The Stonehearted Knight - Chapter 82: The Crystal Refinement (1)

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

Crossers invaded the world and thrust Humanity into an interworld conflict.Humanity's instinct for survival was stimulated—rekindling the ancestral bloodline's legacy that lies dormant within them. Vampires, Elves, and even Demons were not mere figures of fantasy, but rather the true ancestors of Humanity in ages past.Thus, Hybrids were reintroduced to the world.Lucivar Asarafall, a man of humble origin—failed to awaken his bloodline. Despite his good deeds, his family loathed him. In his final trial, he swore to succeed but fate intervened, he was chosen as the monthly sacrifice for his city.In a near-death experience, his bloodline awakened, an Angel.A turning point in his life, but soon he realized that he was not the Angel he thought to be.In a world where the rulers were descendants of Dracula, the Dark Prince—or Chi Long, the Inferno King, the bloodline of malevolent beings from realms beyond mortal comprehension coursed through Lucivar's veins.While others became Hybrids, Lucivar became the messenger of Evil Gods, a False Angel.“Who cares about good or evil? If I kill someone wicked, it's a win, one less rival in my way. If I kill someone noble, it is still a win—the world would've consumed them sooner or later. So why not let it happen by my hand? After all, I'm more practical. I became stronger and you get a painless death, win-win”———Very manipulative and unhinged MC, be warned. He's a slave to the Evil Gods.A trickster God.An arrogant God.A chaotic God.A wrathful God.A puritanical God.Read to find who these Gods are!———

During this chaotic era, the darkness engulfs all.
In a struggle of fire and death, despair shrouds the continent.
The line between fantasy and reality becomes blurred as a speckle of starlight penetrates the night sky.
But is it enough to reverse the downfall and fate? To regain the lost glory?

Rhode is a famed player in the game “Dragon Soul Continent”. There, he leads the strongest player guild in the game, the Starlight Guild. Just as he defeats the last BOSS, the Void Dragon, he unexpectedly awoke in a world identical to the game.

As the Summoner Swordsman returns to the continent, waves will be cast in the rivers of fate. Can he face the coming chaos and avert the destruction of the continent?

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“We could be louder,” he whispered in a raspy voice. She shook with need and was about to turn when he clucked his tongue. “Ah, ah, ah, don't do that. I'll see you later, little girl.” And with that, he vanished.

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Cage was at the top of the world: the emperor of the film industry. But it is truly lonely at the top. Surrounded by staff members who want him to work to his bones and no one to lean on, Cage turns to gaming. In such dire times, he stumbles across a mysterious female gamer who leaves him speechless and aroused at the same time.

Graphic designer and fangirl extraordinaire, Katherine, finds a gamer who outshines her. In this world there was someone like this? All she can do is acknowledge his brilliance. [Take my bow, Senpai. You have eaten my gold.] But why does this message sound so… provocative?

A series of lecherous conversations turn into something deeper, until one day the two fall irrevocably in love with each other. “Hey, let’s fall in love...” Follow them as they traverse through life and the hardships that are thrown at them. Who knows, maybe us single dogs can learn a thing or two.

- - - - -

“My little loli likes to watch? What a naughty little girl.” She was embarrassed that she was caught and mortified by the voice of the man she recognized as ‘him’. What was he doing here? She started to turn around, but he grasped her shoulder so she couldn't move.

“No, let's watch.” His breath was at her ear, fire lapping at her nerves, singeing and burning her insides, making a pleasant feeling erupt in her stomach. His arm snaked around her shoulder and grabbed her hand while his other hand slid down to her sides until it rested on her hip. He was not pressing himself into her, but she felt completely engulfed by him. She knew she should scream, or stomp on his foot, but all she could do was listen to his breathing escalate as his thumb rubbed her shoulder, putting her in a stupor.

She thought she heard him sniff her hair and his lips lightly grazed her ears as he whispered. “Don't miss the show because of me, little girl.”

Her eyes flickered back to the couple in the car, and she let out a whimper as she saw the man pull at the woman's hair, baring her beck to him, inviting his mouth to lick and suck. She felt ‘him’ close the gap between them, his hard body pressed up against hers, his arms tightly holding her. There was no mistaking what she felt on her lower back and she closed her eyes in delight.