The Third Prince Of Darkness - Chapter 21: Monster

Isabella was supposed to be sipping champagne at a luxury spa, not waking up in the middle of a forest. Worse, a SYSTEM had attached itself to her like some clingy ex, spouting nonsense about survival, quests, and—oh, hell no—manual labor.“System, I was NOT built for the wilderness! My ideal ‘roughing it’ experience involves a five-star hotel with bad WiFi!”Now, instead of lounging in silk robes, she’s being ordered to farm? To hunt?“A farming quest? You want me—a city girl—to grow food? System, I once killed a cactus by overwatering it. This is NOT my calling!”And don’t even get her started on the hygiene situation.“You want me to bathe in a cold river? Darling, I require warm water, scented oils, and an ambience! What do I look like—some barbarian?!”Unfortunately, the locals—big, muscular beastmen—don’t seem to understand the concept of self-care. The women? Neglecting their skin like it’s a crime to be radiant. The men? Walking hygiene disasters.“Ladies, if your man can smell you before he sees you, we have a problem.”“You see this? This is lotion. It exists so you don’t look like a dried-up leaf. Use it.”“A beard should be majestic, not tragic. Let me fix it.”And the beastmen? They don’t just stare at her like she’s an oddity. No, they hover. They smirk. They lean in too close, fangs flashing with amusement.“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she huffed, crossing her arms.The panther grinned, his tail flicking. “Because you’re fascinating when you’re annoyed.”No, absolutely not. She was not here for this nonsense.“If you have time to stare, you have time to moisturize.”She didn’t ask to be here. She didn’t ask to be their savior. But if she has to suffer through this world, she’s making everyone around her suffer less—through skincare, style, and some serious attitude.“If I hear one more ‘We don’t season our food here,’ I’m launching a war.”“If you have time to gossip, you have time to do squats.”“You want to impress a woman? Start with not smelling like the battlefield.”Survival isn’t just about fighting monsters; it’s about looking good while doing it. So what if the System keeps throwing impossible quests her way?“What do you mean ‘you can’t skip quests’?! Since when?! Where is the skip button?! I demand a skip button!”But somewhere between dodging ridiculous quests and fixing these people’s tragic grooming habits, Isabella found herself in situations. Uncomfortable, heart-racing situations.Like being trapped against a tree by the red python, his red eyes half-lidded as he murmured, “You talk too much, little star. Should I silence you?”Like waking up with the lion lord’s fur-lined cloak draped over her shoulders, his deep voice gruff, “You shiver in your sleep. I’ll fix that.”Like the phoenix watching her every move, his burning gaze searing into her skin as he mused,“You cause chaos wherever you go, but I find that I don’t mind.”Oh, hell. No. She was not about to fall for four beastmen. She was too pretty for this much stress.“If you insult me again, I’ll make sure your soul needs a beauty upgrade.”“I refuse to be disrespected by anyone who dresses like an unwashed tree branch.”And yet, when a rival tribe came to challenge her, when danger lurked too close, those same beastmen stood beside her—smirking, taunting, fighting for her.“A beastman growled at me today. I growled back. He ran. I am the alpha now.”Isabella isn’t just surviving. She’s thriving. And this world better keep up.

In the history of geology, more than 500 million years ago, there was a period of the Paleozoic Era known as the Cambrian Period. This period, being the first period of the Paleozoic Era, does not only have a significant meaning for geological research, but also is the most insane, splendid and mysterious period in paleontological history.

Before the Cambrian Period, the Earth’s species were relatively monotonous. When the Cambrian Period started, just after millions of years, which is a relatively short period of time in terms of geology, all kind of species on Earth suddenly evolved wildly. Countless of invertebrates, arthropods, mollusks, brachiopods, annelids etc. have appeared on the planet without any warning, greatly enriching the diversity of the Earth’s species. This million years period is known as the “Cambrian Explosion”. And after billions of evolutionary years, the Earth today blooms with diverse lives.

The cause of the Cambrian Explosion is a huge mystery and also the biggest paradox of Darwin’s theory of evolution.

What if… the Cambrian Period is coming back in this era when human civilization has already conquest the entire planet, and the global species will once again evolve wildly, what kind of challenge will this planet encounter? What kind of fate will humans, who are falling from the top of the food chain, face?

- Description from Novelupdates

From fleeing for your safety and enrolling in a school filled with psychopaths… to being claimed by a deranged alpha prince?Yeah, you’re better off dead.• . •Jules’ life was picture perfect until his entire family got murdered all of a sudden, with him being the only survivor. A savior swooped In because he was still in immense danger, and that led to Jules taking on a new identity and becoming a completely different person overnight— and enrolling into Carnivals, a prestigious all-boys school for all supernatural beings.In Carnivals, monsters lurk the dark hallways and the strong preyed on the weak. You either become a predator or a prey… and from one look at Jules— a boy too pretty for his own good, with a slender and petite build, it was obvious that he was gonna be eaten alive by the predators.Here comes Blaze, a wolf who sends shivers down every predator’s spine in the school, an insanely hot Alpha who was as dangerous and deranged as the rumors claimed.He took one glance at Jules and decided there and then that Jules belonged to him.***I inched backwards, eyes widening even more as my eyes zeroed in on the smirk tugging at the side of his lips. Blaze never smiled, and whenever he does, it never meant anything good.My heartbeat quickened as I scrambled backwards even more, breath stuttering to a stop as he began to narrow the distance between us. In no time, my back was plastered against the cold wall and that was when it hit me right in the chest that I was cornered and ensnared, like an actual prey… by none other than Blaze, when I had thought my life couldn’t get any worse.He towered over me effortlessly, emitting so much dominance and I had to tilt my head backwards for me to be able to meet his dark eyes, and my breath hitched when our eyes locked.He leaned down and my eyes snapped closed at once as I held my breath, waiting for him to strike. I’ve heard all the horrifying, endless rumors about him. He was an Alpha Prince whose presence someone like me should never be in.When I felt the tip of his cold nose glide over the length of my throat, my mouth fell open to release a startled gasp. He dragged in a long, audible breath and I felt a shiver rattle down my spine as I grew even stiffer, confusion clouding my mind.What was happening? Why was he doing this out of nowhere?Oh my gosh… he really was a deranged alpha like everyone says!

As soon as he opened his eyes, Li Ming was plunged into these tumultuous interstellar spaces, where countless civilizations held their shotguns at the ready, eyeing everything in the universe with covetous intent. For him, the most crucial issue at hand was solving the problem of food and warmth.Fortunately, he could control special items and gain special ability bonuses—【Thunderclap Armored Exoskeleton—Grade D】【Control Effect: Power Amplification—100%】【Control Ability—Armored Four Arms: Develops four mechanical arms to aid in combat, and amplifies control by 50% with Thunder Element.】He could even evolve it—【Electromagnetic Power Engine】→【Cold Nuclear Reactor】→…【Stellar Furnace】………An evolutionary path with no boundaries in sight, a supreme arsenal spread across the galaxies, and a grand expedition fleet casting endless blood and fire.When Li Ming unfolded the prism wings that covered planets and fired the super-range photon lasers, and the Stellar Furnace in his chest blossomed with a brilliance far surpassing the sun’s, supported by computational power from the Quantum Photon Calculator...In the universe, countless life forms exclaimed, “Flesh is weak; ascend through machinery!”Li Ming helplessly said, “but this really isn't mechanical ascension...”