Back Then, I Adored You - Chapter 379: A Ring In the Grass (9)

Darkness is coming, and crisis is everywhere. In this long dark and desperate night, do you want to see a bonfire with warm words? We are that light.

We don’t want to be the little bully who guards one-third of an acre and eats canned food.

We don’t want to drive the harem on a great escape from east to west.

We don’t want to be a bunch of rats guarding rancid cheese in the gutter.

We don’t want to see the panic on your faces and the desperation in your screams.

So we stand up, fight for ourselves, fight for you, fight for humanity!

As long as we are here, the flames of war will never be extinguished.

We light a warm bonfire in the dark night, and watch the dawn with the brilliance of life.

We are the shield of the earth, the patron saint of mankind!

- Description from novelbuddy

Climb the Tower.The path to power is ever growing, immeasurable. A peak above a peak, above a peak. There is always the next peak to look up to. A place where dragons eat dragons.In this world where a catastrophe known as “Global Awakening” gave humans different magical abilities to fight the dungeon and monsters that invade earth, Jael is among the weakest—one of the Half Awakened, struggling to survive through odd and humiliating jobs.However his dream of climbing the Dungeon Tower won't be forever buried because a WILL has been left behind. An intent put into a spellbook that's been waiting for just who to claim it.In this golden era of worlds, all eyes are on the Dungeon Tower, where everyone seeks to become its master. “What do you desire? Money and wealth? Honor and pride? Authority and power? Revenge? Do you want to reverse your failures? Or something beyond them all? Whatever you desire—it is here. If only you climb.”Follow Jael’s journey as he ascends the Dungeon Tower, determined to create a new legend for himself.

I died in my world… and woke up in someone else’s story.But not as the hero. Not as the villain. Not even as a side character who mattered. I’m… an NPC—a nobody, a background observer, invisible to everyone.At first, I thought I was powerless. But then I discovered something strange: I could leave notes, whisper hints, move objects… small nudges that subtly changed the story. Every tiny action rippled through the plot, shaping outcomes, saving lives, and altering the fate of heroines, heroes, and even villains.The catch? The story is alive. It resists interference. Push too hard, and accidents happen. Plot twists turn against me. Minor disasters loom. The more I try to influence, the more the story fights back.So I play carefully. I study. I manipulate quietly. I watch the heroines, heroes, and overlooked side characters, weaving invisible threads that guide them. I don’t fight. I don’t cheat. I survive—and maybe, just maybe, I can change the story from the shadows.From an unnoticed NPC to the hidden hand behind the world, I’ll prove that even a nobody can rewrite the story.

Lin Ye was just a regular college student, or so he claimed while secretly obsessing over his favorite web novel, The Hero Returns. But when the hero died, his allies suffered, and the world burned, Lin Ye lost it. “Why not fix it properly? Why not rewrite the damn ending?”The universe answered... with a truck.Now, Lin Ye wakes up as Damien Voss, a minor villain fated to die before the main story even begins. Worse, he’s just one week old, powerless, and trapped in a world teetering on the edge of apocalypse. Within twenty-five years, demons will devour ninety percent of life, aided by corrupt nobles and blind gods watching from the stars.But Lin Ye didn’t come here to die like some background NPC.Armed with foreknowledge of the original plot, a fledgling OP system powered by Destiny Points, and the bloodline of the Voss family, wielders of the deadly Contract Gem ability, he's ready to flip the script.Whether it means outplaying the second crown prince, defying divine fate, or seizing the throne himself, Lin Ye has one rule!If the gods won’t save this world, then he will become the villain it needs.Unfortunately, destiny has a price. Every point spent alters the timeline and draws the attention of heroes, monsters, and forgotten gods alike.But then again… who says the villain can’t be the main character?