The Gate Traveler - Chapter 23B5 - : Elements, Cores, and a Soggy Dog

After being torn from the only life she knew, 16-year-old Margo is forced into a new home with strangers who call themselves her parents. Haunted by memories of her past and consumed by feelings of isolation, she struggles to adapt to her unfamiliar surroundings. School offers little relief—until she meets Lucien, a mysterious boy who appears just when she needs a friend the most.Gabriel is everything Margo needs: kind, attentive, and always ready to whisk her away from her troubles. Each night, he invites her to secret places—an abandoned playground, a fog-choked garden, a crumbling train station at the edge of town—each more unsettling than the last. Yet with every chilling rendezvous, Margo feels more alive... more seen.But something isn’t right. Gabriel never comes to school during the day. Her adoptive parents never see him. And when they catch her talking to thin air, their concern deepens into fear. They say Gabriel isn't real—that he’s a figment of her imagination. Margo wants to believe them, but Gabriel feels real. More real than anything else in her life.As the nights grow colder and more twisted, Gabriel’s true nature begins to surface. Shadows move where they shouldn’t. Time warps in his presence. And the places they visit seem to echo with whispers from another world. Margo is forced to ask herself: Who—or what—is Gabriel? Why does he only want her? And what will happen on the final night he asks her to come with him?As the line between reality and delusion begins to crumble, Margo must make an impossible choice: stay in a world where she feels loved, or return to one that barely feels real.But one thing is certain—some friendships never let go.

Ethan accidentally rode the wrong train and ended up in Brynhildr Magical Academy where Wizards and Witches are taught on how to use Magic.As someone who didn't have any magic powers, he thought that he would be punished for being in a place where he wasn't supposed to be. Fortunately, due to a stroke of luck, the teenage boy managed to avoid the worst case scenario, and ended up staying in the Magic Academy to learn magic.Ridiculed by many for being magically crippled, Ethan strived to adapt to his new school life with the help of his new friends, who made him realize what True Magic was all about.

“You mean that Prince Yu wants to marry me?”

“Exactly, young master, Prince Yu wants to marry you!”

“Hell no! Is he out of his mind? Even if woman is a rare species nowadays, as the prince, he could have a chance to marry one. Is it because he got excluded, or maybe he has sexual impotence, so he could only marry a man?”

“No, Prince Yu is charming, majestic, endowed with civil and martial virtues, and also in perfect health.”

“Then why would he marry me?”

“Maybe because of your reputation out there.”

“Reputation? Am I quite famous?”

“Of course. Young master, you’re far-famed.”

“Really? What did they say about me?”

“They said you are ugly, good-for-nothing, short-lived, a freak, with no morals, and shameless…”

…

- Description from Novelupdates

In the martial world, disputes often lead to immediate violence, frequently harming innocent, unarmed civilians who either lose their wealth or their lives.Lu Jianwei merely complained a few times when she was suddenly bound by a system and transported to ancient times, tasked with running an inn according to the system’s rules.The foremost rule of the inn is—No fighting within the inn.Violators will either lose their wealth or their lives.A mysterious inn suddenly appeared in the martial world, rumored to be a shady establishment dealing in mu*der and robbery.No matter who enters the inn, they either leave penniless or lose their lives.The bold and skilled “Know-It-All” of the martial world, eager for firsthand information, sneaked into the inn alone to trace the whereabouts of missing people, only to be horrified to discover—Isn’t that diligent woodcutter the number one swordsman of the martial world?!Isn’t that agile waiter the number one thief of the martial world?!Isn’t that chef wielding a kitchen knife the number one beauty of the martial world?!Isn’t that farmer hoeing the ground the top disciple of the Martial Alliance?!And that…Before he could flee, the inn’s beautiful and gentle landlady stood before him with a smile.“The inn still needs an accountant. You’re it.”Know-It-All: I’m just a seller of information, I can’t do accounting ahhhh!Reading Guide:① Not a serious martial arts story, focuses on management + face-slapping + drama;② The female lead is the strongest throughout the story (pretending at first, truly strong later), the male lead appears later;③ For fans of overpowered management stories, all settings in the story are fictional.