When my vision thankfully returned this time, I wasn't as surprised to wake up in the plush, round bed of this body's previous owner. What did surprise me was the fact that I was surrounded by two unfamiliar faces. The first was that of a woman slightly older than me. She wore a long black dress with a simple white skirt above it that made her look something like a maid. Beside her was an older man dressed in a navy blue kimono tied with a gold-laced sash.
I looked to my right, somewhat unsurprised to find that woman from earlier, Azurine, sitting on the couch, reading a book. That was the same place she'd been in Fang Leung's memories, I recalled. During the transmigration process.
"Hey," I started, continuing as soon as we locked eyes. "Did you have to blast me away like that? I was asking you questions."
She was no longer the stuttering mess she had been a while ago. Azurine tilted her head, her face stone-set with the unamused glare of your average DMV clerk. "You lived, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I was a fucking cripple. What if I didn't live? You got any magic that can bring me back? Again?"
"I didn't know the 'Honored Ascendant' knew words like that. This one sure is impressed." She snorted. "Hey, Claude, you sure the transmigration worked?"
I looked up at the older man, Claude. The silver-haired man gave me a once-over, furrowing his brow as his eyes narrowed. "That he uses Ascensian profanities suggests that the procedure worked. The scope may not have been as wide as she proclaimed it'd be, though."
"Yes," the black-haired woman beside him started. "He speaks like Lady Lynn after a bad game of Mahjong…"
"So you're suggesting the Soul inside Fang Leung is that of a young man from Ascensio?"
"Perhaps. Or, perhaps the procedure failed and simply altered the Young Master's state of mind? He might just be an amnesiac, but he also could've gotten his brain scrambled."
"You're telling me there's a chance Fang Leung is still in there?!" Azurine snapped.
"No," The woman reacted, reaching a cautious hand out to Azurine. "I'm just saying there's a chance that–"
"Claude, call that girl up. Let's find out right now if Fang Leung is in there. Because if it turns out he is," Aura emanated from her body as she stood from the couch. "Then I might just finish what I started."
"That won't be necessary, Azurine," Claude said. "I can call her to confirm whether–"
"You know, I have a better idea for you guys. You guys might like it, so pay attention." I sat up and shouted. "Why don't you ask the guy right in front of you who he is?! And better yet, why don't you tell him what the fuck is going on?!"
All three looked at one another like a group of idiots. I had no idea what this body's old owner was like, but before I got those answers, I needed to make sure they didn't put me under again. I took a deep breath and thought of some better words to say before my trademark temper put me in a bad position.
"Look. My name's Giovanni Kivela. I'm 19 and I was born on Earth. Chicago. Grew up in the streets, got out, then got killed by 'em. Woke up here, saw a weird green screen telling me to figure out who I was, saw her in the hallway, got force-pushed to the ground by her and knocked out, woke up in the 'Outer Plane', fought some Igrin, spoke to a guy named Justice Moon, then got sent back here to 'Milkat'. Is that good enough for you guys, or do you wanna know about my goddamn fetishes to make sure I'm not Fang Leung?!"
After a long, uncomfortable silence, Claude finally spoke. "Are you sure that everything you saw was real, Giovanni Kivela? If what you're saying is true, then it wouldn't be unreasonable to have doubts."
"I thought it was a dream at first, but that Justice guy possessed the body of one of the Igrin I killed with a fireball, then put a hook on my shoulder and told me everything I was experiencing was real and that he gave me a System because I was his star pupil." I paused, pressing my fingers into my temples as the absurdity of that all settled in. "Oh, god, this is all just a dream, isn't it?"
Thankfully, after another verbal confirmation that this all was indeed real, I finally started getting some answers. That woman next to Claude was named Dai Yuhan. She was the handmaiden of the palace who used an honest-to-god cloning ability to do work around the palace and "the village". When she'd said as much, I spoke about the abilities I'd inherited from Fang Leung and the opportunity I'd had to try out those techniques against the Igrin.
"I'll have you know, Giovanni–" Claude had been saying.
"Please, just call me Gio."
"Right. Gio. I want to confirm that you meant it when you said that the man you spoke to was named 'Justice Moon'."
The room tensed up a bit at that, and I wasn't sure what to make of it.
"That a bad thing?"
"It's just that… if what you say is true," Dai Yuhan began.
"Then that means that not only did you have a conversation with the Immortal Ruler, but that he also made you his protégé," Azurine finished, reading the confusion in my face. "You don't need me to tell you that someone called the 'Immortal Ruler' is a big deal, do you?"
"No, but that doesn't mean I know who he is."
"He's the Ruler of Milkat. Every Major and Minor Clan, continent, sect, school, and village. They all answer to him. As far as we're all concerned, he is God. And he just had a conversation with you."
I considered her words. When Justice told me he gave me the Ruler System, I'd asked him the question all three of them seemed to have plastered on their face: "Why?". He hadn't given me a clear answer aside from this world being the second chance I asked for the moment I died, and when I told them as much, they seemed to be just as confused about it all as I was.
Rather than dwell on the unknown, though, I decided to change the topic into something more "known"–namely, the topic of Fang Leung. They wanted to learn about the System, but I refused to let them continue to skirt that subject.
"Not much to know," Azurine had said. She was standing now, pacing about the room behind Claude and Dai Yuhan. "He was a kid from the Nameless Frontier–think of it like a lawless open field, that's all it is–who gained some power and made some money, swindled a little old lady out of her palace and land, and became the leader of the people who lived on that land: Azure Tide. Place came with a maid and a butler. I'm guessing you can figure out who they are. But, he also needed a wife. Nobody takes a lone Clan Head seriously. Lucky for him, the Boro Clan had a disgraced daughter perfect for the position." She turned to me, let out a weak laugh, and "bowed". "Shipped me 'cross the ocean and served me up on a silver platter. Pleasure to meet you, husband."
I considered everything Justice said. Both that Fang Leung had been terrible to her, and that Azurine intentionally sabotaged some plan of theirs just to kill him. I let her continue.
"Things went poorly. I guess he thought renting a nice palace and forming a Minor Clan suddenly made him God since it meant he was directly under the Ban Clan's umbrella, but it didn't. He couldn't feed the people, couldn't help them put money in their pockets, and he didn't even try to forge connections with neighboring Minor Clans. But he could keep them safe. Because he was strong. The 'strongest man in all of Yinchao', he'd say. The people wanted him dead, of course. Why wouldn't they? Being in the Leung Clan was almost as dangerous as being in the Nameless Frontier! But they knew better than to try and make good on that desire. Not when they'd be facing some Ascendant prodigy who regularly sparred with Ethereals. So, they turned to me. His wife. 'The Boro Princess'. It made sense they would. I'm next in line to lead a Major Clan, after all. Why wouldn't I be able to help them out? So… I tried. Oh, I tried. But those Spirits… the Spirits didn't want me to try. They wanted me to succeed. Can you believe I could've become an Ethereal that night? I could've become the Ethereal of Execution right then and there. All I had to do was kill that enculé. But I backed out and ran to Claude with my tail between my legs. Told him everything. He said he knew a guy who could handle the situation, but that I couldn't ask who they were or question why he knew them. I said 'Sure'. Talked to Dai Yuhan and the Seamstress about it. Five days later, we're transmigrating Fang Leung, and now we're here." She gave me a once-over and narrowed her eyes. "The odds of you surviving were 3.25%. Not sure how they got so low. Plus, transmigration is Forbidden Magic. I spent the last week thinking I was going to Oblitus for the rest of my life. I hope you aren't still holding it against me that I freaked out when a zombie walked through that dark hallway and started asking me what its name was."
"N-no," I answered immediately, unsure what else to say.
"That it, then? No more questions?"
"None at all…"
"Good. I'm leaving. I need a hot bath."
"I'll have one of my clones draw one exactly the way you like it," Dai Yuhan called after her.
"No need. Just… let me be alone for a while. Catch me up on that 'System' stuff later."
"Of course," Dai Yuhan said, bowing at Azurine's back until she was out of the room. When Claude did the same, I felt compelled to join them, even though it was awkward with how I was sitting on the bed.
When she closed the door behind herself, nobody spoke for a long while. The tone had darkened considerably, and I wasn't sure if there was anything I could say or do to alleviate Azurine's stress. No matter what I did, I still inhabited the body of the guy who put her through hell. Not only had he mistreated her, but he'd mistreated… well… everyone. The people he was meant to rule over, the lady he bought this place from, and presumably everyone else he likely stepped over to get here.
"What the hell did you guys drag me into…" I sighed, holding my head in my hands.
Claude shook his head and crossed his arms. "The Immortal Ruler seemed to think you were capable of fixing up this little mess of ours. Even gave you the tools to do so, did he not?"
"Yeah, you're right. Should we go through that now, or should we bring Azurine back? I don't wanna make her uncomfortable, but…"
"I'll catch her up, don't worry. Also, I'm sure she'd appreciate your concern, Gio."
"Yeah. I just feel bad. Justice said to go easy on her, but he said it so casually…" I took a deep breath. "You know, the guys who killed me only did it because I left the Family…er, the mafia. Crime group. Anyway, I only ever got out because the woman who took care of me facilitated it. They found out, killed her, then sent me the goddamn pictures. I wanted them dead. I want them dead. But she wouldn't have wanted me to go out trying to avenge her. It might not be my place to say this, but I think someone who loves Azurine didn't want her to go down the dark path she was about to go down. So they left Fang Leung to the same 'powers that be' that are gonna take care of the Family that took mine and Officer North's lives. I have a feeling the Fate they're gonna face is a lot worse than whatever Azurine or I could've done to them."
Claude nodded. "Well said, Giovanni. I couldn't have put it better myself."
+200 Charisma
"Oh, crap!"
"What?" Dai Yuhan asked.
"The System! Another pop-up! It said I gained +200 Charisma."
Dai Yuhan shared a look with Claude before turning back to face me. "Young Master, I believe we should look over your 'System' now."
I opened the System at her insistence. The first thing I saw was three boxes: Traits, Skills, and Data. In the top right was a Settings cog icon and a Notifications bell icon. We agreed to start with the leftmost box: Traits. The moment I mentally clicked it, a new screen popped up in front of me, indicating my personal statistics. I read them aloud, though I quickly regretted it.
Ruler Traits
Overall Ranking: F-
Perception: Clueless
Charisma: Creepy
Knowledge: Uninformed
Diplomacy: Tactless
Enterprise: Unambitious
Between each stat name and label was a progress bar. They were all empty, save for Charisma, which, if I was being generous, looked like it had about a speck of progress in there.
"Oh, my! How… impressive! This one anticipates the Young Master's progress…!" Dai Yuhan grinned, covering her mouth with a hand. I glared at her but didn't say anything. She looked away from me, instead choosing to focus intently on the view from the window behind her.
"Does it say anything about how you improve those metrics?" Claude asked, equally amused, though he was far better at hiding it. All he did was smile a bit wider than before.
"At least it isn't all tense in here anymore… for what it's worth."
"No clue. Considering it showed up after I said all that, maybe I need to do stuff for them to go up? Also, fuck you guys."
"I'm sure the System has some sort of notation built into it," A familiar voice called. Azurine opened the door and took her seat back on the couch where she'd been. "That's the smart thing to do, and the Immortal Ruler is smarter than any of us will ever be, so…"
"O-oh. Hey. Are you… um… oka–"
"If it's anywhere, it's probably in the Data tab. Check that one after you go through your Skills tab."
She clearly didn't want to talk about it, and I wasn't going to make her. Azurine would decide when it was time to talk about her history with Fang Leung.
"Got it. Skill tab coming right up."
Honestly, I'd expected this to be where I saw Fang Leung's techniques listed out and whatnot. And while they were there in a side menu, the prominent central tab was much, much more interesting.
Skill Shop
Current Renown: 5000
Scan (100 Renown): Allows user to receive a report of another person. Each scan costs Renown. Costs listed below:
1 Renown = Name & Rank
5 Renown = Name & Rank + Brief Description
10 Renown = Name, Rank, Description, and a Customized Breakdown.
Note: The contents of the report can be manually toggled (combat report, business history, criminal record, etc.) By default, CONTEXTUAL REPORTING is enabled, though if you need something specific, you must disable CONTEXTUAL REPORTING before scanning them.
Additional Note: All aura manipulators ranked Ethereal and above can feel when they are being scanned. As can Spirits, Demonspawn, Igrin (Regular and High), and some Ruvians. This scan can be circumvented at higher Knowledge levels.
Be advised: The feeling of being scanned to those who can sense it is said to be particularly uncomfortable. Please be cautious when using it on the listed species, regardless of knowledge level.
Return (150,000 Renown): Allows user to transport themselves and up to ten others back to an owned territory. Rate of success is dependent on Overall Ranking.
Focused Reading (250,000 Renown): Time stops while the user is reading a Data Pack. This effect lasts for the amount of time it takes to read a given Data Pack, plus thirty seconds.
"So?" Dai Yuhan asked.
"So what?"
"So, what are you going to do?"
"Buy Scan, obviously," Azurine interrupted. "Having information on every person in Milkat is the kind of thing Rulers would kill for. For 100 of that currency, too? You'd be a fool not to buy it."
Well, she was right. In fact, I'd bought it as soon before I read the description of it. When I said as much, Azurine smiled and moved to stand across from me. She put her hands behind her back and tilted her head a bit. The timing of this thought was horrific, and I cursed myself for thinking it, but… it hit me now that she was my wife. I was married. To her!
"Draw a painting, it'll last longer."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Claude gave me a look. I chose to ignore it as I spent 5 Renown on her report.
Azurine Boro, Ascendant
As the first daughter of Simon and Axelle Boro, Azurine is the current heir to the Boro Clan, the wealthiest and most technologically advanced of the five Major Clans.
She currently studies the Essence of Knowledge, meaning that her skillset is most similar to that of what you would know as a "Wizard". While most Wizards use spellbooks and staffs, though, Azurine writes her spells on her body using the ancient technique of Runecrafting. The act of scripting runes directly onto your body is considered a major taboo on Milkat due to its similarity to the long-dead form of Forbidden Magic known as Maledicto Scripturae, wherein practitioners scripted catastrophic, single-use techniques onto their bodies. While it is unknown whether she has scripted any Forbidden Spells onto her body, or whether she actually is practicing Maledicto Scripturae, Azurine has most notably utilized Runecrafting to permanently etch a host of low-cost, high-utility spells onto her body, granting her an arsenal of techniques rarely seen from Aura Manipulators below the rank of Ethereal. It is widely believed that Azurine Boro may be the strongest living Ascendant in all of Milkat.
"Strongest Asecndant…?" Azurine said, blushing. "Justice thinks really highly of me, doesn't he?"
"I'm more interested in your heritage. You're a princess?"
"I was supposed to be the heir to the Boro Clan. I mean, I still am, but I don't want the throne."
"Why not?"
"It's a shackle. At least here I get to be myself without restrictions. I love my parents and I know they love me, but sometimes it's like they don't want me to be–" She paused, looking me up and down. "W-why am I telling you all this? Forget I said anything. It's someone else's turn to be scanned, right?. Who's up? Claude? Dai Yuhan?"
"I don't mind," Claude said, "But I don't think you'll learn anything interesting."
"Likewise," Dai Yuhan agreed.
"Fine, let's eenie-meenie-meine-moe it."
"What?"
"You're it."
Dai Yuhan, Ascendant
Daughter of one of the few survivors of the Cong Clan Massacre. Found employment as a maid-of-all-work under the world-renowned seamstress Sarah-Lynn Carter in her youth. She currently follows the Essence of the Shinobi, a path normally reserved for the Gale Clan elite. During her childhood, she attempted to follow in her mother's footsteps and study the Essence of the Shinobi, but Dai Yuhan never took to it due to an auric imbalance she suffered in her youth.
Interestingly, while she never fully completed her study of the Essence of the Shinobi, she managed to unintentionally teach herself an old technique known as Malformation. This means that each clone she summons has a unique personality, which goes against the intended effect of the clones being perfect copies of the user. Rather than train to fix this quirk, she doubled down, choosing to improve her Malformation technique instead of training it out. In so doing, she not only managed to learn how to summon an infinite number of clones, but she also—again unintentionally—taught herself the Forbidden Technique known only as Paimon's Breadth, a technique most commonly used by Huskleeches and The Devastators in the Infernal Plane. While not inherently dangerous on its own, most people who study this technique end up dead, killed by their clones because of the single thing that separates this technique apart from simple Malformation—the presence of a shared hivemind. Because Paimon's Breadth is such a rare technique, she is unlikely to be persecuted for its use. Though if she were to be tried, she would certainly be sentenced to execution.
Nobody said anything for a long moment. Dai Yuhan's eyes darted between everyone in the room with a face like she had a bomb strapped to her chest. Before anyone could say anything, she dropped down to her knees and pressed her head into the floor.
"T-This one had no clue she was studying Forbidden Magic!"
"I won't tell if you don't," Azurine joked.
"If the Immortal Ruler knows and didn't come for your head, I'd say you're fine," Claude noted, but Dai Yuhan wasn't hearing it.
"T-the Ban Clan are gonna take me to Oblitus! They're gonna torture me until I break! I'm gonna go to the Infernal Plane when I die! I'm gonna burn for eternity!"
"Dude, relax! The System said nobody knows what Paimon's Breadth even is. You're fine. Nobody's gonna snitch on you."
Dai Yuhan sniffed. "Are you sure?
"Yes!" We all said in unison.
"Your mercy knows no bounds. This one is humbled by your kindness."
After she got up, I turned to focus on Claude. "Welp. Guess it's your turn. Hope you aren't hiding any secret devil magic either."
Dai Yuhan shrank.
"Do your worst."
I scanned Claude as he shifted to face me.
Claude Brant, Ascendant
There are no records of the man known as "Claude Brant".
"You see, when I was younger, I was… a hothead. People don't hire hotheads," Claude said in answer to the unasked question. "A lifetime of soul-searching and self-discovery later, and I've become the level-headed, wise butler you all know and love. Only reason I'm getting work is because I changed my name."
"You know, I knew plenty of people like that back when I was in the mafia. People who left changed their identities and became wholly new people. Is that what this is?"
Claude shrugged. "Something like that. Don't worry about me, though. It's far less interesting than you're probably thinking it is. Wild child turns into a gentle giant. Happens everywhere."
"So, who were you?" Dai Yuhan asked, visibly awed.
"This oughta be good," Azurine agreed.
"I was no one. I grew up in a Demon Tribe in the Nameless Frontier. My childhood was mundane if you cut out all the juvenile rowdiness. But my home got destroyed, and the only way a kid like me was getting work was if he could fit in with everyone else in Yinchao. Thus, Claude Brant was born."
"I'm sorry," Azurine said. "I shouldn't have–"
"Don't worry about it. You couldn't have known."
"Do you want us to call you by your old name?" I asked. Claude gave me a wide-eyed look I couldn't quite discern as I continued. "I mean, it's… you, you know? I'm sorry to make this about me, but the only thing I have of myself now is my name. My face is different, my body is different, my home is different, my life is different. The only reason I know who I am is because of my memories and my name. If you don't let us call you by your name, then… won't you… y'know… lose yourself?"
"I… would like you all to call me by my name someday, but not today. I still haven't earned the right to reclaim it." He paused, clapping his hands together. "But enough about that. You still have one final tab to go through, don't you? Let's see it."
"Alright, but… think about it. It isn't fair for you all to call me Gio, and we don't call you by your name."
"I agree," Dai Yuhan bowed.
Azurine nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Looking forward to the day you tell us your name, Claude."
Claude gave us a warm smile. "So am I. Believe me."
With that, I moved on to the Data tab. Inside was a whole host of menus and submenus for me to choose from. The one I focused on first, however, was the "Essential" tab. There were only two entries in there, one on my Ruler Traits and another on Achievements. I purchased them both, since they were only 1 Renown each. Following the sale, they appeared in the "Owned Data Packs" menu to my left. I decided to start with the Ruler Trait Data Pack first.
Regarding Ruler Traits and Overall Ranking
Unlike similar Systems in the wider universe, Traits within the Ruler System are raised by action. The traits they measure – Perception, Charisma, Knowledge, Diplomacy, and Enterprise – are based on the very traits that the Boro Clan look for in their soldiers and Rulers. Each Trait has six ranks. Below are the actions one must take to improve each individual Trait.
Perception: Complete Quests
Charisma: Sway people. Charm them into liking you. Convince your citizens that you are the one to lead them to prosperity.
Knowledge: Read Books and/or Data Banks. Learn about the world around you.
Diplomacy: Make wise decisions on behalf of your people.
Enterprise: Make wise decisions regarding your Clan's finances.
As you improve your individual Traits, your Overall Ranking will increase. There are 18 total rankings, starting at F- and ending at SSS. With each letter improvement, new Data Packs will be unlocked, and more Skills may present themselves.
That explained why it went up after I spoke with Claude. That also explained why each of these stats was so low. I moved on to the next Data Pack.
Regarding Achievements
Achievements are rewards given for significant individual accomplishments across Milkat. They will always contain Renown, though they may sometimes contain a rare, unlisted Data Pack.
That one was pretty brief. Once I finished reading it out loud, Azurine spoke up, asking me why I didn't just buy every Data Pack I could afford to raise my Knowledge. It was a fair point, but I only had a little under 5000 Renown. Some of them, like the Cong Clan Massacre Data Pack and the Boro Clan Data Pack, cost over a million! I probably could – and would have to – buy a bunch of useless, unimportant data just to get my Knowledge up, though. Azurine snapped that there was no such thing as "useless data", but when I told her just how many Data Packs there were – including some on cooking snails, and a pack "Regarding the Mating Habits of Igrin and High Igrin" – she'd stopped arguing. But that didn't mean she was any less interested in making me buy Data Packs.
"I'm jealous," Azurine admitted. "If I had that Ruler System, I'd be buying up everything in the Data Shop."
"I'm more interested in the Skills," Claude noted. "What techniques are yet to unlock, I wonder?"
"I think having a visual chart displaying how far I have to grow as a person is quite useful," Dai Yuhan remarked. "Or maddening. I suppose it depends on who you ask."
"I'll get used to it," I mused, causing all three of them to look at me with a mix of envy and a hint of bitterness. I tried not to laugh. "Well, how about this? I'll buy a Data Pack for each of you. Let's keep it cheap, though."
"I'd like to hear of any culinary Data Packs in there," Dai Yuhan said.
I dug around and found one for 200 Renown about spice combinations used in the continent "Muitos Olhos". She accepted it. As for Azurine, she asked for a Data Pack on the Boro Clan. It was only then that I realized why the Boro Clan entry had been so expensive: it bundled every small Data Pack regarding them into one big one! They, like every other Major Clan, had their own tab in the menu. After opening the drop-down, a ton of smaller Data Packs were available. They were still pretty expensive, but they were within range. In the end, she decided on a Data Pack regarding their "Christmas Markets".
"What about you, Claude? Anything you wanna know?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Come on, anything at all you're curious about?" Azurine asked.
Claude rested his chin between his thumb and forefinger. After a moment of consideration, he answered. "The Nameless Frontier. It's so vast. I'm sure there're a few secrets hiding there."
With that, I paid for the… thousand Renown Data Pack?! I sighed. I'd already bought them for Dai Yuhan and Azurine. Justice needed to send me some Quests soon if I was going to get my Renown up.
Regarding the Nameless Frontier
It is the name of lawless, unclaimed territory that exists within Yinchao. As the newest of the five Continents, it has yet to be fully claimed by the Continent's Major Clan, the Ban Clan. It is home to the majority of Yinchao's population, who are known only as "Nameless". The Demon Territory also resides within the Nameless Frontier— and while its exact location isn't listed on any map, it is said to be somewhere on the southeastern edge of Yinchao, closest to Azure Tide.
It should be noted that while every continent has rural space, the Ban Clan is unique in how they use theirs. Below are the known uses of rural space adopted by each of the Major Clans:
Moon Clan: Entertainment
Boro Clan: Factory/Industry
Silva Clan: Vacation
Gale Clan: Education
Ban Clan: [LOCKED]
I paused at that. Locked? That was the first time I'd seen that before. I tapped on the Data Pack.
The content of this Data Pack is LOCKED.
Unlock Requirements: Obtain 120,000,000 Renown.
This Data Pack may also unlock should you learn of its contents on your journey.
When I shared this with everyone in the room, they each darkened visibly – Claude most of all. There was something there, I realized. He knew I was going to find that—rather, he must've known that the Data Pack was going to say something about the Ban Clan.
"What does that even mean?" I asked no one in particular.
"It means the Ban Clan has secrets," Claude said. "Big secrets."
"I wonder if the System is making it difficult on purpose," Azurine noted. "The Spirit of Knowledge has a book called 'Pure Aura Manipulation' where he simply provides theories regarding the nature of Aura Manipulation and its origins in the universe. Considering he became a Spirit upon death, he clearly had answers to many of the listed theories, but he didn't provide any, likely to encourage conversation and debate among his students. Perhaps in making this Data Pack prohibitively expensive, the Immortal Ruler is telling you that you need to learn of the Ban Clan's exploits on your own rather than wait until you have that absurd amount of Renown to buy it?"
"That's what it seems like," I allowed. "I guess I'll keep an eye out for… Ban Clan… stuff…? There's still a lot I need to learn."
"Is there?" Claude asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, do you need to learn any of this? Is this, any of this, in your interest? Taking Fang Leung's place as leader of the Leung Clan. Growing Azure Tide. Taking care of her people. You've yet to explicitly state that you would do that."
Dai Yuhan and Azurine both focused their gazes on me. They'd clearly been thinking this, though neither of them had said it. It was a valid concern, too. Just because you replaced the soul of the last tyrant doesn't mean the guy who took his place was suddenly going to turn into the guy who'd lead everyone to the promised land. Hell, you couldn't even guarantee the guy would want to in the first place! But Justice picked me for a reason. Likely because he knew the words that were about to come out of my mouth.
"When I was bleeding out, I said to the sky that I would be anything if it meant I could have a second chance to make Officer North proud. I'm here now, and the sky literally answered my prayers and gave me this role as my second chance." I finally stood from the bed, facing the three opposite me. I bowed, taking a page out of Dai Yuhan and Claude's book. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but it felt right. "I'll be the leader of Azure Tide, and I'll do everything to ensure the people are taken care of. You have my word."
The longer I stayed bowed, the more awkward it got, but thankfully, I didn't have to stay there too long.
"Low bar to clear," Azurine snorted. "Don't trip over it."
With that, she left the room. Dai Yuhan spoke next. "This one is honored to serve you, Young Master."
"You know, you don't have to call me that, Dai Yuhan."
"U-understood. Giovanni. Take care."
When she left, it was just Claude and me. He put a hand on my shoulder and nodded. "I think you're a good kid, Gio. At the very least, you have me in your corner. Getting the townspeople to like you, though?" He let out a weak laugh. "Getting them to smile at you might just take a full bar of Charisma. Good luck, kid."
"I'll do my best," I answered. I yawned, surprised by how tired I suddenly was.
"Get some rest, Giovanni. We can think up a way to introduce you to them in the morning."