Corrupted Bonds - Chapter 37: Cascade Threshold

The “S-rank Hero Factory” that raised 1,000 S-rank heroes.

The graduates’ manufacturing machine.

The strongest support.

These are all words that refer to me. But could this actually be the world of that game?

The heiress to a powerful tech company, Diane Lily Hoffman, had a tough childhood filled with lies and mistreatment.At 14, her cruel stepmother tricked her into thinking her father had sold her to his enemies. From there, the family who adopted her abused her physically and emotionally.Using her as a ploy to get rich, her adopted family forced her into what she thought was a loveless marriage with a plastic surgeon named Gabriel.Despite what she perceived as a lack of love, she found solace in her married life until her path was chosen for her again and lies were made to drive a wedge between her and Gabriel.The divorce was painful and she realised all too late that everything was not what it seemed.Unfortunately, the lies her family crafted were too much for Gabriel to ever give her a chance again.Just as she was about to die, Diane was given a second chance to fix her mistakes.Now reborn, Diane is ready to find her real father and ex-husband, seeking revenge on the family that betrayed her and taking back the life and justice she deserves.

That lonesome night as he lays dying in the hospital, fearing of death and desiring the taste of life, his mind became unprecedentedly complex with mixed emotions.

The rule had always been this way: the strong over the weak, the rich over the poor. Mark knew this, he'd even experienced it.After his boss fired him for discovering the affair with his girlfriend (who also worked at their small gaming company), Mark vowed never to be humiliated like that again. He wanted to rise above everyone, to become the world's top player, the one who made the rules and decided everyone's fate. But that was wishful thinking. He was just a heavyset, nerdy guy with some programming skills and a large appetite. What else did he have going for him?Hit hard by this reality, jobless and dumped, Mark withdrew into gaming, which also became his source of income. One day, after leaving a bad review for a game he played and streamed, he received a strange reply from the game's creator. Suddenly, Mark found himself transported to Aetherium, the world of that same game, as Magnus Lancaster, the young lord of a crumbling territory.Now, with this new beginning, he vowed never to be weak again, never to leave his fate in someone else's hands.