Commanding Wind and Cloud - Chapter 664

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

“I hope you don’t fall in love with me, because I won’t be taking responsibility,” warned the young man. “Don’t worry, I won’t fall in love with a body double,” the employer dully replied. Yet, both of them forgot what they had said.

After dying in his previous life, Kaito Nakamura finds himself in a strange new world, free from the weight of past regrets. Surrounded by unfamiliar faces, he begins to carve out a new life, one filled with hope and the chance for personal growth. But as time passes, Kaito soon discovers that this world holds far more challenges than he ever imagined—challenges that test his resolve, his desires, and his understanding of what it means to truly live.In a world where loss is inevitable, Kaito is forced to confront the darkness that lingers within him and the painful sacrifices that come with seeking redemption. Will he be able to rise above the tragedies that define his existence, or will he become a victim of his own unresolved past?MC name: Kaito Nakamura. Age: 17.You can also join my discord, patreon or follow me on tiktok for more content, through my link tree: https://linktr.ee/Mr_MellmanThis story is authored by Mellman. I also publish under the names Mellmann and Mellman Nordberg.

As the future High-Ranking among Elven, I was meant to be dignified and holy—but my friends never gave me the chance. One is a human prodigy turned “cripple” after an accident, determined to prove everyone wrong. Another is the Demon King, whose idea of preparing for war involves turning his entire race into farmers. As I watch my friends stir chaos in their own ways, I can’t help but wonder—how did I end up in the middle of all this?