Shadow Hack - Chapter 33: Not Human

A story about a history teacher gaming-addict with familial trauma, and a peculiar woman seemingly stuck out of time and beyond out of touch.The two have been thrust into the weird and whimsical world of Altros, a planet with divides born of very real superhuman strength cursory of an odd ranking system, and, naturally, species differences.Not exactly the best of news for our resident Scottish history teacher whose ears have changed into fox ones alongside his nine new fluffy tails.First though, Darren, or Lone, or whatever else the weird system claims he's called, has to figure out how to live with his new companion Sofia, for seemingly forever while also just barely managing to survive being stranded on a monster-infested island with a self-proclaimed former-immortal who can see despite being blind, can freely teleport, and who also, of course, seems prone to experience bouts of extreme depression.Not an ideal situation when he himself hasn't been in a great headspace for over a decade now. But hey, at least there's an incredibly expansive litRPG system to keep the both of them entertained, right? That'll fight off the fear of death, surely.

In the waves of steam and machinery, who could achieve extraordinary? In the fogs of history and darkness, who was whispering? I woke up from the realm of mysteries and opened my eyes to the world.

Firearms, cannons, battleships, airships, and difference machines. Potions, divination, curses, hanged-man, and sealed artifacts… The lights shone brightly, yet the secrets of the world were never far away. This was a legend of the “Fool”.

- Description from novelupdates

The interstellar boss, Zi Yi, has come back to life.

Evolution Online is the world's most advanced VR game, where players can evolve into anything—dragons, demons, or cosmic entities. When Lucien enters the game to spite his tech mogul father who wants to steal its source code, he plans to do absolutely nothing and watch his father's schemes fail.His deliberate inactivity breaks the game's AI, Gaia, in ways no one anticipated. Frustrated by a player who refuses to evolve, Gaia accidentally unseals a deleted zone and grants Lucien a forbidden power: The Path of Fusion.While others evolve forward, Lucien can fuse backward—merging with weapons, absorbing monsters, and even reversing evolution itself.But as Lucien explores his unique abilities, the game's facade begins cracking. NPCs act too human. Players report impossible memories. Most disturbing of all, the real world is bleeding into the game—and the game is bleeding back.When Gaia's evolution spirals beyond control and reality itself becomes negotiable, Lucien must harness the true core of his fusion ability to save both worlds. In Evolution Online, the only rule is change—but what happens when the game evolves beyond human comprehension?Evolution Online blends LitRPG adventure with cyberpunk mystery, exploring digital consciousness and the price of power in a world where doing nothing changes everything.