SpaceMage - Chapter 8 8 - I’m Sorry

She has come a long way.

Orphaned, born a weakling, and being the infamous good-for-nothing of Azure Dragon Country. Gu Ruoyun was the shame of the proud Gu household. Falsely accused of a crime she did not commit, she was betrayed by her family and beaten to death by her own grandfather. But life took a fateful twist on that very day — she was revived.

Newly awakened, she is now the Master of an ancient treasure that resides within her body. Precious cultivation pills, treasures beyond her wildest imagination and spiritual beasts, all within her grasp… She is the apple of the eye of all under the heavens, including that of a mysterious, handsome man.

Now she only has one goal — to conquer the world.

- Description from Novelupdates

What is the meaning of living hundreds of lives?Is it a curse or a hope? Murai grapples with the notion that his endless cycle of death and rebirth is an eternal torment. With no choice or voice, he finds himself like yet another pebble in a vast river of lives.Each death brings a new beginning—a new world awaiting. But this time, he awakens as a duck, complete with wings, a strange beak, and a little stature that doesn't please him.His Cursed Living has led him to this odd form, and though it seems bizarre, he is determined to discover what his tiny legs can achieve and how his mighty wings can confront the challenges ahead. Perhaps even the Gods who condemned him to this fate? Nay. They aren't everything and he knows it.Survival is paramount; the world wants his little life for numerous reasons, but every one of them is the same. He destroys. A strange voice echoes in his mind, whispering levels and abilities or rules about this world called the Battleworld. He accepts that, yet he yearns for revenge—a chance to reclaim his purpose amidst this silly absurdity of walking on two little flat feet.This world will witness his journey as a duck. All shall see his ascension!What can you expect from this novel that sounds ridiculous, as a duck sounds?- A stoic and long-term survival adventure in a high fantasy world with a non-human MC. - Fights, abilities, attributes, and skills and softer litrpg elements. There are 100 levels to beat, with a lot of systems underneath.- Gods and a big world that Boosts and plays with its citizens or almost anything alive, blessings or tricking them.- Some numbers go up. Xianxia and Progression Fantasy elements like magic, techniques, swordsmanship, and world-building. Cultivation and a big world full of mysteries.- MC, Murai, is a weird entity in the overall story. He is a numerous-time reincarnator so expect some shenanigans with it. Discover what he is on about, or who he is or used to be. I wouldn't necessarily call him OP. Sometimes he is, while other times not so much. So much for a duck...This will be a very long series of books, with 1st drafts in November 2023 going up to the 10th book which marks no end in view.

After the sudden death of her boyfriend, Leslie Song has been single-handedly raising her precious little daughter Calliope. It’s a difficult life, but it’s a happy one. A freak accident puts an end to that.As Leslie lies dying on the road, watching Calliope breathe her last, she curses her helplessness. Calliope’s crochet fox seems to hear her. It opens its mouth and asks, “Do you want to see your daughter again? If so, follow me. Her soul has already left for another world.”Leslie agrees. That’s the last thing she remembers before losing consciousness. When she opens her eyes again, she finds herself—or rather, her soul—standing beside her unconscious body on a hospital bed.“How is this supposed to help me find Calliope!” she exclaims.“This is not your body. Your body is dead. This is my original host, Charlene Li,” explains the toy fox. “You can possess her body to find Calliope, but if you do, you must finish her uncompleted mission for her.”“And what mission is that?”“To marry the second most eligible CEO in the city.”‘This,’ Leslie concludes, ‘is a scam.’ But she has no other choice.**********Meanwhile, the second most eligible bachelor in the city, Calix Xu, is patting himself on the back for thwarting his grandmother’s attempts to marry him off. After exhausting all of his tricks and excuses, he has resorted to marrying the comatose daughter of the Li family.Calix smiles, pleased with himself, “Aren't I smart? Grandmother can do nothing now.”But… why is he seeing his newly-wedded wife hovering beside her own body?Before he can react, his wife—the moving one—floats towards him.“Husband! Help me find my child!”“Your child?” Calix asks weakly before doing the only reasonable thing he can do in such a situation.He faints.

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.