Blurb:

He was once mindless trash. Vermin. An Imp.

No name, no purpose. No future.

He was supposed to die in the Maw like the rest. Mindless, crawling meat for something stronger to chew on.

But something broke.
A spark buried itself inside him... something ancient, older than Hell itself.
Now he can see. He can think. He can Evolve.

Hell doesn't know it yet, but the bottom just stood up.
And he's hungry.

Synopsis:

The lowest demon in Hell. An imp without thought, spawned from filth, born for slaughter. Then he devoured a glitched system shard, something that shouldn’t exist in Hell. It gave him thought. It gave him power. It gave him the chance to evolve.

Crawling through a realm of endless death and rot, he forced open a path to Earth.

But in the year 2125, Earth isn’t what it once was. A hundred years ago, the Convergence shattered reality. Dimensions merged and the Dungeons fell. Civilization ended. Now, after a century of struggle, the Five Kings rule what's left, each carving out their own empires with overwhelming power.

Like the Beast Taming King, who controls what was once Africa. His lands teem with monsters. Users flock to farm his dungeons, capturing beasts, gather rare materials...if they can survive, and don't forget to pay tribute.

 Or the Undead King, who holds what was once Europe and Russia in an iron grip. Endless legions of the dead serve him, his people loyal and fanatical. Behind an iron mask, he enforces absolute authority. A tyrant, loved by his people, living or dead.

 Everywhere, system users chase their own power. Shards grant anything from petty stats to world-shaking destinies. Everyone sees themselves as the hero, the protagonist of their own story.

All of this is maintained and guided through the Network, a system-spanning infrastructure no human can escape. It ranks, registers, and controls. But not everywhere.

Beyond the king's territories lie the Freelands, lawless zones they can’t or won’t hold. Here, gangs and corporations carve up ground while dimensional rifts swallow entire city blocks, wild dungeons drop without warning, and violence is the only law.

He shouldn’t even exist in the Network. He’s not human. But his shard is corrupted...tainted. He slips through its firewalls, unregistered, unranked and free. 

Consuming the life and identity of Wohan Seo-jin, a system user and gang boss on the drowned coast of what was once Korea, he takes everything: his face, his memories, his men. Now he owns a foothold in the human world.

And he plans to keep it. 

Survival isn’t enough. There is too much to want, too much to take for his own.

 System users, demons, dimensional races, even gods, he’ll push past every limit, evolve beyond every threat, and claim everything he desires...no matter the cost.

#Litrpg #DarkFantasy #Grimdark #ProgressionFantasy #Post-apocalyptic

Quick heads-up for everyone: there won't be a new chapter today. Holiday chaos has taken over my schedule, and I'm giving myself one day to eat, breathe, and try not to pass out in a pile of leftovers. Regular posting will resume tomorrow, 11/28, with our usual dive back into the madness.


For everyone in the States, I hope you're having a solid turkey day with good food, good people, and at least one plate you immediately regret finishing. For everyone outside the States, don't worry—I'll drown enough stuffing and gravy for the entire global Brood. Consider it a noble sacrifice.


Thanks for hanging in there, and I'll see you all tomorrow with the next drop!


Chapter 123 - Author Note