These Familiars Are Strange - Chapter 5: Test

An eternal prison, a soulless body, a sealed spirit, everything lost.

To resign before merciless fate, or to become destiny!

“I lived in an illusion, I was lost, I could not find my home, I did not have a home… but why does it matter?! Between bowing to the threat of death and a spine that would never bend, I will choose the latter!”

- Description from Novelupdates

Betrayed by his sister. Betrayed by chosen one's humanity. Betrayed by the Gods.That was how the life of Leonard, the Defier of Fate and the world’s greatest heretic, came to an end.When demons invaded human lands, he received a revelation from the Goddess. She commanded him to act as a spy, to infiltrate the enemy ranks and expose their secrets for humanity’s sake.To fulfill this mission, he had to sacrifice a part of his soul. He accepted a demonic contract, surrendered his soul, and became a demonic human. Risking everything, he provided critical information to the humans and helped them turn the tide of battle.But then, he had a shocking discovery.The war was nothing but a gambit between various gods and before he could act, the war was stopped out of nowhere.In an unexpected turn, humans and demons put aside their hatred and signed a peace treaty.Before Leonard could make sense of it, he was betrayed. Both demons and humans joined hands to kill him.“Fuck! If there is a next life, I swear I will tear you gods apart!”With this scream, he thought his suffering was finally over.But…When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the body of Kael Veydrin, the son of the Grand Duke of the Heizen Empire. But this new life was no different from the last.His sister wanted to get rid of him.Born with clogged vessels and no talent, he was nothing but a disappointment.A subject of fun and ridicule among the fellow nobles.Despite rebirth, nothing seems to change.The cursed fate.The distorted history smearing his name.A world that was against him.Leonard, now assuming the identity of Kael, let out a low chuckle.“Don’t worry, Kael. I will have revenge for both of us.”“They called me heretic right? I will show them how a true fucking heretic acts.”Follow Kael's journey, as he fights against the fates and injustices to drag the ones ruling above.

Joseph Sullivan is at an all-time low. He lost his job, his fiancée dumped him, he moved back to the Midwest and currently lives in his parent’s basement—oh, and his workout was just interrupted with the arrival of the System.Earth has become a playing field in a contest amongst the gods, where mortals are the pawns. The winning god gets the glory, and their chosen champion gets a single wish. The first stage of this game: Tutorial – Class Selection.Provided the ideal stat array for a physical, combat-focused class, the choice for Joe is obvious. Until he fat thumbs the selection screen and ends up selecting Spellcaster. His starting Intelligence stat? 1.With a useless class selection and only his raw testosterone-fueled strength to back him up, Joe decides class optimization is for dummies. Pumping all stat points in Strength, he hopes to not only survive the contest of the gods, but to win the whole damned thing.After all, a real wizard should be measured by how much they can bench!