Afterlife Department - Chapter 660 - Stairwell

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.

In a world where one's worth is determined by Archons—godlike entities who watch over everything—the least you can hope for is to get picked by the most lowly of them.Raith was chosen by the Archon of failure and death.Having emerged from one of the three greatest family, he was forced to leave the family and began a lonely journey of being a Hero as he has always wanted.Hero–that was the only way Raith could redeem himself and be acknowledged by the world.But this Archon is just too useless!However, everything changes on the day when Raith dies for the first time.[Congratulations! You have met the first condition]

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.

- Description from Novelupdates

After 20 years of dedicating his life to opera ever since he had quit the performing arts high school, he had failed at an interview. Losing his motivations, Jo Yunjae depended on alcohol to live out his days until one day, he had been sent back 20 years in time, to the day before his high school admission.