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GUNSMOKE AND ALCHEMY: THE HELLFIRE LEDGER

miightyeagleink
“Most men out on the frontier are hunting for gold. I'm hunting for time.” Arthur Mercer has exactly forty-eight hours before his own cells begin to liquefy. Afflicted with the terminal Black-Marrow Blight, his only life-support is the Hellfire Ledger—a spectral bounty system branded into his forearm. It doesn't ask for justice. It demands the souls of the wastes' most corrupted abominations in exchange for cellular stability. Every bounty he completes buys him more life. Every failure brings him closer to dissolving into nothing. Armed with a modified revolver and a coat full of volatile alchemical serums, Arthur hunts the worst horrors of the frontier—plague-smiths, mutated abominations, and things that should never exist. He isn't a hero. He's a sanctioned butcher. But survival has a cost. To stay alive, he must harvest organs, craft forbidden compounds, and turn himself into something less human. And now, a greater threat rises. An army of rot. A plague that cannot be outrun. A cure that might destroy what’s left of his mind.
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Beauty and the Thief [BL]

On hiatus for a week or two to prepare the final act!! --- Tao Hua's life is fucking miserable, and that misery somehow earns him the title of "Village Disgrace." In order to cope with the awful treatment, he often retreats into words untold, dictated by the flip of a page. These worlds leave him with the dream of escaping this piece of shit town. To his utter dismay, his wish comes true, but not in the way all those fairytales promised. His saviour is a man he becomes enthralled with and whom he names “Lord No-Name.” This male lead is a touchy man with many faces. And for lack of a better word, Tao Hua can’t decide if he’s either the story’s love interest or villain. But the two share a common sentiment. This prince, alike Tao Hua, is also fucking miserable. But arguably worse! And instead of coping like a normal fucking person, he does the opposite. He doesn't escape. He doesn't cope. He just tries to fight against the already fated truth of his demise. 0/10, worst prince ever written. Misery aside, this fateful encounter will force Tao Hua to make a choice, leaving him with only one question: "What was one mean-spirited beast to a town of people who despise a beauty's entire existence?" ──── ୨୧ ──── Beauty and the Thief is a slow-burn, stop to smell the roses, type of novel. That being said, the roses are beautiful, and upon closer observation they’re less floral than once thought. It follows the POV of Tao Hua, as he tries to navigate his new life in a place that actually values him, and the prince of this story’s mood swings. ──── ୨୧ ──── !!!!Disclaimer!!!! EXTREMELY SLOW PACED! Character driven, before plot! This story borrows the premise of Beauty and the Beast, by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, relying heavily on the trope while also twisting it to smithereens. The beast element is exchanged for a power dynamic, and the curse differs from the original story. The narration borders on sarcastic and self-aware, while also targeting deeper topics. It often breaks the fourth wall as a stylistic choice. A lot of the work will be edited over time, but the bones will remain the same. ──── ୨୧ ──── There are occasional illustrations littered throughout the novel drawn by me (slowly commissioning to get others done), usually found in the comments! !!CREDIT!! Cover Art by @Sayoto (VGen) Illustrations by me (@meowssey) and zaza (@zazhah) (Both commissioned artists are amazing to work with and I highly recommend their work!)
SolitaireInsomniac · 135.3k Views

Kael's Codex

{A/N: Hey Guys, Thanks for clicking on my work! Just wanted to clarify that an average chapter for the WN is 2000-3500 words, and the average word count for WebNovel chapters is 1000-1050. Please bear that in mind when you see a low chapter count :) Thanks!} He mastered science. Now he must rewrite magic. When Kael Arin, a scientist from Earth, awakens in a world ruled by Aether, he brings with him the one thing this realm has never known: reason. Gifted with the mysterious Aether Codex, a System that translates scientific understanding into magical power, Kael enters Aetherion Academy, where bloodlines define worth, and knowledge is bound by superstition. As a commoner surrounded by noble heirs, Kael’s logic-driven magic defies the very foundation of the arcane world, a world where emotion is power and tradition is law. His arrival at Aetherion Academy marks the first ripple in an age-old balance, drawing the eyes of those who would control him… and those who would destroy him. Guided by curiosity and haunted by the whispers of the Aether Codex, a System that should not exist, Kael’s pursuit of understanding begins to uncover truths long buried by history and faith alike. But knowledge stirs more than enlightenment. Beyond the walls of the Academy, forces long dormant begin to awaken. Whispers of war echo across the continents, and shadows move beneath the surface of creation itself. In a realm where magic is born of passion, one man’s logic may be the spark that reignites the end of the world.
BlazeKey · 75.1k Views