Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 119: The Very Brave Manga Artist

Libra didn't know what Li Li was thinking and raised a hand, inviting her to sit.

"You killed Qu Ting in public, which puts me in a difficult position," They said.

The long-standing hierarchy, now suppressed by a higher authority, would lead Floating City's SS-ranks to question their deals and harbor resentment.

"Since the gift has already been given, how I unwrap it is my business." But Li Li didn't feel that Libra was truly dissatisfied with her actions.

Petals slid off the stone bench, making room for her to sit.

Libra lifted the teapot from the stone table and poured a steaming cup of milk tea for Li Li.

Li Li took the milk tea Libra handed her, her fingers lightly tapping the cup's surface, turning it.

Libra was quite good at catering to her preferences, and she even sensed a chilling sense of indulgence from it.

It made deals with SS-rank ability users, forbidding them from killing each other, yet granted her special privileges.

It was as if it would comply with her wishes, support her decisions, and firmly stand by her side.

Li Li hadn't probed Libra's bottom line.

A faint floral fragrance lingered in the air.

Libra set down the tea set, its long white hair slipping off its shoulder.

Those pale pink eyes shimmered like rippling water, devoid of any impurity.

"Is my appearance satisfactory to you?" it asked.

From beginning to end, it spoke to Li Li with honorifics, despite being the supreme deity of this world.

Such indulgence and flattery could truly inflate someone, making them feel omnipotent.

Li Li took a sip of the milk tea and said lightly, "Too sweet."

She still thought Mother Hen's brew was better.

But it never consulted her on major matters—this was false respect.

"Next time, I'll use less sugar," Libra responded calmly.

Since she was here, Li Li casually brought up something she cared about.

"How can I advance to SSS-rank?" Li Li asked.

To some extent, the system knew her inside and out, so she didn't bother beating around the bush.

"The gap between SS-rank and SSS-rank is vast, as I'm sure you've noticed. SS-rank merely touches 'rules,' while SSS-rank ability users must manipulate 'rules,'" Libra said, using several SS-rank ability users Li Li had encountered as examples. "As for these 'rules,' they are like Lin Ran's 'All Things in Sight,' Qu Ting's 'Counter-damage,' Jue Hui Shen's 'Devouring,' and Yu Xiao's 'Rule Compliance.'"

The examples it gave were absolute principles that must be followed.

For instance, with Lin Ran, everything inevitably entered her sight.

With Qu Ting, any attack would inevitably trigger counter-damage.

Jue Hui Shen could devour everything, and Yu Xiao's game rules were binding even to himself.

"Yu Xiao's ability is the most likely to advance to SSS-rank because it is inherently tied to rules. But the one closest to SSS-rank is Lin Ran, as she has formed her own set of 'rules' in her heart," Libra said, then added with regret, "But unfortunately, her comprehension is lacking, and after being injured by Lin Ruye, she has no hope of reaching SSS-rank."

"So you approached me because I come from another world, and the rules I believe in differ from yours?" Li Li mused.

After advancing to SS-rank, she had indeed felt her ability was different.

Her ability, [Illusory Reality], could swap the false and the real, and that was initially all.

But after becoming an SS-rank ability user, she sensed an intermediate state.

The progress bar she saw at S-rank, that state between zero and one hundred, a chaotic state.

To the left was false, to the right was true, and in the middle was an uncertain state where both were possible.

But thinking of Libra's example of Lin Ran, she wondered if these rules were something like her supporting socialism while Lin Ran and the others upheld imperialism or something.

But Libra said, "That is not the 'rule.'"

This left Li Li, for once, somewhat confused, feeling as if she were facing a formula where she recognized every letter and symbol, but together they suddenly made no sense.

"Then what are your rules?" Unable to figure it out, Li Li asked for the ready answer.

"Exchange," Libra said.

It said no more, only looking at Li Li with a trusting gaze. "Our abilities are not the same. I cannot serve as your reference."

Li Li felt like she was in a higher math class, or perhaps a philosophy class.

Or maybe a literature class, where the teacher opened the workbook and asked: What emotion does this sentence express?

Li Li: I don’t know, I only know this sentence sounds nice.

Libra said, "No need to worry. You have plenty of time to think now."

"I’ve given you the highest status in the Empire, standing at the pinnacle of the world, to slowly comprehend these rules," it said in a kind tone, as if considering Li Li’s best interests. "You can also spar with those four SS-rank ability users to find your own 'rule.' That’s how you’ve come this far, isn’t it?"

Its meaning was clear: Li Li’s status in the Empire surpassed the nobility, and whatever she did was permissible.

Those SS-rank ability users were her nourishment, meant to fuel her growth.

"What about the Imperial Family?" Li Li suddenly thought of Princess Wuyu.

"If you don’t like them, they can be replaced," Libra said, its tone unchanged.

It didn’t care about the Imperial Family it had propped up.

Princess Wuyu’s efforts and persistence were worthless in its eyes.

And the potential upheaval from recklessly reshuffling the Imperial Family wasn’t even a consideration for it.

"Is this also your equivalent exchange with them?" Li Li asked.

"Of course," Libra said. "Their value is far below yours."

Li Li felt even more uneasy.

Equivalent exchange wasn’t fair exchange, nor was it voluntary exchange.

When Libra emphasized it, it only stressed 'equivalent,' but who decided the value?

To gain something, you must pay something.

Libra’s attitude didn’t make Li Li feel elated; it only made her feel like she was slowly falling into a bottomless black hole.

She still didn’t trust it.

Just then, Libra suddenly tapped the table.

"Perfect timing, time’s up," it said, sitting upright in front of Li Li, in its humanoid form, with those pale pink eyes looking at her.

Then it nodded slightly, saying in a friendly tone, "Welcome back to reality."

This was a voice completely different from the cold, mechanical system of the past.

In an instant, the drifting petals and the small bridge over flowing water vanished before my eyes, replaced by the desk lamp in front of me and the pitch-black bedroom.

I had returned to reality.

...

Late at midnight, the manga updated.

This time, the manga’s content left readers wailing in anguish, stabbed by the emotional weight.

Both the comments and the forums were a sea of blood from the pain.

I hadn’t checked my popularity points in a long time, but shortly after this update, my popularity points shot up like a rocket.

I skimmed through the plot I already knew, then paused at the parts I didn’t.

After Yu Xiao’s death, the manga artist inserted a flashback.

A plot so bold it made me think the manga artist was incredibly brave.

The scene was in black and white, the boy’s hair color unclear.

His face was very different from Yu Xiao’s, and his aura was distinct.

In the frame, he faced sideways, his eyes looking beyond the panel.

He didn’t resemble Yu Xiao or Shuang Buyan, but I was certain he was that person.

“How’s my proposal coming along?” someone outside the panel said. “Want to become a noble?”

The boy in the panel said, “What if I refuse?”

“You’d better not refuse.”

“Why?”

“I know the reason you want to refuse.”

The frame shifted to the right, toward the person outside the panel.

A strand of white hair appeared in the frame.

“You think the Floating City traps you, but even if you leave the Floating City, you cannot escape this world.”

It was Libra.

The manga artist had drawn Libra into the manga.

That’s why I thought the manga artist was truly bold.

I had wondered if the manga artist might want to hide Libra’s existence, especially since they might be under the system’s surveillance, just like me.

But that wasn’t the case.

The manga artist intended to pull Libra, the only SSS-rank in this manga world, the god behind the curtain, onto the stage.

I suddenly really wanted to meet the manga artist. Desperately.

The manga’s plot continued.

Hearing Libra’s words, the boy’s expression faded, turning cold.

“So?” he asked.

The frame zoomed in slightly, revealing a white sleeve and, beneath it, a hand as pale and transparent as the white hair.

A hand holding a teacup.

“Make a deal with me. You only need to wait ten years, and you can break through this cage,” Libra said.

“I’ll give you a prophecy,” it said. “Ten years from now, your adopted son will change the current situation and can also”

“grant you the sight you most want to see.”

In the frame, the boy’s face was expressionless, the shadow of his bangs covering half his eye, while the other eye held no light.

Then the frame was faintly shrouded in black.

Several bubbles seemed to rise, some small, some large, floating around the edges of the panel.

It felt like looking up from the deep sea, an almost suffocating sense of drowning.

Then it turned completely black.

...

After that, the manga connected to me closing my eyes, thinking of sleeping in the deep sea.

I flipped back a bit, and after my part, it was Yiming and the others’ follow-up.

I finally understood why Yu Xiao was so convinced of my ‘son’ identity.

Ten years ago, Libra had deceived him.

“Did Yu Xiao end up agreeing with you?” I asked aloud in the quiet room.

[He agreed,] the system’s voice sounded, still that mechanical tone. [But before the deal was finalized, he used his ability to switch to a new body and left the Floating City.]

“What’s with your prophecy?” I asked again.

[After reaching SSS-rank, one gains a ‘premonition’ of future events. I told him the ‘premonition’ I sensed from him,] the system replied. [As for the final sight, perhaps he just wanted to sleep peacefully.]

“Is that so,” I said indifferently.

The person who treated others’ lives as a game only sought a peaceful death in the end?

But now Yu Xiao was dead, unable to come back and tell me what his true wish was.

That afternoon, though, I had heard him say something.

A truly pessimistic person is already thinking about what to do after death, but he didn’t want to die yet.

That’s what Yu Xiao had said.

Either he hadn’t told me the truth back then, still acting, or Libra had lied to him, and he would never see what he most wanted.

That made sense, I thought.

The whole ‘adopted son’ thing had been a lie from the start.

Libra could lie, and it sounded so convincing.