Chronicles of the Hidden Crown: The System's Gentle Tyrant - Chapter 16: The Awakening of Power

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Lucas Tanaka, a 30-year-old Japanese man who gave up his dream of becoming a soccer player, lives a monotonous life in Tokyo. After an act of bravery that results in a fatal wound, a glowing screen appears in front of him. [The skill “System” has been granted.] [“System” unlocked.] [The skill “System” has given to you the skill “Supernatural Resistance”.] [“Supernatural Resistance” unlocked.] [Thanks to the divine effect of “Supernatural Resistance”, from now on death is no longer a problem for you]. When Lucas wakes up, he finds himself on a vast soccer field, back in his youth, in the middle of a match with his childhood friend. With new skills and an unexpected chance to relive his dreams, Lucas is faced with the opportunity to redefine his destiny, but first he must overcome the normal challenges of a young soccer player, such as becoming a starter, winning the regional championship and become a professional soccer player! [The hidden function of the skill “Champion System” has been unlocked.] [The skill of “Replicator Genius” has been granted]. [“Replicator Genius” unlocked]. __________ What you can expect: Action, well-developed relationships, an MC who has attitude, a complex system that evolves, an MC who gets really strong, Slice of Life, manga content. The MC is proactive, he knows how to adapt, but he’s not a genius who knows literally every possible future for all his actions.

Dual Cultivation is an art. The more you focus on doing the art, the worse it becomes. Only when doing it becomes part of the art itself, does one truly experience it to its fullest.

“Do you wish to know what will happen if I drink from your thighs?”Salviana drew in a sharp breath before she whispered, “I might die?”“No, It is I who will die if I don't,” he met her eyes with a lustful hungry gaze, “Spread your legs for me, Fiery-wife”And that she did...~~~{─────────────────~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}──Fiery is married to the demon everybody feared would destroy them someday. He is the greenest reddest flag but now she only sees white. A canvas to paint their love however she deemed righteous.~~~{─────────────────~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}──The Dark Prince, the third prince, is no stranger to the fear and hatred surrounding him. Cold, distant, and possessing a gaze as dark as midnight, he is known throughout the kingdom as the demon prince. But the truth hidden beneath his pale skin is far more dangerous—he is a vampire, living among a royal family that barely tolerates his existence.Salviana, a divine lady of myth, never asked to be married to such a man. Forced into the union, she is thrust into a life where every corner holds a secret and every glance feels like a challenge. Though her husband’s cold touch sends shivers down her spine, Salviana finds herself drawn into his world of shadows and intrigue, struggling to understand the depths of his darkness.With royal enemies watching their every move and Salviana’s own hidden powers slowly awakening, the bond between her and Alaric grows more complicated.Can she survive the dangerous world of court politics, where even her husband may not be fully trusted? Or will the weight of the secrets they keep tear them apart before they can discover the truth about each other?Caught between fear and desire, Salviana can’t help but wonder: Will she uncover the man behind the darkness, or will the shadows consume them both?Married to Darkness is a seductive, tension-filled journey into the unknown, where love and power clash in a dangerous dance that could lead to either salvation or destruction.