Protect Our Patriarch - Chapter 71Book 5: : Traces of the Tree of Fortune

It all started with a Book review…[To Kill A Demon Lord…] had everything; It had Magic, It had action, it had an abundance of interesting characters and—probably most important of all—it had Vampires.Kevin (Username: Kevin_The_Man) enjoyed the read. Stayed up to date with every chapter update and it quickly became his favorite Webnovel… That was until the Author killed off his favorite character, Caius Von Helsing, A Vampire Spawn who spent most of the story frustratingly resisting his Vampirism so as not to ‘become a Monster’.Kevin quickly wrote a review expressing his dissatisfaction so naturally, when the Author replied and asked for Kevin’s help in making a revised edition of the story, he quickly accepted…… Only to fall asleep and wake up in the world of [To Kill A Demon Lord…] as none other than his favorite character, Caius Von Helsing, the Vampire Spawn.Kevin—now Caius—quickly discovers that there is so much more involved in making a ‘revised edition’ of a novel than simply writing it. And that there are powerful forces that especially want Caius to die and stay dead…… But that death is still quite in the future so Kevin—now Caius—is quickly optimistic.He has a mission now;To enjoy the wonders this world has to offer—as the original character never would—by fully accepting and evolving his nature as a Vampire.

Yeri was once a succubus, a powerful and irresistible seductress who fed on desire. Now reborn as a stunning young woman in the modern world, she must navigate the confusing collision of her human innocence and her demonic memories.One night, fate leads her into the path of Shin Keir, a dangerously magnetic and notorious CEO known for getting everything he wants—except peace. Their accidental encounter sparks an intense, uncontrollable passion, and a single night together changes everything.***Excerpt:The dream had returned.Same eerie forest. Same surreal woman in the crimson dress. But this time, the setting had changed slightly. She now stood at the edge of a cliff made of jagged, glowing red rocks that resembled oversized rubies.Scarlet butterflies floated around her like living embers.A thick fog blanketed the area like some forbidden realm between worlds.She turned to him, her smile soft, sweet—and somehow tragic.She was heartbreakingly beautiful, ethereal yet forlorn, like a love story written in fading ink.Shin had tried to call out, but the wind swallowed his voice. As he stepped forward, the woman mouthed something. He couldn't hear her.Then, in a horrifying instant, her body tilted, and she plummeted off the cliff.The despair that followed wasn't just a feeling—it was a full-body, soul-tearing scream that never made it past his throat.Without hesitation, Shin leapt after her.He awoke convulsing, drenched in cold sweat. His eyes gleamed with a strange madness, a devil struggling behind the polished CEO exterior.***Disclaimer- Places and characters are all works of fiction.

Until he became the lowest-ranked master, his lonely and luckless life never changed.Suddenly one day, a descendant injected him with a nanomachine, and the machine started ‘speaking’ to him.[I am the seventh generation Nanomachine manufactured by Sky Cooperation, and I am operating as a central nerve connected to your brain.]“What? What are you talking about?”This was beyond the boy’s knowledge, he turned pale.The Nanomachine linked to his cerebrum realized the User was not understanding a single word it said.“Who are you, and why are you doing this to me?”[“I am the seventh generation Nanomachine.]“Nano Machine?”[Yes, Nanomachine.]The boy’s face hardened.Mashin was the deity the Mashin Religion worshipped, along with the Sacred Fire.The religions’ Master communicated with Mashin.“Um, are you really Mashin?”The boy knelt down and asked with a trembling voice. At this, the Nanomachine attached to his cerebrum realized it had been misunderstood.

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.