Night Ranger

Night Ranger is a long game-world fantasy novel by web author Deep Blue Coconut Juice, serialized on Qidian Chinese Network since March 10, 2015. The completed book runs about 2.05 million characters in five volumes. The story is set in the fantasy world of Fernan Continent, built on the Dungeons & Dragons system. Marvin, a fourteen-year-old impoverished noble youth, is gravely ill and near death when the consciousness of a legendary game player merges with his remnant soul; thus, with the gaming experience and combat instincts of his "past life," he comes back to life at the end of the Fourth Era, during the twilight of wizard rule. At this time the Cosmic Pool still exists and the gods lie dormant; the surface is calm, but undercurrents surge. Marvin must first hold on to the White River Valley left by his grandfather and his young brother Vinnie, and settle his loyal housekeeper Anna. He starts as a ranger, wipes out the Akron gang by the Pine River, investigates the corpse thieves and the Twin Serpent Cult, uncovers the conspiracy of his uncle Miller, who colludes with gnolls to usurp the domain, and reclaims his own territory. He then advances his class through the Night Walker organization, is drawn into the Holy Grail contest and the conflicts of the Emerald Ice Palace and the Thousand-Leaf Forest, integrates the Sand Clan, White Clan, elves, and other factions, and builds the White River Valley into a self-sufficient stronghold. In the later part of the story, the great cataclysm finally erupts: the Cosmic Pool shatters, the gods descend, evil spirits run rampant, and the power of the fourth Tablet of Fate begins to stir in the mortal world. Marvin goes from ranger to Night Walker to Apocalyptic Warlock and virtual divinity holder, making constant choices between protection and loss. The book is tightly paced with dense payoffs, often categorized under "game world," "transmigration," "system," and "ruthless and decisive," and is a brisk, well-completed Western fantasy adventure.