Otherworldly Evil Monarch - Chapter 21: Returning Victoriously

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.

In her last life, Qu Zhi tried her best to be a good wife who was sensible and did not cause trouble, a filial and good daughter who helped her family, and a good mother who accompanied her children. However, Qu Zhi worked hard and suffered all her life. When she was about to die, she realized that in the end, all she got back for her hard work were complaints. Her husband complained that she was an idle, rich wife all day long who wasn’t satisfied with her happiness at home, and that she was a greedy woman.

But after decades of marriage, her husband had a firm, deadly hold on all her money, and she didn’t even have a dime to her name, nor a property to call her own. Every time she asked for money, he would trample all over her self-esteem. Her husband’s cold and sarcastic words made her unable to lift her head, and his friends would demean her while drinking wine, making her tremble with anger. This man had once said he would take care of her, yet he turned a blind eye! Those people focused on her happiness as a topic, and made a joke out of it.

Even her three children resented her for her uneven love towards everyone, and their relationship only became more strained as time passed. She had spent her whole life as a loner, and she had nothing. Lying on the operation table, Qu Zhi thought that if she could do it all over again, she wouldn’t be a housewife. She wouldn’t have given her second daughter away, and she wouldn’t take care of her blood-sucking relatives.

She wouldn’t marry her indifferent, cold husband either! When she next opened her eyes, she was back to twenty years in the past. Her eldest daughter was still in elementary school, and her second daughter had been in her belly for several months…

“Ding!”“Congratulations on receiving the following Unique Skills:-–Appraisal (Basic)–Skill Absorption (Mythic)–Universal Synthesis (Ultimate)”_____________________________________“Synthesis Skills— Swift Sword Strike + Fire Toad's Breath.”“Ding!”“Congratulations! Your Skill Synthesis was successful.”“Your skills evolved into: Azula Sword Strike.‌”“Synthesis Materials— Titanium Runic Sword + Wyvern Bones”“Congratulations! You Synthesis was successful. Your Sword has evolved into Skeletal Dragon Sword.”-----In a heart-wrenching tale of loneliness and despair, Ethan Smith's life has been one of unending tragedy. Orphaned at a young age and tormented by a relentless terminal illness, he spent his final days confined to a cold, confined hospital room.As he takes his last breath, he awakened in a mysterious void, where Ethan is given the opportunity to choose three unique skills that will define his new existence. With millions of options but only three choices, he carefully selects his path, setting the stage for an extraordinary journey after death.Reincarnated into a fantastical world filled with magical Skills, powerful beings, and untold dangers, Ethan must navigate his new life, wielding the skills he chose to survive and thrive in a realm where anything is possible.But the question remains: Will this second life bring him the happiness and purpose he was denied in his first, or will it lead him down an even darker path?

n the year 2077, the first FIVR Game or Fully Immersive Virtual Reality Game, Pandemonium, has been created. Pandemonium which is the first ever fully immersive virtual reality game made in human history. In the universe of Pandemonium, Fantasy meets science and where order is chaos and chaos is order. A universe of endless possibilities in which anyone can become the invincible hero fighting against the forces of darkness or a sage which dives into the abyss of magic and so much more.

In Pandemonium, the inhabitants comes in all shapes and sizes. Adrian, our main character, who experienced an accident that caused him to be temporary limp used the game as a way for therapy but mainly to experience the new world of virtual reality. He will experience countless adventures and challenges and rise to be the most influential person in this new reality.