The Hero Returns - Chapter 479

“First were the Gates, and now you’re saying the world has been invaded by Aliens and we’re soon going to be turned into livestock…? Great…”—----------------*Ding!*[You have awakened with the Idle Evolution System!]“The wha—”Suddenly thrown into a magical parallel world of the Earth he once knew, Cassius was greeted with powerful beings known as Hunters and the terrifying Gates that plagued the world. Moreover, he received a message…[To Idle, one must stay proactive!][Firstly, you require Character Development!]“Character Development…?”[You seem a bit (A lot) overweight, and you resemble that of a goblin! What say we start there!?]{[Daily Quest 1:]}_________________[Daily Quest - To Idle, one must stay proactive.]GOAL[INCOMPLETE] PUSH-UPS — [0/100][INCOMPLETE] SIT-UPS — [0/100][INCOMPLETE] CURL-UPS — [0/100][INCOMPLETE] SQUATS — [0/100][INCOMPLETE] RUNNING — [0/10km]REWARD - [1 Point in Charisma, 1 Point in Agility, 1 Point in Strength, and 1 Point in Endurance]_________________“Is this torture!?” shouted the ugly, obese transmigrator Cassius.*Ding!*[No, it’s Character Development! ^-^]—----------------100 years ago, Earth was suddenly overwhelmed with the appearance of Gates and the horrifying monsters within those mystical portals. That was the First Major Calamity.Now, one hundred years later, the next major calamity has arrived—the subtle invasion of an Ancient Alien species from deep into the Milky Way Galaxy. Its undercurrents spread far and wide, with the threat an apocalyptic one. Yet, that is but the 2nd of Three Major Calamities as per prophesied by the famed prophet, Baba Yaga.The Third Calamity, and the most dangerous of the Calamities, is one that will bring about the true END of the world, but only if the Second Calamity can be overcome by humanity…What does this Third Calamity detail, one might ask…? To know the answer to that, one would have to brave past the first Two Calamities and stare into the abyss, praying to all Gods known to man that the Abyss does not stare back also into you…

Chen Chao dreamt of becoming a powerful immortal cultivator, flying on his sword and vanquishing enemies with daoist magic. His hopes were dashed when he discovered that he had absolutely no talent for immortal cultivation.

Refusing to submit to his fate, Chen Chao joined the ranks of countless other talentless martial artists and embarked on the path of martial cultivation, a path scorned by the immortal cultivators.

In this era of strife where martial cultivators, immortal cultivators, and demonic cultivators wrestled for hegemony, Chen Chao will either rise to the top or fall into eternal damnation.

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!