Rakuin no Monshou - Volume 8, Chapter 6: Return

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.

The rivers and lakes carry wine with swords, the waist is slender and the palm is light.

The young man carried a long knife on his shoulder, and hung wine on his waist, striding forward, but the rivers and lakes in his heart were vaguely visible.

Turning a page in the book of troubled times, the rivers and lakes have been raining nightly for decades.

Looking back suddenly, the world has been shattered.

- Description from novelbuddy

[Science Eliminates Immortals] Fake Qi Practicing Phase cultivators: Casting fire and water magic, controlling flying swords to decapitate enemies from several tens of steps away, and possessing a shield magic tool for both offense and defense.Real Qi Practicing Phase cultivators: Driving a Type 99 main battle tank, equipped with a 125mm magic tool main gun pulled by Divine Sense, two 12.7mm anti-aircraft and anti-field magic tool machine guns corrected by Divine Sense, nine assorted electromagnetic missiles suspended at the rear of the tank, drawn together by Divine Sense, and four reconnaissance drones, bombing enemies to ashes from 20 kilometers away.Even more real Nascent Soul cultivator: Operating an Air-Space Mothership cluster, with a combat range spanning thousands of miles...

After the college entrance examination, Zheng Qing did not go to the long-awaited Imperial Capital University. Instead, carrying his luggage and holding a fox, he followed a notice and broke into a strange university.

There are no mathematics, English, or ideological politics, but the philosophy of divination, astronomy, and magic.

The extracurricular activity here is the hunting of monsters, and the hobbies here are all sorts of strange.

Rafting to learn the sea, climbing the mountain of books.

This dazed young man stumbled and started his career as a wizard.

- Description from MTL