Arpious of the Planes - Chapter 416 Intermission: Small Break (Final)

A princess's duty is to be beautiful, quiet, not loud, to be seen and not to be heard, which was how Dahlia lived most of her life. Bound by the expectations of her title, she spent years trying to prove to her father that she was more than just a princess and capable of being more than an ornament in his court but each time she never got the chance. Instead, she was forced into a marriage of convenience with the bravest knight in all the kingdom, Reagan Hawthorne.Dahlia thought she would use this marriage to escape the brutal crutches of her father and glide out of her cage but Reagan’s cold disdain was an unexpected prison of its own. While he waged wars on distant lands, she stayed behind, holding his household together and protecting the people he seemed to ignore. But Dahlia carried a dangerous secret. By day, she was the perfect wife. By night, she became the “Black Knight,” a masked vigilante fighting for justice in the shadows.Reagan returned, ready to focus on his personal mission: avenging his father’s death. To him, Dahlia was just another pawn in his plans—a spoiled princess he needed to tolerate. But as cracks began to form in her perfect façade, Reagan couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to his wife than met the eye.Now, with enemies circling closer and their secrets threatening to collide, Dahlia and Reagan must confront the lies they’ve told themselves and each other. But when masks fall and truths are revealed, will their fragile bond withstand the storm—or will it shatter beyond repair?One wound. One secret. One night that changes everything.

Nile Santos lived a life of sacrifice — always stepping aside, always giving others the best gear, always following orders without question. In the end, none of it mattered. His comrades fell, his body was broken, and he died a meaningless death in the final battle against an unstoppable force.But fate isn’t finished with him.Offered a second chance by the very beings who led him to ruin, he’s thrust back in time with all his memories intact. This time, though, he’s not playing the role of a noble shield. No more selflessness. No more obedience. No more being a pawn.Armed with future knowledge and a will forged in failure, he vows to rewrite his story — to take everything for himself. Skills, loot, allies, power… all of it. It’s time for one man to climb to the top, no matter what it takes.Author's other storiesThe Unrivaled Holder: Rise of the Dragon Monarch - 3rd Season OngoingI Ascend Alone - Ongoing

How does it feel to lose your parents at the tender age of four?Imagine the trauma, the psychological scars. Now, take it a step further—what if they died right in front of you?That was Kael’s reality. As a young boy, he watched his parents perish while desperately protecting a golden coin.At the time, Kael had no idea of its significance. He only knew that their deaths were tied to it.Fleeing from his father’s murderers, he was forced to survive on the unforgiving streets, learning to fight, steal, and endure.Twelve years later, he had transformed into one of the deadliest assassins the world had ever known.He had no official title. No known employer. No traceable identity. Just a calling card.They called him The Coin Flipper.Not because he left his mark, but because after every kill—just as the body hit the ground, as the last breath escaped—he would flip a coin.No one knew why. Some believed it was mockery, a cruel reminder that fate had turned against them. Others thought it was ritual.But what they didn’t know was that each coin held power—literal currency of the Core System embedded in Kael’s soul.Every kill earned him millions. Digital fortunes funneled into off-grid accounts with each confirmed target. Blood turned into bounty, pain into profit.And one thing was certain: if you saw the glint of a coin spinning through the air, death had already found you.

'Kill monsters, eat meat''I mean, Kill monsters, save lives. Got it.''Tut, I could've sworn that the first one sounded better.'She wasn't a girl looking for freedom or self-righteous liberation by a hero, or whatever shit a girl who suffered for almost all her life would crave.-the shit of a life she was living was horrible, but it was bearable, and so she got used to it.Rather, instead of freedom, what this little missy wanted was money. Lots and lots of them so she never has to worry about the next day.Money - bountiful enough that when she has to spend, she doesn't need to look back or calculate her assets to see how much she has left.Money - bountiful enough to get all the fried chicken she could ever dream of. Yeah, you heard it, fried chicken.For those who did not have money to spare leisurely, getting fried chicken was like a pipe dream to them and she had been one of those unfortunate souls.A comfortable roof above her head and no worries as to when she would get ordered around to steal. No worries about when she would get her next meal--That was her liberation.And she got it. Just that, she got it most absurdly.Awakened!Those were the people ruling the world, alongside beastly and deadly monsters who threatened the safety of average human beings.And those awakened call the shots.Alice never dreamed she would one day be awakened, and compared to others with their game-like system displaying their attributes and strength; she had a full-grown man whom only she could hear, watching her back at every turn and telling her what to do.He was kinda a pain in the ass but she couldn't complain.It was this gift he had bestowed on her that made her the most powerful Awakened there was with stats that even S-class awakeneds couldn't compare to.She was the boss, now. Mwa-hahahahaha.But life didn't go as easy and leisurely as she planned. With great power comes great responsibility, right?Well, in her case with great power comes great hunger. She couldn't go a moment without getting hungry and her stomach had become a bottomless pit.And to get food, she needed money, and to get money, she had to hunt monsters. The monsters plagued humanity, causing catastrophes and taking lives mercilessly.Those monsters, as scary as they may be, were her target and she had to face them head-on.The bigger the monsters the more money she would gain.Yeah, that was the plan, but... This guy acting as her system seemed to have other plans, putting her at the forefront of 'justice' and having her clean the mess he somewhat created.'Ugh, I can already sense a shadow of foreboding. Someone, please tell me I'm not acting the main character role. I just want to eat, okay?'