Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle! - Chapter 608 An Escape?

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.

There came a sudden ravage by monstrous creatures in a civilian world, leaving humanity's hope to lurk in shadows. Hunters, trained in special schools, wield potential and abilities that enabled them keep the beasts at bay.For Buji, life’s difficulties stem not from being an orphan, but from relentless bullying. Nicknamed “the weakling,” he detests the label but bears it forcefully since he could do nothing.When he transfers to a new school to join his foster sister, Buji thought things would be different. But, during the Awakening Ceremony of the school, he find out a shocking truth: he's was going to be an S-Rank hunter without a talent.Awakening no talent only added more difficulty to his life struggle as he was branded an outcast.On the verge of death during his first raid, Buji awakens an enigmatic system.[Host Found][Survival due to inheritance][Congrats, you have gained the status of a 'player'.][The player, upon leveling up will awaken a potent monster][Class: Animagus | Type: Snake | Aspect: Venom][Do you accept?]Given the choice to embrace a monstrous path, Buji seizes it with unyielding resolve.'If becoming a monster is my only path to strength, I’ll take it—and the world will regret casting me aside. Fighting against these hunters was going to be a job, but imagine a world where I had control over monsters, had my own monster kingdom, and becoming the strongest of all. Stepping on these hunters won’t be a deal anyway.'“Yes!”

In the general’s house, the eldest daughter is born again.

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.