HOTD! Busujima's Step Brother - Chapter 33 – A Predatory Gaze

Lane Allen, an A-rank Guide, got injured on an emergency mission suppressing a dungeon break, and perished in his almost-lover’s arms.As the remaining members of his team continued to fight for their lives, in a fancy apartment in a distant part of the city, a young man opened his eyes.“Phew… That hurt like hell…”“It’s a bit of a shame to switch so soon… But I guess it is what it is.”“Anyway, who should I become next?”Actually, Lane Allen was not a Guide, but rather an Esper with a mysterious Plunder ability! It allowed him to possess other people’s bodies, and steal their awakened abilities. Keeping his real body safe, Lane could enjoy life to the fullest, constantly swapping identities, and doing whatever he wanted without ever worrying about the consequences! How great was that?Except…Damien Lennox grabbed Lane’s arm, and pressed him against the wall, his clear green eyes staring down at Lane intently, as if he could see right through him. “There’s no one else whose guidance feels so harsh and chaotic, yet pleasing at the same time.”It seems that Damien was somehow able to recognize Lane even after switching identities, and is unwilling to let him go?

The Main Character, Watari Karito, is a veteran player of a Military Shooting VRMMORPG.

Exploding stars with one punch, extinguishing the sun with breath, crossing the universe in an instant, Retinazer destroying everything… This is the Superman gene!

In the future world, human genes will mutate, and the awakened ones who control various powerful forces will quickly dominate the world.

Awakened people can imitate powerful beasts such as tigers and leopards, and can also control terrifying elements such as wind and fire, and can even extract souls and edit memories…

The traverser Qin Mo awakened the superman gene when he was 23 years old, and he could gain attribute points by absorbing the energy of the sun, gradually adding points to unlock the powerful power unique to superman.

So he went to work every day like this, touched fish, basked in the sun, and added points.

Before he knew it, he realized that he was going to be invincible…

Qin Mo: “I’m sorry, but in the face of absolute power and invincible defense, everything you have is nothing but bells and whistles.”

- Description from novelbuddy

In the year 2100 humanity was introduced to the revolutionary full dive VR game called 'Omega', however, the game was not a technology made by humans but one granted to humanity by a higher power to prepare them for the first awakening.

It was only a tutorial and a means to smoothly transition the primitive species from thinking that they were alone in the entire universe, to being integrated into the true wide universe.

When the average user level in the game exceeded the predetermined threshold the tutorial finally ended and planet earth underwent a catastrophic event called the 'First Awakening ', as mana started to flow freely in the real world as it did in the virtual world and the real universal stage game called 'Sigma' was unveiled.

'Sigma' was governed by the omnipotent A.I. the universal queen, and was the grand stage where races from all across the universe fought together for territory, resources, and honor.

Set in a universe where fantasy races such as elves, dragons, and vampires are not a myth but real power players, humans quickly found out that they were one of the weakest races to play 'Sigma'.

In such desperate times, humans turned to their best professional players for salvation.

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Max, was a genius in the world of Omega and deemed the hope of mankind after the first awakening. However, an accident crippled his mana veins and caused him to be assessed as a manaless trash in Sigma!

Deemed hopeless and irredeemable, he quickly went from hero to zero, and the world ignored him.

For ten years since the first awakening, he lived the life of a manaless trash and became a bottom feeder in society, slowly losing his pride, his possessions, and eventually his identity.

In the end, he faced a tragic and painful death while failing to save his young nephew and niece from assailants.

However, it was not the end of Max's story but just the beginning as he was reincarnated back in time to the day before the first awakening before his downfall started!

Armed with the knowledge of the future, watch as Max reaches for the apex in his second life and fights against his destiny with grit and tenacity.

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Cover edited by the very talented bird of paradise