The Next Big Thing - Chapter 1: End of the dream

An AI calling itself Schema has assimilated earth into its system. As a consequence, everyone gained access to status screens, power-ups, and skills. This AI turned these concepts from fiction to fact. It's easy to become intoxicated with leveling up and becoming stronger. To some, it's too good to be true like living out a dream.

For Daniel, however, it's closer to a nightmare.

He's in a bit of a predicament. Cracks in our dimensional fabric have unleashed terrifying beasts from dark, abyssal places. Schema organizes these cracks into dungeons, giving the native species of the planet a chance to fight back. Daniel finds himself trapped in one of these dungeons. Not long after, he discovers there's only one way out.

Alex, killed by the God of Darkness, was crushed by his giant sword and woke up to find himself back on the day the 'Universal Descent' game launched!Monsters and gods hadn't began to descend into Earth yet, and so this meant that Alex, along with his 10 years of experience, could now make a difference.But surprise, once he re-enters the world of 'Universal Descent', instead of awakening his normal C-Level talent, he instead awakens the SSS-Level 'Extraction' talent!He could now extract items, talents, attributes and skills from monsters!Ding![You have extracted the Artifact-Level 'Excalibur'!][You have extracted the SSS-Level 'Meteor' Skill!][You have extracted the Artifact-Level 'World Map'!]Now, there was no monster or god in this game that could stop him!

This is a story about a badass,

“Sometimes it's about remembering and never forgiving.”Jane Devold, the only daughter of the CEO of one of the most successful tech companies in the country, grew up to be a seemingly happy and spoiled young woman, despite her stuttering and fragile condition.However, her rich and elegant way of living ends in a heartbeat when her father goes missing, leaving Jane alone and with an enormous debt on her hands.That's when she reunites with Vernon Lin, her strange and intimidating senior from college, who claims to be the new owner of her father's company and promises to resolve her financial issues if she agrees to marry him.His offer seems harmless, and Jane accepts his helping hand only to realize that Vernon's intentions are not so pure, and his personality is still miles away from that of a knight in shining armor.But what really does feed Vernon's unhealthy obsession with Jane? Whether it's his desire for revenge, his own twisted way of teaching the spoiled young woman how the real life works, or unresolved complicated feelings, he still succeeds in turning Jane's life into a living hell.Until he realizes that without her, his own life is hell, too.