Pick Me Up! - Chapter 14: Laying the Groundwork (2) Part 1

In humanity’s final war against the Demon Lord, the strongest heroes fell—not by the enemy’s hand, but by their own, twisted into madness by a cruel illusion. Betrayal. Bloodshed. Despair… and then, silence.Only one person remained: Riley—the weakest warrior of them all. Powerless. Ignored. Forgotten.But he saw through the Demon Lord’s deception. The tyrant was on the brink of death—so weak even a fly could’ve finished him off.And Riley did just that, drawing every last ounce of strength to bite off the demon’s head.Victory? Not quite. A final, desperate strike from the Demon Lord pierced him from behind, killing him instantly.But fate wasn’t done with him yet.Riley awoke ten years in the past—when the online game [Apocalypse] was launched. Before demons descended. Before monsters overran the world.And this time, he wasn’t starting from nothing. He had a decade of experience—and a second chance.Even more shocking, he didn’t awaken his old D-rank Strength Boost talent. This time, he received something far more terrifying: an SSS-Rank Gluttony talent!He could now devour anything—monsters, items, talents, even traits—and gain their power.Ding![You have devoured: Iron Fang Wolf][Acquired: +4 Strength, +2 Agility, Skill: Bite (F-rank)][You have devoured: Goblin ShamanAcquired: +8 Intelligence, Skill: Mana Bolt (E-rank), Talent: Minor Spellcasting Efficiency][You have devoured: Flaming Salamander Drake][Acquired: +22 Endurance, Trait: Dragon’s Resilience, Skill: Flame Breath (C-rank)]Now, there is no demon, no god, no monster who will stand in his way. He will devour everything—and save the world.But the power of Gluttony was a double edged sword. If he wasn’t careful… he could be the one getting consumed.

This is the story of a young slave gladiator in an underground arena. He doesn’t know about his past or how he got to where he is, only that his name is Aegir, and that he is strong.

When not so normal man transmigrates into a novel that he didn't even remember its title, as a short-lived extra with immense potential, talent and perfect looks.If he has gotten only good stuff, he would die from joy, but nothing comes without a price. He lost most of his emotions, desires and sensation of pain.He thought it was a blessing and dreamed of just ignoring the bleak, apocalyptic future and doing what he wants without feeling an ounce of guilt. But after a few days, he understood that he would go mad because of the boredom that for some reason didn't reduce like his other emotions.Therefore he began to think about what to do about his problem.“Kill everyone to prevent apocalypse!” Though this is a good idea, why would i kill everyone because of the apocalypse? Although killing everyone would prevent the apocalypse, how the hell i will endure the boredom when all of my entertainers are killed?“Seduce and manipulate important people with his handsome looks and use them for his benefits.” Well, i can do this but it isn't enough.“Pamper his prodigy sister to make her dependent on him in the future to use her overpowered magic to find a solution to his curse.” Hmm, that's good, but this too isn't enough.Let's combine these last two.An apathetic brother who searches for a way to lift his curse while doing strange things to endure his boredom and a yandere sister who is trying to hold herself back from killing the woman/man who was seduced by her overly handsome/beautiful brother.

Progression, magical cards, weak to strong, card reforging!The young, sickly Irwin has seen nothing but bad luck in his short life. When his brother finally returns with a magical card for him, his luck is about to change. But will it change for the better? Irwin is sent off together with another group of youths to placate a group of sorcerers. With just a weird utility card granted by his brother, he can only pray to stay alive long enough.[Has been updated with the rewrite of the first 27 chapters]This is a Card gathering story! Crafting is initially not the main focus, but as the story progresses, it becomes more and more important to the MC.Release schedule: [Fri/Sun] Roughly 22:00I am still a non-native English speaker (hard to change), so even with the edits and rewrites, you might find some oddities. Let me know, and I'll fix them right up.