Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader - Chapter 38: Dream Labyrinth

Kitazawa’s grades at the Ninja Academy had always been mediocre.Uchiha Itachi graduated at seven; he barely scraped through at thirteen.Uzumaki Naruto became the savior of the ninja world at seventeen; at that same age, Kitazawa was still struggling to make Chunin.In this harsh world of shinobi, Kitazawa was what people called a fodder ninja: no talent, no bloodline, and no backing.To stay alive until the story’s grand finale, he’d chosen the safest path—teaching at the Ninja Academy, a job he’d held for five years.“Another peaceful day in Konoha.”Kitazawa rose from his seat and walked to the window.It was enrollment day again, and the training grounds were buzzing with life.He glanced down at the stack of new student files in his hands. Names leapt out at him, all too familiar:Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba… and more.'DING''Host has reached age six and successfully enrolled in the Ninja Academy.''Activating the Strongest Shinobi System.'

We were a peaceful people living in harmony with nature in the vast lands of Lyréanor, but this peace was short-lived when our people were defeated by the dark elves, an ancient people even older than this world. It is said that they arrived in Lyréanor by boat and since their arrival, chaos has been unleashed. Proud of their obscure power, derived from dark rituals, they have raised gigantic armies of monsters whose name is synonymous with terror: ‘Obscurus’.They went on the rampage, and everywhere they went the grass didn't grow back, life died and disintegrated. Seven, there were seven. The seven dark elves known as the Lords of the Apocalypse. A single gesture from them was enough to strike us all down, a single gesture from one of them was enough to decimate us in blood and terror.And as I, Foster, contemplate the macabre scene before me, the bloodied and deformed bodies of my fellow elfes beings, and as death grips my soul, a strange sign appeared before me.[Ding... Activation of the world tree system]

Dave couldn't help but chuckle at the mess he was stuck in. He was lying under the shade of a tree, one of his hands was missing, one of his legs was broken, and most of his torso was melted by acid. He is going to die, a very slow and ruthless death.In his last moments, he could not help but be reminiscent of the life before this stupid game. He was a cook, living in a small town. He lived a pretty typical life at that time. But all of that changed, when was kidnapped on the way to his home. He was kidnapped by the same gods whose existence was nothing more than a piece of fiction for him.He was thrown into another dimension and forced into a game called R3T or Race to the Top. The game itself was pretty simple, every player had to cross the 9 worlds comprising this dimension, and the first one to cross the 9th world would be given a very special reward. Any wish winner would be granted by the Gods.Furthermore, Gods would entice players in joining their familia, with the promise of power to survive in this dangerous world. But joining the familia only bounded players in shackles. Players were meant to be puppets of Gods, cheap soldiers that they use to fight amongst themselves…But he stayed true to his path, he didn't care about fights amongst gods nor did he care about winning. He just wanted his freedom, he wanted to get back to his normal life. As he laid under the tree, slowing dying, it seemed to him that it was too much to ask forDINGThe God Hater has given you his helping hand. Will you take it?Y/NSeeing the message he smiled. Now it seems that this isn't the end of his journey.

The Buddha said all beings are equal, so why then does he sit high on the peak of Mount Meru, issuing commands and directions?Tathagata, you owe me five hundred years!A Monkey King who could recall past and present lives, this time, could he leap out of Tathagata's palm?…[Guaranteed three updates every day, never to fall behind, or may I chop off my own hand.]