Rise of the Devourer - Chapter 34: Astral Rift

APOCALYPSE.What is an apocalypse?Anything that stops or breaks the world's working flow, anything that throws human civilization into disarray, is an apocalypse.It can be a zombie attack or an EMP attack, where electrical appliances and other things stop working. Even a natural disaster at a catastrophic level will result in an apocalypse!This book is the story of one such unique apocalypse.A fantasy apocalypse where a game system descends on Earth, making humans the ones being played.Monsters roam on the earth's surface as humans hide, while gods watch from above.Some of those gods support, while others just enjoy.So, if you want such a book, then hop on your seats and put on your glasses (if you have any), as this is going to be a story of a very unique type of apocalypse (according to me).Join me in the journey of a boy named Alex as he navigates and survives through the apocalypse, along with an AI capable of copying anything.

“Now you see?” she shouted in a mix of annoyance and disappointment. “You can't outsmart Scrients! They're the most intelligent beings across the two realms.”“You're right,” I muttered, averting my gaze with a heavy sigh. “I made a mistake. I was too arrogant to think that a mere human like me could fool them.”—BOOM!!“Heik! Wh-What was that?”“Hmm? I'm not sure. Maybe you should go and ask the most intelligent beings across the two realms. Oh wait, you can't. I killed them all.”______My name is Samael Kaizer Theosbane.On the last day of high school, I got into a fight with a kid I used to bully.It was a stupid, pointless scuffle, and in the middle of it, I tripped and hit my head on a rock.That’s when the memories came flooding in - the memories of another life, of a different world.Suddenly, everything made a twisted kind of sense. I realized two things.First, I was in a game I used to play in my past life.Second, I was a villain. A villain!Not the cool and mysterious kind, either.No, my destiny was to be manipulated and die a dog's death!I was the worst type of cliché: an ungrateful, privileged, insufferable young master. The sort you'd find in those poorly written fantasy stories.The kind everyone hates — a snobby brat from a powerful noble family who thinks he owns the world just because he was born with a silver spoon lodged in his mouth.You know the type. The one the hero beats to a pulp to prove his worth.Yeah, I was that guy.And the hero? The hero was the kid I’d been bullying all this time. The same one I got into a fight with.He was the supposed savior of this damned world.A world teetering on the edge of destruction, beset by wars, calamities, and a grim future that only I knew.And at the end of it all, the final antagonist of the game, the undefeatable boss… the Spirit King, was waiting.But could I even make it to the end?Could I conquer a game where defeat was the only certainty?A game that was now my reality!“Ah, fuck it.”I had no idea if I could, but I sure as hell was going to try.Extorting extras, manipulating main characters, twisting the story to my advantage, stealing the hero’s cheat items, killing villains before they could become threats - nothing was beneath me.Would the main characters be affected? Who cares!Would the story change? Even better!All I cared about was me—my survival, my life, my choices.“I will live this life with no regrets.”…But as I soon discovered, fate was not easily changed.And the price of altering one's destiny was steep.

A few years after graduating, Chen Hui was mediocre and suddenly found himself back in the scorching summer of 15 years. It seemed that it was not just a simple rebirth, but a plug-in was accidentally attached. Money, beauty, and power followed. Easy cool text! …

- Description from novelbuddy

The Halfling says: curiosity is power.The Dwarf says: unity is power.The Elf says: Magic is power.The Gnome says: creation is power.The Beastman says: slaughter is power.Humans say: authority is power.The Dragon always says: knowledge is power.The Gods once said: faith is power.Lynch stands on the terrace of the All-Knowing Tower, overlooking the Anriel Continent, and gently says:“I”, am power.