Painting of the Nine Immortals - Chapter 78: The Gift

In a world where supernatural Awakening dictates status, power, and worth, West Einstein is nobody.At eighteen, he’s a Tier 0—unawakened, invisible, and easily discarded. In a city ruled from the shadows by gangs, factions, and mafia families with supernatural bloodlines, Tier 1 awakeners are treated like future kings, while people like West exist purely as background.That truth becomes brutally clear when West’s girlfriend publicly abandons him for Caleb Rourke, a newly awakened Tier 1 backed by a street gang. Humiliated in front of the entire school, West learns a lesson the city enforces without mercy: power decides everything... love included.That same night, something awakens within him.~ The Cuckhold System ~A ruthless system that offers West a way to climb the hierarchy by doing to others what was done to him. By targeting men who believe their relationships are secure and becoming the replacement, West earns Cuck Points, a currency that allows him to grow stronger, unlock abilities, and even awaken as a Tier 1.Failure means losing the system forever.Success means power.As West navigates high school, part-time work at a café, and a city on the brink of chaos due to newly discovered supernatural ruins, he begins to see the world differently. Gangs extort openly. Police bow instead of enforce. Supernatural ruins spark violent competition. Morality bends beneath ambition.What starts as reluctant participation soon becomes strategy.---------NB: MC never gets NTRd after acquiring the system. He is the one who NTR others.

The narrative follows a gamer who, after selecting the “Awakened Cinder” class in the game Fractured Dawn, finds himself transported into the game's world. However, this version of the game is devoid of its usual interfaces—no UI, no tutorials, and no second chances. Each death strips away a part of his memories and identity, immersing him deeper into a perilous reality.The protagonist, now known as Riven, must navigate the treacherous Witherlands, confronting formidable foes like the Gravemare and Dreamborn Horrors, while uncovering the mysteries of Emberlight, Grace, and Cindershrines. His journey is one of survival, self-discovery, and challenging the very fabric of this fractured world.

The labyrinth that swallowed humanity. Four choices were given to them.

Easy Mode, where anyone can survive. Normal Mode, where only those who fight survive. Hard Mode, where only 1% can survive. And the Solo Mode, where only one person survived.

The strongest returnee of humanity, Kang Taesan, was an Easy Mode player.

He heard countless times,

“What if you had chosen the Hard Mode, or even the Normal Mode?”

Regretting his cowardly choice while dying amidst destruction, he gets another chance to choose.

“This time, I won’t make the wrong choice.”

The strongest Easy Mode player has returned.

[Congratulations! You are the Pioneer of the Mutation Abyss. Brace yourself - The Apocalypse begins now…][Main Quest: Eliminate Fellow Survivors][Description: The strong will thrive, and the weak will perish]Theo was never lucky. Bullied for his appearance and always underestimated, he lived his life as a pushover. But everything changed the night a meteorite struck him. His life takes a drastic turn.Chosen by the Mutation Abyss, he gains access to a mysterious system, granting him an evolutionary advantage.The world is doomed. An infection is spreading, turning the world into a deadly battleground. As the human Infectees mutate and portals to unknown realms open, otherworldly forces threaten humanity’s survival.Theo must harness his new abilities to survive in this brutal world. But in a place where strength is everything, will Theo keep his humanity, or become something worse?