The Demon King's Guide To Not Getting Defeated By A Paladin - Chapter 24 - 23.5 — Trouble Comes

I possessed a third-rate villain who died in every route of my favorite game.

But I want to live.

Lin An's life underwent a drastic change.The basketball under his bed had turned into a bleeding head, which would hop next to his pillow and hum softly by his ear at midnight. The subway racing into the station had become a gigantic lizard, opening its gaping maw, waiting for him to line up and feed it.The world was not as simple as he had imagined. Behind the bustle of the city, the Witch Hunter Knights roamed in search of evil wizards to slay.The ordinary worker, Lin An, inadvertently became a member of the Antler Witch-Hunting Knight Order, shouldering the glorious mission to protect humanity.He must be careful, careful, and then even more careful.Careful not to reveal his true identity as a wizard.…“Why Hunt a Cowardly Innocent Wizard?!”

Player: I’m a worker whose monthly salary doesn’t even hit $5,000. My monthly rental already takes up half of my salary, I don’t have a girlfriend and is reprimanded by my superior every day. However, I feel very happy because there has been a new virtual game recently. In the game, I have a powerful bloodline. Not only do I have my own fleet, I even have a powerful overlord that granted me a colonized planet. Although I know this is fake, but inside there, I found the meaning of my life!

Actually…the overlord who gave him the planet really wanted to tell him that this game wasn’t fake. (You really have your own fleet and colonized planet…) but the overlord knew that he couldn’t say this. Because, once he said it, these subjects who thought of themselves as ‘players’, would definitely not be as terrifyingly hardworking as now!!

Eli Turner had perfected the art of coasting through life, gaming, lounging, and vibing with no grand ambitions beyond the next high. But his laid-back existence is upended when his laptop inexplicably transforms into a gateway to another world. What starts as a surreal escape becomes a perilous journey as Eli finds himself wielding a mysterious system that allows him to level up, fight monsters, and gain abilities beyond his wildest dreams.At first, the portal world feels like a haven, offering purpose and adventure Eli never knew he craved. Guided, or manipulated, by Azrael, a mischievous god orchestrating the game, Eli rises as one of the system's chosen players. But as the quests grow more dangerous and Azrael’s true intentions begin to surface, Eli struggles to balance the fantasy world with his life back home. His girlfriend, Sara, and his friends are left grappling with a version of Eli they hardly recognize, as the lines between his two lives blur.When the system expands to players worldwide, Eli crosses paths with others drawn into Azrael’s cosmic experiment: Yumi Tanaka, a fiercely disciplined Japanese student with a perfectionist streak, and Arjun Mehta, a charming Indian playboy with secrets of his own. Each carries their own burdens and ambitions, but all three must face the harsh truth: Azrael’s game is far more than it seems.As alliances are forged, rivalries ignite, and the stakes escalate, Eli must confront not only the dangers of the portal world but the growing rift between the person he is and the hero he’s becoming. In a game where every move is a test and every choice ripples across both worlds, the question remains: can Eli, Yumi, and Arjun uncover the truth before the system consumes them all?