MTL - Phoenix Against the World - Chapter 4 : Strong is respected [2]

Crimson Vale Academy—where reputation is currency, and failure is a stain you wear on your sleeve.Behind gothic walls and spotless uniforms, students aren't just educated—they're measured, ranked, and pitted against each other in a brutal meritocracy. Privileges are earned, not given. The strong rise. The weak vanish.Enter Kairon Vale, a transfer student marked Rank D—the bottom of the bottom. No badge. Just a stitched black fang, branding him as “Obsidian”—a warning to others.In a system where points dictate your value, Obsidian-ranked students claw for every opportunity to ascend into the prestigious Golden or Platinum ranks—where comfort, power, and influence await. But for most, it’s a losing battle.Yet Kairon isn’t here to fit in, impress, or play by their rules. Cold, calculating, and impossible to read, he watches the system… and waits. Because while the academy judges worth by numbers and names—he understands something deeper:Everyone wears a mask. And every mask can be cracked.Let the games begin.

A 34-year-old NEET otaku, chased out from his house by his family, found that his life is reaching a dead end. He then recalled that his life could actually have been much better if he had made better choices in the past.

Fu Yu awoke from a big dream, feeling like the heavens stuffed his mouth with a pie.Everything familiar suddenly became virtual.The work kitchen, the tools he used, the colleagues he cooperated with, and the customers he faced.Everyone and everything has become walking NPCs and auxiliary tools.Daily life and work have turned into main quests that need to be completed and key clues for advancement.A customer ordered a dish of loose sautéed meat slices.Fu Yu took out a piece of fresh tenderloin: [Pork: Freshness: 90%]Held an egg in one hand: [Egg: Freshness: 85%]Heated oil in the pot, prepared starch, and got ready onions, ginger, and garlic.First frying, then stir-frying; the meat is cooked and taken out of the pot, plated and served to the customer: [Ding! Task of one portion of loose sautéed meat slices completed. Reward received: Cooking Experience +10, RMB +100, one oil-draining spatula!]As a chef constantly fed by the heavens, as long as he cooks, he levels up!

An earthquake, another world, and a tentacle monster in his basement claiming to be his wife are just the beginning of a chaotic new life for Nick. He has new, dangerous, and exciting neighbors to get along with, people who want to kill him just for existing, and monsters with a taste for blood.But he's going to do his best to get to the bottom of everything and maybe even find a way back home. Even if he doesn't, he's at least not alone, for better or for worse.