Garden Of Poison - Chapter 3: Captives in the cages

On an apparent normal Sunday, Luke suddenly woke up after hearing a voice warning him of something weird. After assuming that it was just a bizarre dream, he felt an earthquake that nearly destroyed his dormitory. As if things weren't odd enough, a zombie suddenly appears in his room and targets him.Somehow, Luke survived several encounters against the zombies thanks to his skill Weapon Augmentation, but then he suddenly finds a mini-sized elf and a mini-sized dark elf telling him that they want to help.After a stranger offer, Luke learns that something very big is happening with the planet, and now he will have to find the strength to fight against zombies and all kinds of weird creatures that want his neck... he will do all that while avoiding being tempted by those two very suspicious elves.The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

As a male fashion model, Su Nuo didn’t like others calling him feminine. But against all of his hopes, his beautiful appearance really betrayed him.

[Ancient Setting + Light-hearted Comedy + Strong Female Lead + Coming-of-Age Heroine + Ensemble Cast + Political Intrigue + Patriotic Themes]Chu Tianjiao is the eldest daughter of a prestigious military family. In her previous life, she devoted herself to fighting for her country, but after death her soul was trapped in the imperial ancestral temple, unable to be reincarnated.She spends her days chatting, joking around, and enjoying a sort of posthumous glory with a group of royal ancestors.Once a novice at palace intrigue, she learns many things from these imperial forebears. Some teach her poetry and rhythm, others force her to memorize medical texts daily, while the rest regale her with stories from which she gleans the arts of political maneuvering and maintaining balance of power.The heroine grows stronger with each passing day.One day, a fire breaks out in the ancestral temple. The heroine leads the group of ancestors back to the present era.These ancestors were all emperors and empresses in their past lives. Their change in status after being reborn leads to all sorts of comedic situations.But your ancestors are still your ancestors, after all.Each possessing unique skills, they help the heroine crush her enemies and slap faces, vowing to change the fate of national ruin and family destruction from their previous lives.The heroine gradually sheds her rash personality from her past life, embarking on an unstoppable path of dominating the world.

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!