Absolute Regression - Chapter 1

The royal bastard of House Vasquer, Argrave, changed after his stay studying magic at the Tower of the Gray Owl.

The sickly man's awkward posture and cruel behavior have been replaced with a neat dignity and acerbic wit.

Though once listless, he now strives towards his goals with a life-or-death tenacity.

Most come away thinking he seems to know too many details about too much. Few can claim to know his motives or his goals.

Yet behind that confident appearance, the primary contributor for an open-world RPG's wiki battles existential dread and things far beyond his ken as he struggles to adapt to a grim, gothic fantasy world mirroring his favorite game.

The prospect of fighting against a world-ending calamity loses all of its appeal when it transitions from entertainment to reality.

Argrave is spurred towards unwanted heroism to preserve his life as he struggles desperately to keep this sinking ship afloat.

When Fang Zheng opened his eyes, he was surprised to find himself reborn in a fantasy world of magic, dragons, knights, and princesses. Not only that, but even the game system that Fang Zheng had designed before also followed him into this world. Then, his next step would be to traverse thousands of plains, gain endless strength, become a brave hero, defeat the devil, marry the princess, reach the apex in life… wait, wait, wait, before all that, why was he reborn as someone who everyone called a cultist?

This time, the soul-transferred Naruto no longer worries about his lineage and ignores those strange looks, binding himself to the 'Take It Easy System'.[Option 1: Pursue Sakura. Reward: S-Rank Ninjutsu.][Option 2: Pursue Hinata, avoid ten years of detours. Reward: Kyubi’s approval (you can use Kyubi’s Chakra at will)]Is that even a question?Naruto decisively chooses Hinata.Naruto fishes by the river, and Mizuki suddenly appears.Mizuki: “Naruto, do you want to become stronger?”[Option 1: Refuse Mizuki’s invitation and tell him to get lost. Reward: Full level Fishing Mastery.] [Option 2: Accept Mizuki’s invitation and steal the Scroll of Seals. Reward: Impure World Reincarnation (Incomplete)]Naruto: Is there even a choice?Sandaime Hokage: “Where tree leaves dance... one shall find flames... the fire's shadow will illuminate the village... and once again tree leaves shall bud anew.”Naruto: “Smooth!”

In the year 2057, the world has become a corporate-run utopia for the super-rich, and a hellhole for all the rest. Catherine 'Cat' Leblanc is an orphan that is about as far from super-rich as one can be. When the Incursion alarms start blaring and the sky starts raining hungry xenos, it's just another blemish on an already piss-poor afternoon. A cyberpunk magical-girl alien-invasion LitRPG.It’s exactly as wild as it sounds.