Academy's Extra:The APEX LEGACY - Chapter 20: Waking up

“Shying away from your wifely duties, little wife?” He questioned in a husky voice, lowering his face to hers.Ariel quickly turned her head away, “No, Mr. Chaz, you're misunderstanding me again,” She voiced quietly.Aiden scoffed, not believing her. He looked down at his chest and found her slim hand still placed against it.“You're quite corny, Ariel. Saying you don't want me, yet you're hands are all over me,” Aiden whispered in her ear.***After overhearing her father and stepmother planning how they were going to marry her off in place of her Stepsister to the unsuccessful son of their debtor. That night, Ariel plans her run away, but that same night, Ariel mysteriously gets kidnapped.Waking up to discover she'd been kidnapped by the same people she was trying to run away from made her life seem like it had hit rock bottom.Now, she was going to be forced into a marriage with a man she didn't know and didn't love. But, would everything remain the same for her when she discovers that her new husband was the richest Billionaire in the country?Chaz Aiden was a successful billionaire with billions of businesses all over the world and zero interest in women, especially after his mother had divorced his father for a richer man. When his grandmother asked him to do him a favor by marrying the Hudson family's daughter, he knew it was for the sake of greed.He swore to make his new wife's life a living hell, making sure he reminded her that she would always be an object he purchased, contracted and never to be loved.

Lu Mingshu had never believed in fate.

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.

200 years after the world has ended, the laws of society have long been forgotten.