Katahane no Riku - Chapter 42.Ninety nine blessings and a single thorn

The strongest Hero in history, Nakamoto Keisuke.

He was summoned to another world in the spring at the age of fifteen years old, and when he successfully defeated The Demon King, he was already thirty-two years old. He had finished his role in another world and returned to Japan, but the reality that had been waiting for him was, “Middle school graduate with seventeen years of blank period” label. He couldn’t find a decent job and had no choice but to spend his days working part-time.

Before such a Nakamoto, a beautiful girl who self-proclaimed had come to return the favor, appeared. “I’m the reward for Hero who had defeated Demon King”, said Angelica, a girl who came from another world that persistently tempted Nakamoto to make her his wife. Together with a high school girl who looks like Elsa, his beloved girl that he lost in another world, Nakamoto with his cheats skills got caught in a harem life.

Jung Sunwoo was an average man. He had just taken his first job at W&U, a celebrity management company, as a manager. He could finally achieve his dream of being the manager of a world-famous actor or actress. On his way to work, he fell into what appeared to be a lucid dream about his future. As he went on with his day, he realized it may not have simply been a lucid dream.

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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The real hardcore player, who chose the most difficult start in “Reality Online”, still has to shock others with his god-level operation.