Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors - Chapter 20 - 16: Where’s the Reinforcement Promised?

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?Wrong.One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.Enter him.Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.And now, he’s not letting me go.

Leo had a problem. Don't be like Leo!It wasn't that he was poor. It wasn't that he was unlucky. It was that he had been cursed, or blessed by the Accidental Tycoon System.The rules were deceptively simple. Any money he lost on an investment would be returned to him, doubled. And any money he gained, aside from system reimbursement couldn't be used by him on himself.His life's new mission was crystal clear. He had to go bankrupt.In a high-tech world of S-Rank Heroes, magic, and newly-contacted alien civilizations, this should have been the easiest thing to achieve in the galaxy. He just had to become the biggest, most spectacular loser the universe had ever seen.So, he tried. Oh, how he tried...He threw billions at publishing a dungeon guide written by a 10-year-old. The maps were in crayon, and it listed the final boss as a Big Grumpy Badger.[Breaking: New S-Rank dungeon called 'The Whispering Labyrinth' appears! All high-tech mapping drones fail. A lost F-Rank porter used the crayon guide... and it's 100% accurate. The final boss is a 50-foot divine badger. The Galactic Union has declared the guide a 'holy text' for exploration!]He bought the galaxy's most useless moon, planning to build a 'Museum of Paint'.[Alert: Ancient magical ley-lines discovered under the moon's surface! It's the only place in the universe that can safely grow the 'Star-Lotus,' the key ingredient for immortality!]To the Intergalactic Hero's Guild, the Magic Academies, and the Alien Federations, Leo was the god of investment whose every move was like 5D chess that ordinary people couldn't understand.Heroes would soar with his sponsorship. Alien emperors offered him their daughters' hands in marriage for a single 'tip'.But Leo just stared at his bank account, which now displayed his wealth that he couldn't use on himself, with tears streaming down his face.“Please,” he cried, “I'm trying to fail! Why won't you just let me be poor?!”

Draven is a magic professor in a fantasy world. He is also an earl, notorious for his evil deeds and mistakes since youth. His downfall is due to a curse that hinders his intellectual potential and his talents. Eventually, he becomes a villain, losing everything he holds dear: his siblings, fiancée, house, domain, and more. After a miserable death, he reincarnates in the modern world as Dravis Granger.In his new life, he grows up to be a highly intellectual individual oblivious towards his previous life, becoming a young professor in mechanical engineering and a researcher. However, he harbors a strange obsession with creating a game, fueled by vivid imaginings of another world. This obsession leads him to develop a game that mirrors his previous life. Upon completing his virtual reality world, he regains his past memories. Overwhelmed by intense emotions—rage, sadness, and the realization of his past ugliness—he suffers a fatal heart attack.In his final moments, he hears a voice, seemingly from the world itself, offering him a chance to return to his original fantasy world. However, he would only retain the memories of his modern life, not those of his first life’s mistakes. He agrees and is reincarnated once more, this time with the knowledge of a modern mechanical engineering professor.But one thing about the Dravis Granger, he's not just a mechanical engineer professor. Not just a straight, killer genius professor. He has his ideals, and the world is too full of villains for his great idealism. So he strived, with his great mind, he became a mastermind. But not as a villain, but as a person who has lost hope in police and justice, and decided to help the people by his own hand. Collecting victims and invited those handpicked talents to his side, making several insane stunts, assassinating, trapping, and eradicating the scums from the world.But now in this fantasy world, he has to survive from multiple factions trying to kill him, protect his domain, protect his siblings, protect his fiance, and the most important thing.Protect the world.But he hadn't lost the Dravis from the modern world.As a professor at the morning, an earl at the afternoon, and a dark knight at the night._____________________________“You've hurt my student.” Draven stands still, no mana seems to emit from him, but just a single frown. A frown that is enough to make the room's heavy. “As a teacher, you think I would leave you unpunished?”“You seem to think that I care about your position, Prince Hermit. But believe me,” Draven took a slow step. “Not even your father could protect you from me.”

Plot Summary: This novel combines the popular “villainess” genre with the contemporary concept of VTubing, where the protagonist, a typical villainess character, becomes a VTuber—an online persona using a digital avatar. As she navigates her dual life, her influence extends beyond the virtual world, leading to increasingly violent and chaotic consequences in reality. The story delves into the psychological impact of living a double life and explores themes of power, manipulation, and the dark side of internet fame.Why Read It: The novel offers a fresh and thrilling take on the villainess trope by incorporating modern digital culture elements. It’s particularly appealing to readers who enjoy stories that explore the darker aspects of fame and influence, with a unique blend of fantasy and real-world issues. The narrative's intense and sometimes graphic nature sets it apart from more conventional stories in the genre, making it a compelling read for those looking for something different.