Wraithwood Botanist - Chapter 43 - The Ambush

Climb the Tower.The path to power is ever growing, immeasurable. A peak above a peak, above a peak. There is always the next peak to look up to. A place where dragons eat dragons.In this world where a catastrophe known as “Global Awakening” gave humans different magical abilities to fight the dungeon and monsters that invade earth, Jael is among the weakest—one of the Half Awakened, struggling to survive through odd and humiliating jobs.However his dream of climbing the Dungeon Tower won't be forever buried because a WILL has been left behind. An intent put into a spellbook that's been waiting for just who to claim it.In this golden era of worlds, all eyes are on the Dungeon Tower, where everyone seeks to become its master. “What do you desire? Money and wealth? Honor and pride? Authority and power? Revenge? Do you want to reverse your failures? Or something beyond them all? Whatever you desire—it is here. If only you climb.”Follow Jael’s journey as he ascends the Dungeon Tower, determined to create a new legend for himself.

❗[Current Writing Contest-WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 Fantas]❗Flain grew up in a futuristic world. When he was born his parents didn't want him because he didn't live up to their expectations and so he ended up very badly.Flain was employed as a slave. He was forced to mine radioactive iron deep in the mines. It was drilled into his head that he existed only to obey orders.Young Flain was obedient. He doubted some of it but knew nothing else. For years, he never saw a single ray of light; light was only spoken of among the others as a legend.The routine was the same: in the morning, he would take a nutrient tablet and water. Then he would mine all day, sleep eight hours, and repeat.Flain worked like this from childhood until he was ten years old. He even found a friend, but that friend died of radiation poisoning right in front of Flain. Flain couldn't stop mining. He kept mining with tears streaming down his face.Before bed, Flain cried. “I will become the strongest. I will kill you all, and you will become my slaves.”Flain stopped crying, stared blankly at the rocky ceiling, then looked ahead. A manic grin appeared on his face, one that would often adorn it from that moment on.At the age of ten, Flain was assigned to a military camp due to his endurance in the mines and his survival against radiation.In the camp, Flain was trained. The regime was much looser; he even had an hour of free time each day. However, Flain didn't make any more friends. Even during his free time, he trained with a smile. He would achieve his goal at any cost, even if it meant training himself to death.Experiments were conducted on Flain. He lost his hair, two long gray arms grew on his back, and a third red eye appeared. Flain became a mutant.Flain was then sent to war. He fought with sharp katabas. He performed quite well in the war, earning himself command of ten soldiers and becoming a small commander.But one day, everything changed.Flain then dies, is swallowed by darkness, and Flain refuses to die, thus appearing as a skeleton in a fantasy world.

The Shao and Cheng families have been sworn enemies for generations, though few outsiders know the exact details of their feud.

What is known to all is the Shao family’s three cardinal rules:

The Shao family must not cooperate with the Chengs, must not intermarry with the Chengs, and must never appear with the Chengs at any public event.

One day, an adorable little girl looking like a doll, wearing a puffy pink dress, pink hair clip, and pink backpack, walked into the lobby on the first floor of the Shao Group building.

The receptionist thought she was some child who had wandered away from home. But the little girl solemnly said, “I want to see your Shao Group CEO, Shao Chengze.”

Seeing the girl’s pink outfit, the receptionist knew she must be from a wealthy and noble family to dare to address their CEO by his full name. She couldn’t be the daughter of some high-ranking Shao Group executive?

Smiling warmly, she asked, “Little one, could you tell me your parents’ names?”

The girl tilted her head. “My mommy is Cheng Jinlan.”

Cheng…Jinlan?!

Second Miss Cheng Jinlan of the Cheng family?! She never thought she’d see the day a Cheng would set foot in the Shao Group building. What a miracle!

“As for my dad, I’ve come today to get some of Shao Chengze’s hair for a DNA test. Once I have his hair, I’ll know if he’s my dad or not.”

The girl’s crisp words rippled outwards from the front desk through the bustling first floor lobby. Everyone who heard froze in shock, jaws dropping.

Everyone except Shao Chengze, who had just stepped out of the elevator surrounded by a group.

He looked at the girl in pink through narrowed, fox-like eyes.

Cheng Liqi recognized Shao Chengze and covered her mouth in an “ah-oh”.

She decided that even if Shao Chengze wasn’t her dad, she’d have to help Cheng Jinlan get this man. She liked his eyes.

They were just like hers.

So pretty.

“These are my conditions. You have to agree upon them before we can get married.”“Accepted. Each one of them is accepted. Any more conditions, soon to be wife?”“Yes, I want your help to destroy my jerk of an ex-boyfriend.”A sly smile appeared on the lips of the men sitting opposite her.“With pleasure.” How could he let his competitor stay unharmed? He would be having his own fun in destroying the man who had made him taste vinegar a lots of times.“Something as?”Before she could even shake her head, he stood up from his seat and held her hand. “Let's go.”“Where are we going?”“Civil affairs bureau. Any time later and it will be closed.”Xin Mei looked at the man with wide eyes, and before she could comprehend, she was sitting in civil affairs bureau with a marriage license in her hand.****Xin Mei woke up from coma after 3 weeks of long sleep. She faced a brutal reality like every other female lead; her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend. Feeling vengeful, she decided to have her revenge.It's payback time.“She snatched my boyfriend; I will snatch her career from her.”“He rejected me. No problem. I will find a more handsome man than him.”“His father made my father beg; now I will make him beg.”And who will help her? Su Yuchen!Su Yuchen believed that a person can fall in love only once and he had already fallen in it. His belief was broken badly when he met Xin Mei. After tasting a lot of vinegar, he could not wait for another second to make her his wife. He could not lose his second inning in love.