Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~ - Volume 1 - Chapter 9

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Morca, a mere mortal who dared to ascend to the heavens and claim his place among the so-called gods, ultimately failed. Not because of his own weakness, but because he was forced to watch his beloved little brother be slain by the Heavenly Titan Court’s envoy.In that moment of grief and distraction, the Heavenly Titan Court’s envoy, realizing they could not stop him through conventional means, placed upon him the Curse of Eternal Doom, a fate that ensured both the heavens and the abyssal realms would relentlessly pursue him until his existence was completely erased.And it nearly worked. His soul teetered on the brink of annihilation, moments away from being extracted.Then, everything turned blank.===Morca, after 'transmigrating' into the world of Eden, awakened a powerful system that granted him a unique SSS+ talent. This talent allowed him to grow stronger through battle and killing. With the system’s aid, he advanced rapidly, eventually ascending into the Oblivion Realm–a place beyond the known and the unknown. There, he uncovered a great secret that no one had ever imagined existed.During his journey to power, he met Neo Laura, a companion bound to him by the system.===The birth of the Child of Nihility. An entity destined to shake the heavens, the abyssal realms, and even the oblivion realm itself.===Everything in existence has an opposite. So, if nothing exists beyond the darkest space… then shouldn't its opposite be everything?Beyond the endless void outside the universe lies the Oblivion Realm, home of the Nihilians.They are described in a single word, Catalytic.They grow quickly. They Course destruction just as fast.Shrouded in mystery, their existence is a paradox.

Draco Xandros, an average young man, awakened an SS-Ranked Copy Talent and a Copy System. With these two strength, he had hope of fulfilling his hidden dream (becoming a hero) but fate said otherwise for him. Betrayed by the person he loved most, he lost his system and talent, his life hanging on a thread. Why? Why me? This question passed through his mind. The paining of getting his system and talent extracted and getting betrayed by his love made him fall in abyss. [Detecting sufficient energy to awaken the system] [Activating the Plundering System] **[Host has successfully awakened the Plundering System]** **[Gained an SSS+ Talent Ability: Plunder]** **[Gained an SSS+ Talent Ability: ????? Dragon Power]** **[Gained an SSS+ Talent Ability: ????? Phoenix Power]** This voice brought a change to his life. Farming EXP, getting stronger, completing missions. This was his daily life. Until a memory fragment surfaced... It turned out his identity wasn’t what it seemed. His past life, his parents—everything was shocking, as he found himself caught in a whirlpool of secrets. Follow Draco’s journey as he uncovers the missing pieces of the puzzle and the hidden truths about his past life.

The miracle doctor, Xu Qing, accidentally fell into the water and died. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself having transmigrated into a farming novel. Then, she felt excruciating pain in the lower half of her body. Xu Qing looked down in disbelief. As a thirty-year-old unmarried single woman, she was in the midst of giving birth to a child! Staring at the three babies who were barely breathing, Xu Qing almost went mad. Why did she suddenly become a mother of three?

Her father exclaimed, “How dare you give birth to b*stard children before getting married?! We don’t have a daughter like you. Scram!” Before Xu Qing could even catch her breath after bearing children, she was chased out of the house by her father. Fortunately, her mother pitied her and secretly gave her an acre of land to aid in her survival. With no options left, Xu Qing picked up a hoe and started farming.

‘Hey, that unconscious mister over there, please die somewhere else! Don’t dirty my corn field!’ After dragging the unconscious man to a side, Xu Qing suddenly remembered that she needed help taking care of her children. This man would do!

Later on, Qiao Yanhui knelt down before his angry wife with an aggrieved look on his charming face. He had one child on each arm, and another clinging to his head. He looked up at Xu Qing pitifully. “Honey, it’s the effect of my family genes. I can’t control my genes from producing so many babies…” “Out! Get out now!” Xu Qing kicked him aside. Who knew that the man she picked up turned out to be the father of her children. Had she known, she would’ve left him to die in the corn field.