The fastest a person has ever ran 100 meters is 9:58 seconds, rounding it to 9:5 for convenience.

A normal speed for a weak superhuman is something like 10 times the speed of a human. But if you actually think about it, it's hecking bonkers.

That would mean clearing a hundred meter dash in .95, faster than a second.

With a bit of handwaving things like getting to max speed, this would mean crossing 10 meters, something that happens a lot because it's a round nice number, means taking .095 seconds.

A tenth of a second.

Faster than a literal blink.

It's extremely absurd.

It's not a problem, mind you, it just feels like many works I read don't fully understand the speed in which the characters move.

"With a dash, she crossed the distance in less than a second" is a take out from a book.

She was moving five meters.

Her speed is a **lot** more than 10 times a persons.

This isn't faster than a "second" but "milisecond"

Its faster than a hundreth of a second.

That might just be a saying, but its still slightly jarring.

Just wanted to share my latest thoughts.

Do you guys have an extremely minor nitpick about books that really doesn't matter, or share mine in some capacity?

They will always cop out by giving them some goofy moral code about not killing children only killing bad guys etc that doesn't fit into the character take real life villains for example there is no moral code people genuinely do the most heinous shite imaginable

I know we have to root for the mc generally in story but at that point just make the character a anti hero dont use the villain mc tag

This is a completed 6 book series, and Podium has agreed to do the first 3 books. I'm pumped!

Get book 1 on Audible here: https://a.co/d/07UngEmF

Here's the blurb:

Hans had a realization that changed the direction of his adventuring career: “above average” is different from “great.” At 39 with a litany of lingering injuries, he accepted that he would never progress from Gold-ranked to Diamond-ranked. He plateaued long ago, lacking whatever secret sauce that produced the legendary adventurers he grew up admiring. With his prime behind him and disillusioned by guild politics, Hans accepts a guild master posting in a remote village. Usually, guild masters had to be Diamond-ranked, but the guild was happy to accept Hans’ voluntary exile to fill an insignificant position no one else wanted.

Looking forward to a quiet life of teaching, Hans arrives in the small town of Gomi at the foot of the Dead End Mountains. As he sets his mind to rebuilding the local chapter of the Adventurers’ Guild, his unconventional teaching methods earn him allies and enemies, while his career failures find ways to resurface.

This slice of life fantasy explores a life post-adventuring and the challenge of reconciling dreams with reality. The author describes the tone as “if lofi fantasy beats were a LitRPG.”

Looking for a Kingdom building series.

I am looking for a Kingdom building type of progression fantasy. The MC should have their own power grow and the Kingdom building does not have to be the core of the story. However, the MC should build a power base from where they further their goals. It's not important, that they build a full kingdom, but I would like it, if at least over time they will become more, than wandering Adventurers or Cultivators etc. 

LitRPG is ok, but it should be limited to description of abilities not limiting choices of the people.

I liked

Spellmonger

Last Life

The Undying immortal System

Beware of Chicken

I didn't like

Unorthodox farming, way too focused on the System.

Heretical Fishing. Started out alright. But at some point I got tired of the fact that every little step of plot progression takes ten pages of silly tangents (no hate, just a little much for me)

Hi everyone!

My second book, Wizard With a Greatsword 2, just came out today. The title gives away as much as I'm willing, but suffice it say I packed this one full of genre piece side quests, extravagant battles, and struggled-fueled growth for our cast of heroes.

Book one has been a huge success on Amazon, sitting comfortably at 4.7 stars with 630+ ratings. Here's what some readers have to say in the reviews:

"The author combines breathless action with immersive worldbuilding. What stood out to me was the solid human side of the support characters; they struggle with emotions and concerns while confronting their duties and responsibilities."

"Fast paced, engaging characters, and great worldbuilding. More depth than most progression fantasy I've read. Looking forward to the sequel."

"What I got was better than I expected. Iris is such a fun and flawed character. The beginning sets up Iris and her new found powers well but brings action, adventure and mystique moving into act 2. The third act with the raid quest was grippign and had some exciting moments, mixed with some well earned character development. Iris' crew are a fantastic addition. This book was exceptional and started on all cylinders. Most importantly, BRING ON BOOK TWO!"

Here's the blurb:

Iris has survived her first real trials as an adventurer.

Between cooking up plots to fool titans, investigating strange happenings on cursed lands, and making naive pacts with aspiring gods, Iris and her party are settling comfortably into life on the frontier.

There are mysteries to solve, pirate crews to impress, and powers to test.

But while Iris is busy chasing levels, friendships, and a future of her own, something darker is taking shape in the meeting halls of Giantrock City.

Old favors are coming due, powerful enemies are taking notice, and when the first shots of someone else’s war are fired over their heads, the party may have no choice but to run.

Iris has found the life she always asked for. Can she keep it?

Don’t miss Book 2 of this progression fantasy adventure romp about an eager novice learning who she wants to become.

------

Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4RL7L3H

Cover art by Steven Shan

Cover by: Henry R

The strongest Awakened in existence are known as Kaisers. Under The Great System’s protocol, they are forced to grant their classes to complete strangers and serve as their mentors.

Humans from Earth are summoned to Astoria to participate in The Natural Selection—a deadly survival game set within the simulated city of Seoul.

Gray Kim is one of those unlucky humans. Ripped from Earth without warning, he is granted the Mistveil class, a power meant to let him manipulate clouds.

If Gray wants to survive, he’ll have to master this strange new class, outlast his competition, and navigate the politics of the Kaiser Guilds.

But there’s one problem.

The Kaiser who granted Gray the Mistveil class doesn’t intend to mentor him.

He intends to kill him.

Less of a LitRPG and more of a System Progression Fantasy, the story is driven by its characters, with a strong focus on character development, dialogue, interactions, tension, and politics rather than monotonous monster grinding or instance tower climbing.

72 Chapters are currently out!

Cloud of Smoke

So I stumbled across a very nice new progressive fantasy story that is available for free by the author on their YouTube channel which is called black mountain stories. The story is called the The Arcanist of Astramor Saga I, I have listened to the first three parts about 6 hours worth and give it a 5/5.

I don’t know if the author is new to progression fantasy, as they have another ongoing story that I have yet to try out on their channel, but I was sufficiently impressed with The Arcanist of Astrmor, that I wanted to share it with you all. I don’t remember seeing it on Royal Road etc. anyway that’s all, go and enjoy a little listen and perhaps you’ll stay and binge it like I did.

Hi everyone! Sortis here!

The rewrite of my story, Voidwalker, is currently in the Top 20 of Rising Stars. I've already published over 75k words, and I'll be doing daily chapters throughout the RS run before switching to a 5-chapters-a-week schedule.

If you like progression fantasy where the MC actually has agency, the fun comes from watching him figure out how to make the most of his abilities, the world is something to explore rather than just a backdrop, and seemingly unrelated pieces of lore gradually come together to reveal something much bigger, come on over and check it out!

Blurb:

Turns out, leading a gang of scavenger kids during the AI wars, or becoming a top-tier assassin and founding a notorious crime organization in a VRMMO, isn’t as wild as it gets. You can always sign up for an outer-world expedition and end up in a cultivation world. 

Or so Ethan learned. 

Not your typical xianxia either. Big clans and powerful sects hold sway, but nations answer to councils and monarchies. High-fantasy creatures roam the land, and inheritance sites coexist with dungeons that spawn monsters. 

Worse yet, in a world where talent is essential, Ethan barely qualifies to cultivate. Still, it's not enough to stop him. While others meditate for decades, he hunts, using his wits, instincts sharpened by thousands of kills, and an AI chip that twists cultivation into something closer to a game. 

Then a single lie gets out of hand. What should’ve been a casual bluff becomes a multiversal rumor, drawing young prodigies from higher realms straight into Elisium: some hungry for blood, others bound by duty. Now Ethan must carve a path through the chaos he unleashed. Not that he minds. After all, chaos has a habit of hiding opportunity. 

What to expect:

-Weak to strong LitRPG in a western cultivation world

-Action-packed adventures with a void assassin

-Skill gathering, evolving, and merging

-Smart and competent MC

-Vast scope spanning across the multiverse

-No harem

-This is a rewrite of an old story. Book 1&2 complete.

The cover on the RR is AI-generated. I will commission an artist as soon as I can. Other than that, there isn't any AI content in the story. I only use grammarly for typos.

Basically the title. I'm looking for a novel where the MC doesn't have a dozen random side characters always following him/her around. Probably a hot take, but I'm getting really tired of many PF novels lately because I feel many authors use random gimmicks of side character personalities as a way to word pad their stories. I'm losing the count of how much time I have to spend recently with random side character A talking with random side character B about something that has no relevance to anything I care about in the story...

The MC being 'solo' doesn't mean they are incapable of human communication, ofc. It simply means they usually prefer to go around alone (or with a small group of max 1-2 other people maybe) without a random party of many side characters always being with them.

My only constraint: I prefer either a simple straight M-F romance with only 1 love interest or no romance. Straight harem novels might also work, but only when there are less than 4-5 love interests and their relationship with MC is actually well written.

Both western and translated PF novels work.

I've noticed that some time-loop novels usually hit this area pretty well since the MC is the 'only' person who remembers different things. The Undying Immortal System, Respawn Condition: Trash Mob, and SSS-Class Suicide Hunter were great. I also liked So I'm a Spider So What and Reincarnated as a Sword among the non-time loop, translated novels that I read.

*Updating as I read ✌️😬 I am getting super hooked now and have so many thoughts and things to get excited about. I need to let them out somewhere 😆 Would normally go to the comments on the RR chapter but all those chapters were taken down 😅 Is it annoying to make these type of posts for every PM book? 😅

————
Handling
What am I, a goalkeeper? Next!

Jumping
What am I, a flea? Next!

This was so funny 🤣 Because it came right after several long paragraphs of Max analysing his football attributes. The sense of comedic timing here haha

But teamwork, bro. You’re all about teamwork. You had a whole arc where you ruined your career for the sake of teamwork.

Again! Max poking fun of himself for rating his Teamwork as 1 is just so funny. The sense of humour, you have to read it in context 😂

No, wait, is it me or is the prose getting really good? 🤔 The wittiness of it all just makes me smile.

His hair had started to recede, but at some point it had screamed “No surrender!” and where it remained, it was magnificent.

No, seriously, some of these sentences are legit pretty funny. I just keep picturing Max putting on his serious face to make things happen but these stuff are running through his head internally 😂

———
Edit 1:
Trial match at Chester and wait a sec, wait just a minute. Player Manager means being both a player AND the manager? Is that what the story is going for?? I thought it meant managing the players like he did with Beth Heads. The two old retirees mentioned just one other player-manager who both played and managed. I didn’t know that existed and now I’m not sure how I feel about it. The game feels a bit dull at the moment. I was looking forward to that soulmate telepathy thing with Raffi and it’s not happening.

———-
Edit 2:
The Ian trial is over and Max meeting up with Ziggy kinda showed me something curious and interesting about Max or maybe how the author is writing it? When he’s mad at someone or scheming something in football, there are a lot of words to be read. But whenever he does something heartwarming, he just does it, zero thoughts to telegraph it.

Like the hugs or giving that gambling ticket stub to Ziggy. So much thought in the writing. It shows when he’s present, he’s really present and does stuff. I can’t help thinking of Ziggy’s pov and feeling all touched lol. That was just ngaww.

———
Edit 3:
Man, that whole negotiation with Ian, woof that was intense. It also like made Ian far more real?? I guess genuine conflict does that. It gives more shape into a blurry figure and makes it more solid. This is rather fascinating. Ian isn’t just a random character anymore but someone pretty defined by what values he stuck to against Max.

Also, this little snippet after the Browns received some good news:

Shona leapt for joy—a star jump—silently. Raffi got up, punched the air a few times, and let out a zero-decibel roar.

Just made me smile so widely. The writing for that just paints such a cute picture, star jump-silently and a zero-decibel roar arghhh Dang it such combination of words, especially because they are adults who even have a kid, just make me shake my fist to the sky from the overwhelming cuteness gah

——-
Edit 4:
Hmmm, there is a lot of Max being this crazy football prodigy and I’m not sure how I feel about it now. I thought the progression in this was to be the manager/coach/general of a team during games. The crazy good things he can do is due to the curse right? It feels quite unearned to be getting so much gushing from other football experts. Hurmmm.

Edit 5:
Haven’t read much yet but I keep wondering about the curse. Is the curse a normal thing upper tier managers have? Suddenly, Max is commenting on a lot of incongruities in his memories about how some managers in big teams seem to foretell stuff. And then that Max seems to have forgotten things? Like Jackie saying Max was the one who said something when in Max’s memories, Jackie was the one who told him. And that Champion Fantasy game. You would think as a football fanatic, the name of this apparently famous football video game would be known to Max. His mum also saying he played that a lot in his room before but he doesn’t remember. And all that comments about stuff he found online researching the curse in Book 1 making the text swim and gives him a headache. That incident was suspiciously rushed off by him and never mentioned again. I thought he would give it another try after the headache settles. Another clash was when Jackie was describing how Max budged into his training at the FC during Ziggy’s trial. He said a lot of things that Max didn’t mention in his own description of the event. Even words emMax seemingly did not say. It’s not even exaggeration, but opposite of what Max was feeling at the time. So I am getting very strong unreliable narrator vibes now. Is the curse all in his head?? Not real? Does Max have bipolar disorder? Does he have a legit mental disorder? Does this get address later in the story? Is this a serious magical realism story or litrpg where the system/curse is just an excuse to make a progression story???

The Wandering Spire: Book Two is now available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited!

What to Expect:

• Tower Climbing: Unique challenges, deadly monsters, and powerful treasures across each floor
• Power Progression: Guild ranking system (No status screens)
• Magic System: Detailed, aspect-based runic magic
• Combat & Tone: Gritty, high-stakes tactical combat
• Companions: A goblin familiar
• Teamwork: Role-based party dynamics
• Series Status: Books 1 and 2 are out now, Book 3 is edited, and Books 4–6 are drafted

Book Two Blurb:

The Wandering Spire has opened, and Jeze is climbing straight into chaos.

Each floor births new monsters, lethal traps, powerful rewards, and secrets long-since buried. But climbing was never meant to be easy, and she was never meant to find answers. Instead, she found more questions.

Who built this place? And what did the Ones From Before discover that someone is willing to kill to keep hidden?

With the Adventurers' Guild under threat, alliances are fracturing, adventurers are dying, and Jeze has become the target of those lurking in the shadows. Still, she and the Proven must grow stronger.

Because in the Wandering Spire, whatever waits at the top may be far worse than the monsters standing in their way.

Book One is on sale for $0.99 (or free on Kindle Unlimited) until September 3rd. A great opportunity to jump into the saga today!

Links:

Book One available for $0.99 / Kindle Unlimited

Book Two promotional sale for $3.99 / Kindle Unlimited

Reading Path of Ascension 12 right now and really enjoyed the parts about incorporating a new planet into a system. Any recommendations for books with similar themes?

hey everyone , really happy to see my story Keeper of the Infinite Archive make Main Rising Stars. Thank you for everyone who read and followed from here.

It’s a comedy progression fantasy about a librarian rebuilding a ruined multiversal Archive with most dangerous power imaginable: administrative procedure.

Expect overdue books, coffee side quests, citation wars, weird patrons, necromanced dough, questionable sandwiches and increasingly serious mysteries hiding behind a lot of paperwork.

Vol 1 is now entering its final chaps, so this felt like a good time to share it.

Free to read on RR: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/182632/keeper-of-the-infinite-archive-comedy-litrpg-progression

Transparency note: I use AI-assisted cover art(on RR) and AI tools for grammar, continuity, occasional line edits, and research. The story, characters, and creative direction are mine. The fiction is tagged accordingly on Royal Road; the promo image for reddit was designed by myself in Canva.

Ok, without spoilers please, is there a reason? Like, an in universe reason, why the number 23 is EVERYWHERE?

I'm a little ways into book 2, and I noticed it pretty early in book 1. Is the author just obsessed? Yanking our chain? Doesn't care for base 10? Likes Primes? Wants to be a special flower?

I like the book and plan on continuing, but this is just driving me crazy/aggrevating.

Again, PLEASE NO SPOLIERS. If there is an in universe reason, just say that and I will nod and press on.

If the author is just being kooky, fine as well. Just want to know where it falls.

Not sure if this is a question or request

Anyway im curious if anyone has any recs where a non-normal character goes from one power system to a new one

Im talking dnd wizard in wuxia, space cyborg in fantasy, yugioh into martial arts etc

Not wuxia to wuxia, or magic to magic but a completely different system

And where the old power system comes into play and is relevent in a meaningful way

So at the end of the the chapter Felix pointed out something interesting and shocking. Our MC and his friends felix included made an oath to get their hearts together and with him not placing in the top 5 it seems the oath was about to be broken till the action of the golden wolf changed everything.

But if i recall correctly only our MC got a heart had it attacked when Marcus got his then it would make a bit more sense but i suppose Valentina might get a heart in the future to fulfil it.

Currently the MC and the rest of the boys in the legion from their town just made a new Oath which is way harder to fulfil and i'm wondering how binding this oath is going to be or if felix statement is just some random theory.

I do love the turn and direction this is going, i am a fan of binding oaths that the people involved made without knowing the consequences makes a story interesting.

But it's more of the shock of the reveal for me. It's something that should have been obvious but didn't occur to me, it's not a plot twist but still a twist at the end.

I'm loving the book but really needed to voice/write this out

EDIT: I just read a bit ahead and It wasn't until Felix was about to get his cor that the oath was broken. Now everything makes sense cause of the not at all part. Had they all rejected it then the oath would have still held

Hey all. Scott Baron here again (Space Assassins, Bad Luck Charlie, Daisy's Run, Assassins' Academy) to let you know about the new web serial I've been releasing for free on Royal Road. Book 1 is now fully released and Book 2 is rapid releasing with 2x daily chapter releases, then it slows to a more sane schedule of daily releases for book 3 (and beyond)

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/186107/warp-riders-book-1-deep-space-boogie

The Warp Riders series is a portal/warp lost in space adventure with human, alien, and cyborg crew (along with some off-kilter AI ships) plus space cats, monsters, and mayhem aplenty.

Many of you have read my other stuff and enjoyed it (and some have hated it, lol) and while this series is progression sci-fi, since people seemed to like the first book when I posted it last month I wanted drop this updated post for those who may have missed the original one when it first released.

Again, this series is 100% free on Royal Road with Book 1 out, Book 2 in progress, and several more written and in the queue.

So, if you enjoy epic space adventures and free books, come give it a read on Royal Road and be sure to follow for updates.

I really hope you like this series. It was really fun to write.

Blessed be, beautiful people!

Back with a vengeance, bringing you the second book of Free Reign : an OP MC LITRPG Isekai!

Thank you for checking the post out, and have a beautiful day!

P.S. details below

-Wulibear.

Link here: Amazon

Blurb below:

I, Elio Welchia, albino guy turned King of an abandoned Castle, have done some silly little things since we last spoke.

Won't go into the details, but just know that it was bad.

Now, with the Noble Feud of House Barta over and the involvement of the High Temples taken care of, it's finally time to return to Calcan Castle with my companions for the time being.

And that would all be good and dandy if not for the Pixie who ruled in my stead while I was gone... or the mythological Romanian spirits who have, for some reason, become my maids in this world.

Unfortunately, even with a period of peace finally settling in, the Broken Law of Justice is still waiting for me. And whether I like it or not, I have to deal with it once and for all.

Because the Broken Law of Justice is only one of the many Broken Laws I need to fix before the Custodians will revive my dead wife.

The problem?

I have a weird feeling fixing the Law of Justice won't be nearly as easy as the System Goddess, also known as the voice of mental illness in my head, makes it sound.

Content Warning:

This story still contains grief, exhaustion, hallucinations, violence, and one (1) grieving, probably suicidal widower who is absolutely and unequivocally not a vampire.

If at any point this statement appears to be untrue, that is STILL a misunderstanding on your part. Please do not argue with him about this.

Ah, and by the way, ignore the cult saying he is a God. Please.

-Signed, Ephe.

Cover by: rainbowchuu

The first book of Wretch is now live on Amazon <---

Hello, I'm Emil Schröder (Emilsola). After a smashing launch on Royal Road, Wretch is now live on Amazon.

Here you'll find dark progression fantasy inspired by Darksouls, Bloodborne, and Lord of Mysteries, where every step towards the summit of power leaves a mark, and every transformation comes at a cost. 

Expect:
- Horrors beyond comprehension.
- Monstrous transformation and mysterious power.
- Weak to strong.
- Some serious violence. Like really, I mean it.

Blurb:

Once, the world belonged to humanity.

Now, it belongs to them.

Clinging to life in scattered strongholds, rival factions huddle behind their crumbling walls and steam-powered gates. The sacred Flame bestows reality-bending powers on the worthy but grants the same powers to the horrors that haunt the night.

In one such stronghold, a young man named Wretch is caught between ruthless hunters and the abominations from beyond the wall. Desperate to rise above his insignificance, he dreams of wielding the Flame’s blessings—no matter the cost.

But the Flame acts without mercy or prejudice.

To climb the ranks of the mighty, he must thrive within a fading city ripe with hunger and danger.

And when the Flame demands cruelty and his own grisly transformation as the price of his power, Wretch must decide:

Is there anything he wouldn’t sacrifice? 

______________________________

Big thanks to all the readers and to everyone in the Prog-Fantasy community, you are not only passionate but some of the most kind-hearted and genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. And to the Redditors who've placed Wretch in their tier lists, you make my heart flutter. 

Stay strong out there and don't listen to the whispers.

/Emil

* No AI.
**Art by the most talented Ben Moran

Hello guys, i'm relatively new here. I'm looking for new recommendations; I've started quite a few novels lately, but none have really hooked me. If any titles come to mind that gave you the same feeling as the ones on my list, I'd love to hear about them! Thanks.

By the way, thanks to this subreddit for existing it’s helped me discover excellent works like Cradle and The Rage of Dragons.