Pursuing Immortality - Chapter 380

'Nina?'The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.Me? Not so lucky.The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.“Why did you do that?” she kept asking, over and over. “Why would you do that?”I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.“Kofi, stay with me, okay?” she was saying. “You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming.”

Eric Langley, an eighteen-year-old boy whose parents passed away three years ago, had no known relatives and was left to fend for himself. To support himself, he worked in a bakery, using his earnings to cover his daily needs and indulge in his favorite pastime—reading chapters of the novel “Humanity's Strongest Mage,” which had recently gone on hiatus.Eric had a love-hate relationship with the novel. While he was captivated by its world, he despised the Protagonist, Alex Whiteheart. Alex had it all from the start: strength, fame, money, and of course, a harem. He never faced any real challenges, effortlessly overcoming every obstacle, which made the story lack something Eric craved....... Chaos.One evening, while taking a walk with his headphones on, Eric was lost in thought. The music drowned out the world around him, and he failed to notice a car losing control and speeding toward him. The last thing he heard was a screech before everything went dark.When Eric woke up, memories flooded his mind, and he quickly realized something was wrong. He wasn't in his own world anymore; he had somehow ended up in the world of “Humanity's Strongest Mage.” To his shock, he found himself in the body of Arin Vale, an insignificant character never mentioned in the novel—a true extra.Now, armed with the knowledge of future events and driven by a desire for chaos, Arin had one goal: to disrupt the smooth journey of Alex Whiteheart, the Protagonist. He was determined to introduce Chaos into the story, making it far more interesting than it ever was, and in the process, he'll also find out that there's more to his character than just being an Extra.Let the Chaos begin!

This was an era where everyone could experience various worlds through simulations.

When everyone reached 16 years old, they would receive a Life Lantern, which would grant them two free simulations.

During the free simulations, they had to break through the limits of humans in order to attain a bright future in reality.

Otherwise, they would lose their Life Lanterns and they would slowly be corrupted by a black fog until they eventually died at a young age.

Lin Qiye, who transmigrated to this era, failed his first simulation.

During his second simulation, by chance, he acquired a permanent SSS-rank talent – the Deduction of Genesis.

Lin Qiye’s first life: [When you were two, you had a sudden illness, causing you to have a deformed head and low IQ. When you were 15, your parents passed away. When you were 18, you died of an incurable disease.]

Lin Qiye commanded, “The Deduction of Genesis, deduce for me a way to transcend this life.”

[Congratulations for defying the heavens and successfully changing your fate. You acquired S rank in your evaluation. Your rewards are…]

…

His second life: [When you were 15, the spiritual aura on Earth rejuvenated. You did not awaken any talent while your childhood best friend achieved outstanding attainments with her awakened talent. When you were 16, you were killed by a stranger.]

Lin Qiye summoned, “The Deduction of Genesis!”

[You carefully made plans before the spiritual aura rejuvenated. Because of this, you defied the heavens and successfully changed your fate. You acquired S rank in your evaluation. Your rewards are…]

He called me his ruin. Then he made me one.Alpha Shiloh's rejection wasn’t just a scar—it was a betrayal. He left me shattered. Broken. And I had to rebuild myself in silence.I almost forgot the way his touch once burned like salvation.Now he’s back.Not to beg forgiveness. To bargain. A deadly mission, he says. He promises freedom.But then presence ignites my wolf into a frenzy. She thrashes, desperate to claim him again. But I remember the coldness in his eyes when he exiled me. The way the pack turned their backs as I crawled into the wilderness, half-dead and wholly broken. Hate simmers hotter than desire.Yet here I am, bargaining with the devil who shattered me. Every moment we share is a lie. He doesn’t know about the shadows I’ve fed, the truth I’ve buried.Or the child.One whisper of its existence, and the pack will paint the forest with my blood.But the closer we get to completing his mission, the harder it is to hide… from him, or from the part of me that still craves him.Freedom has a price.So does vengeance.And I’m not sure which will destroy me first.