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382 series

The Iron Teeth: A Goblin's Tale

ClearMadness

S86/100
A new, darker age is dawning. The greed of kings has ignited a seemingly endless war. As men fight, the monsters of the untamed wilds devour the frontier — villages abandoned, fields gone fallow, murderous bandits roaming the desolation. None of that matters to a nameless goblin slave. He just wants to eat as much food as he can shove into his mouth when no one is looking. But fate runs a twisted course, and instead he is whisked away to the far-off Iron Teeth Mountains. To stay alive, he will have to evolve into something more than a simple goblin and carve a bloody path through the forests of the North — if he can first get over his crippling fear of trees, and survive in a place where everything considers him the perfect size for a quick snack.
Royal Road4.65· 3.4KGoodreads4.00· 1
Anti-heroComedyGrimdarkNon-human MCSecondary WorldWeak to Strong

Throne Hunters

Phil Tucker

S86/100
Harald Darrowdelve has squandered every gift life gave him—until he enters the dungeon beneath Flutic and receives a demon's dark blessing. Weak, privileged, and directionless no more, he now commands powers forged in darkness. But each new ability and hard-won level drags him deeper into the ruthless politics of noble houses, shadowy rivals, and the celestial war burning beneath the city's streets. The dungeon reshapes him with every victory—but at what cost?
Goodreads4.50· 1.3K
Anti-heroClass SystemDungeon CrawlingGrimdarkLitRPGSecondary World+1

Odd Thomas

Dean Koontz

S86/100
Odd Thomas is a young fry cook from a small California desert town with an extraordinary ability: he can communicate with the dead. The silent souls who seek him out sometimes want justice, and their tips occasionally help him prevent crimes. But when a stranger arrives in Pico Mundo accompanied by a horde of ominous shades heralding imminent catastrophe, Odd and his soul mate Stormy Llewellyn must race against time to prevent a mass tragedy. His journey takes him across the American West and beyond, facing evil both human and inexplicable, as his destiny slowly reveals itself.
Goodreads4.01· 277.9K
GrimdarkHorrorMysterySoft MagicUrban Fantasy

Victor of Tucson

PlumParrot

S85/100
Victor can't wait to get out of high school and start his own life on a sports scholarship. That plan is derailed when he steps into his abuela's house and somehow ends up in a world filled with fantastical meta-humans, walking talking devils, and creatures one usually needs serious pharmaceuticals to see. Fanwath is no dream — it's a nightmare. Sold into slavery as a pit fighter, Victor learns his new home is controlled by the System, and the only way to get ahead is to fight, kill, and collect the precious Energy that means the difference between a long life and an early grave. His stats start at a solid zero. Lucky for him, no one in this world has ever met his kind before — which means they have no idea what he's really capable of.
Royal Road4.59· 1.4KGoodreads4.49· 3.4K
Class SystemCultivationDungeon CrawlingGrimdarkIsekaiLitRPG+3

Wander West, in Shadow

CloverCloverClover

S85/100
The war ended, but the world didn't. For years, the lands burned in the wars of the White Queen, a sorceress and tyrant whose mad ambition brought ruin to all she touched. Now she is dead, but all that remains has been bled dry — charred towns lie hollow, fields return to the wild, and quiet shadows settle where folk once made their homes. Through this darkness, the young wizard Martimeos walks broken roads following the fading trail of his brother, who marched west to fight in the Queen's War and never returned. On his journey he must barter with demons, trade riddles with fae, and contend with the wild witch Elyse, a fellow practitioner with secrets of her own. At last the road brings him to Silverfish, a cursed village whose future has been stolen. His search will lead him to the horror at the heart of Silverfish's tragedy — and the truth behind his brother's fate.
Royal Road4.83· 474
GrimdarkHorrorMysterySecondary WorldSoft Magic

Dungeon Heart

MinningDragon

S85/100
The death of an old dwarf, the reincarnation of an old soul into a dungeon. He was expecting a peaceful, lonely death — and now he is a dungeon. Well, it could be worse; after all, dwarves are at home underground. Now he has to rediscover how to survive in this new life, carving out his place in the world with his own hands and those of his creations.
Royal Road4.55· 2.6KGoodreads4.47· 1.2K
Base BuildingDungeon CoreGrimdarkNon-human MCReincarnationSecondary World

A Practical Guide to Evil

ErraticErrata

S85/100
The Empire stands triumphant. For twenty years the Dread Empress has ruled over the lands that were once the Kingdom of Callow, but behind the scenes of this dawning golden age, threats to the crown are rising. The nobles of the Wasteland weave their plots behind pleasant smiles, rebellion stirs beyond Peren Woods, and the First Prince of Procer ponders whether a crusade might secure her reign. Yet none of this matters, for in the heart of the conquered lands the most dangerous man alive sat across an orphan girl and offered her a knife. Her name is Catherine Foundling, and she has a plan.
Royal Road4.77· 1.1KGoodreads4.40· 718
Anti-heroGenius MCGrimdarkMilitarySecondary WorldSoft Magic+1

The Art of Seeking Gold

LoveMoney

S85/100
Notorious internet troll and critic Amy Stake has karma catch up to her when she criticizes the writing of a vengeful Goddess and gets reincarnated into a brutal shonen battle manga known for its astronomical body count. In an ironic twist, she'll only gain the powers that manga readers imagine she has, and her strength will be directly proportional to how much they love her. Meanwhile, people back in her own world are reading and commenting on the manga as it updates — so she must always stay in character. With death lurking at every step, Amy must claw her way into the main story by any means necessary: scene-stealing entrances, manufactured drama, a possibly fabricated tragic backstory. Whatever it takes to become a fan favorite before the end of the world arrives.
Royal Road4.75· 1.7K
Anti-heroComedyGrimdarkIsekaiLGBTQ+LitRPG+4

The Hedge Wizard

Alex M

S85/100
Hump grew up believing his master was nothing but an ordinary hedge wizard. When the old man unexpectedly dies, however, his book of spells binds to Hump's soul. Now without a master, Hump sets off to find his place in the world, discover the secrets of magic, and understand the Book of Infinite Pages. Scorned by the gods, wizards can trust only their own wit and skill to survive. Lacking the godly gifts of the Chosen, Hump fights for something more immediate — if he wants to eat, he needs to work. And with a new dungeon opening in Bledsbury, where better for a young hedge wizard to earn some coin?
Royal Road4.59· 1.8KGoodreads4.47· 3.2K
ComedyDungeon CrawlingGameLitGrimdarkHard MagicSecondary World+1

The Immortals' Mask

Jay Krauss

S85/100
Sataou was not chasing glory. He had a sharp mind, a relaxed spirit, and a place in the Shengu Sect earned through quiet dedication rather than burning ambition. His Void affinity demanded emotional control — and the world refused to let him stay whole. When that balance shatters, what remains loses what makes it human. This is not a tale of ascension. It is the story of what is lost along the way — and the rise of a man who will stop at nothing to sever the chains of a captive world.
Goodreads4.66· 274
CultivationGenius MCGrimdarkSoft MagicTragedyWuxia

Blood & Fur

Maxime J. Durand (Void Herald)

A84/100
A new emperor rules each year in Yohuachanca. Only the most delicious food graces his palate, the realm's most beautiful women fill his harem, his palace dazzles the mind — and at the year's end, he is sacrificed to the Nightlords under the light of the Scarlet Moon. Iztac is a pisspoor orphan and this year's emperor. A sacrifice bound for the altar. But the vampires have made a mistake: Iztac is a sorcerer whose soul can journey into the secret underworld to plunder the spells of the dead. There, in the darkness, hides the power to drag the Nightlords off their throne. He has a year to find it — or perish for good. He may not be the first emperor, but he will be the last.
Royal Road4.75· 1.5K
Anti-heroBase BuildingGenius MCGrimdarkMilitarySecondary World+1

Creation's Bane

Kevin Sinclair

A84/100
Running a restaurant was hard, but it filled Clive's life with meaning — running through a portal was easy, but it filled his life with demons. Weak in a world full of strength, Clive and his friends rely on grit and determination as they navigate a brutal, war-torn land of magic in search of a way home. There is a problem, though: Clive's been cursed. A demonic knife wound catapults them into a race against time to find a cure, fighting their way across Falritas in need of friends and levels like there's no tomorrow. Set in a chaotic land ruled by ruthless gods, complete with game mechanics, a progression system, and empire-building, where demons, werewolves, dwarves, and elves roam.
Goodreads4.51· 784
Base BuildingGameLitGrimdarkIsekaiLitRPGStats+1

Ether Flows

Ryan DeBruyn

A84/100
The Sovereign Empire's power was a lie. Azrael was brutally trained from birth to be a Sovereign Elite — until war came, and he found himself a prisoner on Tech Duinn, a prison planet designed for blood sport, before he even turned eight. Without system access and stripped of his identity, Azrael must rely on his trainers to keep his true name secret. If anyone learns his last name, he will wake up in the arena — if he wakes up at all. Surviving the Arena Pit Dungeon seems impossible, yet Azrael vows not only to live, but to find a way off-world. He lives only because of applause. Others will die for it. Death or escape is the only way out of the cycle.
Goodreads4.25· 6.9K
Dungeon CrawlingGrimdarkLitRPGSci-fiWeak to Strong

Gunsoul

Maxime J. Durand (Void Herald)

A84/100
Marauders shot Yuan in the head and buried him in a ditch. They thought it would be enough to put him down. They were wrong. Rising from the dead by the will of the Gun — demigod of revenge and firearms — Yuan has one goal: track down his murderers across the Unmade World and slaughter every last one of them. With the bullet-core stuck in his skull marking him as a Gunsoul, he can finally teach these arrogant cultivators a lesson they'll never forget. But revenge isn't easily claimed. To carve out a path through the wasteland, Yuan must face power-hungry sects, nuclear cultivators, and weapon-gods. No one will bury him again.
Royal Road4.77· 921
Anti-heroCultivationGrimdarkPost-apocalypticSci-fiWuxia

Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 6: The Ghosts of Earth

DoctorHepa

A84/100
The apocalypse will be televised. In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth collapses into a heap, transformed into a dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot that circles the entire globe. Only a few dare venture inside — and once you're in, you can't get out. Each level has a time limit. But this game isn't about strength or dexterity; it's about followers, views, and clout. Building an audience and killing those goblins with style. You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big. And if you have that 'it' factor, you may just find yourself with a following — and the loot boxes dropped by generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.
Royal Road4.63· 2.9K
ComedyDungeon CrawlingGameLitGenius MCGrimdarkLitRPG+4

UnderVerse

Jez Cajiao

A84/100
Jax is a pretty regular guy with a job he tolerates and a girl he kinda loves — and he fights creatures from the UnderVerse in his sleep, waking covered in horrific scars. When his brother vanishes and five years later Jax is kidnapped as well, his father gives him a stark choice: travel to the UnderVerse in reality, reach the capitol of that ruined realm at the center of existence, and open a portal for the Noble Houses to return home — or die slowly. First, though, he has to survive the arena, where twelve will enter and only one can leave.
Goodreads4.47· 2.9K
Base BuildingGoreGrimdarkIsekaiLitRPGProfanity+1

Innocence

Dean Koontz

A83/100
Addison Goodheart was born in an isolated home surrounded by deep forest, kept secret from everyone but his mother — who barely accepts him. Only in the woods, among wildlife, is Addison truly welcome. Until the day terror arrives, radically and forever changing his life. He lives in solitude beneath a city, an exile that society will destroy if he is ever seen. She dwells in seclusion, a fugitive from enemies who will harm her if she is ever found. Something more than chance — and nothing less than destiny — has brought them together as the world's hour of reckoning approaches.
Goodreads3.75· 25.9K
GrimdarkMysteryUrban Fantasy

Necroepilogos

Hungry

A83/100
Nothing walks the black cinder of Earth except the undead leftovers, reanimated by science so advanced it may as well be magic. Twisted into unimaginable forms by flesh-shaping and machine-grafting, the undead are the only remnant of a civilization reduced to ash and organic slurry. Elpida doesn't know this world, but she's on her feet, leading a half-dozen other fresh revenants — ripped from oblivion and disgorged shivering and naked on cold metal slabs in a womb-lab of blinking lights and blaring alarms, by machines running some ancient plan. A story about body horror and alienation, weird zombie-girls gluing themselves back together, mad science beyond mortal ken, and trying to cradle the flower of companionship in twitching, undead fingers.
Royal Road4.80· 503
GrimdarkHaremHorrorLGBTQ+MilitaryNon-human MC+2

What the Night Knows

Dean Koontz

A83/100
Detective John Calvino comes away from interviewing 14-year-old sadistic killer Billy Lucas with a terrible sense of dread — and a feeling that somehow the boy has come home with him. That haunted feeling grows in the weeks that follow. When another killing spree begins, Calvino becomes convinced his own family will be the next victims. Billy might be safely locked up — but something is stalking the night.
Goodreads3.78· 22K
GrimdarkHorrorMysteryUrban Fantasy

A Matter of Time

Blue Moon 13

A83/100
For ten years, Huan Yue has lived a quiet life, serving tea and hiding from the world of god-like cultivators who shattered her family for a petty slight. All she wants is to remain invisible. But on the morning she turns twenty, a mysterious cultivator hunts her down and murders her — and then she awakens in her bed at the start of the very same day, trapped in a waking nightmare. Hunted by a team of relentless and seemingly invincible assassins, Yue discovers that within her curse lies a weapon. If she cannot escape as a mortal, she will become something more. With each death, terror fades and is replaced by burning rage. Forced to walk the path of the very people she despises, she will use the endless cycle to forge her spirit and sharpen her skills. Her hunters believe she is an insignificant pest to be exterminated. They don't realize they've given their victim the one thing she needs to claim her revenge: time.
Royal Road4.73· 501Goodreads4.18· 7K
CultivationGrimdarkSecondary WorldTime LoopTragedyWeak to Strong+1