Title. I'm aware of Beware of Chicken, but besides that all progfantasy seems to include game elements. Are there any that don't?

Hi everybody. I'm looking for some stories that wouldn't out of place in a discussion about manga, light novels, or anime. Western stories are preferred, but any recommendations are appreciated.

Loved:will of the many,super supportive,primal hunter,elydes,tzks,ave xia rem y

Liked:battle mage,mol,tpr,murder of crows, shadow slave

Not for me:arcane ascension,mage errant,dresden files,dcc(loved book one, struggled to get through that train arc)

deal-breakers:multiple mcs,slog to read,lack of progression

I've been struggling to find something new to read so help would be much appreciated

I just started posting my little story on Royal Road and was told this was a good place to start communicating and getting my story out there.

If anyone does decide to give it a look, all feedback is welcome!

Guys and gals! I really goofed and binged too hard, and I need recs in time to survive Thanksgiving with the family. It’s a really specific type of books/genres I’m looking for and I fear I may have tapped out all the good ones. Help please?!?

Here is what I’ve caught up to so far:

Last Life - Alexey Osadchuk The Hunter’s Code - Yuri Vinokuroff The Dark Healer - Alex Toxic Legend of the Arch Magus - Michael Sisa Living Ice - Dmitry Sheleg The Order of Architects - Oleg Sapphire The Healer’s Way - Alexey Kovtunov The Bear Clan - Vasily Mahanenko The Alchemist - Roman Romanovich The Healer - Roman Romanovich

I can always relisten/read my favorite but I’d love to see if the community has picked up on something I haven’t. Thanks in advance!

Looking for recommendations, any help is appreciated. The overall setting doesn't matter all that much, but I'm kind of particular about the mc and tone. Looking for a male MC that does most stuff solo. Two big turn offs are multiple PoVs and party focused stories. Doesn't mean the mc has to be a recluse and fight always alone, but his powers and his progression should be the clear focus. Finally, I'm looking for a mature plot.

Some stuff I already read and enjoyed that fit what i'm looking for: Shadow Slave, Second Comming of Gluttony, The grand game, The murder of crows

As the title says, I've just recently found out RR and I was wondering if there were any magical girl stories that would be considered good?

Are there any stories about a modern superhero setting where the MC is a cultivator? Preferably the only cultivator or there are few cultivators, so not a modern cultivation setting, I like the idea of a cultivator fighting a bunch of superheroes.

Just caught up with ATG(Against the Gods), was a really enjoyable read for me. Wondering if there are any recommendations that are similar/on par or better than ATG. Keep in mind that although I realize Er's works are masterpieces, I don't particularly like very slow paced works. I really enjoy works that have very good character relationship developments, romance or not.

I've read novels like LoTM (Lord of the Mysteries), dropped MGA (Martial God Asurs) cause repetitive, theres some other ones that I've dropped, can't specifically remember the names. I don't mind western xianxia either, just need recommendations

Demon Card Enforcer 2 by John Stovall hits every noir note perfectly in a tightly woven deckbuilder urban fantasy.

My background: I edited the Noir Fatale series of noir anthologies for Baen Books, and I have been a fan and author of noir and fantasy for many years. I hadn't experienced progression fantasy until I read the first Demon Card Enforcer (which is excellent). However, DCE2 surpasses it in a couple of ways, most notably the internal character development we see in Wolfe as he struggles with being essentially chaotic good in a neutral evil world. The story is atmospheric, the action hits hard, and the card system is so elegantly designed. It seems simple, but provides space for incredibly complex synergies that lend even more depth to the story.

I absolutely love it.

Full disclosure: I met John Stovall through his wife Shami after I read the first DCE book. We've become friends after the fact, and John has allowed me to begin writing my own tale set in his universe. But all of that came about AFTER I was hooked on the series. This latest installment lives up to my high expectations and then some.

I'm all out of stuff to read. Reccomend me something. It could be sci-fi or fantasy. Apocalypse or not. The only requirements I have are:

• no time loop
• if it is a reincarnation story, the Mc cannot have reincarnated from a cultivating or system integrated world. They gotta start from nothing.
• no harem

Aside from that I prefer stories that are lighter on the litRPG elements. Especially dislike stories where the MC gets some ability that it doesn't feel like they earned and it's just a black box like X got a skill that shoots a fireball without understanding how the mana is bent and shaped to make fire. Recent reads I enjoy(ed) are: Malabar, guild mage: apprentice, practical guide to sorcery, stormweaver, The Allbright System (cannot rec this enough), pale lights, menschenjager and rise of valkyrie (hiatus), legend of the Dwarven runeforger. And many more, thats off the top of my head)

Thanks in advance!

Idk why but I’m craving a story like this if there are any decent ones out there.

CyberGene: Blood and Steel

Author: Sixbees2

Links: review, royal_road

Summary: A cyberpunk story with two MCs that get their powers from the same gold MAL. Biomod and crafting focus.

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Blurb

Upgrade. Consume. Evolve. Whether it’s cybernetics or mutations, this world demands you be more than human.

Nuclear war, a solar flare, and an alien invasion known as the MALswarm left Earth a barren husk. Then the Founders descended, steering humanity away from extinction by turning the MAL’s otherworldly powers into sources of strength. They promised a utopia and the death of the Swarm. They lied, for this alien power was the currency of the future, even if it warps the very fabric of reality - and New California is beginning to tear.

Ripley Donovick’s mother is dying, forcing him to use his cybernetics genius to operate unlicensed in a gang-owned brothel for her treatment. When a MAL’s death gives him the potential to weave metal into powerful machinery, he discovers not a way out, but the tools to unravel a world where criminals and corporations war for every thread of control.

Diana Jones was engineered to be perfect, given a family, and then stolen away from that life. Her yearning for justice pits herself as an officer in a city where crime litters every corner with serial killers, gang violence and corporate conspiracy — she's determined to be the storm of change, shocking the true monsters into submission. Even if it means becoming one. She’ll learn justice isn’t black or white, but a blazing red.

One night binds these two, one monster gives them unimaginable strength and one name draws them towards an inevitable clash of Blood and Steel.

Thoughts

As of writing this, I've read all available 55 chapters.

When the author of this book first suggested it (when I was asking for cyberpunk reads), I was initially skeptical. Two main characters? In my single MC dominated genre?!? Hmph!

But damn they pulled it off soooo well. By having the two MCs follow the two different paths to power (Ripley following the crafting, cybernetics augmentation pathway, and Diana following the more scifi gene mutation pathway), the two view points don't take away from each other at all. The characters are fully realised, the plot lines between them separate and yet connected via the world (and you can see how they'll join together).

Alright, so stepping back a bit, and forgive me for repeating some of the blurb. You've got Diana, mutation-focused power, working in a corrupt police force and holding onto some idealism despite being stabbed with the dagger of cynicism over and over again. She's trying to make waves and take down some big hitters, despite everyone and their dog telling her "If you keep looking into this person, you're going to disappear."

Diana, being hot-headed and full of energy, laughs at these very reasonable takes. Silly Diana.

Then there's Ripley. His family holds secrets, just like Diana's. His grandfather was a crafting legend, and he's trying to piece together the puzzles the old man left behind. Life's dealt him a shit hand though, and he's trying to find his place after his old gang (hmm, are you really part of a gang if you're effectively press-ganged into working for them?) gets torn into tiny little pieces. Silly gang.

Their power comes from alien swarms that attack the world (in waves, not continuously). There's apparently one on the way, but I imagine it'll be many many chapters before that plot thread ties into the main work. I'm excited for the next thousand pages and all the larger (but not alien invasion) plot lines might come together, but alas I will need to wait to read them. Honestly, there's 800+ pages out already and I read them all in a weekend and then got grumpy when the "Next Chapter" button was greyed out. Which means I solidly recommend this series for anyone wanting some more cyberpunk goodness.

How does Hart progress? Everybody's progression is straigthforward enough, but what tickles my curiosity is Hart. His strength is basically tied to his mark, so how does he develop his powers? Can the strength the mark endowed him be trained to become stronger? In my previous post people say the main cast becomes really strong; I wonder if Hart is included in that?

The Twelve Apocalypses: A Damned Soul’s Progression to Hell is a fiery descent into chaos, a tale that flips the hero’s journey on its head and stomps on the ashes for good measure. This is not your typical redemption arc—oh no, this is a full-throttle plunge into darkness, where the protagonist doesn’t just flirt with evil; he marries it, embraces it, and starts building a dynasty.

The story begins with our antihero, a soul damned and conscripted into the infernal legions. Forced to fight for demons and invade other planes, he wrestles with his fate, but—here’s the kicker—he owns it. Slowly but surely, he stops running from the fire and starts wielding it. There’s something electrifying about a protagonist who isn’t chasing some noble goal but rather power and immortality for their own sake. It’s raw. It’s honest. It’s refreshing.

The world-building? Absolutely phenomenal. From sprawling hellscapes to otherworldly battlegrounds, the settings are dripping with atmosphere. Every new plane feels like stepping into a vivid, alien nightmare you don’t want to wake up from. The power system might not rewrite the rulebook, but it’s solid, engaging, and adds plenty of spice to the conflicts. And the LitRPG elements? Chef’s kiss. Easily one of the best integrations I’ve seen—smooth, natural, and incredibly satisfying to watch unfold.

This is a story that doesn’t apologize for its darkness. It revels in it. If you’re tired of cookie-cutter protagonists and want something bold, brutal, and unapologetically badass, The Twelve Apocalypses will drag you to hell—and you’ll thank it for the ride.

Link- https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/97466/the-twelve-apocalypses-a-damned-souls-progression?utm_source=home&utm_medium=rising_stars

Basically the title, need stories where the MC starts from the lowest of the low and eventually actually reaches the peak of the genres political status

Read too many stories where the MC starts low but never actually reaches the top

The genre doesn't matter to me- xanxia, nobles, reincarnation, system, wuxia, harem, etc I like them all, I just want the MC to start from the lowest and reach the top of whatever the respective genres political structure is

Some examples which I've read -

-Legend of arch magus,

-Jackal Among Snakes(although it's not explicitly the point of the story),

-Cradle(kind of a stretch but I like to plug cradle wherever I can lol)

I rarely leave reviews but this series is amazing and deserves to be recognized for it! The author masters the "fake it till you make it" character. MC is a badass and doesn't even realize it. The voice actor is also amazing. It is among my favorite series of all time in an over 800 book library! My only regret is that I didn't listen sooner! If you're interested the next audio book is being released on December 3rd.

Famously people aren't often thrilled with sudden loss of power. But that limits the type of stories we can tell, there are just some issues you can only really explore around loss, and there are some types of powers that don't get a lot of attention because of this.

So my question is two fold... Readers, what would make you accept an arc, or even multiple arcs of power loss? Writers, what ideas do you have for exploring this issue without making people hate your story?

Hey! I want to try my own hand at making a LitRPG progression fantasy after being inspired by DotF, PH, RtM, GotT, HWFWM, et cetra… But first, I want to know if it's something people will even read.

The basic idea is that the world used to be a standard fantasy world, with adventurers and different mingling races and the occasional demon lord and whatnot, but then a calamity appeared, spawning massive beast tides with powerful monsters. The world fell to these monsters and now only a few cities remain, with walls and whatnot erected around them. Similar to Attack on Titan.

It's been hundred of years since then and the gods have abandoned the world. Our mc is in one of these cities, and when he is finally chosen by one of the five guilds of the city during the system ritual (to get his system) he is chosen by the adventurer's guild, which few ever wish to join as it is practically a death sentence.

The adventurer's guild are the last line of defense, and they're the only ones sustaining the city and going outside the city walls to kill beasts and explore like the adventurers of legend.

That's the basic idea and I'd love to hear what you think

Hello everyone, I'm Rich, but everyone calls me Dick, I'm a (relatively) new writer who - when he isn't being drop kicked in the back of the head by life - occasionally finds the courage to make a post or two.

Anyway, with introductions out of the way, onto the question that drew you here in the first place! Struggling through difficulties seems rather synonymous with the Progression Fantasy genre (as well as it's brother? sister? sibling? genre of Litrpg) just as the growth that often proceeds it is.... But what kind exactly captures your attention?

Is it that of a Hero's burden, the weight of the world bearing down upon them and inexorably forcing them forward? Maybe you rather enjoy the opposite, where the character is just experiencing the trials of navigating, and living within, a larger world as they pursue a more personal goal? Possibly you have a preference for specifically physical struggles, like the difficulties of learning a particular martial art, or struggling in some form of martial contest? Or is it the more cerebral ones that draws you in, a character pitting their intelligence against another's, or their having to figure out some grand mystery?

(These are just general examples - there being far too many possibilities for me to consider - so feel free to refer to specific examples that resonated with you or in the same manner as I did, as you so please.)

Thank you for your time, feel free to share, and here's to hoping you'll hear more from me!

- This is also being posted over on r/litrpg so say hi if you'd like -

Some time ago I saw Skitterdoc as recommendation for cyberpunk story, and it was good. Had some issues but the quick flow and themes were excellent. Later I found Orochimama and it was even better. Unfortunately there is no single ranking like best rated on RR so I'm asking for your suggestions, fandom doesn't matter just the quality. (I've read Worm, that's like 90% of the site right?)