Stranger's Handbook - Chapter 146: A Trap Called Custom

In a foreign country, a leisurely little farmer.

Beer, side dishes, beef and sheep barbecue, small pond, three or five fish and shrimp, a pot of soup.

There are hundreds of flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, cool breeze in summer, snow in winter, and a hut in the woods.

- Description from novelbuddy

Alexander Gray, a fifteen-year-old teenager on the verge of his awakening and subsequent entry into the Hunters Academy is one day taken away in a cosmic mana wave that passes through Earth’s solar system during a school trip from Earth to Mars. A wave that kills a person once exposed to it. Luckily, the displacement wave placed him close to their destination where he was found, alive and well to the disbelieve of everybody. Unbeknownst to him at the time, the cosmic mana wave had awakened a gift within him that would propel him to the ranks of hero hunter and beyond, granting him the strength to lead humanity in their effort to determine the cause of their universe changing and its implications. ............. “For some reason, I can’t level up.” Alex began to feel frustrated as he was stuck at Class F, the lowest rank a hunter could have after awakening, despite his momentum when he first awakened. Even with his awakened talents and the benefits he received from the ’accident’ that should have killed him, he now finds himself stuck and unable to level up as mana does not work on him like everyone else. Follow Alexander Gray as he discovers his abilities and learns about himself in a chaotic universe and beyond.

In 2173, the world’s first Full-World Virtual MMORPG game ‘Astral Online’ went on sale globally, forever changing the blue planet Asteria!

With its revolutionary Digital Capture System, astonishing graphics and ability to scan yourself into the game with up to 20% beautification, countless defenders rallied to play the game.

Fifty million players logged in on launch. There were no queues or lag on launch, leaving countless critics impressed and willing to try the game. Because the game used a 6-hour play limit a day, it allowed even working adults to keep up with young students and the unemployed.

A resounding success, as more people poured onto the game servers, families and friends alike. Astra Online became a household name overnight.

One month later, the game opened its first RMT system, which made earning a living from the game easier... Thus began the Astral rush!

Professional players formed guilds and factions to increase their profits, but nobody could know this prosperity was a mere joke.

One year later, players fused with their avatars, gaining powerful abilities in the real world, which tipped the power and caused chaos.

Two years later, demons and monsters from inside the game invaded the real world.

Three years later, over 90% of humanity perished, leaving the rest to hide like rats, unable to fight back in fear.

Four years later, this world is no longer ours. The demons march on our last bastions, one by one. They exterminated us.

Zell was an average player who liked to collect beasts in the game and evolve them into humanoids, as they were primarily females.

He spent most of his life working two jobs to make ends meet.

Thanks to the excellent healthcare of his country, there were no crippling debts. There was only emptiness.

When the end came, he was powerless and alone. His only companions were his cute pets and Rika, his cherished Flame Rabbit.

She was the only beast he evolved to a humanoid form after his late start to the game.

He died saving the life of a strange girl with white wings and his pet Rika, the sad eyes of Rika and the girl’s sorrow floating through the air as he slowly passed away.

However, instead of dying, he awoke inside an empty white room with a single computer and a strange, game-like screen that allowed him to edit his IRL avatar and persona.

Who offered him this second chance?

For what reason did they help him?

Can he meet Rika again?

Zell could never know; he only knew his second life’s goal.

Survive!

The world had changed when the System arrived, alongside the Cataclysm that filled the world with monsters. The technology was gone, replaced by classes and skills that allowed the people to fight back. When Devon ended up as a Blacksmith, a class that didn’t grant Intelligence, he had to face the reality, that his old career that he loved - mathematical sociologist - was over. Instead, he had ended up as yet another discarded member of the production class, overshadowed by the existence of the System Shops to the point of total marginalization. But, what if all he needed was to reapply his scientific thinking to the System...