Rise of the Living Forge - Chapter 9: Opportunity

“Evil God of the Universe, You are in every space and time. Present in every dimension of reality and govern the darkness of our world.Oh, almighty Atticus! Hear our plea and grant us your presence tonight, awaken my Lord!”The rain had completely stopped and the strong gale had subsided into the fading raindrops. The night had turned eerily silent and only the sizzling and cackling of the fire entered their ears.Suddenly, they all felt like floating from their feet despite setting foot on the watery, hard ground, as if they were traversing into space. The darkness of the night gradually turned darker, enveloping them, morphing into everyone, like a void eating them slowly. Sequentially, their breathing turned oddly slower. Despite exaggeratedly inhaling air to breathe, it was to no avail, as if a higher entity was limiting them from breathing.Nolan felt his throat and tried to open his mouth to gasp more air but failed. Everyone but him was in a state of indignation and panic as they struggled to breathe to fill their lungs with air. Nolan tried to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and stopped inhaling air in pure panic, instead, he put his heartbeat and breathing into a rhythm. It was hard at first, but after a minute, he found his breathing gradually went stable.His whole being was in pure anticipation of what was going to happen next.After a couple more minutes, the storm completely subsided, the night turned to normal. Nolan remained standing, taking in his surroundings with his eyes closed. Everything turned silent. The eerie atmosphere and the crackling of the fire from the hay figure didn’t even enter his ears. Nolan waited for a couple more minutes, his breathing turning normal. He was reluctant to open his eyes, afraid he might ruin their ritual.“It’s alright now, Young Master. You can open your eyes now.”Nolan’s breathing hitched. He jolted on his feet as he fluttered his eyes open.“Atticus? W-why are you here?”The butler, standing in front of him, a raincoat hung on his arm, smiled. “I am everywhere, Young Master, in order to best serve you.”****Atticus, a demi-god from the underworld, was cast out of his parents' realm and banished to the human world. The reason? He had yet to give them any grandchildren.Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is purely the product of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people, events, or beliefs is entirely coincidental. The intention is not to disrespect or diminish any faith or tradition, but rather to explore ideas within a fictional context. Reader discretion is advised.

As soon as Luo Yan graduated, he immediately got an offer from a prestigious gaming company. He thought all his hard work finally paid off. And he would finally reach the pinnacle of life. But then, on his first day of work, a potted plant fell on his head and he died.Surprisingly, when he thought he would cross the Yellow River, he suddenly woke up and found himself in the body of a 17 year old boy. This body had the same name as him but completely different background. Because the original was the second young master of the Luo family - one of the most powerful family in S City.Luo Yan almost cried. God probably took pity on him and decided to give him a loving family with a wealthy background. He didn't have to work hard anymore. Studying like his life depended on it and pretending to be a holy father just to cater to people.So Luo Yan decided to be a salted fish and just shamelessly sell meng.A certain male god who always bought Luo Yan's meng: Yan Yan is so cute! Why is Yan Yan so cute??Cold faced on the outside, a cinammon roll on the inside Gong X Super beautiful, black-belly Shou.Cover art by Revereine

To win a grand prize of five million, Chen Xixi signed up for a variety show called 'Saving Battle'.As the show began, other guests were scrimping and saving by eating the cheapest instant noodles or even starving. But Chen Xixi got a pound of eggs for free during a pharmacy event and even managed to score ten free lunches!The internet exclaimed: This lady really knows how to freeload!While other participants were too thrifty to buy cosmetics, Chen Xixi managed to have makeup without spending a dime.The internet responded: When it comes to saving money by freeloading, Chen Xixi is the master!Other guests obsessed over how to spend their money most effectively, meanwhile Chen Xixi was leisurely enjoying free afternoon tea!The internet complained: Darn it! Chen Xixi's not spending a cent, yet lives better than all of us!To save money, the other guests decided to beg at the train station. In contrast, Chen Xixi became a middleman and made a profit!In the end, all the guests were shocked by Chen Xixi's bank balance: Damn it! Not only does she freeload and pinch pennies, but how on earth is her money multiplying?!...Every time Chen Xixi freeloading, she found herself reluctantly signing up for memberships that not only led to an onslaught of spam messages and calls but also posed a risk of personal information leakage.Then she thought of the spam text that was blocked by the anti-fraud app, why not leave the scammer's number active!...At Zhongjing Group.Zhou Jingyuan was silently suffering from the barrage of spam texts and nuisance calls every day....Later on, Zhou Jingyuan's nephew pointed at the woman on the computer screen, saying: 'Uncle, this is your future niece-in-law.'Zhou Jingyuan replied: 'That's your aunt.'

Happiness of the family >>>>>> World peace!? The curtain rises on another fantasy slice-of-life tale, brought to you by the “Hataraku Maou-sama!” team.

On that day, an emergency family meeting was called to order at the residence of the Kenzaki family, an ordinary family living in Tokorozawa City. A blonde beauty named Dianaze Krone, Diana for short, had appeared from a different world, in the living room of the Kenzaki family. “I, an envoy, have come to summon the Hero of Salvation, Kenzaki Hideo.”

Wait, Hideo is my dad! To think such a game-like situation would fall upon me, Kenzaki Yasuo, an ordinary high school student.

My father is a hero, and he saved a different world in his younger days!? There’s no way I can believe that this ordinary, middle-aged father of mine is a “Hero.” Diana looks at me, “The Son of the Hero” with a gaze filled with longing. My sister who saw that looks at me with a cold gaze… Before bringing back peace to the other world, the peace of our family is in big trouble! What is going to happen to my peaceful everyday life!?