Vaudevillain - VV4, 4 - Backstory Brainstorming

Each stroke of good luck is a triumph over someone else’s misfortune.Jack Grim, the son of two legendary assassins, was born and raised on nothing but coldness — and the skills to spill blood.At seventeen, Jack received his final task as an assassin apprentice under his parents.“Succeed, and you’ll run your own organization — live the life you’ve always dreamed of.”For Jack, it was everything he had ever wanted: the chance to finally become the professional assassin he was born to be.He struck his target at midnight, succeeded, and received everything his parents had promised.But in the wake of victory came a pounding headache, a relentless fever—and then… transmigration.Jack now found himself in Raiden’s body — the keeper of the Book of Ashes, the heart of the Devourer, and the very book the coward Raiden had died protecting with his life.Jack had no desire to live in another world, magic or not. He simply wanted to return to his life as an assassin.But duty had other plans. The balance of this world now rested on his ability to protect the book — and like it or not, the responsibility was his to bear.

In humanity’s final war against the Demon Lord, the strongest heroes fell—not by the enemy’s hand, but by their own, twisted into madness by a cruel illusion. Betrayal. Bloodshed. Despair… and then, silence.Only one person remained: Riley—the weakest warrior of them all. Powerless. Ignored. Forgotten.But he saw through the Demon Lord’s deception. The tyrant was on the brink of death—so weak even a fly could’ve finished him off.And Riley did just that, drawing every last ounce of strength to bite off the demon’s head.Victory? Not quite. A final, desperate strike from the Demon Lord pierced him from behind, killing him instantly.But fate wasn’t done with him yet.Riley awoke ten years in the past—when the online game [Apocalypse] was launched. Before demons descended. Before monsters overran the world.And this time, he wasn’t starting from nothing. He had a decade of experience—and a second chance.Even more shocking, he didn’t awaken his old D-rank Strength Boost talent. This time, he received something far more terrifying: an SSS-Rank Gluttony talent!He could now devour anything—monsters, items, talents, even traits—and gain their power.Ding![You have devoured: Iron Fang Wolf][Acquired: +4 Strength, +2 Agility, Skill: Bite (F-rank)][You have devoured: Goblin ShamanAcquired: +8 Intelligence, Skill: Mana Bolt (E-rank), Talent: Minor Spellcasting Efficiency][You have devoured: Flaming Salamander Drake][Acquired: +22 Endurance, Trait: Dragon’s Resilience, Skill: Flame Breath (C-rank)]Now, there is no demon, no god, no monster who will stand in his way. He will devour everything—and save the world.But the power of Gluttony was a double edged sword. If he wasn’t careful… he could be the one getting consumed.

Kurokawa Risa is an ordinary office worker, who has practiced lots of cooking while living alone. One day, she wakes up in another world, with a concerned little spirit hovering over her! She has apparently been transported to a magical, spirit-filled realm by the will of the goddess, and there is no known way for her to go back. She is taken in by a wealthy couple, and they and her new spirit helper treat her with nothing but kindness. There is one problem, however–the food in this magical world is gross! Risa insists on helping the household cooking staff prepare a traditional meal from her world, and it is a big hit with her hosts. Soon Risa knows what she should do in this new world; she should open a cafe and treat everyone to delicious food!

“Had that night been quiet and windless… If she had never appeared in front of me…”

Whenever he recalled the past, Clyde felt endless regret. If he had known that being a Suzerain would be so troublesome, he would have never picked up that troublesome Bloodkin. In fact, he would never have even left that secluded Death Canyon.

“Big Brother Clyde, don’t be so dejected. You are now a well-known Suzerain, a hero of the entire continent, the Human Race’s Savior!”

“Lucifer, enough. I just want to return to my quiet life.” Clyde, an Evil God, had yearned for a quiet life, but by chance— or fate— he had met a young a mysterious Bloodkin Lolita named “Lucifer.” Under her guidance, Clyde embarked on his destiny, rising from the unknown as a nameless wanderer to become a Suzerain of a fief before taking the throne of the entire Ximengsi Continent.

There was just one problem: he who would be the torch of the human race wasn’t even from this dimension.