Crown of Thorns - Chapter 12

The year 1847

One day, a ghost possessed me.

The younger brother donated his kidney to his older brother and chose death over living with only one kidney.

A high school girl tried acting in front of her father.

A Korean military police officer from the Japanese colonial period belatedly tried to protect his country.

A con artist attempted to steal his partner’s heart but ended up losing his own.

I could vividly portray their lives.

Their experiences were akin to a theatrical performance, almost theatrical.

“Who would have thought that one ordinary review could instantly fuck your life? Definitely not me”******Luke was your average teenage boy—with an unhealthy obsession for light novels.After finishing a new read titled “The Hero’s Obsessed Harem,” he jumped online to post a review. His biggest issue? The so-called “hero” kept stealing other men’s love interests, and somehow, the story praised him for it.Right after posting the review, he got an odd reply from the author:“You think my book is flawed? I’ll make you regret that.”Luke brushed it off as a salty writer who couldn’t handle criticism—until everything went dark.The next time he opened his eyes, he was in the body of Riven Von Grave, the fourth son of the low-ranking Grave baron family—an irrelevant extra in The Hero’s Obsessed Harem. Riven was a forgotten character, engaged to three duke’s daughters since childhood, only for all three to abandon him for the so-called hero. And to make matters worse, he was fated to die in a war against demons—utterly forgotten.But Luke isn’t having any of it.Screw fate.Screw the plot.And most of all, screw the author who threw him into this mess.Armed with a mysterious system and pure spite, Riven is going to rewrite his destiny, and win back his fiancées as well.But with every change Riven makes, he changes the story, and pulls a calamity bigger than the demons toward them. What will he do when he realizes the impending doom, will he be able to fix his own mistakes?

Facing extinction, humanity seeks salvation in the Astral Verge, a dangerous dimension accessed via portals that threatened to wipe out the entire planet.Few years later, aspiring recruit Daniel Vance enters the Verge for his final assessment, hoping to Awaken a Talent and secure his future. While others gain common abilities, Daniel secretly Awakens the mythical SSS-Grade Talent: [Soul Assimilation]. This allows him to absorb essence, enhancing gear, gaining stats and EXP from slain creatures, and crucially, absorbing attributes and skills from fallen Awakened.Witnessing the swift death of the arrogant Jaxon Rex, Daniel makes a grim choice: he assimilates Jaxon, gaining his first skill, [Kinetic Pulse]. This sets his path: scavenging the aftermath of others’ battles. He enhances gear and, after achieving his first kill on an injured beast, waits patiently to assimilate two more fallen recruits, acquiring [Quick Step] and the invaluable passive [Aura Sense].Starting as average, Daniel rapidly gains power in secret, enhanced gear, multiple skills, and boosted stats , far exceeding his peers while remaining outwardly unremarkable. He navigates the lethal Verge alone, using its inherent dangers to fuel his growth, wrestling with the moral cost of his unique, overwhelming power.