MTL - The Gold is Yours, You Are Mine - Chapter 37 National Competition (1)

Facing extinction, humanity seeks salvation in the Astral Verge, a dangerous dimension accessed via portals that threatened to wipe out the entire planet.Few years later, aspiring recruit Daniel Vance enters the Verge for his final assessment, hoping to Awaken a Talent and secure his future. While others gain common abilities, Daniel secretly Awakens the mythical SSS-Grade Talent: [Soul Assimilation]. This allows him to absorb essence, enhancing gear, gaining stats and EXP from slain creatures, and crucially, absorbing attributes and skills from fallen Awakened.Witnessing the swift death of the arrogant Jaxon Rex, Daniel makes a grim choice: he assimilates Jaxon, gaining his first skill, [Kinetic Pulse]. This sets his path: scavenging the aftermath of others’ battles. He enhances gear and, after achieving his first kill on an injured beast, waits patiently to assimilate two more fallen recruits, acquiring [Quick Step] and the invaluable passive [Aura Sense].Starting as average, Daniel rapidly gains power in secret, enhanced gear, multiple skills, and boosted stats , far exceeding his peers while remaining outwardly unremarkable. He navigates the lethal Verge alone, using its inherent dangers to fuel his growth, wrestling with the moral cost of his unique, overwhelming power.

When a fantasy kingdom needs heroes, they skip the high schoolers and summon hardened Delta Force operators.Lieutenant Cole Mercer and his team are no strangers to sacrifice. After all, what are four men compared to millions of lives saved from a nuclear disaster? But as they make their last stand against insurgents, they’re unexpectedly pulled into another world—one on the brink of a demonic incursion.Thrust into Tenria's realm of magic and steam engines, Cole discovers a power beyond anything he'd imagined: magic—a way to finally win without sacrifice, a power fantasy made real by ancient mana and perfected by modern science.But his new world might not be so different from the old one, and the stakes remain the same: there are people who depend on him more than ever; people he might not be able to save. Cole and his team are but men, facing unimaginable odds. Even so, they may yet prove history's truth: that, at their core, the greatest heroes are always just human.

This is a game that surpasses dimensions.

It is also a competition for the search of truth.

Unknown seals, a game of chance with ghosts and gods…

The digital struggle, the redemption of humans…

In the virtual world that links with reality——It consciously decided us. It consciously chose us. It consciously decided our consciousness.

And now, throw away your fear.

Throw away your selfish thoughts, questions, and resistance… Free your mind.

Welcome to: Thriller Paradise.

- Description from Novelupdates

At 18, Alex Kain is whisked away to Eryndor, a game-like realm where he gains 'Skill Synthesis', a talent to fuse skills into godlike powers. Battling monsters and conquering dungeons, he builds a harem of strong women drawn to his might and charm. With the power to return to Earth bearing incredible resources, Alex faces a growing threat that endangers both worlds in this epic of adventure, romance, and ambition.