MTL - Heart of Empire - Chapter 18 Tree of Life, Orion

The royal bastard of House Vasquer, Argrave, changed after his stay studying magic at the Tower of the Gray Owl.

The sickly man's awkward posture and cruel behavior have been replaced with a neat dignity and acerbic wit.

Though once listless, he now strives towards his goals with a life-or-death tenacity.

Most come away thinking he seems to know too many details about too much. Few can claim to know his motives or his goals.

Yet behind that confident appearance, the primary contributor for an open-world RPG's wiki battles existential dread and things far beyond his ken as he struggles to adapt to a grim, gothic fantasy world mirroring his favorite game.

The prospect of fighting against a world-ending calamity loses all of its appeal when it transitions from entertainment to reality.

Argrave is spurred towards unwanted heroism to preserve his life as he struggles desperately to keep this sinking ship afloat.

Princess Anastasia of Orsenia is regarded as the kingdom’s treasure. However, she carries a heavy secret— she is diagnosed with an incurable illness. She is fated to die before she turns 18.

For years, her parents desperately searched for a cure but to no avail. That is, until a mysterious letter arrives, claiming that the only way Anastasia can escape her cruel fate is to send her to a monster:

King Caspain, the ruler of Sorvando, a vampire kingdom.

The letter prophesizes that Anastasia will live, only if she makes that bloodthirsty King fall in love with her. However, Anastasia knows it’s nearly an impossible task. Sorvando is filled with dangers. And she is only but a weak human.

Yet, her will to live won over her fear. No matter how cruel the king may be, Anastasia will still try to win his heart.

Now, if only she can keep her own heart from falling for him as well.

***

[Excerpt]

“Cas-pian…”

And he looked back to see that she was biting her lower lip as though she greatly enjoyed that kiss.

He smirked again and whispered in his deeply seductive voice, “I like my name even more ever since I started hearing it from your beautiful lips. And I like it even further when you say it in that hushed tone.”

Anastasia had no idea what Caspian was hinting at yet.

So he dropped some more hints, “Wife, weren’t you asking me what the first night meant? Let me show you.”

Finding an ancient treasure was not as fortunate as one might expect. As soon as Bai Rouyun had left the grave, countless sects and hidden families set out to kill her for the sake of obtaining her treasure for themselves.

This is a world where everyone participates in simulations, amidst an eerie apocalyptic setting.Only by performing a Heaven-defying Fate Change in the simulated life can one avoid being consumed by the black mist.Lu Yuan crosses over accidentally and gains an Adaptive Talent, receiving a Divine-level Talent automatically in every simulation!First Life: A modern technology world where Martial Dao is in decline.[Heaven Rewards Diligence]: With every bit of effort, reap a hundredfold reward; even breathing makes you stronger!Second Life: A Magic World, reincarnated as an ordinary skeleton.[Undead Calamity]: Transform into the Undead Dominator, using the Catastrophe Legion to battle against the Abyss Demon!Some Life: Parasitic cultivation, where cultivators are reared by the Insect Race.[Heaven-defying Comprehension]: Deduce the Gu Dao cultivation system, becoming the first Gu Immortal in history!As each Divine-level Talent is activated, the Gods and Demons finally discover in terror…