Husband With Benefits - Chapter 23: A Confrontation (2)

Xie Tao had always believed in science until one day, a meteorite smashed into his yard, forcing him to bind to a heroic world saving script. The worst thing was that the script didn’t even follow common sense.

Others become superheros while he became a super-nanny. So in his left hand was a “Cub Encyclopedia” and in the right, a small milk bottle to feed the small cub clinging onto his leg.

Today, Xie Tao is trying his best to save the world.

- Description from Novelupdates

Shi Ran encountered an accident and transmigrated into a novel. She became a small-time cannon fodder supporting character in the story and was also a fake daughter who was not as good as the female lead of the plot. It was probably easier to just stop trying so hard and let herself go. Anti-fans: “Our Feifei’s skills are killing it!”The next day, Shi Ran’s first drama was released, and her seven-second appearance in the clip became viral on the internet, overshadowing the female lead, Shi Wenfei. It was smooth sailing for Shi Ran after that, and she even won the best actress award in one fell swoop. Anti-fans: “Our Feifei can sing and even write her own songs. What can Shi Ran do?”Elite Emperor: I won the Best Golden Song Award this time, and it’s all thanks to my awesome composer

@ShiRan!Anti-fans: “!!!”One day, when a live stream was ongoing, anti-fans poured into the channel frantically, abusing the bullet comments and cursing in barrages. Anti-fans: “Our Feifei has gotten engaged with Young Master Zhou! Her fiance is tall, rich, and handsome! He pampers her, unlike you, who’s unwanted!” “Babe, where are my things?” A man’s deep, magnetic voice silenced the barrages of comments. In the next second, a man with an enchanting look appeared in front of the camera. Everyone was shocked! It was the Chu family’s future head, Chu Jinchen! The man’s black eyes swept across the barrage of comments flying on the page. Pretending to be puzzled, he said, “The Zhou family? Who’re they?”Shi Ran looked at him, who was obviously humblebragging, and said, “I’m live streaming now.” “Why don’t you live stream something more interesting?” Saying that, the man leaned closer and behaved intimately.

Everyone watching broke out into indulgent smiles. Then the camera went black, and the live stream ended. Everyone slammed their keyboards frantically. No! Continue the live stream! Come on! The next day…#Actress goes public with her relationship# was on the hot search. Chu Jinchen: “You’re finally willing to go public with me, Baby!”Shi Ran: “…Are you sure you didn’t pay to put that headline in the hot search?”

A top hacker was chosen by the Lord God to be reborn into countless worlds, always as an expendable villain.

With no free will, every world became a dead end. Every one of his lives ended tragically.

Finally, after wresting control of the Villain System, this ace hacker decided to enact revenge. Even if his very bones were rotten, he’d choose to occupy the very heights of morality, if only on the surface.

Thus, he would change his fate as an abused slag.

- Description from novelupdates

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!