Starting from Zero - Chapter 170: Able-Bodied Help [Vol 5 Chapter 21]

He was reborn into a magical world ruled by women.With his saintly silver hair, a white flower blooming in his right eye, and flawlessly ethereal beauty, he was a vision of divine grace. Yet, fate was cruel: he found himself on the auction block, destined to become a noble’s slave.Rescued by a mysterious female lord, he thought his life would settle into quiet obscurity, until he discovered a shocking truth: the current Pope was none other than his mother.Thrust into the role of the Holy Son of the Church, he soon realized his path was not one of light, but an endless descent into darkness.

Thea Lynch was seventeen when she injured her ear and temporarily lost her speech. Her parents passed away in a car accident, leaving her and her brother to rely on each other. Later, her brother was transferred for work and left, and she was taken to live at her grandmother's house in Westmere. During this period, her brother entrusted friends to check on her, and the one who visited most frequently was the “Third Brother”—Ian Preston, who was five years older than her.Coronet is over a hundred kilometers away from Westmere, yet he insisted on accompanying her to see doctors, patiently teaching her how to speak, and even appearing at her school gate every evening. He saved all of his gentle caring for her, but everything stopped abruptly before she could muster the courage to confess. Her secret crush was unsuccessful, and a sudden change at home caused her to leave, cutting off all contact with him.When they met again, it was seven years later when she returned home for a matchmaking date and was cornered by him in the restaurant corridor, “That guy downstairs, is he your date? How come after spending several years abroad, your taste has gotten so much worse? With better options around, how can you choose him?”“Who is the better option?” she instinctively asked.Ian Preston: “Me.”[Childhood sweethearts, getting back together, mutual unrequited love]

Ananya never expected death to bring her into another life.One moment, she was running her parents’ restaurant in the modern world.The next, she opened her eyes in silk robes, surrounded by hostile stares — the Queen Consort of the empire.But this body was cursed in everyone’s eyes.The Emperor loathed her.The mistress laughed at her.And the court whispered behind her back.Only she wasn’t truly alone.> “Finally, someone can see us!”“What kind of Queen Consort are you, so calm even with ghosts in your chamber?”“Shut up, Wei Rong, let her breathe. She looks like she’s about to faint.”Three ghosts — a stoic scholar, a brash general, and a mischievous noble girl — lingered at her side. They were invisible to all but her. And with them, she learned to survive the poisonous palace.When rumors spread that she was cursed, Ananya stood before the empire’s court.Instead of tears, she offered proof. Instead of fear, she offered dignity.> “If Heaven believes I am cursed, let the fire and smoke betray me. I will not hide.”And Heaven sided with her.Outside the palace, crises struck — starving soldiers, missing supplies, merchants growing fat from stolen grain. Inside, Lady Zhen, the Emperor’s favored mistress, grew bolder by the day, flaunting her beauty and mocking Ananya’s quiet grace.> “Sister, do you still dream of winning His Majesty’s heart? Look at you — plain, dull, unworthy.”“If simplicity is a crime, then let it be mine,” Ananya answered, unshaken.The Emperor indulged Lady Zhen openly… but in the silence of night, he tasted Ananya’s food, lingered at her table, and found himself unsettled by her calm.> “This is not palace fare,” he muttered.“It is lighter,” Ananya replied softly. “Easier to sleep after.”Step by step, conspiracy thickened. At a grand banquet, a poisoned cup was placed in Ananya’s hand. But a ghost’s laugh echoed in her ear — and the cup was swapped. A dancer collapsed instead.From that night on, the Emperor’s gaze changed. He began to notice the woman who never begged for favor, never fought for attention, yet always endured.Still, war brewed at the borders. Betrayals reached even the throne. Assassins crept through the palace halls. And the one person who seemed weakest became the calm at the center of the storm.Through whispered secrets, mischievous hauntings, and quiet resilience, Ananya carved her place in the empire.She would not simply survive.She would rise.And the Emperor who once despised her would one day whisper only her name.

In 2077, the gods sent potential successors across the cosmos to Earth for the God Trial. The result: the apocalypse and the rise of history’s most unlikely Harem God candidate.

Leon Traxler was a sociopath that faked his emotions and had a phobia of using women for sexual desires. Yet he chose the power to build an overpowered harem because finding strong, loyal companions during the apocalypse was unlikely.

It was a calculated decision, but he got something he hadn’t bargained for.

Emotions.

With a power that leveled him up through emotional milestones and a system that made him feel them for members, he quickly amassed power and decided that the apocalypse was a blast.

Driven by a desire to make his violent yanderes happy, a love for animal ears on women, and a narcissistic wet dream to be the only man on earth, he decided to partake in the God Trial.

His strategy? To raise an army of women, build a city for his harem, and start a cultured civilization that would naturally end when he died.

Join Leon as he becomes a celebrity on god social media, rises to power on earth, and lives life as a playboy in the apocalypse.