Delve - Chapter 169: Holdout

A door unfolded before him.Evil thrived, and whispers spilled from within.The resentful compound eyes flickered and vanished, the presence longing to burst out was blocked inside, and the alluring murmurs echoed in the ear.The sticky, pink brain mumbled something. A figure cloaked in a yellow robe watched from a distance. A dark green presence, smelling of blood, roared. A string of wondrous soap bubbles released friendliness—and many, many guests.They sincerely invited Lu Li to join this mad party.Lu Li stepped in, his stride resolute and unwavering.He had no reason to refuse.

In a world where power is marked by glowing runes and monsters bleed through the fabric of reality, **Ryu** is nothing—an orphan with no name, no status, and no hope. Beaten down by nobles who wield their divine-given strength like a whip, he survives on scraps and stubborn defiance.But when a black rift—an anomaly unlike any ever recorded—appears in the dead of night, Ryu faces a choice: die a beggar, or risk everything by stepping into the unknown.Inside, he finds a nightmare. Kolasis, a legendary predator, hunts him through a twisted forest. The rules here are simple: kill or be killed. To survive, Ryu must forge himself into something sharper than the claws of monsters and crueler than the nobles who cast him aside.Yet the rift has its own secrets. The same power that could make him a legend might also break him—if the monsters don’t tear him apart first.

[WSA 2025 ENTRY]“What is this for??”Draven, a Pentagon champion, searches for a real challenge that will test his true strength. However, all his opponents bore him.Then, without warning, he's thrown into a magical world. Here, everything your power, status, and even your worth depends on the color of your Status System I.D.His given goal? Protect the Verdant and lift the curse using his skill, the Veilbreaker.Sounds easy for the likes of him?Think again.Verdants are cursed worse than commoners who have not even the slightest ability!He will bleed every time he lifts a curse!And he has to face beasts, monsters, high-breed animals, higher I.D.s and even gods![You unsealed Naisha skill: Stealth][You obtain Stealth skill.]Challenge accepted!

During an internal Navy hearing, the top brass conducted a serious inquiry into Rogers Daren, the so-called “scum of the Marines” and Admiral of the North Blue.“You’ve had improper relations with royal princesses and noble ladies from multiple North Blue kingdoms?”“I call it showing care for the people.”Marines High Command: …“How do you explain the absurdly high salaries of the North Blue Marines under your command?”“Well, with what the HQ pays, how else do you expect them to risk their lives?”Marines High Command: (ーー`)“Why is the North Blue fleet equipped with technology from Germa?”“That’s just military-civilian cooperation. Germa 66 was moved by my sense of justice.”Marines High Command: (○_○)“And how do you explain the unusual deaths of a Celestial Dragon in the North Blue?”Daren sighed.“A maritime accident… truly unfortunate. I personally express my deepest condolences.”Marines High Command: (._.?)And so begins the story of a rebellious, unorthodox Marine.