Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death - Chapter 28.1: The End of Summer (First Part)

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.

'Kill monsters, eat meat''I mean, Kill monsters, save lives. Got it.''Tut, I could've sworn that the first one sounded better.'She wasn't a girl looking for freedom or self-righteous liberation by a hero, or whatever shit a girl who suffered for almost all her life would crave.-the shit of a life she was living was horrible, but it was bearable, and so she got used to it.Rather, instead of freedom, what this little missy wanted was money. Lots and lots of them so she never has to worry about the next day.Money - bountiful enough that when she has to spend, she doesn't need to look back or calculate her assets to see how much she has left.Money - bountiful enough to get all the fried chicken she could ever dream of. Yeah, you heard it, fried chicken.For those who did not have money to spare leisurely, getting fried chicken was like a pipe dream to them and she had been one of those unfortunate souls.A comfortable roof above her head and no worries as to when she would get ordered around to steal. No worries about when she would get her next meal--That was her liberation.And she got it. Just that, she got it most absurdly.Awakened!Those were the people ruling the world, alongside beastly and deadly monsters who threatened the safety of average human beings.And those awakened call the shots.Alice never dreamed she would one day be awakened, and compared to others with their game-like system displaying their attributes and strength; she had a full-grown man whom only she could hear, watching her back at every turn and telling her what to do.He was kinda a pain in the ass but she couldn't complain.It was this gift he had bestowed on her that made her the most powerful Awakened there was with stats that even S-class awakeneds couldn't compare to.She was the boss, now. Mwa-hahahahaha.But life didn't go as easy and leisurely as she planned. With great power comes great responsibility, right?Well, in her case with great power comes great hunger. She couldn't go a moment without getting hungry and her stomach had become a bottomless pit.And to get food, she needed money, and to get money, she had to hunt monsters. The monsters plagued humanity, causing catastrophes and taking lives mercilessly.Those monsters, as scary as they may be, were her target and she had to face them head-on.The bigger the monsters the more money she would gain.Yeah, that was the plan, but... This guy acting as her system seemed to have other plans, putting her at the forefront of 'justice' and having her clean the mess he somewhat created.'Ugh, I can already sense a shadow of foreboding. Someone, please tell me I'm not acting the main character role. I just want to eat, okay?'

[TRIGGER WARNING: DARK THEMES, MATURE CONTENT.]In a world where humans, werewolves, vampires, fey, and other supernatural beings coexist, Isleen; an Omega who has been subject to multiple bullying and ridicule in the pack because of her parent's past, faces a challenging dilemma. She's dating Kylo but unexpectedly discovers that his strict father, Rhett, who is the pack’s Gamma, is her destined mate.Conflict arises as a war breaks out among the supernatural creatures and the death toll rises. Isleen struggles with her loyalty to her boyfriend, and the powerful pull she feels towards his father, due to the mate bond.——Imagine getting married at Eighteen to a woman old enough to be your mother– all because of your loyalty to the Moon Goddess?Welcome to Rhett’s reality. Rhett DarkWater is a man of principles but not without his share of secrets and hidden missions. After finding out who his second fated mate is, he battles with his devotion to the Moon Goddess, his loyalty to his son, and his duty as the Gamma who is supposed to protect the pack—not have his son’s girlfriend pinned beneath him in a corner with her clothes off.Unfortunately for Rhett and Isleen, the mate bond knows no morality – it attacks, and when it does, two hearts must become one.——I and Gamma Rhett just kissed again.He knelt before me, his hand reaching out to touch me, but I flinched away. “Isleen,” he muttered.“This is wrong,” I cried. “We can't do this. It's forbidden. W-what about Kylo?”He stared at me, his eyes burning with a passion that frightened me to the core. Yet, it left tingling sensational effects all over my body. “Don't fight it, Isleen. We are mates. This is what we're meant for.”

All of a sudden, various watches appeared out of nowhere in different parts of the world. These locations were quickly controlled by various organizations, and then the marketing of the watches was strictly controlled.Why was this? Because these watches gave access to a unique world: Eternity!Eternity functioned more or less like an open-world game with a single-player mode, except that Eternity was a game where you could actually die!By joining Eternity, everyone awakened a unique talent.This talent helped unlock the first classes, which allowed you to strengthen your physique both in Eternity and in the real world!Not to mention the various skills and talents available...And above all, there was the legend that it was possible to become immortal thanks to Eternity!It was with the aim of changing his destiny that Maxime trained his whole life in swordplay, and for many years saved his meagre salary to obtain one of these famous watches!Watch his rise in the real world thanks to Eternity!