A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands - Book 1: Glossary & Dramatis Personae

William Hunter was a young high-school student who was constantly bullied and made fun of by the people around him.

Suddenly, one day, everyone was given a system and transported into a parallel apocalyptic world filled with powerful hordes of zombies, wrecking havoc on everyone and everything. Even with systems, most people struggle to survive.

[You have received the ???-rank system, Minion Controller]

[You have received 1x Woodcutter Minion and 1x Warrior Minion]

[You can buy more minions in the Shop]

What was this?

[Your Woodcutter Minion has collected 21 wood, it is now level-2]

As other people struggled to survive. William would be able to create an army of minions and take over this hellscape

Until he became the lowest-ranked master, his lonely and luckless life never changed.Suddenly one day, a descendant injected him with a nanomachine, and the machine started ‘speaking’ to him.[I am the seventh generation Nanomachine manufactured by Sky Cooperation, and I am operating as a central nerve connected to your brain.]“What? What are you talking about?”This was beyond the boy’s knowledge, he turned pale.The Nanomachine linked to his cerebrum realized the User was not understanding a single word it said.“Who are you, and why are you doing this to me?”[“I am the seventh generation Nanomachine.]“Nano Machine?”[Yes, Nanomachine.]The boy’s face hardened.Mashin was the deity the Mashin Religion worshipped, along with the Sacred Fire.The religions’ Master communicated with Mashin.“Um, are you really Mashin?”The boy knelt down and asked with a trembling voice. At this, the Nanomachine attached to his cerebrum realized it had been misunderstood.

For decades, the brave warriors of the Northern Army fought to keep the world safe from the evil Silent Night. But when the fourth-generation leader, Jin Kwan-Ho is accused of colluding with the enemy, he is forced to disband the sect and commit suicide to protect his son, Jin Mu-Won. With no family and allies left, Mu-Won leads a dreary life under close surveillance… until a surprise attack from the Silent Night gives him a chance to escape to the mountains.

There, the young warrior trains to master the fighting techniques of his predecessors, before the mysterious disappearance of a loved one brings him back to the mainland. Follow Jin Mu-Won as he embarks on a journey to avenge his father’s death and take down the villains who threaten to plunge the world into darkness!