All the Dust that Falls - Chapter 68: A Step Up

The world has become a video game-like place. Monsters began to appear everywhere on the planet, governments began to dispatch armies to protect cities, but powerful monsters were unaffected by common weapons.

When despair was about to make humanity destroy itself, people began to awaken powers that made them strong enough to deal with the mighty monsters.

These people were called “Awakened Ones”.

Years passed and society got used to dealing with monsters. Children who once dreamed of becoming actors, musicians or youtubers, now dreamed of “Awakening” to receive powers, fight monsters and receive the fame and money that came with this dangerous profession.

Leo was also like those children, and when he turned 17 his powers also awakened, but very different from what he imagined it would be.

[Congratulations, you have awakened the “Hack” power. Your first skill is “Aim-bot.”]

[Aim-bot: Regardless of which weapon you use, no shot will miss.]

And the stronger Leo got, the more powers he would unlock.

“Aim-Bot, Wall Hack, Speed ​​Hack, Fly Hack, Kill-Aura, Teleport Hack… all the hacks people used in games now I can use in real life?!” Leo was shocked when he saw the abilities he would unlock.

“I often heard people say that the world is a playground for rich and powerful people, now this will become my own playground!” Leo told himself a few years ago as a joke, but no one could have imagined that those words would become an absolute truth years later.

Anton is a great-grandfather. He is living quite a happy life, despite his advanced age and declining health… until a group of cultivator bandits moves into the area. The nearby guardians of the area, the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars, are unable to track them down as they continue to ravage nearby towns. During one desperate winter Anton is out on a hunt when his family- his entire village- is killed or taken as slaves by the bandits. He lacks the strength to fight them, and he wasn’t even present for their arrival to die with his loved ones. At the pit of his despair, he wonders if he ever had any chance to change things. What could he even do? He cannot even pull his best bow, and his eyesight is failing. If he had been a cultivator… perhaps there might have been a chance, but he was decades- perhaps even most of his life- too late.Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge (2022)Notes on cultivation levels:There are five general stages of cultivation, though the fifth is extremely rare. Each cultivation style might have their own name for the stages.1. Body Tempering2. Spirit Building/ occasionally System Creation (Ninety-Nine Stars)3. Constellation Formation (Ninety-Nine Stars)4. Life Transformation/Galaxy Construction (Ninety-Nine Stars)5. Ascension

The little white fox Xueli, by chance, picked up Zilan, the young master of the Tian Lang clan in the nine layers of heaven, who accidentally fell into the fairyland. Because of the language barrier, the two had a series of ridiculous stories, but in the end they fell in love with each other. A warm and sweet fairy tale, the love story between the big furball Zilan and the little furball Xueli, combined with the background of myths and legends, constructs a lively and cute fantasy story.

Xueli is a carefree little white fox in the forest, until a big snow wolf falls from the sky one day. The wolf was seriously injured and he couldn’t speak the language of the forest. Xueli went over to take a look curiously, and brought him some food, but the other party followed her. Such a big wolf followed her all day, looked at her, licked her, and forcibly wrapped her in his fur! Xueli was frightened to death, kicked him desperately, slapped him, yelled to go away, but the difference in size was too big, it was useless, waahh…

Because of the failure of the tribulation, Zilan was forced to transform into the original body of the divine beast, and fell into a small fairyland that was isolated from the world and could not understand the language. However, he did not expect to see the legendary Nine Tail Fox that had disappeared for thousands of years here. The little fox is lively, kind and cute, and he likes her very much. She not only walked around him worriedly, but also brought him fruits to eat and found herbs to heal his injuries. Zilan was deeply moved and decided to reciprocate by acting as a bodyguard for her and keeping her warm at night. He decided to bring the little nine-tailed fox back to the upper fairyland, marry her as his wife, and announce to everyone that she is the love of his life and the treasure of this world.

- Description from Novelupdates

I, Zhou Mingrui, transmigrated to an alternate world and became an ordinary little skeleton.

I received a system at the start which made me more powerful whenever I killed an enemy.

I can draw the health, mana, and other stats from the dead.

Every 10 levels, I can also awaken a talent.

Level 10: The Book of the Dead.

All incantation time for Undead Spells is shortened by half, and their effects are increased twofold.

Level 20: Skeleton Armor.

Build weapons and armor that are suitable for the user using skeletons. Weapons can be upgraded when the user’s level increases, while the armor can be upgraded to increase its immunity against all negative effects.

Level 30: Soul Summoning From River Lethe.

The user can summon dark creatures. The maximum number of summons increase with the user’s level. The summoned creatures’ stats are increased significantly.

…

I, Yan Wuyue, leader of the human. I am crowned the [Goddess of Savior] by the people of this world.

I reincarnated 30 years before the apocalypse. I have to get stronger in order to change history and save humanity.

So, my initial summon monster is extremely important.

I thought I could sign a contract with a dragon, a phoenix, an angel, or some other creature from the ancient myths.

But when that ordinary, unassuming little skeleton fell from the sky…

I was plunged into despair.

Even the most ordinary sorcerer could summon a ton of these things with a wave of his hand!