Black Iron Magician - Chapter 1: Encounter

Set in the Shadow Slave world...a time before Sunny was born...this story follows a simple soldier who must survive in a dystopian, apocalyptic landscape where magic and gun warfare collide.In a far-off Quadrant known as North America, a young soldier named Hope is 16 years old when he gets infected by the Nightmare Spell. He passed! But...he feels a bit scammed...?A flaw that makes him fade from people's memories...A cursed attribute that makes him remember everything endlessly in eternal wakefulness...It's as if the Spell is twisting his future and existence into an almost improbable one.All he has ever known his purpose to be was to serve as a simple soldier. Not too powerful. But not so weak either. And maybe, just maybe like some others, become an Awakened. Although he never dreamt of being one.Now that his whole life is compromised after his First Nightmare, his first objective is to survive on his own. But as he tries to escape his fate, his actions seem to lead him further from his goal.He struggles against obstacles that slowly grow bigger and out of proportion.Maybe the Dream Realm and the Real World aren't so different than one may think.Hope's journey involves uncovering secrets and gaining knowledge about his true nature and his new role in the world.Is he fit to be a hero?Could he redefine it?***Please read the READER DISCLAIMER in Volume 0.This is my spin-off novel of “Shadow Slave” by Guiltythree.But please don't expect the same writing style, setting, and characters, especially the main character.This story reveals more about how people/cities/governments operate after the Spell’s arrival. I always find it interesting how maybe one country handles it fairly, but how others handle it with desperation to the point that you question humanity.There will be easter eggs pointing to the original novel either intentional for the plot or unrelated to it, but all for fun.I am a new author so props to all who bear with me and helps me improve my writing. If it is not for you, please don't leave outright hate comments. Eat wassabi instead if you want pain. Critique and advice would be great too.

In the celestial empire, during the ninth year of the Mandate of Heaven,Chaos reigns across the land, and the people suffer.The royal governance collapses, and western barbarians with their pantheon of gods invade.New warlords arise, claiming territories; the Taiping rebels wreak havoc, leading to widespread misery.Calamities like floods, droughts, earthquakes, sandstorms, tornadoes, acid rain, blood moons, and meteor falls occur in succession.Countless demons roam, strange beings thrive, spirits mingle with the inexplicable, and mysterious phenomena arise.In these dark and tumultuous times, Tao Qian opens his eyes to find himself about to be beheaded at the vegetable market...

Imagine being forced to live, after death, as incorporeal bodies trapped in a vast space of nothingness for thousands of years, with nothing to do but exchanging past memories with other cohabitants (read: weirdos). Everybody wanted out, but there was no way to leave the Void…

Until one day, a young man was finally summoned, as a powerful but reluctant mentor, by a bubbly and motivated but completely naive young girl. Baiyi, finally out of the Void, was the only one who could save all of the other 32 souls from their prison and his summoner might just be The Key to their freedom.

However, Baiyi had to use the techniques and abilities the other souls had taught him throughout the years, and together with his own extensive knowledge of anime and game tropes from his shady and dangerous past as an otaku, to face the biggest challenge of them all: training the clumsy young girl he was forced to partner up with… into a competent sorcerer!

This is a story of heroic adventures, cunning strategies and romantic tales. How will our MC thrive in a world completely strange to him? Where will his ambitions and abilities take him in the palace?

- Description from Novelupdates

n the year 2077, the first FIVR Game or Fully Immersive Virtual Reality Game, Pandemonium, has been created. Pandemonium which is the first ever fully immersive virtual reality game made in human history. In the universe of Pandemonium, Fantasy meets science and where order is chaos and chaos is order. A universe of endless possibilities in which anyone can become the invincible hero fighting against the forces of darkness or a sage which dives into the abyss of magic and so much more.

In Pandemonium, the inhabitants comes in all shapes and sizes. Adrian, our main character, who experienced an accident that caused him to be temporary limp used the game as a way for therapy but mainly to experience the new world of virtual reality. He will experience countless adventures and challenges and rise to be the most influential person in this new reality.