MTL - The Resplendent Farming Apothecary - Chapter 31 Rumors stop at the drug

How long can one ignore the voices in their head?Nine years. To Mark, that was the limit.For the majority of his life, Mark White has been fighting a constant battle for his sanity. The voices in his head pushed him toward madness one whisper at a time, and the music he used to ward against them was gradually losing its effects.As his mental state slowly deteriorated, Mark spent more of his time working on a game he had been developing and lamenting his lack of romantic experience.One night, the voices dealt him a powerful blow, bringing their battle to an end. To his surprise, Mark won the battle, but that came at a great cost.The voices might have disappeared, but a visual hallucination arrived to replace them, taking the form of a character from his game: Maids VS Apocalypse. Little did he know that the real apocalypse was already coming for him.

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Octavius, misled by friends, embarks on a quest to clear his father's name, ultimately facing a tragic end with his sister.Their journey results in devastating loss, leaving him powerless and yearning for revenge against those who harmed his family. Spirits offer him a chance to reincarnate, but he refuses, saying;“What’s the point of a new life if I keep running from my problems”The entities are taken aback by his unwavering decision, having never encountered a spirit who refuses to escape their troubled past. They warn him about the evil being that now resides in his old body, but that only motivates him. He believed In the saying - to defeat a monster, you have to be twice as monstrous.Embracing his fate as The Phantom's Gambit, they traverse the shadowy path of retribution, their identities blur, secrets unravel, and the line between savior and monster fades.This is a tale of darkness and redemption, where justice is a blade, and revenge is the only way forward.

He is Monkey D. Luffy, but not the original Monkey D. Luffy, because in this world, that one is Lucy, his blood sister, while he had a peaceful childhood with his other three brothers. They all ended up following different paths since he didn’t have his memories. It was only when he entered a barrel lost at sea to save himself that he finally began to regain all the knowledge he had of this world from his past life. On top of that, he realized he could use this knowledge to his advantage to acquire everything he needed on his adventure. He was given four chances to summon people to start his journey, and more importantly, he finally received his two devil fruits, becoming powerful from the very beginning, with a plan that stretched to the end of his adventure.This story is the adventure of a man called Monkey D. Luffy, with the goal of becoming the emperor of all the seas in the world. For that, he will find the One Piece and destroy the World Government, for they cannot coexist. Be it the Marines, government agents, CP units, Tenryuubito, Holy Knights, Gorosei, or Im, Luffy will walk over a mountain of corpses.“I want you in my crew. Together, we will change the whole world and turn it upside down.”“Hahaha. Don’t worry, I believe in your potential, that's why I want you in my crew.”“My swordsman already fought you and lost. Now let’s see the strength of the world’s greatest swordsman too, right, Yamato? I hope you don’t mind fighting two rookies at once...?”“Awaken... Awaken my power... and destroy all your enemies...”“It’s good to see you after so long, Grandpa... and you, sister.”“Monkey D.? The most dangerous family in the world!”“Isn’t it a beautiful scene? Two Shichibukai and a Vice Admiral as my trophies! Come on, take a good picture and put it on tomorrow’s newspaper cover!”“I declare this kingdom my territory!”“Enel, you’re nothing but an idiot with a god complex. If you’re a god... then I’m a god slayer.”“As you said, Teach, people’s dreams never end! And if people’s dreams never end, why should I stop?”“Doflamingo... Jake... you’re so far from home. I hope you don’t regret this.”“You narcissistic woman, how can someone be so annoying and arrogant?”“What did you say, you damned man?!”“I now declare you husband and wife.”“It's time to return to the Blue Sea, after all, we have a world to shake.”“CP9? What a disappointment, Sengoku. I want money for them and Doflamingo... I want 2 billion berries at Enies Lobby in a few days.”“Enies Lobby was completely destroyed...?”“I've fought Mihawk, Jimbei, Crocodile, Doflamingo, Hancock, and Moria... you're the only one left, Kuma...”“It seems we've finally met, Rayleigh...”“Let's invade Impel Down!”“I came here to find you, sister, it's time for you to join my crew... Joygirl...”“It looks like we've finally arrived at the war.”“Sengoku... you tried to arm yourself to execute my brother, so I'll make an example of this Tenryuubito for the whole world.”“You can't do this...!”*BANG!*“He actually did it, that bastard....”“Your chains are loose, move your ass and get out of Marineford!!”“Saturn!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!”“I couldn't kill you last time, Akainu... but I'll make sure to do it now.”“Destroy the rest of Marineford.”“Let's get out of here. When you return, you'll take over this country for your family, Rebecca.”“No matter if we're on opposite sides... I will always love you, grandpa.”“It's time to start our training.”“Let's begin. Now, let's head to the New World, capture territories, and grow our fleet.”“Is the entire Straw Hat fleet ready? Now let's head to Wano, after all, we have a war against two Yonkou!”