MTL - Sailing: Stealing Sauron’s Talents at the Beginning - Chapter 205

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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Dear readers! Without any ads, maybe you will prefer .

“Guildbane: Battle for Domination,” the virtual MMORPG that has taken the world by storm, players enter a realm where guilds vie for ultimate supremacy.Set four years before Xin awakens from a coma, the game has undergone significant changes and evolved into a battleground for strategic guild warfare. With immersive gameplay, intense player-versus-player combat, and a focus on guild clashes, players must navigate a dynamic world where alliances are forged, rivalries are kindled, and the ultimate goal is to dominate the game's virtual landscape.[CONGRATULATIONS! You’re the LAST player in your generation to enter this game at the exact time of our anniversary date!]You don’t have to rub it on me. Xin muttered. He was keenly aware that his peers left him behind.[You received a GIFT!]Xin was baffled. Maybe because it was his birthday, or it was an anniversary thing?Opening the gift, his avatar glowed, but he didn’t feel like anything had changed.He opened his stat box.‖ S T A TU S ‖HP: 40MP: 20STR: 2DEX: 2CONS: 2INT: 2WIS: 2CHA: ꝏ‖ E N D ‖Xin’s head bobbed to the side. “Huh?”

Traveling through the world of Naruto, he is just a four-year-old boy who has no talent, no family, no blood, and no tailed beast.

Unexpectedly, after completing the Jain test, the system suddenly awakened.

Since then, he has drawn the glittering fruit, the shaking fruit, the dragon-killing magic crystal of fire, the magic eye of death, Geass, the blood of the ancestor giant, the eye of reincarnation, the eternal kaleidoscope writing wheel eye…

Also, Demon Sword Muramasa, Death Note, Longinus Spear, Godzilla, Zanpakutō*Kyoka Suizuki, Zanpakutō*River Blade, Natural Teeth…

- Description from novelbuddy

She was the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy family—abandoned by her father, oppressed by his legal wife, and humiliated by the so-called sister. She watched her mother perish in a raging fire and was thrown into the flames herself.Her name was Janice. And she died in that fire.Ten years later, under a new identity and the name “Janet,” she survives in silence. Forced by her stepmother to marry a wealthy heir rumored to be “paralyzed and disabled,” she becomes entangled in a vicious struggle of family betrayal and ruthless power games.With cold eyes, she watches the hypocrites who once trampled her into the mud—one by one, they will become prey on her road to revenge.Her wheelchair-bound “husband” Philip, the feuding brothers Charles and August… But what she didn't expect was that the boy who once quietly handed her a handkerchief all those years ago would become the most unpredictable piece in her game of fate.She has returned—not for hatred, but to personally end the past that was once crushed beneath their feet.