The Dread of Damned - Chapter 40: Thorns

[A soul forsaken by the Gods and a body on the verge of death - The Darklord of the Endless Abyss has noticed your existence and is offering you a contract. Will you accept?]As he lay on unfamiliar land, his body covered in wounds and blood, Levi heard the voice of providence that he had craved for years.In a magnificent and mutated future, the advancement of technology and space exploration has opened new paths unknown to humanity. Being the curious creatures they are, and with hopes of saving the dying Earth suffering from resource depletion, humans began to explore these unknown lands.It was there that they discovered the treasures of the otherworld - artifacts and magical items that defied all scientific knowledge. But along with these treasures, humans also encountered dangerous and vicious monsters capable of tearing them apart with a flick of their fingers.However, humans were persistent. The treasures of the otherworld were too enticing to ignore. They struggled against the odds and found a way to fight these monsters by making contracts with the gods.The gods of the unknown lands bestowed extraordinary powers upon humans in exchange for the promise of extinguishing all the monsters. But not everyone was so fortunate, like Levi, who failed to pique the interest of any gods, and became one of the Forsaken.The Gods had forsaken him, so Levi decided to forsake the world - he made a contract with the Demon King himself!

I am the best when it comes to taking divergent paths. With just a flip of my hand, I shall take the path less commonly travelled. I search far and wide, only to find myself unbeatable and unrivaled. So now I ask, who else can match my awesomeness?

Acting tough is second nature to me and I am a lone wolf.

The road is long and winding but I shan’t feel lonely as long as I am able to act tough!

Life and death bore me and I do whatever I deem fit.

“Young man, way back when I started acting tough, you were still learning how to put on your underpants!” Xu Que thus decided to take the path of acting tough. He decided to act tough every single god-damned day. If he wasn’t acting tough, he was scheming for the best way to act tough!

- Description from Novelupdates

Sheng MuMu was transmigrated into a novel.

While others transmigrate to become celebrities, she ends up becoming a stepmother to a 17-year-old young master of a prestigious family?!

She wants to escape! But wait, what’s this? Pretending to be his wife for a monthly allowance of 500,000 in pocket money that can be freely spent on her card? Suddenly she doesn’t mind so much!

Everyone guesses: “She’s just a stepmother, how much could he really care for her? President Qi just brought a woman home to take care of his son.”

On the day of the banquet, surrounded by the media, Sheng MuMu hooks her arm around the man’s neck and sweetly calls him: “Dear~”

The man’s eyes darken as he pulls her slender waist closer, naturally dispelling the rumors.

Then people say: “She’s just a brainless trophy wife, just a pretty face.”

Sheng MuMu: “You dare call this 700-scoring top-scoring beauty from the city just a trophy wife?”

She opens a flower shop, becoming an internet sensation with people lining up to take photos, earning pots full of money; she starts a brand, appearing on the cover of financial magazines’ annual rankings.

And after that…

Tsundere stepson: “Better than a real mother.”

Vicious mother-in-law: “Daughter-in-law, when are you taking me square dancing?”

Until one night, Sheng MuMu’s earlobes blushing as she pushes away the man pinning her against the wall.

“President Qi, our agreement is just a contract marriage. ”

The man’s eyes narrow as he loosens his tie and leans down:

“The agreement? I tore that up long ago.”

Sheng MuMu: “You…mmmph”

In a world where Classes, Stats, and Levels are the everyday norm, Reivyn has a secret.He was unusually aware of his surroundings from an incredibly early age, and Skills and Stats were acquired easily. He was just the son of an ordinary village family, and nothing appeared out of the ordinary on the surface. But below the surface, dreams of another life help shape his mentality and growth. Why does he have some remembrance of a past life, and what is his purpose in this new one?“Soul of the Warrior” is what I call a Semi-Isekai LitRPG. I say “semi,” because Reivyn's past life is remembered like a dream, and very incomplete. It is still Isekai, though, as he remembers enough that it directly shapes his personality and his sense of self.The System that governs the world of “Soul of the Warrior” is a combination of modified versions from Selkie's “Beneath the Dragoneye Moons” and Kosnik4's “Magic Smithing.” I have changed enough of these Systems and combined them in a way that is unique that I'm mostly sure it's fine, but I still have requested permission to use these ideas. They have both graciously granted me permission.Winner of the April Writathon Challenge.