Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 594: Goodbyes(2)

In a world where strength reigns supreme and only the strong are revered, conflict and injuries are commonplace.

He was supposed to be the next big thing.Three years ago, Riku Aoyama was Japan’s rising basketball prodigy…Until a devastating injury and a brutal betrayal shattered everything.Now? He’s just a ghost of his former self—until one empty gym, one dusty court, and one crazy idea reignite the fire.Form a team of nobodies. Start from zero. Take on the monsters ruling the court.With broken players, forgotten schools, and no sponsors backing them—Riku’s team, Kaizen High, isn’t just here to play...They’re here to change the game.No powers. No shortcuts.Just sweat, soul, and skill.In a world where basketball is war—Only the crownless will rise.

«Grey, elemental affinity, zero» The Elder announced the result loudly.

“Battling young masters for some treasures in mysterious caves? No, thank you.What's so special about a ring containing an old sage's trapped soul? I'll just toss it away.Becoming a direct disciple of some big expert with many enemies? Count me out.I'll flip the bird to the pointless struggle in prestigious sects that only attract calamity.What I have here, this opportunity I've seized, is plenty for me.I'll choose safe and steady methods of progress, even if they're slow. After all, I'm just a simple farmer seeking peace through cultivation. I'll rely on myself to pave the way.”- Aksai Everwood (Chapter 7)============Meet Aksai Everwood, a guy who thought he was done with life, but life had other plans.Aksai wasn't always Aksai. He used to be Arman Arlott, a terminally ill dude who decided to take one last wild ride before checking out. Little did he know, a crazy experiment would flip his world upside down. Arman's mind got tangled up with artificial intelligence, and things got seriously weird.Instead of peacefully bowing out, Arman ended up sacrificing himself for some mind-blowing breakthrough. But instead of eternal rest, he got a second chance as Aksai Everwood, a spirit farmer in a new world. Talk about a cosmic curveball!You'd think being a farmer in a serene, pastoral paradise would be easy, right? Nope. Aksai's new world is anything but peaceful. Farming is far from sunshine and rainbows here.Aksai dreams of a chill life cultivating his crops, but in the wild world of immortal cultivation, peace is a rare commodity.Luckily, Aksai's got some serious advantages. He's got a neural link fabric that makes him a whiz at alchemy and array formations, giving him a leg up on other Spirit cultivators. Plus, he has the Enchanted Everwood Farm, a magical place where he can grow all sorts of mysterious cultivation resources with awesome bonuses. This farm comes with perks that make Aksai a one-of-a-kind Spirit farmer.And here's the kicker: the farm is suspended in a spatial junction of all existing realities. That means Aksai can hop between different worlds as he levels up in his Spirit cultivation.With these unique advantages, Aksai ditches the traditional path of joining a sect or a renowned clan. Instead, he explores various worlds, using their unique resources and methods to forge his own path as a Spirit cultivator.What do myriad worlds unlock? A druid bloodline, body cultivation, martial arts, and lots more. Who’d join sects when given such perks?The stage is set for our Spirit farmer. Now Aksai, his companions, and you, his readers, are in for a journey of rebirth, redemption, and a whole lot of dirt under your fingernails.============Additional Tags: #druid #bloodlines #Martialarts #worldhopping #artificialintelligence #coldmc #battlenovel #calculatingmc #villain #farming #spiritcultivation #mindcultivation #bodycultivation #worldhopping #rpgelements #low-keymc #sliceoflife #nonarrogantmc