The Sweets Prince's Search - Chapter 36: Plans for Christmas

In the game Myth2, Klaus Park was already considered a top player at just 13 years old. With his advanced knowledge of the game and methods of adapting to the most varied situations, he became a world champion younger than anyone else. However, due to a tragic incident, he left his team and the gaming world a year later.

Now, 7 years after leaving the professional scene, he returned to play the eminent VRMMORPG called Rise Online, a unique game of unrestricted freedom whose number of players already exceeds one hundred million. This game allows players to use real-world skills such as martial arts, archery, blacksmithing, or reaction time for their own benefit, along with the freedom to explore 7 colossal, mythological worlds.

Planning how to conquer dungeons? Fight against powerful guilds? Slay the Werewolf King? Face hordes of thousands of zombies? Have the power to revive the dead? Or discover unknown battle techniques?

None of this is impossible for Klaus, a legendary player, and holder of the Psych Class, allowing him to see and talk to spirits, copy abilities, cast magic items, and see the signs that no one else can see across the worlds. His real goal is to reach the throne of the paranormal world and the top of the player and guild ranks of Rise Online. No matter what is in front of him, he will be head-on with his best, be it the High Lord of Vampires or the strongest Guild Master.

Anton is a great-grandfather. He is living quite a happy life, despite his advanced age and declining health… until a group of cultivator bandits moves into the area. The nearby guardians of the area, the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars, are unable to track them down as they continue to ravage nearby towns. During one desperate winter Anton is out on a hunt when his family- his entire village- is killed or taken as slaves by the bandits. He lacks the strength to fight them, and he wasn’t even present for their arrival to die with his loved ones. At the pit of his despair, he wonders if he ever had any chance to change things. What could he even do? He cannot even pull his best bow, and his eyesight is failing. If he had been a cultivator… perhaps there might have been a chance, but he was decades- perhaps even most of his life- too late.Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge (2022)Notes on cultivation levels:There are five general stages of cultivation, though the fifth is extremely rare. Each cultivation style might have their own name for the stages.1. Body Tempering2. Spirit Building/ occasionally System Creation (Ninety-Nine Stars)3. Constellation Formation (Ninety-Nine Stars)4. Life Transformation/Galaxy Construction (Ninety-Nine Stars)5. Ascension

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

Once a young business prodigy, Violetta’s company crumbled fast thanks to internal corruption and the greed of the more successful elites.Now, she’s a certified 31 year old dirt-poor shut-in, living her best (or worst?) life as a full-fledged otaku.With nothing but her anime merch and a shaky Wi-Fi connection, she scrapes by on streaming money, all while dodging the harsh reality outside her door.However, after an all-nighter to play Merlysian Realm, a newly released VR MMORPG, she died from her unhealthy lifestyle and passed out.[SYSTEM ERROR: 404 - ACCOUNT NOT FOUND][Rebooting...][Loading...[ERROR: SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. PLEASE WAIT.].....[SYSTEM MESSAGE][You Have Received A Legendary Class][User's account balance has been updated.][Balance: UNLIMITED][Class: Merchant][Rank: SSS]“Huh?!”Not only was she transmigrated into Merlysian Realms, she was reborn in a struggling farmer's family that lived in poverty from a poorly developed kingdom in medieval times!The real kicker? It’s crawling with corrupt nobles, dying crops, zero trade routes, and is so tiny it could probably fit on a map as a dot labeled “Who Knows Where.”Can our otaku-turned-financial wizard save this sinking ship of a kingdom, or is she doomed to relive her bankrupt nightmares?Watch as she proves those who doubted her to be wrong and be accepted as a genius by using her knowledge from the modern world!