Epoch of Twilight - Chapter 548: New Life

“I can’t believe my eyes. The ice lord actually kissed a man. God, help me!”

“I’m surprised that the son of the Bai family is actually the ugly and stupid second young miss!”

Who was it who melted the ice lord’s exterior and caused the awakening of his hidden gentle side?

She is black-bellied and crafty. She would never consider herself a good person, and would not go out of her way to provoke other people. But, once she is provoked, she will pay it back 1000-fold, showing no mercy.

He is cold and detached, elegant, magnanimous, and known as the ice lord, a heartless gentleman.

Will sparks fly when the iceberg collides with a black-belly? Is it hopeless, or will there be excitement?

- Description from Novelupdates

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!

Song Shi came to an immortal world where demons and monsters were rampant. He thought he was going to take a trepidatious road to immortality, but ended up awakening to a death-defying system, gaining strength from death and getting stronger every time he died.

The whole style took a sudden change. Other people cultivated to seek immortality, but he was already immortal, and could only seek immortality by having himself killed in various ways, either by killing himself or by letting people kill him.

“You were killed 10 times by the Yin spirit, awakening the spiritual root of fire!”

“You were killed 10 times by the zombie, awakening the innate divine power!”

“You were killed 10 times for excess cultivation, awakening the Daoist heart!”

“You were killed by a formation, formation level +1!”

“You were killed by an alchemy explosion, +1 alchemy level!”

Pure Yang Spiritual Body, Nine Yang Divine Body, Sun Sacred Body; Vajra Spiritual Body, Golden Divine Body, Draconic Sacred Body; Psychic Sword Body, Innate Dao Body; Formation Master, Alchemy Master...

His cultivation was a fun journey, and he kept finding ways to kill himself on his way to the top of the immortal path...

Years later, the world rumor had it that once Song Shi died, the immortals were terrified, the demons trembled, and ten thousand Buddhas retreated!