Crow Titus, notorious layabout, wasn’t prepared for the destruction of his village by the aetherborn. On Earth, far in the future, ordinary creatures have been twisted into the monstrous aetherborn—beasts of legend and nightmare that wreak havoc on humanity. The only defenses against the creatures are mythical weapons known as aetherial arms, which, luckily, appeared right around when the monsters did. Less luckily, some humans choose to use those weapons for evil—for example, the attack on Crow’s village was instigated by a dark magus wielding one. The lone survivor of the massacre, Crow somehow stumbles upon an aethereal arm, Muramasa. Sword in hand, Crow decides to fight back—or, well, Crow can’t decide much at all. Muramasa has taken control and manipulates Crow like a puppet, using the man’s body to feed his insatiable appetite for souls! Can Crow play the part of a hero while surviving Muramasa’s madness? What about surviving the advances of Iris, his newfound magus knight mentor? *Source: J-Novel Club, Vol. 1*

Six years have passed since Urano began her new life as Myne, and so much has happened. She went from being a simple commoner to an apprentice shrine maiden, then she was thrown into the world of nobles as Rozemyne, the adopted daughter of an archduke! “But I’m not the only person with a lot going on! You can say the same for everyone else! Though, uh... I guess that’s mainly because of me.” This first volume of Bookworm’s new Short Story Collection is packed with previously unpublished chapters spanning Parts 1 to 4. Experience the lower city, the orphanage, the temple, the Royal Academy, and many other familiar locations through new eyes in twenty-one stories told from a plethora of unique perspectives. What do those in Myne’s (or Rozemyne’s) circle think about her actions, and what happens in the places she can’t see? (Source: J-Novel Club) *Note: Volume 1 was published after volume 8 and before volume 9 of Part 4, and volume 2 was published after volume 7 and before volume 8 of Part 5.*

“Hey! I’m an evil god, but I’m not actually evil!” Those were the first words I heard in the afterlife. My name’s Naofumi Kamiya, and my entire class died in a tragic bus accident. The god told my classmates that he would transport all of us to a dangerous new world, but he created skills for us on request, so maybe he was actually a good god? That’s what I thought at first, anyway. But when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! I feel bad for my classmates who thought that gimmicky skills would make them invincible. I mean, the god did warn them that there were no cheat skills! Oh well. As for myself, I’m enjoying my life with my childhood friends, putting safety first and staying out of trouble. After all, this world might seem like a game, but it’s not. It’s reality. (Source: J-Novel Club)

Qatora was once a valiant knight of the Razanate Empire who gave her life to protect a young imperial noble. The tragedy cast her into the primordial Light of Origin, which not only revealed to her a dangerous secret... but also reincarnated her! She now lives as Lyse Winslette, the humble daughter of a poor baron in a neighboring country, who is doing everything in her power to keep her distance from the empire because of the forbidden knowledge she possesses. Lyse thus works her days away at the royal palace of Olwen as a lady-in-waiting. And she’s rightfully mortified when she’s chosen to attend the visiting Razanate emperor. Little does she know that she’s about to learn another state secret that’s going to land her... an engagement to an imperial knight?! She’ll have to use all her skills—from this life and her last—to get out of this mess. Yet what is this strange feeling when she touches her fiancé’s hand? Just who is Sidis, and what secrets is HE keeping? (Source: J-Novel Club)

When hardcore FPS enthusiast Hiroaki Dewa pulls off his VR headset and steps outside for the first time in ages, he realizes that the whole world is in ruins! Soon after, he coincidentally runs into horror junkie Otoha Judou, and the two of them team up to endure the zombie apocalypse. One fateful night, a VR AI known as “Raven” leaves them a cryptic message: “Survive, and humanity may flourish once again.” Follow these ragtag oddballs as they cling to hope in a hopeless world! (Source: J-Novel Club)

Meet Kurono Kokuya, a student in the lowest rank at Star Gate Academy – the world’s cutting-edge training facility for star sorcerers, the beings who use star sorcery to protect the Earth from otherworld invasions. His childhood friend Yukihime Yukigane just happens to be the world’s strongest star sorcerer, and she never lets him forget that fact. One day, their days of peace are interrupted by a powerful threat from another world. Kokuya and Yukihime stand on the front lines, risking their lives to protect those they love, but will they be able to defeat the Dark Lord Redge and his cruel minions? (Source: J-Novel Club)

The Valdias are a seemingly normal family of nobles that no one would expect to face a future full of death and condemnation—a fate which is about to be rewritten. After a mysterious accident, former salaryman and avid gamer Hajime Kanda wakes up as their eldest child, Reid, in the world of an otome game he once fully cleared. And he knows the terrible future that awaits them all. Reid may have been a petty villain in the main story, but he’s got exceptional stats that will help him grow into a total beast. The hard part will be avoiding the conflict to come, and doing that means bringing the family together again. He’s just got to be sweet to his younger sister, get in his father’s good graces, and cure his mother’s terminal illness, of course. Should be simple enough, right? Well, Reid’s determined to save his family from a dark fate, and he’s going to do it by playing by the rules!

For plain little Nina, working as a maid in the house of Count Mirkwood is her whole world—until a false accusation has her swept out on the streets. Jobless and with nowhere left to turn, Nina decides to set out on her very first solo journey. But Nina isn’t just any maid—she’s a supermaid! Her talents quickly prove indispensable to the people she meets during her travels. There’s Emily, a mage who can’t use magic; Astrid, a brilliant inventor whose experiments never quite work; and Tien, an orphan who can’t seem to keep a meal down. Meanwhile, back at the Mirkwood household, things go awry in Nina’s absence… None of them realize it yet, but Nina might just be the answer they’ve all been searching for. Because when this supermaid is on the job, no mess can stand in her way! *Source: J-Novel Club, Vol. 1*

Things get cooking right away in this dungeon epic with cheat skills and delicious dishes! Koichi Suzuki, an incorrigible lover of beastfolk and their adorably fl uffy ears, dies young after heroically saving a child. In a divine exchange, his reward is reincarnation into another world... and the ability to cook up magical beasts? Now called Thor, he must use the knowledge of his past life and newfound culinary skills to survive a world that shows mercy to no one, not even children. But just as he manages to find his footing, who should appear before him but two beastfolk on the verge of death! Thor will have to cook up a recipe for success if he wants all three of them to survive. And so begins their story of furry ears, mouthwatering cooking, and dungeon crawling! (Source: J-Novel Club)

Estelle Flozeth is the sister of a countryside earl, and her newfound ability to see others' emotions through their mana has brought her nothing but trouble! Her life drastically changes one day when her childhood friend and fiancé is swept away from her by the daughter of a capitalist. Heartbroken, Estelle attends a ball and winds up meeting Prince Arcrayne, a wicked man who soon finds out about her special power and decides he must have her for himself! To that end, he proposes to her and begins acting like a veritable Prince Charming, pretending he fell in love with her at first sight—a charade that might fool everyone else, but not Estelle and her perceptive powers. Yet in spite of everything, she gradually finds herself drawn to the prince... Will their make-believe love blossom into the real thing? Find out in this reluctant Cinderella story fraught with political intrigue! Source: J-Novel Club

After the fall of civilization, a hierarchical society was born where blood determines everything. The rich steal both the blood and lifespans of the poor, rejoicing in their eternal lives. Nagi is a commoner doomed to an early death, while Saya is a royal gifted with eternal youth. When their unlikely paths cross in a twist of fate, their innocent love sets the gears in motion to tear down the walls of a society built upon tremendous inequality and discrimination.

Traveling to another world, either by accident, magic summoning, death, cruel twist of fate, on a research assignment, or just on vacation, means dealing with a whole lot of change all at once. In this compilation, the authors of the SAKKA KEIHAN writing circle explore the ins and outs of what to expect when you’ve been transported to another plane of existence. Six different short stories cover the authors’ ruminations on how to get by in these other worlds, whether you’re headed over voluntarily or finding yourself just trying to survive. You’ll probably want to bring a towel; things are going to get slimy. Don’t think it’ll save you from a fireball, however.