Chapter: Chapter 699Feby signed.The pen scratched twice — her name, the date — and the room went quiet enough to hear it. Rael pulled the contract off the counter before the ink was dry. Not took it. Pulled it. Like she might change her mind if he left it there one second longer.Four years of sitting below the salt, and her own uncle couldn't wait four seconds for her signature to set."Wonderful," Marta said. The warmth was already gone from the word, folded away like a costume between performances. "Then we move fast, while the city is still saying our name. Tomorrow night. A banquet at the Grand Aurelian — the full hall, none of the small rooms. We announce the Rydell house's partnership with the Reagent Group in front of every family in New Avalon that ever pretended not to see us at the opera."Her chin lifted. "And we announce the new chairmanship of this house. Formally. In front of all of them."Something in Feby's chest unclenched. Formally. In front of all of them. Her father's last words had
Last Updated: 2026-07-12
Chapter: Chapter 698"Show them the letter, miss," Prue said from behind the counter. She hadn't been paid in two months. A woman with nothing left to lose has the steadiest voice in the room.Feby laid the award letter on the counter, seal up.Leon snatched it first. He read it indulgently. Then quickly. Then twice — and the color climbed his neck line by line, like water filling a glass."It's fake," he said. "The Reagent Group does not hand a two-hundred-million expansion to—"He stopped. His eyes had finally caught up with his mouth.The address line.Rael took the letter from him. He read the line once. Then again, the way a man rereads a telegram hoping the words have been persuaded to rearrange themselves.The letter was not addressed to the Rydell Advertising House. It was not addressed to any house at all.Awarded to Febyella Steinmeyer. In her own name and person. Sole awardee. Non-transferable."That's a mistake," Rael said. "Contracts of this class go to licensed firms. Trade seats. Not to — n
Last Updated: 2026-07-11
Chapter: Chapter 697Feby had rehearsed her first morning as Head Supervisor down to the minute.The minute lasted until Beatrix Hargrove set the thing itself on the desk between them."So the work is mostly control," she said. "If nothing happens on the line, I could almost say I have nothing to do at all.""Glad you know it." Beatrix Hargrove didn't look up from her desk. "And if a problem does happen, you handle it first. We are the people who make sure nothing happens on that line. Ever.""Alright," Feby said. "Then let's make sure nothing goes wrong.""Our new product," Beatrix said. "One unit of mana in. Five to six out. It refines. It amplifies. It does not bleed."She placed it in Feby's palm.The tile hummed there, warm as a held breath. Feby set it down the way you set down something that has just rearranged your next ten years."This is what your division exists to bring into the world, Head Supervisor. And what your firm has been engaged to promote."Her firm. There it was. The thing she'd bee
Last Updated: 2026-07-10
Chapter: Chapter 696Alex leaned close. His voice was for her alone."Take it.""It's a shell, Alex. They're laughing at me." She could hear it — the little coughs behind hands, the smirk Rael wasn't bothering to hide."Let them. A licensed trade seat is a door. Doors matter more than what's behind them." A pause. "Take it in writing. Every share. And this time, I read the pages first."He looked at her, quiet and level. "Do you have any other choice?"She didn't. The money was already gone — swallowed by his mother's family, then chased with a lawsuit for good measure. You can't pay back people who took everything and then billed you for the privilege.Alex started reading the pages. Aloud, where it suited him. He struck one clause that would have quietly kept the trade seat with the family.Then a second — one that would have draped Rael's personal guarantees over Feby's shoulders like a hand pressing down on her head. He didn't announce what he'd found. He just drew two lines and watched Rael's face co
Last Updated: 2026-07-09
Chapter: Chapter 695Morning came gray and clean, the lanterns still fading along the avenue when they reached the base of Reagent Tower.Feby stopped on the plaza and looked up, and looking up was a mistake. The tower rose until the eye gave up counting floors, glass and pale stone and the faint hum of the tile grid under all of it, and her heart performed the same maneuver it had at the Rydell gate — the hollow drop of a person about to ask a bank vault for charity.She was here for an assistant coordinator interview. Two rungs below anything the document would accept. A match-seller petitioning a treasury.But she had signed her name to thirty days in front of her whole family, so she was going through the door."You're breathing like you're about to be sentenced," Alex said beside her."I might be."He looked at her for a moment. Then, with the tenderness he spent so rarely it always caught her off guard, he set his hand briefly on her hair. "Go in. You'll do better than you think. Trust me.""You say
Last Updated: 2026-07-08
Chapter: Chapter 694The knock came at the hour when decent visits have already ended.Feby was at the little table with her one good blouse laid out over the chair back, pressed twice and inspected three times, and a borrowed almanac of New Avalon's great firms open to the chapter on the Reagent Group.She had read the same page four times without retaining a word of it. Tomorrow sat in her chest like a swallowed coal — bright, secret, hers.She had told Alex nothing. He had asked nothing, which was its own kind of noticing.Three knocks. Softer than Wilhelmina's, more certain than a stranger's. Feby knew the hand before she reached the door."Mother."Adeline Rydell-Steinmeyer entered the way she entered everywhere — perfume first, apology never.Her eyes made the same slow circuit of the flat that Wilhelmina's had, arriving at the same verdict by a politer road. Then she stepped aside, and the doorway filled with a man.Tall. A charcoal traveling coat with silver thread worked through the collar, cut by
Last Updated: 2026-07-07
Return of Overthinker
When the demon finally harnessed human sins and negative emotions to harvest negative energy, it opened a spatial gate to the planets that were already ravaged by monsters and teeming with dark creatures. The beasts and monsters passed through the gate, unleashing havoc upon Earth. These monstrous creatures caused destruction on a massive scale, pushing the earth toward an apocalyptic catastrophe.
In this dark time, The Creator granted certain humans the ability, marked by symbols on their right hands, to wield the power of gods and angels to combat these dark creatures.
My ability was 'Overthinking,' the weakest, but with hard work, I persisted for 60 years to become the most powerful and the savior of the world. However, in my final moments, I was betrayed by a friend who was born rich and noble, who forced me to die to obtain everything I had worked so hard for. Nevertheless, before my demise, I sent my memories back to my younger years.
This time, I will obtain everything: the best items, the finest women, and the most potent abilities. All will be mine!
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Chapter: Chapter 204I was a bit surprised. "Isn't down there a place where the dead rest, and there is nothing but cold and barren land?" "At first, it was a place full of beauty, but those who did not like it destroyed everything in it, making it cold and barren. I hope you can help those suffering down there find kindness and peace. In truth, you can build a place far more beautiful than the palace of the gods because hell was initially a very beautiful place for those in need." "I accept it wherever You send me." *** In a temple where knowledge was usually shared, several humans who were teachers of various schools gathered to discuss important matters about knowledge. "Hey," said one human to another, "Why did the gods stop sharing their knowledge with us?" "Haven't you heard that the King of the gods, or God Indra, has been replaced?" "Really?" "God Indra is now angry after finding out that knowledge was given to humans by the previous Indra," said another human. "He stopped all knowledge fro
Last Updated: 2024-07-23
Chapter: Chapter 203After 1,000 years had passed, the three worlds experienced their golden age. There was no poverty or hunger throughout the three worlds. Everything was going very well. All dimensions entered a golden age because kindness became the most important thing in the three realms. Humans, gods, ashuras, and all beings were directed to continue giving kindness to all creatures. During my reign, everyone competed to do good so that there was no poverty, hunger, or lack. During that time, those who came to me, whether gods, ashuras, or humans, would get what they asked for. I did this as my way of doing good to all beings.One day, a dwarf-bodied brahmin came to my palace. The brahmin, called Vamana, had a body that was only waist-high to an ordinary human. He wore white clothes that wrapped loosely around his small body. However, considering that he was a human and came from the third dimension, being able to ascend to the twelfth dimension where the gods' palace was located was alr
Last Updated: 2024-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 202"I don't remember that part," I said. "Because each life makes you forget. I just want to say, if you give the gods' knowledge to humans, won't the gods lose their power? Haven't you humiliated them all? Your strength has made you not understand the feelings of the weaker gods." "Guru, if what you say is true, is my current strength because I was a strong spirit in the past?" He looked at me and weakly shook his head. "No, all spirits start from the same place." "Then why did I become strong?" "You had no fear, and your enjoyment of playing made you keep striving for something greater without caring for your own life." Brihaspati continued, "However, what placed you as King Indra is something else." "What is that?" "A sense of responsibility to protect the weak and make life better for all beings." Brihaspati sighed. "Those who have that sincerity will always be carried by karma and the will of God to re
Last Updated: 2024-07-21
Chapter: Chapter 201"Boss, you've become weak," said Raindo, one of the Ashura generals, approaching me. He looked enormous compared to my now smaller form. "You keep spending time in that school and library. You never fight anymore. You're going to become weak, and the previous Indra will soon return to reclaim his throne." "You just don't understand, my brother," I said, still reading a book. "Right now, I am ten times stronger than I was before." "I don't believe it," said Raindo, one of the strongest generals. "Let's test it." "Of course," I said, seemingly unconcerned. "Get ready." "I'm always ready," he replied. As soon as he said that, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking his body. He was thrown far, crashing into the palace walls and severely injured. "What happened?" he asked, looking confused and trying to stand up. He didn't know what had hit him. "I just attacked you. I gained the power
Last Updated: 2024-07-20
Chapter: Chapter 200“Oh,” I shouted. “That's easy.” Suddenly, I felt very smart. “I have plenty of wealth in the treasury.” Quickly, I ordered several Ashura to bring as much treasure as possible from Indra's vault and distribute it to all the Ashura. All the Ashura were happy. “Look, Guru, haven't I done a good deed? I shared my wealth with them.” I felt pleased. “Fool!” he shouted. “You haven't done a good deed at all. You should have given the wealth to those in need.” I fell silent. Quickly, I ordered all the Ashura to return the treasures they had received. The Ashura didn't need wealth; if there was one thing they needed, it was weapons. They all grumbled, and I quickly asked, “Do you want food and drink or wealth?” “Food!!!!” “Drink!!” None wanted wealth. Suddenly, it dawned on me. Who needs wealth? The Ashura don't need wealth, the gods already have plenty of wealth. The only poor creatures needing wealth are humans
Last Updated: 2024-07-19
Chapter: Chapter 199“Prepare all the food and drinks. All the gods must order their servants to bring all the food from their palaces. Call the apsaras, the heavenly maidens, and beautiful dancers. Call the singers and musicians. We will have a party.” So, a grand feast was held for days in the courtyard of Indra's palace. Music, dancing, and food never stopped. After that, the Ashura were left drunk in the palace courtyard. The gods had returned to their respective duties. I moved around to see the entire palace, and suddenly, an old man appeared before me. “What have you done to this place?” the old man asked, looking at the palace's new weapon-laden decor. “Who are you?” I asked, confused. This old man wore the simple clothes of a Brahmana, a single piece of cloth. The Brahmana do not fight, so we never touch them. If they get angry, we could get the worst curses of our lives. But if they are pleased, they could grant us many new and exciting powers. We prefer to appease them and wait for the
Last Updated: 2024-07-18
