Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga - Chapter 93: Absorb

Zhou Peng accidentally travels through time, finding himself in a weakened and sickly body with a shattered dantian, unable to cultivate qigong. Fortunately, the heavens show mercy by bestowing upon him an upgrade system.A waste? That's all in the past...Leveling up by slaying monsters, effortless and hassle-free, he no longer has to worry about cultivating.Killing monsters grants upgrades, and so does killing people. In the eyes of others, the awe-inspiring and prestigious sect masters are nothing but shining golden bosses in his sight...With the ability to upgrade, who am I afraid of? When so-called geniuses encounter roadblocks and fail to breakthrough, all I need to do is slay a few more beastly demons. Of course, sect heads, sect masters, realm lords... are even better.For the sake of my path to divinity, offer up your lives!

“The masterminds are cooler than heroes,” I mutter as I stare at the chess pieces before me. It is easier to be the one who sits in the shadows and moves the pieces, likewise deciding the flow of the game.Heroes will foolishly sacrifice their lives for the good cause and villains will sacrifice the world for their own gain, but masterminds will use both the heroes and villains to their own benefit.Why, you ask? Well, that's because I've lost my life once while trying to be a hero so, I don't want that anymore. I'd rather be a mastermind who molds the world as per my convenience and live peacefully. Because, why not?***[Defender of Divine Glory says you are the hope of this world.]What?[Goddess of Wisdom believes that you will be the one to save the world.]Wait, what?![Propose the Grand Duke the idea of a fake marriage.]And, why would I do that?![Stop the assassination of Prince Eric.]Why would I save him?![The candidates for the throne are:... Who will you choose?]Ah! I give up...It seems like a curse that anyone who wishes for a slacker life in Isekai will have to go through the most troublesome things.In my past life, I died because of one rookie mistake but after being transmigrated in the world of fantasy I've gotten an opportunity to start afresh, but unlike the protagonists who look for their love and glory, I'd rather make money and live a life of a slacker.I have magic, I have power and I have money, what else do I need?Well, that was the plan but this damn system is getting on my nerves. I mean who in their sane mind would want to mess with the complicated royal family and political affairs? But that's not all though.I've also become the saviour of this world. Things just can't be anymore worse!Besides, the penalty of failing this quest is...[Failure: Destruction of the World.]It seems like if I screw up in selecting the right person then the destruction that is going to befall the world won't be stopped.If I speak of my reward then it's this vague thing.[Reward: Fulfillment of any wish.]“If that's the case then, I'd rather choose the person who would be the best fit for the throne.”And that's how I decided that I would become the Kingmaker.

Eons have passed since the prophesied godslayer met his demise. Yet, in a world reborn, whispers stir of his return, of a new man born from the remnants of an ancient prophecy.Kallen, destined to master the delicate balance between chaos and order, light and darkness, emerges to defy the very fabric of fate.Existence is a tapestry, one whole, connected, and indivisible. It is woven by the fabric of fate, spun with the strings of karma, and stitched with the threads of causality.Yet, within this unity lies individuality, and this individuality is the essence of existence. The manifestation of essence is Will.But what is a sparked Will against one akin to a raging inferno? What is a child before a mammoth? The conviction of a mortal before the boundless Will of cosmic beings?The answer is defiance!.A defiant Will, is what Kallen needs to liberate himself from the suppression every mortal endures from apex lifeforms. To live his life free, unhinged and on his own terms.But it takes a bit of crazy to be brave, and Insanity to be defiant.This is the story of a mortal breaking limits to achieve Apexification, to walk with his head held high and free in every corner of the universe.It is the irony of a slave who holds the reins, even as their chains bite deep. It is the cry of a heart bound in servitude, yet refusing to surrender its essence.

What does it feel like to find yourself inside the novel of an author you hated? How will you survive in a world that's filled with cliché? Well, something similar happened here.

Once there was an unpopular fantasy novel author. His life was pretty messed up—no, he made it messed up. And remember I said messed up, not sad.

Due to certain reasons, he ended up never having the life that an average teenage boy should have.

But soon he was freed from that life as he died due to a lovey-dovey couple. He was freed but he had regrets…after all, he didn’t make his life that way because he wanted to.

The things he did were the result of his condition and impulses.

It seems luck was on his side at that moment, seconds after he closed his eyes and died, those eyes opened again but this time they were gazing at a world different from his old one.

He got a second chance! Now he will live a new life, a life he wanted to live! This time he can live, grow old, and then die in a “normal” way! The way things should have happened in his former life.

Though it turns out he also had a good amount of bad luck on his side as well.

Later he found out that the world he reincarnated in was the same as the novel of an author he hated the most. The only person he never wanted to talk to again…he was reincarnated inside that very person’s novel.

This is his story! The story of the man who was known by the name “Zero” in his second life. The story of how he survived without plot armor in a world filled with cliché situations, only in the favor of the MC of that novel.

This is, Author’s Reincarnation in a Fantasy Setting!!