Chapter 103: Drawing the "Chart-Topping Queen"

Once the "main storyline" officially began, it was as if the gears of fate had started turning—a series of major events followed in rapid succession.

Solon felt a sense of urgency rise within him. I must gain the power to protect myself before the "plot" fully kicks off.

But what counted as "enough" power to protect himself?

Solon set a small goal for himself first: Become a planet-busting-level powerhouse.

The fastest way for Solon to gain strength was, of course, through simulations.

Priorities were priorities. Even if it meant offending more people, he couldn't afford to hesitate now.

So Solon immediately settled into a comfortable position on the sofa and opened the system panel.

[Draw a new scenario?]

As soon as Solon selected "Yes," an interface resembling a gacha game began flashing wildly.

At that moment, Solon clasped his hands together, muttering under his breath, "Not Jade! Not Jade! Spook, spook, spook!"

What a sight—a man pulling on a gacha banner not wanting the limited 5-star, but instead hoping for an off-banner character.

If any regular gacha players heard this borderline flex, they'd probably beat him to death.

But given Solon's current situation, the best possible outcome was indeed spooking one of the Jarilo-VI characters.

Right now, he was on a resort planet owned by the Interastral Peace Corporation. According to the system's rules, the probability of drawing an important female character associated with the IPC was significantly increased.

And who were the IPC's important female characters? The Stoneheart Ten, of course. Aside from Topaz—who had relatively decent morals and a kinder heart—the rest were not to be trifled with.

As Solon prayed fervently, the result soon appeared.

Good news: It wasn't Jade.

Bad news: It was the "Chart-Topping Queen."

Staring at the image of the sharp-short-haired, slightly thick-thighed Ms. Topaz, Solon fell into deep thought.

Maybe I should find a way to sneak into Jarilo-VI early. As the saying goes, soft persimmons are easier to squeeze. Compared to other factions, Jarilo-VI was the easiest to bully.

Unfortunately, Jarilo-VI had been missing from the IPC's star charts for a long time—there were simply no flights heading there.

At the moment, the most reliable way to reach Jarilo-VI was by boarding the Astral Express.

Which meant he still couldn't avoid dealing with the Express crew.

Whatever. Overthinking won't help.

The system didn't allow redrawing. Only after completing a scenario's beginner difficulty could he roll for the next one. Otherwise, he would've absolutely spammed pulls until he got a Jarilo-VI character's scenario first—to milk them dry before anything else.

At least it wasn't that wicked woman, Jade.

Solon casually selected Topaz's beginner scenario.

The system immediately spat out a bunch of starting traits for him to choose from.

[Noble Lineage (Gold): …] (Details omitted.)

[Loner Scholar (Blue): …] (Note: Details omitted.)

[Weapons Expert (Blue): You possess high talent in weapon R&D, design, and manufacturing.]

[Hyperfocus (Blue): Your concentration is unparalleled. External distractions barely affect you.]

[Overtime Maniac (Blue): Born to grind. Overtime makes you happy, overtime makes you thrive—skip it, and you'll wither away! While working overtime, efficiency increases by 150%, fatigue accumulation decreases by 30%, and physical deterioration slows by 50%.]

[Natural Commander (Blue): You possess exceptional talent in large-scale military command, effortlessly managing battles involving over a million troops.]

[Swordmaster (Blue): You are highly skilled in wielding bladed weapons.]

[Charismatic (Purple): You radiate a leader's magnetism. A simple speech at a bar could earn you a crowd of devoted followers.]

Solon was stunned by the sheer variety. As expected of the Chart-Topping Queen—even the trait selection is unique.

And this time, the beginner rewards even included a repeat option: [Noble Lineage (Gold)]—the very trait that had carried him effortlessly through his first scenario.

But Solon was no longer a newbie. The moment he saw this trait, he immediately ruled it out.

Just seeing it told him this scenario likely started inside the IPC.

Choosing it would probably grant him a background no less impressive than Asta's.

In a rigidly hierarchical place like the IPC, birth and pedigree were overpowered advantages.

He could probably sleepwalk through the scenario… only to end up with a D-rank, or even the lowest E-rank, evaluation.

Solon's "standards" had long since been raised. How could he settle for such scraps now?

Besides, with the "main storyline" about to begin, he had to use this final grace period to push his strength to the limit.

So even if there was no hardship, he'd create hardship—raising the difficulty for greater rewards.

If he didn't seek out suffering in the game (simulations), wouldn't he just suffer later in reality?

Having chosen to raise the difficulty, Solon was prepared to not clear it in one go.

Since this first attempt was for trial-and-error and intel-gathering, he decided to just pick the traits he liked.

Despite the many options, the system still only allowed two starting traits.

Solon selected [Swordmaster (Blue)]—for direct combat power—and [Charismatic (Purple)], the highest-rarity option aside from the beginner-exclusive gold trait.

[Age 0: You were born on a remote planet, an asset of the Interastral Peace Corporation.]

[This planet had previously failed to repay its debts, forcing the IPC to liquidate it. Everything—including its native inhabitants—became corporate property.]

[The Corporation oversees your life from birth to death, covering food, shelter, healthcare… but none of it is free. Every single thing must be paid for, ensuring you can never escape the IPC.]

[From the moment you were born, just receiving an education left you buried in debt. Your only option is to join the Corporation and repay what you owe with your labor.]

[Age 18: After years of training, you've finally become a qualified consumable resource, ready to dedicate your life to the Corporation.]

These short paragraphs sent a chill down Solon's spine.

From birth to death—nothing but a consumable. How horrifying.

Was this the ultimate form of corporate monopoly?

Maybe it was slightly better than using humans as literal batteries or spare parts.

Suppressing his discomfort, Solon read on.

[Now select the department you wish to join:]

Market Expansion Department

Business Stabilization Department

Strategic Investment Department

R&D Department

"The universe is vast—I want to see it." (Warning: Choosing to leave the IPC will saddle you with massive debt, raising scenario difficulty to Intermediate. Proceed with caution.)

Staring at the options, Solon fell into thought.

First, Option 5—with his current traits, Intermediate difficulty would destroy him.

So Solon decisively chose Option 5.

If this was a trial run for intel, why fear "death"?

And then… he actually died.