Dragonheart Core - Chapter 154: The Boy

Ethan Carter was a failed fantasy author who died overworked and bitter. When he wakes up in the world of his own unfinished novel, he finds himself reborn as Darius Wycliffe, a weak and arrogant noble fated to be killed by the protagonist, Lucien Ashford, the Archmage’s Disciple.But Ethan refuses to die so easily. Armed with his knowledge of the world’s secrets and a unique ability to rewrite spells, he dives into the forbidden magic he once created but never fully explored. As he grows stronger, he uncovers terrifying truths about the world he thought he knew.To survive, Ethan must defy destiny, master the deadliest of magics, and challenge the very hero he once wrote to be unbeatable. But what happens when the lines between hero and villain start to blur?

[The country finally matched me with a partner—the richest man in the world.]

Ye Xingguang, dumped on the day of her graduation, stormed to the civil department to get in the queue for matchmaking, and somehow got Ye Junqing, the billionaire who topped the Forbes Rich list?

Everyone was saying that Ye Junqing also topped the list of celibates, and Ye Xingguang had expected that he would be difficult to get along with.

However, after their marriage, her husband taught her how to dance, play the piano, survival skills, high society etiquette, and the art of death. He’s a harbor in the storm like a father, and a brother who entertained her whims.

She had thought that she had used up all her luck for this moment, but greater surprises were in store for her… Was she dreaming?

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Guang Xiaoyu always thought her senior brother was a dispirited ordinary person, until one day, his pet cow crushed an entire group of Divine Kings with a single stomp.The black dog opened its mouth and expelled a Sword Qi, blocking millions of the Demon Race.The Earth Chicken that babbled every day turned out to be a descendant of the Ancient Phoenix!Ahhhh!Her worldview collapsed!Zi Ji: “Senior sister, it's terrible! The Demon Emperor is leading an army of millions from the Demon Race towards us.”Guang Xiaoyu: “Senior brother, help!”(This is a story about the Demon Emperor’s rebirth, the Netherworld’s daughter’s reincarnation, the protagonist's pet-keeping journey, and a call to everyone to love and care for small animals!)