Rise To Stardom - Chapter 57: Pre-Production

After playing a variation of the poker game, Shadow’s Hand, Damien Pearce unexpectedly awakened in an unfamiliar world.Stripped of all kinds of information in the world he was thrown into, Damien now had to navigate it through wits and guts.Amidst his search for information, he discovered that he seemed to be a part of the world as a Transcendent Investigator, otherwise known as TI.The TI seemed fearful and revered among the people in this world. They were responsible for catching Transcendent(s) who misused their power.But was that the reason for his transfer?“Do I or do I not belong in this world?” Damien questioned his presence constantly.

“Oh Lord Lunareio, you are the only one who can save our world.”...My name is Rikuya Takatsuki, and I didn’t ask to be summoned to some fantasy world with my classmates. But there I was, expected to be a hero and protect the Kingdom from Realm Eaters, dimensional monsters chewing through reality.Apparently, all the races summoned forth heroes of legend, which was sort of a shocker to me since it wasn’t the cliché “slay the demon king” trope.Sounds cool, right? Wrong. While everyone else got flashy powers and legendary classes, I was slapped with the FFF Auto Hero class—no skills, no perks, and no respect.The kingdom handed me some pocket change and politely told me to scram.Fine by me. I was all set on enjoying the easy life in this new world anyways, when out of nowhere a bunch of cultists kidnapped me, claiming I’m their prophesied god or whatever.They gave me a mansion, unlimited snacks, and zero responsibilities, so of course, I played along.But then my so-called useless class kicked in. Turns out Auto Hero means my body hijacks itself whenever there’s danger, turning me into some kind of unstoppable killing machine. Efficient? Sure. Ethical? Not so much. Now everyone thinks I’m this terrifying cult leader who takes down monsters, corrupt kings, and anyone dumb enough to stand in my way.While my classmates enjoy their shiny hero lives, I’m here in the shadows, leading a cult, toppling kingdoms, and pretending I have some grand plan. The truth? I’m just winging it.I mean... what’s the worst that could happen?

Orlax Tirshtain is the villain in the global game [Unification of Empires]. The tyrannical, cold-blooded emperor is a man who slaughtered his own family with his own hands and ascended the throne with their blood—a power-obsessed madman. Despite five years having passed since the game’s release, no one has been able to defeat this lunatic. So, how the hell did I become this damned?????