Beast Evolution Forge - Chapter 9: Corrupted Mana

In the rural northeastern mountainous regions stands a tiny Buddhist temple, named One Finger Temple. It isn’t a large one but it is extremely miraculous.

The temple has rice that emanates an aromatic fragrance.

The temple has sweet and refreshing water that rivals ambrosia.

The temple has Buddhas that grant wishes to the sincere.

The temple isn’t large but it has everything. The temple isn’t large but it has flourishing incense offerings that far exceed all temples. The temple isn’t large but it attracts both citizens and foreigners that line up overnight…

The temple has a bald but handsome monk. Every day, he would bawl, “I want to renounce asceticism! I want to marry a chick that’s not too pretty, have a cute baby, and lead a stable life!”

“Evil God of the Universe, You are in every space and time. Present in every dimension of reality and govern the darkness of our world.Oh, almighty Atticus! Hear our plea and grant us your presence tonight, awaken my Lord!”The rain had completely stopped and the strong gale had subsided into the fading raindrops. The night had turned eerily silent and only the sizzling and cackling of the fire entered their ears.Suddenly, they all felt like floating from their feet despite setting foot on the watery, hard ground, as if they were traversing into space. The darkness of the night gradually turned darker, enveloping them, morphing into everyone, like a void eating them slowly. Sequentially, their breathing turned oddly slower. Despite exaggeratedly inhaling air to breathe, it was to no avail, as if a higher entity was limiting them from breathing.Nolan felt his throat and tried to open his mouth to gasp more air but failed. Everyone but him was in a state of indignation and panic as they struggled to breathe to fill their lungs with air. Nolan tried to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and stopped inhaling air in pure panic, instead, he put his heartbeat and breathing into a rhythm. It was hard at first, but after a minute, he found his breathing gradually went stable.His whole being was in pure anticipation of what was going to happen next.After a couple more minutes, the storm completely subsided, the night turned to normal. Nolan remained standing, taking in his surroundings with his eyes closed. Everything turned silent. The eerie atmosphere and the crackling of the fire from the hay figure didn’t even enter his ears. Nolan waited for a couple more minutes, his breathing turning normal. He was reluctant to open his eyes, afraid he might ruin their ritual.“It’s alright now, Young Master. You can open your eyes now.”Nolan’s breathing hitched. He jolted on his feet as he fluttered his eyes open.“Atticus? W-why are you here?”The butler, standing in front of him, a raincoat hung on his arm, smiled. “I am everywhere, Young Master, in order to best serve you.”****Atticus, a demi-god from the underworld, was cast out of his parents' realm and banished to the human world. The reason? He had yet to give them any grandchildren.Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is purely the product of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people, events, or beliefs is entirely coincidental. The intention is not to disrespect or diminish any faith or tradition, but rather to explore ideas within a fictional context. Reader discretion is advised.

My younger brother died.And it happened inside the prestigious private school that I struggled so hard to get him into.As I was crying in despair in front of his grave,A strange man who claimed to be the student council president appeared and made an unbelievable offer.“Would you like to go back one year if you could?”He seemed like a swindler, but faced with sudden despair, I had no other choice.I grasped at this rotten lifeline and hastily made a deal with him.And surprisingly, I really did go back one year in time.Without wasting time, I immediately transferred to that problematic private school. To protect my younger brother who was still alive.But this school, the atmosphere is not right.Ghosts and spirits appear all over the school, and ‘ghost stories’ occur.Somehow, my brother seems to be connected to these strange phenomena.Will I, Melody Hastings, be able to safely solve the ghost story, protect my younger brother, and get out of this school?

Lin Yu finds himself transported to the world of Honkai: Star Rail.Equipped with a divine mobile game development system, his first project is creating “Honkai: Star Rail.”Soon, his game captures the attention of the entire universe.As players reach the Cocolia boss battle, the song ‘Wildfire’ begins playing.“Woah?! This is a turn-based game; how dare you make it so intense!”“The moment this music kicked in, I felt like I was about to take down an Aeon!”Progressing further, they encounter Dan Heng’s sea-parting scene.“I thought ‘Wildfire’ was intense enough, but there’s even more fire here!”“Dan Heng, still denying you’re Imbibitor Lunae? Now you’re a five-star limited character!”Arriving at Penacony:“Huh? Have you listened to ‘WHITE NIGHT’?”“Acheron’s power has been tested – fellow gamers, feel free to pull for her!”“Duke Inferno: Children, this isn’t funny.”“Before experiencing the story: Aventu**ne? Just another profit-driven fraud! After the storyline: May the Mother Goddess thrice close her eyes upon thee…”“What Aventu**ne?! He’s clearly my unfortunate yet loyal bro!”