The Novel's Extra - Chapter ss41: Side Story 41 – Dream in a Dream (41)

The sky was painted gray forever. The light of the sun was restrained. The darkness of the night was deeper than ever. At such a time, he belonged to a class people didn’t even recognize as ’human’. He was at the bottom of the social stratum, a slave. And when his only family was taken away from him... he no longer had a purpose in life. Yet, he clung to life because of his promise. And he set an impossible goal for himself, just so he’d have an excuse to live. When he finally reached a place he never expected to be, in pursuit of a purpose he expected to fail and die miserably trying to fulfill... he awoke to a night that would change his entire life. He was an insignificant fly, a mere speck in the destruction of the Empire. But he... survived. And, despite being a slave, he gained the blessing of a king. Or rather, the curse...

Facing extinction, humanity seeks salvation in the Astral Verge, a dangerous dimension accessed via portals that threatened to wipe out the entire planet.Few years later, aspiring recruit Daniel Vance enters the Verge for his final assessment, hoping to Awaken a Talent and secure his future. While others gain common abilities, Daniel secretly Awakens the mythical SSS-Grade Talent: [Soul Assimilation]. This allows him to absorb essence, enhancing gear, gaining stats and EXP from slain creatures, and crucially, absorbing attributes and skills from fallen Awakened.Witnessing the swift death of the arrogant Jaxon Rex, Daniel makes a grim choice: he assimilates Jaxon, gaining his first skill, [Kinetic Pulse]. This sets his path: scavenging the aftermath of others’ battles. He enhances gear and, after achieving his first kill on an injured beast, waits patiently to assimilate two more fallen recruits, acquiring [Quick Step] and the invaluable passive [Aura Sense].Starting as average, Daniel rapidly gains power in secret, enhanced gear, multiple skills, and boosted stats , far exceeding his peers while remaining outwardly unremarkable. He navigates the lethal Verge alone, using its inherent dangers to fuel his growth, wrestling with the moral cost of his unique, overwhelming power.

Mo Yan was an illegitimate child of a rich family and was arranged by her mother to take the place of her sister in marriage to a poor man in order to fulfill the marriage contract set by the previous generation, allowing the Mo family to get their hands on that substantial dowry.

# COZY # OMNIPOTENT # CHIEFASSISTANT

In her past life, Mo Ruyue was a top-notch assassin. She was as indifferent as an abyss, and had killed more people than she had fingers to count. In her new life, she became the vicious stepmother of five munchkins in a remote mountain valley, and they were terrified of her. In this life, she decided to change the way she lived. She only had four bare walls for a house? Her children starved to the point they were just skin and bones? No problem. She could kill wild boars with her bare hands, so food wasn’t an issue. She was also proficient in multiplication tables, and her kids instantly became big fans of hers. It had been a difficult journey to change from a vicious stepmother to a warm one. Then, her supposedly dead husband suddenly returned, now the first minister of the dynasty.“Let’s divorce. Give me the children, and I’ll return the money to you.” “I don’t lack anything, just you and the children.”