Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith - Chapter 12: The Linchpin

Volume 1 (Set between volumes 13 and 14)

A series of short stories set before the events of volume fourteen including how Team GROUP was formed.

Volume 2 (Set between volumes 16 and 17)

A series of short stories including two separate meetings between Touma’s and Mikoto’s parents, two tales involving two of the Level 5s of Academy City, and other funny stories involving some of the characters.

Ethan was betrayed, he was broken, left crippled by those he trusted most: Zachary and Ivy, the people who ruined his life. Stripped of everything, Ethan crawled through three grueling years in the abandoned depths of despair, desperate to regain what he lost.Until one final act of defiance opened the door to something greater.When Ethan completed a hidden quest, fate granted him a miraculous reward: a second chance.He awakens years in the past, on the eve of a revolution: the launch of Ethereal, the world's first fully immersive VR game and humanity’s obsession. Armed with memories of four years in Ethereal, he’s no longer the helpless pawn who lost everything.This time, Ethan knows every secret, every hidden quest, every exploit to climb back to the top. But when he steps into the game, the system unveils a shocking twist: a divine bloodline, legendary abilities, and a class no one believed could dominate.Ethan vows to rise once more, but this time, he knows where the paths of glory begin, where betrayal lurks, and where to find legendary treasures that will crown him king in this brutal new world.The stakes are higher than ever. Factions are forming, alliances are shattering, and the clock ticks toward an event that will rewrite reality itself.The weak will perish, and the strong will thrive.They betrayed him once.They won’t live to do it again.

Floods, torrential rains, extreme cold, heatwaves, hail, earthquakes, polar nights and polar days… Overnight, the world transformed immensely as numerous natural disasters swept across it.Gu Yan knew, who struggled alone in the post-apocalyptic world for ten years, finally met her end alongside her enemies.Upon opening her eyes again, Gu Yan knew with her space ability replanted herself back three months before the apocalypse.Her younger brother had not yet been washed away by a sudden flood, and her boyfriend had not been frozen to death by his cousin in extreme coldness.With her soon-to-be useless company, she tricked her cousin's family out of billions, and Gu Yan knew started her delightful stockpiling life.From pearl milk tea and instant noodles, hot pots and rice with big plate chicken,To things that fly and swim,Whether for eating, drinking, playing, or using,All that can be thought of and not, she arranged everything.Whether it could be of use or not, stockpiling was the key!

Civilization is destroyed and records lost. Only Dudian survives in a cryogenic sleep. Three hundred years later, Dudian wakes up and must become Dean to survive. Who can he trust in this world overrun by monsters without and within?