To Be a Power in the Shadows! - Chapter 3

"Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen."

Ikaris, a genius student admired, exploited, and hated all his life for his brilliance, suddenly finds himself transmigrated into The Forsaken Lands, a fantasy world of myriad species born with the ability to use magic with imagination as their only limit.

Alas, this gift carries a curse. The more you use it, the closer you are to death.

After thousands of years of decline, the Free Races are fast approaching their demise, their survival threatened by this curse and an enemy that will not rest until it has devoured them all. Literally.

Former allies and enemies, prey and predators are now cornered behind a huge wall, forced to collaborate to resist their invader. But can so much resentment and hatred be washed away so easily? Can predators and prey really overcome their instincts in the face of a common foe?

Follow him on his journey from an ordinary human to a shining existence that will overturn the order established since the dawn of time. From an innocent soul to a merciless demon. From a human to something else.

[Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the Dimensional Motel System.][First Mission: A runaway princess—hailed as the most beautiful in the land is being hunted by her step-mother. She was originally headed to the dwarves’ cottage, but the System has rerouted her to your motel instead.][Protect her. Win her trust. And if you manage to woe her, you’ll earn her Affection Points.][Bonus Mission: Sleep with her evil stepmother to unlock more reward]'What kind of weird mission is this? And why does this story sound way too familiar?'

After being confined in a mental asylum for years, Jin Jiuchi had just been released back to human habitation when he suddenly found himself trapped in a dangerous and thrilling survival game.

Wait, is there something wrong with you all? Why do you look so scared? This world is so… exciting!

For Jin Jiuchi, this beast in human clothing who was chained by society laws, the appearance of the Nightmare Cycle was akin to a dream come true!

Drinking tea with a dismembered bride in a haunted apartment, dancing tango with the evil spirit in the depths of suicide forest, skipping rope with the ancient god in a forgotten civilization…

Jin Jiuchi was so happy that he was going crazy! However, when he went crazy, all the players and NPCs in the cycle trembled in fear.

***

There was only a beautiful jade doll who had never been afraid of him.

Shen Nianzu called out softly, “Jin-ge.”

Jin Jiuchi, who was happily digging through a rotten corpse's stomach, suddenly dropped everything and zoomed in front of Shen Nianzu with a speed invisible to naked eyes. His eyes were curved into crescents as he asked, “What's wrong, Nian'er? Do you want to join me too?”

Shen Nianzu was expressionless as he stared at the bloody man in front of him. Then he suddenly stretched out a hand, palm up. Confused, Jin Jiuchi placed his dirty paw in Shen Nianzu's hand and shook it.

Shen Nianzu: “Good boy.”

Jin Jiuchi: ?

……………………………………………………………

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At 79, Adom is an old mage who has known nothing but illness and regret. When the world finally burns and all hope turns to ash, at the last beat of his fading heart, a mysterious being appears in the dimming light with a simple question:“If you could try again, would you?”What's left to lose when you've already lost everything?A handshake seals the deal, and Adom wakes up on his old school grounds, sixty-seven years in the past. When everything is still possible. A second chance with all his knowledge intact, his memories preserved, and his youth restored.This time, Adom wants it all: to feast on food he's never had, to travel a world still full of wonder, to finally live the life he dreamed of. There's just, as always, one small catch—he needs to prevent the end of the world first.But as Adom will soon discover, changing history might demand sacrifices even greater than watching it burn...