MTL - Fouls Prohibited - Chapter 23

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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“Your stats are lower than that of your average person.”

The weakest by a mile among the otherworldlers of class 1-A, Takatsuki Makoto.

The Heroes and Sages who had cheat skills in his class had went off, and the base set lifespan is 10 years?

The Great Demon Lord is going to revive soon?

I am a Mage Apprentice?

Isn’t the balance way too bad? This damn Isekai is a tr*sh game!

“Want to be my believer?”, the Goddess that told me this has zero believers!

Aah, this is bad…I don’t think I can clear this. The Goddess with zero believers is an incredible beauty, and she is telling me she is imprisoned somewhere and is waiting to be saved. My last and hardest mission is to save the Goddess.

Clearing this Isekai that only has adversities, the story of the weakest mage.

Lu Chen woke up to find himself participating in a live-streamed creative competition show!Contestants were tasked with creating works based on themes given by the show.When the theme ‘Countryside’ was announced, other participants quickly began crafting heartwarming rural stories, tales of pastoral love, and picturesque depictions of harmony and simplicity.Lu Chen decided to take the road less traveled—he wanted to blow the audience away!He chose ‘Operation Icebreaker’ as his inspiration.At first, the audience thought they were getting a story about rural development. But as the plot unfolded, something felt… off.A village of 20,000 people, every household with the same type of large pot, and a full-scale drug production operation?The internet exploded.[Countryside theme, and you’re writing about a drug-making village getting rich together?]The producers were in chaos.We said countryside! What’s this Taizhai nonsense?Lu Chen, unfazed, replied, “Director, rural anti-drug campaigns are a countryside theme. Now, are we sticking to the theme or not?”And thus, the Master of Sticking to the Theme was born.Given the theme Fishmonger, he wrote The Legend of Gao Qiqiang.

In her previous life, Jiang Yan's mother was murdered by her stepfather under the guise of celebrating their wedding anniversary with a trip abroad, and Jiang Yan herself, holding a huge inheritance, was locked by him in the basement of a villa and had one of her hands mangled. As natural disasters became more frequent and the apocalypse descended, the stepfather's family, hiding in the villa waiting for the apocalypse to pass, ultimately set their sights on Jiang Yan...With the opening of her eyes, Jiang Yan was reborn three months before the apocalypse. After activating her portable Space and successfully taking her revenge, she, now in possession of a massive amount of funds, started a global shopping spree: yachts, helicopters, off-road RVs, weapons, amphibious boats, necessities for clothing, food, shelter, and transport; everything from five-star delicacies to tasty street food hidden in remote corners... she bought and hoarded them all, bringing everything into her Space!Seeing that there was only one month left, Jiang Yan began a cramming-style learning binge: shooting! Flying planes! Driving boats! Hand-to-hand combat! Agricultural Planting! She even learned how to operate an excavator from the Red Xiang Technical School!In July, a double typhoon that caused seawater backflow starting from Japan marked the beginning of the apocalypse. A super high temperature wave followed right after, sweeping across the globe, along with torrential rains, earthquakes, pest infestations, extreme cold, nuclear contamination, mutation of animals and plants... one natural calamity after another ensued!While others fought over a packet of instant noodles or half a bottle of water, Jiang Yan was leisurely planting vegetables, raising fish, sitting comfortably in her safe house with air conditioning on, and enjoying her hot pot meal~PS. This entire story is fictitious.