Charlie Grey aka “The Phantom” is an infamous player in Gun Gale Online-when everyone thought the threat of dying in game was over. They’re where horribly wrong.

Charlie must switch to the Japanese server to find The mysterious “Inquisitor” after the Templars order threatens to Punish him for his rogue actions in SAO.

AC x SAO

It was still and silent on the Lunaette as the blazing sun shone unabashedly on the surface, so harsh it could blind one's eye.
Somewhere in the crater, in a simple and unadorned wooden house.
Black Robe was kneeling on the ground reporting everything that happened in the arcane realm, no matter how big or trivial, to the demon lord and soon afterward pleaded guilty.
"Master, I'm indeed incompetent, not being able to snatch the Land of Sanguinity, thus allowing Vigilante A and his people transform it into some place of justice, completely wasting its talent. I've only able to take a small part in the middle of all that," Black Robe spoke earnestly.
"Yes, I already know about this. Get up, you've done a good job. Well, at least you tried your best." With a wave of his hand, Zhi Nan gestured for Black Robe to stand up. 
"Thank you, Master, for your mercy," Black Robe said as he quickly got up.
"You've set a good stage proposing that mech version 2.0, not bad indeed. I've also upgraded it while you're at it. This is the full set of technical materials, everything's in it. Take it and use it." With that, Zhi Nan handed over a black USB flash drive…
If it were not for the fact that both of them were currently at a moon that had no trace of vitality, they might be mistaken as two programmers handling an illegal hand-over if they were to be seen by a passerby, especially with the eerie aura emitting from the both of them…
Although the situation seemed inappropriate, Black Robe seemed to be unaware of it as he accepted the item respectfully with both hands.
"Master's wisdom is indeed absolutely unrivaled. Even the so-called intelligent righteous gods of the Upper Realm and those Bodhisattva ancestral gods are no match for you. They're all constantly bragging about how they're so skillful and proficient but in reality, they only make such a big show of their strength in front of their own people, who knows if they're really that intelligent. According to the sayings in this realm, true wisdom is the ability to improve productivity in a more efficient and agile way…" Black Robe immediately responded with words of flattery.
"Hehe, that's the truth," Zi Nan nodded with a smile, feeling slightly pleased, "I just feel like vomiting when I think about those old faces. They're all so calculative and they're always saying how they're following Heaven's wishes but it's never anything to do with the Heaven and Earth, and in the end, they've even caused Upper Realm to go into nirvana state…"
"Yes, Master, what you've said is correct. Spirit King Bodhisattva and the River God of the Sky River who always steers his decisions according to his convenience. Speaking of, Master, what do you think of the Upper Realm's saints planting a secret pawn in this realm? Have you thought about how to face this?" Black Robe quickly reminded.
"I've already considered this matter. I already know where the secret pawn is, but I don't have to tell them. Hmph, even if those old logs go against their righteous god, we can just watch from the other side. My concerns aren't exactly on this matter right now. As long as the big event is completed, I'll become the only saint of the Great Path," Zhi Nan replied with a shake of his head.
"Alright then, Black Robe wishes Master to achieve the Great Path as soon as possible, and to unite the universe…"
"Alright, stop sucking up to me. The future is bright and the road is going to be tortuous, you've got to be careful in the future. Remember, don't barge anywhere carelessly so there won't be any accidents or miscalculations. You can go now." Zhi Nan held up his hand and interrupted his subordinate, indicating him to leave.
"Yes, yes, I'll leave now." With that, Black Robe left in a pleasant mood.
He was extremely loyal to his master and after hearing such great secrets today, he was naturally filled with enthusiasm. When Master had completed the Great Path, the universe would belong to him, no?
All Master's enemies would have to be completely ridden of!
Even the saints of the Upper Realm were not excluded!
He thought about it as he clenched the USB flash drive in his hand strongly. He then left the wooden house and flew toward Earth which was right below him, making his way to America.
Although America was not a prosperous country, their technology was second to none worldwide. They were still counting on the American factories to complete the processing of the spiritual mechs' manufacturing information.
He had complete faith in Master's skills, so he asked no questions. They must have a way to have complete control over those mechs there…
Then, in the future, hundreds of millions of mechs would be at the disposal of Master.
…
In the System Space.
Fang Ning was lying in his bed lazily. He had been playing for more than ten days straight without sleep so he was feeling slightly weak and was unable to get out of bed.
The so-called Lake-level power was just as such.
Taking the shortcut was evidently nowhere as sturdy as achieving it step-by-step through cultivation.
"Mr. Rich Boss, we've got another problem," Sir System said upsettingly.
"If there's something just handle it yourself, why are you bothering me…" he responded weakly.
"It's because I don't know how to give birth…" Sir System sounded frail as well.
"For goodness sake, such bullshit. Do I look like I can give birth?" Fang Ning was utterly speechless.
"Oh, it's like this. Ren Ruofeng and his people want to expand the population so they're hoping to borrow our River of Blood to give birth to a life, and then they'll repay with something. In order to change the River of Blood's breeding regulations, only you, someone of the Convergence of Path, can do something about it…" Sir System explained.
"That's not right, you've already seized the Heavenly Axiom. Can't you change the order?" Fang Ning was puzzled.
"Man, why do you have so much to say?!" Sir System was furious. "You do know that I'm just a martial arts system. I don't understand anything about you humans' biological breeding theories, so how can I change it? To change the Heavenly Order, one must have the ability of it in reality. Therefore, the person of the Convergence of Path must have a clear concept so that it can evolve."
"Oh, I see. Well, you really can't give birth." Fang Ning finally came to a realization.
"That's the truth."
"Can't you learn though? You've seen that tutorial on the Convergence of Paths before and don't you find it easy to understand the rules of the Heaven and Earth? It's just human birth theories, how harder can it be compared to the rules of Heaven and Earth in the 'Convergence of Path Tutorial 101'?" Cozied up in his bed, Fang Ning's mind was completely blank and he just did not want to move.
"There are specializations in the subject, even you've said it yourself. Anyway, I just don't understand it at all, what more reasons do you want?" Sir System responded justifiably, just like a true underachiever.
Once Fang Ning heard his response, he immediately understood why that fellow was pushing the responsibility to himself.
Whatever Sir System had no interest in, it would not bother to waste time studying it… Just like this incident, learning about the human's breeding ways was not going to help it improve its strength or powers, so it would not bother to learn.
On the contrary, if it was something like the Convergence of Paths where it could straight away increase its strength, it would understand it at just a glance…
"Hmph, you're really an old system with fifty years of overtime work experience. You sly fox, you're learning to be slick…" With no other choice, Fang Ning finally crawled out of his bed.
"Thank you for the compliment," Sir System replied frankly.
After graduating from college for more than ten years, and now he had to go open his books once more. The worst thing was that it was the reproductive aspect, and that would really cause him a headache. How could it be as good as playing games?
Fang Ning found a book online that specialized in the human reproduction theory. He clicked on one of the entries and started looking through with full concentration.
He could not afford to not concentrate. In the future, hundreds of millions of lives would be decided in the hands of the arcane realm's Heavenly Axiom. If there were to be any mistakes, countless lives might be affected.
For example, the shortage of one small part… Fang Ning could not possibly bear the consequences of irritating his countless children and grandchildren.
Being a heavenly father was not easy. 
Therefore, he should keep all the tough work and uneasiness here. The greater one's power, the greater one's responsibility. Since he had taken up the responsibility in this matter, he should understand everything about the human's reproduction theory thoroughly.
Moreover, he must do some on-the-spot observations as well to truly understand the entire birth process. The time and energy spent on it were so much more troublesome than going against five arhats…
No wonder Sir System threw the responsibility over to him with just the words "I don't understand".
Ten or so minutes in, Fang Ning was already extremely confused and began complaining, "This isn't going to work. I'll have to find dozens of experts to ask for advice. This is too difficult. How can I possibly master the workings and alter the Heavenly Order to allow the River of Blood to create lives? It'd be a miracle if they're not a bunch of monsters. It's better if I experience it once personally…"
Whatever "DNA", "double helix", "chromosome", "embryonic development"... He had long forgotten all these biology knowledge since high school.
Not only that, this was just a tip of the iceberg, more complex things were awaiting him, especially the real birthing process, which was much more complicated.
Theories would forever be just theories. If one did not experience it personally, one would never truly understand the difficulties.
As a former programmer, Fang Ning understood the difference between textbook knowledge and reality online.
A system that was never introduced online would always be able to delicate.
To publish the birthing system online, the work that had to be done was not as simple as reading a couple of books. He had to practice it himself.
"Didn't you learn about the story 'Where is Mama' in elementary school? How difficult can this be? Obviously, you're trying to laze around," Sir System scoffed.
"What kind of stupid metaphor is that? That's not even the case, alright? Don't spend so much online next time and get polluted by such ridiculous things. Be careful of the virus or your system's going to break down, got it?" Fang Ning threatened.
"Oh… Is that so?" Sir System said meekly, clearly, being spotted by Fang Ning.
"It's true. I guess that's it. I'll practice it once myself, and you're not to interfere," Fang Ning said boldly.
"Alright, got it," Sir System responded sincerely.


Procrastinator extraordinaire, Fang Ning, had lost his consciousness after banging his head on a night of celebration. He woke up to a realization that he no longer had control of his body, as a System had taken it over. Will he eventually regain control of his body or will he be trapped in his body forever? How does he maneuver this situation? What's in store for Fang Ning?

Waking up this morning I got up and got ready. For breakfast I had some of this banana cake my mother had brought home the day before from work. It was refridgerated, and although I took the frosting off, I do have to say that it tasted very good.

I walked into school this morning and headed to physics class. Today we played jeopardy as a way to review for tomorrow's test. Unfortunately, I do rather terrible under pressure. On a test where nobody is watching I can easily ace it and get a perfect score. However, during jeopardy I ended up getting two problems wrong and my team came in last overall. Oh well I guess. 

"As long as I don't make mistakes on the test tomorrow, it doesn't really matter", I thought to myself.

Next up I went to digital design. Today was Gmetrix day where most people in the class had to work on a training program called gmetrix to prepare for the photoshop certification. However, already being certified, I was simply told to continue working on a project I had been given. I had to design a flyer for a children's event, so I began manipulating the colors to be more childish. I settled on a dark marron for the background color and a light pinkish for the foreground color.

I had already designed the basic structure of the flyer, having numerous rectangles placed perfect for where different pieces of information would be written. I then began to fill in the information, which had been provided for me on my rubric. I worked on this project until the bell rang.

Then I headed to AP Statistics, where we did a worksheet on some more probability-related tasks. First and foremost, we learned how to make tree diagrams. These are diagrams with numerous branches that extend and show the probability of specific events happening. 

For example, when rolling two dice, what is the probability of getting a 5 on the first dice and then an even number on the second dice? You can find this by just multiplying the probabilities but a tree diagram would help visualise that.

For lunch today I had school macoroni and cheese. I've always dispised Wednesday lunch the most out of every lunch, mainly because the two choices are macoroni and cheese and hotdogs. Not to be rude, but in my personal opinion, both school hotdogs and school macoroni and cheese are both awful. 

Because these are my only choices, I'm always like "agghhh why does it have to be Wednesday" at lunch.

Walking into IT, I became aware that today we had a quiz on the different specific server roles. It was an online based matching quiz, and was relatively simple. No answer was used more than once and it most of the words were nearly in the definition. For example, a the answer for process admin was someone who could kill SQL processes.

However, the person to my right didn't realize how easy these things were. Knowing I would get a 100, they decided to copy me. Little did they know that the online platform we were testing on actually shuffled the vocab terms and there definitions. So they turned their quiz in with the same definitions and the same order as myself. I received a 100%. They received a 12.5%. There were 8 total questions, so this means they got only a singular one right after cheating. I thought this was rather hilarious.

In pre-calculous, similarly to physics, we reviewed for an upcoming test tomorrow. So far, tomorrow's assessment count is at two. I just worked on my review packet as others payed attention to the teacher who was answering questions on the homework from the night before.

To be honest, I'm a bit worried for this test. I believe I know all the concepts and for the most part this unit has just been plugging into a formula. However, there are so many places you can make a small error and get the question completely wrong. I hope this does not happen on the test tomorrow.

I then went to APUSH, and we had a lecture from our new teacher. We were going over Jacksonian democracy and the changes it had on America. Not gonna lie, Jackson was kinda a hypocrit in my opinion. He talked about he was "the common man" yet he then continued to approve the indian removal act. He also claimed to be in favor of state's rights but then was like "hah now that I'm president it's time to use the power of federal government". I can totally see why a new political party, the whig party, was made to oppose Jackson.

This lecture also served as a review for our quiz tomorrow. Our assessment count for tomorrow is at three.

In English we had a fast paced escape room activity. And I want you to remember that this activity is fast paced.

Essentially, we had a sum of activities to do that would help us review for our test tomorrow (assessment count is now four). These ranged from crosswords, to mix and match, to simply reading a passage and answering questions.

However, today being a Wednesday (a short day, we have 35 minutes in each class as opposed to 45 minutes), everyone was rushing as fast as they could and most groups barely finished. My group got the worm done almost just as class was about to end, and I was relieved when we finally did.

However, at the moment the final bell rang, a tragedy occurred.

Here's some context before I explain this. Most teachers at my school either do not care about phones, or do care to the point to where you have to put your phone in a pouch on the wall. This class was one of those where I have to put my phone up on the wall.

Needless to say, I walked out of english class without my phone. I was in a rush and forgot it there.

This was tragic because not only do I use my phone for social media, entertainment, and even writing this journal, I also use my phone for the majority of my studying. As we have counted thus far, I have four assessments to study for.

So essentially, not having my phone this nighg would completely screw me over.

I walked to my locker to put some books away, and I immediately realized I didn't have my phone in my normal spot in my backpack. I quickly put my stuff away and ran back to english class. The teacher was gone and the door was locked.

I didn't know what to do and my only logical train of throught was to find an administrator to open the door. I knew there would be administrators at the bus loop for dismissal.

I first approached one administrator and explained my situation. However, they told me I'd miss the bus if I went to get my phone and I wasn't allowed to unless I had a ride home.

I moved to plan B, which was find a different administrator. I located one of the Deans.

I knew this Dean was chill because I had actually once fixed his computer in the past. It was a simple fix, all I had to do was show him how to do a software update, but it surely introduced myself to him and we were on good terms. I explained the situation and he handed me his master key and told me to run.

And run I did. I sprinted to the english classroom with the master keyb unlocked the door, got my phone, and ran back. Now that I think about it I hope the doors automatically lock back because I don't even think i relocked the door. I was in a hurry though and luckily made it back before the buses left.

Then I was on the way home with my phone and felt relieved. Tonight could have been a lot worse than it was.

I gormt home and sat down and began doing my homework. I had to finish my pre-calc review and the worksheet I had started in ap statistics. Overall this took me about an hour and I was done by 5PM.

I then decided to make some french toast for a snack. Just dip some bread in stirred egg, cinnamon, and milk, and fry it in a pan. The french toast certainly tasted good, and afterwords I began washing a pile of dishes that had stacked up.

At around 6PM I left to go to religious education. Being a junior in highschool, I help teach a middleschool group and receive service hours for it. I do this every wednesday night for an hour and fifteen minutes, and evemtually I can unlock college scholarships for it. At the moment I have around 75 hours stacked up.

Finally, after religious ed, I made my way home. On the way home, my mother, younger brother and I stopped at a gas station to pick up some drinks. I filled up a 44oz cup with coke and went on my way.

When I got home, I ran upstairs to my bedroom and got in my pajamas. I then sat on discord talking to friends and also helped tutor a friend of mine in math.

He was doing college algebra and honestly I havn't taken college algebra but overall it was really simple stuff so it went rather well and I'm pretty sure I was able to explain everything.

Shortly afterwords, it was nearing 10PM and I began writing today's chapter.

It is now around 10:30PM, and I'm finishing up. After I finish writing this, I'll probably study a bit for my physics test tomorrow and head off to bed. Peace out.

This is my life. I am writing this story to always remember where I came from in the years to come.

Then she turned to Molly McDowell, "I will check if there are any extra books. If not, the school will order it. We'll get it soon. It won't affect your studies, don't worry."
Sophia took the book, returned to her seat, and put it on the pile of her books.
Carol worshipped her, "Boss, that was so cool."
Melissa smiled, "This is the first time I've ever been impressed by a good student. You are so great, boss."
Sophia smiled, "In that case, let's study hard together from now on."
Carol wanted to take back her words, "I'm just kidding, boss."
"Boss is just joking. Don't be serious. I'm also impressed by the way you rob money." Melissa said.
Mariah was glad that she didn't have to say anything. She turned her face away and pretended nothing had happened.
Sophia was helpless. It seemed that it would take some time to get the girls to behave and work hard.
Molly McDowell walked sulkily to her seat, muttering, "Even if you're good at math, you can't get into college!"
Sophia Green heard that but ignored her.
There was no class that day. After the books were handed out, students were allowed to leave. It was Friday. They would not have class until Monday.
As everyone left school, Sophia Green waited at the door for the three girls. She worried that they would change their minds and wouldn't go to the hairdressers with her. When all three girls had arrived, she happily set off with them to the shed to pick up their bikes. Then four girls rode their bikes to the nearest hairdressers.
Under her supervision, the three girls sat in the chairs as the hairdressers straightened their colorful curls and dyed them back to black.
A little while later, they were all back to a fresh schoolgirl style. And now it was just their outfits that didn't match with their crisp hairstyles.
"I'm going shopping for clothes tomorrow. Will you come?" Sophia said.
"Boss. A lot of new styles have come out recently. Of course, I'll come! It's been a long time since I went shopping with my boss." Melissa was instantly cheered up.
Carol and Mariah also agreed.
"Okay. So see you at the school gate tomorrow."
She wouldn't tell them in advance what kind of clothes she was going to make them get! If she'd told them, none of them would have turned up! She had better save that until she saw them tomorrow.
Sophia said goodbye to her friends and rode home.
Kate wasn't home. Sophia guessed that she was looking for a job.
In order to take care of her daughter, Kate had quit her job soon after the accident. It was not easy to find a job in Lands City. She probably wouldn't be able to find one immediately.
Sophia Green was considering making some money after everything had settled. Kate was her present mother, and she respected her and didn't want her to suffer.
She was just a student and couldn't go out and get a proper job. There were not many ways to make money as a teenager. But it didn't mean she couldn't do anything. The Internet was so vast, and maybe she could find ways to make money online.
There was a computer in her bedroom. It was old and outdated, but it still worked. She turned on her computer and tried to connect to the net. Their home network was a broadband connection to the phone line. They would have the Internet as long as their phone didn't get cut off.
She searched the web and was attracted by a message.
Registration for an Online Chess Contest opens today for one week.
Welcome to the competition.
The champion of the contest wins to get a prize of $3000!
Runner-up $1500.
Second runner-up $750!
In addition, there are ten Excellence Awards, and the prize is $150!
For more information, please check out the official blog @ Online Chess Contest Official!"
Sophia checked the blog, and it looked legitimate. She thought it was a good opportunity. She had learned chess a little while ago and even played with Albert Pearson from time to time. She was pretty good. It would be amazing if she could get into the top three. Even $150 for an excellent prize was not a small amount of money for her.
The prize money was not too big, and so the real chess masters probably wouldn't enter. She thought she had a good chance at winning.
Just playing chess on the Internet - it wouldn't take a lot of time, and it was cost-free. She carefully read the detailed information and planned to sign up.
It was Saturday morning, and Sophia Green got up late. She walked out of her room and found that Kate had already left.
She knew Kate must have gone looking for a job. She wanted to persuade Kate not to work so hard, but she was just a high school student. She didn't want to seem too mature and, besides, she hadn't made any money yet.
Kate had left her breakfast in the kitchen, keeping it warm in the pan. Sophia heated the food a little more and ate. After breakfast, she did the dishes and went out.
She went to the school gate to wait for her three friends to go shopping as they had agreed yesterday.
The three girls arrived soon after her, and they were all together.
Sophia waved her hand, "Let's go."
The four girls all rode their bikes, Sophia leading the way and the other three following behind. Carol had wanted to ride next to Sophia, but Sophia had stopped her.
"We can't ride side by side. It will obstruct cars behind us. It's dangerous."
"Yes, boss."
After a while, Mariah Carey noticed something was wrong, "Boss. Shouldn't we be going to the boutiques? It's not this way."
Carol also noticed that "Boss. You've got the wrong way."
"No, I don't." Sophia said, "Just follow me!"

For nearly 30 years of existence, she had been in a wheelchair, suffering from polio since childhood. While her freedom of movement had been diminished, the activity her brain had outstripped everyone. Unable to join in the rough of other children, she had spent all her lifetime reading, which gave her exceptional knowledge. 

She accomplished many outstanding achievements across several fields and became a famous Science Professor. Her life changed forever when she was caught in a suspicious fire in her lab. Rebirth occurred and when she comes back to life, she finds she is now in the body of another Sophia Green, a teenage high school bully.

Meanwhile, Albert Pearson, the first heir of the richest family around the country who hid his true identity becoming an assistant of Sophia Green has gone crazy after hearing the news of Sophia's death. 

He went back to his family and took advantage of his status to keep searching for the truth of that fire.

And one day he met a teenage girl whose name was Sophia Green...

Fate changes between them as they are seeking the truth behind her death! Could he recognize Sophia and confess his feelings?






Special Note: If you are looking for a sweet contemporary-romance genre, this novel doesn't have that kind of plot. Most plots of my novel talk about mystery, suspense, and a slice of life. Often FL starts a slow pace of development, from weak to strong.

Cover Created by: Weilan

The Rangers rushed to the roof of Whiskey Hotel to light flares as otherwise it would mean the flattening of D.C.
Pushing through the russians and arriving at the roof and lighting their flares, waving them to get the attention of the incoming Jets. Finally the pilots took notice and waved off as the Rangers were finally victorious. Finally being able to clear the White house from any Russian forces still left. After eliminating all enemy forces the Rangers decided to look around but still be aware of their surroundings, Entering a library they looked around to see any interesting books to read as the EMP made all electronics unusable. One Ranger in particular Cpl Dunn found a interesting book to read as he was temporary done fighting, "We'll never was one for reading books but this one look pretty interesting." 
Reading the title of the book made him curious of the contents that lied in it. So he started reading a book about four heros, The Sword,Bow,Spear and lastly the shield but Dun didn't think the shield could be a great weapon.
"Hey Dun, What you reading there" Said a another Ranger with dark skin "Nothing much Sarge just a book about some heroes who get summoned to some other world to save the planet." he said as he turned to the next page 
"I hate the Princess she's such a bitch."
 "Well Dun what can you tell us from the book we wanna hear about the interesting adventure you've been having in your head." The other Rangers laughed "Well it's about four heroes the sword, Bow, Spear and Shield as they get sent into another world, where they are given their weapons as they go on their adventure they meet a princess she turns out to be a bitch but hardly anyone notices it though there are still pages left from the book but their empty even though it already went through all the heroes." 
Confused to why they would leave blank pages in a book "Might be a publishing error or something so wh..." Foley was cut off by the bright shine coming from the book. "Yo what kind of fucking book shines that bright is that some kind of new bible or some shit." One of the Rangers said surprised. "I have no idea what the hell is causing the huge light." Dropping the book all of the Rangers slowly fell unconscious.
______________________________________________
Naofumis POV

Naofumi was just going along his day by heading to a library to look for a good Novel to read as he was browsing a book fell on him "Ow... that hurt" rubbing his head he looks at the book "The Weapons of the four saints." Reading the book he had gotten very interested in the book. Suddenly arriving at the Shield hero's chapter, he was surprised to see it was blank. Suddenly he starts to slowly pass out.
______________________________________________

"Ow" Naofumi said as he slammed unto the floor and woke up, Confused to where he was he looked around and then noticed the shield 'What the hell' trying to pry it off but nothing happened. Looking at the others around him "We did it we summoned the Saints but who are the others nevermind o great heros please save our world." Suddenly the other heros spoke "Why should we help you after taking us from our world." "Are you going to reward us for our efforts" "What your answer is might turn us into your enemies." 'Wow they've already demanded respect and rewards' 
"Please you can negotiate with the king he will reward you all handsomely."
A brief moment of silence passed through the air as another voice spoke "First of all where the fuck are we and why are there some weird rove wearing fuckers surrounding us." "Dun shut the hell up and let me take care of everything." Foley spoke standing behind him were his other Rangers in total being 10 counting him 11. The 4 cardinal heros were surprised to see soldiers from their era with them. "Alright now that you're all silences I can speak, now its not good that you're already trying to negotiate with something you don't know anything about as well as a great way to make people mad at you." Foley said in a stern voice "but they summoned us from our world to fight for them without our consent." the bow hero spoke "Colonel take it away."
 foley spoke giving a chance for the colonel to speak. "You are right they took you without your proper consent so it is part of your problem but even though they did you're here now, Its best to not start making enemies early on son or else were all gonna be in trouble." Colonel Marshal said.
 "I guess your right." "Now please lead us to your king."
 'Wow now we have soldiers of our era on our side this is not what I expected.' Surprised to all that happened in a matter of seconds. 
______________________________________________
Climbing up the stairs the Bow hero spoke "Wow so we really are in another world." "Yea, we really are." the spear hero responded. "Wow it feels like one of those commercials for vacations" all the other heros looked at him "You've never been out of Japan" The bow hero said "This place has standard Mediterranean climate." the sword hero said.
Naofumi felt a bit embarrassed "Yea, yea sorry for my lack of knowledge and vocabulary." 
"Well people lets get a move on not much time if these people are in danger." Foley reminding them.

Arriving at the kings throne the king spoke "So you are the 4 Cardinal heros as well as your other companion, I am the King of Melromarc Aultcray Melromarc XXXII." The U.S. Rangers weren't amused as they looked at the king they know how kings can be, Cruel and unjust in a single second he can kill you because he can or you insult him. Who could blame them they were Americans they know the Dictatorship of Kings and Queens but they stood silent to listen. "Heros name yourselfs."
"I am Amaki Ren, Sixteen years old, High Schooler."
"I am Kitamura Motoyashu, Twenty one years old and a College student."
"Guess I'm next Kawasami Itsuki, Seventeen Years old and a High Schooler."
"I am Naofumi Iwatani, Twenty and in College."
"Alright we're next I am Colonel Marshal U.S. Rangers."
"Sgt Foley and Sgt Hirsh." "Cpl Dun and Cpl Hirsh." "Pvts Ramirez, Sandler, Blumel,Handler,Volker and Wade."

"Now then My country and all of the world are in danger of being destroyed."

Waves which come and if they aren't stopped they will destroy the world. Which is what the 4 Cardinal heros are for to thwart them as well as hour glasses that every country has in order to tell when the wave is coming. The 1st wave came before we were summoned the knights and Merchants fought it off but not without taking Major casualties. Which then the wave get harder as the more you progress through the wave of calamity. "We underestimated the destruction and strength of the wave, we realized that the only ones who can stop them are you the Cardinal Heros."
"You don't expect us to work for free do you." Ren spoke "No of course not once the waves are done with we will reward you handsomely." 

"Now check your statuses."
"Um what?"Naoufumi was Confused 
"Come on guys it should've been the first thing you see on the corner of your vision."
"Oh... yea, I see it" Naofumi said
"Now focus on it"
His status opened to reveal their levels, only to be lvl 1.
"Well guys we're heroes but not the 4 classes, were gunners." Pvt Ramirez said
"Ugh first we fight a war and now we have to deal with this come on I wanted to retire after all that." Dun said tiredly.
"So what is all this?." Naofumi asked
"This is status Magic in order to lvl up you have to set of on an adventure to upgrade your weapons."
"My shield isn't even considered a weapon."
"I guess we should all form a party."
"You will all have to recruit and travel separately" the old man said.
"Why is that " Itsuki said with curiosity.
"It is said that the weapons repel themselves by nature if you work together it hinders their ability to develop."
"So it is true" Naofumi said looking at the message in front the message appears in front of all 4 heros except the Rangers.
"Uh does this go for us because I don't see any damn message." Dun asked in curiosity.
"I'm guessing no since we might be some kind of exception hero or something." said Sandler.
"The sun is about to set so you heros should get some rest, We shall gather the best heros for you tomorrow."
A woman came forward and spoke "Please follow me to your room." 
______________________________________________

"Wow so this is how it feels to be treated as a legendary hero, that woman who led us was also hot." Motoyashu said in great happiness

"Wow isn't this like a game or something" Naofumi said.
"You mean it is a game an Online game." Motoyashu said
"What are you talking about its a Console game"
"You're wrong, it's a VRMMO."
"Alright well we have to start somewhere." Motoyashu said
"Who was the guy in the thousand Yen bill 1.. 2.."
4 different responses came out and now they  had to talk about their worlds respective history.
"Guess we're not just from different era Japan's but whole entire alternative Universe Japans." Naofumi said.
"What about you guys" Motyashu said a bit curious about their world. 
Foley looked at them and spoke "Not a pretty one if you're asking, We were fighting a war on American soil defending against the russians but that's all I'm gonna say nothing to surprising other than a war on the shores of America."
The 4 were surprised to hear that the Rangers were fighting a war before they arrived, they expected off duty soldiers or reserve but not in current combat or large scale as that one.
"Did you guys have anything familiar to a game or something like this."
Cpl Dun spoke up "No not really we found it in a book and this is where it led us."
"I guess y'all know just as little as me." 
"Yea that's right but we'll be damned before we go without a fight, Hoah." Cpl Dun chanted in pride. "Well we thought it was because you were the shield hero because you're useless in Combat." Motoyashu said "No y'all have to be kidding me what about your worlds?" Itsuki shook his head and Ren spoke "Sorry man." 
"NOOOOOOO!!!" laying there sadly on the couch.
Sgt Foley spoke "Come on kid there's a purpose for a shield if it exists as does everything now get up."
Thinking about that brought his pride up a bit "Well it doesn't matter because I'll deal with anything that comes in my way." Fooley smiled "Now that's the spirit now we should all get some sleep for tomorrow so we can be ready for whatever awaits us tomorrow."
Everyone agreed and went to sleep for the next day.
______________________________________________
To Be Continued

The fight for DC rages on as the U.S. Rangers fight to retake DC from the Russian Forces. A Nuke sets of in midair causing an EMP disabling all electronics finally giving the Rangers a fighting chance against the Russians. After hard fighting for Whiskey Hotel or the White House, They fight hard to reach the top and set off flares to stop the flatening of DC. The Rangers are victorious along with others to reaching the top of Whiskey Hotel. After the 11 Rangers secured Whiskey Hotel the Rangers find a library and start looking at books to keep themselves busy, Cpl Dun finds a book about 4 heroes the others get interested into what he's reading as they have nothing else to do but wait for reinforcements to arrive.


MW2 and Rising of The Shield Hero Crossover

(AN: It's getting darker?)
.
tap.. tap.. tap..
tap.. tap.. tap..
.
At the small room where only a single bed and a single cabinets are inside.
A small table where his good old antique pen4 personal computer that he has been using for almost 10 yrs.
It was also the last best gift he receive and without it how boring his life would have been and being called NEET no longer apply at him if he has no personal computer.
.
He was surfing the net looking at various information related to the small meteor that was now known as an accursed stone.
Similar occurrence can be found while searching and it has the same situation that he encountered.
Their are even few people near him and one was a girl he use to know 11 yrs ago.
She was a lovely girl and was her first love.
Sadly he never had the courage to confess or even tried being friends with her.
They remained strangers but as his first love. 
Saferu can't help but felt strange if his first love also receive a pass on the Kingdom of Fools Online, then won't they be enemies at the future.
.
.
[Ding..]
A message suddenly appear from his FB.
It was strange since he can't remember any reason why someone suddenly sent him a message.
He accepted it and realize it was an old acquaintance from the past.
.
[Hey Saferu you their bro?..]
[Our class well have a reunion at Hotel XxX street]
[A week from now]
[It's a FIVE STAR hotel and one of our classmate has just promoted as a CEO and promise to pay the place for our reunion]
[You should come! remember she will also come!]
.
The message was not that long.
Saferu wanted to reply but in the end he decided to ignore it.
He remember this guy.
He was a famous social butterfly a MORTAL ENEMY of loners.
Why you ask?
This people has a wide circle of friends and often drag loners around!
It was very painful for a loner to be cornered by a group of social butterflies.
A loner can barely have a conversation with them they talk so fast as if endless words wanted to escape their mouth.
The guy who just sent him a message was called Andrew. 
They use to be best buddies although it was weird at first for the two of them but they manage to remained friends through out senior high school.
It was Saferu who suddenly distance himself from them. 
Another reason was Saferu was sent to an elite college university while Andrew attended a third rate college school. 
The reason why Saferu was able to attend such elite college was during at that time he has a college plan whom his parent had been saving for a couple of years but that was not enough as it can barely hold his tuition fees.
Another factor was his uncle.
A rich person also decided to sponsor him.
One reason his uncle agree of sponsoring him was that he owes his father a debt of gratitude.
.
He tried to adapt to the rich and intelligent students lifestyle that attended to an elite school. 
Saferu barely pass as he came from a public school the difference of education was like heaven and hell. 
It was already considered a miracle passing such elite college entrance exams. 
But to survive in such place seems impossible with his own knowledge alone. 
He needed to study harder while socializing to the rich students and cope with their life style. 
He ended ignoring his high school friends especially his best friend.
Two years later Saferu did not improve at all the gap was so wide that he can barely catch up. 
At that time his collage plan declared bankruptcy. 
And his bad luck did not end there. 
His rich uncle got a fight with his father and suddenly stop sponsoring him. 
Later Saferu learned that his mother uses his name as a student of an elite college to barrow money from her rich friends.
That made their family financially struggle for the money was used for his own mothers vice.
Her own mother even stole the money which Saferu's friends lend him to buy books.
That made him lose face and trust from his friends in college.
After all books from elite schools are expensive and during that time smarts phone are not that advance and cost a lot.
Internet are super slow you can barely do some research using his computer at home.
All this bad luck happened within two years and when his parents learned of his poor performance at school they decided to drop him out of college.
They found a good excuse of their recent badly luck specially in the issue of money.
Rumor started to spread that Saferu was a Bad Student.
This gave her mother some reason to push the blame on him saying that the money she took was spent on his education.
Her mothers friends forgave her as they learn that she was just another unlucky mother and even sympathize at her while thinking that Saferu was such a cruel and ungrateful child.
After he drop out Saferu started to turn into a social outcast.
Every time their is a special occasion he is always left at home.
If his father or mother has a friends gathering he chooses to stay.
He was aware of the bad rumor being spread by his own parents at him.
The only good thing happened during the 2 years was that his sibling was discovered to be a very smart children.
They manage to obtain a free scholarship.
A four years free college pass.
That made his parents redirect their attention and barely bother with their older useless son.
His father even made him an example often telling his siblings that not to follow their older brother foot steps.
.
"Look at your useless brother. Don't follow his examples! He is very useless and worthless!"
If killing was Legal, Saferu often wonder if his parents would already disposed him instead of letting him hide inside his small little room.
.
If Saferu can go back in the past. 
He will do everything to stop himself from attending such elite college and rather continue his studies with his best friend.
That was clearly the turning point of his life.
He would not cut his connections with them.
The friends he obtain at the elite school only recognize him for the sake of being classmates.
He might have found some real friends but the accident where his mother stole the money for his book which his college friend lend him made them avoid him and no longer trust him.
In reality ever since he started College he barely have any friends at all.
He even thought of falling in love of one of the girls in college.
They have a certain chemistry and his classmate often tease them.
Yet after a few months he learn that the girl is already dating someone else.
Such is the life style of the elite.
.
.
A few years later his best friend became a famous successful IT while he remains a NEET.
10 years was enough to make them a complete stranger.
Such is a loser in life.
At first he regretted it but a few years of losing intimacy and contact to other people gave him a life no different from a robot.
He lose the feeling of caring especially to himself.
He began to live with the moment, to go with the flow.
Although his fathers insults and curses hunts him everyday.
He manage to successfully create a mask that made people believe that he was a normal person.
But you see if he was normal.
He would never dream or pray that every time he went outside.
He always wanted to encounter some robbers that might stab him to death.
Or the car he has ridden well suddenly get into an accident.
Or just some random lightning struck him.
Praying for an accident to happen at him does not make him normal at all.
.
.
Andrew's sudden message made him slightly recall his sad past.
But he was not sad.
He lost the feeling of being sad a long time ago.
If some one was at his side he might ACT with the naturally and even reply at the message with a positive response.
But since he was alone all he did was continue what he did before the massage arrive.
As for what Andrew told him.
He won't go or rather he can't.
First he doesn't have the money to go their and next he has no clothes for such special occasion.
He barely has any clothes for himself.
A worn out oversize blue hooded jacket is all he have if he wanted to go outside.
A pants filled with holes for the so called fashion.
And a school shoes that has been with him ever since he left college.
He might not feel embarrass about it but he might got drag into something troublesome.
Despite no longer being best of friends.
He doesn't want to embarrass Andrew with his poor presence.
And hell well he appear as a loser in front of his first love.
.
.
As Saferu continued to stare at the monitor.
If other people can see him.
They will be surprise that a shadow of death was hanging at his back.
Reflecting his sealed heart whom always wanted to disappear.
.

In the year 2020 where every single person in the world is using mobile phones. 
And popular mobile games became the norm for entertainment.
The arrival of a small meteor on Earth had created a small rift where it landed that grows bigger as time pass by.
The world government investigated this rift but failed because no life forms can go near it. Any thing within 5 km that has life that approach it will instantly turned into ashes. Soon they made a breakthrough as it is possible for machine to get near on it. 
They sent a drone robot to enter the rift only to cause a major disaster because they accidentally trigger and open the rift making it a functional portal that connects to another dimension. 
The trouble did not stop their as unknown lifeforms started to appear from within.

Saferu love to play mobile game at his phone until one day he wakes up and suddenly realize that an unknown mobile game appeared and when he tried playing it he was surprise because he was randomly drag to the unknown.

System Status now Online 
Host discovered 
Now activating host Time and Space Landscape:
"Welcome to the Kingdom of Fools"
[]Please Name your Kingdom ________[]
[]Please Name your System ________[]

Saferu was still half asleep at that time so after giving a name to it without even thinking he went back to sleep.
The next thing he knows is that he woke up in an familiar room and in front him was a huge body builder women who suddenly started calling him HUSBAND!.

Years went on to their lives. After graduating from college, Lee Shin went back to their province and managed their small publishing company. She applied everything she learned at the university and innovated the company to be aligned with the modern technology. They focused more on printing novels from both ebooks and hard copies. She even wrote her own novels and published it online and once it gets noticed and on high demands, they released a hard copies and it is guaranteed sold out. After few years of dedicated work on their company, it is not safe from bankruptcy and thriving better than before. With the help of her mom and Lee Shaina, they managed to have few branches on the nearby provinces and everything is smooth sailing for them.

She just finished having a business meeting from another city to be the official printing company of the books for the whole university. Lee Shin felt good that they managed to survived those times when they thought they are going to fall down. There were times were it was really hard and can't help but cry in her room where no one can hear but seeing things now, everything is worth it.

Until her 28th birthday...

"Happy birthday sis!" Its just a small gathering with their families and few friends and everyone is happy.

After the party and everyone left, Lee Eung talked to her while she's cleaning the dishes...

After finishing college and decided to take over the small family business everything seems like depressing for Lee Shin. Ever since her father died, she have no choice but to be the head of the family. She did all her best until she managed to remove the bankruptcy status on their family. After few years of constant work, everything seems perfect for Lee Shin. All her siblings are finished with their degree and busy with their careers too but she felt that she missed a lot of things during her younger days. She loves adventure and traveling which she set aside to take responsibilities to manage their business ever since their father died. 
Lee Shin thought "I will be 30 in few years. I need to do something adventurous" So she decided to pack her bag, take her passport and ready for few months of backpacking and everything changes when she met Kiel Jungye: a young, adventurous, reckless, careless and not to mention handsome backpacker. 
They started their adventure together without any plans. 
What will happen if a strict, careful, calculative woman will be partnered with a happy-go-lucky, live the moment and don't mind about the future attitude kind of man?
Will love be enough for them to keep each other?
What will happen if the adventure and travel ends?

Two years quickly passed.
It was the Year 10015 of the Divine Prefecture Calendar. Ye Futian came to the Nine State College to train again after three years passed.
Ye Futian first paid a visit to Saint Li when he arrived at the college. Saint Li greeted him personally this time and both sides talked for quite a while. It was said that the conversations were joyous for both of them. Saint Li then issued an order, allowing Ye Futian to come and go from the College's library as he pleased.
The Nine State College had a long history, and all sorts of books and classics were found within the library, making it a treasure chest of sorts. There were even parts of the library which were restricted to the students of the College, yet it was all open for Ye Futian of the Holy Zhi Palace. It t became the talk of the College, and many felt displeased at the privileged treatment he received.
While there was no doubt that Ye Futian's talents were exceptional, others deemed it to be senseless to open parts that were even restricted for them, students of the college itself, to an outsider. While the order spoke volume of Saint Li's generosity, it was seen to be rather unfair to the students of the college.
Many grew to resent Ye Futian more, seeing him entering the Herb Garden to train again. That fellow has indeed made the Nine State College his personal training ground.
Many came to be jealous and envious at how Saint Li and Saint Jiang, the towering figures of the college, actively helped him in his training. Many cursed at Ye Futian deep down, resenting him for being so adept at using other people's resources to further his own ends.
There were also those who recalled the scandal involving him and Goddess Die several years ago and mocked him as a shameless playboy for daring to show up again. But then again, there were also those who were impressed at Ye Futian's prowess at wooing people, wondering how he had tricked Saint Li, Saint Jiang, and Goddess Die.
Ye Futian turned a blind eye to all the noise outside. Excellent people always drew the ire of others after all. At the moment, Ye Futian was chatting away with Goddess Die, who many from the Nine State College came to admire.
"Is it going to be more dangerous this time?" Ye Futian asked.
Little Butterfly rolled her eyes and said, "Of course. I haven't even got the required herbs together yet. It will take some time. You know how terrifying those medicines will be. You should've come later, or maybe you wouldn't need to show up at all. My teacher can't go all the way to the Barren State and kidnap you." She sounded rather resentful with her words. The medicine tests those years ago, which lasted for 81 days, had her living in fright all the time. I don't get it. Your teacher has already become a saint. What the hell would you show up here to get tortured for?
"I promised Saint Jiang to go through the tests and I intend to keep my word." Ye Futian added, "Besides, while the tests look rather frightening, I kind of look forward to it at the same time."
The rounds of tests years ago made him understand that Saint Jiang was not looking for medical testing candidates for destruction. Instead, Saint Jiang had wanted to make breakthroughs in expanding the limitations of training. The last rounds of medicine tests yielded fantastic results, which was why he showed up at his own will now. If he were to be able to go through all three rounds of medical tests, his defense would grow exponentially.
"Right, look forward to it all you want then. Brother said that he will be the one supervising your baths this time. What do you think of that?" Little Butterfly glared at Ye Futian. She had been worried sick for him the last time he went through the test, and he had the gall to claim that he enjoyed it. To her, those tests were hell.
"Please, no." Ye Futian recalled Xu Chehan's bone-chillingly cold face. It would be torturous to have someone like that watching him. 
"Little Butterfly, you know well that your brother doesn't get along with me. I'd rather have you around. Being stared at by a man will make me feel antsy." Ye Futian rubbed his nose and felt rather embarrassed.
"So you're saying you're fine with me watching you instead?" Little Butterfly said exasperatedly to Ye Futian. Just what kind of excuse is this? But she quickly blushed as soon as she finished, feeling that her words had come out all wrong.
"Well, you've seen everything, and I've gotten used to it," Ye Futian said rather meekly. Little Butterfly got even more embarrassed before turning around and saying, "I'll get the herbs ready. And by the way, that's how brother is. Don't take it to heart."
"Little Butterfly," Ye Futian called, "I'm thinking of going to the library tomorrow. I've got permission from senior Saint Li but I don't know where it is. Lead the way, will you?"
"Nice." Little Butterfly stopped walking and turned around, then said, "Let's go then."
Ye Futian came beside her and said, "As for your brother, I won't be petty with him. Speaking of which, your brother is rather nice to you." Xu Chehan came all the way to warn him before, and he had done so for Little Butterfly. While Ye Futian felt rather irked at the treatment he received, he saw no reason to take it to heart.
"Yeah, he has always been nice to me." Little Butterfly nodded slightly and both of them chatted while walking quite a distance, heading towards the library.
The Nine State College was a huge place, and the sight of Ye Futian walking with Goddess Die in their place students' hearts' ache even more. It was, after all, Goddess Die, the prettiest girl found in the college. The b*stard is already married and he dares to come here to woo and trick our kind, pure Goddess Die. He is lower than an animal.
Many discussed ganging up on him and beating him to a pulp. Yet, they quickly realized that they were probably no match for him.
The library in the Nine State College was huge and it contained up to a million books covering all aspects of training, including introductions to professions and Life Spirits seen before, as well as powers of rules. Needless to say, the place did not lack books regarding training methods and spells. It had everything from low planes to high planes and there were even experiences left behind by seniors of the college, carved into jade scrolls.
Ye Futian entered the library and was immediately lost at where to begin. He had made great strides in his training for the past two years or so but had encountered some problems nonetheless. Other than to ask for guidance from figures of higher planes and spar with them, looking into books was another sensible option. As such, he came all the way to the Nine State College and asked Saint Li if he was permitted to enter the library. The saint agreed without hesitation, and Ye Futian felt very grateful.
"Introduction to Saint Rankings and the saints." Ye Futian caught sight of a book by chance and stopped. He had done his share of research back in the Barren State but the details had been lacking.
The Village Chief and teacher should be on the Saint Ranking of the Nine State's Sage and Saint Ranking, eh?
Ye Futian took the book and flipped to the first page. There were but several words on it.
First Place of the Saint Rankings: The Great Shaman.
There were no names and no further titles; there were only three words to describe the person who was number one.
"Who is this Great Shaman guy?" Ye Futian asked quietly.
"My teacher says that the Great Shaman is a very old and powerful saint. He was of the same era as the Sword Saint of the Void." Little Butterfly then added, "I'm guessing that he is no longer in the Nine States, but somehow, his name is retained in the Saint Rankings."
Ye Futian nodded slightly and continued flipping through the pages.
Second Place of the Saint Rankings: Ji Yuan, also known as the Reaper.
There were some introductions of the person below. Ji Yuan the Reaper trained in the Great Path of Death and it was extremely gruesome, so much so that he had invoked Emperor Xia's ire, and the emperor, in turn, ordered someone to destroy his holy land, the Abyss of Death, forbidding him from carving out his divine path in the Nine States. However, the emperor spared him due to knowing that Ji Yuan's training had been arduous. But after that, news regarding Ji Yuan the Reaper was seldom heard. There were rumors about him having left quite a while ago, and there were also rumors about him training in seclusion.
The two who were ranked at the top two places of the Saint Rankings were extremely frightening people. As for Saint Xia, who was ranked third, he was comparatively weaker. However, due to the first two having practically disappeared, Saint Xia came to become the number one in the Nine States in a way. It was due to such circumstances that he enjoyed an extremely prestigious status throughout the Nine States.
Ye Futian continued flipping the pages and, as expected, he found the Village Chief's and his teacher's names on the Saint Rankings. The Village Chief was ranked 30th, as he was probably the only one who was able to fight the Sacred King and bolt unscathed at his level. At the first plane of the Saint Plane, there seemed to be no one who ranked higher than the Village Chief, so the ranking was hardly surprising.
As for his teacher, he had never achieved any gleaming success as a saint, and the last battle with the Sacred King had him completely overpowered. As such, he was at the bottom of the Saint Rankings—73rd.
The Saint Rankings had 72 people on it, but with the Chess Saint dead and the Village Chief appearing out of nowhere, the numbers were made even. Then, his teacher became a saint, which made the ranking consist of 73 people in total.
Ye Futian was done flipping the pages and put the book back to its place, before finding another book right beside it, with the title reading, Divine Implements of the Nine States Rankings.
"There is a ranking like this?" Ye Futian sported a peculiar expression and took the book out of curiosity. 
Every single holy land found in the Nine States had a handful of divine implements. However, due to there being many holy lands throughout the Nine States and some top forces having divine implements of their own, the total number of divine implements in existence was actually quite a huge sum. But then again, there were only 36 listed in the rankings, which presumably were the most renowned ones to be found.
The number one divine implement on the rankings was called the Scepter of Control, which was the divine implement used by the Great Shaman, the number one on the Saint Rankings.
The divine implement ranked second was the Eye of the Abyss, a spiritual type of devastating divine implement, which, coincidentally, was used by Ji Yuan, second on the Saint Rankings.
The most powerful being wielding the most powerful divine implement seemed to fit the rules of the cultivators. It was quite common to see divine implements being fought over and taken. However, the third divine implement on the ranking was no longer one controlled by the third-ranked saint on the Saint Rankings. It was the Halberd of Time and Space named "Nothingness." According to the records, it was currently lost in the Endless Ocean of the Ocean State and did not have an owner.
Ye Futian continued to flip the pages and read about the Divine Implement Rankings. A lot of powerful divine implements were recorded, and it deepened Ye Futian's understanding about the Nine States!


In a time when the Divine Prefectures of the East Sea were in great disarray, Emperor Ye Qing and Donghuang the Great appeared to save the day. Under their rule, the prefectures united and all nations as well as  their kings have been controlled. However, the legend of these two great heroes becomes altered when Emperor Ye Qing's name is wiped from the history books after his sudden death. All statues and images of him were destroyed and his name a taboo. Only the legend of Donghuang the Great shall live on.                            

Fifteen years later, a young man by the name of Ye Futian begins his journey in search for his true identity. The legend of Futian was going to be one for the history books.

Once back at her cave Adria went up to the entrance and shifted back once more into her human side. She knew this was the last shift for the day as she was really aching now from so many shifts so close together. She went to her pile of clothes and grabbed an outfit quickly and got redressed. She then gathered the few items she had in her cave, the bag of books and her clothing items. Looking around at what had been home for the last week or so she exited the cave. Timothy, still in grizzly form, was waiting at the bottom of the mountain face for her. The he made a low sound and swung his head in a follow me motion and they began the trip to his cabin.  

It surprisingly wasn't that far from where Adria had been living already. It was basically just around the corner, if that corner was about 6 miles long. Adria could tell from the smells that they were much closer to the city than they had been previously, but it was still very secluded. They approached a log cabin from the back and when they came around to the front Adria gasped lightly. It really wasn't a cabin at all. The "cabin" she had seen from the back was the guest house as is was much smaller than the main home. However, the main home was massive. It stood at 2 stories high but was incredibly large. It appeared to her to look to be the size of an Alpha's home, or a mansion. 

Timothy saw her looking at the home and his bear's mouth pulled open in what was probably supposed to be a grin. He lumbered over to a barrel and using his snout knocked the lid off. Standing up on his hind legs he quickly shifted back and reached in the barrel. Out of it he grabbed a tee shirt and a pair of jeans. He quickly dressed and then turned to Adria. 

"First tip, once you have a home make sure you set something like this up. That way you can shift and change clothes right away. And you have a safe place to put your clothes before you shift."

Adria smiled at him, "That's smart," she said, "Your home is beautiful! How did you find this? And with so much land?" Looking around Adria saw that the property sat on several open acres of land. There was a long partially paved and partially graveled driveway that led out to the main road. She could see it was close to a mile long for the driveway alone. 

"I built this. The land was owned by my family for years and I grew up in what is now the guesthouse. It was too small for all of us. There was my parents, and all my siblings. I had 3 older brothers and a younger sister. As they got older though they all eventually moved away. My brothers went away to college and actually found their mates while there. They settled down with them somewhere else. My sister traveled overseas and met her mate in Germany. She elected to stay there with him. By this point I was plenty old enough to take care of this property myself and my parents were ready to retire. They asked if I wanted to take over the care of this land and home and I accepted. I hadn't wanted to go to college. I was happiest here working with my hands. They decided to travel as well. They had lived here taking care of all of us for so long that they wanted to get out and see the world. Last I heard from them they were going backpacking up Everest. I lived in the cabin there for awhile but I knew that once I found my mate and we started having children that I did not want to be as cramped as I was growing up. Can you imagine 7 bears all trying to fit in that little cabin? It became very overcrowded very fast. My parents did the best they could but I had the capability of making a bigger home so I did. I hadn't planned for something on this scale," he said with a wave of his hand towards the massive main home, "but once I started building I couldn't stop. I just kept thinking of other things I wanted to add."

Adria smiled at his story. She could imagine all the antics he and his brothers got up to and could just imagine the mess the small house was in, "Your poor mother."

Timothy threw his head back and laughed, "She knew what she was getting into. Besides, she had my father to help. All he had to do was give us a look. That was enough to make us smarten up."

Adria laughed lightly imagining the noise and trouble all those kids probably got up to, "What made you stay here? All your siblings decided to move out into the world, and you said they all have mates?" at Timothy's nod she continued, "So why did you remain here?"

He smiled softly, "It is hard to describe. It is just a feeling that I have that I belong here. That whoever my mate is will show up here. My brothers and sister said that the feeling that they had was like a pull telling them where they needed to go. Each of my brothers went to a different college. Before they felt that urge they had not had any plans to attend college. Then one morning, my oldest brother woke up and told my mother he wanted to go to college. The rest of that day they started searching for schools. Then it came to him that he wanted to attend Rosemont College in Tennessee somewhere. No one in the family had ever heard of the school. We asked him why and all he could say was I have to go there. That's where I need to be. It wasn't even 3 months after he started attending that he found his mate. In the next 5 years the rest of my siblings all felt that pull taking them somewhere else as well. I never did. I just have this pull telling me that I need to stay here. I believe that the pull was fate telling my family members to go find their mates. My pull is telling me she is coming to me."

"That's really romantic," Adria said, "I am assuming this pull happens later in the life of a shifter. I cannot remember anyone in the old pack talking about that pull though. The majority of the pack, if they didn't find their mate within it would claim a mate instead"

"What does that mean?"

"Well basically it meant that they didn't want to be at the bottom of the pecking order. Two shifters that had not found their mate either within our pack or in the closest surrounding packs would choose each other to make a family with. They would settle down and live as mates in every sense of the word, except for it having been fate chosen. The only way the claimed mates would part though would be if their fated mates showed up."

Timothy's face had an incredulous look of disbelief on it as he replied, "You mean in your old pack shifters would accept someone that wasn't their mate? I...I don't see how that is even possible."

"Well it makes sense because of pack order. No one wants to be an unmated, unclaimed, or god forbid an unshifter. That usually means something is wrong with you."

Timothy took an involuntary step back and seemed completely flabbergasted, "What do your animals say about that?"

"Oh they told me there was no way they would settle for anything less than a fated mate. But if we do join another pack and I do not find my mate then they may have to accept it. I lived on the bottom of the barrel so to speak for too long. I cannot go back there again. Pack life is hard."

Timothy implored Adria to explain more about the pack she came from and their ways. Adria and he talked for hours. She started from the beginning when she was found and concluded with her miraculous shift and escape her final night on their land. She told him how her panther told her that in order to protect her she had held back from shifting for half a dozen years so that a 12 year old wasn't kicked out into the world with no one to protect her. She explained how the ceremonies worked, and school, and even told him about how she was jumped by pack members younger than her and how she had to 'help' them with their school work or face being hurt like that again.

At the end of her story Timothy appeared to almost be fighting back tears on her behalf, "I swear to you Adria, it is not like that everywhere. That is not the way a pack should work. I will take you to my friend's pack in a few months after you are more settled here so you can compare the differences. We are both going to have a learning curve here. I will need to try to destroy 15 years of incorrect thought processes and beliefs. There is no reason a child needed to grow up in that kind of fear. I am so very sorry Adria."

Adria tried to believe him when he said it wasn't like that everywhere. That maybe Alpha Gregory was in the wrong. But he was a bear, and bears lived alone. What did he know about pack life? She really hoped that he was right though. As much as life had sucked for her so far she didn't want anyone else suffering that way. And if all packs didn't follow the same rules that Gregory's did it could mean she could be happy in a pack again. She could tell her animals had been listening intently as well to what Timothy had said. They all desperately wanted to believe that maybe there was a pack they could be happy in out there. Even though her panther would always need her space she recognized the need for her wolf to have companionship. Together they would figure out the best compromise. 

Timothy could see Adria was struggling to accept what he had just told her. He knew he could always revisit that conversation later, especially if he took her to see his friend's pack. He hoped there she would see Gregory for what he was, a power hungry, egotistical, wolf that should never have been an Alpha. No alpha should allow any member of their pack to be treated the way Adria had been. Trying to take her mind off of it he asked Adria if she would like a tour of the guest house and she readily agreed. 

He motioned her to go ahead of him and the two entered the smaller cabin. Once inside Adria saw it was very cozy. The main room they entered was the living room. There was a L-shaped couch against one wall facing the large wood burning fireplace. Above the fireplace there was a TV and DVD player. The open space also had an area that was designated as the dining room area with a massive wooden table surrounded by 8 chairs. Adria laid her bag of books and her stack of clothing down on the couch and followed Timothy through the house as he explained where everything was.

Next to the dining area there was a small doorway that led into the kitchen. There were stainless steel appliances in the kitchen area as well as a small breakfast table with two chairs. That was set up in front of a large bay window that looked out into the woods behind the house. Next to the kitchen was a full bathroom. The hallway leading away from the living room area was where the 3 bedrooms were. Timothy said that the master bedroom used to be two rooms when he and all his siblings lived here but he had made it into one room with an ensuite bathroom. He told her she was more than welcome to make that her bedroom as no one else was using this property currently. 

Adria walked into the room and her jaw dropped. It was tastefully decorated in a pale green color. The large four poster, canopied, king sized bed was in the middle of two massive windows that let in a lot of natural light. The dressers, armoires, and nightstands appeared to be made from solid oak. The adjoining ensuite bathroom housed a stand up walk-in shower in the one corner, a stand alone pedestal sink, commode, and a whirlpool jetted bathtub that looked large enough for 5 people. Timothy told her to make herself at home and that he was going to call Barry to let him know she was ok and getting settled here. She asked him to apologize on her behalf for now and stated that she would talk to him tomorrow about her disappearance. 

Timothy assured her that Barry would understand and be ok with everything. He excused himself and left Adria alone to finish exploring the house. She peeked in the other two bedrooms and saw they were also decorated in bright colors that really helped bring in the natural light. Walking back out to the living room she twirled in a circle and the biggest smile she had worn in years lit up her face. She was so happy to have lucked out with this home. While obviously much smaller than the main house that Timothy had built, it was perfect for her. She could live here safe and securely while she saved up. Even though he had told her there was no need to pay rent, she definitely intended to find someway of repaying Timothy for his generosity once she started getting some money. 

Adria's animals seemed calm too and that was the main reason she felt like she belonged here. Locating a small bookcase she started to place the books she had gathered from Barry's store on the shelves. She wanted to try to make this her place as much as possible so that she could feel settled. After the books were put away on the shelves she took all the clothes back to the main bedroom and put the pants and tee shirts into the drawers and the dresses into the closet. Looking around the cozy room she sat down on the bed and looked out the window that was facing the long driveway. She could see the sun starting to sink down over the horizon and knew that it was going to be beautiful sunset. She was excited to get to watch the sun paint the sky in reds and oranges before making way for the darker twilight purples that would soon arrive. She had an inkling she would be here for a long while. It was like she was being pulled to stay here, call it a feeling...

Whenever people walked past Qiao Nan, they would point at her and whisper to each other. 
Qiao Nan could not hear what they were talking about, but she could tell clearly whether their intentions were good or bad.
Qiao Nan knitted her brows, her expression turning cold. She grabbed her books and went to the canteen.
Qiao Nan bought her meal and was getting ready to eat. She noticed that people around her still cast weird glances at her. She could not help but feel angry.
The problem was those people only whispered behind her back. Qiao Nan had no idea what they were talking about.
"Qiao Nan, shall we eat together?" Tang Jiayun carried her plate and sat down at the seat opposite Qiao Nan. "All the other seats are occupied. This is the only empty seat. I am sure you won't mind."
Qiao Nan looked up. The entire canteen was filled up with people except for the seats around her. It was as if she was a virus and was within an invisible quarantine area. "This is a public space. It doesn't belong to anyone."
Qiao Nan threw in a reply. To put it bluntly, she did not care where she sat. 
Tang Jiayun arched her eyebrows. She noticed that several people cast weird glances at Qiao Nan. Tang Jiayun smiled. "Qiao Nan, do you go online?"
"No," Qiao Nan replied.
"No wonder." Tang Jiayun covered her mouth, acting as if she had said something that she should not have.
Tang Jiayun hesitated for a while before she made up her mind. "Qiao Nan, do you know why many people cast weird glances at you today? Do you know what they are whispering about? Actually, I feel very angry on your behalf. This has nothing to do with them. Why do they spread the rumor? They must be sick." 
"…" Did Tang Jiayun mean that there was a rumor regarding her that was circulating around the school? How did this rumor start?
Qiao Nan put down her spoon and looked at Tang Jiayun. "Are you here to tell me the reason? I am all ears."
Tang Jiayun was thrilled that Qiao Nan was very straightforward. She pursed her lips and sighed softly. "Qiao Nan, you must not be angry or anxious. I believe the rumor must be false. Although we were roommates only for a short period of time, I believe you are not that kind of person."
"What kind of person?" There was a flicker in Qiao Nan's eyes. School had only started for less than a month and she had become infamous in Peking University?
She knew that college life was not as simple, but she did not expect that it would be so complicated.
"Someone uploaded a photo on the school forum. It says that you got into an old man's car and that you are his kept woman." Tang Jiayun lowered her voice.
Qiao Nan frowned. Could it be that someone saw her when her father-in-law came to school to fetch her and the person took a picture of them and posted it online?
"Qiao Nan, as your friend, I must remind you that such rumors will have a negative influence on you. It is useless that I believe you. Other students and the school have to believe you as well. If you lack moral integrity, it may affect your final results. Therefore, you have to think of ways to clear up the misunderstanding, and for the school to understand that the photo is false. Of course, if you need a witness, I can be one."
Tang Jiayun acted as if she had high morality and was willing to share weal and woe with Qiao Nan. "The person was so mean and foolish to take the photo and smear your reputation, causing everyone to misunderstand you. Qiao Nan, who do you think is behind this? Let's fish out that person. The person who tells such lies is too much. The person is too ill-natured."
Qiao Nan lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes hiding the flicker in her eyes. Tang Jiayun, who was all pretenses, was unable to tell what she was thinking of right now.
"Qiao Nan, don't be upset. I will help you." When faced with such a situation, people would usually be anxious and feel angst. However, Qiao Nan seemed to be very indifferent. 
Could it be that Qiao Nan believed the saying that 'rumors stop at the wise'?
Tang Jiayun used to dislike and ostracize her. However, she was the only one who offered her help and told her what had happened. Qiao Nan curled her lips. "How do you intend to help me?" 
One who was unaccountably solicitous must be hiding evil intentions.
She was reminded of what Tang Jiayun had done previously. Qiao Nan's first thought was that the rumor might have to do with Tang Jiayun.
Qiao Nan did not find it surprising that Tang Jiayun would resort to the trick of a thief crying stop thief. After all, sometimes, people were too clever for one's own good.
"Is it on the school forum?" Qiao Nan had yet to understand what was going on, so she could not jump to conclusions. However, she could not do nothing now that she knew that someone was out to harm her. She was particularly curious to see the picture that was being posted on the forum.
"Yes, do you want to have a look? Shall I go with you?" Tang Jiayun nodded. Regardless of the reaction that Qiao Nan had, she rose to fame in Peking University because of the forum. Everyone looked down on Qiao Nan and kept a distance from her. Everyone was dying to dig at her.
Apart from her, no one was willing to go near her.
She believed that Qiao Nan would not reject good friends who helped her out when she was in need. 
"Qiao Nan!" Tang Jiayun was about to bring Qiao Nan with her when an anxious Shi Qing came running toward them.
Shi Qing knew about the rumor surrounding Qiao Nan and she did not shout her name out loud. She looked for her in the canteen and caught sight of her, running toward her. "Qiao Nan, look at this." 
Shi Qing had heard of the rumors regarding Qiao Nan circulating around the school. She went online to look at the threads and printed them out. She passed them to Qiao Nan. "Who did this? Is the person courting death?!"
Shi Qing was mad and anxious when she saw the photo in the thread. Who was so foolish to do something like this? The person was not afraid of death. 
Tang Jiayun heard the anger in Shi Qing's voice. She smiled scornfully in secret.
Shi Qing might be domineering and acted brazenly at Peking University, but there was nothing she could do about the fact that someone was out to harm Qiao Nan. Even if Shi Qing managed to find out who the person was, she did not believe that Shi Qing would murder someone or commit a crime for Qiao Nan's sake! 
Go ahead to brag and boast!
"Since someone is courting death, there is no way to stop the person. Although school has just started and Peking University always has a good reputation, I suppose someone will be invited to the principal's office for a cup of tea." Qiao Nan smiled contemptuously. In her previous life, the only time she heard of college students being kept women of older men was from the news. She did not expect that she would become the main character of such news in this life. It was thrilling! 


Qiao Nan: Crap! I am your biological daughter, yet I am treated as if I was picked up from the streets. In fact, you treat me worse than that!

Mother Qiao: Qiao Nan, you are not as pretty or smart as your elder sister. You are not as blessed as her. You have no right to study, marry, or to have your happiness!

Qiao Nan: Why am I not allowed to study, marry, or to seek my happiness? I will find a man right now and marry him!

Qiao Nan is dumbstruck upon discovering that the man right beside her is a powerful figure in the quad—the person who has the most promising prospects to be the future Chief.

Qiao Nan stares at the well-built man in front of her. He has firm abs and cold, chilling eyes. She swallows the lump in her throat as she says her greetings, "Good Morning, Chief!"

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