Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice - Chapter 11: The old man under the willow tree

Different Hollywood, different life, there are only wonderful works, telling a new legend.

- Description from novelbuddy

Kai’s life was small—coffee-stained mornings, cracked recipes, and a system in his head that tweaked toasters and dough like it was nothing. Then the sky shattered. Aliens—Skraiths, jagged and brutal—invaded, tearing his city apart with green-glowing weapons and relentless claws. Superhumans rose to fight back, fire and lightning blazing through the chaos, but Kai’s world crumbled with them.Hiding in his apartment, Kai stumbles on blood—human and alien, smeared on his wall after a superhuman battle. His system, once just a tinker’s tool, awakens, offering him a choice: mimic their powers, temporary and wild, through the blood itself. Desperate, he takes it—stealing pyrokinesis, then electrokinesis, then kinetic energy, each power burning through him, fading fast. But it’s not enough. Armed with a humming Skraith weapon and a body tougher from alien blood, Kai joins a ragtag crew of enhanced fighters—Liv, Rylan, Jace, and Tucker—scraping to survive in a warzone where every shadow hides death.As Skraiths swarm and the city burns, Kai’s system pushes him deeper, analyzing, integrating, crafting minor enhancements—durability, strength, sparks of power that could make him a target or a savior. Government factions, rogue scientists, and the aliens themselves start sniffing around, drawn to his strange tech and blood-stolen abilities. By the time Kai crafts his first super-powered enhancement—an artificial strength boost—he’s no longer just a tinkerer. He’s on the edge of something bigger, something dangerous, where blood and sparks could forge a hero—or break him entirely.In a world unraveling, Kai’s fight for survival becomes a desperate race to master his system, outrun the Skraiths, and confront the truth: the power he’s chasing might destroy him—or remake the world.

She became the supporting character ‘The First Empress’ in the webtoon . This is Empress Livia, who died young after being shunned by her emperor due to her timid personality and incompetence. Her problem is that I woke up at her funeral in Livia looking ‘just like’ her. Everyone praises me as the ‘resurrected empress.’ But only the emperor knows. That I am not the real Livia. “The crime of desecrating the empress’ coffin. She deserves the death penalty.” She wants to kill me. She offered him her deal. Just to live. “your majesty. I am a very useful person. “Please use me.” Let’s just hold on for one year. Although her husband is so so so so scared! The real heroine and ‘second empress’ will appear. Then I can leave the palace in peace. * After many twists and turns, the time was ripe. I told her husband. “As promised, please divorce me.” My husband stared at me. And he hugged me quietly and said, “no way.” “yes?” “Now what? “I can never let you go.” … Isn’t this it? Is it because the empress worked too hard? You want a divorce without obsession? No, I have to divorce?

[Warning: Mature Content — 18+]Transmigrated into a world consumed by curse energy and monstrous abominations, Aristarkh should have died.Instead, he awakens the Binding System, a power that links his fate to others.Every time those bound to him grow stronger, he receives the rewards multiplied.With each bond, his power surges. With each victory, the world takes notice.But the deeper he climbs, the more dangerous the curses become, and the more his relationships blur the line between desire and survival.What to expect: The novel is a perfect blend of smut and fantasy.Tags: Yandere, Smut, Harem, Genius MC, Exciting Action, Bloodpumping fights, Netori, No-netorare, No netorase/ BL/ Yaoi, System + Detailed world-building, Intriguing character developments, High-stakes progression, Dark fantasy, Monster-girl?…