• Action
• Adventure
• Drama
• Fantasy
• Harem
• Martial Arts
• Mature
• Romance
• Seinen
• Supernatural

• Reincarnation
• Second Chance
• Time Travel to the Past
• Past Life Memories
• Time Loop / Regression
• Cultivation
• Power Progression
• Ruthless Protagonist (when necessary)
• Strong to Stronger
• Overpowered Protagonist
• Cheat-like Powers
• Hard-Working Protagonist
• Tragic Past
• Magic
• Martial Arts
• Alchemy
• Sect/Guild Building
• Nobles
• Political Intrigue
• War
• Large-Scale Battles
• Kingdom Building
• Ancient Secrets
• Secret Organizations
• Harem Seeking Protagonist
• Harem with Real Romantic Development
• Loyal Subordinates
• Loyal Love Interests
• Monster Girl Heroine
• Beastkin
• Childhood Friends
• Arranged Marriage
• Jealousy
• Love Interests Grow Stronger
• Slow-Burn Romance
• Strong Female Leads
• Tournaments
• Fights Against Stronger Opponents
• Arrogant Young Masters
• Face-Slapping
• Scheming Antagonists
• Assassination Attempts
• Epic Battles
• Revenge
• Demon Beasts
• Demon Lords
• Betrayal
• Bloodline Powers
• Body Tempering
• Forbidden Techniques
• Mystical Realms
• Cunning Protagonist
• Protective Protagonist
• Determined Protagonist
• Charismatic Protagonist
• Strategic Minded Protagonist
• Cares About His Subordinates
• Does Not Hide His Strength

There were a lot of steps involved with creating a Yin-Yang Spiritual Enhancement Pill. As I stood inside the old cave that woman and I had lived in, I checked all of the ingredients to make sure everything was present and prepared properly. I didn’t want to accidentally use an ingredient that had been prepared wrong and ruin the entire process.

I only had one shot at this.

I needed to make it count.

“S-Rank lightning affinity monster core? Check. Lif flowers? Check. Death knell klunger? Check. Spirit bone milk? Check. Lysende moss? Check. Drage stem? Check. Spirit essence? Check. Naturally purified water from a one-thousand-year-old spring? Check. Scales from a Lightning Chimera? Check. Essence blood of a Thunder Leopard? Check.”

As I continued checking off the ingredients, of which there were over 300, I thought about how to prepare this pill. The first thing I needed to do was create the enhancers, which were made from simpler ingredients that enhanced the effects of the main ingredients. There were 120 normal ingredients and over 200 extraordinary ingredients.

Generally speaking, ingredients were classified, or graded, based on a number of factors. The rarity of the ingredient. Its potency. The effects it had in alchemy. Simple ingredients like red fire grass were given a Grade 9 classification. Rare and powerful ingredients like the S-Rank monster core in my possession had a Grade 1 classification. There was also supposedly a Grade 0 classification, but according to a conversation I once overheard from members of the Alchemist Association, ingredients with that classification were just a legend.

After I was done checking the ingredients, I began preparing them. The alchemy set was already set up. All that was left was to get started.

I sent Spiritual Power into the burners, filled several flasks and beakers with water, then grabbed the first ingredient. It was nirnroot. I calcined it, sticking it inside a beaker that was being heated by a burner and letting the fierce heat break it down.

The next ingredient was a flower with four red petals that had blue veins running through it. Heart flower. They weren’t very rare. However, it was said that eating them was good for your heart, so a lot of people would crush them up and add them to their tea. Ms. Nadine had loved this. I vaguely recalled the times when she would make me tea during the hours we worked at the library together. She always added heart flower to it.

These needed to be dried into ash via roasting, so I put them in a pan and heated it over a fire instead of a burner. The flower petals shriveled and dried up. When they became black and turned to ash, I took the pan off the fire and placed it inside the beaker with the calcined nirnroot, which had turned into thousands of tiny crystals.

I furrowed my brow.

Was that supposed to happen?

I hoped so.

I soon began mixing more ingredients. The red aloe was mixed into a flask of water alongside hibiscus roots that I had ablated with a cloth. I then stirred the water until the hibiscus roots had completely dissolved and mixed with the red aloe, creating a slightly brownish red liquid, which I then poured into the beaker with the heart flower ash and nirnroot crystals. I let that sit before grinding up some purple haze vines and adding them into a flask that I filled with water soon after.

My hands continued to work almost like they had a will of their own, grinding, mashing, shaving, and mixing ingredients together. I let my mind wander as I worked. It was almost therapeutic, though I couldn’t say I enjoyed refining pills.

While alchemy was a taxing process, it was actually very simple to refine a pill. It was like cooking in many ways. If you followed the instructions, you could theoretically make anything.

Of course, true alchemy was not just refining pills based on premade recipes, but refining original pills that did not have any set instructions for them. A beginner alchemist could make a pill. A good alchemist could make advanced pills. A master made their own pills because they understood how all of the different ingredients worked together.

I was not a master by any means. I never would be. Speaking honestly, alchemy did not even interest me that much beyond what it could do for me. I didn’t have the gumption or motivation to learn about all the various reactions ingredients had when mixed with other ingredients.

It took almost an entire day before the first 200 or so ingredients were prepared. I had started early in the morning and it was now close to nightfall. If I looked out the entrance, I could see the stars twinkling and the twin moons shining high overhead. My body was covered in a layer of sweat and felt absolutely disgusting, but I knew I couldn’t afford to stop. All of the enhancers had been created, so it was time to get to work on the main ingredients.

I worked until the early morning sun began to rise over the mountains, mixing ingredients based on the instructions in the alchemy book. It took over a day of absolute concentration.

While the tasks themselves were not physically strenuous, the mental strain I felt from working for so long was getting to me, making it hard to focus, causing my vision to grow fuzzy. I blinked several times to refocus my efforts. My concentration was shot, though.

At times, I thought I could hear voices talking to me, whispering in my ear. However, whenever I turned around to look, nobody was there.

The day grew brighter as I continued to work. The lif flower was ground into a paste and mixed with the spirit bone milk to create a pale pink substance. I crushed the lysende moss and added it soon after, then dropped the drage stem inside of the one-thousand-year-old spring water, which I brought to a boil. Scales of a Chimera were added to the mixture of the drage stem and spring water. When I added them, lightning sparked from the beaker and nearly made me jump. After the first two concoctions were created, I used the essence blood from a Thunder Leopard. I boiled it and added shavings of death knell klunger into the mix.

“Haaaah… haaaaaah…”

I wiped my forehead off with a towel to keep the sweat from dripping into my ingredients. Even a small addition like the salt from my sweat could adversely affect the refining process and ruin all the effort I had spent. I had to avoid that at all costs.

Time passed as I worked. To be honest, I think another day had gone by. The sun had gone down and come back up. Light streamed in through the cave entrance, but I couldn’t focus on that now. I slapped my cheeks and continued working, watching, observing, and making sure nothing went wrong, until finally, I finished the process of refining a pill inside of the cauldron.

It was about the size of a stag beetle. I could do little more than stare at the small pill in my hand, watching as strange arcs of energy passed through it, pulsing like the beating of a heart.

This pill, the Yin-Yang Spiritual Enhancement Pill, which I had only ever heard about in legends, was said to be capable of allowing a person to reach an unprecedented state of enlightenment by absorbing the element a Spiritualist had an affinity toward and letting them refine their bodies and become even more intimate with said element—or so the story went.

No one in recent history had ever made one of these. The biggest reason was a lack of resources. The main ingredient was the monster core of an S-Rank Demon Beast, which were so rare they were practically a myth.

Having never seen or even heard of someone taking this myself, I didn’t know how true that was.

I placed the pill inside a jar, then placed the jar in my pouch. After securing the pouch, I left the cave and began my journey once more, heading back toward Mount Himmellyn.

***

The sunny sky presented an incredible contrast to my dismal mood as I walked through the streets of Nevaria, following the map that Felman had given me. My heart felt heavy. It was like a mountain sat atop my chest, slowly crushing me.

I was going to see all the families of the people under my command who’d died during the battle against the Demon Beasts and Sekbeists. This was one aspect of being a sect leader that I could have done without. I didn’t like doing this in my previous life, and I certainly didn’t like doing it now.

But it needed to be done.

I wore a new set of clothing similar to the ones Fay had bought me when I first met with her father. My storage ring glinted in the light as I swung my hands back and forth.

My first stop was not a family but an orphanage. I stared at the rundown building made of brick and wood. “Ramshackle” was the word I was looking for. This building was quite large, set in a mostly empty lot filled with trees and spanning about half that lot.

Several children were playing outside, running around and chasing each other in what appeared to be a game of tag, though they stopped when they saw me. I smiled and waved at them, but they quickly ran back inside the orphanage.

With a sigh, I walked up to the orphanage doors and heard shouting from the other side.

“Ma! Ma! There’s a pretty woman outside!”

“Come quickly!”

“She’s like an angel!”

I felt instantly depressed upon hearing how these kids had mistaken me for a girl. I knew I still had a slightly feminine appearance, but did I really look that womanly? I had muscles and no breasts, and my face had lost quite a bit of fat. Surely, I didn’t look that much like a girl.

… Did I?

The doors opened and a woman stepped out. Dressed in the usual rugged clothing of a commoner, the drab color of her outfit somehow matched and complemented her warm but weathered appearance. This woman didn’t look old. At the same time, she felt aged, probably from the stress of raising so many children. I wondered if she operated this orphanage on her own.

“Are you Margaret?” I asked.

“I am,” the woman said. Her voice was as warm as her appearance. “And you are Eryk Veiger, if I am not mistaken.”

“Yes.”

The woman’s smile grew wider. “Alva talks about you often. She has always been very taken with your strength. Said you’re the greatest person in the entire world.”

A pained smile appeared on my face, but I was experienced enough not to let anything more show.

As we spoke, the kids who had run into the orphanage peeked out from behind Margaret, staring at me with something akin to shock. Margaret placed her hands on their heads.

“Please, forgive these children for their rude comments,” she said.

“It’s fine,” I told her. “I’m used to it. Anyway, I’m here to speak with you.”

“I assumed as much. Please, come in.”

Margaret led me inside the orphanage, which was as ramshackle on the inside as it was on the outside. We walked down a clean but old hallway. The floorboards creaked underneath our feet. I looked at the walls, which weren’t dirty but appeared old. Paint was peeling in several places. I followed a crack that ran from the bottom all the way to the top.

This place appeared to be falling apart.

I was led into a plain and unadorned room with a single table in the center and some cupboards against the wall to my left. The scent of stale air filled the room, but I ignored that as Margaret gestured for me to take a seat. As the wooden chair creaked underneath my bottom, I paused, concerned that the chair might break on me, but then slowly eased myself fully onto it once I had confirmed it was safe.

“I will be right back with some tea,” Margaret said.

“Thank you,” I replied.

The woman walked out of the room, leaving me alone to my thoughts. I clutched the lower end of my vest and took several deep breaths to hopefully calm down. This meeting was not going to be in any way pleasant.

As I sat there, a noise from outside caught my attention, causing me to turn my head toward the window, where I found several heads peeking in at me. It was the kids from before. There were three boys and two girls. All of them ranged in age, but I didn’t think any of them were older than maybe eleven or twelve. The moment they realized I had seen them, they ducked back beneath the window.

I sighed.

Having them here would just make what I had to say harder.

The woman came in several minutes later carrying what I could tell at a glance was her most expensive tea set. It didn’t compare to what Empress Hilda had, but honestly, Margaret could have offered me a cup full of cracks and it wouldn’t have mattered. I wouldn’t have been bothered if she offered me nothing at all.

Pomp and luxury had never interested me.

“Thank you,” I said as Margaret placed the tea set on the table, put a cup in front of me, and filled it with warm liquid. The tea was a light orange-ish color, and the fragrance wafting from it had a hint of subtle spices. It was a Darjeeling tea, most likely.

“You’re welcome.”

Margaret sat down as I put the cup of steaming tea to my lips and took a slow sip. The tea wasn’t the best, but it went down smoothly and quenched my parched throat. That was all I could ask for.

“I’m guessing you are here to tell me about Alva? She… hasn’t come to the orphanage lately,” Margaret said at last, hands neatly folded on her lap. I barely noticed the way her arms quivered. “That is the only reason I can think of to explain why someone of your stature would come all the way out here.”

I looked into the woman’s eyes, not looking away, which would have been an insult to her, given how brave she was trying to be.

I nodded once and said, “You are correct. I’m not sure how much you know, but the Nevarian Braves were charged with the task of helping stave off an invading army several days ago. We managed to prevent the army from reaching Nevaria… but many people died in the process.” My heart was slamming into my chest, but I kept my expression composed as I stared at the woman. “Alva was one of them.”

I did not know everyone who belonged to the Nevarian Braves. We had over 600 members now. Learning and memorizing the names of each person under me was impossible when I had so many Spiritualists. Alva was one such person. I couldn’t remember a single time when I had ever interacted with her.

That knowledge caused an incredible ache in my chest. Someone had died because of me, because I had them take part in a dangerous operation, and I couldn’t recall ever talking to them even once. I knew it would happen eventually. I accepted that. However, knowing and accepting that this would happen did not make the knowledge that these deaths were on my hands any easier.

“I… I see.” Margaret’s hands clenched as she looked down at the table. “Alva… she was a very determined girl, you know? After hearing about the Nevarian Braves, she decided to join and nobody could stop her. She worked very hard every day, and she was so overjoyed when she finally joined.” Margaret’s lips trembled and tears that refused to fall formed in her eyes. “She told me once that the reason she wanted to join the Nevarian Braves is because it was a great way to secure a constant source of income for our little orphanage. Up to that point, she would traverse the Demon Beast Mountain Range by herself for ingredients to sell.”

The longer this woman spoke, the sharper the pain in my chest became, but I didn’t tell her to stop. I listened to everything she had to say. This was my duty as the leader of the Nevarian Braves. It was my responsibility to see to the affairs of those who served under me after they passed on.

After listening to the woman, I slowly withdrew a large bag from my storage ring and set it on the table. The jingling of coins brought Margaret out of her stupor. She looked at the bag, blinked several times, then cast her questioning gaze toward me.

“This will never replace Alva,” I said. “However, that bag contains both the pay she would have received if she survived plus a little extra to… compensate for her loss.”

I called it a little extra, but there was twice the amount of valis in there compared to the normal pay everyone else had received. Felman had already informed me about this orphanage. I knew it was struggling, so I had dipped into the personal funds that I earned from the Alchemist Association.

Truth be told, the extra 30,000 valis was not even a drop in the bucket for me now, but it would be enough to keep this orphanage running for over a decade. Combine that with the 30,000 that Alva earned from the quest and this orphanage could even afford to refurbish the entire building and still live comfortably for years to come.

“Th-thank you very much,” Margaret said in a choked voice. While many people might assume she said this out of gratitude toward the money, I knew that wasn’t it.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

I didn’t remain there for long. After finishing my tea, Margaret led me back out of the orphanage and closed the door after I exited. This didn’t offend me. Tears had already been gathering in her eyes. I was certain that she was barely restraining her emotions in front of me.

Because I didn’t want to remain there, and because I had other stops to make, I walked away from the orphanage. Several of the children followed me for a time. I was certain they had been listening in on the conversation. I didn’t pay them any mind, and they left one by one, all except for a single child who kept following me from a distance.

Despite doing his best to hide, I could see him every time I turned around. He would hide behind a building whenever he noticed me looking at him. But his actions were so delayed that I would have to be an idiot to not have noticed him.

“I know you’re following me,” I said at last. “Come on out.”

I looked at the single tuft of hair sticking out from behind a cart, waiting patiently for the boy to slowly emerge. He did so after several more seconds.

He was young, but from his appearance, I judged him to be the oldest child at the orphanage. He looked around twelve. His hair was blond. His eyes were a light blue. He had pale skin, but it was covered in dirt. The threadbare clothes hanging off his frame looked like they had been stitched together multiple times. A pair of simple sandals were on his feet.

“Did you need something?” I asked even though I already had an idea of why he followed me.

The boy clenched his hands. “Why did Big Sister Alva have to die? Why… why didn’t you save her? You’re really powerful, right? Everybody says so! They say you’re the strongest! If you’re so strong, why couldn’t you save my big sister?!”

I figured that was the reason he had followed me. Some people needed someone to blame for whatever bad things happened in their life. Blaming fate didn’t make them feel better. Fate was intangible, so they tried to find a person they could place the blame on.

I tugged on one of my bangs and wondered what to say, but I understood that nothing I said would ease the pain he felt. It had been like that for me… back when Kari and Kayli died.

Many people had tried to help me at first. Erica would often visit me. She would do her best to motivate me by saying things like “Kari wouldn’t want you to be like this” or “Do you think your daughter would be happy seeing what you’ve become?” I had never listened to her, of course, which was why I left.

I walked up to the boy and placed my hand on his head. His hair was rough and coarse, covered in grease, and in obvious need of a wash. Given the destitute state of the orphanage, I imagine they could only afford to use a public bathhouse maybe once every two weeks or so.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” I said in a soft voice. “It’s never easy to lose someone you love.” I had no idea where I was going with this, but I kept talking anyway. “A long time ago, I lost the two most important people in my life. I just wasn’t strong enough to protect them. Even now, I’m not strong enough to protect everyone.”

I didn’t say anything else. I honestly didn’t know what else to say. The truth was that I was no great orator. I didn’t have the skills necessary to give people uplifting speeches that would make them feel better. I was just a guy who had lost everything and been given a miraculous second chance to regain what I had lost.

“Then… what if I become stronger?” the boy asked. “If I become even stronger than you, will I be able to protect everyone?”

“Maybe. Who knows? I’m not even sure how strong you’d need to become to be capable of protecting everyone.”

“I’ll do it.” The boy looked up at me with a fierce and determined glare. His eyes were like balls of fire. “I’ll train really hard and become so strong that I’ll be able to do what you can’t. I’ll protect everyone!”

“I hope you can do that,” I said, removing my hand from his head. “What’s your name, kid?”

“It’s Balder.”

“Then, Balder, when you become stronger, come see me. I’ll help train you,” I said. “Maybe you can do what I couldn’t.”

***

After leaving the child known as Balder behind, I traveled to the residences of each person who had been killed during the invasion, letting their families know what happened and giving them the valis their family member earned (plus 30,000 extra). The reactions varied. Some people accepted the money and stoically thanked me, others cried but thanked me for telling them what happened, and some blamed me for what happened. I even had one person throw the bag of valis I gave her in my face and tell me she wished I had been the one who’d died instead.

I didn’t accuse anyone or get angry. I accepted their feelings and let them vent their rage. I understood they were speaking out of anger.

It was nearly nighttime when I finished visiting all of the families. The stars were coming out when I returned home.

There was nobody inside the lobby. Dagny and Eira had likely already gone home, and I was sure Felman and the others were doing last-minute checks of our supplies before turning in.

That used to be my job, but I had become so busy that I needed another person to do it for me. These days, all I did was read through the report Felman wrote up to double-check that everything was in order.

I wandered up the stairs, the sound of my footsteps echoing back to me.

Kari, Fay, Lin, and Siv were in the living room when I arrived. While Siv blushed down to the roots of her hair upon seeing me, the other three seemed to sense how drained I was when I sank onto the couch beside them.

“We figured you’d be coming in late, so we made sure to have some food ready for you,” Kari said as she gestured to the plate sitting on the coffee table. The quiche sitting on the plate looked fairly appetizing. The meat, cheese, and vegetables created a colorful contrast to the custard. My stomach gurgled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

“Thank you,” I whispered, grabbing a fork and slowly eating. It was cold. However, the flaky pastry crust really helped bring out the taste of the eggs, vegetables, and meat. The saltiness of the pork created a lovely contrast with the sweetness of the crust.

After I finished eating, Lin grabbed the plate and moved it away, then she, Fay, and Kari sat right next to me on the couch. Siv looked a little lonely and uncertain on the other couch, yet she made no move to join us.

“I’m guessing you talked to all the families of the deceased?” Kari said.

“I did,” I whispered.

Kari must have sensed something in my voice because she immediately pulled me into her chest, wrapping her arms around my head. As my cheek rested against her bosoms, the sound of her heartbeat reverberated in my ears. It was soft and steady. This sound soothed my weary, ragged soul and caused me to slowly close my eyes before I knew what was happening.

“Was it hard?” she asked.

“It was.” Tears pricked at my eyes despite trying everything in my power not to cry. “It was really, really hard.”

“I can only imagine how hard that must have been. How much it must have hurt you.” Kari stroked my hair, her soft, delicate fingers easing away the strain I felt as I tried to contain my tears, which began silently flowing from my eyes. “You did a great job.”

A hiccup escaped my mouth as I wrapped my arms around Kari’s waist and pulled her close. The warmth she emitted made me want to fall asleep, but even now, I was far too high-strung and emotional for that.

As I held Kari, several other bodies suddenly engulfed me. I recognized Fay’s warmth as she wound her arms around my torso. A second set of breasts pressed against my head. Meanwhile, Lin had pressed her body against my back and wrapped me in a tight hug from behind. Her tail had also wound around my legs as if to comfort me.

The tears were beginning to stain Kari’s shirt, but she didn’t seem to mind as she continued stroking my hair. Fay had also joined in. Her fingers were a little larger than Kari’s, who had very thin fingers and slightly longer nails. While Kari’s nails gently scratched my scalp, Fay ran her fingers through my hair.

They were saying something. I couldn’t understand any of it, but the reassuring sound of their voices helped ease the sharp pain stabbing my chest.

I had been feeling pretty empty after speaking with the families of everyone who died, but that emptiness was slowly being chased away and filled by the warmth these three offered.

Like that, I slowly fell asleep within the arms of the women I would one day marry.

Step-by-Step Guide to Sideload EPUB Files Purchased from Shopify onto Kindle

Amazon now supports EPUB files on Kindle, but you need to send them through Send to Kindle or convert them. Follow these steps to get your EPUB books on your Kindle.

Method 1: Send to Kindle (Recommended)

Amazon now allows you to send EPUB files directly to your Kindle via email or the Send to Kindle app.

Step 1: Find Your Kindle Email Address

Go to Amazon → Manage Your Content & Devices (Link).

Click the Devices tab.

Select your Kindle device and note the "Send-to-Kindle Email" (e.g., yourname@kindle.com).

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Open your email client (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).

Compose a new email to your Send-to-Kindle Email.

Attach the EPUB file you purchased.

Send the email. Amazon will convert it and deliver it to your Kindle.

Alternative: Use the "Send to Kindle" App

Download the Send to Kindle App (PC, Mac).

Drag and drop the EPUB file into the app.

Select your Kindle and send it.

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This method requires converting the EPUB to Kindle’s MOBI or AZW3 format.

Step 1: Convert EPUB to MOBI or AZW3

Download Calibre (Link).

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Click Convert books → Choose MOBI or AZW3 as the output format.

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Connect your Kindle to your PC/Mac using a USB cable.

Open the Kindle folder in File Explorer (Windows) / Finder (Mac).

Drag and drop the converted file into the Documents folder.

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