Heretical Fishing - Chapter 2: Decision

Born into a lower middle class family, Ace Lander grew up being told there was a simple formula for success: get an education, graduate, and work hard to build a prosperous future. But that formula failed him during the final stretch of his senior year when a local gang targeted him, putting everything he had and was building towards at risk.Trapped and desperate, Ace felt his life spiraling out of control—until Ria Hart, a fellow classmate, discovering Ace's innate aptitude to become a Curse Master, a being capable of wielding curse energy and abilities but haunted by Curselings, took pity and introduced him to the secret world hidden beneath the mundane surface of their world, the World of Curses.Awakening as a Curse Master, Ace discovers he possesses an extraordinary innate curse tool: the Cursed Toybox. This tool comes with a unique class, Toymancer, granting Ace powers unlike any curse master the world has seen before. The Cursed Toybox allows him to animate and actualize toys, transforming them into powerful, living beings bound to his will.From overpowered heroes to legendary gods, any toy that falls into Ace's Cursed Toybox springs to life with powers beyond one's imagination but bound to him in eternal servitude. Armed with his Toy Summons, Ace must navigate the perilous world of curses, protect his loved ones, and reclaim control of his destiny before the gang—and the darkness of the hidden world—consume him entirely.[ — Status Screen —> Your Cursed Toybox is animating the doll 'Silicone Sailor Stella' as a toy summons…> Your Cursed Toybox has animated the doll 'Silicone Sailor Stella.'> Toy summon 'Silicone Sailor Stella' added to your toy space.> Toymancer can now summon Sailor Stella.Summoning Toy Summons...Name: StellaRace: Curse ToolClass: Toy summonTitle: Silicone SailorDurability: (100/100)Enchantment: 1-StarIndividuality: (100/100)Curse Energy Consumption: 5 units per hourSkills: Toy Actualization, Seamanship, Armed Security, Adult Gratification.Toy Actualization: Bring Toy Summons' original character design and skills to existence when they are animated based on their individuality stats.Addition Effect: Toy Physiology.Seamanship: Expertise in navigation, sailing, and ship handling alongside wilderness survival, first aid, and emergency procedures.Armed Security: Proficiency in the use of small arms and other naval weaponry with training in close quarters combat, surveillance, and counterintelligence.Adult Gratification: Creatively addressing emotional, mental, and physical needs of Toymancer till gratification.]“Cursed armies, Curselings, and Curse slaves are nothing—I've got a Toy legion of overpowered action figures and unrealistically beautiful silicone goddess.”~ToymancerJoin the saga of the Toymancer's rise to become the Strongest Curse Master.

Min's system, System #151044, is tired of watching him get girls and make dumb decisions yet still manage to defeat the villain. If only he was the villain, there's no way Min would win.

His wish was granted. He now upgraded from a bodyless helper system to the evil villain, Ronin Dreadborne!

-----------------------------

After getting murdered and reincarnating as a system inside a Hero Transmigrating Machine, System #151044 spent thousands of years wondering why he had such a cruel fate to be a system for incompetent transmigrators like this.

But the worst is Min Cheng............

Because Min Cheng spends all his Hero points on girls instead of leveling up! And he is the dumbest transmigrators he ever met!

But through a rogue system that gave them a code to free themselves from their roles as a system, System #151044 was able to transform into Min Cheng's enemy on the next world, Ronin Dreadborne, in a mage fantasy world!

[Fate itself is evil. The only true enemy is fate, and I have defeated it.]

[And I shall teach you how to defeat it too. I will be giving you the gift of freedom. ]

[Be the master of your fate like you were always meant to be. And conquer those who try to stand in your way.]

That is exactly what he did as Ronin, and to defeat an evil fate, you have to be evil yourself!

“I will be the best villain in all the dimensions! Watch out, Min Cheng! I'm coming for you!”

The downfall of the infamous white lotus, Lexi Yang led her to the only escape she knew -- SUICIDE.

Born with a golden spoon, having all the privileges being the young miss of the prestigious Yang family, Lexi Yang was the type of person that whatever she wants, she gets. However, fate must have challenged her the moment she fell in love with the domineering CEO of Liu Empire.

Alas, just like in every romance novel, Morris Liu fell for another woman who's kind, fragile, and gentle.

Due to her intense desire to gain Morris Liu's love, she has done extreme vicious deeds. But in the end, everything backfired on her.

Now, on her death moment, just as her vision went to a pitch-black abyss, a cute minion voice was heard.

“Chuchururu~! CONGRATULATIONS! Your viciousness score surpassed the preliminary test! To receive full access to the 'otome love system', here's the initiation main task -- make your ex-fiance's best friend fall in love with you!”

Ren Takahashi, a shy, hoodie-wearing tech genius, hides behind the online alias GhostHood — a quiet legend in underground hackathons. Despite appearing average in school, he dreams of becoming a real-life Iron Man — not the hero, but the builder of world-changing tech.Enter Aoi Hoshizaki, a bold, gal-style girl with a love for code, a messy room, and a mysterious spark. When she moves in next door and discovers Ren's secret, their world begins to change — from quiet club meetings to national hackathons, late-night debugging sessions to secret rooftop conversations.What starts as teamwork grows into something deeper, more complicated, and far more electric than either expected. Together, they aim for Japan’s most elite tech university — and face rivalries, rumors, and the whisper of love in every line of code.