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280 series

Here Be Dragons: Book 1 of the Emergence Series

Second_Sol

A84/100
Billions of years ago, Earth formed a little differently — less iron, more water — and the first humans evolved on a lone continent surrounded by vast oceans spanning 97.5% of the planet. For millennia, humanity believed their island to be the only land in existence, until satellites revealed two distant continents. An expedition of humanity's best and brightest sets out — only for a series of disasters to wipe out all but one of the crew. Doctor Alexander Pryce becomes the first and only man to step foot on foreign soil. Alone, he struggles to carry on the mission, and in doing so draws the attention of an inquisitive and highly intelligent dragon. Desolate but not alone, Pryce begins the painstaking process of learning to communicate with an alien species — and becomes the sole representative of humanity whose actions will determine the future of both their kinds.
Royal Road4.82· 391
Genius MCNon-human MCSci-fiSecondary WorldSoft Magic

The Mine Lord: A Dwarven Survival Base-Builder

Trae McMaken

A83/100
When a young dwarf named Yorvig travels to a mining claim in the wilds of the Red Ridges, he learns by hard experience that his fellow prospectors are more focused on ore than survival. Thinking he alone can hold disaster at bay, Yorvig plots his way to becoming captain of the mine. He only expected to lead in a fight against starvation, but far greater danger arrives in forms both fair and foul. The mine grows beyond what they ever imagined, and while Yorvig's authority must grow with it, the challenges of love and loyalty will not make it easy — nor will the old foe determined to drive the dwarven folk from the Red Ridges.
Royal Road4.71· 1.9K
Base BuildingCraftingGenius MCNon-human MCSecondary WorldSoft Magic

The Transcendent Green

Mati Ocha

A83/100
Magic tears through an unsuspecting Earth, bringing mythology and monsters to life — and giving humanity a chance to prove their mettle. All Calum Green wants is to reach what remains of his family. Ninety miles of the Scottish Highlands stand between him and his home in coastal Oban — and he doesn't want to make that trek with his cheating ex-girlfriend's bestie at his side. Eilidh MacIntosh has always disliked Calum, and she's now armed with a bloody claymore on top of her disdain. But the ascension directive is clear: humans cannot survive this new world alone. With Calum's magic and their combined bad luck, the unlikely duo accidentally trigger a rare ascension quest: to find the perpetrator of a dangerous, corrupt magic that could make all of humanity an endangered species.
Goodreads4.49· 917
LitRPGMysterySoft MagicSystem ApocalypseUrban Fantasy

Kingmaker, Kingbreaker

Karen Miller

A83/100
In the kingdom of Lur, using magic without authorization means death. The ruling Doranen mages arrived as refugees centuries ago and struck a bargain: the native Olken would abandon their own magic forever. That law is enforced absolutely. Asher, a fisherman's son who came to the capital to make his fortune, finds himself befriended by Prince Gar and granted wealth and power beyond his dreams — unaware that the Olken's secret prophecy has marked him as the Innocent Mage, the one fated to save Lur from destruction.
Goodreads3.72· 20.5K
Competent MCHard MagicSecondary WorldSoft Magic

Eight

Samer Rabadi (aka 3seed)

A83/100
His name is Eight. Not really, but that's what the System decided after a slip of the tongue. One moment, he was stepping out the office door on the way home, and the next waking up on a hillside below a town wall — and the gate guard drove him off, thinking he was a monster. Life's tough when you're an old man trapped in an eight-year-old body on another world. But there's sixty-four years of hard-won wisdom inside that small frame, and Eight will use every bit of it to survive.
Royal Road4.54· 1.8KGoodreads4.45· 2.9K
CozyGameLitIsekaiLitRPGOlder MCReincarnation+4

Power Overwhelming

Flamebeard

A83/100
A transmigrated soul wakes in a new world, finding a new family and — more importantly — magic. Not the muscle-bound kind that obeys the square-cube law, but something entirely different: a force with no physical volume, and therefore no apparent ceiling on its power. There are also scary monsters in this world, which makes getting stronger sensible enough. But the real obsession is simpler — finding out just how far the magic can be pushed.
Royal Road4.75· 1K
CozyNon-human MCOverpowered MCReincarnationSecondary WorldSoft Magic+1

The Bell Tolls for Me

Nemorosis

A82/100
A succession crisis consumed the Kingdom of Dovhain following the death of Edgar the Great. Princess Isabella endured every indignity, overcame countless injustices, and fought the most vicious of enemies — first for survival, then for hope of a better future. She became queen, only to be betrayed by those she trusted most. Somehow, Isabella woke up eight years in the past, one week after her father's death. The experience and knowledge she gained in the struggle for the throne give her a fighting chance — but the question she must answer is a hard one. Should she pursue her own happiness, or attempt to better the realm? Perhaps, if she dares, she can reach for both.
Royal Road4.75· 1KGoodreads4.58· 19
Base BuildingGenius MCGrimdarkRegressionReincarnationSecondary World+1

The Shattered Reigns

Bryce O'Connor, Luke Chmilenko

A82/100
Despite his youth, Declan Idrys knows the evils of the world — the brigands plaguing the King's lands, the monsters lurking in the wooded depths. Together with his companion Ryn, a horse of peculiar talent, he has spent a decade beneath the bloody banners of mercenary guilds hunting precisely such wickedness. When a troubling contract goes sideways, Declan and Ryn are thrust into a war thought legend and long-ended — one so old it is synonymous with a time when dragons still ruled the western skies. As dead men rise from their graves and terrible beasts descend from the north, Declan must choose: flee an ancient rising horror, or face it and learn to wield an ageless power all his own. Centuries pass, but the Blood of Kings does not fade.
Goodreads4.28· 5.1K
Competent MCGrimdarkMilitarySecondary WorldSoft Magic

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell

Neal Stephenson

A82/100
Richard "Dodge" Forthrast founded a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. One day, during a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong — Dodge is pronounced brain dead. Long ago, he directed that his body be given to a cryonics company, and so his family has his brain scanned and its data structures uploaded and stored in the cloud. In the coming years, technology allows Dodge's brain to be turned back on. An eternal afterlife — the Bitworld — is created, in which humans continue to exist as digital souls. But this brave new immortal world is not the utopia it might first seem.
Goodreads3.59· 20.3K
GrimdarkSci-fiSecondary WorldSoft Magic

To The Far Shore

Warby Picus

A82/100
Post-apocalyptic Oregon Trail. Mazelton comes from a clan of radiation wizards who harvest the cores of living beings to power their magics — but he has no enthusiasm for the family trade. That hardly matters when entire armies are sent to exterminate his clan. He has to run: from mobs, cannibals, soldiers, sailors, cholera, cattle, thieving sales-monks, starvation, mechanical horrors, vengeful spirits, forced marriages, and poison of every sort. Fortunately, his not-terribly-nice family has trained him to survive apocalypses. A world still recovering from the last one should be easy.
Royal Road4.82· 299
CozyGrimdarkPost-apocalypticSci-fiSecondary WorldSoft Magic+1

Nowhere Stars

Anemone

A82/100
Liadain, a girl born terminally ill, has only ever wanted to live — forever, if at all possible. Instead, shortly after her thirteenth birthday, she is consigned to spend her last months in hospice care. Until the night she encounters a monster more terrifying than death, and her savior offers her a chance at her impossible dream. A chance to become a Keeper — one of the chosen children whose magic serves as humanity's sole defense against Harbingers, living nightmares that devour dreams, passions, and souls. Those who consume enough Harbingers grow into something more than human, able to change themselves in nearly any way they wish. So Liadain throws herself into this new life, hoping against hope to save herself. But magic is foremost an expression of the soul. Shaped by her cold bitterness, her power grants dominion over sickness, death, and ill-fate — forcing her to wield the very things she hates most as weapons. And as she delves deeper into the minds of Harbingers, she can't help but wonder if their hunger is really so different from her own.
Royal Road4.75· 849Goodreads4.20· 50
Anti-heroGrimdarkHorrorSecondary WorldSoft MagicTragedy+1

The Toll-Road to Immortality (Xianxia)

ThatGit

A82/100
It takes more than just talent to reach the heavens — more than an accident of birth or a flash of fortune. It is a long, arduous journey that comes with many costs. When you're an orphan street rat with no money, no family, and nothing but hunger and death in your future, you don't question miracles. Calvin certainly didn't question his. A miraculous artifact offering guidance, purpose, and treasures beyond mortal comprehension has arrived, and suddenly his future doesn't seem quite so dark anymore. A gradual xianxia cultivation story with a clearly defined power system, sects, martial arts, and an expansive original setting drawing on more than just typical xianxia influences.
Royal Road4.75· 847
CultivationLitRPGOverpowered MCSecondary WorldSkill CollectionSoft Magic+2

Soul Caller

Seth Ring

A81/100
Ever since he was little, Merrick had been blessed by the Great Spirits, granting him an unusually strong connection to the Song of the World. With his Warrior Ceremony approaching, he was sure his greatest wish was about to come true — until invaders from another world began creeping into his people's land, intent on devouring every resource they could find. When Merrick offers to guide a rich young prospector's group into the untamed wilds, he finds he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Fierce wolves stalk the dark and poisonous insects hide under every leaf, but the true danger lurks in the hearts of his companions. Armed with a Guardian Spirit he doesn't understand and strange knowledge of the future, it will take every ounce of courage and fortitude Merrick can muster to make it out of the mountains alive.
Goodreads4.50· 575
Competent MCSecondary WorldSoft MagicWeak to Strong

Mother of Learning: The AU Chapters

nobody103

A81/100
A collection of what-if scenarios set in the world of Mother of Learning — alternate timelines exploring the fascinating concepts that time-loop stories make possible. Mother of Learning is a story of a magic-using teenager stuck in a time loop, set in a fantasy world in the midst of a technological and magical revolution. These AU chapters are non-canonical and made purely for fun. If you aren't familiar with the main story, these may not make much sense.
Royal Road4.79· 390
ComedySecondary WorldSoft MagicTime Loop

Self-Summon

Drim

A81/100
Starving artist Angelica Hallow is hit on the head by a mysterious book while dumpster diving. Compelled by its illustrations, she recreates one of the intricate circles on her apartment floor — and accidentally triggers a Summoning. But rather than a Demon or other supernatural creature, she summons herself. With a new voice in her head blathering about Skills and Contracts, and an inexplicable ability to give herself Orders she is compelled to obey, Angelica must figure out whether she can secure the peaceful life of artistry she craves — or whether she will come to embrace the Demon within.
Royal Road4.74· 949
ComedyCozyLitRPGNon-human MCSkill CollectionSoft Magic+1

Re:Cursed

Joroboros

A81/100
As the perfect sacrifice, it is only natural that Nix be sacrificed to the ancient gods lurking in the depths of the black hole. But she didn't die. Finding herself seven years in the past — to the day of her first cursed mutation — Nix is determined to correct her regrets, enact vengeance on her murderers, and simply live the life she never got to. But even with this second chance, freedom from the cults remains a pipe dream. To achieve everything she never could in her previous life, there is only one path before her. Nix will twist the curses that once bound her into the very source of her strength. The cults will regret sacrificing her — without ever knowing they already succeeded.
Royal Road4.75· 766
Anti-heroGrimdarkHorrorLitRPGPost-apocalypticRegression+4

The Arinthian Line

Sever Bronny

A81/100
Orphan and former farm slave Augum dreams of becoming a warlock, but with a kingdom in chaos, that dream seems out of reach. A vicious tyrant has overthrown the king in a quest for seven mythic artifacts — and Augum's mentor, the legendary Anna Atticus Stone, possesses one. Forced to take shelter in a mysterious castle with other aspirants, Augum must learn the basics of spellcraft before the tyrant finds them. But when a sudden betrayal plunges the group into a terrifying ordeal, survival will hinge on his daring, his aptitude in the arcane arts, and friendships forged in fire.
Goodreads4.33· 3.8K
Competent MCSchoolSecondary WorldSoft MagicWeak to Strong

Hard Enough

Viva01

A81/100
The world of Pokémon is synonymous with young boys and girls going on a journey and facing many challenges. This story is not like that. This is a story about a self-insert coming into one of the most prominent companions of the Pokémon world. Unlike other stories, Brock is already established and has gone on his journey — he's faced challenges and returned home to be other people's challenges. Explore an alternate Pokémon universe with an expanded cast and more mature ideals through the eyes of Brock, Gym Leader of Pewter City Gym, and family man.
Royal Road4.72· 1.6K
CozyOlder MCSoft MagicTransmigration

Guild Mage: Apprentice

David Niemitz (M0rph3u5)

A81/100
There are a lot of things wrong with Liv Brodbeck. She's too small — working in the castle kitchens with her mother, she can't carry a sack of flour or roll a keg of ale. The chirurgeon says she has brittle bones, barring her from the rough play other children enjoy. Everyone says she ruined her mother's life when she was born. A child like Liv doesn't have much hope. But when she accidentally unleashes a surge of wild magic, she takes her first step on a journey that will lead her from the kitchens of Castle Whitehill, to the cold palaces of the Eld, and beyond — to the graves of gods.
Royal Road4.69· 1.7K
CozyDungeon CrawlingSchoolSecondary WorldSoft MagicWeak to Strong

Wretch

Emilsola

A81/100
Once, the world belonged to humanity. Now it belongs to the creatures of the night. Humanity clings to life in scattered strongholds — rival factions huddled behind crumbling walls while horrors from the wilderness pound on the steam-powered gates. The sacred Flame bestows reality-bending powers to the worthy, but grants those same powers to the horrors that haunt the dark. In one such stronghold, a young man is caught between ruthless hunters and abominations from beyond the wall. Desperate to rise above his insignificance, he dreams of wielding the Flame's blessings — but the Flame is without mercy or prejudice. To earn his place in its ranks, he must endure in a fading city ripe with hunger and danger. And when the Flame demands cruelty and grisly transformation, he must decide: does he still deserve to be called human?
Royal Road4.77· 505Goodreads3.85· 34
GoreGrimdarkHorrorPost-apocalypticSecondary WorldSoft Magic+2