Stranger's Handbook - Chapter 108: Arriving at the Imperial Capital

This is my first time writing so don't be disappointed if it's not as good as the top authors!I'll do my best to bring the fun!Here we go!----------Apocalype in the Urban world??an event known as the great Cataclysm was the starting point to humanity's understanding of the abstract worlds!the cataclysm tore through the reality of earth, bringing down carnage.Responsible for the reduction in humanity's population.Apex predators born from Mana itself were responsible for the decline of humanity.With the awakening of the gifted, humanity returned back to where it was!but now the protectors of humanity are nothing but shadows of their former selves!Designed to be killers, soldiers owned by their governments!with series of wars constantly breaking out, they were bred to fight and die on the battlefield!in a world where only the gifted reigns, Riley was nothing!a mere non awakened cadet, a rag, hated by his military academy!and deployed to his death on his first day of commission!faced with a life or death situation, a weakling who had nothing, no parents to mourn him!no one to miss him when he's gone, a worthless human!faced with death, he was forced to awaken!Ding!Congratulations, you have awakened three ultimate Talents/Ethereal Summoner Talent, Infinity Talent(sealed), Adaptation Talent/Class: Legendary/Your Talents has evolved from F rank to E ranks/Starting out with three ultimate Talents!with the truth of his Bloodline dawn on him!..He's forced to level up!Maxing out his summon harem, Riley's faced with series of unfortunate events!A soldier who lives to die for his government!He has no life!Would he find his? or is his fate designed to be simply a weapon for his country?Who knows!

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Guys here is my pitch.....In the sprawling world of fantasy, we’ve often been treated to tales of heroes reincarnated with divine blessings, legendary powers, or cheat-like abilities, thrust into magical lands as shining saviors—or chaotic terrors. But what happens when the very concept of reincarnation becomes a curse? When the divine boon is a big fat joke, and the “cheat system” doesn’t quite… cheat?Enter John, the unluckiest reincarnate. Blessed by a god and thrust into a fantasy world, he dreams of glory, power, and adventure—only to wake up as a normal, utterly powerless bird. Not a mythical phoenix, not an ancient thunder eagle. Just… a bird.To make matters worse, this world is no ordinary realm. It's a land scarred by the devastating legacies of past isekai’d heroes and villains, whose reckless exploits piled skeletons into mountains and turned their cheats into harbingers of chaos. Fed up with these unruly intruders, the ancients of the realm banded together to create a world-shaking seal: all reincarnated souls are trapped in the bodies of harmless animals, confined to isolated sanctuaries that function more like fantasy zoos.Here’s the twist: this isn’t mercy. It’s a resource grab. The powerful beast tamers of this realm have turned these reincarnated souls into exotic pets, prized for their cheat-like potential.John finds himself at the bottom of the food chain in every sense. His cheat doesn’t work. His human form is gone. And his world is filled with predatory cultivators who see him as either a snack or a tool.But John isn’t one to give up so easily. What starts as despair quickly turns into cunning survival. With wings and wit as his only tools, John must navigate layers of misfortune, dodge fate’s sharp talons, and cheat his way through a world determined to keep him grounded.Get ready to join John on a wildly unconventional journey—one where reincarnation isn’t a ticket to greatness, but a death sentence he’s determined to rewrite. His story is one of humor, wit, and persistence, as he explores a world where he is the joke and his survival is the punchline.Main tags: reincarnation/isekai, beast taming cultivation system, comedy, action, adventure.Of course No-harem!

Xu Min realized that he was gifted with an exceptional talent for cultivation as he was training to become a family guard. His path was set before him but due to the jealousy of man, misfortune befell him. Xu Min found that he could trust no one as he began walking down the path of vengeance in a world where only the strong survived.