Ascension: Cursed Blood - Chapter 8: What is luck?

Luis, a poor 17-year-old boy, tries his luck at becoming an Awakener to change his fate. However, his dreams are shattered when he fails to awaken a Special Spirit and is instead saddled with a 5 million dollar debt by their planet's colonizers, the Flying Star Empire.His life seemed doomed—until a mysterious system suddenly appeared in his head: The Monster Transformation System. It gave him the power to transform into any monster or animal he had ever seen.From a cat to an eagle, even a horse, Luis begins to understand that his power may not come from Spirit... but from the ability to become any monster.

Daniel is just a regular blue collar Maintenance Mechanic working for a manufacturing company. As he's winding down at home from a day of messy work repairing a CNC mill, he is surprised by a sudden glow of light beneath him. And, in an instant, his world changes. Literally.Daniel finds himself now in the world of Zenkon, a world of fantasy beings and monsters, swords and magic, and perilous threats to the safety of the world. As if stepping into a fantasy light novel or video game, he has been apparently summoned by a sacred magic spell that requests a hero from the gods, and in reply, they sent Daniel and a young Japanese man named Rikuto.However, Daniel's luck doesn't seem to be good, as it's quickly discovered that, contrary to the nature of living things in the world of Zenkon, Daniel is the only one that possesses no magic or mana, making him immune to many types of magic, both beneficial and detrimental, but not protecting him from direct harm.As such, Daniel will now have to find his way through this world using his own repair and manufacturing know-how, while Rikuto uses his own modern civics and economics knowledge to try to recover the Kingdom of Mornistae in the midst of a large scale global war.Why were they summoned, and by what wisdom did the gods choose to send 'Divine Heroes'; one with magic and the other without, to a world of which the foundation is magic?

The Empire stands triumphant.

For twenty years the Dread Empress has ruled over the lands that were once the Kingdom of Callow, but behind the scenes of this dawning golden age threats to the crown are rising. The nobles of the Wasteland, denied the power they crave, weave their plots behind pleasant smiles. In the north the Forever King eyes the ever-expanding borders of the Empire and ponders war. The greatest danger lies to the west, where the First Prince of Procer has finally claimed her throne: her people sundered, she wonders if a crusade might not be the way to secure her reign. Yet none of this matters, for in the heart of the conquered lands the most dangerous man alive sat across an orphan girl and offered her a knife.

Her name is Catherine Foundling, and she has a plan.

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A Practical Guide to Evil is a fantasy series about a young girl named Catherine Foundling making her way through the world – though, in a departure from the norm, not on the side of the heroes. Is there such a thing as doing bad things for good reasons, or is she just rationalizing her desire for control? Good and Evil are tricky concepts, and the more power you get the blurrier the lines between them become.