I Gave Up Being Stronger - Chapter 18

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

In the second year of marriage, Yvette Thiel was pregnant.Yvette was full of joy, but she got a divorce agreement.In a car accident, Yvette lay in a pool of blood and begged Lance Wolseley to save their child, but Lance left with his sweetheart in his arms.Yvette was disheartened and slowly closed her eyes.Later, it was heard that Lance from New York had a taboo name, and no one could mention it.At the wedding, Lance suddenly went crazy. He knelt on the ground and looked at the cruel woman with red eyes. “You are pregnant with my child. Who do you want to marry?”

As soon as she transmigrated, Ding Yao became a mute that was kicked out by her stepmother! It’s okay, don’t panic. She had a fiance who was willing to pick her up. However, her fiance’s family had very bad luck. Today, someone got injured. Tomorrow, the chickens were dead. The day after, there was no more rice to eat…Ding Yao: “Have I been possessed by an unlucky god?” Seeing that her younger siblings were about to starve, Ding Yao’s naive and innocent fiance comforted her.

“It’ll be fine, Yaoyao. I’ll go hunting in the mountains tomorrow. I won’t let you starve.” Ding Yao glanced at his broken leg and knew that the credibility of his statement was low. If one relied on the mountains, the mountains would fall. If one relied on others, others would fall. Ding Yao rolled up her sleeves. Well then, let’s make fortune with our own hands! Thinking of the 21st century which she transmigrated from, she has superb medical skills. It was not a problem to treat illness and injuries.

Not to mention, she had a system which allowed her to have her own medicine field. It wasn’t a problem to get rich! Under Ding Yao’s leadership, her fiance’s family leaped from being the poorest family in the village to the richest in the country in only three years. The days got better and better, but those who looked for trouble also increased…One night, a familiar assassin dressed in black appeared. Ding Yao was in a daze and thought, ‘Do I deal with this with silver needles? Or poison needles?’ At this moment, her weak fiance stepped forward and pulled her into his arms to protect her. “Don’t be afraid, my darling! No one will hurt you while I’m here.” Ding Yao was confused. Then, she was shocked when her weak fiance kicked the black-clothed assassin. This man had pretended to be weak in order to gain the upper hand!

To survive, the unfortunate Gong Qiying, who became the lord of the Sein Dungeon, had to make his dungeon extremely “hellish”:Doors that “cannot be opened from this side”,treasure chests “triggering teleport traps”,a three hundred and sixty-five mile journey from the starting point to the BOSS room with no place to rest,monster knights with great bows on either side of a narrow bridge,and sinister ambushes around corners.There's also unavoidable visits to poisonous pits and hidden paths...Additionally, well-known fighters like Isshin Ashina, the Furnace Knight, Rajang, and the Scourge Legion bring unexpected surprises!Various unique rewards such as the Flaming Sword, Murky Hand Scythe, Rapid Slash Longsword, Sacred Oath, and Flame Empowerment will make you too happy to contain your joy!Gong Qiying: The most important thing in my dungeon is to ensure adventurers have fun!