Kill the Lights - sidetrack 6 part3

Arthur Ventrike, a genius second-year at the prestigious Wolkan Royal Academy, hailed to be the most talented in his generation, reaches the Swordsman stage of Knight at just 15 under Grandmaster Thorne Bladesong. But envy strikes when a fifth-year student tries to poison him. Though the plot fails, Arthur is left crippled, his dreams shattered. Just when all hope seems lost, he inherits a Great Sage’s legacy and sets out to become the greatest wizard along with the blessing of an indecent goddess and save the world from an ancient evil.

Raised as nothing more than a weapon, Xin Long was kidnapped and forged into a killer — his freedom severed, his name reduced to a whisper. In a world where trust is a death wish and mercy is a myth, he treads a path of blood and betrayal, outwitting ruthless foes and surviving inhuman trials. Yet, the deeper he delves into the shadows of Jianghu, the more he unravels a web of dark secrets that bind the martial world.Step into the dark side of Jianghu and witness the so-called Forgotten Tale — a story never meant to be told...

After being torn from the only life she knew, 16-year-old Margo is forced into a new home with strangers who call themselves her parents. Haunted by memories of her past and consumed by feelings of isolation, she struggles to adapt to her unfamiliar surroundings. School offers little relief—until she meets Lucien, a mysterious boy who appears just when she needs a friend the most.Gabriel is everything Margo needs: kind, attentive, and always ready to whisk her away from her troubles. Each night, he invites her to secret places—an abandoned playground, a fog-choked garden, a crumbling train station at the edge of town—each more unsettling than the last. Yet with every chilling rendezvous, Margo feels more alive... more seen.But something isn’t right. Gabriel never comes to school during the day. Her adoptive parents never see him. And when they catch her talking to thin air, their concern deepens into fear. They say Gabriel isn't real—that he’s a figment of her imagination. Margo wants to believe them, but Gabriel feels real. More real than anything else in her life.As the nights grow colder and more twisted, Gabriel’s true nature begins to surface. Shadows move where they shouldn’t. Time warps in his presence. And the places they visit seem to echo with whispers from another world. Margo is forced to ask herself: Who—or what—is Gabriel? Why does he only want her? And what will happen on the final night he asks her to come with him?As the line between reality and delusion begins to crumble, Margo must make an impossible choice: stay in a world where she feels loved, or return to one that barely feels real.But one thing is certain—some friendships never let go.

He was weak, he was depressed, he was a loser.
He wasn't even Lvl 10 in the game when Earth was destroyed in the Quake and the players of Redlands were transmigrated to the fantastic world of Zushkenar.
But he lived, learned, and died again.
Now, he was back on Earth, one year and three months before the Quake.
Deciding to rejoin the game earlier and with greater focus, what changes would he bring with his actions?
What life would he live?

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paypal.me/JInDaoran

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There's a map for the lands of Zushkenar posted on the DeviantArt website:
https://www.deviantart.com/kilrain/art/Hunters-Guide-map-cities-grid-b-877682076

It's not complete, but it'll give an idea of the general geography.

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The background image for the cover is part of a landscape by moinzon taken from pixabay.com