Rise of the Horde - Chapter 510

【Exhilarating】【New Ultimate Path Plus Points】【Dry Humor】 The world plummets; who shall uphold the heavens? Demons spawn from earth and sky, the Taoist stands valiant and resolute. I am Yi Chen, ’Chen’ as in dust, styled Yi Chengzi, eighteen years old, fearful of violent evil spirits, fond of making money. With a cold heart and ruthless hands, he transmigrated to a bizarre world where goblins and malevolent spirits dwell, becoming the eldest senior brother of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion, and as his master lay dying, he entrusted Yi Chengzi with the duty to uphold the path of benevolence and righteousness, to take good care of his younger Taoist brothers; he promised he would. However, his understanding of the path of benevolence and righteousness differed slightly from that of his master. What is benevolence? Slicing evil men and ghosts in half is benevolence. What is righteousness? Smashing the heads of evil men and ghosts into their chests completes righteousness. After his master’s death, unable to awaken ’spiritual essence’ for cultivation, he set upon an unorthodox path of cultivation with the help of the Golden Finger. Facing the wolves eager for a fight after his master’s demise, he struck with heavy fists, understanding the true essence of righteousness. Confronting the malevolent spirits that stood in his way, he naturally reformed them with the iron fists of love. He slew demons, exorcised evil, and tested his sword against various spiritual cultivators, enjoying the landscapes of the world. When he reached the summit and looked around, he was shocked to find that demons were but minor afflictions and that this land and sky were falling... A millennium-long scheme, an eternal enigma, slowly unveiled itself. Strange, it has arrived, and it does not die or perish. Witnessing this scene, Yi Chen laughed. Even the malevolent dogs passing by his Taoist abode had to endure a couple of slaps; how dare someone be so disrespectful to him? Yi Taoist stomped one foot and soared into the heavens! The onlookers exclaimed in shock, “Taoist, stop fighting, the great ’Dao’ is nearly worn away!”

Struck down amid the battle, the Hero and Demon King meet their demise. As their souls linger on the edge of the afterlife, a mysterious force intervenes, merging their fragmented souls together with a new being. Rusty, the living armor, now affected by their memories and presence, embarks on his own quest. Will he seek revenge on those who betrayed the hero, or will he fulfill the desires of the fallen demon king? or instead, forge his own path?

This world became a playground for various other worlds. Every living creature was digitized and awaited the endless slaughter and torture of the players from other worlds.Yi Zheng, who had become a mob rabbit in the Beginner's Village, decided to lead a group of rabbits. They sprinted across the grasslands, did crunches, bench-presses, rowing, and swimming etc.A year later, when the players descended, they saw more than just a group of small monsters.They saw an army of terrifying, demonic, muscular rabbits!The Rabbit King sitting on the throne high above waved a carrot as he threatened, “From this day forth, don’t even think of leaving Beginner's Village!”

Warning This fiction contains:

Graphic Violence Profanity Sensitive Content

Summary – Level 1:

Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel.

Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing.

Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one.

Did I mention that there will be math?

Summary – Level 2:

Okay, but what are you in for, really?

Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme.

...

What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure?

Yes!

Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap–

Now!

Okay, okay!

The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we?

Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no?

Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not.

POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place.

Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare.

Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships.

There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture.

The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving.

The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it?

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story!