Catharsis


Travis Bagwell - 2016
    He attends a prestigious private school on scholarship and his parents are reasonably well off. Yet life hasn't been easy for Jason. He has spent most of high school being tormented by both the students and faculty and his parents are never home. Frustrated and alone, his one escape has always been video games. In-game, he can feel the type of power and freedom he lacks in his day-to-day life. Fortunately, a new virtual reality game (the first of its kind) has just been released, which promises the opportunity for an even greater escape. Once he begins playing, Jason quickly finds himself on the path to becoming the game’s villain. In the process, he also starts to suspect that there is something unusual going on within the game. (This novel contains graphic violence and language. Books don't have ratings, but, if they did, this book would be rated "M" for Mature)

Crafter's Passion


Kris Schnee - 2018
    The richest and luckiest players of the video game "Thousand Tales" get their minds uploaded to its virtual paradise world, while Stan can barely buy a handheld console. Instead of sulking he plays, and grows, becoming a skilled craftsman and seafaring explorer. The game's ruling AI, Ludo, helps him find the hope and inspiration missing from his real life. When the AI starts asking for favors and having him reach out between the real and digital worlds, Stan has a chance to turn his life into an actual adventure. But first he needs to earn the most valuable prize of all: his freedom. "Crafter's Passion" is part of the emerging "LitRPG" or "GameLit" genre, combining science fiction with the world of gaming. ----- On Island East-2 stood Stan, in the dungeon, with the rickety raft. He dragged it out to the beach, scavenged more wood and some interesting shells, and paddled his way back west. The raft disintegrated just as he got within sight of East-1. He held onto a chunk of wood to help him float but couldn't carry the rest in his pack. All he could do was start swimming! A scary fish swerved into his path but he managed to detour until it lost interest. Finally he sprawled onto the beach with a bunch of stat penalties for being wet and tired. Belatedly he realized, "I probably ruined everything in my backpack." A note said, [Nearly everything you're carrying is safe, like coins and a sealed bottle, but that can be a problem with other items. There are several ways to get waterproofing.] That sounded reasonable. He'd assumed that jumping into the water with a load of items was harmless, but that was his own fault. "Fine." He headed west to Central Island across the bridge. So far he just had that crude backpack full of loot, and he couldn't carry much more without a better pack. He looked over the junky resources he'd scavenged, then the items he'd looted off his party members' bodies. None of the equipment was listed as magical, and the item descriptions were starting to give him more serious labels like [Crude Wooden Bow] for Alaya's weapon. Even he could probably make something better with a little practice. He could make something better! That could be fun. Besides, he'd swiped this gear from people he'd agreed to help, so maybe he could replace or upgrade the stuff by way of apology. Stan headed over to the Crown & Tail's workbench to give it a try. Along the way he jumped around for the fun of bounding up the sunny shore. He tapped the bench of tools and tried to fix up some items, but it buzzed at him. [Equipment repairs require access to improved crafting stations.] The bartender directed him to the "maker workshop" a ways inland from the beach. It looked like an old fort, a squat wooden cabin surrounded by a spiky wall of logs. Why not a giant golden palace? Probably it had been built by the players using the game's own physics. That was pretty neat. He walked right in through the open gate. Inside was a craftsman's playground. Saws, drills and other tools covered some of the tables. A whole corner was devoted to colorful glassware and bubbling fluids. A green-robed figure was busy at that alchemy station, pouring beakers one into another and making puffs of steam. The only other person here was a smith in a leather apron and goggles, making a pleasant rhythmic ringing of metal. Behind him loomed a forge where slabs of metal were glowing cherry-red. Stan looked around and asked, "Is this stuff open to the community?" The alchemist turned around.

The Land: Founding


Aleron Kong - 2015
    to "The Land!"Tricked into a world of banished gods, demons, goblins, sprites and magic, Richter must learn to meet the perils of The Land and begin to forge his own kingdom. Actions have consequences across The Land, with powerful creatures and factions now hell-bent on Richter's destruction.Can Richter forge allegiances to survive this harsh and unforgiving world or will he fall to the dark denizens of this ancient and unforgiving realm?A tale to shake "The Land" itself, measuring 10/10 on the Richter scale, how will Richter's choices shape the future of The Land and all who reside in it? Can he grow his power to meet the deadliest of beings of the land? When choices are often a shade of grey, how will Richter ensure he does not become what he seeks to destroy?ps - Gnomes Rule

Dungeon Born


Dakota Krout - 2016
    A sheep-herder turned Noble. Their path to ascendance through cultivation. Conquering dungeons and using them to grow has long been the most efficient way to become a powerful adventurer. The only thing keeping the process from being easy is the Beasts that inhabit these places. Questions plague those entering this particular place of power: Where do the "rewards" of weapons, armor, and heavy gold coins come from? Why is a fluffy bunny charging at me? For abyss-sake, why are there so many monsters? Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Core, a soul forced against his will into a magical stone. With the help of an energetic friend, Cal grows a dungeon around himself to bring in new sources of power. When a threat he doesn't fully comprehend bares its many teeth, Cal is determined to survive the attempt on his life. Unfortunately for adventurers, the only way for him to achieve his goal is to eat anyone that enters his depths.

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!

Human Insanity


Kamikaze Potato - 2021
    His moment of heroism results in being torn away from everyone he knew and loved, kidnapped by an unknown force that leaves him with a note in his pocket stating: "Good luck."After being thrown into the wilderness of Elatra, a hostile fantasy world ruled by levels, stats, progression, and bizarre video game logic, he finds himself entirely out of his depth. Armed with nothing but a sword and the clothes on his back, he sets out on his the first day, and almost dies. On the second day, he almost dies again. On the third, he began to notice a worrying trend. And almost dies.It doesn't get any easier from there.Overcoming the wilds is just the first step in his journey; the society of Elatra is incredibly hostile to humans, having just come off of a devastating war that left over half the population dead, and getting the locals to trust the last human in existence is a struggle in and of itself. Between being powerless in a world that hates him and suffering under a System that is altering his mind in unwanted ways, Rob quickly finds that monsters aren't nearly the biggest thing to worry about.As far as LitRPG isekai adventures go, Rob drew the short straw in many ways. But that's okay - all the bullshit in the world won't keep him down. He'll carve out a place in this world with his bare hands if necessary. He'll survive, and then he'll thrive.Whether anyone wants him to or not.

Ball of Light: Evolution


AR Chen - 2019
    Heck, he doesn't know what he is. Despite his spotty memory, he's pretty sure he didn't used to be a floating ball of light. He's also certain that he's not originally from this dangerous fantasy world...maybe. Okay, fairly certain. To make things stranger, he seems to be involved in something big, something magical...a game. Who was he before? Will his memories come back? Why does he have an assistant explaining the game's rules to him? He can evolve? There's a countdown timer? One thing Steve does know is that he needs to figure out what's going on fast, and if he is playing a game, even a deadly one, he plans to win.

Goblin King


R.R. Virdi - 2018
    Let's just hope one death is all it will take, because he can't afford another. When Devrim Bains reaches his twenty–first birthday, he's finally punished for a crime that was never his fault–being born. In a world of strict population control, his life's been decided for him, and it's about to end. But a stroke of luck gives him opportunity to have his consciousness uploaded into a simulated-reality game world with the promise of paradise. Except paradise always comes with a cost. Monsters of legend and myths of old come to life in Lorian, needing to be slain or tamed for Devrim to have a shot at enjoying freedom. It'd be easy enough if one of the fiends hadn't raised an army hellbent on conquering everything. The Goblin King has his sights set taking the lands of Lorian in his iron grasp, and Devrim Bains' only chance is to quickly learn what it means to be a slayer. To make sure his new lease on life isn't cut painfully short, he's going to have to embody the greatest rule in Monster Slayer Online: Hunt or be hunted! Goblin King is the first novel of the Monster Slayer Online LitRPG/Gamelit series. If you loved The 100, the Monster Hunter game franchise, and Dragon's Dogma, you'll enjoy this fast paced, hard-action monster-slaying novel. Scroll up and click BUY now or click to read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited to subscribers. Author's note: Goblin King is a LitRPG/GameLit novel featuring game-like progression/skills, and appropriate text/pop-ups in narration. Please keep this in mind whilst reading.

Life Reset


Shemer Kuznits - 2017
    His thorough knowledge of the game's world and his unique ability to immerse himself entirely are his only advantages. But first, he must figure out how to survive long enough playing what is basically a low-level fodder monster!

Greenways Goblins


Daniel Schinhofen - 2019
    When freakish storms envelope the Earth, people start disappearing without a trace. Wild theories abound; is it aliens, spontaneous combustion, or perhaps quantum entanglement? The only ones who might know are those who have vanished. An average group of gamers is setting up to start a new campaign. The storms rage across the world, but they only care about the game they are about to start. Little do they know that they would be next to disappear from the face of the Earth. Shifted to a different world, the group of friends find that the gamer’s dream they had always harbored has come true, but not in the way they would have hoped. They are not there as themselves, but as the level one characters they had been preparing to play. Standing on a road with smoke rising in the distance, they would soon be given their first quest— but not the one they would have chosen. (This series contains dark themes, including but not limited to: suicide, torture, slavery, and worse.)

Overworld


Rohan M. Vider - 2020
    Refugees from Earth. A new world. Elves, orcs, and dragons!Portals from Overworld have appeared on Earth, and beings intent on conscripting humanity into the mysterious Trials have invaded.Earth is doomed. Humanity has been exiled. Can Jamie save mankind?Jamie Sinclair, a young man with unique gifts, must find a way for his family and friends to survive Earth's destruction and build a new home in Overworld.The Trials is not a game. Will Jamie survive its challenges?Join Jamie as he struggles through the brutal Trials while wrestling with his new magics and Overworld's game-like dynamics.

Dodge Tank


Rick Scott - 2017
    Plus the world ended two centuries ago from nuclear war. Now, what's left of humanity live below ground, with the only escape from reality being the massive VR world of Crystal Shards Online.But even ingame, Ryan's life sucks. Unable to play a combat class due to his condition, he works as a miner, earning barely enough to get by and not nearly enough to afford the operation that will save his mom's life.When Ryan discovers an item that grants the ability to dodge any attack, however, he has the chance to become one of the game world's most elite and sought after players: a Dodge Tank.But for someone who's never played a combat class, success isn't so easily had.To save his mom, Ryan will have to overcome his disability and level his way to the top. But the real-world consequences are more far reaching than he ever could have imagined and the fate of not just his mother, but humanity itself, may be resting in his hands...WARNING: Contains RPG mechanics, detailed party combat and giant boss fights. If these things do not interest you, then this is not the book for you!BUY DODGE TANK TODAY!

Dungeon Core Online: Remastered Edition - Book One


Jonathan Smidt - 2021
    But when he logs in, he soon finds out that he won’t be diving the dungeon – he will be creating it. Pretty awesome right?At least that was what he thought when he boldly chose ‘Random’ as his dungeon type…Then he summoned his first mob. A fearsome, bloodthirsty demonic… Chicken.Still, Demonic Farm Animals are the least of his worries. The person who is supposed to be teaching him the ropes is a weirdly advanced AI pixie who drinks too much and is overly fond of gambling. Oh and some mysterious figure seems to be watching and judging his every move – so signing that NDA is feeling like less and less of a solid choice.Either way, James is up for the challenge. Even if it means building a dungeon around kamikaze sheep, enraged cows, unhygienic pigs and yes… Dickens.At least his next randomly selected mob type can’t be worse… right?This is the revised, edited and novelized retelling of the popular Royal Road web serial Dungeon Core Online by Glyax.

Initialization


From Hell - 2021
    Every person without exception.But this new world with all its opportunities and gifts of wondrous abilities, was a stadium. A deadly arena of an unimaginable scale. And Humanity were to be its latest gladiators. Every man, woman and child was given a weapon and ordered to fight. Stuck in this dimension without a way out, only two options existed for the would be hunters: Fight with monsters to complete the many trials ahead, or perish.Faced with hordes of powerful monsters, thrown into battle with complete strangers at random, the unfair game of survival began. And from the very beginning, billions of lives were extinguished in mere moments. But even within this abyss of despair was a small ray of hope: If even one person were to complete every raid, then humanity would be redeemed and restored back to its former glory.No save points, no revives, no retries. Everyone had just one life to make their way through the gauntlet of raids prepared to test their mettle. Within this marathon of death, one man becomes aware of an exception to the rules of the game.

Cataclysm


James A. Hunter - 2016
    Collision, imminent. An international team of scientists is working around the clock to avert the cataclysm—few are optimistic. World governments are preparing for impact with deep earth bio-dome bunkers, but only a select few lottery winners will be saved. Jack Mitchel, a thirty-two-year-old EMT living in a tiny studio apartment on the West Coast, isn’t one of those winners. Still, there might be a way for him to survive Astraea: a slim chance, requiring a radical leap of faith. Through a connection at Osmark Technologies, Jack’s acquired a NexGenVR capsule and with it, a one-way ticket to the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. Taking that leap of faith, though, means permanently trapping his mind in the game, killing his body in the process. Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he’ll have to navigate a fantastical world that’s home to vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players. And when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy—transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age—the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate’s expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns. If Jack can’t game the system, he’s going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one …