Jared Mandani

True Smithing: A Crafting LitRPG Series

Angus Bjornson only ever wanted to do one thing: to continue crafting exquisite weapons and pieces of armor for his loyal customers. Unfortunately, after one accident too many that leaves the old blacksmith completely disabled, it would seem he has no other choice but to hang up his hammer.

However, that would be underestimating the stubbornness of the self-made man. Fearing he’s not going to stop until he ends up dead in his forge, Angus’ children offer him a virtual rig that connects to Imperium Games’ many universes.

After choosing a fantasy-based world called Alterwelt, Angus—now known as Hephaestus—quickly learns that he can make use of his lifetime of experience by disabling the Auto function and playing on Manual. His skills allow him to create unique items that beat everything sold on the market. But Hephaestus has a long way to go before he can afford his own in-game forge. Moreover, he only ever learned to work with steel while here he has access to metals as strange and exotic as azuraneum, veridium, orichalcum…

Still, that might be the least of his problems. After he’s made a few sales and starts to get some recognition, Hephaestus realizes that there’s a reason the market is oversaturated with crappy items. As it turns out, a greedy guild enforces a monopoly on the crafting and they’re ready to do anything to keep anyone—lest of all a lone blacksmith—from digging into their profits…

Merchant of Death: A LitRPG Adventure Series (Eternal War Online Book 1)

After a mission gone awry, secret operative John Taggart’s identity is compromised. He needs to go into hiding until he can afford the surgery to get a new face. All the cash he had left, he invested to buy a hacked virtual reality collar off the black market. For a wanted man such as himself, this is the only way to make any kind of money without further jeopardizing his location and identity.

There’s a problem though. When he first logs into Eternal War Online and chooses his faction, the network detects his unauthorized device and generates a bunch of critical errors. Immediately, there’s a hotfix that is applied and which erases all his selections. John is sent into the Eternal Battlefield, the highest level PvP area of the game—obviously, with no chance of survival.

Limited to one character by collar, John finds himself in a dire situation. With no faction to back him up, he’s a free target for everyone. And with no fighting skills and no gear (except for a pair of cotton briefs), he’s no match for any of the players. 

John will keep dying and respawning in that impossible location. But as he tries to keep to the shadows and stay alive, he will soon find that his strange predicament is not without benefits. For one, his lack of ties to any faction allows him to loot every corpse—which will lead him to unlock secret classes, like: Salvager and Smuggler. Secondly, while every faction has its own language that prevents players from different groups from talking to each other, he’s not restricted by that constraint and can understand everyone.

Unable to join the fight, as every blow sustained results in his instadeath, John will discover that his only chance to start earning some cash will be to partner up with the criminal underworld in the game and set up a salvaging operation. For a fee, he will loot you and return your soul-bound items—allowing you to skip the 6 hour waiting period before they materialize back in your inventory. Also, he will experiment with crafting and creating weapons and enchantments that will start to shake things up in the game.

Obviously, not everyone will take kindly to his bold moves and John will attract the wrath of a few powerful players. But then, you can’t expect to please everyone when you’re making a name for yourself as a Merchant of Death!

The Alchemist of Aetheria: A LitRPG Adventure

Zack’s plan for the summer was easy enough: pick a college, enroll, and spend the rest of his time building his alchemist in a new VRMMORPG called Aetheria.

But when he finds out his college money fund has been depleted and he has no more means to pay for the tuition fees, his plans need to change in an instant. With money to be made in this game, he now has to put the exploring part—and all the fun—aside to focus on earning every dollar back. And so he does, playing the only way he knows how: by finding and exploiting the game’s loopholes. Who cares if other players get killed and he loots them clean? After all, it’s just a game, isn’t it?

Zack the Alchemist will quickly learn, however, that the world of Aetheria is much more than that. As he lets his greed dictate his actions and pulls one dirty trick too many, he opens up a portal that will unleash hell upon this virtual world. If that wasn’t bad enough, as he dies at the hands of the megaboss he has just freed, there’s a glitch that happens in real life and that locks Zack inside the game for good.

Trapped in his character, he will have to change his ways and start allying with others if he is to find the key back to the real world. But it’s hard for a loner such as himself to start making friends; especially when you’re under the penalty of permadeath and have to watch your Level 04 back because you’ve already made quite a few enemies.

With his potion making skills and a lousy starter copper dagger for sole companions, Zack has the odds severely stacked against him. The slightest slip-up could mean the final game over.

Tales of the Gemsmith - Chapter 01: A LitRPG Adventure Series (Aldaron Worlds)

Could a Mere Crafter Be the World’s Savior?

All Dean Winters ever aspired to was to be left in peace and make a living of his passion as a jewelsmith.

Fresh out of College, he managed to open his shop to sell his creations and get a toehold in the business. But like most people who start out in life, the beginnings were rough and he had to struggle. Still, he wouldn’t want it any other way.

One evening, while he’s busy in his workshop, three men in balaclavas break in and he’s violently assaulted. That burglary will leave him crippled and traumatized. And after weeks of rehabilitation, he will finally have to accept that he’ll never again be able to use his fingers with enough dexterity to pursue this meticulous occupation.

Dean is devastated. What will he do with himself now?

In the unit where he’s treated, a glimmer of hope will emerge when he’ll be introduced to a virtual world that erases your limitations and where no dream is big or wild enough.

He will join Aldaron as a Mage Artificer and he will soon discover that, by drawing from his real life skills, he can progress through the levels much faster.

Going from one adventure to the other, Mage Winters will meet legendary players and formidable foes. But right when he thinks he’s found a new purpose, he will learn of the ominous danger that threatens everything he’s come to cherish, and that his peculiar skills might be the only hope to save them all.

Necromancers, Demons & Kings: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 2)

Now safe from the grip of the loan shark and his old demons, Harrison wishes to move on with his new life. His life of adventure inside the world of Samar, as Bishop the half-breed hunter. Together with his guild, he intends on keeping the lead and becoming the first group to defeat Valenastrious’ lieutenants.

However, Bishop should have learned that nothing ever goes as planned in Samar…

As he will meet with a strange cult with immense powers, Bishop will uncover a secret that threatens the entire realm. Because if he’s now free of danger in the outside world, the challenges in-game are only beginning to arise! Soon, Bishop and his friends will taste defeat for the first time.

Lurking in the shadows, Valenastrious will seek to win Bishop to her cause. But when the hunter will refuse, she will go on to show him that his decision could have devastating consequences. And not just in this virtual world!

When the game starts to leave marks in real life, where should the line be drawn?

With evil creatures in his path, threatening to steal away everything he cares about, will Bishop have no other choice but to let his demon half take over?

The Wraith of Valenastrious: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 1)

Heroes vs Villains: What Side Are You on?

Harrison Harper has hit rock bottom. A promising e-sports competitor, he’s lost everything—his career, wife and kid—to alcohol and gambling. Today, the once famous gamer is but a shadow of his former self, struggling to keep his head out of the water and the loan sharks at bay. Because Harrison is not only broke, he owes a lot of money to the wrong people.

Unable to pay off his debt, he’s sent to spy on a revolutionary game that will make its creator rich beyond belief and forever change the face of the gaming world.

Harrison will use those skills that made him a champion to navigate these new intriguing lands where demons roam free, and steal the software running the simulation. But as he gets deeper into the game, connects with a few other players and rediscovers the meaning of friendship and loyalty, he’s going to have to betray the trust of his friends to save his own life. Will Harrison be able to escape the clutches of the loan shark and his goons? Is he forever doomed to repeat the same mistakes and hurt those close to him?

When the virtual becomes real and the lines between good and evil become blurred, it gets increasingly difficult to make the right decision.