Hollow Ascension - Chapter 139: Fortifying the Heart

Before rebirth, Xia Man had been wondering, when did Qu Zhen begin to hate her?

Was it when she foolishly followed behind her and constantly talked while eating? Or when she would always clumsily break the gifts she was given? So she started hating her?

Did she think such a person was not worthy of being her friend at all? Doesn’t deserve the sunshine?

Right! Sunshine or whatever, it can only be her Qu Zhen!

Xia Man always felt that the friendship between the two people was like Qu Zhen’s alms to herself, never equal.

Xia Man didn’t understand what Qu Zhen meant until she died.

“I thought I never missed it. Now I understand that I’ve never been right.”

Qu Zhen, in a sense, died by Xia Man’s hands, not from a zombie.

Qu Zhen, you could never have been right after doing something wrong. You should never fall in love with a person with a distorted personality.

After Xia Man was reborn, she only wanted one thing.

She wanted those who used her to hurt Qu Zhen to die rather than to live!

- Description from Novelupdates

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!

Game has become reality, toppling the world’s rules. Humanity has entered an era of global class awakening.Demonic creatures wreak havoc! Secret realms and dungeons proliferate!Terror and treasures coexist! Danger and opportunity walk hand in hand!Only by becoming a class user! And raising your level and becoming stronger! Only then can you stand at the top of the world!On the day of his class awakening, Lin Moyu became a Necromancer, which is a unique hidden class.He obtained a godly talent. Despite being merely a level 1 talent, it amplifies all skills by 10 times.He obtained a godly passive skill, which transfers all damage he suffers to his summons.As a result, so long as his summons aren’t completely annihilated, Lin Moyu won’t die.“An endless swarm of Godly Skeletal Warriors!”“Millions upon millions of Lichs!”“Countless Undead Bone Dragons!”“Can you handle it?”Subjected to curses, gods transform into white bones.When corpses explode, the sky topples and the world collapses.“I sit high upon a throne of bones, treading the boundary between life and death.”“I am a disaster!”

Have you often come across a game where you start with a bonfire, surrounded by ice and snow, with resources all manually transported, and monsters attacking at any time...Xia Hong wakes up to find himself in such a world.The ice and snow rage on, beasts rule the land, civilization is lost, and all people and things that once existed have been invaded into powerful and bizarre entities, leaving humans as a humble race surviving in the shadow of winter, on the brink of extinction.Fortunately, Xia Hong possesses a camp system that can upgrade infinitely.[Small Bonfire]—[Iron Furnace]—[Solar Cauldron]...[Wooden Post]—[Training Ground]—[Martial Arts Hall]...[Bamboo Fence]—[Black Soil Wall]—[Iron Wall]...[Monument Stone]—[Notice Board]—[Hero's Monument]......As Xia Hong slays the beasts and exterminates the bizarre entities, gradually gathering humans, dispelling the winter, and opening up territory, the mysterious veil of this world is slowly unveiled in its entirety.