The Man from Hell - Chapter 14: He's a Puzzle!

Zhen Yuanbai, the good student, accidentally injured Shi Bufan, the school bully, after a crash. Blood spilled everywhere.

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.

The Strongest Magic meets the Mightiest Mecha.

I have stolen Golden Mechas from the deepest vaults of the most tightly guarded fortresses in the world.

I have personally destroyed more armies than the top three superpowers have in the span of the Absolute War - combined.

I burned down the terrorist megacity of Habon.

I was expelled from the Union of Heroes at a younger age than people are allowed in.

I have talked to Ancient Gods, loved women, and devoured mechas that would make superpowers cringe in fear.

I have faced demons head on in moonless nights others fear to speak of during the day.

I am deified in a thousand cultures, and labelled as the devil incarnate in the rest.

I am the Mecha Emperor.

You may have heard of me.

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Excerpt from Chapter 1

This is where it all began.

A junkyard.

Oh no, this isn't your clean, mechas-only junkyard that was the 'starting point' of many mecha geniuses out there.

I have seen and heard my share of rags-to-riches stories, and many of them claimed that they had started from 'junkyards' and slowly grew to be where they were right now.

From Zero to Hero, they declared.

You can do it too, they said.

As long as you work hard, everything is possible, they claimed.

I call bullshit.

Life doesn't work like that.

The strongest wizard Alfred, in a hero’s party, subdued the Maou and in the process took a cursed arrow to the knee.

Even with the hurt knee, Alfred’s still the strongest wizard ever. So…

「We need a chief for our newly created knight squad!」 「Could you help us as our guild manager?」「We need someone to rid us of the dragon that resides in the North Mountain!!」

Alfred just wanted some time to rest and recover, but no one would LEAVE HIM ALONE!

Because of that, Alfred wished to spend time recovering in a small country village that no one knew about.

『Need a guard in Mulg Village. Wolves and boars attacking the village. Payment is food and board. *Village has a hot spring.』

「THAT’S THE ONE!」

So, the strongest wizard in the kingdom…decided on living the slow life in the country.