A Stepmother's Marchen - Chapter 21

in 1989.

Japan’s economic bubble is about to burst.

His adoptive father died in a car accident, and in front of him was a billionaire fortune and Yakuza death threats.

Get away from the family name and escape, or stay to protect this family that has no blood and no emotional ties?

hateful!

As a peerless raptor, how can I not take my due responsibilities.

Don’t worry, adoptive father, I will take good care of my adoptive mother and Qianxue. Anyone who dares to hurt them, please hack me to death first…

Fiancee: “Baka! Very much! Sinai!”

Ikeda Sakurako: “Kuzu, what about Nishi!”

Yasuko Sawaguchi: “How can you repair, ki mo chi wa ru, si ne!”

Sen Gao Qianli: “…”

(This is an urban daily life business article, taking you through the ebb and flow of Japan’s economy in the bubble era. This book has no system. If you like it, please support it a lot.)

- Description from novelbuddy

war, blood, and betrayal carved him into something else. A legend. A killer. A mercenary whose name struck fear into both criminals and so-called heroes alike.But now, the world had changed. Lines blurred between right and wrong, between justice and vengeance. Should he step into the light, wear the mask of a hero, and fight for a cause greater than himself? Or should he embrace the darkness that had always been his home, a place where morality was just another illusion?“Don’t box me in with your shallow ideas of good and evil,” he muttered, his voice calm but edged with danger. “I do what I want, when I want.”The air was thick with tension as he moved like a shadow through the dimly lit room. The writer had no time to react—one moment, he was scribbling nonsense about legends and myths; the next, a cold barrel pressed against the back of his head.The figure smirked beneath his mask, eyes gleaming with something between amusement and menace.“You wanna write fiction?” he whispered. “Then let me show you how real legends are made.”A single gunshot shattered the silence.As the writer’s body slumped over the desk, the man holstered his weapon, stepping into the faint glow of a flickering neon light.“It’s that simple,” he said, his voice unwavering. “I’m Deathstroke.”

In a post-apocalyptic world where humanity survives in fortified cities, only a lucky few awaken Talents, supernatural powers that allow them to level up.Isaac believed he was destined for an ordinary life—until he awakened the Bonded Blessings System.This system granted him a unique ability: he could share the talents, abilities, and progress of his wives.[Your wife, Sword Empress, has reached Overlord rank. Sharing progress…][You have leveled up 10 times and reached Overlord rank!][Your wife, Ghost Queen, has unlocked the full potential of her Nether Eyes. Sharing progress…][You have awakened Supreme Demonic Nether Eyes!][Your wife, Dragon Saintess, has purified an Ancient Dragon Heart and absorbed it. Sharing progress…][You have awakened the Ancient Dragon God's Bloodline!]Killing monsters? Grinding for levels? Why bother when his wives could do it for him?As long as they grew stronger, so did he!

I thought I had seen bad endings before—but nothing prepared me for the garbage conclusion of The Hero’s Path.Years of investment, countless struggles, and for what? The protagonist failed. The villain won. Everyone else? Dead. Furious, I sent a message to the author, only to get a chilling response:[Do you think you could do better?]Before I could even blink, my phone exploded in a blinding light, and the next thing I knew—I was waking up in a completely different body.Now, I’m Merlin Everhart, a fourteen-year-old with a 12-star talent, the kind of gift only the strongest should have.But here’s the problem: I have no idea who I am supposed to be.With nothing but a system and a first-day-of-school alarm ringing in my ears, I’m thrown into the world of The Hero’s Path.Am I just another side character in a world that already ended once?…Either way, I refuse to let this story beat me too.