Enlightened Empire - Chapter 370: Last Chance to Repent

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.

...[Inside an underground basement]“You are going to die for nothing, hahahaha,” the old man's voice thundered through the room, sending chills down my spine.Step.With a swift and ruthless motion, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air and slashing my throat, crimson droplets staining the darkness.“We'll see,” I whispered defiantly, my final words escaping as a mere breath against the impending darkness.Slowly, inexorably, my consciousness slipped away, and I descended into a deep, unfathomable slumber.“Huh!?” My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself seated in a bustling tavern, the air thick with laughter and the clinking of glasses.In front of me stood a captivating lady, her beauty juxtaposed with an angry furrow upon her brow, threatening to shatter the harmony of the jovial scene.“Don't follow me around!” Her words pierced the air like shards of ice, the intensity of her emotions palpable as she cast a resentful glare in my direction, before swiftly departing from the tavern....Am I trapped within the confines of a game? The fragments of my shattered common sense scattered before me, leaving me to question the very fabric of my reality.

In the Country of Fine Cuisine, chefs are the most respected vocation.

Luo Xiu, an award-winning chef from planet Earth, crossed over into this world by accident. With a Mapo bean curd in his hand, the dish created a strange vision of Flaming Mountain.

Food that caused clothes to explode? Food that glows? Food that creates visions? Food that causes illusion?

That’s right, a Xiuzhen chef on this continent can produce these special effects when they cook.

Have you seen potatoes as big as a human head?

Have you seen jade colored wheat?

What about chickens that are 0.8m tall?

In this world, these are just the most basic ingredients.

“Well, these ingredients are interesting and are a good fit for Chinese Cuisine!”

“If you move again, I will release the dish- Buddha Jumps over the wall!”

Boom!

A large golden Buddha sat on 10 Xiuzhen practitioners and squashed them to death!

- Description from Novelupdates

The only game in my life that makes me laugh: The Lands of The Lunerra... I played this game for six thousand hours in three years, and the day I thought I had done everything I could in this game, I felt a great emptiness inside me. I thought nothing in my ordinary and monotonous life could make me happier than when I played this game. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I was wrong with an e-mail I received the night I finished the game.

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Hi! Thank you to everyone who came to read this story. There are two things I want to tell you.

First of all, I first started writing this about two years ago, but I was writing in my native language, Turkish, and on a different site. But unfortunately, the website where I published the series came to the brink of collapse. While I was thinking about where to publish the series, I remembered Webnovel and here I am. So this is my first English novel and I believe I will make mistakes while translating. Please forgive me for these if you encounter some of them. I will do my best.

Second... yes, while writing this novel I was inspired by most of the novels I've read so far. Like The Novel's Extra, that novel is a pure diamond for me and I don't think I will ever reach the level of that thing. So I want to say the first few chapters may feel familiar to you, but I'll do my best to smooth it out.

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