The Villainess turns the Hourglass - Chapter 236: There Is No Mercy, Part VII

The year was 2026, and the world wasn't what it used to be. Ever since the Abyss Gates cracked open three years ago, spilling monsters and dungeons across the planet, life had turned into a chaotic mess. Cities were half-ruined, half-rebuilt, and people clung to whatever normalcy they could find. Hunters—those brave or crazy enough to fight the monsters—became the new heroes. Everyone else? Well, they just tried to survive.Fin wasn't a Hunter. He wasn't a hero either.He was just… Fin. A lanky 19-year-old with messy brown hair, a chipped front tooth from a dumb skateboard accident, and a power that everyone called useless. Absorption. Sounds cool, right? Like he could suck up energy or steal someone's strength. Nope. All it did was let him “feel” things he touched a little more than normal. He could tell you the exact texture of a brick wall or how warm a coffee mug was—big whoop. No fireballs, no super strength, no flashy moves. Just a glorified touchy-feely trick.“Fin, you gonna eat that sandwich or just stare at it like it's gonna confess its life story?” Meg's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.He blinked and looked across the rickety table at his best friend. Meg was short, loud, and had a wild mop of dyed purple hair that she swore made her look “intimidating.” It didn't.

Traveling to an overhead urban world where martial arts and immortal arts coexist, the only thing Lin Shen can rely on is the avatar Golden Finger.

Cultivate in avatar, the main body becomes stronger.

Clone [Pure Yang Body]: Yang attribute skills training speed +300%, Blazing Sun Palm, Melting Soldiers Hand, Qianyang Sword Art… Any Yang attribute skills can be easily mastered, and a thousand miles a day!

Clone [Natural Dao Body]: Practice speed +500%, all martial arts skills can be understood at a glance, mastered, and crushed all geniuses!

Clone [Sword God Wuwo]: The power of swordsmanship skills +200%, the speed of swordsmanship skills training +200%, let you be tyrannical, I will kill you with one sword!

 …

“You never know how many avatars are working hard behind the person chatting with you in front of you!”

“The avatar did it, what does it have to do with my body?”

“What I’m most afraid of is that others will bully the few with the more, anyway, not as many as me!”

- Description from novelbuddy

Ethan was betrayed, he was broken, left crippled by those he trusted most: Zachary and Ivy, the people who ruined his life. Stripped of everything, Ethan crawled through three grueling years in the abandoned depths of despair, desperate to regain what he lost.Until one final act of defiance opened the door to something greater.When Ethan completed a hidden quest, fate granted him a miraculous reward: a second chance.He awakens years in the past, on the eve of a revolution: the launch of Ethereal, the world's first fully immersive VR game and humanity’s obsession. Armed with memories of four years in Ethereal, he’s no longer the helpless pawn who lost everything.This time, Ethan knows every secret, every hidden quest, every exploit to climb back to the top. But when he steps into the game, the system unveils a shocking twist: a divine bloodline, legendary abilities, and a class no one believed could dominate.Ethan vows to rise once more, but this time, he knows where the paths of glory begin, where betrayal lurks, and where to find legendary treasures that will crown him king in this brutal new world.The stakes are higher than ever. Factions are forming, alliances are shattering, and the clock ticks toward an event that will rewrite reality itself.The weak will perish, and the strong will thrive.They betrayed him once.They won’t live to do it again.