The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary - Chapter 289: Prologue: A Reunion Was Recommended

No one knows when the first Clough door appeared. All people know is that a new era began when it was pushed open.Fortresses, sublimators, pillars of star essence, three-dimensional armaments, infinite energy, who can escape the sweeping tide of the times?In the abyss, the reverse realm, the skins, the alien gods, the mad king, the rulers, and the dark creatures, all howl in madness!Inside the black mist, the demons and ghosts crawl forward as a cross-dimensional migration silently brews.

Eli Turner had perfected the art of coasting through life, gaming, lounging, and vibing with no grand ambitions beyond the next high. But his laid-back existence is upended when his laptop inexplicably transforms into a gateway to another world. What starts as a surreal escape becomes a perilous journey as Eli finds himself wielding a mysterious system that allows him to level up, fight monsters, and gain abilities beyond his wildest dreams.At first, the portal world feels like a haven, offering purpose and adventure Eli never knew he craved. Guided, or manipulated, by Azrael, a mischievous god orchestrating the game, Eli rises as one of the system's chosen players. But as the quests grow more dangerous and Azrael’s true intentions begin to surface, Eli struggles to balance the fantasy world with his life back home. His girlfriend, Sara, and his friends are left grappling with a version of Eli they hardly recognize, as the lines between his two lives blur.When the system expands to players worldwide, Eli crosses paths with others drawn into Azrael’s cosmic experiment: Yumi Tanaka, a fiercely disciplined Japanese student with a perfectionist streak, and Arjun Mehta, a charming Indian playboy with secrets of his own. Each carries their own burdens and ambitions, but all three must face the harsh truth: Azrael’s game is far more than it seems.As alliances are forged, rivalries ignite, and the stakes escalate, Eli must confront not only the dangers of the portal world but the growing rift between the person he is and the hero he’s becoming. In a game where every move is a test and every choice ripples across both worlds, the question remains: can Eli, Yumi, and Arjun uncover the truth before the system consumes them all?

What are the heavens?

Aloof and solitary, none can measure it’s might. It is law. It is commandment. It is merciless. It is unfeeling.

Overlooking all existence, controlling the winds and clouds, stripping reward and punishment, leisurely yet capable. For these reasons, the Will of Heaven cannot be measured, the firmament cannot be approximated. Obey it and yield to it even though it may not be to one’s benefit. Oppose it and rebel against it, fortune and disaster however are hard to determine.

Heaven, imprisoning the manifold existences like a deep well, the living things of the mortal world as mud.

There existed such a very simple, very resolute frog at the bottom of the well, cautiously guarding his mind there were a few, faint rays of light, bearing the meager convictions to absolutely nibble upon swan meat. Step by step from amidst the mire of the mortal world, struggling to leave, step by step to exit the unseeable depths of the sordid, deep well.

When he opened his great mouth towards the thoughts of nipping the swan, recklessly taking the firmament and swallowing it down in one bite! 　

Chu Tian said, lacking money, demand even more money; lacking life, demand to pay with one’s life.

This is exactly Chu Tian’s determined, most simple and firm principle.　　

This principle is greater than heaven!

- Description from Novelupdates

“From today onwards, you will become the Envoy of one of the Main Gods in the Dimensions of Gods. You will travel from one world to another and through that, you will attain what others will never obtain in their entire life.”