Chapter 274: Direct Your Concerns Towards the Substitute

Chapter 274: Direct Your Concerns Towards the Substitute

May 10th, in the Gospel Kingdom, at the bathhouse of the Funeral Firm.

It was 7 AM, and dawn had already broken. Ashe arrived in his swim trunks, hearing voices from the bathhouse. Upon entering, he found that someone was already occupying the place.

Splash!

Ashe jumped in, creating a splash of water. Igor, with a look of disdain, used his spirit to blow the droplets back, “(* ̄〈 ̄) Ashe, how old are you this year? Did you graduate from the senior class of the Nursery?”

On the other side, Harvey was lying on a massage lounger in the bath, smoking a Catnip Cigarette, with the water bubbling beneath him. The Necromancer had turned on the ceiling’s sun lamps; warm, intense light bathed him, epitomizing the ultimate in comfort, as if to say, ‘any place can be a seaside retreat if you desire it.’

In comparison to Ashe and Igor, Harvey seemed quite normal. His skin was dark, making him look like a laborer, and his speech was straightforward. Though morally flexible, his desires were not high, fitting the type who goes with the flow.

If Harvey had come to the Gospel Kingdom alone, he might have been picked up by some wealthy woman, doing housework by day and tomb raiding by night, leading a flavorful life.

Even considering his necrophilia and Sugar Addiction, neither harmed others, only affecting Corpses and himself, which upon reflection, might not be unacceptable...

Ashe abruptly splashed water on his face and sank deeper into the bath.

This is bad, Ashe thought.

Having been around this group for too long, even Harvey, who seemed less offensive compared to Igor and Annan, started to appear decent.

“What were you guys talking about just now?” Ashe relaxed in the bath, his stiff muscles aching in response to his attempts at appeasement. “Igor, were you recommending another Shadow Drama?”

“I did, but you guys don’t watch them anyway. Why should I bother?” Igor replied coldly. “The last one I recommended, ‘The Redemption of the Wife,’ is a classic from the Gospel Kingdom not to be missed in these past Ten Years.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to watch, but when do I have the time—”

“Why don’t you just watch it at 32x speed?”

“If I had a gun in my hand right now, I’d shoot you dead and then ask why you didn’t dodge.”

“We were just discussing artistic creation,” Harvey said, exhaling a wisp of pale green Catnip Smoke. “How to properly sculpt a character.”

Although Ashe found their topic a bit odd, he didn’t think too much about it and casually said, “Then you’ve come to the right person. Crafting characters is my forte. Listen carefully, for every word I say is a gem.”

“Oh? Were you a novelist before? Written any masterpieces? I read in my spare time, I might have come across your work,” Igor sneered.

“I’m not a writer, but my occupation requires even more character crafting than writing does,” Ashe spoke confidently. “Our business is all about creating characters to trick money out of kids.”

Igor instinctively wanted to retort, but after a moment of thought, he nodded thoughtfully, “Right, you were a Cult Leader before; you really are a professional.”

Ashe thought Igor surely misunderstood the scope of a Cult Leader’s work, but he was too lazy to explain and continued, “Creating a compelling character involves many dimensions: appearance, personality, abilities, background, and aspirations... But it all boils down to two things: Sexual Function and Functionality.”

Igor and Harvey blinked, evidently shocked by Ashe’s blunt truth.

“Strong beauties, mad beauties, haughty coldness, wealthy beauties... These character images are deeply popular and resonate so well because they fulfill the two major needs of Sexual Function and Functionality. When you sculpt a character, you need to consider, does this character arouse your desires? Can this character alleviate your suffering? If the answer to both is yes, then you have a successful character.”

“Whether this character becomes a timeless classic depends on a spark of inspiration and the course of history. You can’t force it.”

As an operations planner for a mobile gaming company, Ashe had not directly engaged in character creation but had attended internal training sessions and was well-versed in how character planning systematically extracted money from middle and high school students. While individual creation might occasionally strike gold with a brilliant piece, the creation process at a mobile gaming company resembled an industrial assembly line. It involved arranging and combining popular elements to cater to ‘Sexual Function’ and ‘Functionality’, thereby compelling people to impulsively reach for their wallets.

Harvey seemed greatly inspired by the conversation. He pinched off his Catnip Cigarette and climbed out of the bath, casually grabbing a towel from the side to wrap around himself: “As expected from a former Cult Leader, you’re indeed the right person for this kind of job. I can’t contain my inspiration anymore; I’m heading back to my room to create.”

Watching Harvey rush off, Ashe scratched his head: “Strange, Harvey doesn’t seem like the type who enjoys writing novels...”

Igor also exited the bath, shaking his long hair dripping with water, and casually draped a towel around himself. He slicked back his wet bangs with his hand and glanced at Ashe.

“Who told you he writes novels?”

Ashe stiffened, suddenly realizing a possibility. He stared intently at Igor: “He’s asking about character crafting techniques to use them on virtual characters, isn’t he?”

Igor remained silent, looking at him briefly before walking out of the bathhouse.

Ashe grew anxious: “It’s for virtual characters, right!?”

Now alone in the bathhouse, the sun slowly rose, ushering in a new day in Azura, with its warm rays reflecting into the water.

Ashe even imagined an introduction: “Standing before you is the Storm’s Frenzy Dancer, the White Flame atop the grave, the lord of swords wielding the scepter of death, the Slaying Fish-Dragon Genocide... the Death Maniac Swordswoman with twenty-three occupations!”

While there were no surprises, the Swordswoman’s growth didn’t disappoint Ashe. However, when Ashe opened the Black-and-White Witch’s Growth Report, his good mood for the day ended.

“Growth Report for the Black-and-White Witch from May 3rd to May 9th”

“Mind Faction: Silver → Silver”

“Fist and Claw Faction: Gold → Gold”

“Time Faction: Silver → Silver”

“Water Faction: Silver → Silver”

“Arcane Energy: Gold One Feather → Gold Two Feathers”

“Cultivation Evaluation: Grade B!”

“Due to receiving a Grade B evaluation, the Black-and-White Witch has received an Occupational Enhancement from the Sorcerer Handbook: Genocide Follower!”

“Genocide Follower: Increases damage to group Knowledge Creatures by 5%.”

A Grade B evaluation?

This was the first time Ashe had received such an evaluation—it felt like a slap in his face, not just the Black-and-White Witch’s!

However, Ashe quickly cooled down, immersed in water. Previously, the Swordswoman had started from scratch, a blank slate, so her rapid advancement naturally led to higher evaluations. But the Witch had started with Two Wings, her main faction already at Gold Tier, and several sub-factions established. It was impossible to expect significant short-term advancements, not to mention she was under the “Curse of the Bronze Dragon,” unable to undergo regular training, limited only to entertainment each day.

If the Swordswoman hadn’t advanced her Swordsmanship faction to Gold Tier this week, she likely would have also received a Grade B.

This meant that starting next week, if the Operators didn’t achieve significant ‘arcane energy promotion’ or ‘faction advancement to Gold Tier,’ they would probably only receive a Grade B or even C evaluation.

Should I do a card draw? Ashe sighed as he looked over his savings.

These days, the income from spirits for Ashe and his team wasn’t much. They mostly gathered materials to feed the spirits. Additionally, after Ashe’s promotion to Two Wings, the recycling price for a One Wing spirit became 5 points, and for a Two Wing spirit, it was 10 points. After a week of accumulation, he had only 211 points, still a distance from the next first-time double bonus of 328.

As for this week’s cultivation strategy, it was business as usual: the Witch would continue with her entertainment, and the Swordswoman would continue with training... Ashe paused, remembering he had promised the Swordswoman some entertainment activities.

The Swordswoman had three Action Points, with two points required for each entertainment session. And since she had already played, Ashe wouldn’t be so heartless as to push her back into training.

Mainly because the effectiveness of training after entertainment wouldn’t be great, similar to playing games on your phone while in the restroom and then going back to work, your mind still lingering on how you could have played better.

So, it would be entertainment plus rest, letting the Swordswoman enjoy a bit of the rose-colored campus life.

So, which day should the Swordswoman take off?

Ashe thought about it and decided to schedule Rose Day for tomorrow, the 11th.

He initially wanted to set it for today, but today was a bit special. To avoid any accidents, it was better to let the Swordswoman continue her regular school and training schedule.

After setting the cultivation strategy, Ashe went back to his room to change clothes. When he came out, he found everyone gathered in the living room, and it didn’t look like they were just having breakfast.

“Ashe, you’re just in time,” Igor said, “Here’s a Single Choice Question for you.”

“Do you prefer this?” Igor handed over a potion bottle filled with a dreamlike pink liquid.

“Or do you prefer this?” Lise held up a blood-stained mace.

“Or maybe this?” Annan twirled a pair of silver handcuffs.

Handcuffs + mace + potion = ?

Ashe’s mind raced, quickly activating his spirit to summon a Substitute. The Substitute took a battle stance, ready to face any danger for Ashe—

“Direct any grievances at the Substitute, not me!”

Substitute: ...