The blood sample stayed quietly in the tube just like any other liquid—it was probably strange to describe the fluid as "quiet," but it would not have been difficult to imagine why if you saw the living lifeblood. Raven 12345 was holding the tube up to her eyes and shaking it gently. The red liquid refracted light into a rainbow of colors under the skylight. It looked like blood, but one with a strange texture.
"Dead lifeblood is very different from living lifeblood," Raven 12345 said. With a snap of her fingers, the tube broke apart and floated steadily up into the air. The liquid formed into a sphere and stayed right there as if it were in space. "No wonder you couldn't recognize it. It is a wonderful substance. Once it goes from life to death, its basic structure will start to transform dramatically into something else."
Hao Ren watched but could not wrap his brain around it. He had undoubtedly seen "living" lifeblood before. The red viscous liquid crept and moved on its own like a living thing. Even when it was calm, it would always stay at a certain temperature and have a definite breath of life, unlike the one before him now. To tell the truth, when he first collected the blood sample, he was wondering whether it was related to the lifeblood. But tests showed that it was a distinct chemical substance and had no living cells. It seemed he had underestimated the mystery of this thing.
"Lifeblood could die?" Hao Ren had a ton of questions in his mind but did not know where to begin. He picked one not as hard. "I have tried various methods to process the lifeblood, including radiation and temperature variations. Other than turning into ashes under ultra-high temperature and crystallizing by psionic energy, it never lost its vitality…"
Raven 12345 restored the tube and the sample and tossed it up and down in her hand. "So this must be the first time you see dead lifeblood. I can understand your surprise."
"Why did the evil spirit become lifeblood after it died?" Hao Ren could not wait to get the answer. "She looked exactly like Vivian! Does Vivian also have something to do with the lifeblood?"
Raven 12345 looked into Hao Ren's eyes and remained silent for a few seconds as if she was pondering something. At last, she shook her head slightly and said, "I'm afraid there is. But you should focus your attention on the Plane of Dreams for the time being."
Hao Ren's heart skipped a beat. "Are you hiding something from me?"
He did not expect to get an answer; the Goddess was always tight-lipped during the critical moment although she looked like a madcap. Surprisingly, Raven 12345 was very frank this time. "Yep," she answered.
This lunatic even had the nerve to admit that! Hao Ren did not know how to react. "What is—"
"I can't tell you."
Hao Ren forced a smile. "I haven't asked anything yet..."
"If I refuse to answer your question, that would be embarrassing to you," Raven 12345 said and let out a sigh. "I can divulge a little though—Vivian is an exceptional existence, different from all otherworldlings."
Hao Ren remained silent; he knew Raven had not finished yet. Sure enough, after pausing for a moment, Raven continued, "In fact, I started paying attention to Vivian long ago, much earlier than you think... Although only intermittent observations, I still found her to be different; she is closely related to the lifeblood and the Goddess of the Plane of Dreams."
Hao Ren was wide-mouthed. "Are you telling me that Vivian is the reincarnation of the Goddess of the Plane of Dreams?"
"Of course—not," said Raven 12345 wittily. "I knew there was no deity in her long ago. She is not a Goddess of Creation who has lost her memory nor a reincarnation of her. A few days ago, I successfully traced the timeline of the Wall of Reality and the time when Vivian entered this universe..."
Hao Ren blinked. "When?"
"She is indeed the first one to come to Earth, earlier than the time of the death of the Goddess of Creation."
Hao Ren was stunned this time. He did not expect Raven to know it. "You know the specific time of the death of the Goddess of Creation?"
"I didn't witness it personally, but I can still determine the moment of major historical events by tracing back the signs of the impact left on the Wall of Reality." Raven spread out her hands and drew an amazing virtual image in the air, like a wall splitting light into two. "For your ease of understanding, I use this to represent the Wall of Reality and the two universes. I found a series of successive collapse points here, and the information is ambiguous. They are the biggest source of damage to the entire wall. The most important historical event in the Plane of Dreams is only the moment when the goddess fell. So, these collapses must only happen when the goddess fell…"
In the simulation, the cracks on the Wall of Reality appeared in red. In real life, the Wall of Reality was not a three-dimensional and physically visible wall. Hao Ren knew it. He examined the cracks marked in red carefully because these little details represented the moment of the fall of the Goddess.
"Though these cracks formed within relatively close intervals, it is still possible to tell that they formed at different times." Raven 12345 pointed to a small crevice in the Wall of Reality. "The cracks appeared about forty-eight hours before the goddess fell. The timestamp of Vivian's existence in this universe began at the same moment."
Hao Ren felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. He just realized he was listening to the most ancient secret. "In other words, at least 48 hours before the goddess fell, Vivian was already on Earth?"
"That's right, so she could never be the Goddess of Creation, and not reincarnation or things like that because the Goddess of Creation was still alive when Vivian arrived on Earth and probably fighting with the treacherous children until her death." Raven 12345 looked into Hao Ren's eyes. "My calculation won't be wrong. Ten thousand years may seem long for you, but it is not long enough for me to make a mistake. The damaged marks on the Wall of Reality are clear. At least very clear to me."
"But you said that Vivian is related to the lifeblood and the Goddess..."
"Yeah, you must have already known why," Raven 12345 pointed at the blood sample in her hand. "The evil spirit on Earth that looked the same as her formed from the lifeblood. But I'm still investigating her relationship with the Goddess. I can only confirm that the information stream on her is far beyond ordinary creatures. That amount of information is not something that a single individual should have possessed, and that information has until now been pointing to the Plane of Dreams. The information link between ordinary otherworldlings and the Plane of Dreams would be lost as they crossed over. But Vivian seems to remain the same as when she had just passed through it. Her connection with the Plane of Dreams has not been interrupted."
"Oh, hold on a second…" Hao Ren waved his hand frantically, interrupting Raven. He had a crappy understanding of the Grand Unification Theory. Every time the MDT tried to teach him about this, it was like rocket science to him. Now he was no less confused. "Information stream is a bit out of my depth; can you explain it in human language?"
Raven 12345 glanced at Hao Ren and then sighed. "I knew it. It is not hard to understand. Think of this universe as a virtual program that runs on your computer. Because in the Grand Unification Theory, everything in the world is a stack of information. The extensive descriptions and relationship formulas of each other ensure that things stay where they are in the universe and allow the universe to determine the authenticity of each of them. That is how the whole world works. In this case, humans—and everything else—can be seen as a set of data."
Raven 12345 paused for a while, and then continued, "Under normal circumstances, the same level of things should have roughly the same amount of data. Emperors and officials, heroes and laymen, and even the 'Gods' during the Earth's Methodological Era are only 1KB worth of data—the same storage space anyone worm in this world occupies, in the eyes of the world management system."
"So small?"
"Well, figuratively speaking of course. But that's how it seems. After all, whether the power of a virtual character in the computer is 9999 or 00000, it would only affect the virtual world in the program. There are only two numbers that occupy the same storage space."
"So Vivian's amount of information..."
"Almost at the limit that a mortal can carry," Ravens 12345 shook her head. "Figuratively speaking, it is on the verge of spilling over."


As a person who is down-to-earth as well as a good Samaritan, Hao Ren desires to live the rest of his life as a benevolent landlord. Stumbling into a curious yet mysterious lady, he began his journey of “collecting” abnormal and supernatural tenants. 
His life only became more chaotic when he receives a labor contract from “God”. Discover the many races, myths and worlds that lie beyond what humans define as normal! This bizzare fantasy full of fun is sure to bring you on a crazy rollercoaster of emotions!

======= Today =======
@Inu-Sasha is among us!
Inu-Sasha (Argum): Hello!
Challenger approaching - @crows-at-midnight has appeared!
@crows-at-midnight: hello everyone. i've just been summoned.
Whatsamana (Earth Q): another twofer!
nameless-npc (Generica II): Welcome to the server both of you. @crows-at-midnight, don't forget to set your name to include your current dimension.
IGotASword (Avitria): welcome to the ihsc!!!
Inu-Sasha (Argum): Thanks for the warm welcomes everyone!
crows-at-midnight (Argum): is this better?
Inu-Sasha (Argum): Crows! You're on Argum too?
crows-at-midnight (Argum): i guess i am? this is a little new to me, but nobody said anything to me about another hero.
Whatsamana (Earth Q): ooh drama
Inu-Sasha (Argum): Me neither! It's a relief to find out there's someone else out there, though!
IGotASword (Avitria): yeah!!! nothing beats adventuring with your best friend!!!
Whatsamana (Earth Q): pretty sure they don't know each other, sword
crows-at-midnight (Argum): we probably should meet up in person though. where are you? i'm staying in the castle right now.
Inu-Sasha (Argum): You mean the big tree that the queen lives in?
crows-at-midnight (Argum): tree? no, the actual castle. you know, where the king lives.
@shep has joined the server!
shep (Argum): hi everyone
IGotASword (Avitria): ...is it just me, or are we getting a lot of heroes from argum?
nameless-npc (Generica II): @Inu-Sasha @crows-at-midnight @shep Can the three of you tell us what country summoned you?
Inu-Sasha (Argum): Alfgard! They summoned me to help them defeat the demon lords to the east!
crows-at-midnight (Argum): seles. they summoned me for the demon lords in the west.
shep (Argum) what's goin on? i got summoned by lanor-cobol
Inu-Sasha (Argum): Aren't those both demon territories?
crows-at-midnight (Argum): isn't alfgard?
nameless-npc (Generica II): I think I see what's going on here.
nameless-npc (Generica II): It's a summon war.
nameless-npc (Generica II): A bunch of dumb countries decided to summon their own heroes to fight each other with.
Inu-Sasha (Argum): But I thought I was supposed to fight demons!
Whatsamana (Earth Q): propaganda: the one true multiversal constant
shep (Argum): woah i'm supposed to fight crow and sasha then?
crows-at-midnight (Argum): this is not the summoned to another world power fantasy adventure i was promised.
IGotASword (Avitria): somebody promised you all that???
crows-at-midnight (Argum): i was speaking figuratively.
nameless-npc (Generica II): So, just how many of you were summoned?
Inu-Sasha (Argum): Dunno.
crows-at-midnight (Argum): beats me.
shep (Argum): nobody tells me anything!
Whatsamana (Earth Q): i will bet you all the money there are twelve of them
nameless-npc (Generica II): I don't know where that number came from, but if you're right, this is pretty troublesome.
IGotASword (Avitria): how come? avitria summoned two heroes after all
nameless-npc (Generica II): Mass summons aren't unheard of. You'll hear more than one story of entire high school classes being summoned, or in at least one case, an entire city.
nameless-npc (Generica II): But mass summons dilute the heroic power boost. Twelve single summons, all on different sides, fighting each other? A single summon power boost shouldn't be underestimated. Argum could very well be destroyed by such a war.
nameless-npc (Generica II): Also heroes killing other heroes is just kind of unpleasant, you know, generally speaking.
IGotASword (Avitria): oh no!!!
crows-at-midnight (Argum): well
crows-at-midnight (Argum): damn.
Inu-Sasha (Argum): What are we supposed to do then?
nameless-npc (Generica II): You can leave the next part to us.
nameless-npc (Generica II): @ModusOperandi (Dreamland), we need a ruling. This is the kind of thing the Offices like to step in on, isn't it?
@PonyWithTeeth is in the house!
PonyWithTeeth (Argum): Hello hello hello~
IGotASword (Avitria): they're multiplying!!!
Whatsamana (Earth Q): sword you're supposed to welcome the newbies
IGotASword (Avitria): oh!!! sorry!!!
ModusOperandi (Dreamland): Okay, I think I've grasped the situation.
shep (Argum): who this guy
PonyWithTeeth (Argum): Was this a bad time...?
ModusOperandi (Dreamland): I'm sending an intervention request to the Offices of Interdimensional Heroic Support. They should have a response within the week.
ModusOperandi (Dreamland): In the meantime, I've created a new channel for the #heroes-of-argum. You all can use that channel to coordinate if necessary.
ModusOperandi (Dreamland): Please keep in mind NOT to inform your summoners that you are in communication with the other heroes. We don't know how they'll react, but it probably won't be good.
ModusOperandi (Dreamland): Any questions?
PonyWithTeeth (Argum): What is going on?
Whatsamana (Earth Q): business as usual
ModusOperandi (Dreamland): Alright then. Modus, out.
Whatsamana (Earth Q): welcome to the server everyone
Whatsamana (Earth Q): enjoy your stay
===============
Several people are typing...

The multiverse is a scary place for a hero! Demon lords, man eating monsters, alien invasions, you name it, it can probably kill you! Fortunately, you don't have to face it alone: introducing the official* Interdimensional Heroic Support Chat Server! Get advice from heroes that have gone before you, and from others experiencing their hero's journey right now! Magic sword not working? Princess kidnapped? No problem! IHSC is here to support you!

*IHSC is not affiliated in any official capacity with the Offices of Interdimensional Heroic Support.

===============

We have a Discord!
https://discord.gg/ucKzXBp

The world today was consisted of these things called "lights". Even if you take it literally or figuratively, if a man stood upon a light shining in the distance, it will create a shadow. Darkness, in fact.
So, did this mean that with every light, there's this something, or someone that will always create darkness?
Sharmaine woke up to find herself staring upon a white ceiling. Her head felt more solid and her vision spun slightly. 
"Where the heck am I?" She got up with all her strength as her body felt heavier and more tired.
The walls were painted white and blue. It was occupied with beds covered in white sheets and pillows. A sink stood to one corner where a cabinet laid. Blue curtains hang above the closed windows, though hers were left open as the wind blew across the branches of the trees and into the room that gave a cooling sensation.
"Am I in a hospital?"
Suddenly, a woman in white popped out of nowhere. She held a tray with water and medicine.
"Don't worry sir. You're in the clinic. Here, take these for a moment, you'll need it." She smiled so beautifully as she placed the tray on a table beside her.
"T-Thank you," Sharmaine said, reaching for her water and medicine. The woman nodded and left, she quickly returned afterwards. As Sharmaine swallowed the pill, she couldn't help but wonder how did she arrive here; all she could remember was seeing Ivan's face before blacking out.
"Um, miss, may I ask why am I here?" she blurted out. The woman stared at her for a good minute before giving an answer.
"You were carried by someone," she said as she ran her finger down the clipboard she held.
"Carried? By someone?"
"Yes, he said you fainted before entering Mr. Suarez's office." She left Sharmaine dumbfounded. So, it was Ivan who helped her?
"No way," she muttered quietly, immediately shifting her position and standing up. She barged out of the room without notice, and hurried towards the office; she did not know how much time had passed nor how ill was her body. So many questions filled her head as she panted in front of the glass office door; her vision spun quite a bit
"I'm here, nothing hap—" she suddenly went speechless after opening the door.
All she thought was being prepared to give an excuse for wasting hours of Denzel's time, but no. Time froze as soon as she saw who was Denzel with in the office. She took one glance at him and then at the other man, who wore a suit and stood with confidence.
She questioned her ability and courage to take one more step inside as their eyes were fixed onto her. She couldn't even tell if they were waiting for her. She noticed that Denzel wore a sharp glare before she glanced to Ivan who stood meters away from Denzel.
"W-What a—" She tried speaking, but her voice lowered after sensing the great and aggressive atmosphere. The tension in the room built up a bit more; her heart pounded quick with the intense exchanges of eye contacts.
Did Ivan tell Denzel something? Did he perhaps tell the truth?

*New Entities (1) - Mayhem (2) are being edited. Please be sure that you take this in mind when reading the following chapters as it may confuse you.

------------

Sharmaine Violet Mendoza had just quit her job as a bar girl after being harassed by a customer. Unexpectedly, the owner had his connections and ordered every business in  Q city to not take her in. 

Luckily, as she walked through town, a very catchy billboard caught her attention. 

Now hiring!

Assistant Secretary at Suarez Corporation.

With her shining eyes and spirit filled with hope, she contacted the company and got informed that only male clients were allowed!

With her clever brain, she got in disguising as a man. And suspiciously, when she got involved in her boss' affairs, her life had gone off the normal route.

------------

Everything in this novel are from the author's imaginations. Any characters, settings and sequences of events related to you or to another story is pure coincidence.

The cover was made by me using Canva

Lucid's mood was elevated as of late, mainly due to the fact that he had succeeded in recreating magic that utilized friction as its main force. Of course, he would still have to experiment and figure out more practical uses for this magic, but he wanted continue learning about new theories first, to be able to use different types of magic. He was particularly drawn to the field of physics, to the point that the only books he read now were physics texts. "Come Play, Physics!" was a book among Ki-woong's collection, and it was a must in Lucid's to-borrow list, as well as other physics related books. Even in the school library, he only checked out books with the word "Physics" in the title. There were parts he didn't quite understand, and parts he skipped over because he couldn't even make out some of the words, but he still enjoyed the whole process, as he felt that he was taking the necessary steps towards achieving more complete knowledge.

Maybe it was due to global warming, or maybe the weather was just fickle, but fall left just as soon as it came, giving way to a surprisingly early winter. Though they were still in the months of what would typically be considered late fall, people were already taking out their parkas to endure the cold winds during their commute. Concerned parents wrapped their children up to their necks, covering them in thick mufflers before sending them off to school. The children, on the other hand, would undress as soon as they reached the classroom, shedding off clothing item after clothing item like a snake would its scales. And good for them, too, since the heaters in all the classrooms were blasting at full force. Still, the heaters were rather unnecessary, as the children ran all throughout the classroom, zooming between desks, and quickly worked up a sweat.

The start of the second term seemed like only yesterday, yet the end of terms was only a month away. The first graders usually learned about various subjects, aside from Korean and math, and this time, they were to learn about winter.

"Children!" The teacher called, earning the students' attention. "Today, we'll be playing something called the Love Thermometer! You see, next month is December. What season is that? That's right, it's winter! Can anyone tell me what winter is?"

By now, Hee Yeon was used to drawing the children's attention with questions and the cadence of her voice. When she was sure all her students were listening, she smiled and continued to explain.

"... So as you can see from these pictures, helping out a friend or donating to someone in need, or even picking up trash from the ground are all considered a form of volunteering. There are more opportunities to volunteer in winter, since it's very, very cold. There are more fundraisers to help those without proper shelters or access to food. Do you know of any? Yes, these are all in place so that we can share a little of what we have to help out those who need it most. When we do this, we are making the world a brighter, happier place. Did everyone understand that?"
"Yes!" the children answered in unison.

"Good! I will now give you this paper thermometer, and you will be writing down all the types of volunteering or sharing that you can think of. If you start filling it from the bottom, the temperature will go up and up, right? The more the temperature of your thermometer goes up, the more our classroom, our homes, and our country will be filled with warmth and love. Alright?"

The purpose of this activity was to show children real life examples of sharing and volunteering in everyday life, so that they may also practice them in their lives. If the children were encouraged to present their ideas on the topic, it would serve to motivate them to volunteer, which would fulfill the objective of this ethics building class. On a larger scale, this class was meant to encourage the children to put what they learned in school into use in their daily lives.

While all the other children were busy with the task the teacher had assigned them, Lucid was contemplating something else altogether. Recently, as he had been reading, he had learned something absolutely mind blowing. Until now, Lucid had always understood fire as something similar to water or air, but it turned out to be entirely different. Fire was simply a physical phenomenon. An "exothermic combustion phenomenon that released heat and light," to be exact. Though it was a fantastic discovery, it also caused some confusion for Lucid. He had, after all, materialized fire through complete understanding. At the very least, he could make out its figura, and even now, he could materialize a small fire in his hands. The issue, however, was that his understanding had been flawed all along.

Pincheno had told him that sorcerers needed to understand the fundamental properties of the forma they wanted to recreate in order to properly materialize it into the real world. This meant that without knowing an object's fundamental properties, it would be impossible to recreate it with magic. And that was the issue. Lucid had, until now, completely misunderstood the properties of fire. How was he able to conjure it with magic?

Lucid stared at the small fire dancing on his palm. Without a doubt, a fire. Yet the more he looked at it, the stranger it began to look. That's when he remembered what he had read about it. The book had said that fire needed three components in order to burn: oxygen, a flammable material, and a temperature exceeding its combustion point. But the fire he had conjured was missing the flammable object. It wasn't burning through anything, rather just floating around letting out heat and light. Lucid closed his eyes and rummaged through his memories.

He remembered Pincheno talking about willpower. "You need more than just regular willpower. You need extraordinary determination, the determination to both combine all the laws of the world into one and rise above them if it means achieving your goal. Once you obtain the willpower needed to discard all else and focus only on consumme, that's when you'll be able to do it." That's how Pincheno had explained it. The determination to combine all the laws of the world and to also rise over them. Could that mean...? Lucid was struck with an idea.

Pincheno had told him that magic was the act of borrowing the essence of an object from Latio. An already existing essence was bound by no rules and had no additional properties. In other words, the essence was the true form of an object, with no other conditions attached. It was the sorcerer's job to apply specific conditions and rules upon that essence, and whatever the sorcerer added upon it, it didn't alter the essence itself. This meant that even if a sorcerer were to misunderstand water as a viscous fluid, as long as they properly understood the fundamental quality of water, they might be able to conjure actual water. No, they would be, for certain. They would merge their misunderstanding along with all the other rules and laws of the universe and rise above it with their willpower.

The first time Lucid had cast fire magic, he had been freezing next to a wolf carcass. The first property he had thought of had been light, and then heat. He had then struggled to figure out other properties related to fire, but that had been futile. Everything else could be dismissed as conditionals. His understanding of fire's properties had brought him close to its essence, and once he had an image of this essence, he had been able to recreate it through extraordinary willpower. That was how he managed to cast fire.

Another thought struck him moments later, as Lucid was listening to the teacher's explanation. It began with the realization that showing pictures of voluteer work to explain the concept of volunteering was different from first defining voluteering and then providing examples. Determining the exact definition of volunteering and then looking for appropriate examples was the correct approach, Lucid thought. Simply providing different examples and labeling them all as volunteering was nothing but circular logic.

The difference between deductive and inductive reasoning carried on into the field of magic theory. The various physical properties of heat, such as the transfer of energy and molecular action, could all be fundamental properties of an essence that exists within Latio, though Lucid couldn't be sure. After all, he had never come across true essence before. However, he knew that if he could find an accurate and all-encompassing definition for heat, it would help him understand the criteria of fundamental properties (universality and unique characteristics) and visualize the essence of different material qualities he came across. However, simply listing off qualities of an object wasn't enough to determine whether a property was fundamental or not. It would all depend on whether he could properly visualize it. As such, Lucid decided that he would also need to practice conjuring mental images. Once he had a solid enough image, then he would simply recreate it through immense willpower.

Ultimately, Lucid's habit of reading any and everything he could get his hands on had proved to be useful in correcting a mistake he had made. It could very well be that today's realizations might become tomorrow's dilemmas, but Lucid was still very young. How much more would he have to study in order to figure this out? Only time would tell.

****

"Sweetie, there is something I'd like to talk to you, so will you please stay?" Hee Yeon told Lucid as he prepared to pack his things.
"Yes, Miss?"
"The thing is, I sent word to a TV station, and they told me they'd like to interview you."
"Me?" Lucid asked incredulously. Somehow, this felt a bit familiar.
"Well, you see... I haven't been able to help you as much as you need, which is embarrassing for me to admit, but... Anyway, so I thought if more people knew about you and your circumstances, then someone would step up to help you out. If it does end up airing on TV, you might even get someone to sponsor you! Or at least, people could get a fundraiser going. If that were to happen, you could study as much as you wanted and take courses suited for your level of intellect. How does that sound?"

It was a difficult question to answer, especially since Lucid had no idea what they would and wouldn't show, what kinds of questions he'd be asked, or how an interview was even directed. All Lucid understood was that Ms. Kim was placing great emphasis on the fact that it would be helpful for him. Frankly speaking, that was the part he cared about the most. Being able to study as much as he wanted would be a dream come true.

"I've already spoken with the institute," continued Hee Yeon. "And they wanted me to break the news to you. But you don't have to choose right away. In a couple of days, one of the screenwriters from the TV station will be here to ask you a few questions. You can decide what to do after you speak to them."

With the new knowledge that he would learn more details after speaking with this screenwriter, Lucid decided to go ahead with the interview.

A few days later, two weeks before the beginning of winter break, Lucid met with the screenwriter after school. A woman in her mid-20's, she looked rather aloof, and she wore rather plain clothes. All in all, she seemed like a rather easy-going person.

"Hello!" she greeted as she saw Lucid approach her. "I'm Nayeon Lee. You've heard about me from your teacher, right?"
"Yes. It's nice to meet you."
"Yes, same here. Hmm. Maybe we should go somewhere else for this. There's a lot I want to talk about, and we don't want to be standing here forever."

Hee Yeon, who had been standing behind Nayeon, conveniently led them to the counseling room.


<Clash (3)> End.

A boy who was living an ordinary life in another world suddenly came to the present world.

Social systems, way of life and morals... They have all changed.

How will the boy try to survive?

What kind of life will the boy live?

By manipulating the camera angles and imitating fingerprint marks on the face with cosmetics, the execution of a visceral slap was then considered as a success.
It was just that ensuring propriety was a tricky business.
At first, when Yan Bingqing pretended to slap her, although unknown whether intentional or unintentional, Yun Shishi was still very cooperative, yet this slapping scene seemed to be very sudden.
Either Yan Bingqing's hand was faster by a beat or Yun Shishi's movement was slower by a beat, but their tempo was just off and it resulted into that 'accidental' slap.
The film director was so furious that he stomped his feet and harshly scolded Yan Bingqing.
She protested indignantly, "You can't blame me here! Not only do I have to spout such long lines, I also need to control my emotions and pay attention to my positioning. On top of that, I must ensure that I don't really hit her for real. It's just too tall a task; how do you expect me to cope with all that?!"
He frowned and clenched his teeth in anger.
"Why don't you try letting me slap her for real? Maybe, that will give a more realistic effect! Director Lin, with how dedicated you're with your work, you can surely understand my difficulties, right? I truly want for this filming to go smoothly and prove my acting skills! Besides, I've played such scenes before; getting slapped once or twice is nothing. Yun Shishi, as an earnest newbie, should agree with me!"
The actress suggested all that and then looked at Yun Shishi who was standing near her. "Do you agree?"
She pursed her lips and looked at the director silently.
If this were suggested by other actors, she would readily agree, but this was Yan Bingqing speaking, so how could she not have qualms?
Indubitably, this was the actress venting her anger on her by making use of the plot.
The director frowned.
In fact, many actors who grew anxious after accumulating a few bad takes would suggest doing it for real.
Even top-tier and veteran actors would do it for real for the sake of passing the scene smoothly in one take or making it appear more realistic. While they inevitably suffered from a little pain, their effort would often than not pay off.
Would Yun Shishi agree, though?
He did not know of the existing bad blood between the two women and only knew that Yan Bingqing's performance had improved a lot in the course of this movie's filming.
If he could get a good result from this, then he was all for it, but the final say in this was still on Yun Shishi.
Since the director himself asked, she could of course only nod.
Hence, there was that earlier scene.
The actress's slap was too hard; her face quickly turned red, highlighting the stinging handprint on her aflame cheek.
Her assistant ran over with heartache, her fingertips touching her stinging cheek.
The actress had figuratively pierced a hole through her heart.
"Shishi, does it hurt?" the assistant carefully asked, her voice stuck in her throat.
She hissed and coldly replied, "It doesn't hurt."
How could it not hurt?
The other actress had used her full force on that slap in hopes of drawing blood.
More than pain, she felt overwhelming humiliation deep down.
The actress did it on purpose.
There was no doubt about it.
It was past her expectation for the other to take revenge on her through such a despicable method.
"This is too much; how could she do this?" Her assistant nearly cried from the heartache. "Go talk to Director Lin to shoot this scene using a forced perspective. If we continue like this, we don't know how many more times she's going to do it."
"Is there a use?" she expressionlessly asked. "It's useless."


She became a surrogate mother in exchange for over a million yuan.

As the esteemed CEO of the most powerful Empire in the capital, he holds absolute power, while she is just an adopted daughter to a family of lowly status. She agreed to bear him his offspring, simply because her adoptive father's business was failing.
 
On the day of her delivery, the elder brother was born healthy, but the younger one was stillborn. Having fulfilled the contract, she disappeared from his sight along with the astronomical sum of money. 


Six years later, he is still that arrogant and high-profile CEO. When she accidentally gets embroiled with him again – like a canary trapped in his cage, he closes in on her. “Woman, do you think you can escape from my clutches?!" 

However, he does not expect a little kid to interfere; the boy pompously points his little finger at him and warns, “Mu Yazhe, you’d better leave her alone! She's mine – this baby's woman!” 

The man is alarmed, simply because the little kid's facial features are identical to his...

Tags: Adorable Child, CEO, Sweet Romance, Scheming, Wealthy Aristocrats, Fluff, Two-faced, Child, Rich and Powerful, Treachery

Protagonist - Like every day the sun rises up from the horizon, but it was different from all other sun rises I have seen in my life. It maybe me or the fact I am in a different world. It was surreal, It was not something I have felt before. Usually sun rises cause me a lot of grief and that grief was from the impossible dreams I had. But now i feel happy, that the dream is close and is achievable. I can't help be happy, to try harder, to have courage. It gave me hope

Ataraxia -The star that night was painful, but yet inspiring. They are so far away but their light still reaches us. Yet I hate them, it beauty that is unreachable, just hopeless dreams. Unrealistic goals, that what they represent. Yet I can't help but to pursue those dreams so far off. The unreachable and impossible. Staring at the star, these feel keep rising up and speaking to me. The contraction within me keep pulling me apart and in the end will destroy me. But I am fine with that. "Death is imminent" is what I say it often. 

 The night passed and the day begins, we both watch the sunrise. We both stared, lost in thought about the future, about what we will do when we are outside the dome, what the world is like. We were dreaming of our dre-
Two separate cries, a painful  "Ahh, my eyes" and "This world is cursed". As we both lay on the grass covering our eyes, Ataraxia spoke "Why, why, why. Why are we so stupid".Still in pain, i respond "I guess it became we have similar dreams". She shameful respond"So, that make stupid". "It because we dream something that seemed impossible. We push on hoping for a better tomorrow and in the end we destroy our self". 
"So more importantly, tell me about your world"
I go on telling her about thing in my world, but only the positive things I know. To the point she should know the basis of the world with a little hole in it.
"Wow, a world like that sounds amazing, I would love to live there"
"Yeah it cool, but what about your world?"
"Well, from what I know about it, we use magic. It comparable to 'electricity'  in your world".
"Magic is the very backbone of the entire world, at least from what I know.
" I only know what has been taught what the outside world is"
"It ultimately a mystery for the both of us"
"
"Well on how to break out of this dome, we should first evaluate the resources we have at our disposal."
"Well the only thing i can think that we can use to break out is magic. From what i have learn from Ms.Vivian is that magic is the very center of the our world"
I stare blankly "Is that figuratively?"
"No, not figuratively. This world is made up of mana, and thing on it is made up of mana."
"This mana is within everything and can be manipulated to preform tasks."
"Like the tools I use for my garden, but mana can also be converted into magic. Magic can be made into many forms, such a fire, water, earth, and so on. And these form of magic can be further manipulated into spells, Spells can simple concentration of certain form of magic or complex involving many form of magic with varying arrangements and concentration of each form a magic."
So magic is similar to the structure of molecules
"That is the basic of magic in a simplified form."
"I get magic now, but why tell me about this. I can't see how this is useful to me."
"YOU are the one that said that we need to commit everything to escape this place"
"I was kidding, but you are very different from what I had impression of you from before. You are more bold and assertive than i thought."
"Well that was because your the first person I have seen in years and I was nervous. Even more so you and I have the same dream, so i can't help treat you more personally. If that 'event' haven't happen I would still be nervous" 
"I see, I guess i did open myself up to you. I also can't help but trust you" I put out a faint smile 
"anyways"
"There is one thing I didn't tell you about my world. In my world we don't have magic like things, like your world fire or ice magic. Instead we have abilities, abilities can be really anything. For example, the ability to shapeshift or the power to control the wind. The difference between magic and abilities from what I can tell, is that magic is universal while abilities are very specialised. A person with that ability to control fire is only able to control fire unlike how magic's ability to change forms from water to fire."
"The abilities can only be obtained through being born with it or inherited from someone else, also abilities have rating based on how powerful they are in their field"
"What scale " She asked
"1 to 10, 1 being useless or obsolete in their field while 10 is the peck in their field. But it a little difficult to really see the usefulness of the ability from that scale. A level 10 in one field may only be on the same usefulness as level 1 in their field"
"Hmmm, then what are your abilities"
"Well I have four abilites, one have to do with teleportation and pocket dimensions, it rated to a 5. Another that have to do with matter manipulation, that one was considered to be a 8. The other was mastery of all weapons, which is rated to be 9. The fourth one is a little weird, it allow me to take people soul weapons
"Soul weapons? What is that"
"Wait, you guys know about soul weapons?"
"I have never heard of it"
"Well i guess it makes sense, in order to bring out a soul weapon you have special weapon template in which you pierce your soul"
"..."
"Ah, nevermind. All you need to know that I can take them and some of them are pretty powerful. Powerful enough to escape this dome"
She stares blankly at me then says "really" in a monotone voice
Feeling a slight anger I respond " it should be easy, soul weapons are one of the most powerful weapons in my world"
Not even staring me this time, she responds again with "Then do it" 
A little pissed, I walk off to the bottom of the hill and called "Armory!"
A white bow began to materialized in my left and black arrow in my right.
"Can you set up barrier with you magic?"
"Yeah, but why?"
"I need you to set up your strongest barrier around yourself"
"For safety." 
She looks at me with a serious face and then stands up. She put her arms forward and after a few seconds a faint glow appears around her. Then she gives a thumbs up signal she is ready
(I hope that protect her ears)
I notched the arrow and drew it back to my cheek bone.
I released the bow and cried out "Death to all!"
A gigantic burst of energy explodes from the bow and the arrow takes off toward the walls of the dome.
The white bow is able to launch arrows at the speed of mach 5 and is able to take down the upper tier demonic beast in one shot, if it is aim at it weak point. But that not the cool part, 
The dome should be easy be shattered and done with a little flare.
It maybe a little overkill.
The arrow collides with the dome and earth shattering sound is released. Shock wave is sent out the spread throughout the dome. The trees bends away from the impact, the shock water ripples through my body, from my arm to my feet.
The impact settles and everything returns to normal except a few leaves fell of their tree.
"Easy cla- WHAT!!!"
Where thought there would be a gapping hole is the wall of the dome, and what more there is no signs of damage dealt to it. No it as it i just scrubbed the dust off it. Nothing absolutely nothing, i did nothing. My brain in panic mode again and states " NOOOOOO, why did have to fail when I walk up act it was easy, SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT".
 "AHHHHHHH"
"I look up to see Ataraxia laughing my failed attempt 
"You idiot, did you really think you can do it after i failed for 10 years, AHHHHHHH"
She continues to laugh at my failures without paying attention to me.
I look up at area I shot, through the glass I see the sky and can't help but smile.
I quietly whisper to myself, "This is the beginning of my dream."

We all had the fantasy of traveling to new world and experiencing magic and heroic quest. But this is impossible dream, a fantasy.
Until it happens to someone with that Impossible Dream.

« Good morning sunshine how was your sleep? Well I really don't care so how about we start doing business! »

Oh gawd did a day already pass? Sweet.... After accepting his proposal he said that I will have to muster all of my ideas and energy for when I have to mutate. I guess that time came....

« Okay okay, don't be so excited now. So Rob bring me a coffee and that chocolate souffle, oh yeah that'll do  »

« Sir, it's actually Bob »

« Did I stutter? No I don't think so »

« Of course sir»

« Now I bet that you're as excited as I am but don't get ahead of yourself. First let's talk about what kind of monster do you want to be. By the way you should know that  there are many others like you and they were many more before you but all of them failed the first phase.  You will be the first of many.

But don't you worry, the company did promise you a competitive environment after all.  »  "wink"

Ehh... nice.. I guess.

« Ok, that's enough chit-chat. Your genes have shown synergy with three types of monsters which are the following: land, sea and aerial types.

What's that? Did I hear you grumbling " but there are no more types blah-blah" well freddo that's where you are critically wrong » 

 « Although all those before you did not succeed at Awakening their genes we managed to collect some intelligence! That being that there are many more types than your puny brain can imagine!»

« So what's your pick? Hm?»

Holy moly does this guy need a doctor.

Welll let me think about it. If I was a monster I can't imagine myself flying or swimming to find some food...

« Before you decide allow me to explain the difference between these types.
The classical land type, basically speaking , it is a human or a mammalian. A good example would be Godzilla or King Kong.

Now an avian type, is a Monster type that has a really weak skeleton but has wings to make up for its weakness. So basically it trades it's strength for speed and no you can't become a dragon. At least not yet. Prime examples would be Birds,butterflies and bats.

And my personal favorite option the sea type monsters. These beasts can survive only in water and for a very brief period of time outside of it! They are born to stand immense underwater pressure and are practically the apex predators of the not-deep sea. Prime examples the KRAKEN, LEVIATHAN! »

« Now you might ask yourself " why is this handsome guy explaining everything to me so nicely and patiently?  " Well that is because you need to find what attracts you-your calling as if to say, so your genes can display the maximum possible power of your choice»


« Doug bring me some tea. My throat dryed up» 

I can practicly see Bobs eyeballs roll out of their sockets. 
« OUUU. I almost forgot to tell you the most important thing. When you activate your genes you can't actually stop evolving per se, in fact you enter an unstoppable cycle of constant evolution. 
If you adapt to a low pressure environment like a mountain, feed on fruits and obtain a bird like behaviour, you can transform your land type, lizard like monster to something like  a wyvern! 

If you become a carnivore that eats every single part of your victim's, you will transform to a more primal version or if you like to eat ores you may just become an  iron skinned behemoth!

Yeah.. you can't even guess how many people would die to take your place. Including me. But sadly project GENESIS has a high mortality rate that kinda is discouraging....» 

« I think I covered everything. Blink according to your pick, once-land, twice-sea and trice-air»

This.... is once again a lot of things to consider. So basically if I become a monster, according to my behaviour and eating habits I am going to evolve into something else. 

For every passing moment with this dude, feels like I am shredding my humanity.

Okay I think I have made my choice. I can't forget they way I used to live nor do I thing I would like to become more vulnerable. 


So.... here I go.

"Blink" 

« Fantastic! Dude are you sure you don't want any more time? Ow man, you literally picked the most boring option. Sigh. John, bring me some cookies that go well with tea» 

« Sigh. Of course sir» 

 I just noticed that, that is some heavy british accent.

« Ok we just decided if you gonna walk with yous legs. The even more fun part hasn't even begun. MWAHAHA! »

Oh boy.....

I don't know who I am or where, but I know I have to survive !

The next day, after Ling Tianya woke up, she felt like her entire body had been crushed by a wheel. She sat up with great difficulty. Both of her feet touched the ground and just as she was ready to stand up, she felt that her two legs were depleted of energy.
Almost tripping, a strong arm hugged her from behind and Ling Tianya once again found herself lying on the bed.
"Where do you think you are going?" Ruan Zeyan embraced her, his voice deep.
Ling Tianya turned to face the man. "I'm hungry."
The man's arm that was hugging Ling Tianya didn't budge. "In just a moment, someone will bring the breakfast."
It would seem that Ling Tianya was correct in her assumptions: there were also other people on the island. However, everyone had hidden themselves according to Ruan Zeyan's orders.
"But, in order to eat, one has to get up." However, right now, her two legs were rather useless. The main culprit was right beside her, embracing her.
Ling Tianya angrily grabbed Ruan Zeyan's hand and bit it.
This bite, to Ruan Zeyan, was just like a lick from a cat, causing his heart to tickle and his eyes to deepen. "Mrs. Ruan. You are so bold so early in the morning. It would seem that I have not completed the duties of a husband and didn't wear you out enough last night."
Hearing this, Ling Tianya immediately let go of Ruan Zeyan's hand and looked at him with large eyes, shocked. "What are you saying? I'm not!"
Ruan Zeyan laughed and lovingly embraced Ling Tianya's body, his large hands on her breasts. "Still not admitting to it? Don't worry, as a husband, I won't let you starve no matter what!"
Ling Tianya was stunned. He had tormented her for an entire night and she finally managed to get some rest. Is he still letting her live?
It would seem that Ruan Zeyan has been spoiled recently. Figuratively speaking, after such a long time of smelling meat and not being able to eat meat, being finally able to eat the meat, he was unstoppable.
 "Ruan Zeyan, allow me some rest. Please… I'm really hungry…" Ling Tianya paused and pointed to her stomach. "This is where I'm hungry, really hungry!"
Seeing the pitiful face on the woman in his embrace, how could Ruan Zeyan continue to torment her? She was already his. Not only that, she was already imprinted by him and polluted by his odor. Forever is long. He shouldn't be scaring his devilish little wife.
However, what Ruan Zeyan didn't expect was that although Ling Tianya usually looked intelligent and calm, independent and indifferent, in bed, she was coquettish. This coquettishness was done unconsciously and rendered a man unable to stop himself.
However, it would seem that Ling Tianya was really hungry. The doctor had said that she was malnourished. Compared to the bed activities, Ruan Zeyan was more worried about his wife.
Therefore, Ruan Zeyan left the bed and whisked Ling Tianya into his arms.
In the bathroom, there was a new bath full of water. He placed Ling Tianya into the water. "Soak in here a while. This is water from a hot spring and it'll help relieve your fatigue. In just a moment I will bring your breakfast."
The hot spring water struck every pore on Ling Tianya's body. Just as Ruan Zeyan stated, her entire body immediately felt more relaxed.
Within moments, Ruan Zeyan arrived with the breakfast. He placed it by the side of the bath and personally fed Ling Tianya.
On one hand, she was soaking in a bath, and on the other hand, she was being fed by a handsome man. This was a first for her. Full, Ling Tianya satisfyingly leaned on the bath. Not long after, she fell asleep in her bed.
When she once again awoke, it was already noon. Ruan Zeyan was no longer in the room. She got off the bed, surprised that the all of her aches have miraculously disappeared.


He's the dream guy of women world wide, the CEO of a formidable mega-corporation. But, he's absolutely powerless against her, resorting to all kinds of methods to force her into a marriage, tying her to his side with a certficiate. 

"Remember, from now on, you're not allowed to enter unclean entertainment venues, not allowed to accept drinks from other men, not allowed to have physical contact with men other than me. If not, bear the consenquences."

Ling Tianya felt that she was just like a girl undergoing puberty, under strict supervision of her parents, shackling her down with restrictions upon restrictions.

"Your requests are ridiculous, I have meetings and obligations, I... ..."

The man held tightly onto her, as though wanting nothing more than to absorb her into himself. "Ling Tianya, this is not a discussion." Therefore, the CEO had became a complete slave to his wife.

"My love for you is your perogative. Use me to your heart's wishes, I am more than willing!" 

But all he got in exchange was an eye roll, "Keep it for yourself, I don't need it!"

"James, are you listening?" I looked down and saw her face. Her head was tilted to look at me. She had a serene expression on her face as she stared at me with her gentle eyes from under my shoulders. It was calmer than the usual. 

"I am." I told her.

"She did not say a word though." She was looking into my eyes without as light a ripple within her own. Her eyes were too clear for me not to feel an immense amount of guilt and heartache. I really had an unpleasant face, I scolded the negative luck that I seemed to be drowned in.

Jessie continued speaking, "She always said very sorrowful words in the past. This time however, she did not. Instead, she just looked to a side." She paused and turned her head to look at the grass patch again. Was it a good omen that the girl did not say anything?

"What do you think?" Jessie asked and I never felt so heavy at heart any time before.

I did not say anything and she naturally understood. She tried to console me, "Don't be sad. It will only worsen your fragile heart." 
When I heard her, I was completely confused. What did she mean? Did she say that literally or should I take it figuratively?

There were times when we were younger when she would call me a weak person, more so when I fell out of terms with someone. I would be more upset than she would in similar situations. I blankly stared at her. I really had a fragile heart.

"You don't worry Jessie. I cannot just not think. And it won't do me any harm." I convinced her and more so, myself. I was not having psychological problem, after all.

"Don't say that!" She freed herself from my arms as she turned herself in my direction. She placed her palms on my hands and her tone turned serious. "If you be happy, you will live longer." She insisted.

She then took a deep breath, "James, losing my parents and Jenny had a lot of effect on me. I was so young that time. If it was not for you, I would have lost all my will to live on.

"What is more important now is that, I can take this hit." She stood up from the bench and stood in front of me and took my face into her small warm palms. "James, I can."

Was there another way for her to deal with this? I really regretted all that I have done. Why did I have to entangle myself with her? If she had someone else luckier, how would that be? It will have to be good, better than this.

I did not know if I succeeded in hiding my sadness in my smile as I said, "That's good. You should move on." I genuinely wanted that to be the outcome of this whatsoever.

"If you were any healthier, I would have slapped you to land ten feet away."

"Jessie, think! Dad even said he will take care of the little one. You can," I could not complete my sentence. She turned around and started walking away.

"Hey, Jessie!" I hurriedly got up from the bench and walked towards her. She did not respond.

"Jessie," I called her softly.

"Fine, we won't talk about this anymore now," I coaxed her.

"So, there will be another time when you will bring this same nonsense up?"

I chose to stay silent. She stopped and turned me to look at her.

"That woman only comes in my dreams now. She does not invade my mind at random times like before. And she wants me to look somewhere. She stays silent like a clear soul and keeps looking off into the distance beyond. When I follow her line of sight, I always wake up just before catching the sight of it."

She continued, "I will know soon. Somehow, it is different. James, it has been months since you told me. And I have taken my time to accept the truth."

The only feeling I had these days was the feeling of helplessness. "I'm sorry!" I said and hugged her tight while being careful with her belly. I knew I was about to cry and my resolve to act strong and unaffected vanished into nothing. I cried standing there with Jessie in my arms.

[Completed]:
Volume 1: Loss of a firm hold.

[Upcoming]:
Volume 2: Intertwined fingers.

[Excerpt]:
"I think I love you," I told him. The feeling of wanting to be with him for the rest of the time started the day he first visited me at the orphanage.

"You do, and I love you too." Then he walked nearer, "Promise me it'll be the two of us," he asked.

"Promise." 

But was that really possible? "I'm technically your sister," I said. We were old enough to understand certain things.

"Adopted." He stressed. "What I asked them was I wanted to you be with me forever. There will be no one to point on that," he said. Were things really that simple? But listening him say them was all I needed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found out that I was pregnant almost a fortnight ago and which woman does not be happy? I wanted to tell him first and I did. But the reaction he gave made me doubt my entire life. First it was a surprise and then, as I waited for his response, I watched his eyes become happy. But before he smiled, a very small and indecipherable frown appeared and he hugged me tight not giving me a chance to read his face anymore. His breathing was quick and heavy. After he released me, I took in the smile on his face; only, I didn't know if I should call it a smile. All there was in his eyes was a hue of sadness.

"What's wrong?" I questioned him directly. His face changed once again. He seemed troubled.

"Nothing," he smiled and added that he was happy.

"You're not," I stated. He is not a fool to think that I would not know when something is wrong. And he would be more wrong to think that I would let this slip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Look at me.” I said calmly. He shifted his head but still avoided my eyes. I walked up to him and put my eyes in his line of sight.

“Don’t you know what I mean ‘every day’?”

He took a quick step back. “Jessie, what’s wrong? Why are you like this?” What’s wrong?

An ear piercing sound rang through the room. I slapped hard across the face. Then I noticed that I started crying. Through my blurry eyes, I saw his eyes tearing up too. This was yet another unpleasant first. The first time I was forced to slap him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Are you okay?” I asked him lifting my head to see his face. His chin rested on my head and I still did not have a proper look. I tried to move my head slowly in another attempt, but he held me tight, not letting me move. Was he still crying? Perhaps that was why he did not like me seeing him.

When we were kids and something troubled him, he used to find me to let it out. Crying was included sometimes. He did not hide his tears back then. Because, boys did not particularly cry in front of their girls, I questioned him how he saw this once. It was a playful teasing that I aimed at. But, he gave me a serious and truthful confession in return. Mentally I am the stronger one and he told me that crying in front of me never felt like he was lowering himself. That was his level of acceptance.

But everything he is doing now is in a stark controversy to my beliefs.

He spoke after calming himself more, “I’m not.”

[Target Audience]:
This story has 3 volumes. From the name, it is not odd that this is totally based on love. The first volume is a little tragic, the reason why it is under realistic fiction. If tragic romance upsets you, then this might as well.

**[UNEDITED]**
I didn't proof read all parts. But I usually keep an eye to check for mistakes as I write. So hopefully there are not too many grave mistakes.

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