Sword Sovereign of the Celestial Emperor - Chapter 199, Black Dragon City

The royal bastard of House Vasquer, Argrave, changed after his stay studying magic at the Tower of the Gray Owl.

The sickly man's awkward posture and cruel behavior have been replaced with a neat dignity and acerbic wit.

Though once listless, he now strives towards his goals with a life-or-death tenacity.

Most come away thinking he seems to know too many details about too much. Few can claim to know his motives or his goals.

Yet behind that confident appearance, the primary contributor for an open-world RPG's wiki battles existential dread and things far beyond his ken as he struggles to adapt to a grim, gothic fantasy world mirroring his favorite game.

The prospect of fighting against a world-ending calamity loses all of its appeal when it transitions from entertainment to reality.

Argrave is spurred towards unwanted heroism to preserve his life as he struggles desperately to keep this sinking ship afloat.

“I hate this world. I hate everyone. There's no justice for the weak,”Once happy and carefree, Reign's life took a dark turn when he was kidnapped and undergone brutal experiments.These trials broke not only his physical body but also shattered his mind.In the end, his body couldn't withstand the ordeal, and he died like a pitiful lab rat.But death wasn't the end.He woke up in a new world as a corpse, armed with the Ultimate Mutation System.A system that enabled him to mutate and gain power in exchange for his own humanity.Determined to avoid being exploited again, he sets out to become a true powerhouse.He knew that being weak would only make him a target, especially now that he was a monster.“Kill or be killed.”That was his only option.

...[Inside an underground basement]“You are going to die for nothing, hahahaha,” the old man's voice thundered through the room, sending chills down my spine.Step.With a swift and ruthless motion, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air and slashing my throat, crimson droplets staining the darkness.“We'll see,” I whispered defiantly, my final words escaping as a mere breath against the impending darkness.Slowly, inexorably, my consciousness slipped away, and I descended into a deep, unfathomable slumber.“Huh!?” My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself seated in a bustling tavern, the air thick with laughter and the clinking of glasses.In front of me stood a captivating lady, her beauty juxtaposed with an angry furrow upon her brow, threatening to shatter the harmony of the jovial scene.“Don't follow me around!” Her words pierced the air like shards of ice, the intensity of her emotions palpable as she cast a resentful glare in my direction, before swiftly departing from the tavern....Am I trapped within the confines of a game? The fragments of my shattered common sense scattered before me, leaving me to question the very fabric of my reality.

Dane Harper's life was a monotonous grind. Stuck in a soul-sucking 9-to-9 job with barely any time to breathe, his only escape was the world of visual novels. From anime to manga, light novels to webnovels, Dane had consumed it all, but nothing compared to his ultimate obsession: Harem, Dragons, and Deities (HDXD).This legendary visual novel was a masterpiece of high fantasy, packed with detailed lore, jaw-dropping twists, and, of course, an insane harem of monster girls and powerful women.Dane had spent nearly 7,000 hours playing it, chasing every ending possible, especially the legendary [Overlord of Humanity Ending], where the protagonist builds a massive harem and spreads his superior genes across the HDXD universe.But when a cosmic accident caused by a mischievous witch-in-training, Beatrice, wipes out the entire human universe, Dane's life takes an unexpected turn.As the first soul to be reincarnated, Dane is offered two wishes by Beatrice: a world of his choosing and a fragment of her power. Without hesitation, Dane chooses the world of HDXD, a place he knows inside and out, and a unique ability to help him survive: the Omni Harem System. This system not only helps him level up and gain unique powers but also guides him in building the ultimate harem.Now, reborn as some random extra of this hellish game, Dane is ready to live out his wildest fantasies. His life goal, walk over the MC, and replace him... But this isn't just a game anymore; it's real life, and the stakes are higher than ever.From battling dragons and deities to navigating the complex personalities of the women around him, Dane must use his knowledge of HDXD and his new powers to carve out his destiny without getting curve stomp by the overpowered people around him.But let's be real, becoming the Overlord of Humanity isn’t going to be a walk in the park. This is HDXD we’re talking about; a world where one wrong move can lead to a bad ending so messed up it'll haunt your dreams.As such, every step towards that ending requires heart, commitment, and sheer will, and you best believe Dane is aiming for that ending at all costs.