Rivers of the Night - Chapter 27: Thorny Fields

They stole his future. Now, he’s rewriting reality.Ryan was at the top—champion of the world’s biggest VRMMO, but one wish changed everything.“I wish I could start over.”The Orb of Wishes granted it. Literally. Time snapped backward. The world unraveled. And Ryan woke up years in the past, holding his younger sisters close in a rotting apartment, broke and desperate.This time, he’s not starting from scratch.He remembers it all. Every hidden boss. Every bugged quest. Every game-breaking secret. While the world waits for the launch of Kingdom Forge, Ryan prepares to tear through it like a storm.But when he logs in, something glitches.His old character is locked. His class is reset. His power? Supposedly gone.Then the system flashes something strange:[Access Granted: Legacy Bank Synced][Warning: You were never meant to exist.]Ryan grins. He doesn’t need a strong class. He doesn’t need fair odds. He has what nobody else does—endgame knowledge in a beginner’s world, and an account holding gear, gold, and exploits that broke the game once before.He’s done being a pawn.This time, he’ll become the glitch the system can’t contain.

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.

He is powerful, aloof, and selfish, but he has a hobby of renting a venue solely to listen to her play the pipa. His friends were curious and asked him why. He said, “She's beautiful.” Thus, the pipa player became his girlfriend.[Highlight 1]Brought up under strict parenting, his family pays great attention to his conduct. Yet, he was known for his vigorous actions, from breaking family rules that garnered media attention to recklessly manipulating the venture capital market. Consequently, he was sent to a temple to copy Buddhist scriptures as punishment. Obediently, he did so, but his pages were filled with nothing but her name.[Highlight 2]Gazing into her eyes as she lay in his arms, he asked, “Have you ever been afraid of being with me?” Of course, she did. He was a tycoon who possessed the world and would not easily fall deeply in love with her.On the day they broke up, everyone knew and was surprised.She packed her suitcase and left the city, saying, “Since he said he would never marry me, I shall return him to the world.”[Highlight 3]Three years after their breakup, they met again at an international financial summit. He had become the head of the family. His suit was well tailored, with silver-rimmed glasses resting on a tall nose bridge, exuding undeniable charm.Encountering each other at a corner, she fled, and he pursued...

He was reborn in the world of Naruto as a member of the Uchiha clan, known as Uchiha Genya. Born with the rare dual-pupil Sharingan, many saw him as a monster. Luckily, his father, Uchiha Kinya, was wealthy and influential, and he managed to protect Genya along with his mother Senju Yumi.Genya hoped for a peaceful life, but everything changed when he turned seven. The night of the Uchiha clan's massacre began.“You want to wipe out the clan and kill my father? Then don't blame me for fighting back”Uchiha Itachi: “Can your cursed eyes really break through my genjutsu?”“Dual-pupil Sharingan with six tomoe? How terrifying will you be when you awaken your full Sharingan? How many powers will you possess?””What terrifying strength... One punch can shatter the Susanoo!“That fateful night, Itachi slaughtered the Uchiha clan and defected from Konoha, but Genya managed to protect those loyal to him.Uchiha Obito: ”Genya can actually disrupt my Kamui?“Madara: ”A dance, you say? Ahem... Genya doesn't need to join!“Ten-Tails: ”This guy has more chakra than me!“