A Soldier's Life - Chapter 19: Self Assessment

In a world where mana nodes inherently decode spells, acting as the pre-built magical processors of all mages, Zephyr awakens with just a single node, putting him at a disadvantage.Unconcerned with fame or glory, he initially shrugs off this profound limitation, even dismissing his father's final and seemingly useless gift. But when a relentless spiral of uncontrollable events threatens his very existence, Zephyr has to figure out a way to utilize his inherited legacy.His survival now depends on understanding the fundamental nature of mana nodes and how they tick in a world that takes the process for granted. His method of conscious processing pushes the boundaries of conventional magic and draws the attention of formidable world powers and ancient noble houses. As Zephyr delves deeper, he begins to uncover disturbing truths about their world and the very origins of magic itself. How would he navigate this treacherous landscape where every discovery could be his last?What to expect:- Unique power system that draws inspiration from modern processors.- Extensive character development and world building.- MC starts out weak and capped... until he figures out how to process better. Power is earned.- Mana cores, mana nodes, spell processing, noble houses, knowledge gatekeeping, great world powers, hidden factions, a touch of sci-fi, multiple worlds, soft kingdom building...

I became the fiancé of the tyrant male lead, a character who becomes a villainess because she was obsessed with the beautiful tyrant.

Of course, in the end, she was killed by the tyrant.

Still, this all happened before the original story began.

After diligently performing a dozen or so actions that would cause me to be dumped by him, I succeeded in becoming a sound friend of the tyrant, who turned out better than I had thought.

“How was it?” asked the female lead, who he saw for the first time.

“Hmm?”

“I meant your meeting with Miss Diel (female lead), Your Majesty.”

He tilted his head slightly. Hey, don’t pretend you aren’t interested.

It is said that he fell in love at first sight, but I saw it all.

Hehe. I chuckled and poked his arm with my finger.

“You know what? Please let me know if you have someone you like.”

“Why? So you can kill her?”

Heh, do you think I’m like you?

I smiled sincerely and answered him. “Well, I’ll break off our engagement at the right time.”

“Miss.”

The smile on his face disappeared in an instant.

I somehow became speechless after my gaze met his glaring eyes.

He stared at me and laughed quietly in a slightly husky voice. In a subdued voice, he then said, “Don’t make a joke like that.”

His hand stealthily and gently brushed off the strand of hair on my cheek.

One god, one faith, one world, one mage… I am the only mage in the world.

- Description from Ptwxz (translated)

Shivam was just a normal guy.A government employee finally living a stable life after surviving an orphan’s hell and fighting tooth and nail through every damn obstacle life threw his way.He love anime, web novels, and his one true obsession light novels.His favorite?Transmigrated as a Third-Rate Villain.The plot? Fire.The fights? Insane.The worldbuilding? God-tier.And the characters? Untouchable—especially Marcus Ardent and Daelen Vorcrest, the last heroes of mankind.But then came the final chapter.Marcus dead. Daelen gone. The entire continent, erased with a single, lazy keystroke.“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”“What kind of brain-dead garbage ending is this?! You killed everyone for shock value! You threw away the best characters like trash!”Shivam didn’t just hate-comment the author. He cursed them.Then went to sleep.And woke up as Ezra Celestrian.The most forgettable side character in the novel.A man who was supposed to be dead.Only… something’s wrong.Ezra isn’t weak.He never was.He was the strongest human side character in the novel—so talented, the author killed him early to keep the power scaling in check.But now Shivam is him.And the story is no longer in the author’s hands.“Why the hell do I keep talking like a noble?”“What the fuck is this ‘Divine Enemy’ trait!?”The world believes Ezra is dead.But Shivam’s done playing along.“You dragged me into your broken story. You killed my favorite characters. You erased everything I loved for a cheap twist.”“Fine. I’ll fix your mess. I’ll rewrite your story.”“And when I find you, ‘Author’—I swear to god, I’m gonna shove that ending down your throat.”