Collide Gamer - 27 Days of Preparation 25 – What were the odds? [Salamander POV]

Lin Yu finds himself transported to the world of Honkai: Star Rail.Equipped with a divine mobile game development system, his first project is creating “Honkai: Star Rail.”Soon, his game captures the attention of the entire universe.As players reach the Cocolia boss battle, the song ‘Wildfire’ begins playing.“Woah?! This is a turn-based game; how dare you make it so intense!”“The moment this music kicked in, I felt like I was about to take down an Aeon!”Progressing further, they encounter Dan Heng’s sea-parting scene.“I thought ‘Wildfire’ was intense enough, but there’s even more fire here!”“Dan Heng, still denying you’re Imbibitor Lunae? Now you’re a five-star limited character!”Arriving at Penacony:“Huh? Have you listened to ‘WHITE NIGHT’?”“Acheron’s power has been tested – fellow gamers, feel free to pull for her!”“Duke Inferno: Children, this isn’t funny.”“Before experiencing the story: Aventu**ne? Just another profit-driven fraud! After the storyline: May the Mother Goddess thrice close her eyes upon thee…”“What Aventu**ne?! He’s clearly my unfortunate yet loyal bro!”

An AI calling itself Schema has assimilated earth into its system. As a consequence, everyone gained access to status screens, power-ups, and skills. This AI turned these concepts from fiction to fact. It's easy to become intoxicated with leveling up and becoming stronger. To some, it's too good to be true like living out a dream.

For Daniel, however, it's closer to a nightmare.

He's in a bit of a predicament. Cracks in our dimensional fabric have unleashed terrifying beasts from dark, abyssal places. Schema organizes these cracks into dungeons, giving the native species of the planet a chance to fight back. Daniel finds himself trapped in one of these dungeons. Not long after, he discovers there's only one way out.

“Come not between the Dragon and his Wrath.” — William Shakespeare The year was 2140, and Earth was nothing but a distant memory. Humanity now drifted through the galaxies aboard colossal ARKs, massive skyships that served as the last bastions of civilization. Yet, these ARKs were more than just floating cities; they were humanity’s last containers, preserving what remained of their species. A century before Earth’s final collapse, humanity discovered a gateway to a realm known as Eternia — a fantastical world straight out of myth and legend. Reaching this realm required more than just advanced technology; it demanded a complete departure from the physical body and entry into a mysterious process known as the Dream Weave. In the present day, Cloud lived aboard ARK NO. 427, where he had been training from a young age to step into the Dream Weave. He was a standout among his peers, excelling in every tasks that came his way. Everything seemed to be on track for him — until the pivotal day of the Class Selection process.

Sophia Alcott, the daughter of Earl Alcott, lives a lonely life as a maligned and infamous shut in, with nothing to do but to work on her skills as a budding apothecary in the dusty storeroom she’s forced to call home.That is until she suddenly wakes up one day and finds herself in the body of an even more infamous villainess (one who actually earned her reputation) locked up in a tower.Although the only clue she has about how this happened is a cryptic note, instead of despairing about her new situation, she’s in awe at just how luxurious the treatment she’s receiving in this ‘prison’ is compared to how she had to live before.Meanwhile, back at Earl Alcott’s mansion, all hell is about to break loose.That’s because…