MTL - Mercenaries and Adventurers - ~ Happy New Year

[ Caution: High Heat Advisory ]“Harper, stop undressing me with your eyes. The plot isn’t going that way… YET.”Harper McKenzie, a newbie web novel author, has a problem — she struggles with romance scenes. As someone with almost nonexistent real-life experience in the matter, she can’t get the intimate chemistry right, and those chapters always come out dry and cringy.Fortunately for her, Harper finds a freelance editor willing to workshop her writing. But the surprise? That editor turns out to be her childhood friend and the very first crush of her life.What happens now when he offers her personal lessons on how to write the hottest romance … and love scenes?--------------Note: this is a fun, cozy, sweet story with a low-drama plot. No love triangles, no misunderstandings, no memory loss / car accidents / terminal illnesses / etc.. Mature content abounds, starting out soft but heats up quickly. You’ve been warned!--------------Sneak Peek:He slid her bra over her shoulders and, with impossibly quick and skilled work, tied the lacy garment around her wrists. “Spread your legs wider,” he ordered.Harper’s already faltering heartbeat faltered some more. The command in his tone was foreign, but it crashed over her like a heat wave, and even though she could barely begin to picture how salacious she must look, with her hands bound and thighs spread wide like an offering to be ravished, she could feel the scorching need coiling hotter and hotter in her core. Her body obeyed eagerly on its own accord, bringing herself fully open just like she was told.Eli grinned. Moving between her legs, he trailed hot kisses along her inner thigh, leaving sizzling little fires crackling in its wake. “Good girl. Now, what should your character say next?” A finger glided over her wet and wanting flesh in a slippery stroke, making her heart slam to a hard stop as a moan tore free. “Write the next line for me, what should I say before I unravel you with my tongue and make you scream my name?”

# RELAXEDLiu Qing is reborn and goes back two years in time. He starts his reborn life at the point of getting a breakup text message from his girlfriend.Previously, in that life, he dated his girlfriend for a few years, and used all the money he earned from being a security guard to support her and pay for her lifestyle and living expenses when she quit her own security guard job to go back to school. However, in the end, she looked down on him after she found an office job, then cheated on him and eventually left him for another man.To add insult to injury, in his desire to have a simple life with his girlfriend, he rejected the chance to reunite with his wealthy estranged mother and missed out on the opportunity to become a rich second generation. He was overwhelmed by immense grief after all that and fell into a deep depression that eventually destroyed him.In this life, Liu Qing is determined not to become a simp again, especially since he is being given another chance to change the path of his life.He says to her, “Let's come clean. Isn't it good to break up? I don't have to be your spare tire anymore. You can also live with your one true love. We would each get what we want.”Then he resigns from his security guard job to reunite with his mother. When everyone asks him why, he says, “Because I am going to inherit assets worth billions of dollars!”

“Oh Lord Lunareio, you are the only one who can save our world.”...My name is Rikuya Takatsuki, and I didn’t ask to be summoned to some fantasy world with my classmates. But there I was, expected to be a hero and protect the Kingdom from Realm Eaters, dimensional monsters chewing through reality.Apparently, all the races summoned forth heroes of legend, which was sort of a shocker to me since it wasn’t the cliché “slay the demon king” trope.Sounds cool, right? Wrong. While everyone else got flashy powers and legendary classes, I was slapped with the FFF Auto Hero class—no skills, no perks, and no respect.The kingdom handed me some pocket change and politely told me to scram.Fine by me. I was all set on enjoying the easy life in this new world anyways, when out of nowhere a bunch of cultists kidnapped me, claiming I’m their prophesied god or whatever.They gave me a mansion, unlimited snacks, and zero responsibilities, so of course, I played along.But then my so-called useless class kicked in. Turns out Auto Hero means my body hijacks itself whenever there’s danger, turning me into some kind of unstoppable killing machine. Efficient? Sure. Ethical? Not so much. Now everyone thinks I’m this terrifying cult leader who takes down monsters, corrupt kings, and anyone dumb enough to stand in my way.While my classmates enjoy their shiny hero lives, I’m here in the shadows, leading a cult, toppling kingdoms, and pretending I have some grand plan. The truth? I’m just winging it.I mean... what’s the worst that could happen?

My past life: Ordinary. Mediocre.