Path of the Berserker - Chapter 2Book 4:

DING![Ist Skill Devour Successful]______“They say a man's skills are honed over a lifetime, but what if he could devour them all in an instant?”Ryuen Takeru, a skilled, retired assassin, decides to pursue a better job that would keep him away from the dark life he once led.However, after a while, that peace was shattered when an unexpected train ride derailed reality itself, throwing him into a world and a life he had always hated.A world teetering on the brink of ruin, destroyed by an apocalypse as a result of the unending war between multiple races.Unfortunately, the post-apocalypse had already begun.Ryuen finds himself captured, exchanged, and made to serve kings of different nations.Yet fate had more in store for him.A devastating twist, capable of destroying or elevating him—the one thing he had overlooked as normal until the moment he was informed.A curse.Possible reincarnation?[Skill Devourer Activated: Plunder, Consume, Adapt, Evolve.]Nevertheless, for everything given, something must be taken—or perhaps sacrificed.

Within the virtual world of “Avalon Online”, Finn, or otherwise known as “Echo” within the game, was one of its greatest players. After logging off from a long session, however, he notices something awry outside of his apartment.The streets were flooded with chaos, screams echo through the night, and hell is loot loose. Monsters from Avalon Online are running through the streets, wrecking havoc. In the midst of this hellish awakening, Finn is greeted with the one gift bestowed to humanity in this dark hour:[...Assessing life experience…][Assessment Complete][Name: Finn Thorne][Age: 20][Designated Class: Assassin][Starting Level: 5][A [Legacy System] has been bestowed to you for your accomplishments within Avalon.][Assimilation System Awakened.]In this twisted turn, as the world as it was once known is gone with the arrival of magic and monsters, the remnants of humanity must level up if they wish to survive.Finn is left in this dark, hopeless apocalypse, using his own experience from Avalon Online to best survive what seems to be an impossible task.

The world had started doomsday, and I struggled for a year, before I died under an enchanted beast’s claw. Heaven has given me another chance, back a day before the end happen. Will I be able to change my fate, and that of my loved ones? Now, I will start my journey on becoming the strongest on the planet that the Gods have changed into a game world.

The story begins as our female lead wakes up in a strange room and an unfamiliar body. She realizes that she has travelled back in time and her twenty-two year old spirit is now trapped in the body of a six year old girl. This girl child is the third daughter of Ning Guo’s Prime Minister Li and his seventh wife. Her name is Li Qing Luo and because her mother was originally from an entertainment house, Prime Minister Li and his other six wives treated them badly.

Her first day in that world, the whole family gathers to test the talent of the three daughters. Qing Lei, the eldest, is talented at playing the zither while Qing Fei’s calligraphy is incomparable. Everyone anticipates A’Luo’s failure as she had not exhibited any talent before, but that six year old child recites a famous Tang poem. The entire family is surprised that Qing Luo is able to write such a profound poem and her mother later tells her that Prime Minister Li is so harsh on his daughters because he needs to rely on them marrying well to secure his future. Qing Luo begins to study qin, qi, shu, hua (zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting) but hides her skill because she does not want to be sold in marriage to some prince or court official.

Six years later, A’Luo is now twelve and leaves the estate for the first time to participate at a flower viewing banquet. This is a special banquet because the Five Most Eligible Bachlors of Feng Cheng will be in attendance (there’s actually a more elegant name for them). These young men are: Crown Prince Liu Jian, Fourth Prince Liu Fei, the young An Qing Wang Liu Jue, the son of Prime Minister Gu Gu Tian Xiang, and the top scorer of the Imperial Examinations Cheng Si Yue. A’Luo sneaks off and almost falls into a river, but is saved by a handsome young man. Because he glanced at her bare legs a moment too long, A’Luo calls him a pervert, tries to push him into the river and runs off. The young man only laughs and vows to find her again.

- Description from Novelupdates