Starting out as a Dragon Slave - Chapter 99: Back Against the Wall

August Clementine was once Reacher, a wealthy and thrill-seeking businessman who had everything but satisfaction in life. After a fatal adventure, Reacher awakens on a parallel Earth, in the body of the destitute and troubled 19-year-old August Clementine. With his new identity, August finds himself burdened with debt and responsible for his beloved younger sister, Sophia. Desperate to change their fate, August immerses himself in Enders Light, a cutting-edge VRMMORPG that blurs the line between virtual and reality. In this fantastical game world, players can bring specific items that meet certain requirements into the real world and even gain a fraction of their in-game abilities and strength. Stuck at level 12 and unable to progress past his starting village due to a rare armor shortage, August must rely on his wits and determination. A breakthrough comes when he retrieves a mystical purification stone from a river teeming with magical aqua beasts and uses it to cleanse an ancient, corrupted altar. His reward includes the legendary Fruit of Corruption, a priceless item with the potential to grant supernatural abilities in the real world. Caught between the allure of selling the fruit for financial security and the temptation of gaining extraordinary powers, August must make a choice that will define his and Sophia’s future... “What? I gained the ability to extract any item from the game into the real world without restrictions?”

Five years ago, she was schemed to have one-night stand with a stranger, resulting in a mysterious pregnancy.Meanwhile, at her engagement party, she was humiliated by her fiancé, abandoned by her family, becoming the most notorious woman in the city.He is the powerful and enigmatic heir to a conglomerate who unexpectedly enters her life.From then on, her stepmother is utterly defeated, her ex-fiancé begs for forgiveness, and her stepsister pleads for mercy repeatedly.He, ruthless as ever, declares domineeringly, “She's mine. Who dares to impose on her?” Everyone is stunned and shocked.Her life undergoes a drastic change.

“I’ll clear your mother’s debt entirely. In return, you’ll marry me.”“Are you out of your mind? Do you really think I’d agree to such an absurd proposal?”“Possibly. But it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. You keep your shop, and I get what I need.”“And what exactly is it that you need?”“That’s none of your concern. All you need to know is that this deal benefits both of us.”Two years ago, Lunara entered a marriage she never wanted. Desperate to save her mother’s flower shop, she was cornered by Eryx, a man with a hidden agenda. With no other choice, she agreed, and found herself bound to him in a transaction of convenience—he needed something from her, and she needed him to prevent her world from falling apart.But after the papers were signed, he disappeared without a word, leaving her with nothing but unanswered questions and lingering bitterness.Now, fate has thrown them together once more but with a cruel twist, Eryx doesn’t remember her at all.Lunara believes she’s long since moved on. But when she sees him again, a stranger who has no recollection of their past, old wounds resurface. What was the truth behind their marriage? And why, despite the resentment, does her heart still stir when he’s near?