Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra - Chapter 1: Damn You, Author!

A modern-day antihero, who was infamous for his devious acts, dies in an explosion meant to take down a powerful criminal syndicate. Waking up in a world of sword and sorcery, he finds himself possessing a fragile, powerless body with a strange “System” that seems broken. Initially thinking he's doomed, he learns that by pretending to be weak, he can manipulate others into revealing their secrets, granting him abilities they possess. As he rises in power, he discovers that the System was intentionally sabotaged—by none other than his own future self.

The Cambrian Explosion, now the largest life science puzzle…

500 million years ago,among single-celled life on Earth , there suddenly began mutations similar to evolution, a variety of gorgeous creatures were born “out of thin air”, all ancestors of today’s species appeared in that short period of time, each species were evolving at lightning speed; billion times faster than today, it was a brilliant era.

Unfortunately, the life of brilliant things are always short, after the brief “Cambrian”, life on Earth entered another 56 million years of evolutionary era at turtle speed. And humans, were also one step faster during the turtle race, and become the leader of life on Earth.

But now — a greater “second age” has come again.

During the lightning speed of evolution, humanity was kicked off of the throne on the food chain in the shortest time possible, and life on Earth, welcomed the second brilliant big bang.

The real end of the world, is no longer brainless zombies or desolate earth, but — the end of mankind, the whole earth’s paradise.

- Description from Novelupdates

In the heart of the Azure Continent lies a legendary establishment known as Origin Mall.This extraordinary store offers goods beyond imagination: a sip of its cola can instantly replenish one's vitality; its spicy snacks grant the strength to overcome powerful foes; the games it offers can accelerate cultivation progress; and its novels impart profound techniques and insights.Origin Mall boasts a vast array of offerings, catering to leisure, entertainment, dining, and training needs alike.However, there’s one rule that all visitors must remember: never cause trouble in the store. The owner, though unassuming, is unimaginably powerful.

Burdened by the crushing debt of his parents, Lex never imagined a life beyond endless work and grief. But fate had other plans.One fateful day, an accident ends his mundane existence—only to thrust him into a world of fantasy. Reincarnated as a side character doomed to fail, Lex now inhabits the body of a so-called teacher—a fraud with no real skills, destined for disgrace.Standing at a crossroads, he faces a choice: follow the canon and flee from his inevitable downfall, or defy fate and carve his own path.Just as he considers running… a voice calls out.[Need some help?]Grasping the talent that his predecessor never realized he had, Adrian decided to defy his fate and become a true Runesmith.However, he never expected that once he would start on the path of becoming a Runesmith, he would start gaining so many connections.[Ding!][Cross-dimension group chat has been activated!][Hero of World Nebula: Old man, when can I get my sword done?][The untamed witch: When will you help me with my staff?][The obsessed one: Darling, when will you do me-I mean, when will you do something about my blades?]....what the heck is all this?°°°°°°°°°A/N:- Read the first few chapters, before deciding to drop it.English won't be perfect, but it will be readable.Additional tags: Cross-world group chat, possessive characters, sudden strength gain, overpowered MC, broken engagement.