I am a son, and I have nanomachines inside me. What did you expect?

Having gained self-awareness while still in my mother’s belly, I realized that this was my chance. Being born was the first step. Then at one year old I would have a college degree, and at five I would be a billionaire. I didn’t care that I remembered nothing of the past. This being a magical world, and with lots of smart tech, too, I’d catch up in no time, wouldn’t I?

Yeah, right.

“This baby’s dying!” — That is what I heard in the first minutes of my life.

I was dying? What? In the very first minute? Was this some kind of sick joke? Was the whole world against me?

Something had to be done…

From book 1:

Ivan Susanin, a typical guy and unemployed techie, is initiated by the System and transported, together with a thousand other players, to an unknown location beyond Earth. Ivan has an interface, a spear, and basic weapon skills. All he has to do to return to Earth is complete a simple quest and reach the second level. But experience points are only awarded for kills in this game, and the clock is ticking. Whoever doesn’t score within 24 hours will remain in the location forever.

The game takes places in the ruins of a massive city, where the undead lurk in the central districts and the outskirts are raided by the descendants of past owners. The undead are strong, while the goblins rarely move around alone and aren’t worth much XP. The most valuable prey under these conditions are formal allies, i.e. the other players. If a player is capable of killing a fellow human, of course. Even if they aren’t planning to go against their own nature by murdering innocents, who said that they will have a choice? It’s kill or be killed!

Those who complete the quest will be returned to Earth, where they can rest and prepare for the next attempt. Beyond the local objective is also a global one. In the center of the city stands a temple to a fallen god, and until one of the players captures the Altar, the mission will be repeated again and again. But when all you’re holding is a spear, your allies can’t be trusted, and resurrection is nearly impossible, this isn’t much more than a delayed death sentence…

For the first seven players, who become the Earth Gods, this mission is a chance to rapidly gain power and take charge of a united Pantheon. A chance to escape death and protect our world from invasion. Although there is only one altar and the Gods make others do their work. Ivan must make a choice and decide whose pawn he will become. Or should he take a risk, refuse their patronage and keep his options open?

So you died a horrific death in your own world? No problem! Maybe you are exactly what an old, dying mage needs to resurrect the princely line of the Morozov family.

An old maniac sliced a couple of people to bits right before your eyes? Relax! Now he’s your teacher, and he’s going to guide you along through life.

What? You’ve actually seen real demons? Huge, ten-foot-tall monsters wielding axes? Take a chill pill! They appear pretty frequently in unexpected places all over the world and wreak destruction.

You want to go back? But don’t you want to hear about the Wastelands? They’re well-protected lands of magic inhabited by demons who pillage and plunder borderland cities...

You’re going to stay away from them? Good luck. Just to let you know, your teacher is planning to go and live right next to one of them. For some reason he thinks that if you just learn to kill demons and undergo a series of dangerous tests, you can become a true master of your bloodline...

The Heir of an Ancient Bloodline is the first book of the Living Ice saga. It brings us to a stark and forbidding parallel world where, by some miracle, humanity managed to survive after a demon invasion. In those ancient times, mages took it upon themselves to play a central role in protecting the human race, thereafter founding the aristocratic families that stood as the world’s guardians.

To one such family was born Ivan, a boy with no control over his magical energy. This flaw cost him his life, and only the willing sacrifice of an old mage is able to return the soul to his body before it goes cold. Well, with one small catch—it’s not his soul. In fact, it’s not a young boy’s soul at all.

I used to be the greatest Earth Mage in my world. The head of the entire Order of Architects. But the older you get, the more you come to realize that at some point, you need to retire, so that you can have the chance to enjoy a peaceful life and to cede your place to the young, some of whom have already turned two thousand years old…

So that’s what I did. I had everything I could ever want, and even more besides. But I failed to account for one thing: during the course of my long life, I’d accumulated too many enemies, and they had decided to spoil my retirement. So they died along with me. And I hope their deaths were final. But mine was not!

I’ve been reborn in a strange new world, and I now need to start over. I still have all my experience and memories, but what about my power? I’ve managed to climb to the top once already; I can do it again! And it’s crucial that I do so before this world is consumed by the beasts from the Shadow Plane…

Virtual worlds are places of boundless freedom. Anyone can become an elven mage or an invisible rogue, join a clan and go on raids, fight, develop their characters and most importantly, escape from the daily grind.

However, a game is only a game if you can quit. This is something I learned the hard way. I just wanted to let off some steam in virtual reality and ended up getting murdered and imprisoned in the body of one of the undead—slow, clumsy and cursed to die at the hand of other players over and over again.

The only way out of this awful predicament was to find the legendary Scroll of Rebirth, but the helpless plague-ridden corpse would need to be turned into a real killing machine. If only people knew what it was like to level up a dead rogue...

I had lain down in my crypt to rest for a few decades, but when I awoke, centuries had passed. My castle is in ruins, my clan is gone, and necromancers are considered just a fairytale for children.

They take me for a healer. That’s because the world is sick. And it’s time for strong medicine.

My world shattered in an instant. It felt as though Ares himself had unleashed his fury upon us — the family of the Counsellor — obliterating my home and every one of my kin. And that was all I remembered.

Who am I? Why did I survive? And why in Hades are creatures from ancient legends suddenly appearing around me?!

But even if that’s the case — spear in hand, forward. A true Spartan earns the right to die only in battle!

Are you a sociopath and dissatisfied with your life? Don't know what to do about it or where to begin?

In that case, we have the solution.

Congratulations! A system has come to your world. Half of you will die and become zombies, while the other half must try to survive, if they can.

Rejoice, Sociopath, this world is made for you. Good luck!

I led a quiet life, peacefully ruling the underworld until that mother of *** showed up with her people and angels. They destroyed everything I’d built with so much effort and nearly killed me.

But I managed to return! Wait… My only disciple and candidate for a new body is a sick kid who's about to die? Are you serious?!

“All is not what it seems.” (c)

My grandfather brought our House to greatness, and my parents… No, they didn’t destroy it or weaken it. On the contrary, our family line is flourishing more than ever. But the ways they exploit our ancestral gift (and profit from it) would make my grandfather roll over in his grave. No, to hell with understatement! I am sure that he is spinning like a fan in there right now! If he is actually dead, of course, which is far from certain.

Well then. I have a conscience, I have talent, and I have strength. And I would rather renounce my loved ones than completely disgrace our family name. I have only one option – to start over in a foreign land.

Hmm… The Venetian Republic… And why not?