The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness (WN) - Chapter 17: Resolve

Ethan Carter never thought much about heroism—until the night he pushed a girl out of the way of a speeding truck and felt cold steel and shattering bones instead of pavement. He expected to die. Instead, he woke up in a hospital, completely healed, with a strange blue screen floating in front of him.[System Activated.][Welcome, User. Your journey begins now.]At first, he thinks he's hallucinating. But when his body starts changing—his strength skyrocketing, his reflexes sharpening—Ethan realizes this is real. The System grants him quests, skills, and rewards, pushing him to break human limits. And yet, there’s more. Locked away in his interface is something called *World Travel*—but it remains inaccessible, its conditions unknown.As he grows stronger, Ethan catches the attention of powerful forces—some eager to recruit him, others determined to stop him. And amidst the chaos, women drawn to his power and charisma begin to enter his life, each with their own mysteries.But one question haunts him: *Why was I chosen?*The answer lies beyond this world. And when the time comes, Ethan won’t just step into new worlds—he’ll conquer them.

Tens of billions of people around the world come to the heavens to kill the world at the same time.

Hundreds of countries including Lighthouse Country, Dragon Country, Sakurajima Country compete!

Qin Feng awakened his supreme talent at the beginning!

SSS-level talent – endless extraction!

He can extract everything! Including extracting gods and demons!

【Successful extraction! You get space skills! 】

【Successful extraction! You get time skills! 】

[The extraction is successful! You get 100 strength attributes! 】

[The extraction is successful! You get 100 points of agility! 】

[The extraction is successful! You have obtained A-level talent! 】

[The extraction is successful! You have obtained an S-level talent! 】

[Successful extraction! You get SS-level talent! 】

Since then, Qin Feng has started the road of infinite harvesting……

There exists eight hardships of human life- living, aging, being sick, dying, resenting, parting with loved ones, being unable to let go, and being unable obtain something.

In each life, each person will experience their own hardship. Once they obtain happiness, they are furthermore unable to let go. Whether it would be heartfelt love or resenting someone down to the bone, would it matter? As long as that person’s bone has my name, it would be good.

- Description from Novelupdates

[Your shadow is alive.][Feed your shadow, devour souls, level up, gain skills, complete quests, and grow stronger.][Do you wish to view your current stats?]In the magical world of Aetherus, Damon Grey is the weakest student at Aether Academy, relentlessly bullied and ridiculed for his lack of power and defiant personality. Yet, he endures the torment, clinging to his scholarship—the only thing providing him with the funds to keep his sick sister alive.After a brutal attack leaves him near death, Damon encounters a dark viscous entity in the forest that fuses with his shadow, awakening the Living Shadow System. This strange power grants him unimaginable abilities but comes with a grim cost—a relentless hunger for souls and flesh to feed his shadow.Now, with his shadow alive and insatiable, Damon faces a terrible choice: feed it to grow stronger or starve it and die with it.In a world ruled by ruthless nobles, deadly monsters, and power-hungry demons, Damon must decide if his newfound power is a curse or the only way to survive. With the Living Shadow System, his fate is clear: devour or be devoured.