I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game - Chapter 19: [STAGE 1] The Kill Zone

Being a bottom feeder in society is an unpleasant experience.That's how Kiro felt after being left for dead in a back alley. Abandoned and disappointed by the 'work hard' ethic his parents left for him.'At least the heavens are weeping for me.' As the light from his eyes faded, he declared as the last act of defiance.He awoke in a room he hadn't seen in ten years. Whether it was due to sheer luck or divine intervention, he was grateful.'Through the VR game, Asgard, I'll become filthy rich in this life time.'Kiro was blissfully unaware that his return was a cry for something greater, for the underlying threats that hovered over his world.

Leon was once an ordinary man—until he died saving children and woke up in a new world as the last prince of the demon race. But his awakening comes with a cruel truth: the war is already over.The Demon King is dead. The once-mighty demon empire lies in ruins. And now, Leon stands amidst the ashes, surrounded by a handful of survivors teetering on the brink of extinction.Crowned Demon King by default, he holds the title—but there is no kingdom left to rule. The few remaining demons are barely surviving, hunted and outnumbered. Worse still, Leon, who once enjoyed the luxuries of modern technology, must now navigate a harsh world stuck in the Middle Ages.Can he pull the demon race out of their misery? Can he reclaim the power they once held? Or will history remember him as the last king of a fallen race?Follow Leon on his journey to rebuild, conquer, and defy fate itself.

Originally from the slums, Adam was chosen as a candidate for an experiment to ignite the Spark - an entity that gives superpowers. However, he failed and was thrown into the Dead Lands - the place the world became after the fall of the Last Star, beginning a new era for mankind, dangerous and unexpected. He faced against monsters and dangerous anomalies, sometimes creating artifacts - the miracle of this world.Killing his first monster in deadly combat, Adam became a Phantom - one who could evolve, endlessly moving toward power.Follow Adam on his journey, from fighting monsters and exploring Dead Lands to endless evolution!

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.