestess of the Goddess of Life, she would eagerly tend to their wounds while offering soothing words of comfort. But if the same person approached a priest of the Death Church, they would react with unsettling enthusiasm, asking: "How severe are your injuries? When do you expect to die? What kind of funeral do you desire?"
Douglas, the priest who least resembled a typical cleric, possessed very few divine spells. Yet even he knew [ Cure Wounds ], a spell completely absent from the repertoire of Death Church priests. Instead, they wielded [ Wounding Art ].
A mere touch could tear flesh, rupture muscles, and inflict grievous wounds. While most divine magic drew upon pure Positive Energy, [ Wounding Art ] was its antithesis—a spell powered by Negative Energy.
As for why the Death Church had established a presence in Chaos City, consider this: priests of the God of War grew stronger through combat, those of the Goddess of Life through healing, and those of the Death Church through conducting funeral rites.
Chaos City, as its name implied, saw countless deaths daily. The Death Church priests would scour the streets for corpses, cart them away, and bury them—a practice that earned them an unsettling resemblance to dung beetles.
Dio remarked, "The Northern Barbarians, the Black Hand, and the Death Church's Archbishop are all top-tier Gold-Rank Adventurers. As long as you avoid direct confrontation, you should be able to roam Chaos City freely."
In reality, the Imperial Commander, the White-Bearded Old Mage, and Dio were all at a similar level of power. Cipher turned to Dio and asked, "So, with your strength, you could basically become a local tyrant in Chaos City if you wanted?"
Dio scratched his head. "Probably? But I'm the Alliance's Diplomatic Ambassador. Why would I bother going there out of boredom?"
He hadn't had many opportunities to use them in previous battles, but Dio actually knew Fifth-Level and Sixth-Level Magic. For example, the Fifth-Level spell Dominate Human went far beyond the mere charm of Charm Human, allowing him to completely seize control of a target's body. However, its range was extremely limited, only twenty meters; beyond that, it would fail.
Then there was the Sixth-Level spell Mind Shatter, one of the few potent offensive spells available to Bards of the Enchantment School. It could shatter a target's will, reducing them to a living vegetable. But its range was equally short, only fifty meters.
It's worth noting that neither of these spells would work on Aria. Dominate Human likely wouldn't hold her for even half a second, and even Mind Shatter, given her absurd willpower, would only leave her dazed for a moment. Despite Aria's Silver-tier status, Paladins are a hard counter to Bards, making her fully capable of soloing Dio.
While discussing intelligence about Chaos City, the group slowly continued their journey. Time flew by, and another week passed. Today, Cipher's Fame on the Cipher System had finally broken the 60,000 mark, meaning she could draw another prize!
"So fast!" Cipher exclaimed, stunned. When she had left Cloudsea City, her Fame had barely exceeded 18,000, increasing by roughly 1,000 each day. After 23 days, it should have theoretically reached around 40,000.
And indeed, that had been the case. Yesterday, her Fame on the System Page had still hovered at 40,000. But this morning, it had skyrocketed by 20,000!
Cipher speculated that the White-Bearded Old Mage might have reported Mydei's intelligence to the Arcane Federation, or perhaps the remnants of the Empire's forces had relayed the news back to their homeland.
None of that mattered now. The important thing was that she could finally draw another card! Cipher dressed quickly, left her tent, and ventured far from the camp in the pre-dawn twilight. Finding a secluded spot, she rubbed her small hands together and gazed at the System Page:
[Current Fame: 61,100/50,000]
[Fame requirement met. Initiate draw?]
[Yes/No]
"Of course, I choose 'Yes'!" Cipher declared. "My turn to draw!"
Unlike last time, when Mydei had materialized instantly upon her decision, this time several seconds passed with no response.
"Huh? What's going on? Is it stuck?"
Despite her confusion, Cipher could only wait patiently. Bored, she glanced around until her gaze fell upon a small stream. Since I'm here anyway, she thought, should I try catching a few fish for breakfast?
Just then, with a crisp ding, the System finally unfroze:
[Ding~ Identity extraction complete. 'Castorice' unlocked.]
Cipher checked the System Page again:
[The Flame-Chaser Identity System is now at your service.]
[Current Unlocked Identities: Cipher (Cifera), Mydei (Mydeimos), Castorice]
[Next Identity Draw: Requires 100,000 Fame. Current Fame: 1,100/100,000]
Cipher observed the increasing difficulty of each Identity draw. Starting with 10,000 Fame, then 50,000, and now 100,000, she wondered if the next one would require a staggering 200,000. How long would that take to accumulate?
She quickly shifted her focus to the results of this draw. Upon seeing the name Castorice, her first thoughts were: Stelle, I'm so sorry! Your wife is mine!
Well, strictly speaking, this Castorice wasn't "her wife" yet, but rather "herself."
Wait a minute... why can't I just make myself my own wife?
With a thought, Cipher summoned a young girl with long, light purple hair before her. Without a doubt, it was Castorice. But then... splash!
Distracted by the Flame-Chaser Identity System, Cipher had forgotten she was standing by the stream. Castorice materialized and promptly tumbled into the shallow water. Fortunately, the icy-cool water only reached her calves.
Thanks to the lie she'd told Aria earlier, Cipher now found it effortless to multitask, controlling multiple bodies with a single soul. The moment Castorice appeared, Cipher's perspective split in two.
Castorice instinctively lowered her head and raised her hands. However, her gaze wasn't drawn to her hands, but to her chest, which was wrapped in white "bandages" and adorned with several colorful flowers.
As for size, Castorice casually cupped her breasts with her newly raised hands, giving them a quick squeeze. In short, they were "soft, squishy, and utterly delightful to touch."
Ahem, no, the proper summary should be: "Slightly smaller than Cipher's, but still large enough to rest a drink on."
Only then did Castorice notice her small hands. Both were covered in deep purple silk gloves. White bandages were wrapped around the middle finger of her left hand and the index and pinky fingers of her right, resembling rings.
The glove on her left hand extended past her elbow to her shoulder, completely encasing her entire arm.
In contrast, the glove on her right hand was just a glove, but with several bandages wrapped around her forearm and a stunning purple butterfly ornament. As she gently moved her arm, the butterfly's wings seemed to flutter slowly.
A classic asymmetrical design.
As Castorice gazed at herself, Cipher naturally observed this new version of herself from a different perspective. From Cipher's point of view, Castorice possessed charming eyes like purple gemstones, framed by pointed elven ears adorned with butterfly-shaped earrings dangling from their lobes. Her pale purple hair cascaded down to her calves—an impossibly long length that Cipher could already imagine would be a nightmare to maintain.
If Cipher might be mistaken for a Catfolk in this world, Castorice would undoubtedly be mistaken for an elf or half-elf.
Beneath the intricately decorated white-and-purple dress lay a pair of alluring white stockings. Standing in the stream, the lower half of the stockings had become completely soaked, their transparency dramatically increased, faintly revealing the skin of her calves beneath.
To top it off, Castorice was now massaging her breasts with both hands. Both Cipher and Castorice blushed simultaneously, exclaiming in unison, "S-so... so lewd!"