The Righteous Player(s) - Chapter 23: I'm Firm & Steady

WINNER: 3rd Place, 2021 Werewolf Competition

[Mature Content]

After escaping suicide forest, August Moon finds that she has only gone deeper into the mysteries it holds. Lycans exist. But maybe she is something even stranger...

With a clandestine experimental pandemic, a decade-old murder mystery, and a timeless prejudice against strange members within the lycan community all simmering in the periphery of her newfound surroundings, August must fight to discover her own truth alongside a fierce and possessive male who claims to be her mate.

The year was 2026, and the world wasn't what it used to be. Ever since the Abyss Gates cracked open three years ago, spilling monsters and dungeons across the planet, life had turned into a chaotic mess. Cities were half-ruined, half-rebuilt, and people clung to whatever normalcy they could find. Hunters—those brave or crazy enough to fight the monsters—became the new heroes. Everyone else? Well, they just tried to survive.Fin wasn't a Hunter. He wasn't a hero either.He was just… Fin. A lanky 19-year-old with messy brown hair, a chipped front tooth from a dumb skateboard accident, and a power that everyone called useless. Absorption. Sounds cool, right? Like he could suck up energy or steal someone's strength. Nope. All it did was let him “feel” things he touched a little more than normal. He could tell you the exact texture of a brick wall or how warm a coffee mug was—big whoop. No fireballs, no super strength, no flashy moves. Just a glorified touchy-feely trick.“Fin, you gonna eat that sandwich or just stare at it like it's gonna confess its life story?” Meg's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.He blinked and looked across the rickety table at his best friend. Meg was short, loud, and had a wild mop of dyed purple hair that she swore made her look “intimidating.” It didn't.

The Earth's Evolution begins with the first phase Monster Invasion, and everyone receiving a system.The system allows them to choose classes like RPG games: Warrior, Mage, Paladin, Healer, and many more.____Li Wei and Li Xin were both shut-in gamers and stepsiblings. They were bored with normal life and yearned to live as if they were in RPG games.When suddenly the world started to change suddenly like they wanted.Li Wei selected special class, “Jack-of-all-Trades,” because he desired to master everything.There was no problem and everything was going well, when suddenly he was forced to accept the quest to kill gods, along with the upgrade of his system.Little did he know that he was chosen mistakenly because of his bad luck.However, every time he kills a monster, he gains 10× more XP and rewards than a normal person, making him stronger.___It was when the second phase of Earth Evolution starts, making everyone stunned because it begins with 'World Rebuilding.'The Earth begins to absorb nearby worlds, changing the whole map, adding dungeons and spawning monsters.The Earth was changing, similar to fantasy world's described in games and novels.____Li Wei and Li Xin were in trouble as people discovered their extraordinary strength; because of this they escape from the city of earth and head towards unknown forest where they stumbled upon a city from another world.The city was just like a fantasy where Adventures Guild existed with all kinds of quests.

Adeline Smith's life took a sudden and dangerous turn when her grandmother’s will named her as the sole heir to her massive fortune, leaving her uncle with nothing. But the rules that came with the inheritance only made her a target, as her uncles would stop at nothing to claim what they believed should have been theirs.When one of her uncle’s murderous schemes left her gravely wounded and on the edge of death, she was found by Enzo Laureati, an annoying, yet breathtakingly handsome man. What she did not know was that Enzo was no ordinary man—he was a vampire prince who had abandoned his world and royal duties to live among humans just for fun.The moment he saw Adeline, he knew she was his mate, as his heart that had remained dormant for hundreds of years suddenly began beating. But despite knowing what she meant to him, he felt no love or attachment toward her.Out of curiosity, Enzo saved Adeline’s life and proposed an unusual deal: he would become her fake fiancé, help her expose her uncles for trying to murder her, and secure her inheritance. But he didn't propose this deal because he wanted to help her, but because he was simply bored. Adeline agreed, unaware of the chaos that was about to come her way.At first, their partnership was nothing more than a random deal. Living with Enzo wasn’t easy, as he was infuriatingly confident, annoyingly flirty, and had a knack for driving her crazy with his nonchalant attitude.When Adeline finally discovers who Enzo truly is, will she see him as a monster or the man who had always protected her from her uncles? And will Enzo be able to embrace their mate bond, or will secrets tear them apart?(PS: I'm not sure if one would consider this novel slow burn, but the REAL romance between my MC and ML begins at chapter 74.) Thank you so much for supporting my book!