Infernal Ascendancy - Chapter 23: Ashes of Retribution

I thought I had seen bad endings before—but nothing prepared me for the garbage conclusion of The Hero’s Path.Years of investment, countless struggles, and for what? The protagonist failed. The villain won. Everyone else? Dead. Furious, I sent a message to the author, only to get a chilling response:[Do you think you could do better?]Before I could even blink, my phone exploded in a blinding light, and the next thing I knew—I was waking up in a completely different body.Now, I’m Merlin Everhart, a fourteen-year-old with a 12-star talent, the kind of gift only the strongest should have.But here’s the problem: I have no idea who I am supposed to be.With nothing but a system and a first-day-of-school alarm ringing in my ears, I’m thrown into the world of The Hero’s Path.Am I just another side character in a world that already ended once?…Either way, I refuse to let this story beat me too.

In this world, only if you are strong, can you protect the people you love.

—〔WSA 2025 ENTRY〕—What happens when fate twists reality itself? What if someone finally obtains the one thing they've longed for since birth?Arvian got reincarnated into a horrible novel after performing a ritual to claim mysterious rewards offered by Webnovel—the Webnovel System and an Exclusive reward.Waking up in a cave surrounded by a villainous organisation, Arvian found himself; luckily, he was reincarnated with his own body.He sees cruel people, bloodlines, demons, reapers, monsters, and elves, and unfortunately gets dragged by UNHUMAN MISSIONS.Follow Arvian as he finds himself stuck with unhuman missions after failing a mission.Ding!][System Initializing...]...[All Activation Conditions met][Webnovel System Activated!]Congratulations! The Webnovel System has been successfully activated![Webnovel System]:「Gain 3x rewards for completing quests, missions, or eliminating enemies.」「Access the Novel Store, where you can purchase any item or ability of your choice from the novels you have read.」

Alex is a young man who struggles to make a living in the world's biggest game (Ancient world). He works as a mercenary who does every job he can find. It's been five years since his suffering started.

Ancient World creation was only possible by the World's greatest invention, “AI ZERO.”

Ancient World A vast planet Multiple times the size of Earth Ruled by Great empires, Big organizations, and hidden Shadowy associations.

A Fantasy world filled with prehistoric animals that have gone extinct on Earth. The creatures humans have only heard of in fairy tales and old stories, Monsters beyond the imagination of humans, roam the vast lands of the “Ancient World.”

Everything was going well, but it all changed on that day.

When the United States told the World “AI ZERO.” and “Ancient World.” technology was a gift from a very advanced intergalactic civilization. That has surpassed humanity in any way of life by an uncountable margin.

Humanity entered a new era, and the Ancient World became humankind's most important part of life.

Alex joined the game to make a living and support his family, but things didn't go as he had hoped.

After suffering in the Ancient world, Alex returned five years back in time.

Alex knows that the Ancient World is not just a VR game.

Now with a new chance in life, Alex will get strong and reach the top while finding the truth about the Ancient World.