The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time - Chapter 15 — The half-vampire solving the problem of declining birth rates and the noble pig-man burning with ambition

[Hottest Blood-Boiling Thriller]The Divine Level Expert from the apocalypse is reborn in the city. He intended to live a low-key, restrained life, but women broke off engagements with him, his family abandoned him, and everyone looked down on him…“I was low-key, but you forced me to be arrogant. Since it's come to this, then let Heaven be in awe, let the earth tremble, let the whole world go crazy because of me!” —Ye Tianchen.

What the hell is this? What the hell happened here?

How did my room become so ruined after a single night?

The floor and table were covered in dust, his new poster of Zhang Liang Ying that had just been posted on the wall a few days ago had already become yellow and tattered all over. Even Zhang Liang Ying’s beautiful face became monstrous, as if an old devil was looking at him with a terrifying smile.

The walls were covered by a mist of cobwebs and the fruits placed on top of the coffee table were withered and rotted to the point that the mold on them had turned black. The fruits below even seemed to have turned into mush. The aluminium framed window that the landlord had just installed not that long ago was now covered in a layer of white ash and the glass was filled with cracks and covered in dust.

The computer beside his bed was also covered by cobwebs and was accompanied by an empty water glass with a withered worm inside of it.

Dust filled the air making Wei Xiao Bei choke as he tried to breathe.

Everything seemed to be ash gray without any light, as if looking at television static.

After just one night, it seemed like everything in the room had aged for centuries or even millennia.

Mother… is this a dream?

This must be a dream!

—

One day, Wei Xiao Bei gets dragged into The Dust World, a post-apocalyptic world ruled by monsters from myths, legends, games, etc. He also gains the power to travel between it and the real world, as well as the power called the ‘Status Panel’. With this power, he chooses to strengthen himself to explore the vast mysteries and terror of the other world. What mysteries await him? And what is The Dust World.

- Description from Novelupdates

Damien reveals an ugly truth.His sister and only family, Ahara, leaves the house every midnight whilst he's asleep—a time that he soon discovers is when man-eating beasts named Rouges start hunting for prey.Unable to question her directly, he decides to investigate her and quickly figures that Ahara isn't human but rather, a vampire hero who saves them from beings like herself coming from a world she calls Gibbous—a place where entities like vampires, wizards, and beast shifters alike reside. What’s more, he also learns that the real reason behind his parents' death was the leader of the Rogues, who's rumored to have escaped after Damien’s father almost killed him.A series of fateful events lead to Damien’s long-lost power reawakening in him, and he finds himself with no choice but to return to Gibbous, a strange world where power means survival, and weakness leads to death. As such, Damien enrolls in an academy to train his newfound abilities with one thing in mind...Becoming more powerful.However, he soon discovers that the path to power is one filled with troubles and pain, and he isn’t alone in this lust for more at the academy. It’s a bloody competition against time and formidable opponents, and only those willing to sacrifice their comfort are the ones who can attain it.With a deadly foe lurking in the shadows somewhere and a strong desire to protect his sister, Damein has no choice but to fight.The only way is up, and he is going to be standing at the top of them all, ready to counter any enemy.

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)