Shrouding the Heavens - Chapter 171: Worse than Beasts

Hunger, poverty, and death are the inevitable fate of those who live within the mist, a territory dominated by monsters where sunlight never reaches. With only one eye and missing an arm, daily suffering was all Lily could expect. In a world where the strong rule over the weak, she faces aggression and abuse every day, learning in the harshest, most painful way that kindness doesn’t exist.However, everything changes when she encounters a sentient metamorph, a nameless monster, wounded and abandoned by its pack. Together, they discover that perhaps they don't have to face this cruel world alone. Now, with a companion willing to risk everything to protect this bond, Lily, the girl who had lost everything, finds a new reason to live and fight.

You have all read about Self Inserts and their adventures. Some are good, some are bad. All of them are entertaining. What would happen if the person involved had a choice about who they could become? What would they do? Be good? Be Bad? Have more fun than anyone ever deserves?Join me as we explore a brand new Gamer-like existence with The Protagonist System!(all characters and likenesses are copyright their respective owners)Warning: I will not apologize that this story is completely wish fulfillment. It's a story and I'm going to have fun with it.

Jiang Feng, a handsome young martial artist, was injured during a misadventure and ended up being saved by the sisters Yaoyue and Lianxing of the Palace of Shifting Flowers, who were considered the most powerful female martial artists in the pugilistic world. The two sisters fell in love with Jiang Feng, but he spurned them because of their arrogance. Instead, he fell in love with their servant girl, Hua Yuenu.

Jiang Feng and Hua Yuenu were forced to flee from the Palace after Hua became pregnant with Jiang’s child. However, they ended up being betrayed by Jiang Feng’s servant, Jiang Biehe, and attacked by bandits. During their harrowing flight, Hua Yuenu gave birth to a pair of twin boys abut ended up dying together with Jiang Feng during a bandit attack. Yaoyue and Lianxing soon caught up with the couple only to find them dead. Refusing to forgive Jiang Feng for rejecting her love, Yaoyue vowed to take her revenge by making his two sons destroy each other. To do that, they adopted one of the boys as their own child and abandoned the other.

The other boy was soon saved by Yan Nantian, Jiang Feng’s sworn brother and one of the most powerful martial artists in the pugilistic world. Unaware of the first boy’s fate, Yan Nantian pursued Jiang Biehe into the Villains’ Valley, a place populated entirely by criminals. There, he encountered five of the notorious Ten Great Villains whom he defeated easily before falling into a trap set by them. The villains ended up torturing Yan Nantian till he fell unconscious, but chose not to harm the second boy, instead deciding to raise him as their apprentice in order to groom him into the greatest villain in history.

Can't a man maintain his dignity while preparing for the end of the world? Is that too much to ask?

The Tower was all I knew... all any of us knew, and just like that, it was gone. Monsters the likes of which I'd never seen ravaged the land of my ancestors. They burst through the outer walls and stormed the city. No one could have been ready for that. But now... Now I have a second chance.

After the collapse of the known world, I woke up to find myself on the First Floor of the Tower. I was young and healthy, 18 again, and sitting in the same classroom that marked the worst days of my life. Confused and excited, I accepted this gift, deciding to use my vast knowledge of the future to climb the Tower in preparation for the end of the world.

Maybe I'll help some folks along the way? Who knows. Survival comes first.

The clock is ticking, and I'm left with only a century to build a Deck powerful enough to survive the end. Things to do... What's first? I need Essence, and I need power. I'll have to climb the Tower to acquire both of these. Some of the zealots will try to stop me, need to look out for those. What if-

“Hey, kid! Hand over the pouch or-”

Stab

Sorry, where was I? Ah... there's a spot of blood on my suit. What a lousy morning.

In this world of blood and fantasy, century-old Rowan Wilder has to not only survive, but thrive as he powers his way to the top of the Tower. The Demonic Plague that has twisted the creatures on the upper Floors is the least of his worries. Cane in hand and Summons by his side, he'll have to tear his way through the monsters, as well as the humans who want to stop his ascent. Of course, he can maintain a sense of decorum while he faces these trials, right?