Only My Weapons Level UP - Chapter 5: Next steps

A world filled with heroes with superpowers. A world attacked by calamity fiends. A modern world filled with wonders and dangers.

The year was 2026, and the world wasn't what it used to be. Ever since the Abyss Gates cracked open three years ago, spilling monsters and dungeons across the planet, life had turned into a chaotic mess. Cities were half-ruined, half-rebuilt, and people clung to whatever normalcy they could find. Hunters—those brave or crazy enough to fight the monsters—became the new heroes. Everyone else? Well, they just tried to survive.Fin wasn't a Hunter. He wasn't a hero either.He was just… Fin. A lanky 19-year-old with messy brown hair, a chipped front tooth from a dumb skateboard accident, and a power that everyone called useless. Absorption. Sounds cool, right? Like he could suck up energy or steal someone's strength. Nope. All it did was let him “feel” things he touched a little more than normal. He could tell you the exact texture of a brick wall or how warm a coffee mug was—big whoop. No fireballs, no super strength, no flashy moves. Just a glorified touchy-feely trick.“Fin, you gonna eat that sandwich or just stare at it like it's gonna confess its life story?” Meg's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.He blinked and looked across the rickety table at his best friend. Meg was short, loud, and had a wild mop of dyed purple hair that she swore made her look “intimidating.” It didn't.

“The missing ingredient is a test subject with Royal Blood...”Raven Kyzer, a Commoner boy, grew up in an orphanage along with his twin sister, after losing their mother at a young age, having never met their father.After being discovered to possess Royal blood, the twins are abducted by the Church of Persona. Raven is used as a test subject in an ancient form of Forbidden Magic, known as the Homunculus Ritual, while his sister goes missing in the clutches of the church.The Homunculus Ritual is conducted to turn Raven into a powerful but mindless Monster, a loyal weapon for the church with no sense of free will...but something goes wrong, the ritual fails to destroy Raven's mind and he escapes the clutches of the church.Furious at being turned into a Monster, Raven swears revenge against the church, determined to make them pay for what they did to him, as well as to rescue his sister from their clutches.But there's only so much he can do by himself, even with the new powers he gained through the Homunculus Ritual...that's when he has a fateful encounter with the nation's most wanted criminals, a group known as The Irregulars, who, like Raven, have their own reasons to despise and go after the church, as well as the corrupt Nobility that oppresses the Commoners.With their goals aligned, Raven decides to join The Irregulars, taking the first step on his long, arduous path to revenge...

Ahcehera is a young woman FIGHTING cancer, finding comfort in the pages of her favorite sci-fi fantasy novel. She’s drawn to the villainess princess, a misunderstood character whose life is sacrificed FOR the hero and heroine’s happy ending. Ahcehera hates the unfairness of it all and wishes the princess could have a chance to live her own LIFE.Before she can read the final chapter that seals the princess’s tragic fate, Ahcehera passes away. Her last thought is a wish to rewrite the story, never expecting it to come true.When she wakes up, it’s not in her hospital bed but in the body of the princess herself. Thrown into a world full of political schemes, betrayal, and hidden dangers, Ahcehera is determined to change the princess’s fate. She has the story’s secrets and her own will to survive, but knowing the plot doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to change.Then, the unexpected happens. She crosses paths with a werewolf prince, younger than her and mysteriously linked to the hero. He’s more than just a twist in the story, he might hold the key to a different ending.As enemies close in and the lines between friend and foe blur, Ahcehera must decide. Will she stick to the script or fight for a new ending? One where both she and the princess get the happiness they deserve.Can a story already written truly be rewritten, or is she doomed to live the same tragedy all over again?