Chapter 2

I stared at the bunch of mobsters, and the fury building up inside me finally found an outlet.

"Run, Lord Asher!" my servant cried out, collapsing to the ground in pure terror.

Run? My ten million dollar lottery prize was gone, and I was desperately looking for something to take my anger out on!

I grabbed a heavy brick from the courtyard that had been bracing the leg of an old table. My gaze turned ice-cold as I marched straight toward them. Even though the original owner of this body was rather useless, he at least had taken basic lessons in martial arts. Taking on a few street thugs was a complete walk in the park.

"You little punk, you're asking for—" Scarface didn't even get to finish his sentence. I slid to the side, dodging his swing, and slammed the brick smack into his face with perfect precision.

Scarface shrieked and hit the dirt. The remaining thugs froze in shock, but I didn't give them a single second to react. I snatched away one of their wooden clubs and started swinging, aiming directly for their joints and below the belt.

Within thirty seconds, the entire crew of hooligans was lying on the ground, groaning and rolling around in agony.

I stomped my foot hard right on Scarface's chest, pointing the blood-soaked club right at his nose.

"Go back and tell that garbage prime minister of yours that if he even touches a single brick of House Valerius' estate, I will dig up his ancestors' graves! Now get the hell out of here!"

I threw the club aside, took a deep breath, and spoke coldly in my mind.

'Hey System, did you catch that? I only believe in clearing obstacles by force. I'm not following some simp game's rules. If you want me to do your dirty work, you better rewrite the rules!'

The System went completely silent for a full minute before it finally caved.

[Strong will detected from the host. Modifying core logic...]

[Modification complete! New mission issued. Host, please display your legendary governing talents to make the Alden Empire exceptionally powerful, prompting the empress to fall for you naturally.]

[Ultimate Victory Reward: A guaranteed ticket back home and a direct transfer of one hundred million dollars into your bank account!]

The second I heard "one hundred million dollars", my eyes practically lit up with greed. 'Deal! Call me a simp all you want!'

I slapped my knee in pure excitement. 'Forget making the empress fall in love with me, I would literally stay up all night tiling every single floor of her palace for that kind of money! That hundred million dollar prize is as good as mine!'

Now that the goal of building an empire, getting filthy rich, and returning to my world was set, I started planning my opening move.

My father of this world died in battle, and his military power had been completely stripped away by the corrupt prime minister, Victor Hoyle. Following in his footsteps in the military was a dead end for me now. The Alden Empire heavily favored scholars over warriors, meaning that if I wanted to turn the tables and get close to the cold, aloof Empress Catherine Alden, there was only one path forward—the Imperial Governor Selection.

"Lord Asher, you... you'll be participating in the Imperial Governor Selection?"

My servant, Tobias, watched me pack up the last two valuable vases in the estate to sell them for ink and paper. His jaw practically hit the floor. "But you can't even read the most basic books!"

"Quiet, you know nothing. This is what we call knowledge changing your destiny," I replied without even looking up as I prepared the writing instruments.

On the night before the results were released, a crowd of noble heirs gathered at the capital's finest saloon, sipping wine and reciting poetry.

The moment I walked in, the prime minister's arrogant nephew sneered at me in a mocking tone. "Well, well, if it isn't the useless heir of House Valerius. What's the matter? Did you realize you're no good with a sword, so you came to embarrass yourself in front of real scholars?"

"Hahaha! If a loser like him passes the exam, I will literally eat this entire wooden table right here!"

The whole room erupted into roars of laughter.

I didn't even bother giving them a glance. As I walked past their table, I casually dropped a single line. "Make sure you scrub that table clean first. I'd hate for you to get food poisoning when you eat it."