The Wizard World - Chapter 524: Danger (1)

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Lucas, a human transmigrated from Earth to a fantasy world, strives to live a peaceful life with his sister despite lacking special abilities or cheats. However, the world's cruelty shatters his tranquility when his beautiful sister is taken from him, and he is framed for her death. Devastated and powerless, Lucas is forced to flee.During his escape, Lucas grows stronger, eventually earning the feared title of the Demon God. Despite lacking inherent talent or cheats, his relentless pursuit of knowledge allows him to uncover his enemies' weaknesses, leading him to victory time and again.One fateful day, while praying for his sister, Lucas falls into a trap and is killed. His enemies have used his sister's memory against him, igniting a fury within Lucas as he dies, his final regret being his inability to save her. In his last moments, he wishes for a second chance to act first and protect his sister.[System Notification: Host has died a second time][Cheat Activation Sequence Initiated][Cheat Activated: Divine Mask - God Clone System Online]

Angel Johnson was a waitress struggling to make ends meet when an unexpected contract with Tryson Bliss, one of City Y's most powerful and ruthless billionaires, changed everything.Tryson needed a fiancée to appease his demanding family, and Angel, desperate for money and a way out of her humdrum life, agreed to play the part.What began as a calculated arrangement soon evolved into something neither of them expected—an intense and forbidden connection.But when Tryson's family uncovers Angel's true motives, they cast her out with venomous disdain.Humiliated and heartbroken, Angel's last hope is confronting Tryson. But instead of an apology or a chance at redemption, she finds herself shattered when he declares that he has chosen his first love, Riley, the woman he was preparing to marry.Devastated and with only her pride left, Angel walks away, determined to rebuild her life alone.Two months later, Angel is lost in the pulse of the music at a dark, crowded bar, seeking refuge in anonymity.A hand seizes her from behind, and her breath catches as she turns to face the man she can't forget—Tryson.His eyes, once cold and calculating, are now stormy with raw emotion, and he pulls her into his orbit, holding out the contract she once signed. “We haven't finished our work, Angel. The contract says you have a year left to be my fiancée. Don't tell me you're planning on breaching it now.”With no choice but to comply, Angel moves back into the house that once rejected her.But to her surprise, the family she once loathed now welcomes her with unexpected warmth and kindness.As she navigates this unsettling shift, Angel is left to wonder—what has changed, and why?What secrets do they hide that could alter everything she thought she knew about Tryson and his family?And as Angel's heart begins to thaw, she's confronted with the hardest question of all: Can she keep the secrets she's hidden from Tryson?And will Tryson fight for her love a second time, despite everything that has come between them?

This world is sick, and it must be cured with swords and forged with iron and fire.To slay tyranny, to cut down the unrighteous. To overturn heaven and earth, to mold the human world.All shall begin with the sword in hand.======When the Innate Wisdom Bearer An Jing received aid from the ancient Sword Spirit, allowing him to traverse various realms, he knew that his future would inevitably lead him down a path full of hardships and difficulties, hard to be understood by others, yet capable of changing this wretched world.And on this path, he would also crush many deserving scum underfoot.“Heh heh, the Myriad Tribes of this world shall greet the birth of this epoch-making giant like me with fervent wishes. World, I'm coming to save you!”Noble Officials/Demon Sect/Heavenly Demon: “Alas, is reconciliation possible?”Elements: Chaotic times of Martial Arts, cyber cultivation, gates between two worlds