Counterfeit Hero - Chapter 14: Passing 3 Levels

For ten long years, Adam was a prisoner within his own body, paralyzed and helpless, silently observing a world he couldn't interact with. As his life finally ebbed away, connected to hospital machines, his last conscious thought wasn't one of peace, but a desperate, burning wish hurled into the void: If I get a second chance, let me be the strongest.The universe, in its mysterious ways, answered. Adam was reborn, not into light, but into an infinite, suffocating darkness. Yet, within this void, he discovered an astonishing truth: he possessed unimaginable power. Reality itself seemed to bend to his mere thought; he could conjure wonders or horrors with a whim. He was, by all measures, the most powerful entity imaginable. But this godlike power came with a cruel twist – he was utterly trapped, unable to escape the encompassing darkness.His prison, he soon grasped, wasn't empty space. It was the consciousness of another being. He was an unseen passenger, a silent god locked within the mind and soul of Eric, the unassuming Third Prince of a kingdom unknown to Adam. Eric, frail and seemingly ordinary, was completely unaware of the cosmic powerhouse dwelling within him.Adam's initial goal was simple: escape or seize control. But a chilling revelation halted his plans – his existence was inexplicably tethered to the prince's fragile life. If Eric died, Adam's own newfound power, perhaps even his very being, might shatter. A reluctant protector was born from a desperate prisoner.Now, Adam walks a razor's edge. He subtly guides and shields his unwitting vessel, Eric, from the dangers of court intrigue and hidden enemies, intervening with earth-shattering displays of power only when Eric faces certain death. These brief, terrifying moments where the “weak” prince unleashes godly might leave the world baffled and fearful, whispering legends of the prince's hidden potential.To navigate this precarious existence and perhaps forge a path to his own freedom or dominance, Adam devises a unique tool: a 'System' granted to Eric. Is it a gift to empower his host, a means to strengthen the vessel for eventual takeover, or a dangerous gamble with unforeseen consequences?As Adam fights unseen battles, protecting Eric while plotting his own endgame, questions linger. Can he ever break free? Will Eric discover the terrifying truth of his inner 'guest'? And what will happen when the world realizes that the power shaking kingdoms doesn't belong to the prince, but to the ancient, godlike entity trapped inside him? His journey is one of immense power bound by frustrating confinement, a hidden war fought within a single soul, where the fate of a prince and the ambition of a captive god hang in the balance.

Lu Mingshu had never believed in fate.

She hadn’t believed in it when her father had remarried and caused her family to break into pieces, nor had she believed in it when she’d been thrown into a valley to perish.

She hadn’t believed in it when she didn’t have any resources to cultivate with, nor had she believed in it when she’d been condemned by everyone.

She climbed up little by little from dust, while her reign soared into the sky, which caused the world to look on in fear!

If justice doesn’t come, I’ll personally obtain it.

If fate disregards me, I‘ll open up a way to survive.

No matter what fate throws at me, I will surely become a phoenix!

“What a ruthless woman. I’m willing to risk my life and limbs for you, willing to be calculative for you – I’m even willing to be an enemy of the entire world for you. Aren’t you moved even a little?”

“That’s right, since I‘m such a ruthless woman, what exactly is it that you like about me?”

- Description from Novelupdates

At nineteen, Dexter was already one of the world’s most celebrated authors. His books topped charts. Critics praised his genius. Fans devoured every word. But behind the acclaim was a lonely boy—raised without parents, love, or real friends—just stories.He published his first novel at fourteen. By seventeen, he was a literary star. But the higher he rose, the hollower it felt.Then came the writer’s block. The headaches. The blackout. And the transmigration.Dexter awoke in the body of Daylan, a disgraced young man in a crumbling, medieval world laced with steampunk tech, divine law, and political unrest. Daylan had already failed two of the three sacred Trials—rites that determine one’s magical potential. He was drowning in debt, entangled in plots to overthrow a corrupt Divine Church, and branded a lost cause.With no way back, Dexter took the final Trial—the most brutal of them all—and began a path that would earn him the whispered title: Soldier, Poet, King.But as his powers grew, one question haunted him: Did he truly die? And if so, who—or what—chose to bring him back?