Pure Love ✕ Insult Complex - Chapter 33

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.

In this world, some say, the truth and the legends are the same. One such legend belonged to the protagonist, Valerian.

Valerian was an orphan, a boy blessed with a beautiful face, and everyone around him, could not help but want to play with him, till one day a prophet passing through their town pronounced him to be cursed.

Since that day, the destiny of the boy seemed to have changed completely, he was shunned by everyone around him, and the gazes that were earlier filled with love and affection, now brimmed with disgust and hatred.

The constant shunning and humiliation made the cheerful child grow up to be bitter and inexpectant. On his seventh birthday, things changed once again.

This time, it was not the people around him who went through a change, but himself. As he grew up, Valerian became a legend in his own sense.

The people sang of a boy, who could not speak, they shed tears for a boy, who could not grieve. He came from nowhere yet he was known everywhere.

Would you like to know this legend? A story where a curse can become a blessing? A story of sacrifice, betrayal, determination, and secrets.

In the twenty-seventh year of Hong Guang, the allied forces of seven nations invaded the Great Blue Dynasty.Rifled muskets, mortars, and armored vehicles combined into a steel tide, were ultimately shattered by the Great Blue's armored cavalry.Muscle, magic, firearms, cannons... the new and the old powers continuously collided.In an era of great strife, Li Fei, with the help of a Ten Thousand Blood Bead, gradually became an existence akin to a BOSS:'Is this the extent of your damage? You haven't even taken off one-thousandth of my health.''You don't think this is enough to kill me, do you?''Don't rush, the second phase is up next!'......

25-year-old Albion lived an unimpressive parasitic life of a NEET and otaku, leeching off his loving parent's allowances to enjoy watching animes, reading manga and novels at home.When faced with the cruel reality of contracting cancer through smoking, he selfishly ran away from home and sacrificed his life on a strange day of drastic changes.'Since I'm going to die anyway, let me save another life in exchange.'Those were his thoughts before shoving a person out of harm's way and getting struck by a truck.'If I could get a second chance, I want to live a fulfilling life and not waste it like this.'However, Albion's new life resolution was quickly challenged by a stroke of divine providence.“What? I'm not dead yet? Holy cow, I transmigrated into the body of a notorious hidden boss who controls half the world's wealth in an alternate universe after he failed his heavenly tribulation? I never have to worry about money? I can live forever? Lucky me!”Albion thought he had shot to the peak of life, but he could not be more wrong. The immortal body was too strong for a mortal soul like him to control. He can only move for 5 minutes a day!He became immobile and paralyzed for the rest of the time! The Four Horsemen of the Dark Emperor thought he was crippled and turned on him! They couldn't kill him physically due to his invincible body so they dropped him to the bottom of the ocean to drown!His body was immortal. He could not die.Thus, he lived the following life in the dark depths of the ocean before being swallowed into the stomach of a giant sea serpent!Before he could enjoy his new life, he had sunk to the lowest point of his life, literally!However, the world rapidly changed after the notorious True Immortal disappeared for two years! The Apocalypse arrived, and so too, the System!Ding![You have slain a Lv.1 ancient sea serpent. 100 EXP has been gained.][You have leveled up.][You have become a Lv.2 Hunter.][Title acquired: Hunter.]Albion: ???“Did the sea serpent get food poisoning and died from eating me or something?” Albion wondered in the pit of the sea serpent's stomach.[System calibration complete. Goldfinger has been activated.]“Never mind, my time has come! With the system in hand, I will take back everything and rule the w–wait, what? This body's cultivation needs to be sealed in order for me to move freely without impairments?”“Sigh, forget it, ruling the world is too hard. I'm a wanted man anyway. Let's just hide somewhere, watch my animes, and reading my manga and novels…”Albion was nerfed harder than the Big Bang at the beginning of time. However, what's his, will still be his.“Until my soul becomes strong enough to fully wield this power, I'll just treat it as a 5-minute Super Saiyan mode I can enjoy once a day…”He was not the Dark Emperor, but the Dark Emperor was now him. The Four Horsemen that turned on him, their day of retribution will come!Little did Albion know, the world had more things in store for him than his quest for vengeance. The dimensional rifts that appeared everywhere and the interdimensional creatures that spilled forth from there are actually…!Find out on the next episode of drag–Ahem, to be continued.