One day, I was summoned to this world.
Beasts poured out, and an incredible crisis came.
My talents couldn’t have been worse.
[The player’s talent level is at rock bottom.] [Almost all the numbers are hopeless.]
Whether you have to become a warrior or a wizard.
Whether you’ve gone back in time.
You have to take advantage of everything in order to survive.
“What about it?”
“I’ll use everything I have to survive!”
Across the world of Aster Fall, there are unique classes, but not all of them can be trained. They require quests and accomplishments that simply don't exist in the world. Some say the World Law itself is broken and that the world is falling apart.
In comes Sam Hastern.
His family has been cursed by one of these classes for the last fifty years. No one has ever managed to level it, condemning them to the lowest paying jobs and life in a barren village.
The class is called Battlefield Reclaimer.
There's one more little problem.
Sam's about to have it even worse, when a dungeon exploration leaves him looking distinctly non-human.
"The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin."
The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.
They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.
Carl still has no pants.
They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game.
The Infinite World, ever-changing and ever growing. New nations and races rose and fell almost daily. New Classes were discovered, as old ways were lost. Monsters and beasts roamed the earth and were slain by soldiers and adventurers who were in turn killed by stronger threats. Heroes and villains created new epics and were forgotten when their successors appeared. This was the way of the Infinite World.
Summoned into this chaotic place, a young boy with no name and no past must learn to survive. Bound to a master who doesn't care whether he lives or dies, he must become stronger. The question is how? Do the people around him value him for who he is or merely for what he represents? The world holds endless possibilities, only time will tell what the future holds for the boy.
Having experienced his first survival type Trial, Trent Embra is eager to explore what else the world has to offer. There is only one problem. Not everyone comes away from a month of constant fighting untouched. Trent's friend, Tersa is unhinged by her time in the Land of the Undying Lord, and Sergeant Cullen means to see her fixed. Trent, enlisted to help, is dragged towards another Trial, mostly willingly. Only time will tell if Tersa still has a place in the Guard, and what the Infinite World has in store for Trent
The apocalypse will be televised!
A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.
In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.
The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.
Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.
You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.
You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game—with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.
Deadly competition. Deep desert. A dying tyrant.
Finn Harris was declared the Mage Guild's champion.
However, that was only the beginning of the Emir's competition. The next stage will send Finn and his companions deep into the desert north of Lahab in search of a long-lost relic. The magical artifact is said to be held within the Abyss.
Except, this time, he's not just facing novice mages. Everyone in the region seems to be arrayed against him, god and man alike. Racing against the other two champions, swept into the middle of a conflict between the Emir and those he's wronged, and at the mercy of a manipulative fire goddess, Finn must battle his way through the Abyss and claim his prize.
Yet he will not stop, and he cannot afford to fail - not with Rachael's life hanging in the balance.
He will need to embrace his gifts and overcome his past.
Finn will need to become a true prophet of the flame.
His life on earth was over. Myelad was his world now. And there he had power. Power to change the Game. But would he? And how?
Accidentally summoned to Myelad, Kyran has earned the ire of the Gods and been banished to the subterranean world of Crota – to die. Yet Kyran has proved tough to kill, and despite the odds, has survived his first few days in the new world.
But his plans for escape have gone awry... Defeated and captured, what will become of him?
Join Kyran, as he battles his way through the labyrinth, gathering allies, overcoming foes, growing into a player, and finding purpose…
The City is an immense metropolis of crystal spires and wondrous magic. Beneath is the Dungeon, a vast underground world, and a source of endless treasure guarded by grotesque and deadly monsters. No one knows where the Dungeon came from, or why.
Any who would dare face the dangers and riches of the Dungeon must first be transformed into a delver, a quasi-immortal creature whose every attribute is defined by numbers. Yet the "immortality" offered is but illusionary, for without consuming the crystal found only within the Dungeon, a delver will inevitably die.
One young immigrant braves the Dungeon to remit money to his family, only to find much, much more. Friends, power, and secrets of the Dungeon.
Perhaps even love.
My Opinion: 353 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited; Available as an Audiobook
Review written by Ray Johnson for the Audiobook version of the story:
I don't get to say this very often about a LITRPG book, but this one really stands out. It pretty much avoids a lot of the repetitive things that occur in other books of this genre. I like that. It tells a story, but doesn't slavishly follow conventions set forth by others in this genre. Plus, the characters, even the background ones, are all interesting and the story is compelling, which leads us into a fantastic tale that you are lucky enough to be able to read.
The main character, Alex Kenderman, decides to start out as a dungeon diver, and the whole system is sort of based on different crystals. The crystals follow the color wheel, red, orange, yellow, blue, etc. Players all have auras that grow stronger and change colors as they level up, and in order to survive they need to eat one crystal per day. Bit of a warning, the book does start just a wince slow, it does need to build up some steam, but once that boiler pops you will be going full bore down the rails without any brakes. Seriously, it picks up and never looks back. I think it helps that you aren't bogged down by the characters having to farm XP, as Schmidt smartly kinda skips that part of the storyline. A wise choice. Another issue is that the sheer number of characters can be a bit overwhelming, but unlike some books you will know the players as they start to standout. That is the crux of it, the story is more character driven than anything else. The plot is good, and the gaming stuff is there, but it is the characters that hold your attention and keep you listening.
So, what is so different? For one thing, the protagonist is not overpowered or have special abilities that no one else has or can get. He is just a regular joe; leveling as he goes along. Oh, and no Uber-powerleveling either. I also liked that you weren't over whelmed by game mechanics, stat screens, damage reports, etc. It doesn't hurt that the characters are all likable and hold your interest. Additionally, I think that the game system itself is well thought out that allows for some cool class building. This story has a feel like WOW insofar as the characters try to get gaming gear and go on raids. One benefit, and I talk about this a lots is that there are not as many stats thrown at you as the book moves on. The story rolls and you aren’t being smacked in the face by numerous reports of status changes every fifteen or so pages. So you might say that it looks less at stats than it does world building. Another thing that is usually problematic is the fact that there are huge jumps in time throughout the book, during which new classes might have suddenly been added or other things. Normally, this would bug me, and to a slight extent it did, so I have to chop off some points for that, but the fact is that it worked in the story. The story still flowed nicely and you just sort of roll along with it. Finally, one odd aspect is that there is often a lot of build up about bosses or monsters and then when the fight comes it is practically over before it starts. I’m talking a few paragraphs rather than pages.
Doug Tisdale Jr. does a great job narrating and living the story out for you. He took me a few minutes to get used to, but once I settled in I was impressed at his skill and versatility. I know him best from the Days of Future Past series by John Van Stry where he did some incredible work. Like I say he has a lot of skill and versatility and he held my interests but there were points that he seemed rushed or was upping the pace unnecessarily. Also, he does a great job with voices, but could inject a little more emotion into the tale. I think he did better in the Days of Future Past series, which is odd because that is an earlier work. I’d say he did a 7 out of 10 on his part of the book.
Final score is a 7.9. I enjoyed it, but I think the fighting scenes could have been better fleshed out and that there is a weakfish ending that isn’t as strong as the rest of the story. Coupled with the slow start and I have to consider that while the book is fun and captivating it isn’t perfect.
Score: 7.9 out of 10
The City and the Dungeon: And Those who Dwell and Delve Within
A side quest in Dakota Krout's best-selling Completionist Chronicles series!
Vengeful assassins. A treacherous companion. T-Rex Head Hands.
After the Wolfman nation is shattered, Jaxon has enough spare time to advance his skills and specialize into a better class. Since Joe and his other teammates are either incapacitated or on a mission Jaxon does not believe in, the misunderstood chiropractor turned gamer strikes out on his own.
The issue with creating your own path is that you have no idea what awaits you, especially when low charisma guarantees legendary misunderstandings. For Jaxon, that’s half the fun.
Rexus is a Completionist Chronicles side quest focused on Jaxon and is meant to be read following Regicide.
What do you do when the game resets around you?
Just when Montana thought he had life in Vuldranni figured out, the rug is pulled out from under him. He’s alone once again, but now he's in the crosshairs of the man who would be emperor, and a whole host of people are counting on Montana to provide a safe haven for them.
Montana has one hope of actually completing his quest of forming a dukedom: he needs to bust Nikolai out of prison.
A prison that no one has ever escaped from alive.
A prison whose only exit is little more than rumor and probably doesn't even exist — through a sentient dungeon, hell-bent on causing torture, inflicting pain, and extracting the ultimate price: life.
Montana and his hirðmen are down to their last chance. So they get themselves arrested and enter Osterstadt prison. Can the Good Guys do good by going bad?
Dungeon Mauling is LItRPG adventure cruising at breakneck speed. There are epic hobgoblin battles, hordes of monsters, insane leveling, otter hammer throws, relentless mimics, the most revolting water slide you’ll ever hear of, and one cocktail you can only hope to forget.
Joe has the power. The question is, can he hold on to it?
The malevolent kingdom of the night is now aware of his presence. A confrontation is guaranteed, just as Rook intended.
Joe provides freedom to the oppressed and enslaved. They flock to his banner. His nine-to-five job is gone forever, for a ruler of a kingdom never sleeps.
He believes this magical world is a game designed for fun, with no real consequences, but he couldn't be more wrong. His AI partner is starting to see this new reality for what it is.
Will Joe, in his ignorance, continue to defeat every opponent? Or, in order to survive, must he be awakened?
Someone's going to die the final death, there's no way around that. Only who?
As Advanced Adventurers, Daniel and his friends journey to Silverholt to attempt larger and more dangerous Dungeons. But just because they've graduated from Beginner Dungeons doesn't mean they'll get any more respect from the experienced Adventurers that make up their new city. They'll have to train, struggle and take part in an arena battle to win a chance at to enter the new Dungeon and some respect.
The Adventures of Brad series is a traditional fantasy story with LitRPG elements and features a Catkin, a Healer and an enthusiastic barbarian.
John is enslaved. Taken by the Valda—Dark Elves—and forced to fight for them with other slaves in dark dungeons on a hideously dangerous jungle island.
The island is a mystery, a two kilometer high stone tower of ancient dwarven make in the center. Overgrown with jungle, it’s infested with demonic creatures and filled with the ruins of dwarven facilities.
With his new friends—fellow slaves—he must fight and delve into the island’s secrets.
Dead Gods is a LitRPG/Gamelit novel. There are no harems in this book, and no sex.
Bran wakes in Neuroma, but has no idea what happened the previous night. He continues to progress through Office Wars while secrets start unraveling everything he thought he knew. Some secrets could destroy everything, while others open new paths. What future path will Bran's secrets reveal?
Vicky returns, but is she who Bran thought she was?
Plenty of laughs, more introspection, and a conclusion to this season of Office Wars inside. Do not worry, you will see Bran and friends in future series. All Odditek Online series operate in the same multiverse, you might even get a few hints at other stories that I'm writing or have written.
Idon and his friends are in the adventure shop business—and business is terrible. The dungeon boom of decades past is sorely dead. The economy is in the outhouse. And the Guild has a stranglehold on any remaining riches to be gleaned from the tapped dungeons in the area.
They’ll be lucky to keep their heads above water for another week, and that’s only if the Guild doesn’t break their legs to recover mounting debts. Things are looking pretty bleak, when Idon finds a rather peculiar sword during a last ditch effort to scrounge up some valuable loot to sell.
Armed with a secret that could solve all their problems, the three friends know they can’t let anyone find out about the amazing new dungeon levels and the undiscovered loot therein.
But where there is loot…
There is always lurking death. Maybe the violent thugs from the Guild will end up being the least of their problems. Find out if they can live long enough to become the lords of loot!
Surviving Lord Darius's attack has put Elorion's level over the top. He must soon leave the Mistress's Labyrinth for the unknown dangers of the Underworld.
There are three paths that stand before him. Should he absorb all the Blue Magic he can find, power level his fellow captives, or take on the bone palace alone?
The Underworld is waiting...
The long-awaited conclusion to the Glendaria Awakens Trilogy!
After their Dungeon Core was stolen, Devin headed out of their dungeon, searching for those who had taken it. Initially confused on where it could be located, he followed a vague feeling in his chest toward a distant destination.
Finding help from a guild of players who also wanted to return the Core, they embark on a mission to reacquire and return it before time runs out.
Betrayed by those closest to him, Finn Caldwell thought he’d escaped his life of violence and deception. But when a frantic message from his estranged sister draws him into The Realms, the world’s most advanced holographic reality game, Finn is forced to embrace his deadly skills once more.
Armed with a mysterious artifact known as a Godhead, Finn becomes the warrior mage Gryph. Yet, things are not as they seem and to save his sister, he must escape a sentient dungeon by defeating its master the Barrow King.
In The Land:Predators, the Mist Village has harnessed its power. Core buildings, Professional fighters and now, their own Dungeon, the settlement is primed to grow into a kingdom of true power and magic. The path to power has not been without risk, however. The Mist Village has been noticed.
Evil nobles from the Kingdom of Law, bloodthirsty goblins from the Serrated Mountains, an undead lord with a penchant for human sacrifice and fanatical kobolds from the Depths, all plot the village's destruction. The predators are circling. Richter's people are horribly outnumbered by foes whose own power has been entrenched for thousands of years.
Richter and Sion need to be stronger than ever before. Luckily, they are. New skills have been learned, stronger enchantments have been wrought and the hundreds of villagers have answered the call to adventure. The Companions do not stand alone. While many eyes have turned towards the mists, wanting to take the treasures within, the Mist Village stares back with a simple message.
Come and get it!