Catastrophe Card King - Chapter 23 - 20: Demon’s Feast

“I thought we were brothers, and this is how you treat me?”Clutching his bloodied abdomen, John stared fiercely at the two figures before him.And the dragger embedded in his stomach was none other than the symbol of their former friendship: the legendary gear [Apate’s Whisper].“Just got a little lucky, and you think you’re so great?”“Claiming to be blessed by the Goddess of Luck? I’d like to see where your Goddess is.”“Hahahaha…”Amidst the taunting laughter, John’s world gradually darkened.…[Ding, congratulations to the Host for becoming player number 001 in Apocalypse]“Didn’t I die? What time is it now?”[Ding, congratulations to the Host for acquiring the SSS talent Kiss of LUCK, randomly gaining a hundredfold Bonus!]“A hundredfold Bonus?”[Ding, the Host executes a normal attack, physical damage 5; based on talent evaluation, deals a total of 2000 points magic damage!][Ding, the Host obtains an iron dagger, quality common; based on talent evaluation, it upgrades to a Legendary dagger!][Ding, the Host obtains a magic scroll, quality rare; based on talent evaluation, it upgrades to a Divine scroll!]“Good, this time, you all will pay for what you’ve done!”

Kailen Darkhaven's world crumbled when his parents died two years ago in a beast tide invasion in New York City. Alongside slipping into depression that caused his grades in school to drop exponentially, he failed to become an awakened on his sixteenth birthday. Losing his consciousness due to his frail body and a life of poverty one evening in an alleyway on his 17th birthday, he thought he would die, only to wake up in the same alleyway to a shocking holographic screen before him''Fusion complete, you have obtained a time dilation artifact.. You are too weak, you will be taken into the pocket world of the time dilation artifact to train in 3...2...1....''Follow Kailen's journey, as he embarks on a journey with this cheat item, to stand at the Zenith of of the Universe.This novel is participating in Webnovel Spirity Awards 2025.Disclaimer : This is purely a work of fiction.The setting, including any imitation of real names, places ,people or events is purely coincidental .

In all my life, I’ve only made two mistakes that I regret. The first was filling out my entrance exam application wrong, and the second was offending Zhong Yuan. If I had to use an idiom to describe the impact of my mistake, it would be simply, ‘Life is no better than death’. And if I had to use an idiom to describe Zhong Yuan’s offenses to me, it would be simply, ‘Too many crimes to record’. And yet, for as evil and wicked as he was, he attracted girls the way that flowers attracted bees and butterflies.

It happened that one day, for some reason, I taunted Zhong Yuan, “The King of Hell sent you to torture some more people, didn’t he?” Without a change in expression, he replied, “In order to torture fewer people, I decided to just choose one person to torture for the rest of my life.” I asked him, “What do you mean?” He smiled at me and answered, “If you don’t go to hell, who will?”

- Description from Novelupdates

“Look at him,” someone snickered from a few rows over. “Smells like he sleeps in a dumpster.”“Probably does,” another voice added, louder this time. Nox just stared at his textbook, the words blurring. He had heard it all before.Then, Mark, one of the main reasons his life was a living hell, swaggered past his desk. Mark always had a smirk on his face. “Oops,” he said, not even trying to sound accidental, as a full cup of bright orange juice tipped over, splashing all down the front of Nox's already ruined shirt. The cold liquid soaked through instantly. Laughter erupted around the room. It was loud, clear, and mocking. Nox slowly looked up. His eyes landed on Ms. Joy, who was watching the whole thing. She had seen Mark deliberately pour the juice on him. He raised his hand, a small, tired gesture. “Ms. Joy,” he said, his voice flat. “He just poured juice on me. Are you just going to ignore it? Again?.” Ms. Joy looked at him, then at Mark, who was now theatrically wiping his hands. A small smile played on her lips. Then she chuckled. Just a little airy laugh.“Oh, Nox, don't be so dramatic. Boys will be boys, right Mark?” Mark puffed out his chest. “Yeah, Ms. Joy. He's just sensitive.” The class laughed even harder at that. Ms. Joy joined in, her laughter ringing out with theirs. Hearing them all, hearing her laugh, something in him finally snapped. It wasn't a loud break, more like a quiet, final click. He realized it then, with a cold, hard clarity. No one was coming to save him. No teachers, no police, no parents he never had. No one cared. If he wanted this to stop, he would have to be the one to stop it. He was the only one who could.His face remained blank, but his mind was suddenly very clear. He reached down slowly, his hand going into his worn-out school bag. The laughter died down a little as a few students noticed his deliberate movement, a strange stillness about him. He pulled out a gun.The classroom went silent. Utterly, completely silent. Mark's smirk vanished, replaced by wide, terrified eyes. Even Ms. Joy stopped laughing, her face paling. “What… Nox, what are you doing?” she stammered, her voice suddenly shaky. He didn't answer. He looked around at their faces, one by one. Fear. He saw fear now. Good. He was ready. He was going to make them all pay. He was going to end it, all of it.Just as he was about to raise the gun properly, a bright blue screen appeared right in front of his face. It was translucent, and only he seemed to see it. [Congratulations! You have met the requirements!] [1st Player Chosen!] [You have won the System!]