Stray Cat Strut [Stubbing Never - lol] - SCS Fanfiction Contest Winner: A Joytoy’s Journey to become a Hive-Queen By PhyonesArc!

It wasn’t until he paid a huge price for giving up emotions that he realized how important they were to practice martial arts.

In his previous life, in order to become a master, he had given up all his emotions and became a ruthless expert. But in the end, he realized that it was meaningless living as a person without any emotions. Before he died, he regretted a lot and made a wish that if he could be reborn, he would never be a heartless person again. He would be a person with feelings, a true person.

He had actually been reborn. In this life, he had adopted seven orphans, and each one was a genius material for cultivation. However, he could not cultivate in the beginning, so he had to keep selling off his family’s assets in order to maintain the children’s education and living needs. When he remembered the memories of his previous life, the time he had spent with his children had made him feel the great power of love even more. Through his experience of emotions, his cultivation progress in this life was incredibly fast. He cultivated together with the children, searching for treasures, and even helped many people succeed in cultivating. In the end, the battle began, and he became the publicly acknowledged strongest expert.

In this world, some say, the truth and the legends are the same. One such legend belonged to the protagonist, Valerian.

Valerian was an orphan, a boy blessed with a beautiful face, and everyone around him, could not help but want to play with him, till one day a prophet passing through their town pronounced him to be cursed.

Since that day, the destiny of the boy seemed to have changed completely, he was shunned by everyone around him, and the gazes that were earlier filled with love and affection, now brimmed with disgust and hatred.

The constant shunning and humiliation made the cheerful child grow up to be bitter and inexpectant. On his seventh birthday, things changed once again.

This time, it was not the people around him who went through a change, but himself. As he grew up, Valerian became a legend in his own sense.

The people sang of a boy, who could not speak, they shed tears for a boy, who could not grieve. He came from nowhere yet he was known everywhere.

Would you like to know this legend? A story where a curse can become a blessing? A story of sacrifice, betrayal, determination, and secrets.

Alex was just trying to escape his dead-end job and overbearing family. Then the System arrived, bringing with it magic, Rifts, and the chance for ordinary people to become extraordinary. Unfortunately for Alex, his stats started out as unimpressive as his old life. But when he gains the unique trait {Primordial Will}, which only allows him to put his free points into one stat, everything changes—though not necessarily for the better.Thrown into a dangerous Rift way above his pay grade, Alex quickly discovers that surviving the chaos isn't just about having powerful skills. He'll need every ounce of his Willpower and resourcefulness if he wants to make it out alive and bring home the rewards that could finally give him an edge.This series follows Alex as he begins to master the art of Mana Threads and creates a revolutionary new magic system with Spell Circles. He starts to realize that magic isn’t just a tool—it’s a path to power that few can fully grasp. But with the world’s governments struggling to contain the rising number of superhuman threats, Alex will have to navigate more than just monsters and Rifts. In a world where “might makes right,” who really calls the shots?