Short, Light, Free - Chapter 1: The Knowing

Lyle Walt is a young noble boy and heir looking forward to the day he can inherit his family’s territory. Except around when he was 10 year old, his parents started neglecting him more and more in favour of his little sister, Celes.
On his fifteenth birthday, he is challenged to a duel by his sister to see who will inherit the household and horribly loses, being cast out of his family. Afterwards, he gets treated by the family groundskeepers and receives the family heirloom Gem from him that Lyle’s grandfather had entrusted to him. From there, he begins an aimless journey with his childhood friend and former fiancée, Novem, and the Gem-turned-Jewel that houses the memories, personalities, and Skills of seven of his ancestors.

The ClockA Divine Object that looms eternally in the sky, casting its silent shadow over every corner of the earth. No one remembers when it first appeared—only that it has always been there. And it ticks.Once every ten years, the hand moves. With it, millions are randomly chosen and sent to another realm, forced to fight for their survival. These chosen few are known as Chronists—individuals granted supernatural abilities by the Clock itself.***Jack has always been seen as a misfit—an odd boy with a strange way of thinking. After a life-changing accident, he finds himself shuffled between psychiatrists, as his parents search for answers they can’t seem to find.But everything changes the day a mysterious woman appears before him.From that moment on, Jack's life begins to unravel—and so does his place in a world far stranger than he ever imagined.

Horror of the Continent: The Immortal King Brings Despair, While the Light Knight Defies the Divine Will.In an era of chaos, numerous heroes emerge, striving to navigate the tumultuous land. However, amidst this turmoil, sudden and enigmatic forces make their appearance on the continent.Little did they know, it was all me.…To be precise, they were my alter egos sent to this other world.#Unintentionally becoming the villain of the world.#Somehow, I become both the demon king and the hero.#One person, multiple roles.

Leo had a problem. Don't be like Leo!It wasn't that he was poor. It wasn't that he was unlucky. It was that he had been cursed, or blessed by the Accidental Tycoon System.The rules were deceptively simple. Any money he lost on an investment would be returned to him, doubled. And any money he gained, aside from system reimbursement couldn't be used by him on himself.His life's new mission was crystal clear. He had to go bankrupt.In a high-tech world of S-Rank Heroes, magic, and newly-contacted alien civilizations, this should have been the easiest thing to achieve in the galaxy. He just had to become the biggest, most spectacular loser the universe had ever seen.So, he tried. Oh, how he tried...He threw billions at publishing a dungeon guide written by a 10-year-old. The maps were in crayon, and it listed the final boss as a Big Grumpy Badger.[Breaking: New S-Rank dungeon called 'The Whispering Labyrinth' appears! All high-tech mapping drones fail. A lost F-Rank porter used the crayon guide... and it's 100% accurate. The final boss is a 50-foot divine badger. The Galactic Union has declared the guide a 'holy text' for exploration!]He bought the galaxy's most useless moon, planning to build a 'Museum of Paint'.[Alert: Ancient magical ley-lines discovered under the moon's surface! It's the only place in the universe that can safely grow the 'Star-Lotus,' the key ingredient for immortality!]To the Intergalactic Hero's Guild, the Magic Academies, and the Alien Federations, Leo was the god of investment whose every move was like 5D chess that ordinary people couldn't understand.Heroes would soar with his sponsorship. Alien emperors offered him their daughters' hands in marriage for a single 'tip'.But Leo just stared at his bank account, which now displayed his wealth that he couldn't use on himself, with tears streaming down his face.“Please,” he cried, “I'm trying to fail! Why won't you just let me be poor?!”