EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons - Chapter 11: Expectations vs. Reality

Several hundred thousand players are trapped in a gritty zombie apocalypse survival game just after game launch. There are hints that deaths in the game might be serving some other terrible purpose in the background of reality…

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

Read the first chapter. You will probably like it. ;)

On the final night of his mother's life, young Synoh makes a solemn promise—to become a great general of the kingdom and honor her legacy. But after her death, grief overwhelms him, and he flees deep into the forest, where a chance encounter with a mysterious wolf changes his fate forever.Guided by the wolf's presence, Synoh returns home, finding renewed purpose under his father's strict training. Over time, he forms an unbreakable bond with the enigmatic wolf, but destiny separates them as Synoh embarks on a perilous journey to fulfill his promise.Facing fierce battles, political schemes, and inner doubts, Synoh must prove his worth to himself and the kingdom. Can he overcome the trials that stand in his way? And will fate one day reunite him with the wolf who first guided him back to his path?A tale of courage, loyalty, and destiny unfolds in this gripping story of a boy's journey to greatness.Hi this is the author,I hope you guys likes this story and thanks.