The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse - Chapter 301: Ch: 300 Tournament Starts - Part 2

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.

In her previous life, An Xiulan had been oppressed and tortured by the members of Duke An's household. Her legitimate status wasn't enough to save her from the schemes of jealous siblings. For sixteen years, she tolerated the oppression inflicted on her but in the seventeenth year, she was pushed to death into the frozen lake.

Now she has reincarnated into the body of a youthful girl in the modern world who died in a car accident. She was given everything she was devoid of in her last life– family, love and education.

Graced with a new life, An Xiulan is determined to strive towards a better life. She will be the best daughter. She will study hard. And she will stay away from puppy love.

Nothing must come between her path to become a top scholar!

But there seems to be a hitch in the plan.

Why was the backbencher Han Zixin following her to the library, laboratory, playground and even the principal's office?

Wasn't Big Boss Han allergic to studies?

Why was he following the campus Belle?

…

Teacher: An Xiulan is a top student. We must preserve her at all costs.

Class Ten gulped as they recalled how a certain bro-con had supplied cheating slips to his model student sister in monthly tests subsequently resulting in her topping the exams!

Lu Xuan: No one is allowed to bully my sister!! Only I can bully her!

Everyone in class Ten: ????

A few days later, class Ten witnessed the delicate looking youthful girl chasing her self proclaimed brother with a hockey stick!

The delicate looking campus Belle wasn't delicate at all!

...

A delicate girl can't possibly make two big gangsters of Jingyuan Highschool dance on her tunes?

Lan Chang’an has gone through two lifetimes of reincarnations, and in the third life, he aimed for stability until reaching the Nascent Soul Realm in hopes of unraveling the mysteries of the Nine Seal Stele. Consequently, he cultivated the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique, which wielded modest power in return for greater lifespan.

His approach is not one of fearlessly engaging in battles, but of navigating with steady precision and forging meaningful bonds with others.

Throughout his long cultivation journey, he encountered individuals at various stages of their cultivation, including a Decent Faction Head, a Prodigious Beauty, a Giant Demon Lord, an Evil Cultivator, a Thousand-Year Old Demon, and a Puppet Master Pulling Strings From Behind The Scene.

Observing the ebb and flow of the world, witnessing its ups and downs, he unknowingly became a living fossil in the realm of cultivation, akin to an evergreen tree spanning through eternity.

In the world of mortals, the flow of life is steady, shrouded in the illusion of longevity, yet decisions are made decisively, with a clear sense of morality.

One scam package,That's all it took to drag the 17-year-old Cail into the world of the void....He thought he had ordered a limited-edition sneakers. But what came was a shady-looking package on his front gate. It smelled like rotten egg and sulfur. Inside the package was a strange box.It's filled with eccentric junk. They looked very intricate and mysterious. He thought, “I probably got someone else's package, a package from someone that was very interested in mysticism.”An old coin, a cracked compass, a ring with an ugly center stone, and some other weird looking trinkets.So he did what any broke student would do:He sold it. He figured someone might want them for cosplay or something. Well, except the gold-rimmed glasses that seemed to fit him very well.“Damn, I paid 7,000 nu for that sneaker; I better get something out from this scam package.”Then all hell broke loose. Strange people started approaching him.People brought that junk. Very strange people wearing suspicious get up trying to buy those stuff in the sketchiest manner possible.As he kept selling, he realized that the box was refilling, it seemed to have an endless supply of those strange stuff. Those people called it 'artifacts'.Then one day he woke up with a strange tattoo on his arm; inside the tattoo was an independent space containing the box. It is basically inseparable from him.“I didn't ask for any of this to happen. But now, strange people come to me with desperate offers. Money, memories, and even soul.”He's just trying to survive high school while earning some money!He had no idea what was going on, but apparently, this thing that he got? It's not just an artifact. It's a contract.As Cail navagates school life, part-time jobs, and otherworldly clients, he starts asking the real question:When did I become an artifact dealer?!By day, he is just an ordinary student, a NPC character.And by night? He is The Dealer. Selling ancient items and dealing with people that he probably shouldn't be talking to.“Since I'm already in this mess, might as well profit off of it.”