My Hermes System - Chapter 14 - 14: Second Run

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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Zhou Xiaochuan became the emperor of the subjugated country and obtained the sign-in system.

As long as you sign in every day, you can get random rewards.

“Sign in successfully, congratulations on getting the Summoning Card.”

“Sign-in is successful, congratulations on getting the seeds of dynasty luck.”

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From now on, the gods and demons of all realms will accompany them, and the gods of the gods will follow them, opening up the prosperous era of the dynasty!

“Your Majesty, it’s time for the morning.”

“Wait, I’ll sign one first…”

- Description from novelbuddy

Gu Man, who transmigrated from ancient times, woke up in the body of the Gu family’s second daughter.

As soon as she woke up, she saw the fiance of the original body who had hooked up with her stepsister. Faced with the scumbag’s confident questioning, disgusted gaze and a slap to her face, Gu Man’s reaction was to return a fierce blow to him. She hit him until he was dizzy and knelt to the ground, his lower body covered in cold sweat. Gu Man only realized that a video of her walking into the room had been leaked after she left, and the matter had begun to spread rapidly.

Countless people insulted Gu Man and called her a mistress.

Faced with a two-faced stepsister, a malicious and deceiving stepmother who climbed her way up from being a mistress, and a father who couldn’t tell wrong from right and treated her as more of an adopted daughter, as well as those stupid onlookers who didn’t know the truth of the matter and called her a country girl… Gu Man ignored them all.

The top scorer in the college entrance examination, top hacker, divine doctor, financial tycoon…

All kinds of identities were attached to a single person. Gu Man relied on her own strength to ruthlessly slap them all back in the face!

The noble Xiang family’s eldest son, a powerful man in the capital, even declared to the public that his wife was mischievous, and that he would take the blame if she made a mistake.

Just when everyone was wondering who this sweet wife of his was, the entertainment headlines published a photo of him holding his sweet wife as they walked in and out of a high-end hotel. The woman in the picture was Gu Man!

Xiang family’s son: Everyone, meet my wife!

Elias “Grim” Kingsley, a nine-year-old orphan with a hardened heart and sharp tongue, dies alone from pneumonia in an overcrowded orphanage. Known for his perpetual scowl and biting remarks, he's labeled a “problem child” by caretakers and “damaged goods” by potential adopters. Years of rejection have built thick armor around his young heart.In death, he encounters the God of Balance who offers him a second chance at life in a different world—this time as Grim Van Ambrose, son of a noble house. Balance explains that every soul deserves to know love and connection, something Elias was cruelly denied in his first life.Promised the family and belonging he never experienced, Grim begins his new life only to suffer an immediate tragedy: his mother dies moments after his birth. This cruel twist of fate reinforces his belief that loss is inevitable, leaving him with a distant father and the mysterious voice of a “Guidance Assistant” in his head.As Grim grows into his new identity, he struggles with his dual nature—the emotional scars of his past life bleeding into his present one. His difficult personality and sharp tongue remain, now paired with noble privilege and expectations. Despite his outward brashness, he carries the deep wounds of his first life and the fresh loss that welcomed him into his second.What begins as one orphan's second chance evolves into an epic journey through a world of ancient beasts, elemental magic, and deadly political intrigue. As Grim uncovers the truth about the Ambrose Clan's fall from grace and the conspiracy that framed them for treason, he faces increasingly dangerous adversaries—both human and monstrous. His quest for revenge against those who destroyed his family's legacy will challenge him to master forbidden techniques, forge unexpected alliances, and ultimately decide whether to rebuild the Ambrose Clan as it was, or transform it into something entirely new.In a realm where power determines survival and ancient secrets lurk beneath noble facades, Grim must learn that sometimes the greatest battles aren't fought with swords, but with the choices that define who we truly are.