Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e - Volume 4, Chapter 3: Double Question Part 4

Cairn is a prince who is already tired of ruling. Faced with an imminent coronation and an overbearing father, he wants nothing more than to drown his responsibilities in cheap liquor and poor decisions. With the help of his sister, he hatches a plan to escape the clutches of the throne once and for all. It all goes terribly wrong, and Cairn finds his priorities shifting in the face of unimaginable tragedy. The change of heart comes too late, however, and Cairn dies. He reawakens to find himself transported ten years in the past. He immediately begins to plan for the future, only to discover his killer has somehow followed him. To succeed, Cairn must unite the kingdom and discover the motivation of his killer, using as many tries as it takes. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I exhausted pretty much every time loop story ever written and decided to write my own. You'll see a few similarities here between this story and some existing stories, at least initially. There's a lot of inspiration drawn from both MoL and Re:Zero, though in terms of pathos and darkness, this story leans more towards the latter. Be warned, it is something of a slow burn. The main character will grow and become powerful, but a theme of this story is that power comes slowly and often at great cost.

Ichiro was a man who had to live through a tragic and awful life.After losing his wife, his only source of happiness, his despair only got worse until the day he died.To Ichiro's fortune, the Goddess of Life, Phelena, decided to send his soul into a new body in another world. His only condition was for the Goddess to send him far away from people.The goddess agreed, but she certainly had other plans for Ichiro's new life.A wholesome story about a man rekindling his love for living and encountering his lost wife in another world![Story is written in 1st person with a casual tone]

The Strongest Magic meets the Mightiest Mecha.

I have stolen Golden Mechas from the deepest vaults of the most tightly guarded fortresses in the world.

I have personally destroyed more armies than the top three superpowers have in the span of the Absolute War - combined.

I burned down the terrorist megacity of Habon.

I was expelled from the Union of Heroes at a younger age than people are allowed in.

I have talked to Ancient Gods, loved women, and devoured mechas that would make superpowers cringe in fear.

I have faced demons head on in moonless nights others fear to speak of during the day.

I am deified in a thousand cultures, and labelled as the devil incarnate in the rest.

I am the Mecha Emperor.

You may have heard of me.

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Excerpt from Chapter 1

This is where it all began.

A junkyard.

Oh no, this isn't your clean, mechas-only junkyard that was the 'starting point' of many mecha geniuses out there.

I have seen and heard my share of rags-to-riches stories, and many of them claimed that they had started from 'junkyards' and slowly grew to be where they were right now.

From Zero to Hero, they declared.

You can do it too, they said.

As long as you work hard, everything is possible, they claimed.

I call bullshit.

Life doesn't work like that.

In his first life as 'Caine Wilson', was the villain—ruthless, cunning, and very powerful.He played his part perfectly, crushing the so-called “protagonist” and parading his enemies, their families, and anyone who crossed him naked through the streets.He watched with glee as the “hero” lay broken, stripped of his dignity, before finally ending his pitiful existence.But just as Caine, thought he had finally won and secured his place at the top, 'Higher ups' intervened.A booming, ethereal voice—like the universe’s pissed-off judge—shook the skies:“You have violated the sacred code of villainy! The villain shall not win. The balance has been broken. Caine Wilson, the world hereby rejects you!”Before he could even enjoy his victory, his world blinked out, like a story whose writer just erased the last chapter in frustration.Everything went dark.And when he awoke, he wasn’t Caine Wilson anymore.He was 'Su Xiaobai', a nobody on 'White Cloud Star', a world of cultivation, martial arts, and endless struggle.But this time, things were different.He could feel it—he could see through the cracks of reality itself.He could break the fourth wall!He wasn’t just some reincarnated soul; he was a villain who had 'seen the system', who understood the game.And he was about to flip it upside down.