My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son - Chapter 16: The Duel

The world had shown Baines every possible lesson it could teach; from familial love, joy, and peace to hate, rage, betrayal, and pain.He got detached from his family by the wimps of others.But, before he began his journey to find them, he was forced to witness that scene that haunted him once more. The destruction of his home.He was about to give up on life when an unforeseen opportunity presented itself.There, he vowed, “The world will bleed for what it has done to me.”Using the greatest collections gathered by his ancestors, he set out on the thorny path to revenge.Little did he know, the result of his actions followed other cascading events that then threatened his world.Does he refuse to help the world because of the pain it had caused him? Or, will he join in the destruction?

At 18, Alex Kain is whisked away to Eryndor, a game-like realm where he gains 'Skill Synthesis', a talent to fuse skills into godlike powers. Battling monsters and conquering dungeons, he builds a harem of strong women drawn to his might and charm. With the power to return to Earth bearing incredible resources, Alex faces a growing threat that endangers both worlds in this epic of adventure, romance, and ambition.

Oliver Patrick, the Greatest General in Stormfront's history has a secret - a secret not many know. They think that his Iron WIll was built overnight. They know not the path of suffering he walked, as the slave Beam, to reach his destiny as King, and then Emperor.This is that story. A true story, of progress, struggle, hardship and strength. A story of greatness achieved without a system. A story of how one unknown boy's struggle transformed a continent forever.//ExtractThe arm dropped to the floor, as did the head. Spear points raced past the falling corpse as the goblins sought to take advantage of his momentary lapse in attention. But the tide had already shifted. The equilibrium that had kept the battle going for so long was shattered. With no bruiser to take care of their front lines and distract his attention, the goblins in front of him were no match for his speed.He employed his misdirection as he normally might, feigning the same backwards step that he had practised over and over, before leaping forward, catching the goblin off guard, twisting his body to avoid its spear and forcing his blade into its throat.It let out a high-pitched squeal as it dropped its spear and attempted to stem the tide of blood that was spurting from the wound. The goblin next to it squealed too, in fear this time, as its eyes widened, seeing two of its comrades dealt with so easily in quick succession. Beam saw it take a backwards step, as it attempted to turn and run away. But he was on it before it had a chance. He wrapped his arm around its neck and drove a sword through its back.Rather than let the corpse fall to the floor as he normally might, he held onto this one, enduring its death throes. Once life had finally left its body, he shifted it into place as a meat shield. Two arrows thudded against it, almost piercing it straight through. But the time they reached Beam the momentum was entirely gone – though they touched him, they did not even pierce his clothes.Slowly, with his meat shield in place, Beam advanced on the remaining goblins. They both shared a glance with each other as they dared to fire another volley, before turning on their heels and attempting to sprint away.“Stay,” a brief moment of eye contact, and one of the goblins was rooted in place. Beam tossed his shield aside and picked up a spear instead. With a twist of his hips and shoulder, the spear went soaring, impaling the running goblin straight through its stomach. Its bow fell to the ground, as strength left its hands. It then fell to its knees, before falling face down to the floor, pushing the spear back through itself.

I became the childhood friend of the protagonist in a novel. The childhood friend who died from taking drugs.