MTL - Age of Empires From Scratch - Chapter 9 Guest from Mars

One day, two forum posts titled “I Seem Unsuited for Dating” appeared on Promontory Forum’s Feelings board nearly at the same time.

User A: 「I have a severe case of mysophobia and possessiveness. I cannot accept it if my girlfriend has had relationship experience. I went to see a psychiatrist, but I haven’t improved. I might truly be unsuited for dating.」

User B: 「I think I might be unsuited for dating. I very much enjoy the ambiguous phase of sounding out each other’s feelings, but after becoming official, if they want to hug me, or perhaps kiss me, I will immediately feel nauseous.」

Internet User: 「I beseech that the two of you be together. Don’t go and harm anyone else.」

- Description from Novelupdates

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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Dear readers! Without any ads, maybe you will prefer .

Soul Piercing Konoha, born as a civilian, will go to the battlefield of the Third Ninja World War tomorrow.

Just graduated from “Ninja School”, Yangtai, who only knows three body techniques and a D-level hemostasis technique, looked at the full of energy, and finally made up his mind – “The battlefield is too dangerous, I’d better go to other worlds to hide. !”

- Description from novelbuddy

The story is about a boy entering high school, who answers a strange call from a public phone one night. The caller challenges him to a bet: She’ll remove the birthmark which he sees as the cause of so many problems, and he’ll have fifty days to win the heart of a girl he’d considered far beyond his reach. And with this, a very strange summer begins.