The Rust Mask

Details

For Jasper Finn, history wasn't just dates and names; it was a manual for survival, a meticulous study of collapse and grit. He’d spent years mastering every contingency of the Great Collapse in his hyper-realistic simulations. Now, a catastrophic glitch in an experimental VR system has flung him into that very future – a world of irradiated wastes, towering rust-cities, and brutal, iron-worshipping factions. He’s no longer Jasper Finn, the urban prepper, but an 'Ironclad,' the lowest caste in the Cult of the Forged, branded and deemed expendable. Armed only with his scholar's mind and an encyclopedic knowledge of desperate historical tactics, Jasper must shed every vestige of his former self. To survive the cannibalistic gangs, the mutated beasts, and the ruthless hierarchy of the Cult, he must become Ironclad Jax – a savage, unthinking brute, more loyal and fervent than any true believer. But as he rises through the ranks, his quiet intellect remains his greatest weapon and his most dangerous secret. The rusted mask he wears might save his life, but can he ever truly take it off without exposing the scholar beneath the savage?