Highschool DxD: Crawling x Chaos - Chapter 4: Meet the team

“Welcome to Eclipse Online, the most lethal full-dive MMORPG on the planet, where there is only one life. Death is permanent, and each choice has a price the fragile world cannot afford. But for one of its players, the rules are about to be rewritten”.Following a fatal attack of the dungeon, he discovers a hidden room with a horrific inscription: he has been made the Eclipse Reaver, fated to tread the game world eternally.Each time he dies, he is resurrected, but at a horrific cost: shattered soul shards erase his memories, emotions, and abilities.As the game universe descends into chaos and its top players fall, he is forced to explore the dark conspiracy of Eclipse Online before he too is lost for good.With gory fights, shifting game mechanics, and a mystery thickening by the minute, never has the pressure been higher.Will he overcome the system, or lose himself in the void? Will he manage to retain his sanity, or be one of the many lost souls in the void?

This was a world where technology and cultivation co-existed.

Lu Ping had been single his whole life. He didn’t have any cultivation resources and all girls hated him.

All he could do was dating a girl he had met online.

However, at his graduation, Lu Ping accidentally exposed his personal information to his girlfriend.

From that moment onwards, his life started to change strangely.

When the two had finally agreed to meet, the Nine Heaven Golden Phoenix suddenly appeared and covered the sun with its wings. Everyone thought that the world was about to end.

Lu Ping drew his sword, ready to defend his home.

“Honey! Stop! It’s me!” Feng Xiaoqi, the phoenix, pleaded.

Lu Ping looked at the phoenix in awe as he dropped his sword.

“We have Xu Xian in the past, and we have Lu Ping in the present! Long live humans!”

“I thought Xu Xian was already unbeatable, who knew Lu Ping was even stronger than him!”

“Lu Ping! You shouldn’t play with a girl’s feelings!”

“He’s right! You have to show her the fine tradition of us humans!”

“What do you need for your wedding gift? We humans can give you anything you wish for!”

Lu Ping looked at his fellow human, completely dumbfounded by the situation.

Ethan Cross was just an ordinary college student in his past life—until he died trying to save a banker playing hero. Now, he finds himself reincarnated in “New World”, a realm plagued by Dread Beasts, where only those who awaken Aethermarks can become Heroes.But there’s a problem.Ethan has awakened as an E-rank Hero, the weakest tier, cursed with only one ability slot—a death sentence for any aspiring warrior. With no powerful clans willing to recruit him and the world already looking down on him, his future seems bleak.Until he discovers his Innate Talent: Sanctum of Beasts.This mysterious power grants him access to a personal dimension, where he can hunt endless waves of Dread Beasts. Unlike the real world, slaying them in this space drops Ability Fragments, which he can combine to gain abilities without slot restrictions. Even better? Time flows differently—he can train for days, yet only an instant passes in reality.Determined to rise from nothing, Ethan embarks on a secret journey to accumulate power. But as he completes missions and unravels the truth about the Black Pits, he realizes there’s something far more sinister lurking beneath the surface.The Hero Association hides dark secrets. Villains roam freely in the shadows. And Dread Beasts may not be the mindless creatures everyone believes them to be.With powerful enemies watching his every move, Ethan must play a dangerous game—remain unnoticed or become the hunter of both beasts and men.But one thing is certain:In this world, strength is everything. And Ethan Cross will carve his own path to the top—no matter the cost.