Temporal Pearls - Chapter 5: Weapon Arena!

Chen Lun traveled to the year before the game’s public beta and became an NPC in the game world.

And so, a new version was born…

Steampunk, spooky things, churches, shelters, the sequence paths of the seven righteous gods…

He put on his black top hat and stood on top of the ruins.

Standing behind him are the villain bosses of various versions in the previous life, the dead nun Floyd, the bloody painter Noah, the sword fighter Antonio, the delusional clown Alex…

Chen Lun: “Player spawns monsters, I spawn players, this is in the Taihe River…”

…

Also known as “Rational Use of This Sustainable Resource Named Players”, “These BOSS are really strong but they are all my younger brothers”, “No way! So I can also become a god? ! “

- Description from novelbuddy

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!

#Rated 18-Mature ThemesViolet’s life was never her own—her father’s crushing debt made sure of that. But when the debt collector kidnaps her as payment, she takes a desperate deal: become a servant and spy on the mysterious and tyrannical Lord Cain, the ruler of her Werewolf district.There’s just one catch: Lord Cain only permits male servants in his house.Disguised as a boy, Violet cuts her hair, flattens her chest, and dons a voice-altering band to pull off the deception. Everything goes according to plan—until Cain, a man known for his cold personality starts to take a peculiar interest in her.Violet’s disguise becomes a prison as she battles her own growing attraction to him. But this is no love story. Cain’s obsession to her is dangerous. Beneath his icy gaze lies a mind fractured by years of affliction by a curse.A curse made by Violet's biological mother: A powerful witch.*************“TAKE IT OFF!”Violet’s knees nearly buckled at the thunderous command, her chest tightening with panic. The raw anger in Cain’s voice was as sharp as a blade.“My lord! I-I’m a man!” she stammered, gripping her shirt tightly, her fingers trembling as they clung to the fabric.“I don't like other men!” she cried, a desperate plea in her voice since the second she took her shirt off and he discovered that she was a woman was the moment she died. Painfully.Cain’s glare was unyielding, his voice dropping into a growl. “Don’t insult me, You think I do. You kissed me!”Her breath hitched as he stepped closer, his presence suffocating. “If you don’t take it off,” he said, his tone low and dangerous, “I’ll rip it off myself.”Violet’s mind raced, panic threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn’t let him find out—he’d kill her. Painfully.Glancing away to avoid his gaze when she caught the undeniable bulge in his trousers. Heat flushed her face, her thoughts spinning in desperation at the only idea she could think of to make him back off.'This has to work. It has to!'

In a monstrous post-apocalyptic setting, this is a story of how a lowly Inventor, Lance, conquered a nation governed by immoral group of Scientists called The Corporation. He grew and climbed up to the highest rank possible as a Scientist with his inventions and side businesses. Eventually, he became a weapons inventor, building weapons to two opposing sides. In doing so, Lance always crossed a dilemma. How could a nobody topple the most powerful government? How could one overcome circumstances beyond his grasp, especially in a world filled with monstrous mutations called the Abominants?