Condemning the Heavens - Chapter 28: Unveiling the Enemy

*Slow Burn Historical Fantasy Novel*

Elise had about to change into the dress that was lying on the corner of her bed when she heard a knock lightly calling from her door. Curious, she turned the door knob only to have a tall man towering in front of her.

“Master Ian!” She called.

Ian smiled with the usual mischievous smirk that he always used. His crimson eyes trailing a little over her room and spotted the black dress over her bed and shifted his eyes over to the woman in front of him. He stepped forward and spoke. “Where did you acquire that dress?”

“Mr. Harland gave it to me.” Elise replied and strained her neck to see Ian’s brows knitted in its elegance.

“Do you know why a man would love to give a woman a dress?” He gave the riddle that she always had to think twice before replying. But this time, she found no answer and instead shook her head. “I don’t know.”

His grin grew bewitching as though something had stirred deep inside the scarlet eyes that he had. He slowly slid his hand over the collar of her dress, sending a cold shiver that startled her for a moment due to its freezing temperature. After unbuttoning the first two buttons on her collar, he tilted his head down, whispering to her ears. “Because they want to be the one to undress the cloth.”

He paused and kissed her neck, turning the pale skin to red before retracting his move to fix his eyes on her and leisurely replied. “Unfortunately, you can’t wear the dress over there with this.” He chuckled and passed a box over to her hand. “And the fortunate news is I prepared a dress for you.”

Elise was a cursed little girl who could see ghosts. Her family hated her and threw her from one adoptive family to another. However, misfortune didn't act alone. When she was brought up by her aunt, she was sold as a slave. When she had thought she would become nothing but a sacrifice to the sorcerer, she was saved by a man whose identity was far different than a normal mythical being.

Is magic really a wish machine?

No! In a universe where magic actually exists, the ultimate nature of magic must be as simple and beautiful as the laws of physics.

This is the story of a mass-produced magic warfare tool man who learned the ultimate nature of magic.

But so what?

Just as a bird can fly without understanding aerodynamics, so a wizard does not need to understand the ultimate nature of magic to use magic.

Knowing the ultimate nature of magic does not mean that the tool man can become a great magician.

But the desire for knowledge is human instinct, and curiosity is the first driving force of human civilization. Humans hope to understand the inner workings of magic, even if it is supposed to be unreasonable.

An inquiry into the ultimate nature of magic, without any justification!

The story in the book takes place in an age where steel dances with gunpowder.

Here, muskets are in the ascendant, armor is still the protagonist, military theories are changing with each passing day, and innovations in systems and craftsmanship are emerging one after another. And this world has one more thing than ours: magic.

The world is undergoing earth-shaking changes, and no one can stay out of it.

- Description from novelbuddy

Sakimori Kagami plays a VRMMORPG called Arch Earth Online. He is a veteran player with the name and appearance similar to an elderly bearded wizard from a certain book about a ring.

One day he purchases an appearance change item as a last resort to spend expiring currency and gets the idea of choosing what he would want to look like if his character was ever a girl.

Falling asleep should have suspended the game, but Kagami wakes up still online and feels the game has has gotten a bit more realistic. Did Arch Earth Online finally get a long-awaited update?

*Who would have thought a precious legitimate princess was forced to secretly marry a predator in the middle of the night when the silver moon shone bright in the middle of the starry sky?__“Your wench mother seduced my father and made you!”Consumed by rage after her half-sister insulted her mother, Reneira Dorient unleashed her secret power. Magic was taboo in the seven kingdoms, and those born with it must be burned. But she was a precious princess to the Kingdom.The royal family kept this secret with them and locked away her power, however, the King had a far darker plan: he forced her into a marriage with the evil prince of Thegara, a ruthless barbarian who had bathed in the blood of countless victims, as rumors said. Their union was the King’s strategy, she was a tool to win yet another war.The night the prince arrived to claim her, Reneira braced herself for the inevitable circumstances. However, nothing could have prepared her for the truth that this wasn’t just a marriage.Her new husband was a sweet torment, an immortal, god-like bully disguised in an impossibly beautiful human form with no rival. His every gaze felt like a punishment, and his sinful aura tempted her in ways she never expected. This god of lust refused to touch her or accept her as his true wife.Believing that her dignity was lost forever, she resigned herself to her fate, hoping to make a home in the hell she’d been thrown into. But fate, as it often did play, had other plans. She came to encounter a gorgeous yet wicked ex-mistress who didn't want her as his wife too and constantly attempted to push her out of the way...__“Don’t even think about seducing me by licking your lips like that, doe-eyes!” He breathed in her ear as he joined her in bed, shirtless, his muscular abdomen rippling with each movement.“I… I’m not doing it on purpose!” she stammered, her breath catching in her chest when he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her body against him.His mouth hovered near her ear. “I’m going to make you forget what happened today. My body is yours as compensation.”Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Rolling her eyes away, she tried not to meet his dangerously alluring gaze. “You said we’re not a real couple, and I’m not your true mate. What’s changed your mind?”He grinned widely, grabbing her chin and leaning in so close that she could feel his warm breath against her skin. He used his tempting aura to compel her to meet his gaze. Her treacherous heart didn’t defy him again, he could hear it racing.“That term of the treaty no longer applies. From now on, you’re truly my wife, Doe-eyes. Only mine.” He paused, studying her body’s response.“Shall I stop here?” he whispered, his breath sending a shiver down her spine.Once again, she surprised him. The answer was the opposite of what the arousal scent of her body suggested.“Yes. You should stop.”“So you’re going to play a naughty game, wife?”...