MTL - The World That Tao Rules - Chapter 23 Entering the library

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Meet Alex Knight, a hardworking young man burdened by crushing debt and a bleak future. When his new boss turns his life into a waking nightmare, Alex finds himself trapped in a job he can't escape, his future held hostage by the whims of a tyrant.Just when he believes he has one anchor left—his girlfriend's love—a devastating betrayal leaves him utterly broken.But then the world changes. The system descends, dragging everyone into a chaotic new reality. Alex becomes the first to sync with it, earning a mysterious title:[Apocalypse Baby][You have awakened the skill: Exploding Touch][Anything you touch turns into a bomb.]Armed with a deadly gift, Alex rises from the ashes of his former life to become an unstoppable force in an urban fantasy world where power rules and vengeance drives him forward.

Ethan Carter never thought much about heroism—until the night he pushed a girl out of the way of a speeding truck and felt cold steel and shattering bones instead of pavement. He expected to die. Instead, he woke up in a hospital, completely healed, with a strange blue screen floating in front of him.[System Activated.][Welcome, User. Your journey begins now.]At first, he thinks he's hallucinating. But when his body starts changing—his strength skyrocketing, his reflexes sharpening—Ethan realizes this is real. The System grants him quests, skills, and rewards, pushing him to break human limits. And yet, there’s more. Locked away in his interface is something called *World Travel*—but it remains inaccessible, its conditions unknown.As he grows stronger, Ethan catches the attention of powerful forces—some eager to recruit him, others determined to stop him. And amidst the chaos, women drawn to his power and charisma begin to enter his life, each with their own mysteries.But one question haunts him: *Why was I chosen?*The answer lies beyond this world. And when the time comes, Ethan won’t just step into new worlds—he’ll conquer them.

[When you cast a spell 1000 times, the damage of all skills will be permanently increased by +10000. At this time, your fireball spell is equivalent to TNT. 】

[You cast spells 300,000 times, permanently increasing the skill damage to +3 million. At this time, your fireball technique is equivalent to an atomic bomb explosion. 】

[You cast spells 80 million times, permanently increasing your skill damage by +800 million. At this time, your fireball technique is equivalent to a supernova explosion! 】

A global catastrophe is coming,

Lu Cheng returned from the apocalypse and returned to the first day of the disaster to unlock super god-level talents!

Endless Drain: Each time you cast a spell, the damage of all skills will be permanently increased by 10 points!

So, Lu Cheng silently stacked the layers and became invincible before he knew it.

The national war has begun and is besieged by the enemy’s coalition forces? It doesn’t exist. Do you understand the fireball deterrent?

A world-class BOSS with hundreds of millions of health points? I was hit by a fireball, what can I do?

God-level civilization invades and easily blows up the sun? My fireball technique is like the sun!

Until the gods joined forces to blockade and trapped Lu Cheng in the Forbidden Fire God Realm.

Lu Chengcai showed off the other 100 skills: “Who told you that I only know the fireball technique?”

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