Eldritch Guidance - Intermission XVI

Seventeen-year-old Grayson has endured a harrowing childhood, leaving him with a dark and twisted philosophy. Driven by this painful doctrine, he imposes his skewed beliefs on everyone and everything around him. His malevolent actions draw the attention of an ancient evil, an entity wrapped in darkness and legend. This being sees in Grayson the potential to carry on its legacy.As the ancient evil begins to mold Grayson for a future drenched in darkness, he finds himself drawn deeper into a web of manipulation and control. Questioning whether he has the strength to defy the fate that has been thrust upon him.Theós, an ancient deity whose origins are lost to time, rules with an iron grip, instilling fear and absolute control over those who dare challenge him.“If it is not within Theós' plan, it cannot be done!”

Tigers beget tigers, and lions beget lions. But not in this case.Mao Jin, the only son of the Dust Valley Sect Master, became the laughingstock of the sect due to his trashy talent.At eighteen, he was still stuck in the Mortal Rank-1 realm, with no hope of breaking through to the next stage.Even his parents had given up on him as a cultivator, wishing only for him to live a mortal life.However, everything changed when Mao Jin earned his first income. That was when he realized—what he truly needed wasn’t talent, but money.With money comes unparalleled talents.From a nobody to a visionary, watch as Mao Jin transforms the Dust Valley Sect into a thriving business hub while rising to power!

Birth rates are decreasing. Hope is vanishing. The world has gone gray.Humanity, drifting in quiet collapse, receives an email.Every person on Earth. Simultaneously.The Aegis Mandate.Disguised as a cosmic aptitude test, it triggers The Incident of Separation—a global psychic cataclysm that erases identities, wipes memories, and divides all survivors into three factions: Law, Neutral, and Chaos. Overnight, cities become battlegrounds. Apartments become dungeons. Ordinary people become monsters—or the ones who hunt them.Ragnar Vhagar was just a loner university student. Now, thanks to a system he didn’t ask for, he’s a newly minted Demon King, locked in a crumbling apartment with goblins under his sofa and a glowing soul crystal next to his frozen peas. His new job? Build a deadly domain, defend it from invading “Heroes,” and somehow level up fast enough to not die.Alongside him is Isabelle Thorne, a razor-sharp warrior of few words and one very sharp sword. Their reluctant alliance, born in blood and snark, evolves into trust—and maybe something dangerously close to affection—as they rise together through the layers of the game-like world they’re trapped in.With each conquered domain and defeated boss, Ragnar realizes the truth: the dungeons aren’t meant to crown a winner. They’re meant to break the players. The Law faction wants control. The Chaos faction craves destruction. But Ragnar? He wants something they’re all too afraid to say out loud:Freedom.In the ruins of Kanta’s ogre stronghold, Ragnar and his misfit warband take their biggest step yet—claiming a kingdom, unifying a fractured system, and preparing for what comes next. The Heroes are watching. The gods are stirring. The world is watching a war.And somewhere deep beneath it all... Ragnar is rewriting the rules.