This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder - Chapter 1: A Good Birth is Important

In a world where power is marked by glowing runes and monsters bleed through the fabric of reality, **Ryu** is nothing—an orphan with no name, no status, and no hope. Beaten down by nobles who wield their divine-given strength like a whip, he survives on scraps and stubborn defiance.But when a black rift—an anomaly unlike any ever recorded—appears in the dead of night, Ryu faces a choice: die a beggar, or risk everything by stepping into the unknown.Inside, he finds a nightmare. Kolasis, a legendary predator, hunts him through a twisted forest. The rules here are simple: kill or be killed. To survive, Ryu must forge himself into something sharper than the claws of monsters and crueler than the nobles who cast him aside.Yet the rift has its own secrets. The same power that could make him a legend might also break him—if the monsters don’t tear him apart first.

At 18, Alex Kain is whisked away to Eryndor, a game-like realm where he gains 'Skill Synthesis', a talent to fuse skills into godlike powers. Battling monsters and conquering dungeons, he builds a harem of strong women drawn to his might and charm. With the power to return to Earth bearing incredible resources, Alex faces a growing threat that endangers both worlds in this epic of adventure, romance, and ambition.

Gu Man, who transmigrated from ancient times, woke up in the body of the Gu family’s second daughter.

As soon as she woke up, she saw the fiance of the original body who had hooked up with her stepsister. Faced with the scumbag’s confident questioning, disgusted gaze and a slap to her face, Gu Man’s reaction was to return a fierce blow to him. She hit him until he was dizzy and knelt to the ground, his lower body covered in cold sweat. Gu Man only realized that a video of her walking into the room had been leaked after she left, and the matter had begun to spread rapidly.

Countless people insulted Gu Man and called her a mistress.

Faced with a two-faced stepsister, a malicious and deceiving stepmother who climbed her way up from being a mistress, and a father who couldn’t tell wrong from right and treated her as more of an adopted daughter, as well as those stupid onlookers who didn’t know the truth of the matter and called her a country girl… Gu Man ignored them all.

The top scorer in the college entrance examination, top hacker, divine doctor, financial tycoon…

All kinds of identities were attached to a single person. Gu Man relied on her own strength to ruthlessly slap them all back in the face!

The noble Xiang family’s eldest son, a powerful man in the capital, even declared to the public that his wife was mischievous, and that he would take the blame if she made a mistake.

Just when everyone was wondering who this sweet wife of his was, the entertainment headlines published a photo of him holding his sweet wife as they walked in and out of a high-end hotel. The woman in the picture was Gu Man!

Xiang family’s son: Everyone, meet my wife!

“The masterminds are cooler than heroes,” I mutter as I stare at the chess pieces before me. It is easier to be the one who sits in the shadows and moves the pieces, likewise deciding the flow of the game.Heroes will foolishly sacrifice their lives for the good cause and villains will sacrifice the world for their own gain, but masterminds will use both the heroes and villains to their own benefit.Why, you ask? Well, that's because I've lost my life once while trying to be a hero so, I don't want that anymore. I'd rather be a mastermind who molds the world as per my convenience and live peacefully. Because, why not?***[Defender of Divine Glory says you are the hope of this world.]What?[Goddess of Wisdom believes that you will be the one to save the world.]Wait, what?![Propose the Grand Duke the idea of a fake marriage.]And, why would I do that?![Stop the assassination of Prince Eric.]Why would I save him?![The candidates for the throne are:... Who will you choose?]Ah! I give up...It seems like a curse that anyone who wishes for a slacker life in Isekai will have to go through the most troublesome things.In my past life, I died because of one rookie mistake but after being transmigrated in the world of fantasy I've gotten an opportunity to start afresh, but unlike the protagonists who look for their love and glory, I'd rather make money and live a life of a slacker.I have magic, I have power and I have money, what else do I need?Well, that was the plan but this damn system is getting on my nerves. I mean who in their sane mind would want to mess with the complicated royal family and political affairs? But that's not all though.I've also become the saviour of this world. Things just can't be anymore worse!Besides, the penalty of failing this quest is...[Failure: Destruction of the World.]It seems like if I screw up in selecting the right person then the destruction that is going to befall the world won't be stopped.If I speak of my reward then it's this vague thing.[Reward: Fulfillment of any wish.]“If that's the case then, I'd rather choose the person who would be the best fit for the throne.”And that's how I decided that I would become the Kingmaker.