The Runesmith - Chapter 7 New place old woe.

Eight hundred years ago, Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of the Xian Le kingdom. He was loved by his citizens and was considered the darling of the world. He ascended to the Heavens at a young age; however, due to unfortunate circumstances, was quickly banished back to the mortal realm. Years later, he ascends again–only to be banished again a few minutes after his ascension.

A passionate researcher and lover of martial arts and combat sports finds himself reincarnated in a fantastical world of Martial Art. No longer shackled by the disease that afflicted his body on Earth, he decided to dedicate his body, heart, mind and soul to becoming a Martial Artist.

What happens when a man of Earth meets an unearthly world?

What happens when science meets fantasy?

Follow Rui as he journeys through his Martial Path in a world of fantasies and tribulations.

Wen Le’s grandfather was a revered literary writer who escaped to the mountains for inspiration and has lived there for over 10 years.

Ever since she was a child, Wen Le has lived in the mountains with her grandparents. Only upon attending school did Wen Le discover that they only had a black and white TV while her friends all had LED ones.

Thus the young Wen Le who matured early knew that they were poor and that she had to work hard. However, Wen Le gradually realized that something felt a bit odd. Wen Le hesitantly gave her grandfather a call.

“Yeye*, when I passed the university entrance exam, what are the two keys that you and Dad gave to me for?”

Grandpa snorted in reply, “I gave you a courtyard house, and your dad gave you a building.”

Wen Le trembled in trepidation, “Then what about that document which Dad got me to sign a few days ago?”

Grandpa snorted, “How would I know? But your Dad recently bought a gem mine.”

Wen Le cautiously asked, “Yeye, is our family really not poor?”

Grandpa got so angry and scolded her for being s*upid.

After Wen Le got together with the school crowned hunk Zhou Kao, who was cold to everyone, it shook the entire school. Zhou Kao was a wealthy young master from birth, and Wen Le was only a poor child from the mountains. With their social status deemed unfavorably matched, Wen Le was deemed as a scheming girl who wanted to marry into wealth.

Until someone secretly recorded the interaction between the two of them. In the video, Zhou Kao had unexpectedly backed Wen Le up to a secluded corner. He played with Wen Le’s long hair, “It’s said that this jewel that’s currently on you is worth millions but was bought from a street stall for $20?”

Wen Le smiled: “The stall owner was probably my Dad.”

“However…” Wen Le raised Zhou Kao’s chin and looked at him with her seductive eyes, “How much are you selling this ten million beauty for?”

Reputed as being hellishly difficult, Zhou Kao, the famed hunk whom nobody could successfully chase, was infatuated. He leaned down for a kiss, and with a raspy voice said, “I’ll give it to you for $10.”

Wen Le dodged the kiss with a laugh, “Isn’t $10 a little expensive?”

Zhou Kao clenched his teeth, and directly kissed her, “I’ll bear a deficit of $10.”

The whole school was SHOCKED!

- Description from Novelupdates

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!