Overlord of Blood and Iron - Chapter 188. A blessing in disguise (pt. 2)

Orin Stonewood rises from a prestigious smithing family in the Astral Kingdom. Wealth, recognition, excellence, and charisma - he had it all. But life from twenty-five ended on such terms for him. He falls victim to a dark ritual. The fate after this mystery was to rise and fall in every life he reincarnates in. The ninth reincarnation made him Zmey Ashbane. Into a world of terrifying, exciting tales. It seemed as if every encounter in this world wanted to tie him down for some reason. But he knew his goal. To break free from the ritual and rise as a master of fate, not its pawn.(Update rate: 28 new chapters a week)(The book has a slow progression. If, after reading up to chapter 100, nothing in this story interests you, that means it isn’t for you.)Due to the progression, I will lock the novel at chapter 60.

Matthew, a 25-year-old otaku, never imagined his obsession with fantasy worlds would turn into reality—until a fatal gas leak ended his life and transported him to another world.But this wasn’t the second chance he hoped for. Born as the illegitimate son of an affair, his very existence was a stain on his family’s honor, and his father relentlessly sought to kill him.Yet Matthew, now Claude, survived, again and again, driven by an unyielding will to live.Until one day he discovered his power darkness. Feared and reviled in this world, dark mages were hunted and burned alive.Knowing his gift could become his downfall, he trained in secret under Theo, his true father.When he turned sixteen, he, his mother, Dalia, and Theo planned their escape from the small town.But their attempt was thwarted by knights and clerics from the Promised Land.Though he narrowly escaped with his life, the cost was high—his family’s safety shattered.Wounded and desperate, Matthew fled to the fabled Elysian Plains, the last hope for those like him.Just as he reached the border of the Elysian Plains at eighteen, an ambush left both him and his mother gravely injured.Collapsing on the sacred ground, he heard a voice echo in his mind:[Welcome to the Elysium of Darkness System, Lord of Calamity.][Your first quest is available!][Increase the number of dwellers in the Elysium using your seeds and blood! Spread your legacy by making demons and witches bear your children!]

[ Invincible + Pure Body Refiner + Cruel and Bloodthirsty + Smashing Through Everything + Tall and Jacked MC + Monke Pet + Villain MC ]Wuji, a young man obsessed with becoming the strongest, was doomed by his own pathetic genetics. No matter how hard he trained, no matter how much willpower he had, he remained weak—a failure in both his own eyes and the world's.When he died, he thought his journey was over.But fate had other plans.Reincarnated into the frail body of a poverty-stricken village boy, he felt true despair. To live twice and fail twice? That was worse than any nightmare.Until Little Red, his strange monkey pet, handed him a tattered book.[ Ding! Body Refining Technique Detected! ][ Ding! Infinite Body Refining System Activated! ]In a world ruled by almighty Devas blessed by the Order Gods, Devils who command legions in the depths of the Abyss, and Chaotic Evil Gods that seek to consume existence itself—martial artists were nothing but insects.But Wuji?He would refine his body beyond mortal limits. His flesh would become divine steel, his fists would tear through the heavens, and his ever-growing body would shake the cosmos.Annoy him? Die.Stand in his way? Be obliterated.Defy him? Your existence will be erased.Witness the rise of a being who will crush all in his path.______________________________________________Somewhere Beyond Creation…A chaotic void spanning infinite dimensions.Monstrous titans, so vast that even entire realms seemed tiny in comparison, lay dead in the abyss. The very essence of reality crumbled around their decaying corpses, their divine auras still gnawing away at existence itself.Atop the mountain of annihilated deities, a towering figure stirred.A shadowed colossus, muscles harder than celestial ore, veins pulsating with endless power. His crimson eyes burned through the darkness as he lifted a grotesque, pulsating sphere of dark flesh to his lips.With a grin, he bit down.The sphere twitched, still alive—still screaming—before it was reduced to nothing but nutrients.Wuji exhaled, his breath alone shaking the void.“Annoying little pests... at least they had some use.”

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.