Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit - Chapter 72: Hidden Potential

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)

In the Great Chu Kingdom, evil spirits are everywhere.

In this world, there are warriors, Taoists and Buddhas, monsters, and weirdness.

Xu Bai came across time, the hell started, and he was in the cell of a bandit village.

When the danger came, he found that his understanding was not quite right.

[Observe the nameless knife marks on the wall, and comprehend the bone-breaking knife technique. 】

【Observe the forging book, comprehend the forging method】

[Observe the hexagram scriptures and comprehend fortune-telling. 】

When entering the bandit village, Xu Bai tied the chain with his hands, and when leaving the bandit village, Xu Bai carried the ghost knife.

“In this world, there are many things that can be seen. I just know how to observe better than you.” Xu Bai laughed.

- Description from novelbuddy

Long ago a great calamity struck the earth, destroying much of it and merging what remained with pieces of other worlds.

With these worlds came Aether, a new form of energy that can allow one to transcend the bounds of normal mortality and human limitations.

In a world where humans absorb the essence of aether beasts to gain power, Aiden Hawke joins the class of humans known as arcanists, people who defeat aether beasts and absorb their essence into cores they forge within themselves, and who infuse themselves with the aether that permeates the world around them to increase the power of their body and mind.

However, unlike most, Aiden will find that he holds a unique gift and that his journey as an arcanist will not be so simple.

Jiang Ning, who was in the boudoir, was pregnant and entered the second room of Jiang’s family with a lame leg, just as he met the emperor to choose a concubine for King Yu.

The noble ladies of the noble family participated in the selection of the concubine with all their strength, but the flower fell on the head of Jiang Ning, who was watching the fun.

Jiang Ning: “???”

She didn’t dare to let King Yu be the receiver, she tried her best to tell others that she was pregnant, but the whole world didn’t believe it.

She vomited, and they laughed at her pretending to be sick.

She was sleepy, and they laughed at her for pretending to be weak.

She had a big belly, and they laughed at her for eating too much.

Jiang Ning wanted the doctor’s proof, but all the eighteen doctors he found were of the same caliber: You just ate too much!

***

King Yu, a handsome and handsome young man, raised his eyes to look at the blue sky, as bright as a jade tree in front of the wind.

This is the description of the fifth emperor of the emperor’s family by the people of Chang’an City.

But the real King Yu is ruthless and cruel, and only takes advantage of women.

He knew that the second lady of the Jiang family was Bai Yueguang of the emperor’s father, and that the daughter the Jiang family had just found looked exactly the same as the second lady of the Jiang family when she was young.

So, even though the girl was lame, he still threw the embroidery in his hand into her arms.

***

After marriage, he knew that he was a successor, but for the sake of the throne, even if he hated her extremely, he still pretended to spoil her until…

- Description from novelbuddy