Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 263: Desire and Ambition (1)

Kiro is a slave branded with a deadly collar, forced to work in brutal mines under the ruthless Kargal Empire. Each year, slaves are hunted for sport in the deadly Hunting Games—a fight to the death on a savage alien moon. This year, Kiro is chosen to play. Sent into a wilderness filled with monsters and traps, survival seems impossible. But something ancient watches from the shadows—and it has plans for him.

Athar VonCruz, an orphan, had always been at the bottom rung of the society. He had been bullied, belittled and pushed down for his entire life.Beast taming in this world is not a hobby or a profession but is the only way of survival for a human and to gain power.Athar invests his entire life savings for one of the beast eggs; the only chance he has to rise and get ahead in his life.The egg cracks, and a creature of unknown potential emerges from it. In that pivotal moment, Athar's destiny irrevocably shifted. In that moment, Athar unearths a strange and wondrous secret; a hidden power that would become his ultimate trump card.Read how Athar VonCruz carves out a path out for himself and strives to reach the pinnacle of life.

A new emperor rules each year in Yohuachanca.Only the most delicious of food graces his palate; the realm’s most beautiful women fill his harem; his palace dazzles the mind in its beauty; and four priestesses counsel him in all matters. The life of an emperor is good, luxurious, and short. For at the year’s end, he is sacrificed to the Nightlords under the light of the Scarlet Moon.I am Iztac. A pisspoor orphan and the year’s emperor. A sacrifice bound for the altar. But the vampires have made a mistake this time. For I am a sorcerer, whose soul journeys into the secret underworld to plunder the secret spells of the dead. There, in the darkness, hides the power to drag the Nightlords off their throne. I have a year to find it, or perish for good.I may not be the first emperor, but I will be the last.