I Am a Salted Fish in Ancient Times - Chapter 27: Wind and Rain

Ryo Tanaka, a struggling college student, works tirelessly at multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet. In a bid to earn some extra cash, he volunteers for a paid drug research study, unaware that it will alter the course of his life forever.The experiment takes a disastrous turn, leaving Ryo bedridden with a high fever for several days. But when he finally awakens, he finds himself in a world plunged into chaos. A deadly virus has ravaged the city, turning its inhabitants into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies. Streets once bustling with life now lay desolate, the remnants of civilization crumbling under the weight of the apocalypse.

In the Solarian Empire, people were divided by their blood. The nobles enjoyed their life in wealth, with fine wine and amazing food. They reigned supreme over the commoners. The only reason they were able to do this was that they had knowledge of the most powerful force in the world - magic. The nobles controlled their knowledge from easily going to commoners, making it harder for them to learn magic.

Leo, a young orphan in Solaria, had an incredibly powerful affinity for magic. He didn't even know about it because he could never learn magic- he was too poor to try and learn from any magic academies. He was just trying to survive the streets of Solhaven until he found the lost tome of the Arcane Emperor.

"I can beat a 7th Circle Mage."

"Wow! You must have trained for many decades. How old are you?"

"17."

"..."

The world was going to be turned upside down.

“Mana to breathe, mana to eat, mana to fucking live,”Inhale: -0.001 MP… oops! You're out of mana points.(Pay-to-breathe RPG.)Humanity's last walled stronghold._____In the world Elio lives, every gasp of air comes at a price.A floating indestructible book for every human, a magical system that turns survival into a pay-to-breathe RPG.Here, poverty isn't just being broke, it's choking.Surrounded by barren land and a sea of monsters on top of it (No water, just literal monsters), each day is a suffocating dance of survival, a balancing act between mana for air and mana for food.In this economy, holding your breath isn't just a game, it's a retirement plan.Driven by desperation (and the city's miserly rulers that don’t cut anyone a break), Elio dives into the Book System’s trials to save his family.Along the way, he unlocks powers he didn’t ask for and starts to figure out... Who he really is.Immerse yourself in an adventure where one young man's stubborn refusal to become a statistic could spark a revolution. Who knew being a pain in the system's rear could change the world?Because in Elio's world, breathing is just the beginning of the revolution and... he's gasping for change.But hey, who said saving the world had to be all doom and gloom? Join Elio as he kicks monster butt, uncovers ancient secrets, and maybe, just maybe, figures out how to grow a tree or two along the way.__________Warning:May contain traces of world domination, an unhealthy obsession with the periodic table, damage points, progression math, and yes, even a sprinkle of that old “power of friendship” magic. Because sometimes, you need a buddy to help you remember which element does what or even help you calculate those sweet, sweet stats.A quick heads-up:Despite what the cover might suggest, this isn’t a hack-and-slash adventure. Think more along the lines of a turn-based RPG, where strategy and choices matter as much as action. Get ready for a different kind of challenge!If you want to know more about the cover:Yep, that's our first FL crying and crossing the transparent barrier straight into a pixelated, indistinguishable sea of monsters. Because why not mix emotions with chaos? She's crazy like that! (Not really... or is she?)Discord to check the visuals: https://discord.gg/W3CjfC2cw4I’m still working on it in the little moments I find between writing, editing, making more character images, etc.Little by little, we’ll have a Poked... uh, a full SummonDex! Meanwhile, you can check out the ones on Fandom with their... funny descriptions? Or at least I hope so... orzWarning 2 (Privilege 4 and 5):I just wanted to stick to the novel’s level system, so I had to add those '0s'!!! Don’t be an elephant... unless you’re an enormous one... A whale! Seriously, nooooo!You’re going to make me die from the pressure, and I’ll feel terrible!! It’s just one chapter!!! You can wait... But if you’re dirty rich and really, Really, REALLY want to support, well... okay, though I’ll still feel bad!!! orz

She was stupidly in love with him. Because of him, she became rude and unreasonable, overbearing, jealous, insane. But he did not spare a glance to her. Married for two years, he didn’t favor her once, letting her become the laughing stock of the whole world. Eventually, she ended up in an affair, leading to her tragic death.

When her eyes opened again, it was a different person.

Since it’s an empress, then we absolutely must be virtuous, generous, correct the previous jealousy defect.

Thus begins the replacement empress’ harem life.

Taking the initiative to help the emperor look for beauties, sending them to serve in the bedroom, teaching the imperial concubines how to primp themselves to win the emperor’s favor, and even using the phoenix seal as a reward. Whoever can satisfy the emperor on the dragon bed, will have the opportunity to take the phoenix seal and sit on the phoenix seat, to experience the feeling of being the empress. Being this virtuous can really be called impeccable.

She was this virtuous, the emperor ought to be pleased in every aspect!

Hadn’t expected the emperor wouldn’t know good from bad. Not only reprimanded her, but also contradicted her everywhere. The beauties she’d sent were actually all driven away.

Since he didn’t like the beauties, apparently there’s a special interest. In that case, send over a group of beautiful men. Can top, can bottom, every option is there.

In the end, they were also driven away.

Thus the empress personally arrived to battle at the emperor’s bedroom-

“Your Majesty, do you have an unmentionable illness down there? If so, rest assured and tell me. I’ll let some people treat it in secret.” Take a look at her virtue, she could move herself to tears.

“Unmentionable illness?” The emperor’s sword-like eyebrows raised, the eyes suddenly looked dangerous. Approaching her slowly, unexpectedly ordered: “Tonight, the empress will serve me.”

“What?” Then, Mo Qiqi with lightning speed jabbed the hornet’s nest.

“Ah!” A miserable scream.

Mo Qiqi worriedly looked at the emperor to inquire: “Your Majesty. Are you alright!”

The emperor spoke with a pained expression: “Call the court physician!”

“You did have an unmentionable illness!”

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