All The Skills - A Deckbuilding LitRPG - Chapter 3: First Skill

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

Ding Shan had been a hot topic for seventeen years —from the time she debuted at the age of three with her pure and cute look, all the way until she was twenty years old. She even took home three golden actress awards at her coming-of-age ceremony when she was eighteen years old. Her life seemed so beautiful and filled with applause. However, behind that beautiful scene was a grave filled with lice. Since she was three years old, her family had treated her as their cash cow.

Her parents’ wickedness caused her reputation to rapidly plummet when she was eighteen years old. What was more terrifying was that they even imprisoned her. They drugged her, beat her, used her younger sister as a threat against her, and turned her into a plaything for wealthy businessmen. Ding Shan endured the humiliation for her sister’s sake, then finally sent those beasts to prison two years later. Just as she thought she could finally clean up and live a good life with her sister, reality slapped her in the face. “Why?” Ding Shan asked her sister from where she was tied to a familiar iron bed.“No reason, really.

I just hate you, so I drugged you two years ago. I’m the one who pushed you into hell. I’m also the one who posted that viral video which exposed you back then,” Ding Yuan said as she happily inspected her red nails.“Oh, by the way, you’re not my real sister either. My parents kidnapped you from some ravine.

Your parents chased after you, but my father pushed them off a cliff and they died. I can’t really remember since it happened so long ago. Plus, I only heard about it occasionally, so I can’t remember the details anymore.“Also, you’re tied up here today because your boyfriend, Wen Xiu, sold you for 10 million. You’re still worth a lot of money, so you should perform well tonight. Ding Yuan reached out to pat Ding Shan’s face, then injected her with an aphrodisiac.

The fiery burn that coursed through her body made Ding Shan weak, but the hatred in her heart kept her mind clear and awake. Drugged and left unsupervised, she ended her life with a knife she found in the room. As her life came to an end, Ding Shan swore that if she could start over, she would make all those who had wronged her pay all that they owed her. When she opened her eyes, she had gone back in time to two years ago! So, let’s see how she’ll turn the tide in this life!

“God, please. If you are real, make my one last wish come true. Let me live.”When Callisto got diagnosed with an incurable genetic disorder at age 5, she was expected to live for only ten more years.With her life on its last leg, Callisto underwent an operation that has a one in a million chance of success called the Mutated DNA Fusion, granting her wish to live. However, the operation gave her more than what she wished for.With her black hair turned silver, cat ears overhead, and a tail from her behind, Callisto now has to live her life as a half-human and half-animal, a catgirl.

Ji Qingqing was at the end of her rope. When she was on the brink of wretched poverty, she received a system. The system told her; Lu Lixing came from a family that was rolling in money, but he was coming to the end of his allotted lifespan. If she married him, she would gain his enormous inheritance.

Lu Lixing was seriously ill. Just as he was about to die, he gained a system. The system told him: Ji Qingqing was young and beautiful. She was rich in vitality. If he married her, he could continue living.

Ji Qingqing happily came to Lu Lixing’s sickbed.

And then, Lu Lixing woke up.

***

Lu Lixing’s friends discovered that after Lu Lixing woke up, not only did this person that had always kept his distance from women gotten married, he spent every day being super clingy towards his wife.

Young Lu, can you be a little less embarrassing and act your age? Will you die if you take one step away from your wife?

Lu Lixing clutched his chest. His little heart had almost stopped beating because Ji Qingqing had left him for half an hour. He weakly waved his hand. He couldn’t be separated from her, not for the rest of his life. She was his life.

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