Reborn as a Hated Noble Family, We Start an Industrial Revolution - Chapter 8: Payment Day (Gold and Blood)

People called him a genius—but Agares never believed it.Tired of expectations, he abandoned everything to live an ordinary life, working just to survive in a cruel world.But fate had other plans.A sudden transmigration took Agares into a world of swords and sorcery—a land ravaged by demons, ruled by power, and merciless to the weak.To his shock, he awakens as one of the Chosen Heroes. Sounds like a dream come true?Wrong.“That's a cursed job!”“He's no hero—he's a demon in disguise!”“Kill him! For the sake of the world!”[DING! Congratulations, you have obtained a Job.][Name: Agares][Job: Saber]Hunted by the empire he was meant to protect, feared for the power he never asked for, Agares finds himself branded a threat to humanity. All because of a job he didn’t choose.Just as the noose tightens, a red-eyed woman named Liel offers him a different path:“You were born to be more than their hero.”“The empire betrayed you. Humanity rejected you. Even nature turns away.”“Why not embrace what they fear —and become the successor of the Demon Emperor?”Now, Agares has a choice: run, or rise.This is the beginning of his war.A war not just for survival —but for vengeance.

When he returned to the World of Martial Arts, the game was filled with blood and battles! Chen Kaixin had chased after the footsteps of the one emperor, two empresses, three princes, seven dukes, and thirteen aces for three years, but during the eve of the Sword Among Us tournament in Mount Hua, he was ambushed by evil bastards, and was killed so much that his level dropped to that of a newbie. He completely lost the chance to join the ranks of the powerful players in the game! In great disappointment, Kaixin quit the game and got drunk so that he could forget his sadness, but during that stormy night, Chen Kaixin found that he had actually dreamed for a total of three years, because when he woke up again, he woke up to three years ago, when he was still a student.

- Description from Novelupdates

Can't a man maintain his dignity while preparing for the end of the world? Is that too much to ask?

The Tower was all I knew... all any of us knew, and just like that, it was gone. Monsters the likes of which I'd never seen ravaged the land of my ancestors. They burst through the outer walls and stormed the city. No one could have been ready for that. But now... Now I have a second chance.

After the collapse of the known world, I woke up to find myself on the First Floor of the Tower. I was young and healthy, 18 again, and sitting in the same classroom that marked the worst days of my life. Confused and excited, I accepted this gift, deciding to use my vast knowledge of the future to climb the Tower in preparation for the end of the world.

Maybe I'll help some folks along the way? Who knows. Survival comes first.

The clock is ticking, and I'm left with only a century to build a Deck powerful enough to survive the end. Things to do... What's first? I need Essence, and I need power. I'll have to climb the Tower to acquire both of these. Some of the zealots will try to stop me, need to look out for those. What if-

“Hey, kid! Hand over the pouch or-”

Stab

Sorry, where was I? Ah... there's a spot of blood on my suit. What a lousy morning.

In this world of blood and fantasy, century-old Rowan Wilder has to not only survive, but thrive as he powers his way to the top of the Tower. The Demonic Plague that has twisted the creatures on the upper Floors is the least of his worries. Cane in hand and Summons by his side, he'll have to tear his way through the monsters, as well as the humans who want to stop his ascent. Of course, he can maintain a sense of decorum while he faces these trials, right?

Outer yard disciple of the Tiansang Spirit Palace, Xu Xiaoshou, had average talent. However, after coming out of his death seclusion, he realized that everything had changed. He had received a Passive System with many strange, miraculous passive skills: He would become stronger with every breath. He would become stronger when he got attacked. He would become stronger when he got mocked… Xu Xiaoshou was forced to shout, “Oh God, I don’t want to be like this either. Everything I did was because I was being forced to! I am so passive!”