Ascendance of a Bookworm - Chapter 20 - Tory’s Baptismal Ceremony

Born into a lower middle class family, Ace Lander grew up being told there was a simple formula for success: get an education, graduate, and work hard to build a prosperous future. But that formula failed him during the final stretch of his senior year when a local gang targeted him, putting everything he had and was building towards at risk.Trapped and desperate, Ace felt his life spiraling out of control—until Ria Hart, a fellow classmate, discovering Ace's innate aptitude to become a Curse Master, a being capable of wielding curse energy and abilities but haunted by Curselings, took pity and introduced him to the secret world hidden beneath the mundane surface of their world, the World of Curses.Awakening as a Curse Master, Ace discovers he possesses an extraordinary innate curse tool: the Cursed Toybox. This tool comes with a unique class, Toymancer, granting Ace powers unlike any curse master the world has seen before. The Cursed Toybox allows him to animate and actualize toys, transforming them into powerful, living beings bound to his will.From overpowered heroes to legendary gods, any toy that falls into Ace's Cursed Toybox springs to life with powers beyond one's imagination but bound to him in eternal servitude. Armed with his Toy Summons, Ace must navigate the perilous world of curses, protect his loved ones, and reclaim control of his destiny before the gang—and the darkness of the hidden world—consume him entirely.[ — Status Screen —> Your Cursed Toybox is animating the doll 'Silicone Sailor Stella' as a toy summons…> Your Cursed Toybox has animated the doll 'Silicone Sailor Stella.'> Toy summon 'Silicone Sailor Stella' added to your toy space.> Toymancer can now summon Sailor Stella.Summoning Toy Summons...Name: StellaRace: Curse ToolClass: Toy summonTitle: Silicone SailorDurability: (100/100)Enchantment: 1-StarIndividuality: (100/100)Curse Energy Consumption: 5 units per hourSkills: Toy Actualization, Seamanship, Armed Security, Adult Gratification.Toy Actualization: Bring Toy Summons' original character design and skills to existence when they are animated based on their individuality stats.Addition Effect: Toy Physiology.Seamanship: Expertise in navigation, sailing, and ship handling alongside wilderness survival, first aid, and emergency procedures.Armed Security: Proficiency in the use of small arms and other naval weaponry with training in close quarters combat, surveillance, and counterintelligence.Adult Gratification: Creatively addressing emotional, mental, and physical needs of Toymancer till gratification.]“Cursed armies, Curselings, and Curse slaves are nothing—I've got a Toy legion of overpowered action figures and unrealistically beautiful silicone goddess.”~ToymancerJoin the saga of the Toymancer's rise to become the Strongest Curse Master.

A world where dragons serve as mayors, elves work in sales, and orcs brew coffee.In a city full of enhanced humans and wandering wizards, I became a young girl with psychic powers.“To do something so terrible to a child… These people are despicable.”“Human experimentation related to psychic powers is an international crime, punishable by at least the death penalty. This is absolutely unacceptable.”“Don’t worry anymore. From now on, you’ve got nothing to fear. We’ll take care of everything for you, little sister!”It seems the protagonists have misunderstood something.

I can see ghosts.Even the ghosts inside games.But then…”Ah! Not there, over that way! My family heirloom is hidden there.”The ghosts in the game keep revealing hidden pieces to me.

Progression, magical cards, weak to strong, card reforging!The young, sickly Irwin has seen nothing but bad luck in his short life. When his brother finally returns with a magical card for him, his luck is about to change. But will it change for the better? Irwin is sent off together with another group of youths to placate a group of sorcerers. With just a weird utility card granted by his brother, he can only pray to stay alive long enough.[Has been updated with the rewrite of the first 27 chapters]This is a Card gathering story! Crafting is initially not the main focus, but as the story progresses, it becomes more and more important to the MC.Release schedule: [Fri/Sun] Roughly 22:00I am still a non-native English speaker (hard to change), so even with the edits and rewrites, you might find some oddities. Let me know, and I'll fix them right up.