Within a Hollow Heart - Chapter 21: Volume 1, : "Shattered Threads"

Starting as a fallen noble? Struggling with hunger? Having to pay high taxes to the king? If you don’t pay enough, your head will be chopped off?Romon activates the Lord Simulator and begins with a village...[Your subjects discover a large amount of magic crystal ore while digging on the western side of your territory!][Your territory's culture improves, and your rapid-fire mage develops: Orbital Magic!][You successfully expand your territory and discover an underground labyrinth city on the new land!][You annex the land and gain a new title: Duke of Thune!][The king passes away, war breaks out, and you decide: to annex all lords and establish a new kingdom!]Romon: “Annexing the world is for better simulation, leading the world to ascend efficiently—how can you call it personal ambition?”

15 years ago the world discovered magic as well as mythical beings (basically beings from various legends) in another dimension. Humankind learned to summon these dangerous mythical beings and use their power to great effect. Seven countries formed contracts with these “mythical beings” and gained their allegiance as a result. The mythical beings will choose their summoners on their 14th birthday and give them a stigma. Schools have been set up to train summoners and magical swordsman (basically bodyguards that give the summoners time to cast their spell) as a result.

15 years later after the finding of magic Kazuki Hayashizaki is chosen as a summoner and given a stigma to indicate that. This is surprising since males aren’t chosen as summoners due to their low amount of mana compared to females. As the first male to be a summoner Kazuki is under a lot of scrutiny by almost everyone.

To complicate matters his sister (who’s a magical swordsman) is against him going into summoner school to train there as a summoner. Because summoners and magical swordsman have a cat mouse thing going on where summoners look down on magical swordsman as inferior so his sister naturally is against him going there. She’ll stop him even if it means going to war.

Kazuki however is determined to thrive in summoner school and has already determined to give it his all. Even if he’s the lowest ranked student (ranked E) and his fellow students intend to demean him he’ll prove himself as the strongest summoner.

“Qu Meng’er was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but her father had tampered with her brakes and ended her life in a car accident.

Zhang Xiao Qiang is a nobody in this apocalyptic world with danger lurking everywhere, he is forced to wander around and learn the rules and principles to survive. Over the course of time, Zhang Xiao Qiang’s character and laziness slowly wore away from the experiences he faces. Zhang Xiao Qiang becomes more resilient, of course also gaining power whilst watching the lunatics of the apocalypse trampling on everything they could trample on. Zhang Xiao Qiang always maintained a bit of conscience in him. He never had the thoughts of being a hero, yet he doesn’t mind sharing bread from his plate. Zhang Xiao Qiang will continue to live in the cracks of the apocalyptic world until the crack can no longer hold him.

Some places have gruesome descriptions, so enter with caution!!! Zhang Xiao Qiang motto is: “Don’t talk to me about human rights, Don’t talk to me about the laws, Don’t talk to me about favors!”

TL note: ‘Xiao Qiang’ is slang for ‘cockroach’ but is also the name of the main character.

- Description from Novelupdates