The Innkeeper - Chapter 1742: A close second

Thomas was an avid fan of the virtual reality game ‘Seeking the Immortal Path’. This game came out of nowhere and took the world by storm. Boasting a hyper-realistic setting where the players can explore infinite possibilities.On one stormy night, Thomas received a notification from the game.[Are you prepared to find out the truth?][Yes] [No]It was a question that ignited his interest. He thought that it was merely a hidden event so he unhesitatingly clicked [Yes]. What he didn’t know at that moment was that this decision would change his life forever.—Fredrinn Firecrown was the heir of a renowned family, but he was an untalented trash with low-grade spirit root. To make himself feel superior, he bullied the commoners and the people with lower status than him.This man was supposed to become the weakest villain according to Thomas’ memories of the game, but he suddenly found himself transmigrating into Fredrinn’s body.Armed with his knowledge as a former top player, follow Fredrinn’s story as he changed everyone’s perception of him all while battling the dangerous magical beasts and martial practitioners of the dangerous cultivation world.

Crimson Vale Academy—where reputation is currency, and failure is a stain you wear on your sleeve.Behind gothic walls and spotless uniforms, students aren't just educated—they're measured, ranked, and pitted against each other in a brutal meritocracy. Privileges are earned, not given. The strong rise. The weak vanish.Enter Kairon Vale, a transfer student marked Rank D—the bottom of the bottom. No badge. Just a stitched black fang, branding him as “Obsidian”—a warning to others.In a system where points dictate your value, Obsidian-ranked students claw for every opportunity to ascend into the prestigious Golden or Platinum ranks—where comfort, power, and influence await. But for most, it’s a losing battle.Yet Kairon isn’t here to fit in, impress, or play by their rules. Cold, calculating, and impossible to read, he watches the system… and waits. Because while the academy judges worth by numbers and names—he understands something deeper:Everyone wears a mask. And every mask can be cracked.Let the games begin.

The sky and the earth are infinitesimal as a grain, and a life of peace is like the sea.

Lu Heng, who crossed over to the other world, found himself transformed into a huge white wolf, a mountain God of a remote mountain with a group of villagers under his rule.

In this strange and wild world, demons and giant beasts run rampant, and human order is almost non-existent.

These, however, are not what Lu Heng needs to think about. What he needs to think about now is how to tell this group of villagers that he does not need little girls.

Besides, he actually doesn’t want to be a God anymore…

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.