All The Skills - A Deckbuilding LitRPG - Chapter 14: Poker (Five-card draw) (Gambler Class)

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.

As Wanzhu Corporation’s number one assistant, Lin Hui was, without a doubt, an incredibly outstanding individual.

The CEO trusted him. The employees relied on him. Their business partners appreciated him.

Lin Hui’s career was like a duck to water. However, he had been secretly in love with his boss for several years.

Just as he thought his life would continue like this forever, he and his boss accidentally…

Within Wanzhu, no one could say no to Assistant Lin. Not even the CEO.

- Description from Novelupdates

When you grow up, you’re mine.

~~~

Lu Feng, with her fiery character and short temper, only had one fatal weakness. That was the lukewarm and soft Xu Mu.

There were so many youths in the capital, yet she took fancy to none of them. She instead sought after her newly arrived neighbor’s sweetie and secretly planned to kidnap him home.

Until one day, the two became cousins…

Lu Feng: … That nutrient-rich water cannot flow into someone else’s field!

Xu Mu: =v=

~~~

Xu Mu: What am I to you?

Lu Feng: You are my sweetest candied fruit!

~~~

In their previous life, Xu Mu and Lu Feng were married for only half a year when she died in battle. Xu Mu couldn’t bear the news of her death and followed her three days later.

Who knew that after he died, time flowed backward and returned him to their childhood. Xu Mu sat on his bed, dazed. In this life, he needed to think of a way to first find his wife, then chase her with all his strength. Only until he made up their past life to her would he “leave”.

Xu Mu: Last life, I didn’t love you enough. This life, I want to love you even more. Starting from innocent little childhood friends to the grey-haired and weak elderly, I will not let you go.

- Description from Novelupdates

Felix's life on Earth had become a series of dead-end jobs, ruined relationships, and rotating apartments smaller than most postage stamps. By all accounts, even his own, he was a coward. Too afraid to move forward, to take risks. Yet when given the chance to choose between risking his life or walking away from a deadly encounter, he didn't hesitate.Moments before his untimely demise, Felix was snatched from earth and thrust into a magical world known only as ‘The Continent’. Empowered by the ‘System,' he learns that he can strengthen himself through combat and dedication. To survive he'll have to push himself beyond his limits, or else fall to the monsters all around him.Levels, stats, and magic. Death is the start of a terrible fate, but if he lives…who knows what he will become.