Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~ - Volume 1 - Chapter 7

They took his name, stole his life, and fed on his pain. But they made one mistake—they let him live.Betrayed by his own blood and sold into slavery, Prince Oliver Von Rich lost everything—his title, his freedom, and his future. For years, his captors in the Somaran Empire bled him dry, using his Royal bloodline as fuel for their Aether.But when they sought King Solomon’s Staff—a relic said to grant any wish—Oliver rebelled. Left beaten and dying, his blood soaked the ancient artifact… and awakened it.Dragged back in time to the eve of his kingdom’s fall, Oliver is no longer a helpless prince. With the scars of his past and knowledge of what’s to come, he’ll rewrite fate—even if it means becoming a monster.To destroy the empire that broke him, Oliver must embrace the cursed power of the most vile demon known to man.

Henry was just a simple boy but life was never simple to him. During his early years, he had actually encountered the legendary human trafficking. As such, he was sold to a place where he was forced to workday and night.During one of the nights that he was resting after a long day of working, something astonishing happened.He was taken to a black space where time was supposedly nonexistent. After wondering aimlessly for a long time in the darkness, something finally happened.A screen suddenly appeared in front of him. The screen had a title written on it in bloody red bold, 'THE SOUL SYSTEM'.Then, a bulky amount of information was poured into his mind at that moment.The planet that he was in was going to experience an apocalypse. Magic and other things that could only be seen in fantasy were going to appear. And during that time, it would be the period of the reign of the strongest.As someone who hadn't seen the world, how was he supposed to survive in such a world where not just strength, but even knowledge mattered?Thankfully, he had managed to get THE SOUL SYSTEM that was going to guide him.If he was going to rise in power, was he going to look for the family that he had lost many years ago? Or was he simply going to focus on finding out the cause of the sudden apocalypse, as well as to find the mysteries behind THE SOUL SYSTEM?

Father: “Qianqian, he may be a quadriplegic but as long as you agree to marry him, our company will be saved!”

...[Inside an underground basement]“You are going to die for nothing, hahahaha,” the old man's voice thundered through the room, sending chills down my spine.Step.With a swift and ruthless motion, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air and slashing my throat, crimson droplets staining the darkness.“We'll see,” I whispered defiantly, my final words escaping as a mere breath against the impending darkness.Slowly, inexorably, my consciousness slipped away, and I descended into a deep, unfathomable slumber.“Huh!?” My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself seated in a bustling tavern, the air thick with laughter and the clinking of glasses.In front of me stood a captivating lady, her beauty juxtaposed with an angry furrow upon her brow, threatening to shatter the harmony of the jovial scene.“Don't follow me around!” Her words pierced the air like shards of ice, the intensity of her emotions palpable as she cast a resentful glare in my direction, before swiftly departing from the tavern....Am I trapped within the confines of a game? The fragments of my shattered common sense scattered before me, leaving me to question the very fabric of my reality.