The Great Storyteller - Chapter 16 - The Sole Artist in a Literature Club (2)

She is one the most famous thieves of the twenty-first century and the legendary racing queen who is unrivalled in the underworld.

She is a carefree girl who comes and goes as she pleases like the wind.

He is a powerful underworld boss, known to be cruel and merciless.

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He didn’t think that someone would dare to provoke him by touching what belonged to him. Since they had shown him enmity, then he would return it in her stead.

Passion. Love. Hate. Pain.

It was all impossible to unravel.

- Description from Novelupdates

Elias “Grim” Kingsley, a nine-year-old orphan with a hardened heart and sharp tongue, dies alone from pneumonia in an overcrowded orphanage. Known for his perpetual scowl and biting remarks, he's labeled a “problem child” by caretakers and “damaged goods” by potential adopters. Years of rejection have built thick armor around his young heart.In death, he encounters the God of Balance who offers him a second chance at life in a different world—this time as Grim Van Ambrose, son of a noble house. Balance explains that every soul deserves to know love and connection, something Elias was cruelly denied in his first life.Promised the family and belonging he never experienced, Grim begins his new life only to suffer an immediate tragedy: his mother dies moments after his birth. This cruel twist of fate reinforces his belief that loss is inevitable, leaving him with a distant father and the mysterious voice of a “Guidance Assistant” in his head.As Grim grows into his new identity, he struggles with his dual nature—the emotional scars of his past life bleeding into his present one. His difficult personality and sharp tongue remain, now paired with noble privilege and expectations. Despite his outward brashness, he carries the deep wounds of his first life and the fresh loss that welcomed him into his second.What begins as one orphan's second chance evolves into an epic journey through a world of ancient beasts, elemental magic, and deadly political intrigue. As Grim uncovers the truth about the Ambrose Clan's fall from grace and the conspiracy that framed them for treason, he faces increasingly dangerous adversaries—both human and monstrous. His quest for revenge against those who destroyed his family's legacy will challenge him to master forbidden techniques, forge unexpected alliances, and ultimately decide whether to rebuild the Ambrose Clan as it was, or transform it into something entirely new.In a realm where power determines survival and ancient secrets lurk beneath noble facades, Grim must learn that sometimes the greatest battles aren't fought with swords, but with the choices that define who we truly are.

A replica of Marquis Kieran Vale, the son of the Marchioness of Vale, who she deemed a failure. That was all she was. No, she was now referred to as “he.” At least until she met Claude Del Ihar.

Ruins stretched across the landscape in the apocalypse after the nuclear war.