Steel and Mana - Chapter 297 – Suspicion

System: You are the only human who meets the binding requirements of this system, please bind with me!

Yu Yi found herself transmigrated into a female protagonist in a xianxia novel, destined to suffer both physically and emotionally.The entire novel was 800,000 words long. For 700,000 words, she endured extreme torment. In the remaining 100,000 words, the heroine reconciled with her past, found true love without regrets, and achieved a happy ending with the male lead.Yu Yi absolutely refused to be this pitiful scapegoat.To avoid the main plot, she adhered to the basic principle of “where he is, I am not; where I am, he is not.” She laid low in her sect, dodging every opportunity to encounter the male lead.Five years passed, and she finally severed this ill-fated connection.The male lead married someone else. Yu Yi let out three wild laughs as she stepped out of the sect gates, happily rushing towards the colorful world outside.However, she didn’t expect that in her excessive joy, she would accidentally stumble upon the mu*der scene of the main villain.Yu Yi hid in the bushes, watching Xue Chenjing, dressed in white robes now stained with blood, slowly crushing someone’s skull. She was so terrified she didn’t dare to breathe.In the dead silence, a noisy voice suddenly rang out: [Master, look quick! It’s your wife! Your wife has finally come online. Isn’t she adorable, curled up and hiding in the bushes like that?]Yu Yi was shocked: Surely it can’t be referring to me?[She’s even wearing a red dress, matching couple outfits with you.]Yu Yi clutched her pomegranate-red skirt tightly, glancing at the hem of Xue Chenjing’s robe. What couple outfit? Isn’t that just stained red with blood?Xue Chenjing flicked the blood from his fingertips, his gaze sweeping towards the bushes. He asked in bewilderment, “Whose wife?”The system pulled out a masterpiece of literature, tapping the cover and asserting confidently: [Your wife.]

After forming a blood pact with the Saint and Demon ladies, the good-for-nothing young boy obtained the Yin-Yang divine veins, learned the art of alchemy and martial arts, and dominated the world.The young Shen Xiang had a romantic encounter with a goddess and a witch, and obtained their supreme inheritance, acquired a divine vein that defied the heavens, learned peerless magical skills, and mastered superb alchemy techniques, which made him very successful on the road of martial arts... When he was hungry, he would refine some pills as snacks, when he was lonely, he would flirt with the high and mighty goddess, when he was bored, he would play with those martial arts masters who came to ask for pills, and when he was tired, he would let the delicate wives around him give him massages...

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!