Toaru Majutsu no Index: Road to Endymion - Chapter 2

I’m an imperial uncle; his imperial majesty’s uncle.

Once, someone with nothing better to do took a comprehensive survey of the current dynasty, and summed up the imperial court’s three great cancers.

Wang Qin leads in corruption; the treasury is never full.

Yun Tang favours a few, forming cabals; leading to corruption in our politics.

Prince Huai plays with power, and serves as the head of a hundred poisons — thus causing instability to the throne.

When they talk about the most venomous of vipers, the wicked one who plays with power, the biggest cancer of them all, they’re talking about me: this insignificant prince, Prince Huai, Chengjun.

I can only say that I feel rather hapless in the face of these theories.

In truth, I have been ever dutiful, ever devoted, devoid of intention to monopolise power, and possess even less of a heart to covet the throne. In the entire imperial court, I dare say there is no loyal subject more loyal than I.

But, most tragically, in all the realm, the matter of my being a loyal subject is something that not many would believe.

- Description from Novelupdates

The year is 2025. A devout Christian named Arthur Bennett wins a lottery to participate in a revolutionary virtual reality experience at a high-tech company called Elysium. The program utilizes a unique VR pod to immerse users in a world based on a popular anime.As the other participants—a mix of personalities with varying degrees of anime knowledge—prepare to enter the simulation, Arthur remains the only one who has never indulged in anime. Upon entering this new world, he discovers an unsettling truth: pain is excruciatingly real, despite the creators' claims of a dampened pain response.He eventually finds himself trapped in prison, unable to log out, and demanding to be released from the program. Calls go unanswered, and the world of ninjas becomes a nightmare where hunger, thirst, hygiene, and even death are all real.Angered that he was deceived, he abandons all sense of logic and vows to become a villain no one would have ever anticipated.

Shi Yu, an Archaeologist and Mythologist, crossed into a foreign world where Noble Beasts were the mainstream.

“I hate this world. I hate everyone. There's no justice for the weak,”Once happy and carefree, Reign's life took a dark turn when he was kidnapped and undergone brutal experiments.These trials broke not only his physical body but also shattered his mind.In the end, his body couldn't withstand the ordeal, and he died like a pitiful lab rat.But death wasn't the end.He woke up in a new world as a corpse, armed with the Ultimate Mutation System.A system that enabled him to mutate and gain power in exchange for his own humanity.Determined to avoid being exploited again, he sets out to become a true powerhouse.He knew that being weak would only make him a target, especially now that he was a monster.“Kill or be killed.”That was his only option.