Merchant Crab - Chapter 104: Fanning Out

Ethan never expected to wake up inside the game he once played.Tower of Ascension, a world where every adventurer fights their way up through endless floors, each more brutal than the last.Here, skills define everything.But all skills are capped at Level 100. No one can break that limit.Except him.When Ethan transmigrated, his system glitched.His skills could rise infinitely.[Congratulations, your skill level-up][Sword Swing Lv. 999+ — A single slash could shatter a fortress.][Fireball Lv. 999+ — An army reduced to ash in a breath.]What began as a bug soon turned him into the tower’s greatest anomaly.Guilds will hunt him. Kings will fear him.Even the gods guarding the highest floors will see him as a threat to erase.But Ethan doesn’t care.If the world insists he’s an error, then he’ll climb to the very top and prove that even the Tower itself can’t stop him.

Reiji Tsukishima never believed in chasing after something he couldn't have—until he met Aoi Fujikawa. Calm, composed, and always in control, Reiji found himself drawn to Aoi’s warmth and kindness. The only problem? She was already in a relationship—with another girl, Sena Tachibana.From the very start, Reiji and Sena clashed. Their personalities, values, and even the way they looked at Aoi put them at odds. He made it clear—he liked Aoi. And Sena? She wasn’t about to let some guy disrupt their relationship.But fate had other plans.Despite their rivalry, Reiji and Sena kept crossing paths, their conversations sharper than knives yet laced with something neither wanted to acknowledge. Over time, they found themselves entangled in something deeper—something neither of them expected. A connection that rivaled the very love they were trying to protect.As emotions shift and tensions rise, Aoi remains unaware of the growing bond between the two people she loves the most. But when the truth finally comes to light, all three must face a question with no simple answer—can love truly be shared, or must someone be left behind?A slow-burn romance of deep emotions, unexpected confessions, and a love that defies the norm—this is *Unraveled Ties.*---

What was originally an ordinary day, suddenly became a historical turning point. Enormous, mysterious Cubes appeared all over the world without warning and as if Judgement Day’s spears, inserted themselves into the blue planet.

From inside the enormous Cubes, endless streams of monsters gushed out alike raging tides, utterly defeating the unguarded armies of each state in the blink of an eye.

In order for humanity to preserve its final embers, the heads of states issued orders of retreat, to no longer attack the Cubes but rather to cling to remote cities, which they turned into self-sufficient survivor bases and around which they built 100-meter-tall Walls of Life!

Many years later, while bearing the heavy weight of history, the first expeditionary force brought back a world changing piece of information. The Cubes possessed exceedingly high intelligence and they regularly transmitted mission instructions to humans nearby. The mission rewards were incredible.

Since then, humans rushed out of the confines of the walls and once more set foot on the wasteland!

- Description from Novelupdates

One night of spring breeze, stirring the white window screen fluttering in the air.Only a nightstand lamp is on in the room.The light is a soft, dim yellow.......