OP Absorption - Chapter 17: Call From Above

Mu Xiaoke was a fool in his previous life, he and his older brother love Fu Jiayun. He is a little mute who’s a total failure, how could the other person choose him? He shouldn’t have competed with his older brother, or married Rong Yanzhe as a substitute for his older brother, otherwise he wouldn’t have died alone in the wilderness with his corpse never to be found.

God gave him a chance to be reborn. When he returned to his first year in senior high school, he knew that he could not repeat the same mistakes again. He had to stay away from his older brother, Fu Jiayun, and Rong Yanzhe. The person who treated him as a stand-in for his older brother and kept abusing him. This time, he didn’t ask for anything, as long as he could live well.

It just didn’t occur to him that when he kept a respectful distance from those people, they instead came to pester him endlessly. He was in panic and unexpectedly provoked another man who shouldn’t be approached…

- Description from Novelupdates

“I’m alive... again?”Adam died and was brought into a fantasy world. Then he died again, and has been reborn into a new (?) fantasy world. His life, as before, is in the hands of the dice. Come and join Adam as he rolls his way in and out of trouble. The story has a very slow pace, and has elements of really light hearted, wholesome stuff, and really dark, gruesome stuff. Sequel/Reboot of Beyond Average. You don't need to read Beyond Average, but it will explain a lot about Adam.Also, you can start at the beginning of each year (301, 501, 701, 901, 1001, etc), because most of the systems and relationships will be partly explained when they come up, and most others are easy to pick up after a few interactions. Finally, I am also currently in the middle of editing and rewriting the first year, and perhaps other years. A lot of my early chapters are a rough read, and even I cringe reading them.

One day, I – a high schooler – found a paperback in the hospital. The “Disease Coexistence Journal” was its title. It was a diary that my classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, had written in secret. Inside, it was written that due to her pancreatic disease, her days were numbered. And thus, I coincidentally went from Just-a-Classmate to a Secret-Knowing-Classmate. It was as if I were being drawn to her, who was my polar opposite. However, the world presented the girl that was already suffering from an illness with an equally cruel reality…

The best-selling, award-winning debut work by Yoru Sumino:

“Bestsellers 2016 (Overall) by NIPPAN” – 4th Place

“Bestsellers 2016 (Paperback Fiction) by NIPPAN” – 1st Place

“Bestsellers 2016 (Overall) by TOHAN” – 5th Place

“Bestsellers 2016 (Literary Books) by TOHAN” – 1st Place

“Bookstore Grand Prix 2016” – 2nd Place

“DA VINCI BOOK OF THE YEAR 2015” – 2nd Place

“Bestsellers 2015 (Literary Books) by TOHAN” – 6th Place

As of May 2017, this book has sold over 1.2 million copies.

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)