Ascendance of a Bookworm - Chapter 76 - Interlude - Master Benno and I

Facing extinction, humanity seeks salvation in the Astral Verge, a dangerous dimension accessed via portals that threatened to wipe out the entire planet.Few years later, aspiring recruit Daniel Vance enters the Verge for his final assessment, hoping to Awaken a Talent and secure his future. While others gain common abilities, Daniel secretly Awakens the mythical SSS-Grade Talent: [Soul Assimilation]. This allows him to absorb essence, enhancing gear, gaining stats and EXP from slain creatures, and crucially, absorbing attributes and skills from fallen Awakened.Witnessing the swift death of the arrogant Jaxon Rex, Daniel makes a grim choice: he assimilates Jaxon, gaining his first skill, [Kinetic Pulse]. This sets his path: scavenging the aftermath of others’ battles. He enhances gear and, after achieving his first kill on an injured beast, waits patiently to assimilate two more fallen recruits, acquiring [Quick Step] and the invaluable passive [Aura Sense].Starting as average, Daniel rapidly gains power in secret, enhanced gear, multiple skills, and boosted stats , far exceeding his peers while remaining outwardly unremarkable. He navigates the lethal Verge alone, using its inherent dangers to fuel his growth, wrestling with the moral cost of his unique, overwhelming power.

He rose from hardship, but was felled by betrayal. From then on, one man, one gun; treads the path between Evernight and Daybreak to became a legend. No matter what was destined to be his fate, he intends to become the ruler who dictates.

Even after knowing what came next....I still accepted.A deal with the devil herself.A devil, in the form of a goddess.I accepted a life that I knew wouldn't end well, a life that was worse off than the very curel one I already lived.But I still choose to do it.I chose to become the villain.

Amid a world war, with his awakening to powerful special abilities (Soul Armor Abilities), Kamiya Yuusuke, conscripted into the military at the age of 10 due to this newfound power, continued to achieve numerous victories on the challenging battlefield. As a result, at the age of 15, he held the position of Brigadier General.Despite traversing battlefields worldwide, he finally managed to return to Japan. The joy of returning home was short-lived, as news of an underage boy in the military started to leak to the public. In response, the military high command ordered Yuusuke to attend a military school called the Special Operations Soul Armor Academy and undergo a revision of his military records.Yuusuke, secretly pleased at the prospect of reclaiming his youth, faced numerous troubles, whether due to the nature of the unique school or perhaps because he had been in constant battle since childhood. What will happen to his relationships with strong-willed girls such as his half-silver-haired childhood friend, the older sister officer who is his work partner, and the tsundere honor student of the same age?