25-year-old david who was given a job to correct the storyline from the light novel, anime and movie that was given to him

Pei Qian heaved a sigh of relief in the car after he left the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. He was absolutely treading on thin ice.
This is so tough for me!
Pei Qian recalled the things that happened today. If he had discovered it one or two weeks later, the situation might have gone out of control. When that happened, not only would problems crop up in the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, but the efforts spent on all the other projects would also be wasted!
"Fortunately, I have everything under control in my hands and have resolved the situation before it took a turn for the worst. Not only did I successfully console Old Ma, but I have also managed to clear out all potential risks. This is simply a perfect strategy to resolve the situation.
"I am indeed a genius!"
Pei Qian was worried that this incident would deal a terrible blow to Ma Yang such that he would not be able to recover from the setback. Therefore, he built a castle in the sky for Ma Yang at the end.
Of course, Pei Qian's words were not entirely true. However, the 'castle' that he had built for Ma Yang was different from what other bosses would say.
The 'castles' that other bosses built were complete lies. But, Pei Qian was different. He did plan on fulfilling his promise.
Ma Yang's actions gave Pei Qian a reminder. It made him think of the live-streaming industry.
Pei Qian was certain that in the next few years, live-streaming would quickly become a valuable investment opportunity. The war between live-stream platforms would soon erupt. People's lifestyles would be changed dramatically.
However, who said that investment opportunities would guarantee profits?
Choosing the right investment opportunity could indeed help one build a huge business empire. However, there was an even greater chance of being burned to ashes in the battle of financial power. In the end, most people would leave the scene in dejection.
After all, other people were not blind. If one could see this investment opportunity, others could as well.
In the internet age, one's financial power determined if he could ultimately win this investment opportunity.
Many companies burned money in terms of hundreds of millions. Pei Qian questioned himself if he was willing to burn the money. The answer in his heart was a yes. Yet, the ultimate problem was that Tengda did not have enough money for him to burn.
Whatever the case, the most important thing was that he must be able to lose money!
Pei Qian knew many classic case studies where companies consistently lost money:
The ofo yellow bikes (a bicycle-sharing service), Didi Chuxing (a ride-hailing service), Meituan Food Delivery, Panda TV (a live-stream platform), JD Logistics…
Weren't all these great examples of losing money?
Pei Qian felt that as long as he chose one of those case studies to copy, he would be able to lose money consistently. He could then use the system's money to fill the money hole. Wouldn't that be amazing?
Pei Qian did not do these previously as he had to meet certain criteria before he could step foot into those industries. He did not even have the money to create a shell for the projects, not to mention the operating costs.
However, during this period, Pei Qian realized that his goal was gradually moving towards losing tens of millions. Therefore, he would naturally plan his projects with the aim of reaching this targeted amount in mind.
Of course, he had to contemplate further on his detailed strategies.
After all, the system regulated that the settlement date would be postponed in the event when there were unfinished products.
If Pei Qian decided to enter a certain industry unprepared and his capital chain ruptured in the production stages, he would not be able to reach a settlement. Neither would he have enough money to continue with the production. He would then be stuck in an awkward situation.
If he could successfully lose money during these two cycles, he would choose not to enter those industries for the moment.
If he had profited again for some unknown reasons… 
Boss Pei would then go down the road of no return in terms of giving money away.
Amongst the many choices, live-stream sounded like a good option. Pei Qian wanted to comfort Ma Yang after seeing how upset he was. Thus, he decided to give Ma Yang the title of the CEO of Fish-Catching TV.
He could also claim that the idea for Fish-Catching TV came from the display screen that Ma Yang placed in the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
…
June 3rd…
The other two Fish-Catching Internet Cafes had opened its doors to customers. Pei Qian was there personally. He was finally assured after seeing how empty the two stores were with his own eyes.
Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were there, too. However, Ma Yang seemed a little confused and depressed.
Pei Qian pulled Zhang Yuan over to one side secretly. "I feel like Old Ma seems to be out of sorts."
Zhang Yuan replied truthfully, "It's fine, Boss Pei. Brother Ma has lost his goals temporarily. That's why he appears to be a little depressed sometimes. Yet, his appetite did not decrease at all. His meal portions have even increased."
Pei Qian thought to himself, "This is Old Ma for you. He is very tough psychologically indeed. Even after suffering such a huge blow, his appetite was not affected at all.
"What about the flagship store? How is it going?"
Zhang Yuan replied, "Business was okay. After Chen Lei left, we found a new resident singer. There were gifts occasionally, but the number of audiences is gradually decreasing.
"We still gave the singer a commission. The revenue now is better than how it was at the start. However, to turn our losses into profits… I don't know how long it would take to achieve that."
Pei Qian nodded his head. He could finally put down his worries.
As long as the stores did not turn their losses into profits, everything was good.
However, how could the revenue now be better than the revenue when the store just opened? That implied that giving commissions based on the number of drinks ordered was indeed a useful operating model. It could earn him profits. Therefore, this was ultimately still a hazard.
As Pei Qian looked at the frowning and gloomy Ma Yang, he suddenly had an idea.
Was there a way that he could settle the drinks commission issue over at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe while finding something new for Ma Yang to do so he could pick himself up?
An idea flashed past in a breeze in Pei Qian's mind.
Some of those classic case studies to lose money needed hundreds of millions to work. He could not venture into those avenues currently. However, some projects did not need a lot of starting capital to operate.
Such as… food delivery services!
Pei Qian noticed that the branch manager at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was a chef. During the selection process for the branch manager, other than the four waiters, there was also a chef who raised his hand. He became the branch manager naturally.
He happened to be suitable!
"Zhang Yuan, call the branch manager of this store over. Call Ma Yang over, too. I have a new task for you guys."
The four people sat down at the coffee area.
Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were already used to this while the newly-promoted branch manager-cum-chef was still not accustomed to his role change. He appeared to be a little uneasy and fidgety.
"How do I address you, branch manager?" Pei Qian asked.
He had never paid attention to the names of the few branch managers. They were just human props to him. It did not matter what their names were.
Thinking about it from another perspective, this was a good thing. If he knew the name of a human prop, that would imply that this human prop had performed remarkably at work. That was bad news to Pei Qian.
This newly-promoted branch manager-cum-chef looked like he was in his forties. He did not appear as 'greasy' as most middle-aged men. In fact, he had maintained a toned body and had taken good care of his appearance.
After hearing Boss Pei's question, the branch manager hurriedly replied, "I am Lin Canrong."
Pei Qian nodded his head. He only remembered that his surname was Lin.
"Old Ma, I heard that you seemed to have lost your goals recently. That is fine because I have a new and very important task for you! This would further expand the blueprint of our Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. It is an integral part of Tengda's business empire strategy.
"Are you confident to take on the task?"
Pei Qian looked at Ma Yang with encouragement in his eyes.
Ma Yang was instantly energized. "Brother Qian, tell me everything! I have been worried that I could not find an avenue to showcase my talent!"
Pei Qian nodded his head. As he had expected, a simple task was enough to rekindle the fire in Ma Yang's heart.
"We… are going to continue invading the F&B industry!"
Ma Yang, Zhang Yuan, and Lin Canrong looked at each other.
Continue invading the F&B industry?
Indeed, they had already started their conquest with the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. The Fish-Catching Internet Cafe did serve food. Its menu had western wine on one side and home-cooked meals on the other.
Chef Lin's previous job at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was to 'catch fish (laze around)'—oh! No. His job was to cook for the customers. However, most customers at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe did not order food. Thus, Chef Lin was mainly 'catching fishes' every day.
Pei Qian wanted to continue on his conquest with just that?


I really just want to lose money! T_T
Best boss ever, prodigy of the business world, genius creator, visionary of the century.
These are the descriptions used for Pei Qian, President of Tengda Corporation.
Ever since his rebirth, Pei Qian finds himself in possession of a system that rewards him if he manages to lose money.
Instantly, a brilliant idea comes to mind — making crappy games!
"If the game flops, all my investment cost will be lost!"
"How difficult can it be to lose money?"
Indeed... how difficult can it be?
------------------------------------------------------------
This book is highly popular in China and has set off a new trend. Webnovel has very high expectations for this book and has gotten the author to refine the first chapter as an exclusive for global readers. We hope everyone will enjoy reading it.

You guy's already know what time-travel basically is so I'll just get to the main point: Time travel is only complicated the more you try to micromanage the events that happened as a result of time travel.

In time loops, the focus is usually put more on seeing new sides to people and what they would have done if your specific actions were different. I can reference just about a dozen stories with either time travel used to send the protagonist into a foreign or ancient world and even The Melancholy of Haruhi Our Great God had a time loop that made the audience watch the same events multiple times.

Just go see the movie and you'll catch my drift. It will be too boring to explain this trope through examples so I'll spice things up by taking a step back. Let me explain my own personal thoughts on this first:

In my perspective: There are two kinds of forces that can affect events in time travel stories. The first being the intentions of the characters while the second being the natural world around them.

Let's say you're trying to save someone from an accident involving the weather in the past. Perhaps getting them to a safe zone or something wouldn't really affect the wider world as a whole. However, it is up to the author if events happen 'because the of the main character' or 'because he used a very unstable time machine that messed up time'.

I feel it's best to explain this first since it doesn't seem convincing if the main problem to your story isn't the change of events but because of an external interference messing your happy ending.

Things like: 'You have messed up fate and now this person is destined to die' only work if you are being aware that he isn't ACTUALLY at fault for the mess that's made. It's just Lady Time screwing him back.

This kind of thing is usually made for stories that show the dangers of trying to mess with a fundamental concept of reality. In other words: If you want to be happy, don't screw with time travel.

Messing with it causes time loops, paradoxes with your mom, and other horrific things that can only be fixed once you've either learned your lesson and stop messing with it any further than 'the incident'.

Of course, there are also stories where time travel itself doesn't have any disadvantages and it's the decision made by going back time that make things suck. This is not to be confused with 'you stepped on a leaf and now the future sucks', the change I'm referring to is mostly to do with how you changed interactions with other people that made them do something they didn't do in the previous timeline.

While it's not uncommon to have your main character step on a twig or something that causes a dog to wake up or something. If it's just you being there that messes with the wider world, then that attributes to previous point of angering Lady Time.

You would find it extremely confusing to write a story that involves time travel mechanics. However, there is a simple solution to making it easier, and that's by understanding the 'determinism' intrinsic to this specific trope: Why is the past always the same?

To explain: Determinism is to say that a person is defined by their past and their future actions are also a result of the past. The reason kid shows can easily add time travel is because they don't try to add layers to fictional characters like writers do.

Who can argue if I say another person changing the past to take that toy car I loved as a kid didn't turn me into evil mastermind? Basically, the reason you can even go back in time in the first place is because past events are 'determined' to happen due to events prior leading up to it. Changing something might not change the entire story, but it will at least leave behind evidence that you were actually there.

Okay, I'll finally give some examples now. You know in Doctor Who where he goes back in time and the only change to the future is someone remembering a big blue police box? It's a little like that, not all actions really need to change anything, since it's hard stopping events that are fully 'determined'.

Different problems in the past require different solutions whether it be needing to stop someone they really WANT to do, making a mistake out of unstable emotions, or just stopping them from being crushed by a tree that happened to fall on them.

If your character goes on a evil power trip saying that he's the lord of time because he can time travel then the reason he'll most likely be proven wrong is due to the inherent 'smallness' of one person overall.

Even if you wanted to stop Neil Armstrong from stepping on the moon, there's literally nothing you can do about it if you're just some normal guy who cannot influence people of greater stature.

If you try raiding NASA, you get turned into a sieve by bullets. If you try speaking out, there is no way these learned people would listen to the words of a plucky teenager who says he's from the future.

This is why time travel stories like Stein's Gate are so character driven. After all, if you already know these people, then there's a greater chance of persuading them NOT to do something that messes the future.

However, this is all me assuming that your main character is the one time travelling. If it is given to a side character instead then this trope can be twisted into truly unique stories where despite the main character not being in the know initially, a whole mystery can be uncovered through slowly giving out information that suggests a unnatural phenomenon.

Now I've said enough about 'going into the past' already. Now let's talk about the future. Let me get one thing out of the way first: There are zero disadvantages to travelling into a time where you're already dead and they can't 'travel back' to arrest you because of something stupid like wearing ancient clothing in this world where everyone specifically wears the exact same outfit. 

However, if you are actually interacting with your future self, then the timeline will already be changing ever so slightly. There's this Manga called Time Lover (I think) where the main character was accidentally getting phone calls from her deceased lover, this phone call being way back in the past.

In this story, the initiator of the paradox isn't her but someone relevant to her from the past, and the only way to save her lover and change her 'present' is to figure out who was responsible for killing him.

Now this was a highly specific example I gave but you get the gist of it, right? The who shtick of paradoxes and time loops is that the audience and protagonist actually need to search for the solution of how to fix their problem and actually getting it done. In the moments before these two goals are achieved, it is just used to characterise the main cast since I wouldn't read about people I don't like.

Oh yeah, there was thing time travel stories do a lot which demands the main character to not meet himself or the world will end or something, but that kinda thing isn't required. Just like I was saying with my first point, how time travel affects reality is up to your imagination. I mean, all you'd really think if someone looking like yourself came up to you would be: "Isn't this guy incredibly handsome?"

That's all I got, thanks for reading~!

(Cover by Darkstar Dust)

This is a story I worked on ages ago that has been refined and edited by adding foreshadowing to events while also simplifying the power system better than before. This story can be considered a prequel to An Adventure Beyond Greatness as it takes place years prior to the events of that story.

Short Synopsis:
After retiring from the battlefield, my life became empty and lifeless. The regrets of my past haunt me in my sleep. Then a change occurred, a King from another world summoned me to fight for his kingdom, but I died even before I could give him my answer. Now, after a fake God allowed me to reincarnate (albeit imperfectly) with my memories intact, into a world filled with magic and swords.

Long Synopsis:
This is about a flawed protagonist who only knew to rely on others and not socialise who gets a second chance to change himself in order to live the life he aimed for in his past life. The narrator isn’t exactly trustworthy since it is purely in his bias perspective while other perspectives given by others fill in the blanks that he either leaves out or twists to suit the situation.

The story itself can be considered a parody of Isekai’s classic tropes which are given a sense of reality as time goes by. As there exists no ‘Demon Lord’, there is also no black and white, only characters opinions and counter-opinions throughout the story.

Arthur's eyes refused to open the slightest bit. His thoughts were all muddled and he couldn't for the life of him concentrate enough for a dedicated effort. It felt as if a combination of hot sand, searing clamps and a pair serrated stilettos added for good measure held his eyes immobile. As he acclimated to the pain, falling back on the discipline and mental fortitude he had fought hard to establish, the immobility and pain throughout his body became apparent. Thankfully not to the extent centered around his eyes. Stiff and sore, as if he could have simultaneously experienced an entire weeks worth of muscle failing work outs, all the while laying still upon on a bed of stone. Impossible and ridiculous as that may be, he felt how he felt. 

Nothing he sensed screamed danger, so he took the time to mentally examine himself until movement returned. A bit twitchy at first, but he had full range of motion. No signs of blood or swelling that might have indicated a more serious injury. After rubbing an alarming amount of what felt like cement from his eyes, he could once again see. 

What worried him the most was that in less than a week now he would turn 18. Days away from finally choosing his class and the chance to finally lay the foundation for his future… And he falls into a mini-coma. Who had ever heard of a powerful figure fainting days before his rise? He couldn't help but be concerned that this would affect his future cultivation. It of course didn't occur to him that he would be anything else, other than a cultivator. 

Why else would he have spent his entire youth training in martial arts, philosophy, mediation, and so much more? Establishing a work ethic and self-discipline that would insure his way to the top and immortality. There could only be one true path for him and cultivation was it. No other path felt right to him, nothing else resonated within him as did cultivation. 

There were many other paths to power, possibly an endless list. His parents were great examples of two wildly different paths. His mother an Elemental Mage, utilizing mana and other arcane energies to manipulate and control fire, water, metal, wind and wood could level buildings and even entire cities. Relying on mentally demanding spells reinforced by willpower and intelligence had little to nothing to do with the physical body. While it was a fascinating class in its own right. He wanted the option to be up close and personal. Which wasn't a great idea for a glass cannon. Not that even his father was brave enough to say that to his mother's face. He was vastly underselling the possibilities and complexity of her class, but that wasn't really the point. 

His father had the Assassin class. Through agility and dexterity he could master stealth, long and short-range weapons including utilizing his body as a lethal weapon. He could utilize both the arcane and mundane. Technology and sorcery. Arthur's father was both the fastest and quickest fighter he had ever scene. His defense must be up there too, but how could it compare to the absolute defense that a qi cultivator could display? Again, even if it was only in his head, he wouldn't feel right not admitting that there was much more to an assassin then this. Especially one as accomplished as his father. But it couldn't change his way of thinking. Either class was too limited and narrow toward its own strengths.

His goals had there own difficulties as well. Choosing cultivation meant that progression would fall upon his own efforts far more. He wouldn't receive life experience after defeating his enemies, directly strengthening himself. His father Michael, had explained to him how the universe or whatever controlled progression and reality, rewarded certain classes for everything from achieving personal goals to taking a life. Quantitatively giving varying amounts of life experience or xp for short. Allowing them to rapidly increase their power. His father said that even the smallest goal could give xp. He would often write out his workout goals to solidify his intent. As an example, if he wrote down that he sought to lift a higher amount more times or run laps longer or faster than he had before, he could earn a small amount of exp. Not to mention the physiological improvement that would indicate. Benefiting twice for a single effort. The only downside is the slight exhaustion one would incur upon failing a set task. Thankfully it just amounted to a little fatigue and not a decrease in xp.

The same system worked for his mother as well. One of its truest advantages was its versatility. As a mage, physical training did not go a long way toward increasing her arcane power in and of it self. But she could assign her xp anywhere she liked. So mages often chose to forgo the advantage of doubling up on strength to assign them to something else that would be otherwise unaffiliated. On the same hand a warrior could earn xp from a book, given the right circumstances. 

The path he sought did not grant free a lunch, in this way or in any way really. No xp could be earned or allocated. He would not be granted an ethereal page listing his attributes, skills, spells or anything at all. His gains would be based on his own comprehensions and efforts. Qi, the foundational energy of every cultivator had to be absorbed and directed consciously to strengthen ones dantian and meridians. Only after the painstaking opening of each of the 108 meridians, one by one by one. Through the circulation and manipulation of qi through the dantian and pathways between meridians one could eventually transcend the mortal limits of the body and ascend to higher planes. Eventually anyway. This was why he was concerned about any long lasting damage to his mind or body. He had a long, hard road ahead of him already. Anything that limited or prohibited his ability to gather, condense or utilize Qi, needed to be identified and dwelt with immediately. 

Qi could be gathered in various ways, the most common being meditation, pills, formations, and the numerous types of cores. The first of which being beast cores. Found even in the smallest creatures, they could be directly absorbed by a cultivator. It was always good to keep in mind that gains from a core directly corresponded to the power of the creature they were pulled from. One could massacre hoards of squirrels for their cores, but the efforts would not justify the pittance of qi that they might gain. Not to mention they would be considered as the village idiot at best. Though more likely as a coward and cruel toward animals. 

The first step of course is to find a cultivation technique. Usually a diagram of the proper way to circulate ones qi and whatever advice and comprehensions the author chose to divulge. This meant that not all cultivation techniques were equal to each other. To start with, the knowledge the author either had or chose to share differed enormously. From books worth of discussion and insights to as few words as the title alone. This did not necessarily affect the quality of the method, but it greatly increased the difficulty of cultivating said method. If a cultivator did not fully understand a technique, then they could not display its full strength. The most profound technique utilizing only 10% of its power would lose out to a mediocre technique used at 100% of its potential. 

Cultivation techniques were classified in five categories from least to greatest. Foundational, Warrior, Lord, King and Emperor Grade. The first are Foundational Grade Cultivation Techniques. They are the most numerous among lower level cultivators and beginning cultivators. Because they were for the most part cheap, simple to understand and easy to teach, they formed the foundation of the majority of cultivator's foundations. The base foundation that their power would be built upon. Yet, by themselves could only increase ones power to a certain extent. Before they would reach a bottleneck and need a higher grade technique or stagnate.

Then there were Warrior Grade Cultivation Techniques. One grade higher and a world above those of the lowest grade. These were the most wide spread among soldiers and troops of nations occupying cultivation realms. Realms that were almost exclusively occupied by cultivators, to include the Origin Realms of Cultivation. Warrior Grade techniques did not place a lot of importance on comprehension and complexity. Focused primarily on increasing the strength and speed of the user. In effect, increasing the lethality of a soldier's weapons, and not on seeking to transcend to higher levels. Warrior Grade Cultivation Techniques were developed at the behest of the ruling classes. The royalty of nations sought to create powerful armies, not future competition for themselves. Seeking to limit the danger from within as well as without. 

This concept was true for Lord Grade, King Grade and the apex of cultivation techniques, Emperor Grade Cultivation Techniques. When the cultivation realms entered into the Imperial Epoch, the time when kingdoms were slowly conquered and great empires began appearing. As a way to solidify their own power as well as keep the masses in check, these five categories were created. Techniques that had existed for eons without label, were categorized and made a social taboo for people without enough status. Although never set down in law, a peasant would face severe pressure and possibly dire consequences if found practicing a technique too far above their station by the aristocracy. Or at best forced to join the military. 

In essence, the five labels were a mere indication of the level of power one might attain practicing a certain technique. This might be based on the author's position in society or the most powerful individual known to have used said technique. Which lead to rare cases where complex techniques utilizing profound circulation paths being considered as the lowest grade. Essentially being too difficult to cultivate in practicality. 

Earth, as a nexus of the countless realms was not considered a cultivation realm. Infinite pathways and connections existed here. An unprecedented existence in the multi-verse. No one system dominated its entirety. The different realms that were previously relegated to cultural and geological influence in ancient times, no longer held as much sway. As empires and regimes fell, knowledge was able to flow more freely. Creating a conglomerate of beliefs and paths to power. Where once it would have been strange to see a Christian Paladin in China or a Qi Cultivator in England, this was no longer true in the modern era. In democratic societies such as the United States, where the feudal system never held any sway. Variety was the norm, not the exception. 

This is what provided Arthur with the opportunity and means to acquire a true Emperor Grade Cultivation Technique. Using the Dragon Emperor Conquering Heaven cultivation technique and his relentless work ethic, he would rise in power at an insane rate. His comprehension and intelligence should be considered above average too. He wasn't exactly a genius like his mother, but it would be enough to help smooth over the rougher patches he would face. 

For whatever reason the "Universe," as his father liked to say, prevented individuals from manipulating the arcane until their 18th year. Unlike most every other arcane realm. Whatever or whoever, actually controlled the powers and laws of Earth was unknown. For him, it was enough to know it was unique and gave him this amazing opportunity. His innate potential was another factor. This force was another crucial factor in choosing a class. The higher ones innate potential, the more choices they had. 

It could be measured numerous ways. His mother had chosen an arcane instrument in the shape of an ancient tome. Though it had pages, they were all blank and otherwise arbitrary. The cover and spine were what was important. Or more accurately, the spells they contained. His mother was just really into the whole mage, wizard theme. For obvious reasons hopefully… 

The book was a deep blue in color, with swirling filigree and fantastical designs in gold and silver. To measure the potential of a person, one would place either hand in the center, over a clear crystal mound. His father joked had joked that he had cut off the top of one of his mother's crystals balls for it. Despite her not ever having a single one, ever. This was his version of a dad joke apparently. His mother usually responded with a minuscule flame burst toward his face or an small jolt on his ass. For an otherwise smart man, he never learned.

Along the spine lay another crystal. This was capable of glowing from the bottom to the top, like a thermometer. The strength of the one being tested determined how high the glow would rise. There were no numbers or markers of any kind. It was simply an indication of high a class one could choose. Not a scientific method, with quantitative results. Someone with high score would have more options. His mother's had been almost three quarters filled, his father's just over half. While the former was not surprising, the latter's had been a huge shock to his paternal grandparents. Their innate potential would have scored at less then a quarter with some variance in degree. His father's unexpected potential had given his unambitious father the seemingly ridiculous option of becoming an assassin. When asked why… He said, "It sounded cool at the time…" 

Arthur's potential had been beyond anyone's imagination. The bar had completely filled and shown with an almost blinding radiance. Theoretically giving him the ability to choose any class in existence. Something that no one could recall ever happening. Certain divine beings were rumored to have had less potential, upon being granted divine class options. Even his aloof maternal grandfather had shown wonder and shock. Muttering under his breath about gods and deities. So it had been even more unimaginable that Arthur remained unmoved by any of it. Caring only that he could without a doubt be a cultivator. Most who learned of this could not fathom giving up the chance to instantly become a godling. His argument that a cultivator could achieve the same level of power never fully convinced anyone. Many thought he was a rich spoiled-brat who couldn't truly fathom the amount of work he would need to put it. Not to mention the fickleness of fate. One could have eyes and still not see Mount Tai, they frequently thought.

A young man's world is torn apart and thrown in complete disarray just as it was supposed to have begun. Weeks before his 18th birthday, when he finally gets to choose his class, Earth experiences an unknown arcane detonation on an apocalyptic scale. As the world warps and twists in the aftermath, he learns that possibly none of the information he had spent his entire life studying may be true. Physics, both arcane and mundane have changed. 17 years wasted. As the chaos and carnage rage on he is given the final blow. Renowned Elemental Mage Vanja Lind-Lir and the infamous Assassin Michael Lir perished in the catastrophe.  Like billions around the world, he had lost both of his parents.

Peppers came to the Laboratory Instance after dinner to find Ayse who may have the ability to help her in the plans for blowing up the entire city in Giant World.
"Ayse! I need your help! I want to blow up an entire city! Do you have any Lost Tech available that can do that much damage or help in achieving it?" Peppers shouted at Ayse from afar which broke her concentration from analysing the Steam Tech.
"Can't you see that I'm busy? How many times do I have to repeat not to disturb me while I am working?!" Ayse rebutted, and Peppers frowned.
"But you are ALWAYS working. Last time you told me not scare you by tapping on your shoulders from behind you. So, I shouted. How else am I going to get you to respond? You lose track of everything once you dive into your work?" Peppers asked, and Ayse sighed with her shoulders feeling like they were going to be burdened with another of Pepper's requests.
"What exactly do you want now, Peps? Shouldn't you be capable of blowing a city up without my help?" Ayse stopped what she was doing and looked at the little Fiery Demonic Sage Queen. Peppers told her about the plan Master, and the rest had discussed.
"Hmmm, a destructive force for a 'city' that is about the size of Mexico? Even Jin's current Earth technology could never achieve that. Their nuclear bombs would not be able to reach such explosive impacts. Far reaching effects, yea but that's not you want." Ayse told her as she browsed the System's projected console right in front of her.
"According to my calculations, I believe my full powers can be stretched to the limit to reach that potential." Peppers replied eagerly. "But I was hoping you have anything that can strengthen me so that I won't…you know faint and stay in a coma for months. Achieving such a potential milestone in my career as a Demonic Sage Queen, you can say that's always my goal in life."
"So, you'd rather be useless for the next few months just because you want to be selfish in pursuit of your own personal goals rather than be useful to Jin? If I am not wrong, with all the inter world troubles awaiting us, he needs you more than ever. Please do remember your place, Bellator." Ayse folded her arms as she berated the 'kid' right in front of her.
"I know…but that's exactly why I want to be more than just 'useful'. Lately, he has been relying on Zeru and Kraft and maybe even Milk far more than me. I feel that at some point I've been left out of the loop. My most recent accomplishment was the Aegis Barrier, which I only powered up... It's as if he does not want me to overstrain myself after all the multiple…erm rainbow vomit." Peppers voiced her concerns out to Ayse.
"But! I have been trying to train myself too! I asked Milk Big Sis for help in training. Dragged her out of bed in the morning so that we can do some laps on the Panda Muscles running track. However, I feel that my body isn't improving to handle the strain whenever I practice my explosions spells."
"Hmmm…Then perhaps it isn't the body's condition that affects your magical potency?" Ayse thought for a while before answering her. "Have you considered that it's possible that other factors may be affecting you? Like the recital of your magical spell? Or the efficiency output of the explosion to the amount of magical power you need to use?"
"Are you implying that I am not talented enough as a Sage? You questioning my abilities??" Peppers asked, and Ayse nodded her head.
"I am. Even the most brilliant scientist like my dad tends to make the simplest of mistakes. If you have developed a certain mindset over the years, you can become enslaved by it, unable to see any other possibility. Sometimes a fresh outside perspective is just what you need. Like I remodified his equation to a theory he had and my Lost Tech now works twice as efficient." Ayse replied bluntly, and Peppers had no way to argue about that.
"So if you wish, I can dedicate half an hour of my time off to help you with tweaking your explosions. Scientifically measuring it so that you can improve step by step." Ayse suggested with a sly smile. "But you know Peps that I won't do that for free. For all my time is precious. I could be watching the new season of Mythbusters rather than doing experiments for you."
"And what do you plan to do? Just see how much explosions I can do in a day?" Peppers struggled with her answer for a bit as if pausing to think, but in the end, she asked hesitantly for Ayse's help.
Ayse shook her head at her question and decided to tell her a brief overview of the methodology the Head Researcher was going to use. Besides, it was not an everyday occurrence to be able to witness and measure the powers of a Demonic Sage Queen.
"I will methodically run down the list of what you need to cast your explosion spells. Things like how much the enchantments you are wearing that affect your spell power, the weapons you hold, the casting time and much more. Once we have identified all the possible factors of your body strain, we can see if we can increase the potency of the explosion by changing a factor and see how much change do you need." Ayse replied with a string of examples.
"Oh, and we also have to factor in your age. You better tell me truthfully how old you really are." Ayse grinned as it was always a topic which Peppers actively avoided.
"Argggh! Why did I even ask you for help? Fine! What do you want in exchange?" Peppers knew that she wanted something.
"Owe me five favours which you cannot refuse," Ayse replied, and Peppers frowned at that number.
"You kidding me? Half an hour a day for five favours? You think you are some sort of big shot? I read books on your so called scientific procedures. It's like maths, I can deal with it!..if I have to." Peppers gave a slightly annoyed look, and Ayse laughed.
"Hahaha, to see you pouting always brightens my day, even though I hate that you always interrupt me. Fine, let's make it two favours which you cannot refuse." Ayse knew that her demand had been absurd and Peppers realised that she had been played with.
"I agree. Two, but with 45 minutes per day. And I better have results before the end of the month!" Peppers said.
"That is assuming Jin can't find any other solution before the deadline you arbitrarily set on yourself. Hahaha. Goodbye, Peps." Ayse grinned as she began to return to her work that Peppers had interrupted.
The status quo of a silent laboratory returned for a while.
However, it wasn't until a few minutes that she heard a sudden shout from one of the rooms within the laboratory instance.
"I DIDDD ITTT!!" Weslie came out of her room with her hair all flustered, oil stains all around her face and shouted out loud with bated breath.


In a modern world where cultivators need a place to cultivate or vent their boredom, there are private businesses that set up instance dungeons with the aid of technology and cultivation magic to enable cultivators to train and commoners to experience the life of cultivation. They are called dungeon suppliers.

Xie Jin's one and only dream was to be a dungeon supplier and when his only relative passed away, the relative's inheritance gave him a plot of land and surprisingly, a 'System' Module which the relative had previously used. 

With the help of the system, Xie Jin decided to pursue his dream of becoming the number one dungeon supplier.

Glossary Page:
nodsglossary.wordpress.com


-----------

Discord channel: https://tinyurl.com/pandawan

If you have some spare change, please buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/moloxiv

Lost? 
After a short moment of silence, Xie Tianque asked subconsciously, "Brother, how much strength did you use?" 
He knew that when his brother fought to learn from another person, he would display different levels of strength accordingly to his opponent's power. The examples where he experienced a shipwreck in a ditch were countless—after all, controlling one's strength and level might be even more troublesome than fighting the enemy! 
"I used my full strength…" Xie Tianshu gave a wry smile. "He's a Professional Ninth Pin fighter. How would I dare underestimate him?" 
My brother still lost to Ke's boyfriend even though he went all out against him? He looked so young too!" A sudden feeling of despair descended upon Xie Tianque. It was as if he could only watch helplessly Yan Zheke leaving farther and farther away with her boyfriend. 
"How did you lose the fight?" Xie Chengzhen asked while staring at his eldest son. This question concerned him more. 
Xie Tianshu sighed. "He launched five Tremor Punches in succession on me. I did not even have the chance to strike back." 
"Five Tremor Punches?" Xie Tianque was shocked. 
As an experienced and knowledgeable fighter who could often experience the power of Meteor force, Xie Tianque knew it clearly that even an expert at the peak of body refining state could at most blow four Tremor Punches, which couldn't enable them to defeat his brother!" 
Only inhuman can blow five Tremor Punches at a stretch! 
"Yeah, and I'm sure he was still able to punch two or three more times with spare stamina." Though Xie Tianshu was always confident and cold-minded, he couldn't help feeling upset and almost lose the courage to fight against Lou Cheng next time. 
Xie Chengzhen, who had been listening to him silently, asked as if he had recalled something. 
"Was that a kind of Meteor force?" 
"No, movements with Meteor force usually combined impact force and Tremor force, which is faster than his Tremor Punch. But his movements were more skillful and still had room for development." Xie Tianshu analyzed seriously. 
Xie Chengzhen agreed with him. "What will be the result if he fights against Lin Que?" 
Xie Tianshu thought it carefully and answered, "He hasn't reached the peak of body refining, yet Lin Que could combo three times with Meteor force and thus greatly shock him, which couldn't be resisted by his Tremor Punch. So Liu Que's likely to win him regarding hard power. Besides, Lin Que has already approached the door of Dan stage…" 
Xie Chengzhen said nothing more. He turned to look at Xie Tianque, and said with a smile, 
"Tianque, still want to surpass him? You have to make a great effort and go through a lot of hard work." 
"But it's more likely that I won't catch up with him however hard I learn and practice…" Xie Tianque opened and shut his mouth, failing to say something to show his determination. 
There was nothing more depressing than knowing his rival in love was much more excellent than him! 
Xie Chengzhen said with hands behind his back, 
"Tianshu, go to light incense in Sanqing Hall with me." 
Xie Tianshu nodded and strolled towards the hall with his father. When they were far enough from Xie Tianque, the brother took a glance back with a concerned expression. "Pa, don't push Tianque too hard." 
"Hard?" Xie Chengzhen laughed and said, "If he's just attracted by Ke's beauty yet doesn't fall in love with her, he won't be inspired and encouraged by today's experience, so there's no need for me to worry about his being unable to get up after this strike. However, if he takes this seriously and begins to drive himself harder and harder from now on, it would greatly benefit him no matter he will finally succeed in pursuing Ke or not. There're so many good girls waiting for him in the future, and he'll naturally let go the failed romance one day." 
Xie Tianshu took a glance at his father and caught his sigh. 
It occurred to him that his father had once gotten into the same situation with a girl he wanted but finally lost. 
Xie Tianshu soon forgot it since he was not interested in romance. He was more concerned with today's failure and decided to drive himself harder. 
While being defeated didn't hold any fear for him, he was afraid of losing the confidence to catch up with his opponent! 
Fortunately, my faith never leaves me. Sooner or later I'll compete with him again!  
… 
While Yan Zheke was looking to the side with flushing face, Lou Cheng was still chewing her words just now. 
So she'll bring me home to see her parents after graduation? 
Uh, see her parents… 
Lou Cheng felt so excited but soon began to worry. What if Yan Zheke's family members were not satisfied with him? 
Through their daily communication, Lou Cheng knew the girl was born in a martial arts aristocratic family, where those Dan-stage experts could even be ignored if they had few potentialities, not to mention an ordinary Professional-Ninth-Pin fighter like him. 
Alas… A sense of crisis and urgency suddenly came over Lou Cheng. It was an urgent need for him to refine his body to the peak of his present level and then knock open the door of Dan stage, so that he would be at least of Professional Seventh Pin by the time he graduated from school. 
Only in this way could he get her parents' permission to marry her! 
Ever since Lou Cheng got Jindan and advanced by leaps and bounds with its help, he had dreamed of getting one level up every year, becoming a mighty one with physical invulnerability and winning the five titles. However, he knew it clearly that there was still a big gap between his present level and what all those goals required. 
At this very moment, he set an achievable goal for the first time since he became clear about what he truly wanted. 
I'm going to reach the peak of body refining state within half a year! 
I'll join in the preliminaries and martial arts competitions among universities to get experience through fighting against strong opponents. And thus step into Dan stage within one or two years! 
I'll make a name for myself in the university martial arts circle, and thus lay the best foundation for my entering the Professional Martial Arts Competition in the future! 
I'll at least be of Professional Seventh Pin by the time I graduate from school! 
Lou Cheng felt the road ahead became clearer after setting the series of goals and was thus greatly motivated. He must make the most of his four-year college life! 
"Cheng, what're you thinking about?" Yan Zheke stretched out her hand and waved in front of his eyes. 
Being immersed in the excitement of setting his goals, Lou Cheng blurted out. "I'm thinking about visiting my parents-in-law…" 
"Who are your parents-in-law!" Feeling shy and annoyed, Yan Zheke shook off Lou Cheng's hand. 
Lou Cheng laughing without defending himself. "I'll grow up to be a man they're satisfied with and willing to trust with their daughter. So I've made a goal just now as becoming a Professional Seventh Pin fighter by the time when we graduate from school." 
Yan Zheke was stunned, her eyes were sparkling. 
Stretching out her soft hand, Yan Zheke grasped Lou Cheng's palm while still looking at the ground in shyness. "Don't push yourself too hard for too much pressure would hinder your improvement. Slowly, steadily, step by step, and you'll make rapid progress." 
The girl continued, her face was still flushing. "I'll also make great efforts and try to be financially independent earlier after graduating from school, through which could I keep the right of self-determination while only taking my parents' opinion as a reference." 
Hearing Yan Zheke's words, Lou Cheng realized the girl was much more mature than him. Besides, he was pleasantly surprised by her willingness to make efforts for their future. 
"Let's work hard together!" Lou Cheng took the girl's hand in a firm grasp. 
When they arrived at Sanqing Hall, Yan Zheke smiled and said, 
"I'll go to light incense…" 
Seeing the girl's slim and graceful figure fly in the hall and pray in front of the statue of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, Lou Cheng felt a wave of happiness flooding him and put on a gentle smile unconsciously. 
"Well, will that boy sell us to your parents?" Lou Cheng began to worry when Yan Zheke came back. 
Small and weak, he hadn't grown up yet… 
Yan Zheke thought for a while and then answered, "He doesn't like talking about other people's business… To be on the safe side I'll ask my brother to explain to him. I won't contact him directly in case he might sense my guilty. The more indifferent I show to him, the less likely he'll view me with suspicion and thus tell my parents." 
"It seems he's a good guy." Lou Cheng commented deliberately. 
He should learn about this rival in love who would often see his girlfriend. 
"Yeah, but he could be lazy sometimes, while his brother is quite better than him in this respect, who is a typical martial mania having devoted himself to martial arts. No matter where he goes, he'd like to fight with someone to learn from each other. Of course he's quite capable and powerful, only a little bit weaker than my brother, while they were both my model in my childhood." Yan Zheke answered casually. 
Lou Cheng was jealous. "And now?" 
"Now…" Yan Zheke suddenly felt something was wrong. She curved eyes and brows to show Lou Cheng a big smile. "Cheng, I've just realized you're easy to be jealous!" 
"Well…" Lou Cheng looked to the side with a flushing face. "Maybe I care too much about you…" 
"I won't easily fall in love with anyone just because he was a martial arts expert." Yan Zheke complained. 
Lou Cheng was excited and whispered, "So why do you like me?" 
Yan Zheke's beautiful face straightened as she said, 
"Because you're silly!" 
She couldn't help laughing after saying like this. 
Lou Cheng also laughed and soon forgot his little jealousy. Until this moment did he realize something. 
"Is that guy fond of fighting against strangers to learn from each other? I think I've competed with him just now…" 
"Ah?" Yan Zheke could not react in time. 
"Remember that I've just learned Thunder Roar Zen? I'm eager to use it in actual combat and thus accepted his invitation as fighting against him." Lou Cheng explained. 
He had already recovered from the arm injury and mastered Thunder Roar Zen, which he told his girlfriend the first time. He also told her that Coach Shi had been testing and assessing him to see whether he was qualified to be an acknowledged disciple. 
"Your hand…" Yan Zheke looked Lou Cheng up and down worriedly. 
Lou Cheng hurried to comfort her. "Don't worry. I didn't use right hand until he was weakened and unable to attack back." 
Yan Zheke suddenly realized that her boyfriend had won the fight, which made her pleasantly surprised and proud. "How many blows of Thunder Roar Zen did you throw at him?" 
"Five!" Lou Cheng made a gesture, smiling. 
… 
They had been whispering sweet nothings to one another during the tour. When Lou Cheng came back to his dorm, he could still sense the fragrance of the girl. 
Humming a song to himself, Lou Cheng clicked open his email to check the documents sent from Old Shi. 
It was the information on next week's preliminaries opponent. 
Reading carefully, Lou Cheng spoke to himself, 
"Interesting!" 
This time his rival team was Mingwei Martial Art Club, also known as One Man Team. Its leading player was 24-year-old Peng Chengguang, who had become a Professional Ninth Pin fighter three years ago, and was now at the peak of his physical quality with abundant energy and stamina. He was such a perfect fighter that could rank in the top ten of Song Cheng's Professional-Ninth-Pins if there was such a ranking list. 
Besides Peng Chengguang, Mingwei Martial Arts Club only had one Amateur First Pin and several Amateur Second Pin fighters, which could be undoubtedly called a small club. They had joined in three competitions up to now and won two of them, which were all owed to Peng Chengguang. When fighting against Azure Dragon Squad, Peng Chengguang even consecutively defeated two Professional Ninth Pin fighters and almost won the third round if his other team members could do better. It was why they were called the One Man Team. 
Lin Que wouldn't recover and get back to practice until next week, so I'm the only one who could join in the competition…" It occurred to Lou Cheng that when fighting against Mingwei Martial Arts Club, he was the only Professional Ninth Pin fighter in Songcheng University Martial Arts Club, so they might also be called a One Man Team. 
Which one in the two One Man Team would be the winner? 
Since fighters would always seek to prevail over others, Lou Cheng was looking forward to the coming competition. 


Here martial arts are no longer intangible legends. They have been passed on from generation to generation and from century to century. After the confrontation with science and technology, they have completely integrated into modern society and all kinds of martial arts competitions are taking place across the country as superiority among scholars are hard to reach a consensus but not as difficult among martial artists!
Lou Cheng has inherited the lost skills of the greatest martial arts sect. Towards his original dream and the glory in his heart, he advances step by step, becoming the warrior of this modern city and the hero of the era!

Chapter 1173 – Boring Country War

 On the imperial city drill field, the wind blew.

 On the viewing stand were two giants that had risen up together. One represented the peak of China Lords, while the other represented the peak of guilds. Beneath the stage were cheering warriors, and amongst the yellow dust, their hot blood was burning.

 If one saw such a scene, they would obviously be filled with emotions.

 Although Blood Romance agreed to be incorporated, Ouyang Shuo was not an ignorant person and gave the Blood Evil Mercenary Group some time. He allowed them to choose four elite forces to join the Guards Legion Corps and the Dragon Legion Corps to follow the army to India to experience the battlefield.

 "When the time is right, they will have a large-scale merger. In the meantime, the Blood Evil Mercenary Group can continue to exist as an organization and does not need to disband."

 Blood Romance had no objections.

 Ouyang Shuo's promise was not false words, and there were living examples.

 In the 1st year of Gaia, the Rattlesnake Mercenary Guild joined Shanhai City. Now, five years had passed, and the members were all doing really well.

 Black Snake Guards Commander Black Snake and Military Affairs Secretary Cobra, these two intel giants, did not look like they commanded a lot of people, but in truth, their power and resources exceeded what Blood Romance possessed.

 Their achievement value had reached a shocking number. Based on what Black Snake had revealed, his permission level had reached C and was on its way to B.

 If this was in the past, such a matter would be totally unimaginable.

 The members below him all held important positions. They were either in charge of the intel work of a region, or they became head lecturers to teach the military.

 These were all clear examples for all to see.

 In comparison, the development of guilds was too restricted. Without a fixed base, the guild could only be pushed around. If one huge wave arrived, they might not be able to handle it and would face the risk of disbanding.

 Even if the guild moved to a territory, they were restricted everywhere, and there was not much they could do about it.

 No Lord would be willing to allow an uncontrolled power to appear in their territory. To recruit the guilds was a much-needed act, and no one could stop that.

 Great Xia only did it first.

 In the future, when other Lords raised similar demands, the guilds would face the fate of being suppressed if they were not willing. Even to say that they might be chased out of the territory.

 Helplessly, at the current juncture, there was no land without an owner even when looking out at the entire wilderness. Apart from some belonging to NPC dynasties, 90% were controlled by Lords.

 If they were chased away by a Lord, there would be no place for the guild on this Earth.

 Just this point alone meant that guilds could not fight against Lords.

 In this aspect, Gaia was indeed biased toward the Lords and was pretty much stepping the adventure gamemode players into the dirt. Of course, only those with little intelligence would think this way, as they did not understand the intentions of Gaia.

 Not to mention the high elimination rate of Lord players, but numerous famous people had also fallen in this road of conquest. While the final victors like Ouyang Shuo would hold large power, they would also hold greater responsibility on Planet Hope.

 "With great power comes great responsibility." This was not just a random statement.

 Gaia already stood and considered things from the standpoint of mankind and would not truly be biased. As for her care for Bing'er, it did not affect anything, so no one would bother about it.

 After all, Gaia was also a person, and people had their preferences.

 Taking a step back, before the 6th year of Gaia, Lord players walked through so many thorns in the wilderness. They were like blades being sharpened, clearing out bandits, building cities, reclaiming land, and opening up a new world.

 Those that contributed were victors like Ouyang Shuo while there were also numerous failures. Due to such contributions, they deserved some credit.

 As a result, when calculating the achievement value, these fallen Lords had some gains.

 During this period of time, the adventure gamemode players had been holed up in the imperial city, protected by it and aimlessly passing their days. Now that the wilderness was peaceful, the guilds move over to the territories and continue to enjoy protection.

 Where was the fairness in that?

 Now, it was the time for the Lords to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

 For things to develop to such a stage, if guilds and territories merged, it would be good for both of them. On the other hand, it was bad for both if they split. Ouyang Shuo's actions during these past few days was to spread this clear message to them.

 If one was not a fool, they would be able to understand this point.

 Blood Romance obviously was not a foolish person. If he was such an individual, he would not have placed down the pride in him and choose to lower his head to Great Xia just because of Ouyang Shuo's performance.

 The final battle was just a method.

 On the stand, looking down at the large cheering crowd, Ouyang Shuo shook hands with Blood Romance. From now on, they were people on the same boat, fighting for the same goals while having their own roles.

 The role of Xia King was not just the power of a feudal lord, rather, it was a heavy responsibility.

 Seeing that, Xie Siyun smiled and said to Blood Romance, "Snow-War Rose wanted to be the first guild. Who would have known that you would snatch that spot?"

 "It is not too late now." Blood Romance's mood was really good.

 "That's right! Blood Shadow Alliance wants to join." Moon Shines over the River expressed hurriedly.

 Since the three giants had all nodded their heads, the other guild leaders naturally knew their place, and they all showed their support.

 Similar to how they dealt with the Blood Evil Mercenary Group, the Imperial Court would not take them all in at once. Instead, they would make them choose an elite force to join the army. Doing so would help stop the opposition voices within the guild.

 Ouyang Shuo was not in a rush.

 As he had mentioned before, this matter was going to happen, and it was not something anyone could stop.

 Any legendary hero would be able to direct the situation to one that favors themselves.
 ...
 6th month, 1st day, country war month officially begins.

 The flames of war blazed in the wilderness that had not been calm for long, wrapping up the entire globe.
Under such a backdrop, the China region battlefield seemed a little depressing.

 On the north, the Romanov Dynasty only sent an army as a token of their participation to disturb Liaojin Province, showing no signs of invading.

 Even to say that there was not a single Russian adventure gamemode player.

 The ones that were afraid were not just the China region players. Even the Russians became fearful after the system update, much less asking them to cross thousands of miles to disturb Great Xia.

 No one was so free.

 Romanov Empire leader Pushkin chose his country war target as Great Xia because he had no choice.

 North of Russia was the empty Artic ocean, while east was North America which belonged to Dawson. To its south was China, while west was their ally, the Persian Empire as well as Europe.

 Apart from China, the rest were all allies.

 Originally, using the chance of the country war month to take down a small European state was their best choice. However, Silver Hand did not allow them to do so.

 The Pushkin family was an awkward presence in Silver Hand. The European families were wary of them like one would be wary of a thief and did not want to give them a chance.

 Under such a situation, how would they allow them to attack Europe?

 With nothing to choose, Pushkin had no choice but to select China. However, he had no intentions of conquering China, as that was not worth it at all.

 Hence, it resulted in their lack of interest.
 ...
 Southwest, Java was also in an awkward situation where they could not advance or retreat.

 If Great Xia started a cross ocean war like last year, Java would have to go all out in fear of being wiped out.

 Java Lord Uwais would be able to borrow the power of the players to go all out against Great Xia.

 Unexpectedly, Great Xia did not fall for that. The country war had already started, but they showed no intentions of attacking Java. They only arranged the Heluo and Nanjiang legion corps to defend the surrounding islands as a show of strength.

 Hence, the Java players were not that interested either.

 After the Badong Squadron was destroyed, the huge risk of cross ocean war was enough to crush all their courage. Not to mention the players, but even the territory army did not dare to go out to sea.

 The entire atmosphere became really awkward.
 ...
 The only one that made moves was India.

 After learning that the Great Zhou and Great Jin player groups were not going to participate in this war, the India Region felt really confident. All their powers bonded together as they shouted out the slogan of reclaiming their title as best in Asia.

 Even their adventure gamemode players were really eager.

 In their eyes, using their entire region to take down Great Xia would not be a problem. Since that was the case, they should naturally join in to try to gain something from it.

 In truth, snatching a piece of China's land was the dream of the Indians.



Earth Online – a virtual MMORPG that takes place in the future year of 2190 – a game that everyone will bet their futures on. Set in a map that is ten times the size of real-world Earth, players battle for supremacy in the first game to feature personal adventure, territory construction, and grand warfare. For every death you experience in the game, your level would drop back to zero. Ouyang Shuo, an above average player, suffered the ultimate betrayal. For merely a piece of equipment, his sworn brother betrayed and backstabbed him. This time, after he reincarnated in the game, Ouyang Shuo swore to exact vengeance.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, Ouyang Shuo found himself back five years before the betrayal – right before the launch of Earth Online. This time, armed with the knowledge from his past life, Ouyang Shuo would venture upon a new path.

How to perfectly complete quests? What historical battle maps would appear? How should one build up their territory? Utilizing the experience from the predecessors of his last life, Ouyang Shuo makes his bid for the top against all odds. Follow his journey as he seeks to lord over the world!

A different kind of tale that blends historical characters and virtual reality gaming, with heavy emphasis on kingdom building and warfare.

England's three-match winning streak in the qualifiers had greatly boosted the confidence of English fans. They were finally beginning to believe the media's proclamation that "this is the strongest England national team in history."
In particular, their major 4:2 victory over Serbia in an away game showed the offensive strength of the England team.
The England team had won big points game after game, and the happiest people were not the fans or the media, nor even Tony Twain himself. The happiest person was Shaun Harvey, the English Football Association chief executive, who first contacted him.
Although Twain was not his first choice, he was a candidate whom he personally had selected. His good results meant that he had a discerning eye for talent. Furthermore, since Tony Twain took the job, he had not been spouting nonsense everywhere with his big mouth, with the exception of bickering with the media about the team captain role. All of this made Harvey, who had been worried about it, sigh with relief.
Truthfully, after choosing Twain to be England's manager, there was a time when he had been really worried about getting up in the morning and finding his door fully blocked by the media, there to ask him what he thought of Tony Twain's latest comments.
If such a thing were to happen every day, then it would not be a very pleasant experience.
But everything was good for now. Twain was focused on his work with the team and rarely started a war with the media or provoked a quarrel with other people. He also did not criticize the work of UEFA or FIFA.
Perhaps the reason for Twain's silence was the team's recent success? Once the results were not good, who knew what kind of universally shocking things the mad dog might do...
　　※※※
Tony Twain was flush with success as the manager of the England national team. Even the UEFA's official website had dedicated an article to reintroducing the young "Godfather of Champions." He had previously been questioned by some pundits for having no experience in coaching the national team. Now those voices of doubt had disappeared.
But the more he was in the limelight, the more the Nottingham Forest fans would miss him.
The months of August and September were considered the honeymoon period between Flores and Nottingham Forest. He led the team to third place with five wins, one draw, and one defeat after seven rounds of the league tournament.
The media, which simply went where the wind blew, touted Flores as the new hope for Nottingham Forest. The Forest team would be back on its path to glory under the helm of the Spaniard. To prove that they were not talking nonsense, they also gave many examples. One of the examples given was rather silly and pointless--Flores was known as a "madman coach" in Spain, which made him similar to Tony Twain. If Twain, with the same character, could be successful at Nottingham Forest, why wouldn't Flores be just as successful?
But now the good luck was over.
Nottingham Forest had lost two games in a row under Flores's leadership before England's match against Serbia. After the national team's game had ended, the league tournament resumed. In the end, the Forest team tied with the "weak team," Middlesbrough. They did not achieve a single victory in October.
However, it was not over. Going into November, Flores's team beat Everton, after much difficulty, and Bentley was injured. Bentley left during the game with a serious injury, and bad news came from the hospital the next day. He had to be sidelined for at least three months.
Bentley was seriously injured while the team captain, George Wood, was suspended for two games after being red-carded in a match against Manchester United. The game against Manchester United was widely watched. As a result, the two teams played an explosive game. Mourinho came on strong against the Forest team, but Flores was not willing to lose to Mourinho, who was also an individualistic manager.
A violent physical collision happened right off the bat.
Twain had visited Old Trafford to watch the highly anticipated game, which he called the "rugby game."
Moke, the substitute for Bentley in the starting lineup, was fouled against twice in the first ten minutes, which ignited a fury among the Forest players.
Following that, the referee became the protagonist in the ensuing match. He showed a total of thirteen yellow cards and two red cards.
Nottingham Forest won 7:6 on the number of yellow cards, while the two teams tied in terms of the red card count. George Wood and Anderson were both sent off for a red card each.
In the end, Manchester United beat the Forest team 2:1 at its home ground, based on a somewhat controversial penalty shot, and returned to the top of the points table. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, dropped to seventh place.
After the game, the commentator said, "Flores is in big trouble."
Tony Twain would agree with him on this.
He was supposed to be there to observe the players for the next game against Denmark. However, both teams played really badly, and Nottingham Forest was the worse of the two. The players whom he wanted to inspect did not play at the level they were supposed to. It frustrated him. He had intended to follow the deployment of the squad which he had used for the previous game against Serbia, but now it looked like he might be forced to make adjustments.
Bentley's serious injury put him out of the running for the national team. Wayne Rooney's alleged assault charges from beating someone in a bar meant he'd been plagued by the media and legal battles recently. Michael Carrick was injured during the game, and the Manchester United football club did not want the national team to mobilize him for the match against Denmark because it would aggravate his injury.
The national team manager looked more relaxed than the clubs' managers because he could pick the right player from anywhere in the entire country without having to consider the transfer fees. But there were not many players in the country who could meet Twain's requirements, especially in some positions. In a country such as England, where professional football was highly developed, no more than forty people could qualify for the national team.
Any major position that needed to be changed was a major headache for Twain.
Therefore, Twain had to be cursing both Mourinho and Flores during that game.
　　※※※
On Wednesday, November 17th, the day of the national team's international match, England was back at its home ground after two away games, welcoming the second-place team, Denmark, to Wembley Stadium.
The twenty-six-year-old Nicklas Bendtner, Denmark's number one star player, was repeatedly asked by the media what he thought of Twain in the days before the game. He refused to answer any of these questions. For him, Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain were things of the past.
He had also left the unpromising Manchester City in the summer to join Everton. Although it was still a team with little hope of winning the championship title, at least the team had a desire to take a stab at winning honors. He rediscovered the joy of playing football on this team.
Twain did not use Bendtner to incite psychological warfare. That once-talented kid was one of the biggest regrets of his coaching career. But it had ceased to matter a long time ago.
He was already a manager who had won the Treble. Why cling to past troubles?
This game was just an ordinary qualifier for him. It was impossible for the media to hype things up through the feud with Bendtner.
If they hyped up the game as the fight for the top spot in the group, he would play along with a few remarks of his own.
It really was a battle for the top spot in the group, with Denmark and England accumulating the same number of points. Both teams had three wins with nine points each. But Denmark had fewer net goals and a smaller goal difference than England, so they occupied second place.
In fact, being the top team in the group was really just an issue of pride. As long as a team was in the top two spots, it could directly advance to the final stage of the competition. Even if a team was in third place, as long as it had the best result among the third-place holders in the group, there was a chance to go to Spain.
With the expansion of the 2016 UEFA European Championship, the number of teams allowed to participate in the competition had increased from sixteen to twenty-four, giving many mid-tier European teams hope. The qualifiers were also divided into ten groups. With the exception of England's group, which comprised seven teams, the groups had five teams. The top two teams in each group would advance directly to the next level. Then the third-placed teams with the best results in the top six groups would play two playoff games at home and away, and the final three teams would head to Spain.
England had done well for the group draw, and it would not be a problem for the team to advance to the next level. But to advance as the top team in the group was more in line with the English Football Association's goals. It would also make the English fans proud.
Twain made some adjustments to England's squad list for the game. Walcott would be in the right midfielder position while James Milner was on the left. Gerrard and George Wood were in the middle. Mitchell would start in the forward line while Rooney disappeared from the starting lineup. His replacement was Agbonlahor.
Both left-backs, Leighton Baines and Joe Mattock, were absent from the starting lineup. Lescott, who could play as both center-back and left-back, was starting.
The right-back was Glen Johnson, who had not appeared on the national team for quite some time.
In the press box, media from all over England gathered to discuss Twain's starting lineup.
"He hasn't had a fixed lineup since he took over!"
"It's normal; he has only just taken over. How many games has the team played?"
"He's trying hard to find the same feel as the Forest team, isn't he?"
"It's not just Tony. I'm not always happy with England's selection in several positions, such as the right-back..."
It's great that he can lead the team to three straight wins in this kind of situation."
"Denmark is not Serbia. The team is absolutely capable of creating trouble for us at home. I think the many changes that Twain makes are not conducive to getting results."
Obviously, the reporters only had the time to chat in the stands because the game was not very good to watch.
The game played at Wembley Stadium that day was dull. Denmark's tactic for the away game was very conservative, and England had no plan to face such tight defense.
Also, Twain was not too interested in competing with Denmark for the first place in the group. He did not care, as long as they could advance to the next level.
Having to face the Christmas period devil's calendar in the league tournament soon, the players appeared weak and dispirited. They were afraid of injuring themselves. It was only natural for people not to be able to lift their spirits when the game was being played so poorly.
In the end, the "fight for the top spot in the group" that was hyped by the media dully concluded with a 0:0 score. The Asian fans who had waited up in front of the television to watch the game must have been disappointed. But Tony Twain was not here to serve them.
Although the result was a 0:0 draw and the game was extremely dull, Twain was still satisfied. In the post-match press conference, he praised the performance of the Danish team. In fact, the performance of the Danish team was nothing to crow about. He also praised his team's performance, which sounded more like a bald-faced lie. Anyone with half a brain could see that the English team did not perform well. Twain only said they did so as not to put too much pressure on the players.
With the game against Denmark over, the two teams were tied in the rankings. England continued to rely on its advantage in the goal difference to come out ahead of Denmark, and they were ranked first in the group. Holding on to the top spot in the group, the English fans and the media would not make things too difficult for Twain.
After this match, the UEFA European Championship Qualifying tournament would not resume until next April. In between, other than playing in friendly games, Twain would be flying around to keep an eye on the performance of those players on the squad list.
This was the source of the biggest headache for him: unlike at the football club where he was able to closely inspect each player's form every day, the national team's players were scattered all over the place. They might not be able to maintain their form, so he needed to be a "frequent flyer" in order to keep on top of the national footballers.
The most awful thing was that the English Premier League did not have a "winter break." If he were a manager of another country's national team, he would be able to have a break of more than a week during the Christmas period, and he could spend the Christmas holidays with his wife. But in the English Premier League, the games were more frequent during this period, instead. Thus, he had to fly around to follow the teams, with his feet off the ground all the time.
"Maybe I should have bought a private jet..." complained Twain.
"You should be glad that you don't have to pay for all the trips out of your own pocket, Tony." Walker dampened his enthusiasm. Like Twain, Des Walker also had to fly around as the assistant manager. He was Twain's most trusted man.
"I'd better be thankful that we've had no problems with the flights so far..." Twain rolled his eyes.
　　※※※
In November, Nottingham Forest had two losses, one draw, and one victory, which led to a further decline. More and more negative news about the Forest team could be seen in the media. There was also talk of discord in the locker room, with Gareth Bale openly questioning Flores's coaching. Coming after Flores blocking him from playing, his questioning caused a stir in the media.
Despite Flores's strong denials that he was at odds with the players, it was clear that he was losing control of the team.
It was Evan Doughty who came out to voice his support of Flores, saying his management was solid regardless of the team's performance.
But only half a month later, he had to eat his words.
Before Christmas, the Forest team suffered three straight defeats, and it was a mess inside and outside the team. Evan Doughty announced the suspension of Flores's contract with Nottingham Forest. Flores became the first manager to be dismissed in the English Premier League's new season.
Flores was also unhappy with the club's top brass going back on its word. In an interview with the Spanish media after his dismissal, he lashed out at the club's leadership, saying, "They said they wanted to support me the day before yesterday, and then pushed me into the abyss when my back was turned... I thought the managers in the English Premier League would have room to implement a long-term plan, but obviously I was wrong. In a team like this, you can't get the time you need..."
Some people cheered Flores's departure because they could not stand his botched performance long ago. They were looking forward to the new manager leading the team on a new path to glory. Others felt that Flores was nothing more than a poor scapegoat. Nottingham Forest had been unable to find a suitable manager since O'Neill's departure. The onstant turnover of managers could only accelerate the team's decline.
The locker room was very quiet with regards to the change of manager. No one came forward to comment on Flores's departure, even if it was to say a good thing about him. It could be seen as another indication of the terrible relationship between Flores and the players in the locker room.
Evan Doughty appointed the assistant manager, David Kerslake, as the team's interim manager before a new manager was found. But no one thought that Kerslake was competent to take on the position. He had been living in the shadow of Tony Twain all along. In many people's view, he was famous just for being Tony Twain's assistant manager. As to what he was capable of as a person...who really cared?
Tony Twain did not care if there was a change of personnel at Nottingham Forest that could shake up the English football world. For him, Nottingham Forest had really become a thing of the past. Pierce Brosnan had called Twain after Flores's dismissal, hoping to hear what he thought of the incident.
However, Twain felt that there was nothing to say. He said, "... It's quite normal. His results were not good; naturally, he would be dismissed. Evan Doughty is unlikely to pay for the team's results. Flores must have forgotten the words on the wall of the players' tunnel at Crimson Stadium. 'Victory is all.' This is the Forest team's tradition ... When you can't bring home victory, then you have to go. What's the future for the Forest team? I don't know, I'm not a prophet..."
Now he was flying over the European continent. Before Christmas, he had to go to Milan to watch a game and look into Lennon's recent performances. Lennon had inherited the traditions of Paul Ince and Gascoigne since his transfer out of the Forest team. He showed the signs of an English player not being able to acclimate to playing in Italy. He had not been selected for the national team for a long time, and he hoped his performance would impress Twain this time.


This is a story about the pursuit of victory.

— "I subscribe only to the theory of victory. I only pursue victory. As long as I am able to obtain victory, I don’t care if it’s total football or counterattack. What is the ultimate goal of professional soccer? In my opinion, it is victory, and the pinnacle of victory is to become the champions. I am a manager. If I don’t wish to lose my job or be forgotten by the people, there’s only one path for me to take, and that is to lead the team in obtaining victories, in obtaining championship titles!”

The main character was not well-liked by people.

— “⋯We conducted a survey which had been deemed by Manager Tony Twain as extremely meaningless. In a random street survey conducted, ninety-three percent of those surveyed chose the option ‘I hate Tony Twain’, while only seven percent chose the option ‘This person is rather decent, I like him’. It is worth noting that nobody chose the option ‘Who is Tony Twain? I don’t know him’. Mark, do you know why Manager Twain felt that our survey was very meaningless?” Parker, a reporter from <The Daily Telegraph> laughed loudly and said when he was being interviewed by BBC.

But there were also people who were madly in love with him.

— “⋯ Became the spokesperson of world-wide famous clothing brands, shot advertisements, frequented the fashion industry’s award ceremonies, endorsed electronic games, has a supermodel girlfriend. His earnings from advertisements exceed his club salary by seventeen times, owns a special column in various print medias, publishing his autobiography (in progress), and is even said that he is planning to shoot an inspirational film based off his own person experiences! Who can tell me which part of his life experiences is worthy of being called ‘inspirational’? Hold on⋯. Are you all thinking that I’m referring to David Beckham? You’re sorely mistaken! I’m talking about Manager Tony Twain⋯.”

He was very knowledgeable about Chinese soccer.

— “⋯ I’ve heard about it, that Bora gifted four books to his manager Mr. Zhu before your country’s national team’s warm up match. After which, the team lost 1:3 to a nameless American team from Major League Soccer. The new excuse that Mr. Zhu gave for losing the match, was that Bora gifted “books” (‘books’ and ‘lose’ are homophones in the Chinese language). Here, I recommend that you guys find out what that one specific book is. Which book? Of course the one that caused you all to score a goal. After that, tell me the title of the book. Before every match, I will gift ten copies of that same book to you. In that case, won’t you all be able to get a triumphant 10:0 win over your opponents every time?” An excerpt taken from Tony Twain’s special column in a certain famous Chinese sports newspaper.

Sacrifice seemed to be an alien word for Ves, but in fact he had seen plenty of examples of this virtue.
"Remember the decisive battle against the Vesians back then?" Ves commented solemnly.
He referred to the battle between the Flagrant Vandals and Lydia's Swordmaidens against the Hostland Warriors and the Meandering Monkeys.
Ketis nodded. "Almost every mech pilot sacrificed themselves. The Silver Valencia pilots blew themselves up to give the rest of us a chance."
They failed. If not for the presence of Venerable Foster and her indestructible Belisarius expert mech, the Vandals and Swordmaidens might have stood a chance of winning. Unfortunately, the sacrifice of so many mech pilots only bought a handful of surviving support personnel some time to escape to the Starlight Megalodon.
"Even if those brave men and women died in vain, their intentions were noble." Ves noted. "They completely gave up all sense of self-preservation to give us and everyone else at the rear a chance to live and retain their freedom. Even if they are bastards and scoundrels against everyone else, they are completely willing to sacrifice themselves to save their brothers and sisters. I think that proves that even the most black-hearted pirate can exhibit altruism in the right circumstances."
"The Swordmaidens were family." She said. "We developed a sisterhood. No matter where we used to come from, once we became Swordmaidens, we all regarded each other as family."
Family. This was the pivotal word. Many people would hesitate if they were asked to sacrifice themselves to save a stranger, acquaintance or friend. Yet once it concerned family, the equation changed.
To Ves, sacrifice was intermingled with his family. The Larkinson Family as a whole sacrificed many of their mech pilots in order to uphold their duty to the Bright Republic. Several young Larkinsons had already fallen during the recent war, and several more would have died if the war hadn't ended prematurely.
Yet to him, the sacrifices of the Larkinson Family paled in comparison to that of his father.
In order to grant Ves the best opportunity of his life, his father went into exile and cut himself off from the rest of the family. The trail of his father already went cold in the vast and inscrutable Nyxian Gap, which was considered to be just as dangerous as the frontier!
A parent's love for their child was one of the strongest forces in existence. Each time Ves enjoyed success in his mech design career, he had his father and perhaps his mother to thank for giving him this incredible opportunity in life.
Even if the gift they bestowed him came with its own issues, Ves could not deny that he wouldn't have come so far without it. While he was living a fantastic life as an exceptional mech designer, his father must be fighting for his life in the cold and unforgiving Nyxian Gap.
Thinking about his father's sacrifice reminded Ves of one of his goals in life. The reason why he worked hard to advance his career and become more prominent was because he wanted to save his father.
Without becoming powerful enough to protect himself against the threat of the insidious Five Scrolls Compact, Ves could forget about saving his father!
If he moved prematurely, he would just put himself in the crosshairs of this extremely powerful cult instead!
It frustrated him that even after five years of hard work, Ves still had a long way to go before he could save his father.
Each day that went by was another day in which his father might suffer a mishap in lawless space. The pirates and dark mercenaries of the Nyxian Gap were all known for their cutthroat ruthlessness. How could a straight-laced Larkinson like his father survive among the most ruthless degenerates in the star sector?
"If you had kids someday, you would sacrifice everything for them I think." Ketis remarked while eying him with an odd expression.
"Any parent would do so. Humanity wouldn't have reached this point if we didn't want our offspring to live a better life."
Still, having children and raising them was a distant prospect for him right now. Still, if he ever had children, he would probably shower them with as much love as his parents once did to him. Would he sacrifice himself for their wellbeing?
Definitely.
"Let's turn our attention back to sacrifice the way the Ylvainans understand this virtue. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for more than just their family. They're willing to die for their beliefs."
Much of the early history of the Ylvainan Faith was suffused with sacrifice. Again, the First Calamity and the Great Flight offered many examples of this virtue.
Entire starships filled with refugees stayed behind to stall their hostile pursuers in order to buy time for the rest of the refugee fleet to transition into FTL!
The Great Flight was basically one huge saga that was littered with both tragedy and sacrifice!
Billions of Ylvainan worshippers died over the years as they fled to the outer reaches of the galaxy. Many of them died unwillingly, but they could have escaped this fate if they renounced their faith.
Whether they were misguided or not, Ves acknowledged their determination to hold on to their beliefs.
He possessed his own principles and beliefs, but whether he was willing to die for them was still in question.
It was better if he could avoid this choice entirely!
"I think we've developed a good understanding of sacrifice. Let's get to work."
They proceeded to fabricate the fifth copy of the Transcendent Messenger. Ves constructed the image without donning a mask because it wasn't very hard for him to imagine himself dying for his principles.
Whether he would actually do so if pushed into a corner, Ves didn't know. As long as it remained a theoretical possibility, it was easy for him to act tough in his imagination.
In any case, Ves was proud of Sacrifice when he completed the mech and infused it with the abstract image of the Ylvainan concept of Sacrifice. It took on a solemn holiness as if it had made peace with itself.
The Sacrifice was the most grave and serious mech of the series.
Whereas the other five copies of the Transcendent Messenger pursued victory, Sacrifice focused mainly on staving off total defeat.
"It's really different from the rest." Ketis remarked as the five finished mechs stood side by side. "The other mechs offer a ray of sunshine while Sacrifice looks like it has already brought an umbrella to block the rain."
"Each mech represents a different aspect of the Ylvainan Faith. Despite its despondent nature, Sacrifice is the most noble of the six."
While each mech exhibited their unique points, the main feature of the hero mech design had always been its ability to inspire faith! A horrible accumulation of faith had gathered in the section of the workshop where they temporarily stored their mechs.
The five finished Transcendent Messengers each reinforced each other's auras.
Aside from reinforcing their common faith, Ves discovered to his surprise that the different virtues also resonated with each other!
This was a completely unexpected development!
Courage reinforced Sacrifice. Perseverance reinforced Justice. Justice reinforced Zeal!
This was just a handful of the web of connections between the five mechs! Each virtue mutually reinforced the other virtues!
Their common foundation based on their absolute faith in Ylvaine's beliefs paved the way for this intricate and fascinating interaction.
If five mechs already resulted in such a complicated web, then adding another one would surely be even better!
"Let's move on to Devotion."
Ves considered this to be the virtue that tied the Ylvainan Faith together. Prophet Ylvaine managed to convert many different people to his beliefs during his lifetime.
He possessed a quality that inspired devotion in everyone!
Devotion lay at the heart of every religion, and the Ylvainan Faith was no different. Despite its weird and eclectic beliefs, the faith had always managed to unite its worshippers under a single banner due to the enduring devotion it roused!
"Becoming devoted to a faith is more than paying lip service to its rituals and beliefs." He stated. "You need to be sincere and surrender yourself to something greater than yourself."
He witnessed many people dedicating their entire lives to their faith. The worshippers of Haatumak and the Cursed and Blessed People of Aeon Corona VII all devoted much if not all of their time in service to their gods.
It was something very alien to someone like Ves. Even if a higher existence akin to a god was truly out there, why should Ves devote his life to such a being?
If a god demanded his devotion, then Ves better get something in return!
Other people may be content with freely giving away their devotion, but that was wasteful to the extreme! Devotion was a scarce good, and that meant that it should come with a price!
"Devotion is just a nice way of describing blind fanaticism." Ketis critically remarked.
Ketis showed a lot of nonchalance towards devotion due to her experiences in the frontier. She recalled the depravities that many extreme cults got away with by indoctrinating their worshippers into mindless sheep.
"There are both good and bad connotations to devotion." Ves replied, not entirely agreeing with her stance. "Sure, in many cases it's taken advantage of, but devotion also helps many people find their meaning in life."
Humanity's enduring entanglement with religion even after they advanced to the stars showed that devotion was an intricate part of their civilization. In fact, many aliens also exhibited a varying propensity towards devotion, proving that devotion was something that transcended race!
Despite his mixed views towards devotion, the Ylvainans were relatively benign their devotion to their faith.
The Ylvainan Faith was not a closed-off entity that demanded their worship while giving only scraps in return.
The faith intertwined itself in the lives of every Ylvainan. It stayed relevant outside the church. As the state religion of the Protectorate, the Ylvainan Faith was present in every school, every store, every street and so on. Even the mech community wasn't exempt from this pervasiveness!
"The entire Ylvaine Protectorate is devoted to the faith!"
This was an example of devotion to the highest extent!
Ves ran with these concepts of devotion and embarked on fabricating the final Transcendent Messenger of the series. He repeated many of the same steps and finished the mech in less than three days.
Once infused with the image of the last virtue that remained, the mech called Devotion fully came into its own!
As loaders placed the newly-fabricated mechs next to its siblings, an awe-inspiring sight came into being.
Ves, Ketis, Lucky and all the Protectors of the Faith that stood guard in the mech workshop couldn't help but stop and stare at the collection of mechs.
"Courage. Justice. Perseverance. Zeal. Sacrifice. Devotion." Ves recited the names affixed on their tabards. "Six virtues. One mech model. All united for a single cause."
The insertion of Devotion resulted in a qualitative difference in his perception of the mechs. Although it only sparked a minor increase into the common foundation of their auras, the addition of this latest virtue amplified the interconnectedness of every virtue!
Ves couldn't help but describe what he saw. "Devotion is the glue that binds the virtues! None of the other virtues can exist without devotion!"
The auras of all six mechs constantly pulsed and shifted as the virtues constantly sparked against each other. Each of the mechs seemed so sacred and divine that a number of Protector guards spontaneously lost control and bent to their knees in prayer!
"I can feel it! These mechs are the works of Ylvaine!"
"Not even the grand cathedral is as majestic as this sight! These mechs are divinely touched!"
"We have witnessed a miracle in the making!"
The abnormal behavior of the normally-stoic Kronon guards proved that Ves had succeeded! All of the risks he took had been worth it if he could accomplish such an exceptional emotional response from the Ylvainans!
Just as Ves basked in the glory and satisfaction of producing a profoundly compelling series of hero mechs, the doors leading into the mech workshop slammed open!
Ves and some of the other Protectors instantly turned around and saw that a delegation of inquisitors had arrived without announcement!
High Inquisitor Xefin Lin Poxco strode forward with strong and determined steps despite his advanced age. He ignored the mechs entirely and focused his burning eyes solely on his target.
"Your Excellency, to what do we owe your visit?" Ves guardedly asked as he abruptly came off his high of completing his goal.
"You are under arrest, Mr. Larkinson! We have proof that you are involved with stealing the holy relic from the Grand Cathedral of Ylvaine's Mercy!"
What?! Ves widened his eyes! How did they find out!?
"In addition to that, your efforts in designing these deceptive mechs in order to corrupt our beliefs is blasphemy! This reason is enough to take you away!"
What kind of excuse was that?!


Humanity has conquered half the galaxy and the Age of Mechs reigns supreme!

Ves Larkinson lacked the genetic aptitude to become a famed mech pilot. Fighting against his fate, he studied mech design in order to express his love for mechs as a builder instead of a soldier.

When Ves graduated from college, he returned to a new but empty boutique. Left with a small, newly founded mech workshop that his father painstakingly built with a mountain of debt, Ves somehow needs to make ends meet with the bank breathing down his neck.

In the midst of his despair, he found salvation from another legacy his father had left.

"Welcome to the Mech Designer System. Please design your new mech."

--Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU

(A/N this chapter will be a slight filler before more action will come)

While Cu Chulainn would love to have another follower to do his bidding, however, since Lilian's ever-growing bloodlust and greed for more power as he can give her quite the boost should she succeed, it was obvious she wanted to sacrifice him.


So Cu decided to let the girl decide her fate, should she stay death or slavery awaits her if she leaves he'll let the hidden group that was hawking them do the job for him since 'lizardmen' eat anything that can be eaten even their own kin.


The lizardmen in this world aren't actually lizards per se but former sorcerers that have been corrupted beyond salvation, while they are an excellent source of offerings, these guys still retain everything of the sorcerer before they turned which is why their families tend to be the very first thing they attempt to eat given the chance.


this is one of the terrors of being a sorcerer, from possibly turning into an archfiend if they fall to temptation if they are consumed by their own magic they become lizardmen that will consume everything they get their hands on until they died or are dealt with.

Being a sorcerer is cool and all in its own right, but there is always ȧ̵̧̗͚̪͆͌̎̎̒̏͌̂͛͛̑͑ ̴̢͔̞̳̬͖̬̤̠̮̲͕̱͊́͋̌̊̾̐̀̈́͜p̸̨̪̱̬̣̜̲̲̪̞͈̋̑̿͆̆̽̚r̵̢̠͍̮̩͉̻̗͉͊́̀̿̎͂͜͠͠ǐ̶̛͙͚͍͚̞̺̒̆̒̂̽̌̋̽̕̚c̶͍̞̮͎͓̟̈̌́̄é̵̢̥̰̗̘͎͚̠̙̙̹͚̾̒̂̆͋͂́͂͘ ̶̬͈͉̗̲̱̗̭̥̟̺̙͇̩͆́̈́̈̀̈̉͘͘ͅt̸̮̮̦͖̱͔̬͇̬̽̒́̀̅̋͊͝o̴̩̺͌̌̍̋̿̂̄̇̋̊͘ ̴̘̭̈́b̴̢̥̠̝͚̈̆͌͂͋̄̾́̓̃̉͝ę̶̡̨̱̮̥̩͉͙͇̞̫̦̣̄͆̀͗̅͛̽̀ ̸̛̫̳̹̮͛͒̐̈́̀͐͛͗̅͝ͅp̶̬̂̑̍̎̇̌̉̍͂͝͠͝͝a̸̝̬͊̔̃͊͂̏͆̀̄͠i̵̧̨̟̞̟̪͍̮̤̫͎̫̣̾̆͛́̌͜͝d̴̡͕̥̩̗̮̭̪̮̓̈́̾̄̌̄̃͛͆́͘͝.

No matter how powerful you become, no matter what obstacles you overcome, if you slip and fall even once... 

That doesn't need to be explained again given what Sorcerers do for a living as many of them are willing to do almost anything to reach the apex or their own set goals.

The girl's decision was something, she managed to resist the temptation and decided to leave.

When Cu clicked his tongue due to the loss of a possible test subject or slave Lilian flinched before high tailing out of there so he decided to build a resting area for him, using the dirt and rocks around him it wasn't going to help much against the lizardmen but his overwhelming mana worked to keep them away... for now.

Lizardmen tend to be in groups of four to eight when they hunt, as their silhouettes attacked a certain sorceress was dealt with rather swiftly by them as her quick death cry that echoed from a distance away followed.

if any of you wish to pity her poor soul don't as that will cease to exist when one of her assailants eats it, and Cu am certain you wouldn't pity the girl anymore if he said that if you were here instead of him she'd use your body and soul to strengthen herself in a blink of an eye, as this world really follows the terms of the strong rise up and the weaker ones are the food of others.

the lizardmen that were watching Cu from afar were extremely cautious as they constantly checked to see how close they can get before their next possible prey would retaliate, creeping closer and closer inch by inch as they stealthily approached him.

They believed him to be weakened thanks to using the 'black rite' as the majority of the sorcerers that do lose more than half of their strength and at times suffer some crippling prices for using such magic, these ones are their favorite targets since the amount of magic lost tends to make the caster exhausted.

So These tricky bastards would tease and attack in shifts until their target finally passes out, this would work on weaker sorcerers and sadly they just had to pick one that not only recovered all of his magic without any repercussions and the range of his detection was greater than others of his kind.

So when the first lizardman tried its luck what met it was a flying object that tore through its head before its body slumped down lifelessly, while its sudden death was alerting the other lizardmen didn't really care as they jumped at the 'meat' before devouring it as they did with the female from earlier.

they tried two more times only to suffer two more losses however the survivors didn't really care as they feasted upon their now-dead comrades as if they haven't eaten for days, it was a brutal sight for others but for them, it was how they lived following the creed of 'the strong shall live and the weak will die' to the fullest as they would have been eaten by the others the same way should they have died in their place.

Cu Chulainn was trying to create a golem made from dirt and rocks, the man had the knowledge to do so, it's just that while he has the memories this was something that he needed to practice since it requires the one to be meticulous at connecting the commands that the golem will follow to the end together as well as making sure its operating nodes that makes it move, that allows it to do what it can do, to not collide.

the few large craters around him were the perfect examples as to why one had to be careful creating a golem.

what if you created the golem with the passive ability to restore itself forgetting to set it to a certain point? it would grow and grow until it is unable to support itself thus crumbling away eventually.

What if you succeeded in that previous task and set the command to attack any intruders forgetting to add that you aren't part of the targets it was to attack? it would become a pain in the ass to kill as your own creation is trying to fulfill your commands.

it took Cu a good amount of effort as well as trials and errors to finally create a good golem he wanted it to protect him while he slept and buy time as he knew that one of the orders will welcome him or try to kill him.

So by the time, he was done messing around with the golems it was as if watching the evolution of the golems as they stood by one another from a monster-like look, bulky, slow, to more human-like, followed by a leaner version that was faster, more refined, more life-like, before adding a few things that looked very similar to cannons.

Cu originally wanted to make guns and small arms, however, it was too hard and he currently lacked the control to do so, which is why he shelved the idea until he had a better grasp on his control.

He had the golems stationed all around him to guard the perimeter until he wakes up as he was tired mentally due to all the things he had to go through, after creating the base and had the golem cannoneers fire away at the annoying lizardmen that were still trying their luck.

when the pests reached a certain distance it was like the world stopped and a familiar Portraiture had appeared in front of Cu as a crescent smile formed on his face as he truly wanted to use a certain offering should his later visitors come with ill intentions.

Transformation offering? or summoning offering? this is a tricky choice here!

A hardcore gamer is given a chance to use the abilities of his favorite game and travel different worlds, could this get any better for him?

examples of goals for work

Work for Unknown

Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Battlefield Restart- An Identity Beyond Self!

Ancestral Elemental Assassin

Number One Dungeon Supplier

Martial Arts Master

The World Online

Godfather Of Champions

The Mech Touch

To save or to sacrifice

People search examples of goals for work also like: