the toll novel

**In the neon-drenched cyberpunk metropolis of Neo-Veridia, your soul isn't just your identity—it's corporate property.** Alaric Sterling is an ordinary, bored fourteen-year-old student living in the slums of Sector Three, completely indifferent to the world around him. But his gray reality is shattered forever when his best friend, Leo, is brutally murdered by Director Valerius Vance—the ruthless billionaire head of Vance Corp—who steals Leo’s rare *Sunfire Pendant* to fuel a dark, city-wide corporate conspiracy known as the **Soul Merger**. Left for dead in a burning warehouse, Alaric accidentally awakens his own dormant Soul Relic: a shattered silver **Pocketwatch of Time**. The cost of activation is absolute—every time Alaric forces time to pause or rewind, a neon-blue digital countdown burned into his flesh aggressively ticks away, permanently devouring his remaining lifespan. Aided by Steven, a grizzled Head Police officer turned underground mentor, Alaric sets out on a ruthless path of vengeance. To stop Vance Corp from harvesting innocent citizens and turning the population into a mindless corporate hive mind, Alaric must infiltrate the dangerous black markets of Sector Five and destroy the physical machinery of the **Southern Anchor**. He successfully breaks the corporate circuit, but at a devastating cost to his own mortality. Left with less than nine years on his ticking countdown, Alaric makes a grim **Five-Year Vow**: he will spend the next half-decade in hiding, training his fragile body, and gathering a resistance of independent relic users to tear down the remaining anchors. The countdown has officially begun. Can Alaric dismantle an entire corporate empire before his own heart stops ticking? **Themes:** *Dark Shonen, Cyberpunk, Time Manipulation, Vengeance, Found Family, High-Stakes Combat.*

Trapped in a prison, unable to remember his past, Toll searches for a way to survive. This is a horror story that meanders through litrpg/tabletop rpg/puzzle game tropes, including saving princesses, gathering harems, and fighting for his life-all the while stuck in a cursed body (but not a werewolf) he can't always control. As dice are involved, I don't know where this will go.

Mason was a Delta Force soldier who survived the hardest wars, but he couldn't protect his wife, Tessa, at home. When she is killed in a "hunting accident" by billionaire Victor Sterling, the police tell Mason to take the money and walk away. But Mason sees the truth: Victor didn't just kill her; he displayed her photo at a gala like a hunting trophy. Fueled by rage, Mason calls in his old team. He discovers that Tessa wasn't just a victim she was a hero who found out Victor was poisoning the land. Even worse, her own father, Senator Sterling, helped cover it up. Mason isn't looking for a settlement anymore; he’s looking for justice. He will use every skill the military taught him to hunt the hunters and tear down a political empire. In this game, Victor is no longer the predator he is the prey.

The first in a series following a mercenary and her unusual companion, “The Toll” is a somber, character-driven tale about the inevitable cost of choices—both past and present ones. Low on coin and in search of respite, a young mercenary and her companion arrive in a seemingly quiet hillside village. But what begins as an unassuming stop quickly turns tense when they stumble into a simmering conflict between the villagers and a band of armed deserters. Hoping to help—and earn enough to keep moving—they intervene, only to find themselves drawn deeper into old wounds, questionable loyalties, and choices with no clean outcome.

The world collapsed in a single day—no wars, no warnings, only an unrelenting onslaught of natural disasters. First came the typhoons, violent winds tearing through cities as torrential rain submerged coastal regions. Then, the earthquakes struck, swallowing skyscrapers whole as the ground cracked open like the jaws of a beast. Acid rain poured from the darkened skies, corroding metal, withering plants, and filling the air with a sharp, acrid stench. As if that wasn’t enough, extreme cold and scorching heat alternated unpredictably, turning survival into a cruel test. Temperatures plunged to freezing lows, only to spike into unbearable heat within hours, as though the very world had gone mad. Then came the swarms. Mutated insects devoured everything in their path, stripping the land bare, leaving only death and decay. Cities fell into ruin, order crumbled, and the pillars of modern civilization—food, water, electricity, communication—all disintegrated overnight. Some despaired. Some descended into madness. But among them, someone awoke—reborn at the brink of destruction. This time, she wouldn’t be naïve. She had her space, her stockpiles, and her loyal companions. As the apocalypse loomed once more, she was determined to survive—not just to live, but to thrive.

Damn, the tool next door to Lance Baye is superiorly hot. Although the stud’s name is Mike Danning, Lance insists on calling him Tool. Probably because he looks hot, big, and dumb. Lance knows Mike is from Phoenix, and is temporarily in Pittsburgh to care for his Uncle Craig.<br><br>Playing around, Lance decides to borrow tools from his neighbor. A wrench today. A screwdriver tomorrow. A handsaw the day after tomorrow. Soon, Lance has a pile of Tool’s tools. And he also has a strong desire for Tool.<br><br>But just when Lance decides to put the sexual moves on Tool, another neighbor is also interested. Honey Hertzer. Lance backs off -- it seems pathetic and a waste of time to chase a straight tool.<br><br>Things can change on a dime, though. Lance has a stack of tools that belong to Tool. And Tool needs them back. Will the two men share a hungry and sexual connection, crossing neighborly lines when Tool comes searching for his tools? Does a promising future exist between the pair?

lorsque le destin s'impose a vous.

There was a person names Nari, she was just a regular person living her highschool life but she absolutely loves reading about fantasy. But sadly she died to over exhaustion in her school works but she was reincarnated to another world The new world was full of magic and swords just like what she read, she was excited to live her new life. But what's this? She was reincarnated as a frog? Well that won't stop her from living her new fantasy life to the fullest. So Nari starts her journey to learn all types of magic in this new found world she was reincarnated into, what will happen next? Continue reading to find out! ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Disclaimer: The Cover for this Novel is mine, it was made by AinsT1ck

Reborn alongside her son, Chen Xiaobao, Chen Momo learns from the mistakes of her past life and starts a frantic hoarding spree. To survive, the mother-and-son duo each put their skills to use in the apocalypse. The lively little Chen Xiaobao quickly wins everyone's heart, and Chen Momo finds love of her own in the apocalypse too...

Fu Xiaoxiao transmigrates into a book and immediately faces the crisis of being sent to the countryside. As the unloved middle child, her younger sister is the one meant to go — but her mother transfers her job to the sister instead. A disaster of a start. To avoid being sent away, she has to marry within seven days. She meets a few ordinary men and decides she'd rather go to the countryside. Then she runs into a neighbor who's also looking for a spouse — and his conditions are surprisingly good. A dowry of three hundred? Bicycles and a radio? Just take care of the kids, and separate rooms are fine? The others may pass, but she won't. Every day is a battle of wits with the two kids. Life is eventful, she gets a salary every month, and the boss is never home. Absolutely perfect. Except... wasn't this big shot supposed to be infertile? Then why does he keep strutting around naked in front of her? She has professional ethics. She won't be seduced by a good body. Hmph. Men only slow down her sword swing. Lu Feng grits his teeth at Fu Xiaoxiao, who remains completely unmoved by his countless attempts to seduce her, and traps her in his arms. "Boss, let's talk this through. I know forty a month is a bit much — how about... five less?" Trapped in his embrace, Fu Xiaoxiao thinks he's unhappy with her high salary and starts bargaining. "I'm giving myself to you for free." Lu Feng grinds out through clenched teeth. This woman has no heart. "...Can I say no?" Fu Xiaoxiao swallows, staring at the washboard abs so close. "Such a good deal — are you sure you don't want it?" Lu Feng squints, tempting her. "Fine." A fool turns down a bargain.