I'm Not the Mastermind - Chapter 12

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!

After her rebirth, Rita vows not to repeat her past mistakes. This time, her first priority is to stop her brother, who is about to marry into the Lopez family, from participating in the initial game beta test. In her previous life, she was deceived by this scheming brother until her dying breath. It was only at the end that she realized she was merely a villain in a male-oriented novel about a live-in son-in-law, with all the malice and manipulation orchestrated by him behind the scenes. In this life, Rita decides to change the rules of the game. She will stay in the shadows and seize all the opportunities meant for the male and female leads. By participating in the beta test and re-selecting her abilities, she systematically dismantles the protagonists’ advantages, all while making them believe she’s on their side. Rita has no intention of harming innocent people, nor is she a selfless saint. In this game, she works with the authorities for mutual benefit, all to achieve her ultimate goal—becoming the true master of her fate.

[A Naruto “OC-SI” Fan Fiction]Make the best of what you have, they said... But what I am supposed to do when the best I have are red-eyed freaks, a child who's supposed to be the jailor of the most dangerous being in the world, a snake creep with serious boundary issues, and a whole world of super soldiers with licences to murder.And you know the best part? None of them like me so much...Oh shut it, old man! Take that Will of Fire and shove it up your—Yeah, this second swing at life isn't panning out...---------------------------------------------------------------What to expect:- Gradual strength progression. Meaningful growth. The MC is a normal guy dumped into the Narutoverse, starts out weak and has to work and struggle for everything he gains.- “Slow” paced. My writing style is a zoomed-in look camera that follows the protagonist. It might seem slow, but I ensure something is always happening to progress the plot forward.- Gritty and often bloody fights and actions scenes with a focus on taijutsu—you'll see individual combat, team fights, and large-scale battle.- A different take on the Narutoverse. The world is full of superhuman mercenaries with liscenes-to-kill—that along with the protagonist's struggles paint the world in a much darker light.- Additions and expansion to the “chakra” power system. I consider myself a conservative when it comes to adapting the power system—and aim to retain the original feel while highlighting the best parts.- The Outsider's Resolve version of Narutoverse uses the [Naruto Manga] as the base—with additions from anime, books, and even Boruto (though very less likely).

Hyde arrives in a doomed world with nothing but his body and fragmented knowledge of the future from a game he once played. He has no grand ambition—why try to save a world already destined to fall? Survival is enough.That is, until he discovers his sister is also transported into that world.However, only he hears the Melody of Nightingale and receives the power to survive.[You have established a connection with The Forgotten Hollow.]Awakening as a Resonant—an elite group with supernatural abilities—he is thrust into a conflict between two worlds. Armed with the authority of space and time, he vows to protect his powerless sister at all cost, even if he has to fight against the Mirage creatures, other Resonants, or even Gods themselves.