12 Miles Below - Chapter 5Book 8 - - The Fortress within the Abyss

An ordinary high school student wakes up in the World of Gods—a realm where divine power decides life and death. He has no allies, no strength, and one relentless enemy hunting him at every step.But this boy is no ordinary prey. With sharp intellect and careful observation, he begins to analyze his enemies, predict their moves, and turn even the smallest advantage into a deadly strategy. Every encounter becomes a game of wit, every choice a calculated risk.As he navigates a world of gods, betrayals, and hidden conspiracies, he learns that strength alone cannot save him—but a clever mind can rewrite fate. To survive, to grow, and to eventually challenge the most powerful beings, he must outthink every opponent… before they outthink him.In a world ruled by omnipotent beings, only the one who plans several steps ahead can rise.

This is a place where everyone can become a God. Han Wu was a Divine Being whose parents went missing when he was young. He lived with his grandfather until he was eighteen when he first received his core race. Unfortunately he was cursed with misfortune. Not only did his grandfather pass away but he also received one of the weakest core races, the locusts.After suffering much humiliation from the bullies and being ignored by largely everyone, he took his life. Little did he know however the end of his life was also the start of someone else. An unknown soul from the modern civilization reincarnated in his body. Taking on his name and body, “Han Wu” started clawing his way upward to become strong enough to search for his missing parents as per the will of his dead grandfather as well as staking his claim in this large world.Official: A civilization where everyone can become Gods. Myriads of civilizations ranging from tranquil worlds to outright brutal hellscapes. Civilizations where goblins, orcs, angels, demons, undead, and all manner of life forms flourished. Wielding his locusts as his loyal subjects, Han Wu swore to take advantage of every civilization and become strong enough to protect everything he loved.

I came home from college expecting to deal with my emotionally unavailable father, an empty fridge, and a summer full of boredom.What I didn’t expect was to walk into the kitchen and find a barefoot, stunning woman in my dad’s shirt stirring eggs like she owned the place.Spoiler: She does.Her name is Elena, and apparently, she’s my brand-new stepmother—seven years older than me, way too cheerful, and totally off-limits.But try telling that to my brain when she’s bending over to grab orange juice or accidentally falling on top of me in the laundry room. Try telling that to my heart when she’s laughing at my jokes, defending me at dinner, or wearing my hoodie because “it smells like comfort.”My dad doesn’t see her. Not really.But I do.And that’s the problem.Now I’m stuck in a house full of tension, sarcasm, and slow-burn chaos.She’s married to my father.I’m supposed to be focusing on my future.But somehow, I’m falling for the one woman I absolutely, definitely, 100% should not be falling for.Oops.

Following the death of his popular online persona, seventeen-year-old Suzuki Mato decides it's time to retire from professional VR gaming. However, his plans are abruptly cut short when he's kidnapped from his high school and forced to be a guinea pig for Genaco Gaming, the world's largest esports and entertainment company. Armed with nothing but his wit and a new online persona, he's thrown headfirst into the virtual reality of “Live No Evil,” a VRMMORPG littered with overpowered bosses, secretive NPCs, and backstabbing gods. His mission? Find a way to conquer this new world and get back at the company that took over his life, all while avoiding 'Parallel' -- a condition that would make it impossible to separate his real and virtual personalities. Because in a world obsessed with VR gaming, Parallel means death, and Suzuki just doesn't have time for that...