EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons - Chapter 233: Interplay

Version 1:

Jiang Mianmian time traveled.

Her father had an insidious scholar’s face but a sinister heart.

Her mother had a merciful bodhisattva’s face but a vicious mind.

Her elder brother looked honest but was evil inside.

Her second sister was selfish and foul-mouthed.

They were destined to be villains from birth, to contrast the protagonist’s righteousness, kindness and greatness. They did all kinds of bad things, were covered in filth, fell into an abyss, and came to no good end.

Jiang Mianmian – With the magical spring in hand, weak and timid, she could only let her family live a bit longer…

Version 2:

In her previous life, Mianmian’s family died out early.

In this life:

She married the most popular duke.

She became sworn sisters with the rebel leader.

Ungrateful and unfilial.

Disloyal and unrighteous.

No integrity.

But they all lived, with the family intact.

…

Version 3

Reader’s summary: Father is Medusa, mother is polar bear, brother is evil wolf, sister is coyote, heroine is panda, moving mountains and overwhelming the world, only selling cuteness.

Rude is a tank, known as the strongest in history. However, the Hero decided that his skills were worthless because he couldn’t do anything but take damage, and threw him out of the party. His cleric friend who trusted him followed him to the remote village that Rude was forced to return to.

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!

SLASH!(So this is death?!!)I, Elysia, found myself dead before even reaching the Demon King's lair, and our Hero Party was completely annihilated.And this was done by none other than a fellow human—my former classmate.He had been mostly invisible during our time at the academy, but then he started committing one crime after another until he became a lackey of the Demon King.Who would have thought that the strongest party of humanity would be wiped out by humanity’s traitors?(If I could go back to the past, I swear I will kill you!)Just when I thought I could finally pass on, I opened my eyes.Five years back, when I first enrolled at Arcadia Academy.And there he was, the traitorous bastard of humanity...****“Huh? Where am I?”One day, I opened my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar place and came to realize this was the world within the novel Savior's Dawn that I had read.Everything seemed to be proceeding the same as in the novel—except for one thing.The main heroine is glaring at me as though she wants to kill me.Could I survive with the main heroine after my life?