Chronicles of the Hidden Crown: The System's Gentle Tyrant - Chapter 48: The Web of Influence – Academy Politics

“Look, I don’t need to be the strongest — I just need to be slightly stronger than the guy trying to kill me.”---Zayn Eldrake was nothing more than a nameless extra in the grand tale of summoned heroes — a disposable swordsman in the legendary Hero of Light’s party, fated to die in an early battle against the monsters of the Apocalypse.But when he awakens in this doomed body with memories of his past life, he refuses to meet the same pathetic end.He knows the story. He knows the heroes. He knows their strengths, their weaknesses… and most importantly, their women.With the power of [Devourer’s Pact], Zayn can consume the abilities of those he defeats, transforming himself into something far greater than a mere extra.Strength, magic, divine blessings — everything in this world is his for the taking. And if fate itself stands in his way? He’ll devour that too.

Monsters lurk in the night, but what if something else hunted them? An incident in his childhood left Velik an outcast with a racial subtype that thrives at night and unique class called [The Black Fang], which focuses on just one thing: killing monsters. He’s good at finding them, and he’s good at slaying them. For ten years, he’s been gaining levels and sharpening his skills on the thousands of monsters infesting the wild lands of the frontier. For ten years, he’s kept a lonely stretch of towns safe. Despite his efforts, this year has seen an explosion in the monster population, so much that he’s no longer capable of protecting everyone by himself. This draws the interest of another monster hunter, one that’s professionally licensed, but he seems more interested in investigating Velik than anything else. At least with him there, Velik is free to finally explore the mysteries of the deep wood, where he believes the source of all monsters resides. Every answer he finds leads to new questions, and not even Velik himself knows the truth of what happened on that fateful day. One thing’s for sure: not even the monsters are safe in the dark.

Lin Ziyin, modern day mechanical professor especially hired by the school, had the potential for great achievement in her field. However, due to family reasons, she could only treat her mechanical research and teaching as a secondary job, pouring all her energy into the farm and the food business before. Despite her low-key approach, she was unable to suppress her sister's rage, and a furious car crash sent her straight to ancient times.Indeed, she had excellent character, so why did the heavens send her to the sparsely populated Northern Land. Known as the death zone, those who were banished to this borderland would spend their lives and perish there. However, Lin Ziyin was quite satisfied with her own identity. Even if she had lost the protection of her parents, she still had the protection of her siblings and grandfather. Of course, she also had her younger brother and nephew at home who needed her protection. This abundance of familial love was enough to compensate for the hardships caused by poverty at home.Poverty, she wasn't afraid of, as she had experience in farming. With large swathes of uncultivated land, the Northern Land was practically custom-made for her. The heavy workload didn't matter either, she was proficient in designing all kinds of small tools. Whether it was the emperor's absurdity, not providing aid to the border king, or the shameless Tatars that would rob them frequently, none of these posed a problem for her. She could think of solutions for everything. It wasn't uncommon for the border king to tell everyone how lucky he was to have married such a wonderful queen!

Fate, a gatekeeper who had been working for the castle, is beset by a few burdens.