Underdog

Eric was born completely nulled by the Great System — level zero with no characteristics points, barely alive. When his parents die on his fourteenth birthday, the bank claims their home and Eric is forced to work off the debt in the Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains. What was once considered a curse may yet prove to be something far more interesting.

Eric has survived where people far stronger than him have met their deaths. He's activated his magic supply, tamed one of the most dangerous dungeon monsters, found the ancient city of monster hunters, and rescued a girl abandoned in the dungeon. Now his path leads back to Orchus to finally free himself of his debt-repayment oath — but the valley has been thrown into chaos by a lord's raiding forces, making the journey far more dangerous than expected.

What was once considered a flaw has transformed into an advantage, and Eric is learning to use it. After escaping the Hive and journeying through the orcish steppe and Stone Forest, he and his friends are stronger than ever. Along the way, Eric discovers his elder brother never actually went to the Wastes — his parents were lied to — and he vows to uncover the truth. The grim heritage of the Order of Monster Hunters draws him ever deeper into a dangerous game.

After a battle with hyenas, Eric receives a notification that a Place of Power has been found — the only clue that might help him return to his native world. But the System needs mana to calculate a route, and Eric has none, with no idea when he will. Without magic or his loyal companion Gorgie, he must rely on a boy named Badger as his sole source of knowledge about this alien and dangerous world.

After wiping out a drak nest, Eric activates a manuscript that whisks him to the top of the mysterious Citadel of Chaos. The Gatekeeper — a massive armored troll — grants Eric entry, but informs him he cannot leave without undergoing a trial called Unity with Chaos. The test is dangerous and could cost Eric his life, but Chaos Magic is a power unlike anything else. He is still far too weak to face the Steel King. Could this be the moment he was told to grow stronger?

After sealing an otherworldly portal, Eric becomes Magister of the Order of Monster Hunters and gains power over all its ancient riches. But reviving the dead order won't be enough — its ancient enemy is watching, and the Steel King will soon realize his plan to reclaim the Crown has failed. Eric must gather loyal and powerful allies, and his path leads to the Undermountain Kingdom of the Gnomes, where a legendary blacksmith may hold the key to what comes next.

The skies of the Dark Continent swarm with ravening beasts. Thousands of refugees press against the gates of Foreston, fleeing a mysterious scourge. The Wastes teem with necromorphs, a Dark Gateway has opened in the Stone Forest, and ancient enemies are forming alliances. The world of the Great System stands once again on the precipice of a new war.

The battle with the necromorph horde is lost. Foreston has fallen and the Order of Monster Hunters is on the brink of destruction. Eric's attempts to halt the enemy's advance have come to nothing — the Dark primordials are simply too powerful. To cover his friends' retreat, Eric uses forbidden magic, for which the Great System strips him of his rank and declares him an apostate. Crushed by defeat and grievously wounded, Eric's will is not yet broken. As a renegade in the eyes of yesterday's allies, he will keep fighting.