Shadows of the Deep Space - Chapter 798 - 384: The Map Reveals the Dagger (Five-in-One)

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Kim Mu-ryeong is the youngest member of a famous exorcist family. He grew up receiving love from his entire family and was considered a genius. The kind that appears once every hundred years. “Mu-ryeong, let me make a request.” After enrolling in high school, Mu-ryeong began to do simple exorcism work. The apartment’s elevator is acting weird. Someone is having constant nightmares. Even things like getting rid of a stalker or acting as a boyfriend. It was more of a problem-solver job than exorcism, But Mu-ryeong, being someone who helped anybody, There was nothing he couldn’t accept. But even for Mu-ryeong, there was one person he avoided… “Ki Hwan-young?” Tall and handsome with a mysterious, intimidating aura, And known for being impolite and having no friends. One day, Ki Hwan-young came to see Mu-ryeong. “My shoulders feel heavy lately.”

Facing extinction, humanity seeks salvation in the Astral Verge, a dangerous dimension accessed via portals that threatened to wipe out the entire planet.Few years later, aspiring recruit Daniel Vance enters the Verge for his final assessment, hoping to Awaken a Talent and secure his future. While others gain common abilities, Daniel secretly Awakens the mythical SSS-Grade Talent: [Soul Assimilation]. This allows him to absorb essence, enhancing gear, gaining stats and EXP from slain creatures, and crucially, absorbing attributes and skills from fallen Awakened.Witnessing the swift death of the arrogant Jaxon Rex, Daniel makes a grim choice: he assimilates Jaxon, gaining his first skill, [Kinetic Pulse]. This sets his path: scavenging the aftermath of others’ battles. He enhances gear and, after achieving his first kill on an injured beast, waits patiently to assimilate two more fallen recruits, acquiring [Quick Step] and the invaluable passive [Aura Sense].Starting as average, Daniel rapidly gains power in secret, enhanced gear, multiple skills, and boosted stats , far exceeding his peers while remaining outwardly unremarkable. He navigates the lethal Verge alone, using its inherent dangers to fuel his growth, wrestling with the moral cost of his unique, overwhelming power.

All Amy needed to do was get away from her pursuers. The last thing she thought she'd encounter was being kidnapped, drugged and offered to some smelly fat old man.

But no, he wasn't any of that. Zach was simply a god. And he was drugged, just like her. It could be the drugs or she just genuinely found him irresistible. And to her luck, he didn't resist her when she made a move on him. When she found out how much of a beast he was in bed, she wasn't complaining.

But she knew they were not supposed to cross paths. So when she finally left the next morning, little did she know that fate had a 'little surprise' in store.