Phoenix Ascending - Chapter 263 - Bitterness

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

—— Dickens《A Tale of Two Cities》

I made myself a ghost back to life from death, with hatred in my bones and conspiracy brewed for years, sinking into the marsh, into the abyss. All I want is to bury the rotten roots, growing thistles and thorns which can kill like upas, to stab into the hypocritical civilization.

In the bottom of the muck……I found my lucida.

- Description from Novelupdates

One month after getting married, her lord husband went hunting for monsters and returned as a corpse.In shock, Penelope realizes she has been reincarnated into a novel.However, before she could even accept the fact that she was reincarnated, the affairs of the estate piled up!“The price of turnips has dropped again.”“The people of the estate need at least three months’ worth of emergency supplies to survive the winter.”“Firewood…?”“Water…?”Wait, hold on… I don’t know anything about managing an estate!• • •“I need to hire a wizard to work in the estate.”“He’ll work for exactly 100,000 gold.”It seems like there’s no escaping this, so she ends up getting help from the Archmage… but something about this guy seems suspicious.“Do you want to touch it?”“What? What do you mean?”“My hair. Didn’t you keep staring at it because you wanted to touch it?”The guy, who was the most powerful Archmage and the sweet dog-like secondary male lead, seems to have lost his mind somewhere along the way.Should I just escape from the estate?

In the year 2100, global warming has long since made the Earth's natural surface uninhabitable with a new ice age. Humanity takes refuge in huge, closed cities, but life is difficult. Video games are the opium of the people, letting them escape the chaos of life in immense metropolises.

In 2100, the first fully immersive VRMMORPG, "Horus," was released, and the world changed! Entirely coded by an independent AI, "Horus" made all other games look meaningless by comparison.

Megacorporations quickly monopolized on the wealth "Horus" allowed its players to amass, and soon people like Alexander were spending their lives slaving away to make money for the companies who employed them.

But on the day Alexander died of exhaustion, collapsing in his gaming booth...

...He woke up, alive, nine years earlier.

One day before "Horus's" launch.

"This time, I'll do it right! I know everything that's going to happen! I'll become the strongest, and no one will take advantage of me again!"


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///This work takes place in an MMORPG whose main goal is the exploration and conquest of space.///

///my two main inspirations are: The Reincarnation of the Strongest Sword God and the Legendary Mechanic.///

///I care about the coherence of the story, even if the theme of overpowering is present, it is thanks to the reflexive and opportunistic choices of the MC and not a chance to come out of nowhere. ////

Behind the calm smile lies a heart riddled with scars.Beneath the weight of fate burns an unyielding gaze.A body trapped in the abyss of despair—if it reaches out, can it grasp the light called hope?A soul locked upon the rack of destiny—if it prays sincerely, can it embrace the future called redemption?