The Regressor and the Blind Saint - Chapter 184: Hegrion (3)

Ian was an ordinary guy on his way to work when he suddenly found himself in a strange and dangerous world ruled by dark races like vampires, werewolves, and demons. Transmigrated into the body of a lesser vampire, Ian must quickly adapt to his new reality where survival is a constant struggle.Just when all hope seems lost, Ian discovers he has a unique advantage: The Strongest Body Customization System, which allows him to modify and customize his body by consuming biomass. With this golden finger, Ian starts to turn the tables, designing bone claws and other enhancements to give him an edge against the terrifying werewolves and other supernatural threats.But as Ian learns more about the Curtained Imperium and the rigid hierarchies of the vampire race, he realizes that defeating his enemies is only the first step. To survive and thrive in this dark and brutal world, Ian must rise through the ranks, uncover the power of his system.Need to fly? Customize a pair of angel wings!The body is small? Add hundreds meters of height and become bigger than Godzilla!Need a weapon? Customize bone claws and kagune on the spot!

Elaine Monroe never meant to fall in love with him. She never meant for her heart to betray her like this. But as she watches him stand beside another, hand resting on the waist of the woman he’s meant to be with, she wonders if she was always destined to be the outsider.“You knew,” she says, voice barely above a whisper. “You knew how I felt.”His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t deny it. He never does.“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” he finally says.She laughs bitterly. “I know.”Loving him was always impossible. He belonged to someone else. To his family’s expectations. To a future where Elaine had no place.“Forget whatever you think you feel,” he tells her, voice firm, but there’s something unspoken in his eyes—something that makes it hurt even more. “It will never happen.”And yet, his gaze lingers, just for a second too long.Then there’s her best friend—the one who stands beside her when the world turns its back. The one who sees her pain without asking.“You don’t have to do this to yourself,” he says, handing her his jacket on a cold night. “You deserve more than waiting for someone who will never be yours.”She wants to believe him. She wants to move forward. But some loves are impossible to forget. Some wounds never truly heal. And some desires, no matter how forbidden, refuse to die._____“loving him best decision i ever made” Elaine“you are my world”

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.

Objects from beyond the Earth have fallen; eyes of crimson see through the cosmos.All the stars in the sky are enemies of humanity.They call me a false god, but only I fly above.The world is sick, gravely so.I will heal it.