Defensive Magic - Chapter 30: The Dark Grimoire

After his death, Aoi Hiroto is reincarnated as a beast-like race, similar to Ghislaine's race, but with the memories of his past life intact. Now, torn between his animal instincts and human rationality, he tries to find his place in this new world. While Rudeus continues his journey, the protagonist forms new connections and learns more about this new world.Warnings:- The MC is like Rudeus, he doesn't know the world of Mushoku Tensei, for him, this is a new world with magic and swords, but he has seen other known animes.- Rudeus will still exist in this timeline, but the chapters that will show his point of view will be very rare, unless he is interacting with the MC.-The confirmed members of the harem so far is only Ghislaine.I do not own the cover image or any characters or references taken from the work Mushoku Tensei.English is not my first language, but I will try my best not to make mistakes.

There are times when you’ll still never be good enough no matter how hard you try.

Born with a frail twin sister, Li Caiyi gives most of her time to take care of Li Chunhua. Her parents and older brother trust her to take care of her sister, yet Li Caiyi can’t help but feel the disparity in treatment and affection given to both of them.

In her whole life, she has never become anyone’s first priority. Not in the heart of her family, and especially not in the heart of her childhood friend, the Young Master of Meng family, Meng Renshu.

When Li Caiyi became Meng Renshu’s wife, Li Caiyi thought she could finally become someone’s first priority, but everything fell apart in just three years.

She decides to let everything go. Then she meets Shen Qiang in the most unexpected place. No one wants to accompany her in her life, yet this stranger offers to accompany her in death.

“Do you want to jump together?”

When she opened her eyes, Li Caiyi had gone back to her high school times.

This time, she won’t make the wrong choice again.

But where can she find Shen Qiang?!

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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Having been reborn, she takes one glance at her ridiculously handsome husband and wonders if she had suffered from brain damage back then—she had actually demanded for a divorce with him. Repeatedly!