I'll Teach You, Marianne. - Chapter 103 - An Honest Heart

Hadica was built around one of five Towers, an infinite structure filled with floors of monsters, magic, and treasures that the city plunders like clockwork. Most of the city, at least. Growing up in Westhill, Micah's family abstained from all of their Tower's bounties. He became an [Alchemist] at an age younger than most and just wanted to level in peace, but soon ran out of mundane ingredients to brew into potions. Ryan is a budding [Fighter] with the strange ability to mimic beasts, including monsters, but he doesn't understand it or even himself. After a Tower climb goes horribly wrong, their lives and the world around them begin to change as they try to figure out who they want to be.The Salamanders is a slow-paced story about characters growing up in and exploring a fantasy setting. It updates sporadically. Please mind the tags.

Nova scrambled backwards, panting hard, her short locks clinging to her damp forehead as she watched this predator stalk towards her. The vibrant and lively forest hushed, almost holding its breath to watch the scene unfold. Great, she had an audience for what would surely be a gruesome death.Death looked... a little... rugged and in nothing but a loin cloth, defined by slabs of muscle, a trail of hair leading down to such a small piece of cloth to hide a large-A spine-chilling growl snapped her gaze back up to meet his golden-red eyes, fiery, and intense, glaring at Nova as he slammed his hands either side of her head. Pieces of bark crumbled down from the impact.“I told you not to run...” He threatened, his eyes piercing hers, his voice more guttural than she'd heard from any male. His eyes clenched shut as his body trembled. “My instinct is to always stalk, always chase... until I get what I want..”Their faces were inches apart. She could feel his hot breath fanning her face. The forest was humid and hot, and his body was so close to hers that it was almost unbearable. The gruff voice, those words and the intensity of those eyes that reminded her of sunsets caused goosebumps to flourish across her arms.“What do you want?” Nova swallowed, not recognising her voice. She was so out of her depth. His chest rumbled, and more bark crumbled down from behind her head.“You...”Her breath hitched.“To. Do. As. You're. Told.”Paradise was what Nova Winslow was promised when her boyfriend whisked her away to Isla De Tayun, the perfect getaway for their busy lives. It was untouched, pristine, a hidden gem.But it had remained that way for a reason. The island doesn’t want visitors. And neither do the natives.What should have been a romantic retreat, drinking from coconuts and lounging on white-sandy beaches together, turns into a holiday from hell.Mid-argument with her soon-to-be ex, Nova stumbles into a lake. When she resurfaces, her boyfriend, the path she came from, and the resort have vanished.Alone, stranded, and with little survival skills, Nova has only a wet phone with no signal, a pair of heels, and an irrational fear of bats—which are everywhere. She is out of her depth when she falls into a mystical world of beasts.Hunted by tribesmen, stalked by beasts that shouldn't exist, and hearing animals speak, she has no choice but to trust the wild beast the forest itself fears—Yoa, a wanted man. Together, they flee the tribes pursuing them all while battling her growing attraction to Yoa.Can she survive the wild and make it back to her civilised life? Or will she lose herself to the untamed world—and to the man who belongs to it?

Ha Joon Kim is a loser. No amount of luck was going to save him from that fate, he was always going to be that loser.But what happens when he dies and gets reincarnated in another world where everything seems different. Where gods and heroic spirits of all eras are in existence.Not only that, but his smartphone is with him? And it grants him skills?.[Instant learning acquired][This skill allows you to gain abilities from leaning]He knew the essence of water.[You have gained a new skill.][Water manipulation.][50 endurance points have been deducted.]....[Knowledge of the gods acquired][This skill lets you tame… tame…]Giving another chance to live life, Ha Joon decided he wasn't going to be that loser anymore, instead, he was going to help the king of Camelot, or rather, The queen of Camelot rule a successful Kingdom.From getting the goddesses to fall in love, to even making Merlin beg for his attention, he was finally getting everything he wanted from life.The traveler… the only human in the old world to tame the gods.

The smell of blood invaded my nostrils. I watched helplessly as the woman standing over me raised her sword. I was completely drained, I had no mana left, no items, nothing. As the crimson tendrils held me down by my arms and legs, all I could do was wait for my death.

As the sword drew near, I felt the last bit of courage I had disappear. I was going to die. Alone. In this god forsaken place filled with evil. And for what? To protect those ‘friends’? The same people who mocked me, took advantage of, and used me?

Oh, who am I trying to fool? I was here only because of my own greed. Because I wanted to be useful to someone. Because I wanted to that group to need me. To value me. To have a reason to keep me around. How naïve I was, thinking that power would grant those wishes. All it did was help build a wall between me and everyone else.

The sword approached. I saw the purple light reflect off the sword’s blade. After everything I went through, I hadn’t expected my death to be by the hands of another player. I saw her smile, but this time I didn’t think it was beautiful. It was an ugly smile because it was genuine. She was enjoying watching me die. She was enjoying killing me.

The sword struck my chest and pierced my heart. I let out a scream of pain and agony. The pain was so real, all of this was so real. It shouldn’t be, but it was. What should have been a simple game had become my new reality – all of our new reality. A reality filled with magic, war, blood, and death.

My vision darkened as the pain slowly faded. I felt the last of my vitality leave my body. It felt cold. I wondered to myself, when would I stop being? When would my thoughts disappear?

Soon, I saw those words I feared for all this time appear before me. “DEATH”, in the pale blue font the game always used. They remained suspended in the air for several seconds. It was over. After a long time of fighting, grinding, and exploring, it was finally over. I had died. This was the end of my story.

Suddenly, words before me shifted and changed into something different. I took a shallow breath as I heard a faint heartbeat.

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