The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary - Chapter 7: Pursuit to Engage

He shattered the heavens… and got isekai’d into a crazy desert survival game!Xu Tao cultivated for ten thousand years, defying death and destiny to reach the Divine Heaven Immortal Stage.But just as he touched the heavens—The heavens kicked him into a world based on a full-dive VR game.Now he’s got no Qi. No weapons, no cultivation… and no pants.Just a desert full of monsters, a glitchy “Lost System” that won’t shut up, and knowledge forged from millennia of clawing his way to the top.Enemies? Weaklings.Mystic beasts? Drop garbage loot.Level caps? He’s Xu Tao.He didn’t spend ten millennia chasing immortality just to get wiped by a scorpion in a tutorial-zone!But he’s definitely not here to play. He’s here to ascend—again.Even if this time, he has to grind EXP and punch sand beetles to do it.But wait... That's not all...? He could also... What?!

In the expansive expanse of existence, there exist realms concealed from the awareness of ordinary folk.Rain Weathers, an unremarkable teenager with average looks, physique, and grades, was leading an uneventful life.However, everything took a dramatic turn one fateful day when he found himself plunged into a vivid dream, a dream that unveiled a world beyond imagination — a world teeming with spirits, monsters, and conversing frogs.This was the Spirit Realm.Transformed into a player by the mysterious machinations of the universe, Rain, alongside other chosen individuals, found themselves thrust into a perilous world.They were tasked with navigating their newfound domain, establishing their territories, all while fending off relentless onslaughts from beasts, defending their territories from other races, and making sure to stay alive for another day.

Cliche. Another monster progression story. That was probably what you thought when you read the title of my story. And, I can't lie, for the most part, it probably is.But, what else am I supposed to do when I've been thrusted into a world that could kill me in an instant? There's nothing to do but to progress, to devour and evolve. You would do the same too.Such is the basis of a monster.Such is the right of any living being.So that's what I did. I ate, I killed and I hoarded anything I could get my big limbs on. Friendship, allies and love? There used to be a little god calling himself “Heaven's Equal” who spouted of such things, before I ate him. The world went pretty quiet after that.Follow my story. Read for yourself how I evolved from a little monster in a lake I thought was the ocean, all the way into the Titan Of Destruction.What To Expect:- A relatively quick progression story- Ruthless, I mean - Fang Yuag levels - of ruthless protagonist.- A system? that grows stronger along with the protagonist- Big Monsters Duking It Out, with minimal humans/beastmen/elves, etc. . .focus. Basically, monsterverse without annoying ass humans ruining the show.- Did I mention that the protagonist was pretty evil?

I’m not a gamer. In fact, I barely touched games—never had the time or interest.I’m a 23-year-old college dropout, part-time construction worker, and full-time avoider of adult responsibilities.That is, until my little sister nagged me into trying a romance simulation game called Echoes of the Crimson Throne.I played it. Liked it more than I expected. I even completed it.And the next thing I knew… I woke up inside the game.Not as the hero.Not even as a love interest.I was now the personal attendant of Alice Draken—the villainess, the Prince’s fiancée, and the iron-fisted Ruler of the North.A woman whose downfall was guaranteed... unless I do something about it.