Power and Wealth - Chapter 2

Kenji’s life was hard. During the day, he worked in a bookstore. At night, he served ramen. He did it all to take care of his family. His mom was sick and needed medicine, and his little sister needed money for school. His best-paying gig was working for a mysterious author, illustrating the manga for a popular web novel. There was just one problem: he hated the story.He was in the middle of drawing the academy arc when his frustration peaked. The story’s villain, a rich kid named Azrael Ashveil, was weak. He made dumb mistakes and died unfairly. Kenji thought the character deserved better. After finishing a panel showing Hero's Victory, Kenji collapsed from exhaustion.He wakes up not in his small apartment but in a fancy bed with silk sheets. Looking in the mirror he sees the handsome, violet-eyed face of Azrael Ashveil. He has entered the story he hated and is now the doomed villain.Worse, he's arrived late to the party. The original Azrael has already made a mess of things. The story's golden-boy hero, Kaelen, already despises him. His beautiful wife, the half-elf heroine Elvara, is terrified of him. And all of his death flags-the events that lead to his execution are right around the corner.Azrael must use his knowledge of the future just to stay alive. Can a minor villain with no power of his own really change his fate, or will he just find a new, even more tragic ending than the one he was trying to escape?

In typical Mary-Sue novel, readers all like the second male lead who only loves the heroine wholeheartedly and is willing to give up everything for the heroine, but the heroine only loves the male lead who once abused her body and heart.

Readers: Why doesn’t the heroine love the second ML, the demon sect leader?!

The demon sect leader: This Devil Venerable also wants to know, why do I like her?

In order to find out why the female lead doesn’t like him, the self-conscious demon sect leader set out to “interview” all the characters in the novel.

———

When a book was dropped into his lap, the demon sect leader discovered the world he lived in was described in it. This book said that after he sacrificed himself for the female lead, the 4th male lead, his silent, loyal subordinate, blackened and attempted to kill her.

The demon sect leader, Wen Renhe: Yin Hanjiang, this Devil Venerable wants to know why you wanted to kill the heroine.

Yin Hanjiang was silent.

Wen Renhe: If you refuse to speak, this Devil Venerable will force you to speak!

Yin Hanjiang: …

Wen Renhe: What are you blushing for?!

Skyfire Avenue is a street that is 2048 meters long. There are 168 stores here, and each of the store owners is an extremely powerful adept. The Avenue does not permit any vehicles or any robots to pass through it, much less mecha. Even the patrolling police must move about on foot. This is because this is a street for pedestrians, a lane for nobles, hidden away within this high technology world. Lan Jue, the greatest of the mercenaries, code-named ‘Zeus’, has secluded himself here in Skyfire Avenue after the death of his wife. The name of his shop is “Zeus’ Jewelry Store”, and here in Skyfire Avenue, he has been given the title, Jewel Master.

Crossing over to Japan during the year 1860, a time marked by the end of the Edo Shogunate Era, amidst a whirlwind of events.Having completed the industrial revolution, foreign powers with steam battleships have opened Japan's doors, bringing turmoil and opportunity to the nation.In this chaotic era, Tachibana Aoto, who travels through time to become an ordinary police officer in Edo (modern Tokyo), acquires the Talent Duplication System, allowing him to duplicate any talent from an opponent after a confrontation, regardless of winning or losing.For instance—after a match with a beautiful youth named Chokata Toshisuke, Tachibana Aoto duplicates the talent of Swordsmanship Talent Amplification, increased by 50 times the average person's talent.