Lord of Caldera - Chapter 5 - The Corleone Family

He lived like a king, died like a grandpa... and woke up as a bratty villain inside a fantasy novel.Nice.Born into the mighty Arkanveil family, he’s expected to grow up spoiled, arrogant, and doomed. But sorry, fate — he’s got better plans.Armed with a broken Proficiency Panel, two god-tier Traits, and the mind of a seasoned conqueror, he’s here to rewrite the script.Demigods plotting. Councils scheming. Demon Emperors laughing.They’re all just EXP waiting to happen.Pretending to be a clueless baby genius, he secretly trains, conquers, and stacks power like a final boss.Because this time, the EX-Rank Villain isn’t playing to survive.He’s playing to win.The world’s greatest families have no idea what’s coming. But hey... they’ll find out soon enough.“EX-Rank problems require EX-Rank solutions.”

William was once a gamer ranked in top 20 worldwide. After his death, he found himself in the body of an insignificant NPC in the game “God's Apocalypse.” This NPC was doomed to die early in the game, filling William with dread because he knew he had only three months to live.The game world of “God's Apocalypse” was rich with many different fantasy races, from elves to dwarves, each offering unique opportunities for him to make use of, as well as challenges to home oneself.William was terrified because he had the knowledge of the game's future but lacked the power to change his fate.However, he was not without options. He retained his game panel and the unique talent “[Jack of All Trades],” which allowed him to learn skills from various professions.William realized that when the game's beta opened, players would arrive. As an NPC, he could assign quests to them and use his knowledge of the game's future to manipulate them to do his bidding.He began to leverage the abilities of the players to alter his fate and grow stronger.William made alliances with various races, gaining their trust and learning their secrets. This enabled him to transcend the boundaries of his initial condition and steadily increase his power.As William's power grew, players in the game started to complain: “This boss is impossibly strong and keeps getting stronger, we demand a nerf!” They were frustrated by his rapid progression and the unique challenges he posed.In contrast, the elves venerated him: “Lord William is the ultimate chosen one, bringing an unparalleled peace to our realm.” They saw him as a savior who brought stability and hope.The mages revered him as well: “He is the trailblazer of magic, our protector. His name, William Cain, is synonymous with the god of the arcane.” They admired his innovative approach to magic and his role in advancing their knowledge.When asked how he managed to achieve such feats, William simply responded, “Knowledge is power, and it's the one thing I don't lack.”

have you heard of it?

If you turn on the music player in the dead of night, put on headphones, hide your head in the quilt, and listen to the looped single repeatedly.

Fall asleep after looping forty-four times. If you are unlucky and open your eyes again, you will no longer be lying on your own bed, but will enter a strange space that is completely isolated from reality.

That space… On the surface, it looks like the places we usually see, such as our bedroom, living room at home, underground garage, bathroom, basketball court, construction site, etc. But if you look closely, you will find that it is different. …Everything is different.

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This is the experience of an ordinary person who, after acquiring superpowers, transforms and grows step by step in a blind corner, reaching the ultimate level.

- Description from novelbuddy

If the gods no longer bestow their mercy, then let us kindle bonfires, carry great swords, become skeletons, or heroes of legend.