Hollow eyes.
A smile tinged with sorrow.
Trembling shoulders.
Despite desperately trying to force a smile, every part of her body radiated nothing but grief.
Gray snowflakes drifted onto her armor, brushed against the cloth wrapped around her face, and settled on the half of her cheek still untouched by scars, seeping in with a biting chill.
Smiling.
Grieving.
Shattered, helpless, pitiful.
With eyes like rippling water, she looked at Xu Xi and apologized.
Admitting her own immaturity—how she couldn’t even manage a smile of blessing, how her sorrowful expression betrayed her, failing to let the two departed elders rest in peace.
Xu Xi stepped forward.
Reached out and gently brushed the snowflakes from the girl’s body.
"Servia, you’ve… already done well enough."
"In this world, strength isn’t measured only by those who smile through farewells."
His voice was soft.
Dissolving into the wind and snow.
Plain words, devoid of force, yet they drew in the lost soul before him.
Farewells are sorrowful by nature.
No amount of embellished blessings can change that truth.
To grieve at parting.
To shed tears at separation.
These are the most natural reactions.
Strength isn’t defined solely by those who smile through goodbyes.
Those who carry their sorrow into tomorrow are just as strong—perhaps even stronger, for they bear more.
"Servia, you’ve always done well enough," Xu Xi affirmed softly beside the newly raised gravestones, speaking to the undead warrior.
Not just today.
But all the days before.
From ending her parents’ suffering with her own hands, to standing alone against the darkness, surviving amidst endless malice.
The girl had endured too much—far too much to count.
She was no useless impostor of a hero.
She was a warrior, battered and bruised, yet pressing forward through countless sorrows—a helpless yet indomitable soul.
"...Thank you, Lord Wizard."
The emerald eyes of Claufer remained steeped in sorrow.
Unable to let go of the two elders’ passing.
But this time, unlike before, she didn’t face the farewell with fear or loneliness.
Beside her stood a figure who shielded her from the howling storm, walking with her toward tomorrow.
"Grandpa Hansen."
"Grandma Mina."
Standing before their graves, Servia offered another prayer.
Hoping their happiness in death would carry over into whatever lay beyond.
Once done, she turned to Xu Xi. "Lord Wizard, what should we do now?"
The wind howled fiercely.
Snow swirled in dense fog.
Xu Xi stood silently, gazing at the gravestones for a moment before shifting his attention to the dilapidated wooden hut nearby. "Let’s tidy up the house."
The elders were gone.
The door hung open, battered by the wind, creaking and clattering incessantly.
In a few days, perhaps, the gale would tear it apart.
And eventually, the entire hut would rot and collapse.
Xu Xi knew this was inevitable. But for now, he wanted the house to stand a little longer.
No grand reason.
Only because it was one of the few remaining proofs that Hansen and Mina had ever existed.
"Let’s go in, Servia."
Xu Xi stepped forward first.
A wand materialized in his hand.
With basic zero-circle and first-circle spells, he performed simple repairs and reinforcements on the structure.
"Yes, Lord Wizard." The warrior followed, lending her own strength to fortify the elders’ home.
As they worked, they also sorted through the couple’s belongings.
Not much remained.
A handful of withered fruits.
Patched-up old clothes.
Handmade, rudimentary furniture.
Xu Xi gathered everything with Mage Hand, then cast dust-repelling enchantments over them.
One day, time would claim these items.
But that was enough.
All Xu Xi wanted was to spare them from the storm’s immediate wrath.
"...Looks like we haven’t missed anything," Xu Xi murmured, scanning the now-neatened interior.
"We should leave, Servia."
"Yes, Lord Wizard."
They stepped out.
Closed and reinforced the door.
Then took a few steps back, letting the hut fill their vision once more.
Dilapidated. Ordinary.
Just as it had been when Xu Xi first arrived at the mountaintop.
Back then, the elders had been timid, addressing him with fearful reverence—"Lord Wizard this, Lord Wizard that."
Xu Xi had found it frustrating.
Now, he would never be frustrated by it again.
"Farewells… such a heavy word," Xu Xi murmured, lifting his gaze to the storm-darkened sky. A massive shadow approached swiftly.
Ghostly flames flickered.
Bone wings spread wide.
It was the Netherfire Crow, enhanced by Xu Xi’s modifications—now faster and stronger.
It lowered itself, its bulk clearing the snow as it bowed, awaiting Xu Xi’s command.
The world was changing.
It was time to resume their journey.
Xu Xi closed his eyes briefly, steadying himself, then walked toward the crow with Servia at his side.
Hansen and Mina had reached the end of their lives, departing without regrets, content.
And so,
There was nothing left for Xu Xi on this mountain.
"Next, we head for the Divine Plateau. With the Netherfire Crow’s speed, we should arrive ahead of schedule."
Xu Xi’s thoughts were calm.
But just as they reached the crow—
A faint, brittle sound came from behind.
"Crack—"
"Crack—"
Like frozen earth and ice being clawed at, scraped upward with relentless, mindless force.
Xu Xi knew that sound.
Servia knew it even better.
It was the sound of the undead stirring.
"Undead transformation?!" Xu Xi whirled around, his expression shifting from shock to smoldering fury.
Farmer Hansen.
Housewife Mina.
Their souls had already departed for the underworld.
That should have been the end—a peaceful, fulfilled conclusion.
Yet now, a murky deathly energy rained down from the darkened sun above, corrupting their remains.
And so,
Their bodies were defiled, twisted into mindless abominations.
"Servia… beautiful Lady Servia… ah!!"
"Lord Wizard… Servia!!"
The corpses of the departed writhed, their flesh splitting as new horrors emerged.
Bone hands, ragged and gnarled, burst from the grave dirt.
Faces once familiar now twisted into grotesque masks, their voices rasping as they shrieked at Xu Xi and Servia.
"Even with their souls gone, their bodies find no rest."
"So this is how it is…"
"The approach of the underworld, the collapse of the wizards’ realm—it’s warping this world’s laws beyond recognition."
Xu Xi looked up at the merciless sky, then back at the two monstrosities clawing their way free.
The winter was bitterly cold.
Yet the fire in his heart burned hotter than ever.
The dead deserved peace.
They should have been allowed to rest.
But now, before his very eyes, the world had defiled them, turned them into puppets of decay.
And Servia, witnessing it all, trembled, her eyes brimming with anguish.
Xu Xi prepared to strike, to obliterate the abominations—
But Servia stepped forward first, drawing her knightly blade.
"...Lord Wizard."
"...Please. Let me do this."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
spital. Good news: I've bound a system. Bad news: I'm still a baby. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor — Divorce Comeback System." "Your marriage may have failed, but your luck in love has never run dry. Your childhood sweetheart, out of contact for twenty years, reappears. Her beauty remains, yet her eyes are brimming with tears." [Listen to the childhood sweetheart's sorrowful story.] Chen Zhi looked down at the diaper he was wearing, then at the little childhood sweetheart crying her heart out beside him, and fell into deep thought. Can anyone relate? I'm having a midlife crisis at an age where even rolling over is a struggle.
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
