Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special - Chapter 25: This is Not a Martial Arts Novel...! (2)

A mechanical engineer Poul Nielsen along with his best friend Jonathan Axelsen a civil engineer died after a truck crashed at the coffee shop where they were hanging out and got transmigrated in a late 19th-century parallel world, in the country of Avalonia. It was at the height of the second industrial revolution and to survive daily, they’ll have to work like others to earn pennies to get by the day. However, the two didn’t settle for less. They want to be the Edison, the Chrysler, the Rockefeller, the Carnegie, the Ford, and the Westinghouse of this new world.

This world doesn’t seem to have electricity? Then let’s start an electric power distribution company. Light is not enough, let’s build appliances and motors as well to make our business profitable.

This world doesn’t seem to have vehicles and ground transportation relies solely on horse-drawn carriages and trains. Let’s start an Automotive Manufacturing Company.

Huge infrastructure projects such as metro stations, skyscrapers, bridges, tunnels, and dams? Let’s start a Civil Engineering firm and build miracles in this world.

There is always money in guns, they say. Fine, let's invest in another venture, the arms manufacturing company.

And before we even know it, we will be the richest men in the world. However, the path won’t be easy as fierce competitions are up ahead. Robber barons who would do everything just to crush their competitors. Predator against predator, and government intervention.

A hero must be compassionate, selfless and courageous.But that isn't all. Because a hero must also be powerful.In this world, power is everything. Strength decides who gets to save lives and who's left with community service. That’s why I was nothing — a rank 50 E-Class reject, skating through the streets, saving what little I could while the real heroes battled gods and monsters.Then one day, I died. Almost.Dragged into the abyss, I was given a second chance: the Forever Core. An armor that evolves. A system that never stops adapting. Every battle, every hit, every mistake, I come back stronger.Now, the monsters that once crushed me can’t kill me the same way twice.I must adapt. Evolve. I must grow stronger and fight harder. Because humanity is worth fighting for.Even if I have to burn every villain alive to prove it.

“Wife...”“Not wife, ex-wife!!” She gritted her teeth, glaring at the handsome man who tried to please her.“Wife...”“Get lost! Turn around, walk ten meters forward, open the door, and leave, no need to see you off!” Looking at the flattering smile on his face, she finally couldn’t hold back anymore. She kicked him, then turned around, tears streaming down her face.The groom didn't show up for the wedding, yet he treated her tenderly, only to realize it was his way of humiliating her. The love she gave finally had a return when he admitted he loved her. On her most precious day, he gave her the most painful blow again. Was that unbearable scene the “gift” from him and his first love? After signing a divorce agreement, she truly felt that her marriage to him was just a joke. However, when she remarried, at the wedding, he domineeringly tore the wedding dress from her body.Facing the man she once loved the most, she smiled calmly: “Ex-husband, can you ever stop messing around?”

The world was never the same after that day.Humanity learned that they weren't alone in the universe, but that wasn't something they had the time to worry about.Their realization was accompanied by catastrophe.Creatures beyond their wildest imaginations poured down from the sky and appeared from the earth. They slaughtered humans as if it was their singular purpose, driving them to the brink of extinction.The people of the world did everything in their power, developing unique traits and technologies to create a united front their enemies couldn't penetrate.They secured victories and repopulated, feeling as if they stood a chance against the foreign invaders.They fought and they fought, doing everything they possibly could to ensure their survival.Until the Great Calamities appeared.In front of them, humanity was nothing regardless of its efforts.One by one, the worlds were turned into piles of rubble in between the cracks of their teeth. Civilization was torn apart, and the evolved humans living within could do nothing to stop its collapse.Humanity itself was left extinct, and in the end, only a single man was left alive amidst the chaos.Why?For what reason were they punished so?Nobody knew why the attacks began in the first place.He looked into the distance at the memories of the past and firmed his resolve.“It can only be me.”He knew of a miracle that could return him to the place of those memories.He knew of a way to make the wheels of time spin in reverse.And using it, he alone would save humanity from its doomed fate.That was his sacred duty as its final survivor.