The Empyreal Gem Master - Chapter 23: A Leak! I

A crownless king in the world of gods.Akamir had unrivaled strength, wealth, and prestige in a realm governed by martial ability.Yet one mistake cost him his life.When Akamir awakened in the fragile body of a disgraced noble’s son,he found himself in a world steeped in mana, ancient artifacts, and gods who watched from above—A world shaped by otherworlders summoned thousands of years ago.But the longer he lived in this new reality, the more he noticed its abnormalities.“I am a villain?”A world with a predetermined path.“...In a romance fantasy game and novel?”He had become the anomaly.

The labyrinth that swallowed humanity. Four choices were given to them.

Easy Mode, where anyone can survive. Normal Mode, where only those who fight survive. Hard Mode, where only 1% can survive. And the Solo Mode, where only one person survived.

The strongest returnee of humanity, Kang Taesan, was an Easy Mode player.

He heard countless times,

“What if you had chosen the Hard Mode, or even the Normal Mode?”

Regretting his cowardly choice while dying amidst destruction, he gets another chance to choose.

“This time, I won’t make the wrong choice.”

The strongest Easy Mode player has returned.

In an era of global awakening of supernatural abilities, Lin Tianming awakens his SSS-level talent. He thought he was about to reach the pinnacle of his life, only to overhear the heartfelt thoughts of his school beauty girlfriend who hates him to the core.[Lin Tianming, you didn't expect me to be reborn, did you? In my previous life, you let me down. In this life, I will not be fooled by your sweet words again!]Having a reborn girlfriend who is merely putting on a show is already troublesome enough, but little does he know, there's more than one person he has wronged. At this moment, each of them is on their way to find him!--------------------------Features elements of Lovecraftian horror, with themes of inner demons, corruption, genetic ascension, mechanical ascension, and psionic ascension emerging in the later stages.

[You have inherited The Class Huntsman Of Death.]Deathborne.An RPG that I couldn’t stop playing in my free time. A game that hooked me to the core. A game that I was determined to finish and achieve the true happy ending by hook or crook.Why?Because no matter what choices I made, no matter how much I tried, it always ended with a bad ending.Not the bad ending in the traditional sense where the world comes to an end, but something worse. The protagonist would win, yes, but only at the unacceptable cost—sacrifices so immense that they left humanity and the world broken.And honestly? I didn't like it.Would you enjoy a movie, novel, or game that ends with only the protagonist surviving?Neither could I.That's why I tried my hardest and kept trying. Alas, despite all my efforts, I have yet to reach the true end but…Until today…It started just like any normal day for me.I returned home, greeted my mother, had my lunch, and was about to start yet another grind. Just as I was about to start, my screen flashed with a blood-red message:[Congratulations, player Mr. Per781, for clearing all hidden conditions. You are now eligible to access the hidden route, as deemed by the game developer.] [Do you want to proceed?] [Yes] [No] Before I could even think about my answer, a hand emerged from the screen and pulled me into the game.And when I regained consciousness, I wasn't myself anymore. I was in the body of a side character as Lukas Star, one of the weakest and nearly forgotten Hunter of the Archeon Academy.