MTL - Virtual World: Close Combat Mage - v3 Chapter 184 Hundreds of people

I became the childhood friend of the protagonist in a novel. The childhood friend who died from taking drugs.

Ren Takahashi, a shy, hoodie-wearing tech genius, hides behind the online alias GhostHood — a quiet legend in underground hackathons. Despite appearing average in school, he dreams of becoming a real-life Iron Man — not the hero, but the builder of world-changing tech.Enter Aoi Hoshizaki, a bold, gal-style girl with a love for code, a messy room, and a mysterious spark. When she moves in next door and discovers Ren's secret, their world begins to change — from quiet club meetings to national hackathons, late-night debugging sessions to secret rooftop conversations.What starts as teamwork grows into something deeper, more complicated, and far more electric than either expected. Together, they aim for Japan’s most elite tech university — and face rivalries, rumors, and the whisper of love in every line of code.

Gripes have their origins and debts have their creditors. We haven’t crossed each other in days past or present, nor formed any grudges. I am but duty-bound to carry this out, so apologies in advance!

In his past life, Yang Chen was a gentle person who was oppressed for his whole life.

Now that he’s reborn, he chose to become an executioner and severs ties and grudges with his executioner’s blade, killing all that climb onto the Immortal Executioner’s Platform!

Heads will roll! Humans’ in the human realm, demons’ in the demon realm, devils’ in the devil realm and immortals’ in the immortal realm!

- Description from novelupdates

She was born into a powerful family of the nobility, a blue-blooded aristocrat as capable as any man. He rose from humble origins up the military ranks, an iron-blooded knight with high ambitions. A transaction for power severed her from her childhood sweetheart. A tardy encounter was the beginning of his and her vow to meet life and death under heaven, standing shoulder to shoulder.

Political intrigue, dynastic succession struggles. He trampled through it all in the toil of becoming emperor.

Old enmities became new disputes, concerning life and death of entire families. She entered once more into the palace, changing the entire political climate of their world.

Meeting once again, they had become strangers. The peach blossom were all fallen, no more than a golden age grown cold.

- Description from Novelupdates