The hivemind is conquering for me? - Chapter 409: Does That Sound Good To You?

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

The era of Universal Lordship has come to this world, bringing many opportunities and challenges for humans.At the age of eighteen, each person can acquire territory and participate in the Lord's continent, which will determine whether they can move into a vast world or die in mediocrity.Thousands of years after the start of this era Neo looked up at the sky waiting for his opportunity, the opportunity to change his life and move toward a grander goal.All lords choose an easy route and select a race that already exists but he wished to go against the current, so even if it was looked down upon he created his own race bravely and swore to fight tooth and nail for success.This is the story of his journey as he walks step by step toward a grander future.

“Pretend to be my lover and join the social circle.”

Selena, the top star that had the entire world’s attention, was suddenly warped to Northern Duke’s land during an accident while filming. Kalcion, the Northern Duke that saved her from the infernal beasts, offers Selena a chance to go back home in return for collecting information in various social circles by pretending to be his lover. Selena quickly accepts Kalcion’s offer, but…

“Why in the world can’t you do this!?”
“Don’t you think that the answer to that should be obvious to you, the actress, not to me, the duke?”

There was a critical problem. The Northern Duke’s acting skills are horrible!

“…Let’s change the plan. I’ll seduce you instead.”

And thus the contractual relationship between the two started. Will Kalcion’s acting skill improve first, or will he start to have true feelings for Selena instead?

[The System has arrived on your habitable planet, known as ‘Earth.’][In five seconds, monsters from countless realms will invade Earth.][Remaining Time: 5 seconds.][You can now view your attributes, talents, abilities, and skills by simply thinking about them.][Kill monsters, and you might survive.]“Monsters?”Damian’s breathing quickened as the pain in his chest grew sharper.On the day of the Awakening, humanity was forced to defend against an invasion of countless monsters from the towers that connected realms across the multiverse.While billions of people died helplessly, billions more seized the opportunities hidden behind the horrors spilling out of the gates.Leveling up, growing stronger, awakening talents, learning supernatural skills, changing one's very race, and even achieving immortality all became possibilities.But for Damian, who was suffering from a sickness that would kill him within a few years, the Awakening was a curse.While other humans awakened powerful talents, hunted monsters, and evolved, Damian remained talentless, a liability and a burden the awakened had to carry.Damian never wanted to be seen as weak or useless, but what could he do?He was dying.If only he had awakened a talent or at least possessed a stronger body, he might have been able to level up and cure his sickness. But he couldn’t.All that would change when a mysterious figure set him on a path that would lead him to his true destiny.Witness the rise of a warrior who would make countless men tremble in fear.Witness the rise of a monster who would force every race, every being, and every existence to kneel.Witness the rise of the Champion.Tags: [System], [Towers], [level up], [Classes], [Monsters], [Vampires], [Werewolves], [Yokai], [Dragons], [Demons], [Angels], [Gods]. [Rare Bloodlines], [unique Abilities], [Regression], [Survival], [Mystery], [Time Travel], [reincarnation], [Overpowered], [Martial Arts], [Magic], [Cultivation], [Murim], [Hell & Heaven], [Progenitors].