Captain of the Pirates: My Fleet's Limitless Upgrading - Chapter 7: Flamestone and Nitre

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.

When they first met, Tang Wan sighed, “The fifth young master of the Jiang family is just as the rumors said. He’s celibate, aloof, prideful, and is a man to be revered. Unfortunately, he’s so smart that he no longer has any will to live, which made him sickly, and he’s going to die soon…Later on, the fifth young master brought her into his room. When she came out, everyone stared at her in shock.Why was she crying?……Later on, it was said that the fifth young master returned after he recovered from his illness, and he brought a girl back.She appeared pure and harmless, but underneath that harmless appearance, she was actually a spitfire that offended quite a number of people.But the fifth young master just said, “I brought her back, so I’ll let her do whatever she wants. If… anything happens, I’ll take responsibility.”His best friend gave him a reminder. “You’re going to be responsible for someone from the Tang family?”“Since she came back with me, she’s mine. She’s just a young girl and is spoilt. I have to take responsibility.”After Tang Wan married into the Jiang family, she only had one mission. She must give birth to his children before he died!Meanwhile, the fifth young master was puzzled. “You’re a gentle and shy girl during the day, so why are you so different during the night?”Tang Wan thought. ‘I have to make every second count. He won’t be able to live long.’After she gave birth to his son and he became one year old, Tang Wan was prepared to become a widow.However…‘Why isn’t he dead yet?’Much later, the fifth master of the Jiang family asked her, “I heard that you’ve been looking for my death every day. Do you want to kill me by sucking me dry?”

Derek Carter never asked for a System, an apocalypse, or the pressure of being humanity’s so-called “last hope.”He was just trying to survive the daily struggles of being an orphan in Paleview City—dodging bullies, scraping together meals, and lying his way into school. Life was already hard enough.Then, one day, a blue screen pops into his vision:[Warning: The world is doomed. Try not to die.]Yeah, great. Just what he needed—cryptic doomsday messages and no instruction manual.Now, monsters are creeping into the city, reality is unraveling, and Damien’s “legendary” starting stats are barely above zero. The System promises him power, but there's just one tiny problem—he’s never won a fight in his life.Armed with sarcasm, questionable decision-making skills, and the sheer refusal to die, Damien is about to embark on the worst (and possibly last) adventure of his life. Because if the world really is ending… he’s at least going to make it someone else’s problem first.After all, heroes are overrated—survivors get to tell the story.

After years of perpetrating heinous acts, our main character becomes weary of his violent path. Yearning for a normal existence, he embarks on a journey to shed his old ways, only to be thwarted by the whims of destiny.Through an untimely demise, he is granted a remarkable opportunity: a second chance at life in an entirely new realm—a realm where magic reigns supreme, tightly controlled by a formidable Wizard who holds the threads of fate in his hands.This unfamiliar world teems with diverse races, including Demons renowned for their prodigious physical strength and Elves who command unrivaled mastery over magic. Even the most ordinary creatures have evolved to harness formidable magical abilities.However, our protagonist is reborn as a human—the frailest and most vulnerable of all the races. Can he navigate this tumultuous realm, where peril lurks at every turn, relying solely on the wisdom garnered from his past experiences?“To survive in this world, I will do whatever it takes, even if it means wiping out an entire race.”