Every year, the empire administers the rite of passage into adulthood. That rite serves to identify those blessed by Aether to become magi. The new magi are shipped to the academy to learn the arts of magic. The academy is a dangerous place; the tournaments held twice each year can cripple or kill the students, and the clans of the empire will go to great lengths to recruit the students they want. Gregory had one dream: to become a magi like the legends of old. Though he was ridiculed by the residents of the village and his unsupportive father, he never wavered from his dream.

Dungeon Walkers brave the depths of the dungeons for personal gain - clearing a dungeon means dungeon points to purchase gear with, but more importantly, perks. Perks are the main reason Walkers put their lives on the line. Every time a dungeon is cleared the first time, a Walker gets a choice of three perks that could change their lives. Not every Walker makes it out alive. When someone dies in the dungeon, their soul is fragmented into four shards, which can be purchased for dungeon points.

Sean was just waiting for his best friend to show up at the bar so they could play some pool. It came as a shock when the tall blonde man accosted Sean and demanded that he change seats. His refusal would change his life. When the fight ended, Sean found himself in the strangest meeting of his life. Odin, Archangel Michael, Lucifer, and Morrigan all vied for his soul, each offering different deals. Sean had to choose, so he chose to go with the goddess of Fate, Death, and Battle.

John Doc Henry had been on the shortest, crappiest end of the stick since the first day of his life; no parents, bad foster parents, and abysmal luck at every turn. The day his life changed started out exactly like he had come to expect. His car died on a rarely traveled road, and he broke his toe shortly after dodging the one other car on the road. When it stopped and backed up to him, the license plate read “LADYLUK”, adding insult to injury.

It was a day like any other when suddenly the world changed. The universe reached a threshold humanity didn’t even know existed, and it was time to finally be integrated into the vast multiverse. A place where power is the only thing anyone can truly rely on.

Shifted by quantum entanglement from Earth to an alien planet, military contractor Zander Greaves and his squad would have to adapt—and quickly—if they wanted to live. As they tried to understand what was happening, the stark truth of their new reality thrust itself on the shaken humans. Giant machines of war were attacking an equally humongous bug. And, quite unfortunately, the giant bug had a lot of little friends.

Zac was alone in the middle of the forest when the world changed... The whole planet was introduced to the multiverse by an unfeeling System... or God. A universe where an endless number of races and civilizations fought for power and dominion. Zac finds himself stuck in the wilderness surrounded by deadly beasts, demons, and worse. Alone, lost and without answers, he must find the means to survive and get stronger in this new cut-throat reality.

Fight, survive, adapt, and rely only on yourself. That is Derek’s creed and what's got him through the System Integration on Earth. Everything changed when the System came. Cute bunnies and beautiful butterflies became savage killing machines. Then the Invaders arrived with a single goal: to obtain ownership of this new habitable planet. War has raged ever since. None of this mattered much to Derek, aside from making living a little more perilous.

The decision to start a new life is never an easy one, but for Joe the transition was far from figurative. Becoming a permanent addition to a game world, it doesn't take long to learn that people with his abilities are actively hunted. In fact, if the wrong people gained knowledge of what he was capable of, assassins would appear in droves.

In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one. He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a super villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state.

Large chests are said to encompass all manner of hopes and dreams. Men covet them. Women envy them. But one fact holds true - everyone wants to get their hands on some big ones. The same holds true for one intrepid adventurer - a strapping young lad by the name of Himmel. Armed with his grandfather's trusty longsword and the dream of being the strongest, he sets out on the journey of a lifetime!

Twenty years ago, his father saved the world. Or so the history books will probably say once someone gets around to writing them. All Mihalis knows is the world he has been raised into. It's not a bad world, as things ago, he has a big and loving family, but there is the ongoing "war" that promises to be on-going for a good many years to come. Raised to the blade by his mother, and taught not only her ways as well as a good many of the ways of her people, but also the ways of his father's other wives, as well as the ways of his magic, Mihalis has had a very thorough education.

Have you ever felt like there was something inside of you pushing your actions? A dormant beast, so to speak. I know it sounds crazy. But, that’s the best way I could describe how I’ve felt for a long time. I thought it was normal, some animal part of the human brain that lingered from evolution. But, this is the story of how I learned I wasn’t exactly human, and there was a world underneath our own where all the things that go bump in the night live. And, that my beast was very real indeed.

The Demon Lord is dead. The System is broken. Somehow, Elias Hearthsong is neither of these things, despite being at the final battle of the Demon Wars. He is a Master Enchanter, perhaps the last one alive. Determined to keep a promise, he crosses the continent to protect his dead friend's legacy: a crumbling orphanage run by a beautiful kitsune. He isn't a teacher, nor does he have experience with children. But with the love of a few good women, anything can become possible.

Ash led a very normal life by his own standards. Right up until he was literally pulled into a portal that spat him out into another world. One that was full of martial arts. And martial artists who could use magic. Three years of living his life as one of the citizens, those without power, and Ash has figured out how to survive with his adoptive family and a lot of persistence. His goals in life have become to give back to those who gave to him. And he’d do whatever he had to to do that. Except Ash is about to get his life turned around again.

Seamus is facing life in prison without parole. While doing his time, he's given an option by the Department of Justice and the biggest virtual game maker around, Mindblown Entertainment. If he will help them test long-term immersion, he will get the chance to play the latest game from Mindblown - Alpha World. All he has to do is sign away his legal rights and sign an NDA.

Sam Sullivan has spent the last year of his life paralyzed. Unable to afford the state-of-the-art surgery needed to repair his spinal cord, Sam has lost all hope. But when the first fully immersive virtual-reality game goes live, Sam is given a second chance at life. If Sam can rise through the ranks and claim his kingdom, he just might be able to earn enough money to afford the surgery he so badly needs. Sam enters Rebirth Online excited to begin his adventure, but within 15 minutes of spawning in the game, he is robbed, beaten, and left for dead.

The decision to start a new life is never an easy one, but for Joe the transition was far from figurative. Becoming a permanent addition to a game world, it doesn't take long to learn that people with his abilities are actively hunted. In fact, if the wrong people gained knowledge of what he was capable of, assassins would appear in droves.

Alvin woke in a room that was not his, to discover that he had died and his brain had been bargained off cheaply to pay off someone else’s debt. It did not sit well with him. It didn’t surprise him that even in death, people were still using him for their own purposes. He had never exactly been a good guy, but everyone had their breaking point, and he had found his. The bastards in charge had uploaded his mind into a virtual death game. The whole world could now pay to see him play it and probably die. Regardless, he was not about to wait for death to come for him.

Will refused to admit to the HR lady at Radical Interactive that he'd never played their debut virtual reality MMORPG The Realm. With the company's failed attempt at entering the gaming industry, they switched their sights to focus on smaller scale educational programs. Being a beta tester for Radical Interactive was not the dream job that Will had envisioned, but he had hoped it would get his foot in the door to one day becoming a graphic designer for the company. He never realized that he was literally signing his life away.