Deep in the Living - Chapter 4 - 2 The Loner

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.

Leo Lock, a reading addict with the ability to truly 'read' books, never really fit in his boring 'normal' world. However, everything changed when an unknown voice found its way to his head!

Fainting only to find himself in the body of a character from a fantasy novel he once read upon waking up, Leo barely processed his new reality before he was thrown into another whirlpool.

[Role: Reader]
[Target: Reach the Epilogue.]

The only lead he had about his 'transmigration' didn’t speak much! Even the character he took over already had a foot in the coffin! How was he supposed to survive that long? Why did he have to become the protagonist’s brother?!

Moreover, what was this Personal Book supposed to be? Reading Attributes? Points?

Follow Leo as he experiences the true life of a reader in a fantasy book, facing expected challenges, and encountering all kinds of 'new'…

Would he manage to go back and find out the reason behind his 'transmigration'? Was that even his purpose? Or was this nothing but the start of a much bigger change beyond the scope of his understanding…?

***

First Volume: The Sword Master’s Second Life
Second Volume: Murim Supremacy

Note: Yes, Leo starts out with a sword, but that isn’t the limit to his choice of weapons!

A hundred-year-old ghost who had been haunting the world had become the real daughter of the Stephens family who had some mental problems.As soon as she returned to her family from the village, her fiancé immediately came to break off the engagement and chose her cousin instead.Even his cousin who was adopted to be her parents’ son had also mocked her, “I’m sorry that I have taken your place. In the Stephens family, anyone that cannot contribute will be discarded.”Just when all the other rich families were waiting for the jokes that she would make, those who were perceptive realized that she had changed.She had risen from the bottom of her class to become the top student.Anything she said would become real. Even great scientists, merchants, and martial artists chose to become her follower.Leaders of all the fields: If she’s garbage, then I’m less than garbage. Have you ever seen anyone as good as her ending up as garbage? The Si family must be blind!While she was afraid of being alone, the CEO that loved her introduced her as he stood next to her, “This is my one true love.”

Beside the coast, a hundred-meter star gate is overflowing with light.

Outside the star gate, the army made of steel can’t see the edge at a glance.

On the sky, a fighter jet flew across the sky, interweaving the iron curtain.

In the distant ocean, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and frigates are all over the sea, ready to go.

All the muzzles were aimed at a figure walking out of the star gate.

“I order you to withdraw in the name of the Federal Command, otherwise, all-out war awaits you.”

“war?”

Ancient and Jinlai took a step forward, and his body rose against the wind. In an instant, he grew from less than two meters to a Chaos Demon God thousands of meters high. The brilliance of a white dwarf radiated from him, and his own gravity alone caused it to be caused by thousands of miles around. Lightning and thunder, tsunami tides.

He bows his head…

Looking at a toy-like war weapon.

Reaching out, a hydrogen bomb fell into his hand.

The electron degenerate star nucleus in the body releases helium, and the helium element expands. The terrifying high temperature instantly causes the isotopic elements of hydrogen to aggregate deuterium and tritium, and the energy explodes. The sudden white brilliance is like lighting a sun on the sea.

Before waiting for the sun’s energy to be released, he closed his hands together, and the blazing whiteness mixed with hundreds of millions of high temperatures was compressed and sealed in the palm of his hand, escaping less than half of it.

“I think you should choose peace.”

- Description from novelbuddy