Eliot tries to regain his fallen fame by researching the Reversal of Time. But his research fails, and the consequence of his failure made a fusion between two different worlds. This is the start of a new Era where Zombies can be found shopping on the streets, demi-humans becoming the Idol of the Entertainment industry, Dwarves owning the heavy industries, Elves becoming doctors. Expect a chaotic age where humans and non-humans co-exist with Magic.

Tags: Reincarnation, Magic Realism, Zombies, Parallel dimension, World travel, Mythical Beasts, Non-Human Characters.

Join me on discord: https://discord.gg/6VRyF5K

Somewhere in the woods, a girl no more than 14 years of age slept cross-legged in a shabby tree-house. With dried tears on her cheek she suddenly jerked up, her eyes flashing with a strong determination.
------

The Vrmmorpg 'Wyndamore' and the 'Dream Gaming Helmet' has recently been released and shocked the world with it's advertised “99% realism” and prices “50% lower than the average VR technology”, and a little girl who lost everything she has pins her hopes and dreams into this flimsy piece of metal.

That night Qiang Shen was completely happy, by the time he felt the first rays of the sun, he had reached level 5 five of human realism, even so, he did not think again that he was a genius, since Chen Qiu had left him very much in Of course, he had no talent for cultivation and believed that it was due to his age, besides the simple fact of having reached Master's realism was due to his great luck in having found several spiritual treasures that helped him reach that realism in Little time.

When it dawned, he was back in his room moments before his mother came in to see his state of health. Seeing that he was better, he recommended missing school that day to rest and recover completely.

-------------------------------------------------- --------
Shortly after his mother went to work and his brother went to elementary school, Qiang Shen started cultivating again, making it easier with the Yang energy of the sun to move forward easier, having gone out into the backyard of his house, absorbing Earth type energy, then I manage to expand the meridians of their extremities and so I continue until the afternoon when I reach the breakthrough of level 10, one step away from reaching the third realism: Warrior.

That night Qiang Shen was having a quiet dinner with his mother and brother when he heard the entrance door open, saw his mother get up to receive his father and he continued talking with his brother, when they entered the room, he saw his father He looked at him as if he was scared and when he went to say hello he saw his father suddenly went to him and with a movement of what seemed to be judo, he threw him on the floor shouting "Who are you ?!"

Qiang Shen was scared and unconsciously asked "what are you talking about" but was interrupted by the cry of his father "do not think you cheat me, it is impossible for my son to have this type of body at his age!" saying this I remove Qiang Shen the sweatshirt from his pajamas leaving his torso naked and shouting again "who the hell are you !!!

It seems as if time has stopped for Qiang Shen. How was it possible that his father had noticed the changes in his body.

When Qiang Shen was trying to get up, Papa Qiang again grabbed Qiang Shen's arm and grabbing him, he shot him again pressing him to the floor. Tell me immediately who you are !! What organization do you belong to? !! Why did you focus on my family? !!! and above all, WHERE IS MY SON !!!

Qiang Shen felt a strong assassination attempt and wondered how his father knew martial arts. His memories of him were of a loving father with his family, a simple government employee always following the rules, he never thought that his father would issue such an intense assassination attempt.

Immediately afterwards, and calmer, he only answered "can we talk?"

When he saw the serenity in the person he was holding, Qiang Syaoran slowly released him, however not under his guard. When Qiang Shen got up, Qiang Xun approached Qiang Shen and before his father said something Qiang Xun started talking to Qiang Shen.

"Shen-dàgē, what impressive muscles, how did you do them? Do you practice martial arts? Or is it cultivation? You know? my friends have taught me a manhua who has little that came out and talks about it."

Seeing the innocent look of his brother, Qian Shen calmly replied "don't worry, your brother will tell you how and I will teach you martial arts but for now, go to bed because I have to talk to dad and mom." "Really? Great !!! Shen-dàgē, you're the best"

After Qiang Xun left for his room, Qiang Shen put on his sweatshirt and sat at the table, his parents followed him.

"Before I started to tell you, first I wanted to ask you, how did you know about the changes in my body? You just stared at me and you immediately attacked me."

"Hmn !! You think I can not recognize my own son?" "What a joke." And if you ask yourself why you fight, your father was second nationally in judo when he was young, and now I work in public security, the lie that I worked as a small government employee was only to not worry my children. " And she? "He asked, turning his gaze to his mother." She always knew, "said Qiang Syaoran." We already answered what you wanted, now tell us who are you, where is this little Shen? "I ask again angrily.

Qiang Shen was left thinking for a few minutes, making Qiang Syaoran more and more angry, when "I do not know if you'll believe what I'm going to tell you, but I'm really his son." Pausing, Qiang Shen volleys to see his parents and sees impression on his mother and doubts on his father. "I have always been his son, the son who grew up in this city of Beijin, whom his parents loved, who saw me grow up, who encouraged me in my dream of being an artist ..." At that moment, Qiang Shen began to cry , "I am your son who received the support of your parents when I entered the University in 2006, I am the son that you accompanied to your first exhibition in 2010."

While they saw the person who was crying while saying all that, mama Qiang covered her mouth with her hands and papa Qiang had a look that it was hard to believe what he was hearing.

"I am the son who saw his parents die in the most terrifying way while escaping, I am the son who could not protect his brother, the son who has lived the last fifteen years in a hell ...!" Mama Qiang started crying and said yelling "please, tell me you're lying!" while Qiang Shen finished saying "the son who reduced his life force to go back to the past and avoid repeating that hell again." Mom, dad, I have been your son for the last 39 years!

After revealing the truth, the only thing that could be heard was the cries of Mama Qiang.

In a destroyed world where humanity is on the verge of extinction, a survivor uses a spell combining the magic of different civilizations to return to its past and prevent the end of the world ... or at least, give humanity the weapons to be able to survive.

10 years ago, people thought it was impossible. Deep dive, the ability to connect the mind to the digital world - it was said to be something that could not be done with current technology. But a year ago, an obscure company suddenly announced that they had developed such technology! Amidst the doubts of everyone, FutureTech Industries unveiled their new invention; a capsule that could replicate reality to an astonishing level of realism!

 It was a resounding success, people all around the world rushed to connect to the first worldwide neural network. Soon, entire cities flourished as virtual spaces and a world where anything digitally possible can be realized was born. 

 Edward Minsk, the CEO of FutureTech Industries, inventor of Deep Dive, then made another stunning announcement,

"A year from now, we will be releasing worldwide the first and only game to incorporate Deep Dive technology! A game that will allow you to experience firsthand a world of fantasy, of swords and magic, of heroes and devils! ladies and gentlemen, please, welcome to the Age of Heroes!"

A new world, a new beginning, what path will you take?

Every new year, I got a new age with year old lines on my face. Age was really coping up with me, faster than usual. I could be more happier if it was my family and friends who could have time to love me more than my wrinkly cheeks. I didn't understand why, but people looked at me like a charming young girl moving around for a lover. Sometimes, it felt like that. Young handsome guys were proposing me but I was me, so never happened. I had a small bookshop of my own, where only adults were allowed to hang out with coffees and cakes. They could spend their time, as long as they could with hourly charges, no memberships, no borrowings,  only reading their desired books. For me it was enough. Single, lonely, mid age woman who was not interested in love, trying to survive with a small book shop was quite alarming caraway story on my neighbourhood, but I loved the way they representing me. It was then, when I met him. Friend of mine made the arrangement online.  He was frustrated about the rumours, people were loving to share about me for their own benefits. That's why,  he was out of sympathetic spiritual realism, he introduced me with him. At first, my virgin love had no idea what was going on, we were just chatted like a sneak peek. No one had enough time to give each other more than an hour. Both working like a dog, too experienced adults were trying first time love, at the end of time, both of us were lost interest on love the subject. He was a man with a little interest on woman, no intention to have any interest on their thinking, their career or anything. It was like a physical therapeutic conversations.  He was interested more on my physical appearance. I was feeling like a duck in a swan's land. He had a business of his own with little bit mesmerizing airy flute notes. He loved his flute selling business and loved to play it, it was his hobby. He was serious about it and I was showing passionate gestures by asking him to make a band of his own. Afterwards, we were a good at, on hiding the actual facts that both were dissatisfied and disappointed with our lives though we were smiled a lot. I was learning from him, how to become a buddha without being a Buddhist because he was a loner himself for decades and loved to stay like it. He had a small family but all were living on their own. So, like me, his friends were worried about his lonesome future death. He was literally crying when he was sharing about his childhood affairs. He made assurances that he had dated much more aged woman than me, so I had nothing to worry about the age atleast and he was not a virgin flower that needed protection. When we were first time glanced each other, it was like father and daughter watching each other because I was shyly sharing my younger version and he was at his best version. He got probably upset by my ignorance of his feelings. Moreover, I could not made my time for him. I was too busy with my work and social life. After few missed golden opportunities to get a life long lover,  he lost his patience and got frustrated over me. He thought I was not interested. So, life happened, he announced to me about his new girlfriend. It was like an earthquake on my side because I was really interested on him. I was sobbing and feeling bad about myself for being emotionally depressed when I lost him completely.

Note: Not for backstabbing people or lovers.

Gray and Jono returned to their suite before the promotional video would be released publically and in front of everyone at the game conference.

Although Gray normally doesn't like to stand out, receiving some recognition was nice once in a while.  Seeing his team being displayed for everyone to watch was a good feeling.  Gray noticed that not only his name was shown for his team, but so was Caleb's name.

"Caleb must be here somewhere then" Gray thought.

Assuming the other VIP suites were filled with other teams that were invited today, Gray looked at the other balconies and saw that all of the others had a lot more people than his balcony.

"Do other teams share suites?  Why am I the exception?" Gray thought as he looked at the large suite just for Jono and himself.

A knock was heard on the door and Gray heard a familiar voice.

"It's my suite too baby cakes, no need to knock" came from behind the door with a slightly nasal and arrogant voice.

Gray thought that the voice… sounds like Caleb, but the way he talks is nothing like him.  The door opened and a fairly short guy in his early 30s wearing old 20th century glasses sauntered in being followed by a slightly stressed looking Felicia.  Gray was happy to see her again but this happiness was interrupted by this guy.  The guy turned to Felicia and said "Thanks babe that will be all!" and Felicia made a quick departure.  Gray almost half expected the guy to pinch her butt or something like that.

"So, I'm guessing you must be Gray." Said the guy as he looked directly at Gray.

"Correct, and you must be Caleb!  This is my friend Jono" Gray replied while introducing Jono also.

"I'm guessing you figured out it was me from the name in the video?" Gray asked Caleb.

"Indeed, and the 4 teams used in the promotional video were provided with a suite for each of them.  Since you and Geoff are the only other male members of our team, it was safe to say that it would either be Geoff or you, Gray, that would be in this suite."

"Yeah, you definitely sound like Caleb now, so how come you knew it was me and not Geoff and couldn't Jono have been Geoff?" asked Gray

"You and Geoff are similar, if one of you had opted to have yourself high-lighted, the other would too.  Since only your name was visible in the video one could deduce that Geoff is not here.  As for why Jono is not Geoff, he doesn't have a VIP badge."

Gray felt the urge to rib Jono more about the VIP badge, but frankly the joke was getting old.  He'd wait until later when Jono started to get over it.

"You didn't talk to Yurika and Stacia like that though in game, what's up with that?" asked Gray to Caleb.

"Team cohesion, creating a disturbance in the team would be detrimental to our cooperative relationship thus maintaining proper etiquette is imperative."

Jono whispered to Gray "Does he always talk like that?"

"Yes, he's one of those types that likes to flaunt his intellect by using big words to hide his insecurities." Gray whispered back to Jono.

Caleb coughed loudly to bring the focus back to himself.  "I can still hear you even if you whisper.  I do not have any insecurities, my intellect is significantly higher than probably everyone else in this conference.  I am not trying to boast, this is merely a fact.  I created a tech company that specializes in custom AI at the same age you two were just discovering puberty.  I do not need to boast, my achievements in synthetic neural algorithms and software based linguistic analysis and emulation speak for me."

Gray and Jono blinked not really sure what to say then both looked at each other.  Simultaneously they both thought to themselves. "He's totally boasting"

__________

After the promotional video was shown, the press group in charge of promoting Alterra Online were showing off some of the features that would be implemented after the game launched officially in 5 days.  Gray, Caleb, and Jono sat in their balcony and listened to the question and answer session with a few of the employees from Alterra Corp did shed light on some features and design choices of Alterra Online.

Of the features to note, faction creation would be unlocked, matchmaking would be expanded, and mech customization would be unlocked.

The faction creation feature will only be available to Diamond Tier players.  It was noted that players could be promoted within a player created faction to become the new leader should the existing one retire from Alterra Online.  As for faction housing, players could use merits to rent specific buildings from NPCs as faction headquarters.  These would include basic support staff for up to a squad of mechs (8 mechs) and be expandable to support a full platoon of mechs (50 mechs).  Minimum rank to start a faction is 1st Lieutenant which will also be unlocked to players at the official launch.

The new matchmaking features also got Gray a little more excited.  With the player base expanding, matchmaking would support up to 50 vs 50 in team assault.  Having more mechs would drastically increase the complexity of the matches and it never hurt to have more cannon fodde… I mean… friends on the battlefield.

Mech customization didn't appeal particularly to Gray, but it was fun to mess with at times.  He thought it might be hilarious if everyone painted their mechs to look like various childhood cartoon characters.  The thought of Yurika going berserk with some SMGs in a mech that looks like Mikey Moose would be a terrifying sight indeed.

A question about matchmaking was brought up about solo ranks and how it felt like players were forced to join a team because of the lack of solo matchmaking ranks.

"Alterra Online aims for realism and is designed to emulate military structure.  Missions and battles are carried out in teams.  Individual bravery is important, but glorified heroism often romanticized about in movies and other popular media will only lead to wanton losses.  While this seems harsh, our aim is indeed to create as accurate a military simulation as possible."

Overall most of the attendees agreed with how Alterra Corp responded to this, but a few of them seemed a little disgruntled from what Gray could see.  This made sense as a lot of players didn't trust other players or just enjoyed not having to worry about a team and did only solo matches.  While going in to a match solo wasn't disallowed, if you couldn't get your team rank up you wouldn't be able to get merits very quickly.

Another question that everyone has already asked before that was brought up again was regarding why Alterra Online was so persistent about keeping the game as realistic as possible.

"We want to offer something that no other game has, the feeling that you're not playing a game.  Others have tried to do this in the past, but none have reached the amount of realism that Alterra Online has been able to facilitate.  We don't want you to just feel like you're lumbering around in an 80 ton mech, we want you to believe you are piloting it!" answer the Alterra Corp staff.

Lastly a question was brought up regarding the policy on if you die in game you lose your account and how Alterra Corp would essentially be losing customers if players died in the game because of this.

"I know it may seem harsh to force a player to quit a game, but as we said before, we aim for complete realism.  If you die in real life, you don't get a second chance at life."  (This isn't one of those kinds of novels after all)

__________

After the question and answer session, Gray, Jono, and Caleb decided to return to the main floor and look around some of the other booths.  By the way Jono was asking about Felicia, Gray was pretty sure he just wanted to look for her and it wasn't all that surprising.

Gray pulled the door closed behind him to their suite when a very familiar male voice that caused Gray to get repulsed immediately came from behind him.

"Gray?  Gray Wilhelm!  Yes!  That is you, what are you doing sneaking around up here with the VIP attendants or is the dropout lost?"

A hundred years from now the Earth is now reduced to several domed cities after the last war raised the temperature across the planet thus raising the sea level.

The most common escape for everyone is virtual reality.  A new game, Alterra Online, is set to release and promises to be the most realistic mecha/military/political simulation to date as well as the first full dive virtual reality game.

Gray Wilhelm, like so many others, wants to be one of the first to play.  What is Alterra Online's secret?  Why do players feel more alive in the game than in real life?  And why is the government and Alterra Corporation working on it together?

Features:
- NO Systems, Reincarnations, Supernatural Powers, harems, or brain dead females that chase after MC.
- Monty Python references and many others.
- Believable characters



11/9/2019 - Slowing down release rate temporarily as I edit and clean up the first volume extensively.  Wow was I bad!  Doesn't quite need a rewrite thankfully.

Charles was looking on the web forum of Middle Earth Online On the forum it shows the information about the Game There was 3 Races Human, Elves, Dwarves. Elves have 4 Sub Race of elves First was the High Elf, Night Elf, Dark elf, Blood Elf. And he read the next one which was containing the                                                                                                     Classes of the Characters there was 10 Classes which are:
Archer,Assassin,Brawler,Cleric,Gunner,Sorcerer,Tamer,Warrior,Witch,Wizard. 
Archer-Willowy and flexible as her bow, the Archer attacks multiple enemies at once! The Archer hails from World Tree, the birthplace of all elves.
Assassin-Master the Shadow and Light Arts, his particular set of impressive skills will help parties in any situation.
Brawler-The brawler is an offensive dynamic with exceptional tanking capabilities, heavy armor, and massive power fists that both dish out and block damage. She sends enemies sprawling and flying before her, helpless in the face of her fighting prowess.
Cleric-The Cleric spent much of his childhood alone. Placed in a brutal boarding school at the behest of his cold and distant parents, the Cleric might have become bitter and angry. Instead, when he came of age, he entered a monastery of his own free will and learned the disciplines of a highly principled holy man trained to use both mind and body in the service of good.
Gunner-The gunners originally came from the Dwarven race where gun powders originated and the Dwarves became The homeland of all Gunners 
Sorcerer-The Sorceress can effectively control the battlefield with dark magic by using both melee and ranged attacks. They lure enemies with ranged magic and lead them to a chaotic and painful demise once they come closer. Other races revere and fear the sorceresses. Control Type and Attack type Class
Tamer-Tamers can fight enemies at any range. With the support of Healing, the divine beast, Tamers can perform ruthless combination attacks with Healing, or take the enemy down themselves while borrowing the divine force from the beast. 
Warrior-Warriors are skilled fighters with both good attack and defense. Using the Sword and Shield as their main weapons, they are the best weapon-wielders among all the classes.
Witch-Witches are known for their prudence in battle. In return for their long casting times, they are rewarded with large-scale and powerful magic attacks. Their magic can burn, freeze and shatter opponents with the forces of natural elements such as fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth. Attack Base Class.
Wizard-Wizards are considered to be Spellcasters who wield powerful spells but are physically weak as a trade-off. Wizards are extremely offensive magic users that rely on well-timed dodges and attacks to take down opponents. Wizard Is Attack Base Class.
There are 3 Main Kingdom in Middle Earth online  Which are : The Kingdom under the Mountain-Dwarves Home Land,The Elven Kingdom,Saint Haven Kingdom-Human Kingdom. That was all the information provided by the creator of the game. the players will Start the Game in a village called Wisteria and the other information shall be released later on. After reading the Introduction in the forum Charles was sure which class to pick his gonna pick The Witch because he is the best at playing that character after saying that think in his mind Charles stand up and goes to the kitchen to cook some food. After eating Charles Heard Someone knocking on his door so he immediately go to the front door. It a delivery guy which was carrying his game helmet Charles was so Excited that he forgot to put his pants on And then the delivery guy said"Hi I'm here to deliver your game helmet"the delivery guy look at Charles who forgot to put his pants on the delivery guy can't keep his expression he really want to laugh but since this was his customer he hid it."I'm sorry i was so excited i forgot to put my pants on"Charles said "Its ok sir its part of the job please sign the papers"The delivery guy said,"Ok where's the papers ill sign it quickly"Charles said. After signing it Charles close the door and look embarrassed that he forgot to put his pants on. There was 2 weeks left before the Release of Middle Earth Online!! Charles read the instruction and it said"Need to be physically fit to experience the game better or you can adjust the physical fitness mode but it will not be 97%realism but it will be 93%realism" Well Charles have 2 weeks to workout so tomorrow he will run and go to the gym. The next day Charles wake up at 5:00 am he eat a light breakfast and It was Already 5:40 am when he starts heading  to the park to start running After running for 2 hours he sat at a bench in the park for 15 minutes after seating there he started walking and goes to the Gym First he registered for the membership and hired a Professional Trainer. After signing and hiring a Professional trainer he saw a Bulky Man walking up to him and the man said:"hi sir I'm James I'm gonna be your personal trainer for 2 weeks I hope we get along".After the introduction, James started instructing Charles about what to do Charles did 15 sets of push-ups,5 minutes of planking,5 minutes of the squat. After finishing all of that Charles looks so exhausted After exercising at the Gym Charles takes a walk to his home and After walking for 10 minutes he was at the front of his home. Now that he is home he immediately sit on the couch and after sitting he fell asleep.

The Protagonist is One of the best witch player in his Former Game but since the release of virtual Reality he has been Saving up Money to Buy the Game Helmet Now that He has Saved up Money to Buy The Gaming Helmet He will Once Fly Again to become One of The Best Witch Player or The best in The game join The Flight Of the Legendary Witch!!!!

So finally volume two is finished and now it is time for a new theme and new characters to come. I wanted to do this idea for quite some time now. What I am talking about is the theme of Modern Horror. 
This volume is going to concentrate on the fears and anxieties that come with living in this fast and technological advanced era. This era that is characterized by a urban lifestyle. 
The place, where the stories of this volume will be located, is Leipzig. This is another aspect of this volume that I am personally hyped for. Leipzig is a city I have personally been to and I can say I love it. I figured the best place for me to describe realistic Horror experiences is a City I myself experienced. To introduce you to the city, Leipzig is located in East Germany with a population of around 600.000 people. It has evolved from a small trade city in the medieval times to one of the fastest growing cities of Germany (10th biggest at the moment). It has many cultural highlights and a wide variety of different districts that are unique in their own way and give a fantastic stage for some good stories. 
What fears or topics are going to be the centre of this Volume? The topics are going to be the unique experiences only the modern days make possible. Following that, there are not going to be any general fears that are independent from time and age. Every Story is going to focus especially on the characteristic that differentiates today from the past or future. No Science-fiction and no history.  Realism is what I am trying to strive for in this volume. A task that is not easy accomplished, especially within the horror genre. Humans tend to reject any ideas that would induce fear and label them as fictional, not because they are, but because this is a natural defends mechanism of human nature. I am going to try breaking that border between reality and fiction. I want my readers to look over their shoulder while reading this, because they heard something. I want to stimulate the corner of one's mind with this chapter. Of course this is not going to be easy and I am not going to say that I will definitely accomplish it, but I have to try at least.

Each chapter is independent, but each Volume has its own tale. The first Tale is about a Daemon, hungry for souls and a soul that struggles against him.


-Release rate: Im done with this website, im sorry to everybody hoping for new chapters. 

- new Cover made by: yaoyueyi (Thank you ^^)

This is not only a review of Lucia but a breakdown of why this story that you can find through Novelupdates works so well. I'd give this story a 5 star review any day for being so well thought out.

Lucia is the story of a princess who suddenly gains the memory of an alternate future of her whole lifetime at the age of twelve. From that moment onwards, she dreams of having a better future than that tragedy she saw and does a contractual marriage with a Duke named Hugo in return for basically... not being sold off for political reasons.

The premise sounds like it has been done a hundred times before, but only this story is the most well-executed among its type. She doesn't gain these memories for no particular reason, her husband IS NOT madly in love with her from the get-go, and she has an endearing personality that doesn't come off as air-headed or naive.

The last part is what stands out in this story because despite its fairy tale vibes, there is a lot of realism added that makes it not just an erotic romance where the ML (Male Lead) is every woman's wet dream. Even though he kinda is...

The Duke she marries, Hugo, is an unapologetically bloodthirsty individual who kills people on a regular basis, and he does it without even blinking. The only reason Lucia even marries him was because she had little understanding of what marriage is like outside the abusive one she had in that alternate timeline and thought he looked cute.

There's no template main character vibes given from her as she is not from our reality and this is NOT an Isekai. She is an isolated princess who doesn't suddenly know everything because she lived gained future memories, but is flat-out what she is supposed to be: An former princess and abused Duchess who was sent back in time.

Her alternate timeline memories doesn't empower her but gives her a reality check, and although marrying a guy for his face and status sounds typical on paper, to the point even the Duke she marries thought she was shallow individual, it only added to the realism to the story as even a pure-hearted girl would desire things like a normal girl.

It's played as a joke at first, but the 'contractual marriage' actually becomes quite tragic once her husband gets to know her viewpoint and realised that he had taken what happened then too lightly.

As she does not know a marriage where she is given equal human rights, it becomes a reason why she sometimes acted 'dense' towards his feelings even though they were already sleeping together after marriage. It have a specific take on love...

My biggest praise for this story is that, even though it had the elements of an action story with the Duke being a superhuman badass, the story didn't stray from being a 'romance', choosing to be what it was intended to be without deviations.

One of the biggest pitfalls in these kind of stories set in an medieval world with princesses and nobility is adding cosmic retribution to people who do good actions or glorifying every good thing the main characters ever do. This was very refreshing.

Even though the FL (Female Lead) was a kind individual, the novel goes out of its way to show that the astuteness and wit she gained from seeing that alternate timeline is the reason she doesn't get taken advantage of by fellow noblewoman.

All the good things she embodies, strengths as well as weaknesses, are contrasted well with the Hugo., the ML. Even though she doesn't kill people, the weaknesses that come with her bubbly personality aren't taken for granted whatsoever.

It's to the point that if she wasn't changed after learning of her alternate timeline, she would have went through the same things as the version of her in that future (like falling for a conman of a knight who took her money and ran as well as being used by her long lost family members to pay off loans). I almost feel like this kind of novel was what I was waiting for, as it NEVER rewards ignorant kindness.

Even Lucia's personal doctor becomes a good example of that as her pure intentions are taken advantage of without her even knowing. That character seemingly a reflection of what Lucia would have been like without her new memories.

The Duke she married also doesn't get his just desserts at the end of the story, only going through his own Retribution Arc before being able to fight the bloodlust (and regular, animalistic lust) that was passed onto him by his special bloodline.

His character arc goes from a self-centred guy who is only superficially desirable to a man willing to beat down his own arrogance for the sake of his wife. It's a heartwarming transformation since he had always shown that it wasn't anything like those stories where abusers are suddenly changed just because he met the 'right woman'. He had good aspects hidden within his character the more Lucia got to know him, and she only brought them out.

It was the same with him, as the longer they spent together allowed him to gain a better understanding of Lucia and made her a lot grow into a woman who acted like a doll for her husband.

It was thanks to him that she could open up and express herself more over time. Thus, the story had a two-way/give-and-take relationship where he gave her confidence and she gave him understanding over the emotions he couldn't comprehend before. The other characters in the story being relevant enough to progress their relationship faster than if they were on their own.

It has a clear beginning, middle, and end that don't seem so disconnected with each other. The story also ends properly without dragging on for a hundred chapters of nothing happening (though there aren't any national level incidents each story arc and the worst thing that happened was a noblewoman going on a killing spree to mess up Lucia's reputation. No physical harm done to her).

They even have a daughter in the end of the novel's main story, and although they don't change the world to become a better place (which is an unrealistic expectation), they are able to change each other, which is more than enough for me.

There are a lot of authors that bite off more than they can chew, which this novel doesn't do. This allowed the story to shine most as the romance it is rather than some novel with cosmic righteousness.

The grey area is a nice place to be~

Anyway, this is novel you should check out. Be sure to ask for Analysis blogs and stay safe, my dudes!

(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.

"He is all my art to me now," said the painter gravely. "I sometimes think, Harry, that there are only two eras of any importance in the world's history.

 The first is the appearance of a new medium for art, and the second is the appearance of a new personality for art also. What the invention of oil-painting was to the Venetians, the face of Antinous was to late Greek sculpture, and the face of Dorian Gray will some day be to me. It is not merely that I paint from him, draw from him, sketch from him. Of course, I have done all that. But he is much more to me than a model or a sitter.

 I won't tell you that I am dissatisfied with what I have done of him, or that his beauty is such that art cannot express it. There is nothing that art cannot express, and I know that the work I have done, since I met Dorian Gray, is good work, is the best work of my life. But in some curious way—I wonder will you understand me?—his personality has suggested to me an entirely new manner in art, an entirely new mode of style. I see things differently, I think of them differently.

I can now recreate life in a way that was hidden from me before. 'A dream of form in days of thought'—who is it who says that? I forget; but it is what Dorian Gray has been to me.

 The merely visible presence of this lad—for he seems to me little more than a lad, though he is really over twenty—his merely visible presence—ah! I wonder can you realize all that that means? Unconsciously he defines for me the lines of a fresh school, a school that is to have in it all the passion of the romantic spirit, all the perfection of the spirit that is Greek. 

The harmony of soul and body—how much that is! We in our madness have separated the two, and have invented a realism that is vulgar, an ideality that is void. Harry! if you only knew what Dorian Gray is to me! You remember that landscape of mine, for which Agnew offered me such a huge price but which I would not part with? It is one of the best things I have ever done. And why is it so? Because, while I was painting it, Dorian Gray sat beside me. Some subtle influence passed from him to me, and for the first time in my life I saw in the plain woodland the wonder I had always looked for and always missed."


"Basil, this is extraordinary! I must see Dorian Gray."
Hallward got up from the seat and walked up and down the garden. After some time he came back. "Harry," he said, "Dorian Gray is to me simply a motive in art. You might see nothing in him. I see everything in him. He is never more present in my work than when no image of him is there. He is a suggestion, as I have said, of a new manner. I find him in the curves of certain lines, in the loveliness and subtleties of certain colours. That is all."

"Then why won't you exhibit his portrait?" asked Lord Henry.
"Because, without intending it, I have put into it some expression of all this curious artistic idolatry, of which, of course, I have never cared to speak to him. He knows nothing about it. He shall never know anything about it. But the world might guess it, and I will not bare my soul to their shallow prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under their microscope. There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry—too much of myself!"

"Poets are not so scrupulous as you are. They know how useful passion is for publication. Nowadays a broken heart will run to many editions."

"I hate them for it," cried Hallward. "An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them. We live in an age when men treat art as if it were meant to be a form of autobiography. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty. Some day I will show the world what it is; and for that reason the world shall never see my portrait of Dorian Gray."

"I think you are wrong, Basil, but I won't argue with you. It is only the intellectually lost who ever argue. Tell me, is Dorian Gray very fond of you?"

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