The Reticent Blade - Chapter 186 - Pear Blossoms Bloom (Part Nine)

Have you ever wondered what a character in a novel or in a game should be?

Do they eat? Sleep? Do they have their own life when you are not reading or playing?

They do not.

When you are not doing anything, we stay still.

To be fair, think about your own life. Is it different from a game without a system? You can not see behind your back, similar to how a character has to render it in a game.

But at least, you have your own life.

While I have to watch the protagonist of the novel find his way into the pants of the female leads.

This is my destiny.

I'm not jealous. Not at all.

Ezekiel recognized early in life that he didn't want to follow in his parent's footsteps and spend the rest of his days as a mere farmer. No, his eyes are set on a grander stage, a place where tales of monster hunters, mighty generals, and benevolent heroes hold court — A world of Magic and mysteries.One day, the opportunity he had been waiting for arrives. Without a second thought, Ezekiel throws himself headfirst into the adventure. However, not everything turns out to be as magical as he had dreamt it to be...THIS IS A SLOW BURN FANTASY PROGRESSION LITRPG STORY:Even though you are not going to see blue boxes from chapter one, I guarantee you that this IS a LitRPG story. This is, however, NOT a pure “game world”! Instead, I have tried to integrate the interface elements of a LitRPG into a world with a very thought-out magic & power system, which will be explored over the course of the first book.This world doesn't work like a game, where you can put '5 points in strength' and the body somehow changes magically into a stronger version of itself. It might take a couple of chapters for the world and magic to start to make sense, but I feel like a power system built on solid principles is a lot more rewarding in the long run (...and more IMMERSIVE!).

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

To rebuild death god’s glory, was our obligation!

At the start of the story, he and his zanpakuto had to fight for his own territory!

The Lord of Hell, Mephisto?

Playing with people’s hearts, you might need to learn more from me!

Necromancer?

Let me test the might of Ryūjin Jakka!

Iron Man, Tony Stark?

Come, come, it just happened that I am in need of technical support in the Technological Development Department!

…

Lod, who inherited the will of Soul King, crossed into Marvel World and decided to become the biggest behind-the-scenes manipulator!

When Lod ruled the three major organizations of the Wandenreich, Las Noches, and Seireitei, and looking at the entire universe, he could not help but sigh with emotion: In fact, at the beginning, I just wanted to live!