The Newt and Demon - 4.64 - Cookies and Poker

s a self-professed no-lifer, Yuri idles his days away in front of a computer. This all changes the moment his life in Japan comes to an abrupt end and he finds himself reborn in the strange new world of the Shiyalta Kingdom. His new life includes everything he once lacked: loving parents, a comfortable home, and a promising future breeding and raising birds on his dad’s ranch. For centuries, the kingdom he now calls home has enjoyed peace and prosperity, shielded by friendly nations that, like Shiyalta itself, were established with the collapse of a once-great empire. War is a distant problem, relevant only to Shiyalta’s ruling families whose warriors periodically set out to join the fighting upon massive birds trained by Yuri’s dad and others. But this peaceful existence can’t last forever. Something rotten lies at the heart of the kingdom, and it doesn’t take someone with Yuri’s exceptional intelligence to realize that those distant battles will only remain irrelevant for so long.

Shi Man was the best special agent in the organization, and she was supposed to retire in peace, but they came after her to purge her anyway. She died exhausted after turning the tables against the organization’s agents… but was reborn, transmigrating into a book as its villainess! The villainess’s family is rich and powerful. Being the only daughter, her mother and brothers would pamper her out of control, and she was engaged to the male lead at birth. Yet, the body’s original owner messed up big-time despite being dealt the perfect hand. She harassed the female lead to win the male lead’s attention and affection until she eventually incensed the male lead. He threw her into the colosseum ring, where she was torn to pieces. Her family naturally went all out to avenge her and ended up suffering multiple casualties as they fell into desperate straits…

On the other hand, when Shi Man reincarnated, she told the male lead that they should go their separate ways and pretend they never knew each other even if they met again. She even paid the female lead with emotional duress compensation and told her they had nothing to do with each other from then on. However, after parting ways with them and preparing to begin a new life, the male lead regretted his choice and started wooing her. The supporting male characters who were never interested in her also had a sudden change of heart, and even the female lead was now offering to be her follower! Staring at the mob flocking around Shi Man, the Shi family was furious. “She belongs to our family! Stay away!”

[Ding! Sorceress Beauty Merlin from Camelot has added you to a chat group full of beautiful maidens!][Ding! You've claimed the title of Supreme Demon Lord!][Ding! Fairy Queen Ophelia tagged you in a post!][Ding! Medusa sent you some of her spicy videos, shut your blinds before watching!][Ding! Your dog has been transformed into the Ancient Black Dragon Veligrpyh!]James Kang, once the youngest heir to the multi-trillion-dollar Hart Global Corporation, has everything anyone could dream of: money, luxury, and freedom. But his life is hollow—friends are fake, family distant, and his days are a blur of shallow extravagance.One late, lonely night, James gets a notification:[Congratulations! You have been added to the Ancient Multiverse Chatroom!]Thinking it's some cringy online role-playing game, he decides to entertain himself and plays along, proclaiming himself the “Supreme Demon Lord.”The group, filled with titles like:[Princess of the Azure Seas][Dragon Emperor of Ashvale][Goblin Slayer Supreme][High Priestess of the Sun][Fafnir, the Pet Wyvern]And they seemed hilariously invested in their roles.What starts as a joke takes a bizarre turn.The more James participates, the more he notices strange phenomena: glowing runes on his skin, magic artifacts materializing from nowhere, an elder dragon in his garage, and a sudden mastery of dark magic.Things escalate when a private group chat, run by a perverted female King Arthur, invites him to [The Table of Beauties], a circle of god-tier roleplayers… or so he thinks.Soon, James learns the truth.The chat is an interdimensional nexus connecting real worlds where magic, legends, and gods exist. His casual banter and fake roleplay have turned him into a living, breathing Demon Lord, complete with a castle in Hell, loyal monster armies, and reality-warping powers.To make matters even crazier, his “friends” start visiting Earth, and they’re nothing like he imagined!

In this world, orphans or just anyone without any hope for this world can apply to become a “walking target”. Their sole purpose is to be a practicing dummy for the students of the sect who train to become “Demon Hunters”. These students need “walking targets” to test their training on living, walking beings of flesh and blood.
In exchange, they will be provided with food & shelter.
Their existence value is lower than a slave, but if they manage to survive a few years they can receive a life long pension.

Xiao Han is such a “walking target”. One time he witnessed a powerful Demon Hunter disposing a demon. When the demon died, a fragment of the demon that managed to escape entered Xiao Han’s heart. No one saw that, and even Xiao Han himself only felt some discomfort for an instant.

But that thing in his heart soon gave Xiao Han visions, and the first one is of a cultivation method which allows Xiao Han to absorb damage to enhance his body. A perfect cultivation method for a “walking target”.

- Description from Novelupdates