The Lord's Empire - Chapter 1702 - Rune

The royal bastard of House Vasquer, Argrave, changed after his stay studying magic at the Tower of the Gray Owl.

The sickly man's awkward posture and cruel behavior have been replaced with a neat dignity and acerbic wit.

Though once listless, he now strives towards his goals with a life-or-death tenacity.

Most come away thinking he seems to know too many details about too much. Few can claim to know his motives or his goals.

Yet behind that confident appearance, the primary contributor for an open-world RPG's wiki battles existential dread and things far beyond his ken as he struggles to adapt to a grim, gothic fantasy world mirroring his favorite game.

The prospect of fighting against a world-ending calamity loses all of its appeal when it transitions from entertainment to reality.

Argrave is spurred towards unwanted heroism to preserve his life as he struggles desperately to keep this sinking ship afloat.

-- WSA 2025 Entry --“Five… Four… Three… Two… One…”As the countdown towards the new year went on to the last second, Miles looked up to the sky, just as everybody else did.In the middle of the crowded street, Miles for once felt like he belonged. Being a teenage gamer, living with his parents, and trying to build a life as a streamer, he did not feel like leaving his room every day.But there, in the middle of that crowded street, with everyone around him paying attention to the sky, the countdown on the digital billboard, and mostly anything else but him., Miles felt like a ghost.A welcomed ghost, but a ghost, after all.With a smile on his unseen face, he looked up as the countdown reached one, and everybody sang in unison.‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!”But Miles’ eyes widened as he watched in utter horror, and curiosity, even, hovering above him, a holographic screen with a few lines of text written in it.All around him, although he did not pay much attention to it, a few other people seemed to experience the same situation.[Updating home-world 39515’s version][Version 20.25 update brings a lot of fun and games with the new and improved survival mode][Do you want to convert your previous avatar to home-world 39515’s latest version?][Yes] [No]“Survival… Mode?” Miles’ lips quivered.Before he could think of anything else, though, the people around him began to scream…

The era of the great pirates.

The sea is surging, the strong are destroying the sky and the earth, and they are fighting each other. It really makes people——

Can’t get up!

I, Rusilu Cullo, twenty-four years old, my biggest dream:

Live this life safely!

- Description from novelbuddy

“I will have the 1,000 people I have chosen go to a parallel world.”

Chaos spread once those words of God were displayed to the whole world.

Kurose Hikaru, whose childhood friend had been chosen, was killed together with her on the same day she was supposed to be transferred. However, for some reason, Hikaru didn’t die and, even though he wasn’t chosen at first, he ended up as one of the [Otherworlders that will have all their actions live broadcasted to Earth].

Transferred without any preparations at all to that accursed land, he faced threats innumerable times and somehow managed to survive with his Gift, the Dark Spirit Abilities.

“I must not die. I am sure the people on Earth are all rooting for me after all…”

This is the story of a young boy who is tossed about by the gazes of the viewers, yet eventually manages to raise his head and walk forward.