The CEO's Hidden Bride - Chapter 10

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!

In the end of the world, the fittest survive.

Come back from rebirth, seize the opportunity, just want to survive in the hopeless end times.

Three months before Mu Nan returned to the apocalypse, he sold all his savings to accumulate supplies, hoarded everything he could hoard like a hamster, and then huddled in his own house and lived a low-key life, carefully waiting for the apocalypse to come step by step…

- Description from Novelupdates

This stands at the forefront of strategy guides to Life (a shitty video game)!

Qiao Nian lived in the Qiao family’s house for 18 years before her biological parents found her. Suddenly, all the wealthy families in the city knew that the Qiao family had a fake daughter!A true daughter of an affluent family would be talented, gentle, and kind.A fake daughter would not be able to pick up any skills and accomplish nothing.Everyone wanted to see how miserable she would become when she went back to her ravine after being kicked out of a rich family!Qiao Nian also thought that her biological parents were poor teachers from Luohe County.Who knew that her brother drove a Phaeton that was worth three hundred thousand yuan!Her biological father was also a professor who taught at Tsinghua University!The big boss of the family of scums became a bootlicker and bowed in front of her grandpa…Qiao Nian was dumbfounded.Erm… this wasn’t the same as saying yes!After being freed from the family of scums, Qiao Nian was able to be herself.She was the top student in the college entrance examination, a live broadcast star and the heir of an invaluable cultural heritage… Her identities were revealed and when she started to appear on the hot searches in the city, the family of scums turned green.The anti-fans mocked: What’s the point of trying to fake an image? Aren’t you just sticking to my brother everyday?Qiao Nian responded: I’m sorry but I already have a match.Top Brother: @Qiao Nian. Let me introduce her to everyone. This is my sister.Wealthy Grandpa: My dear granddaughter, why are you working so hard? If you want a bicycle, grandpa will buy it for you!The rich and powerful in Beijing spread a rumor that Master Wang was hiding a wife in his luxurious house. No matter how much people tried to persuade him, he never took her out to meet anyone. If he were asked, he would say the same sentence. “My wife is from the countryside and she is shy.”That was until one day when someone saw the noble and cold Master Wang holding a girl’s slender waist while hiding in a corner of a wall and muttering with red eyes. “Baby, when will you give me a title?”[Fake daughter who is from a truly wealthy family] + [Two big bosses]