The Phantom's Gambit - Chapter 2: Cave of ruins

“Ah, him? He’s just Daeyeong’s acquaintance.” He hated those words. Choi Seolwoo is trying to leave behind his teens and twenties, which he spent as Won Daeyeong’s shadow. Won Daeyeong (gong), the national team captain who became the first Korean track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics in the 400m, and Choi Seolwoo (soo), a newly qualified Certified Public Accountant, are childhood friends of over a decade. Choi Seolwoo, weary of the pain of his obsessive unrequited love for Won Daeyeong, impulsively enters into a contractual relationship with a sub-seme and declares a break-up with Won Daeyeong, intending to completely remove him from his life and start anew. Won Daeyeong is displeased with Choi Seolwoo trying to end their friendship over a relationship. Just how much attention had he demanded since they were young? Even he himself acknowledged how incredibly well he’d treated him. It wasn’t as if he had expected anything in return for looking after him, but still, this is absurd. To take him for granted and push him aside like this. Won Daeyeong proposes that if Choi Seolwoo appears on five episodes of a segment called “An Acquaintance” on his Xtube channel, which has 1.1 million subscribers, he will agree to the break-up. The filming of a variety show exposing every detail of Won Daeyeong’s life begins. Unexpectedly, the view count explodes due to the spicy and entertaining talk with frequent bleeps, the genuine bromance chemistry and realistically fierce fights, and Choi Seolwoo’s idol-like visuals. Choi Seolwoo, the “break-up guy,” ends up advertising himself to the entire nation as Won Daeyeong’s best friend. Wait, somehow this… seems to be moving further away from a break-up…?

Nessa was transported into a new and completely unfamiliar world where monsters roamed free and survival of the fittest was the supreme rule for the majority of them. In this world, which was beautiful yet dark and cruel, she was given an opportunity.An opportunity to build her own nation after becoming the leader of a few peculiar monsters.Will she be able to overcome those who oppose her, threaten what she is creating, and demonstrate her power to the world in order to achieve peace and acceptance, or will her efforts in this world be futile?[System notifies]Come join Nessa and a few kind souls on their journey to create a nation where monsters, humans, and other creatures can coexist and live happily.

I lived for you in the last lifetime, everything I did was for you, yet you wanted me to die; so, this time, life is mine to live! This world lied to me, betrayed me, and humiliated me, and I am back to change everything!

- Description from Novelupdates

As the daughter chosen by the Heavens, she was already extraordinary from birth. However, with her talents concealed, she was treated like tr*sh and mercilessly betrayed. So, she decided to let her supreme capabilities shine!

From then on, her bloodline had been awoken. Everything was possible—refining antidotes and weapons through alchemy, taming the dragons and phoenixes, and even being the ultimate ruler of the world. Since then, millions of people admired her and she lived up to her name as the strongest concubine in the world!

Only that cold, evil and immensely domineering Ice Emperor, whom she had accidentally provoked, loved, protected and helped her everywhere…

“Oh dear, after he has treated me like that, how can I ever like someone else? This man is really cunning!”