Journey to Become the Zenith - Chapter 25: The Dragon That Refused to Kneel

“Heroes killed my parents. Now I wear the mask of one. Until I can bury them all.”At seven years old, Hernan Vale watched his parents — two powerful heroes — brutally executed in their own home by the very people they trusted most: the legendary super-team known as the Zodiac 13.They thought he was dead.They made sure the world blamed villains.They covered their tracks.But Hernan survived — and never forgot.Ten years later, under a false name, Hernan enters the prestigious Hero Academy, hailed as a prodigy. To the world, he’s a rising star. To his classmates, he’s charming, calm, unstoppable.But inside?He’s a weapon. Waiting. Smiling. Counting names.As he trains to become a licensed hero, fights real villains, and rises through the ranks, Hernan plays the long game — earning the trust of the Zodiac, learning their routines, studying their weaknesses. One by one, he’ll bring them down.And this time, he won’t hide in the closet.But the deeper he goes, the more blood he spills — the more he wonders if he’s becoming worse than the monsters he’s hunting.And when love, loyalty, and lies collide, Hernan may have to decide:Will he save the world like they think he will...or finish burning it down?

In a mind-blowing twist, I found myself reborn into a steampunk-themed JRPG made by a Japanese game company. To my shock, I was appointed as an executive of the villainous faction. However, the protagonist’s party was way too diligent.

Luo Lan traveled to the world of pirates, but the golden finger cheated him, it seemed useless.

Fortunately, I met Luffy at the beginning, and I planned to hang out in the hat group and wait for the finale.

But what he didn’t know was that after reading his comics…

Luffy frantically racked up experience in the comics and awakened Nika form ahead of time!

Zoro had just finished his duel with Sasaki Kojiro in the morning, and he fought Kenpachi again in the afternoon!

Sanji hangs out with guys with thick eyebrows all day long, shouting about youth, passion and so on~

Usopp asked the two Wang Yue to create a shallow sword, awakening the bow and killing star!

Chopper gathered the power of the twelve beasts to prove that I am not the weakest fruit of everyone!

Robin’s thousand hands formed a seal at the same time, and told you what is the spiral pill washing the ground!

…

When the top war comes, the *hat group makes a strong debut and shocks the world! !

- Description from novelbuddy

Suddenly exposed on all the top news websites and social media platforms globally, 'Return Order's Notes' leads to a revolutionary virtual reality game.Game Name: 'Dark Sand'Game Type: Oriental fantasy historical theme, featuring a certain degree of soulslike difficulty and roguelike gameplay in a role-playing game.Requirements for recruiting beta players: Good mindset, quick reactions, strong stress resilience, a certain amount of historical knowledge, excellent physical condition.The most crucial requirement: superb acting skills, preferably at an Oscar-winner level!Special Reward: Among the beta players, the one with the most excellent simulated completion performance can undergo the ultimate trial and, after a perfect recording, have it presented to the public in film form, fulfilling your dream of becoming an Oscar winner!Players are complaining, they have never seen a game with such high entry barriers!What they don't know is that their every action in the game will truly affect both history and reality.