Reborn: The Duke's Obsession - Chapter 43 - Forty Three

❗[Current Writing Contest-WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 Fantas]❗Flain grew up in a futuristic world. When he was born his parents didn't want him because he didn't live up to their expectations and so he ended up very badly.Flain was employed as a slave. He was forced to mine radioactive iron deep in the mines. It was drilled into his head that he existed only to obey orders.Young Flain was obedient. He doubted some of it but knew nothing else. For years, he never saw a single ray of light; light was only spoken of among the others as a legend.The routine was the same: in the morning, he would take a nutrient tablet and water. Then he would mine all day, sleep eight hours, and repeat.Flain worked like this from childhood until he was ten years old. He even found a friend, but that friend died of radiation poisoning right in front of Flain. Flain couldn't stop mining. He kept mining with tears streaming down his face.Before bed, Flain cried. “I will become the strongest. I will kill you all, and you will become my slaves.”Flain stopped crying, stared blankly at the rocky ceiling, then looked ahead. A manic grin appeared on his face, one that would often adorn it from that moment on.At the age of ten, Flain was assigned to a military camp due to his endurance in the mines and his survival against radiation.In the camp, Flain was trained. The regime was much looser; he even had an hour of free time each day. However, Flain didn't make any more friends. Even during his free time, he trained with a smile. He would achieve his goal at any cost, even if it meant training himself to death.Experiments were conducted on Flain. He lost his hair, two long gray arms grew on his back, and a third red eye appeared. Flain became a mutant.Flain was then sent to war. He fought with sharp katabas. He performed quite well in the war, earning himself command of ten soldiers and becoming a small commander.But one day, everything changed.Flain then dies, is swallowed by darkness, and Flain refuses to die, thus appearing as a skeleton in a fantasy world.

Together with the shocking death of a famous gamer, a new VRMMORPG was launched.

“This is not just a game, this is about building a second life.”

Said Dr. Jeff Johnson, the founder of Ninecent, when he announced the new game.

[LAST SHELTER ONLINE]

It quickly became the number one wanted game that even affected the global cryptocurrency market.

However, after the mysterious death of his brother. Hiro’s life had been wrecked with no money left to spend and no place left to live.

That is, until he received a surprise late birthday gift from the deceased.

While other gamers around the world were scrambling to get the limited edition of full-dive VR, Hiro received the mysterious beta-testing access.

Being an expert gamer himself, Hiro soon found something unusual about the new game, and it seems that there’s much more to it than a simple game.

Will Hiro find the truth behind it all?

[System linked.]

[Welcome to Last Shelter Online]

In this world, orphans or just anyone without any hope for this world can apply to become a “walking target”. Their sole purpose is to be a practicing dummy for the students of the sect who train to become “Demon Hunters”. These students need “walking targets” to test their training on living, walking beings of flesh and blood.
In exchange, they will be provided with food & shelter.
Their existence value is lower than a slave, but if they manage to survive a few years they can receive a life long pension.

Xiao Han is such a “walking target”. One time he witnessed a powerful Demon Hunter disposing a demon. When the demon died, a fragment of the demon that managed to escape entered Xiao Han’s heart. No one saw that, and even Xiao Han himself only felt some discomfort for an instant.

But that thing in his heart soon gave Xiao Han visions, and the first one is of a cultivation method which allows Xiao Han to absorb damage to enhance his body. A perfect cultivation method for a “walking target”.

- Description from Novelupdates

When Shu Tang, a sickly young woman, fell ill and passed away in the 21st century, she thought she would finally be able to drink a bowl of Meng Po’s soup, take a trip across the Neihe bridge, and not be such a sickly person in her next life.

But, after her soul left her body, forget about Meng Po’s soup, she didn’t even see soup dregs before being transmigrated into the body of a pig!

After being adopted by Fuyu Shangxian, one of the three great immortals and heaven’s peerless beauty, hilarity ensues.

- Description from Novelupdates