Book picks similar to
Cat Core by Dean Henegar


litrpg
fantasy
dungeon-core
gamelit

Cloud Dungeon: Fairy Wonderland


Nathan Valerio - 2018
    The most common interference is the summoning of heroes and reincarnation. This story is no different except that in the process of calling the desired people, the efforts of three goddesses were messed with causing the summoned to not be the older brother or the father. Instead a four year old child was summoned. Backed by her love of fairy tales and folklore, we shall see how this young child with the help of her lazy best friend and pet cat will change the very face of the world starting from a tiny cloud and becoming a dungeon filled with any and all fairy tales she had heard of and watched.

Axiom


Dennis Vanderkerken - 2019
    The young forcibly recruited. An old man out for revenge.After his town is put to the sword and the children are taken to replace the fallen, an old man is out for revenge. He’s ready to fail at the most difficult challenge in the world: cultivation.Too corrupted to even take the first steps, the sly old elder simply agreed with those who told him that it was impossible. Then he quietly ignored them, rubbed his hands together, and started anyway. He had always failed in what he did: he lost his way from the academy, his command was devastated by a Mage, he lost his town, and now his last hopes for the future had been stolen by a group of raiders. The only thing that had never failed him was his sharp mind and philosophy. He would cultivate... no matter what it cost him.A lifetime of failure can dull and dampen a soul. A reason to live, a goal, can change that in an instant. It is always darkest just before the dawn.

ChronoTemplar


Burt Wrenlaw - 2021
    unless you're a pawn for an eldritch horror that: (A) can bend time, and (B) is a sore loser.Justin Thyme is not a good man, nor one destined for glory. He was meant to die in obscurity, yet another level 82 Templar that was just about to get chewed up by a horde of skittering monstrosities clawing at humanity's last enclave.One short conversation with a time-splitting monstrosity later, and Justin finds himself flung five years into the past—right when the Earth was first chosen to host the 9,947th Gladiatorial Games.Justin must now do all that he can to help save the world from crumbling under the twin pressures of monsters and murderers. But it's not all about grinding experience, gaining the most levels, and kicking the most ass. He can’t even stand out too much, lest he draw the attention of the other eldritch horrors observing Earth’s struggles for their amusement.No, it’s all about making the right connections, sowing the seeds of hope, culling the pests causing despair… oh, and exploiting the hell out of the System with his ‘borrowed’ ability to tweak time to his advantage.*ChronoTemplar is a dark, crunchy litRPG with lots of stats, skills and battles, for those who love action and complex characters.

King's Gate


Daniel Pierce - 2018
    When he opens his eyes, he discovers a world of magic, elves, monsters, and demons, not all of which are eager to meet him.With no idea how to get home, he'll need to adapt, grow, and kill to survive.But Alex is a stranger in a strange land, which means he's bound to draw interest. Whether that's from his enemies or the many beautiful women he encounters remains to be seen, but he'll need every ounce of wit, strength, and charm to conquer both.Warning: This story contains adult situations, coarse language, and other fun things. Read at your own risk.

The Carnelian Fox


Kay MacLeod - 2019
    At least, they didn’t until we created them.Maiyamon was once merely a game. Now it's a global reality. After dozens of hit monster collecting games raked in billions of credits per year, it was inevitable someone would create real ones. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so obvious how many people would dump them in the wild…Sam Wentworth grew up with nothing. She’s worked tirelessly just to get through college and earn her first monster. Bankrupt and exhausted, she sets her sights on fame and fortune in Maiyamon arenas. Instead, Sam’s caught between battling the rampaging elemental creatures abandoned by their owners and standing up to a toxic group intent on ending the game forever.With her flame fox cub, Finn, at her side, Sam sets out to build a team capable of protecting both innocent people’s lives and the creatures she loves. That’s the easy part.Monsters may fill the world, but it’s humans she fears the most…

Level Up or Die!


Apollos Thorne - 2017
    With the help of a lich lord, she invents a new spell that will allow her to grow more powerful in a much less distasteful manner. Elorion is just your average high school student lazing around during summer break and thinking about bacon. After a solid gaming session, he removes his VR headset to find a monster waiting to kidnap him. He wakes to find that he’s not alone. Nineteen other students have also been taken. The last thing he expects happens next. He is given the ability to use magic and level up! There’s a catch. With his dormant talents unlocked he must grow in power to please his new master. To level up he must face the monsters of the Underworld. If he doesn’t fight he will die. But if he does fight, will he survive? Welcome to the Underworld!

Dark Wizard's Case


Kirill Klevanski - 2019
    At first, everyone thought it was just a new game, however... Alexander Dumsky, or Alex Doom, was a dark wizard. At the age of seventeen, he was convicted of a litany of crimes so long that even the seasoned investigators, judges, and prosecutors involved in the case could only shudder. Not a single attorney could be found to defend him in court. But four years later, Alex was released from prison to become the Professor of Dark Magic. They'd thrown him into the deepest hole they could find, one built for the sole purpose of holding wizards, and then they let him back out again... Why him? Why then?

The Magicians


Lev Grossman - 2009
    A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart. At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, The Magicians boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren’t black and white, love and sex aren’t simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price.

Unnatural Laws


H.C. Mills - 2020
    for the survivors.Slinging hotdogs may not be the most glorious side gig, but hey, if it paid for college, that’s all Emma could ask for. And let’s be real, of all the crowds in the world, what were the odds that Comic-Con would get Portalled next?Emma really should’ve known better. Once again, the universe conspires against her, and now she’s stuck in a world where the laws of physics don’t seem to apply, and even the grass is trying to kill her. She better pay close heed to the Artificial Intelligence guiding her and make some new friends fast, because out here, it’s thrive or die.And no amount of videogames prepared her for a world where you can actually gain Skills and level up. Or to face a series of trials that seem designed to kill her rather than teach her how to survive... What could possibly be the real goal of the mysterious ‘predecessors’ that built them?What other people have to say:"This story has one of the most interesting and intricate settings I have ever encountered. Rather than simply adding magic, super-tech, or a game system to pre-existent reality, Mr Mills has elected to build from scratch starting with basic physical law. To build from the ground up and have it work is a truly outstanding feat." (Review on RoyalRoad, 5 stars)"This is one of the most unique takes on portal fantasy or Isekai I have found to date. Unlike in most LitRPGs, the main character doesn't progress easily or rapidly through gaining experience and instead progresses levels and stats through actual physical achievements or milestones. I highly recommend it and look forward to the author's future work." (Review on RoyalRoad, 5 stars)

Giantlands


Aaron Oster - 2020
    As a pal-tee, a distant cousin to the dwarves, he, and all others of his race, absorb traits from the very first item they touch upon birth. Instead of absorbing the essence of stone, or steel, like most others in his town, Zundy accidentally absorbed those of a beetle. Those who are different, are often treated poorly, and for Zundy, this was no exception.His time in the small town is coming to an end though. The Great Journey, the time when all pal-tee youths of age set out in search of their race's most valued treasure, is upon them. Beyond his small town, Zundy will discover a world far grander and fantastic than he ever could have imagined.Travel to the Green Sea, the last know sighting of the Viridian Core will be far from easy. Before he can even lay eyes on the sprawling ocean, Zundy will first need to pass through the Giantlands, and with powerful Guardians blocking his path, the task seems impossible. Zundy was never one to give up and quit though, and to him, there is no greater thrill than facing a challenge and coming out the victor.Warning: This book contains GameLit elements, such as stats sheets, a form of leveling and experience gain.

Shadowcroft Academy For Dungeons: Year One


James A. Hunter - 2021
    Slay Heroes. Survive Finals. Wounded Army vet Logan Murray thought mimics were the stuff of board games and dungeon manuals… right up until one ate him. In a flash of snapping teeth, Logan suddenly finds himself on the doorstep to another world. He’s been unwittingly recruited into the Shadowcroft Academy for Dungeons—the most prestigious interdimensional school dedicated to training the monstrous guardians who protect the Tree of Souls from so-called heroes. Heroes who would destroy the universe if it meant a shot at advancement.Unfortunately, as a bottom-tier cultivator with a laughably weak core, Logan’s dungeon options aren’t exactly stellar, and he finds himself reincarnated as a lowly fungaloid, a three-foot-tall mass of spongy mushroom with fewer skills than a typical sewer rat. If he’s going to survive the grueling challenges the academy has in store, he’ll need to ace the odd assortment of classes—Fiendish Fabrication, Dungeon Feng Shui, the Ethics of Murder 101—and learn how to turn his unusual guardian form into an asset instead of a liability.And that’s only if the gargoyle professor doesn’t demote him to a doomed wandering monster first…

Skyclad


Scott Browder - 2019
    First at work, then at home, and then her bathtub fell through a portal to another world, with her in it. Now she's stuck thousands of miles from any sort of civilization with nothing but the bathtub and a lace puffball scrubby. But she learned magic, so that's sorta nice. Now if only she could find some clothes...

Soulkeeper


Brian Simons - 2017
    At all costs.Coral joined the immersive MMORPG Travail Online because her waitressing job, like so many other jobs, was automated by a growing robot workforce. She starts the role-playing video game as a Seamstress, hoping to craft useful clothing in-game to sell for real life cash. The game, however, has other ideas. What starts off as job replacement quickly launches an adventure of epic proportions through a virtual reality world filled with magic, intrigue, and betrayal.Daniel has played for longer, but the game changes him to a new class that doesn’t actually seem to exist. How can he maximize his skills when his class is completely uncharted? How can he avoid dying at the hands of a madman and losing all of his inventory and gold? Can he, Coral, and their friends stop the murderous NPC before Travail comes crashing down, taking the world economy with it?TRAVAIL ONLINE is a new LitRPG series that follows players and non-player characters through the virtual reality world of Travail Online — complete with elves, magic, and mobs galore. Welcome to Travail, where hard play makes fun work.

Stuff and Nonsense


Andrew Seiple - 2017
    He is twelve inches tall, full of fluff, and really, really bad at being a hero. Magically animated and discarded by his maker as a failed experiment, he is saved by a little girl. But she's got problems of her own, and he might not be able to help her. Fortunately for the little golem, he's quick to find allies, learn skills, gain levels, and survive horrible predicaments. Which is good, because his creator has a whole lot of enemies... Warning: Contains profanity and violence.

Siphon


Jay Boyce - 2018
    Surfing the net or reading, she always envied the ability of others to go out and experience the world. She knew her wish to live a normal life was far beyond her reach, but after waking up one morning without the sounds of her life support, she opens her eyes and finds herself with a weak but healthy body in a magical world. As blue game-like system notifications fill her vision, she knows that she'll have to adapt quickly in order to survive… but this is all she ever dreamed of, so Jade is up to the challenge. She will soon realize that you need to be careful what you wish for. This is Andara, where her true adventure finally begins.