New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live - Chapter 2 Choosing A Path, Part 1

Alex, a special operative on Earth who died during a mission, finds himself transmigrated with the identity of an investigative journalist as an agent of a mysterious entity with a simple mission.With the promise that he would be reunited with his family once he was done, Alex accepts the offer and becomes an agent of darkness in a new world teeming with steam-powered machinery and something more... The supernatural.In this new world, he will have to navigate his way through crazy witches, bloodthirsty monsters, religious fanatics, and fallen angels while slowly making his way toward his end goal... Returning to the family he left behind.A journalist by day and a hunter by night, this is the story of the Hunter of Evernight.

Noah Brown had a gift for fighting. Unfortunately punching things didn't pay the bills, at least until he died and an Eldritch god found his soul. The encounter led him to a new world, summoned by bloody cultists, with nothing but the shirt on his back, and a strange item in his system menu.

[???] : A source of infinite potential.

Perhaps he'd finally get to put his gifts to good use.

Justin, a skilled gamer, is pulled through a dimensional gate into a dungeon resembling his favorite game—just three days before the end of the world. Faced with monsters and ancient magic, he rises from novice to the most feared dark magus , surpassing all others. Witness his unstoppable journey to ultimate power as he races against time and destiny.

“After every fire, ants survive.”

…

Mysterious anomalous biological metals have polluted the world, and the world has undergone tremendous changes. Metal sickness is like a key that opens the door to evolution. Under the tide of evolution, there are no innocents.

The choice is up to you, do you want to be the surviving ants after the fire, or do you want to risk your life, step on the glorious long steps to the gods, and glimpse the supreme glory of the mother goddess?

…

Touch the totem in your heart, follow the inspiration, and step on the long steps of ascending to God:

[Amphibians] → [Atlantic Glory] → [Ningen]…

[Eight Arms] → [Nightmare in the Sea] → [Deep Divers]…

[Eagle Eye] → [Owl Ghost of the Night] → [Jersey Demon]…

[Living Dead] → [Grave Digger] → [Death Ferryman]…

…

“On that day, the world was polluted, and I was the source of pollution. Human desires are endless, desire is the best food on the way to evolution, and I am the embodiment of desire.”

– Joe Tour.

- Description from novelbuddy