Call Of The Dark - Chapter 113 A Criminal

Duan Rong's soul travels to an otherworld and gains the ability to devour Artifact Spirits, including those in weapons, paintings, Ancient Wood, statues.{“Artifact”: “Long-handled simple saber.”}{“Artifact Spirit Tier”: “Tier Three.”}{“Devouring Requirement”: “Host’s Spiritual Power Level 3.”}{“Devouring Effect”: “Master of Rakshasa Saber Technique, Master of Shura Saber, Master of Yellow Springs Saber Technique, Entry-level in Eight Trigrams Saber.”}

Ethan is a man nearing forty who has squandered his life behind a screen. Since his teenage years, he has poured everything into online games, chasing digital achievements while real life quietly passed him by. Now, with reality finally weighing on him, he realizes how empty his existence has become.Despite decades of obsession, he has only one thing to show for it: the #1 account in the world’s most popular MMORPG, Lost World Online—a fully immersive virtual game operated through neural-link technology. It is an account powerful enough to guarantee fame, sponsorships, and a second chance at life.But overnight… it vanishes.No warnings… No errors… His account simply ceases to exist.Ethan spends the entire night frantically searching for answers, contacting the developers through official forums, only to be told that nothing can be done. Without the account, even streaming or professional contracts are impossible. Exhausted and hollow, he finally gives up and falls asleep, deciding to forget his regret, half hoping everything would be a dream when he wakes up.When Ethan opens his eyes, he finds himself standing before the character creation screen of Lost World Online.It feels like a dream, yet his mind is clear, his body well responsive, not even like a game. Paying little attention, he goes ahead and creates a character and initiates the game.Then, his vision is swallowed by darkness.A violent rush of wind slams into him, and when his senses return, he is standing inside a bustling town from the game. Before he can question the missing opening cutscene—something that should always play after character creation—his attention is seized by the scene around him.The town was celebrating an Annual Festival. This was a festival that only ever occurred once, a festival that marked the first day Lost World Online was launched.Realizing the impossible, Ethan hurriedly calls up his system interface—only to find that there is no options menu, no settings, no log-out button…“This cannot be real.”

In typical Mary-Sue novel, readers all like the second male lead who only loves the heroine wholeheartedly and is willing to give up everything for the heroine, but the heroine only loves the male lead who once abused her body and heart.

Readers: Why doesn’t the heroine love the second ML, the demon sect leader?!

The demon sect leader: This Devil Venerable also wants to know, why do I like her?

In order to find out why the female lead doesn’t like him, the self-conscious demon sect leader set out to “interview” all the characters in the novel.

———

When a book was dropped into his lap, the demon sect leader discovered the world he lived in was described in it. This book said that after he sacrificed himself for the female lead, the 4th male lead, his silent, loyal subordinate, blackened and attempted to kill her.

The demon sect leader, Wen Renhe: Yin Hanjiang, this Devil Venerable wants to know why you wanted to kill the heroine.

Yin Hanjiang was silent.

Wen Renhe: If you refuse to speak, this Devil Venerable will force you to speak!

Yin Hanjiang: …

Wen Renhe: What are you blushing for?!

When the enigmatic and overpowered Kieran Drayke awakens in a foreign magical world after a sudden transmigration, he brings along a system unlike any this realm has ever known. The “Sovereign Architect System” doesn’t just make him invincible—it gives him the tools to build something far greater.But Kieran isn’t interested in world domination. At least, not in the usual way.Disillusioned by the world's surface-level glimmer and the rot beneath it, Kieran sets his sights on the forsaken—those discarded by society, lost in the shadows of nobility and corruption. From slums, war zones, and forgotten ruins, he gathers orphan girls of various races—elves, beastkin, humans, and more—each with untapped potential and pain behind their eyes.He trains them in secret. Guides them. Empowers them. Not as soldiers, but as a family. A hidden organization that operates behind the curtains, shaping the world while appearing as ordinary students at the prestigious Aetherion Magic Academy.Kieran himself? Just a carefree, slightly lazy transfer student with a penchant for sweets, sarcasm, and sneaking naps between classes—on the surface, at least.With a slow-burning plot that weaves magical worldbuilding, deep friendships, training arcs, casual comedy, and a cast of unforgettable girls who grow into queens of the unseen, Chronicles of the Hidden Crown explores what happens when an OP MC doesn’t conquer the world with brute force…But builds a legacy from its forgotten pieces.No betrayal. No forced drama. Just the steady rise of a secret kingdom in the shadows of a crumbling empire.