Soulbound Steel

No 'normal' affinities? No problem. Stolen powers from a death god are much better.

Eryk Ragnar went to a Renaissance fair expecting foam swords and cheap turkey legs, not a portal to another world. Dragged into Zakar, a brutal cultivation realm where spiritual affinities determine everything, Eryk is declared worthless almost immediately. No affinities. No cultivation path. No future. Before he can even process what's happened, he's thrown into a trial by combat against a legendary arena champion with forty-seven victories and hellfire burning through his veins. That battle awakened something far more intriguing. Bound to a power connected to the god of death, Eryk discovers he can steal affinities from the dead through a forbidden gamble. Victory offers unimaginable power. Every attempt risks catastrophe, curses, and the attention of things far older and more dangerous than kings or cultivators. Armed with dark humor, stubborn determination, and abilities he was never supposed to possess, Eryk must survive a world obsessed with strength while hiding the terrifying truth of what he's becoming. Because in Zakar, stealing power from the dead isn't forbidden. It was thought to be impossible. Until now…