Alpha Instinct - Chapter 20: "The Gnoll Siege"

In 2173, the world’s first Full-World Virtual MMORPG game ‘Astral Online’ went on sale globally, forever changing the blue planet Asteria!

With its revolutionary Digital Capture System, astonishing graphics and ability to scan yourself into the game with up to 20% beautification, countless defenders rallied to play the game.

Fifty million players logged in on launch. There were no queues or lag on launch, leaving countless critics impressed and willing to try the game. Because the game used a 6-hour play limit a day, it allowed even working adults to keep up with young students and the unemployed.

A resounding success, as more people poured onto the game servers, families and friends alike. Astra Online became a household name overnight.

One month later, the game opened its first RMT system, which made earning a living from the game easier... Thus began the Astral rush!

Professional players formed guilds and factions to increase their profits, but nobody could know this prosperity was a mere joke.

One year later, players fused with their avatars, gaining powerful abilities in the real world, which tipped the power and caused chaos.

Two years later, demons and monsters from inside the game invaded the real world.

Three years later, over 90% of humanity perished, leaving the rest to hide like rats, unable to fight back in fear.

Four years later, this world is no longer ours. The demons march on our last bastions, one by one. They exterminated us.

Zell was an average player who liked to collect beasts in the game and evolve them into humanoids, as they were primarily females.

He spent most of his life working two jobs to make ends meet.

Thanks to the excellent healthcare of his country, there were no crippling debts. There was only emptiness.

When the end came, he was powerless and alone. His only companions were his cute pets and Rika, his cherished Flame Rabbit.

She was the only beast he evolved to a humanoid form after his late start to the game.

He died saving the life of a strange girl with white wings and his pet Rika, the sad eyes of Rika and the girl’s sorrow floating through the air as he slowly passed away.

However, instead of dying, he awoke inside an empty white room with a single computer and a strange, game-like screen that allowed him to edit his IRL avatar and persona.

Who offered him this second chance?

For what reason did they help him?

Can he meet Rika again?

Zell could never know; he only knew his second life’s goal.

Survive!

Theodore Griffith was a master of Reality. He understood the parallel universe in the form of another reality. He was aware that someone’s wish, story, or pure imagination could give birth to a new reality just like his own. Hence, he planned to find the creator of his reality by roaming among the realities. This time, he entered a new reality connected to several other realities. However, what made him certain the most was that this reality was connected to the person who created his reality. He knew that fact because of the ability he gained in this world. He could actually see people’s comments, allowing him to realize that his entire life and reality were born from a story. “Hehe. You have made a mistake in making me realize this. With the readers on my back, I can force you, the author, to make a plot for us to meet.” Theo said while giggling. “That’s why I’m counting on you guys.”

Reiji Tsukishima never believed in chasing after something he couldn't have—until he met Aoi Fujikawa. Calm, composed, and always in control, Reiji found himself drawn to Aoi’s warmth and kindness. The only problem? She was already in a relationship—with another girl, Sena Tachibana.From the very start, Reiji and Sena clashed. Their personalities, values, and even the way they looked at Aoi put them at odds. He made it clear—he liked Aoi. And Sena? She wasn’t about to let some guy disrupt their relationship.But fate had other plans.Despite their rivalry, Reiji and Sena kept crossing paths, their conversations sharper than knives yet laced with something neither wanted to acknowledge. Over time, they found themselves entangled in something deeper—something neither of them expected. A connection that rivaled the very love they were trying to protect.As emotions shift and tensions rise, Aoi remains unaware of the growing bond between the two people she loves the most. But when the truth finally comes to light, all three must face a question with no simple answer—can love truly be shared, or must someone be left behind?A slow-burn romance of deep emotions, unexpected confessions, and a love that defies the norm—this is *Unraveled Ties.*---

Ye Yang, a straight man from Northeast China, transmigrated into a novel about court fights, became a concubine, and was bound to a system, which could put on view the favorability score of the main characters.

On condition that the emperor’s favorability score was too high, he’d fall in love with Ye Yang. However, if his favorability score was too low, he’d be mercilessly killed. In order to protect his life and chastity, Ye Yang forced himself to create his own persona, repeatedly switching between the personality of an unrefined man from Northeast China and the first beauty of the harem.

Yet, things were getting worse and worse. At first, he let the favorability score of the dog emperor drop. Later, the score began increasing rapidly. Watching how the favorability score was about to skyrocket, Ye Yang panicked.

He wore a gold chain and raised a mink, silencing all of the imperial concubines of the harem. Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +1.

He had a snowball fight with the dog emperor and pushed him into a snowdrift. Both of them caught a cold. Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +10.

The mink he raised thought out a plan for Feng Luan to renovate the imperial study room worth of more than 10.000 taels of silver. The imperial study was so horrible that one could hardly bear to look at it.

Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +100.

What’s going on! Are you still a straight man!

……

The longer Ye Yang lived in degradation, the more he felt that the dog emperor was different from what he initially thought.

At his feet the ground was covered in blood and bones, but behind him was the delightful scenery of the prosperous world, and the coming of all nations.

A few years later, he helped Ye Yang up the stairs and gazed into the distance. He saw a myriad of twinkling lights, bustling, bright and beautiful.

And Feng Luan whispered in his ear.

“My dear Imperial Concubine, look.”

“This is our country.”

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