Science Fiction Litrpg

The best science fiction and fantasy stories of 2021, selected by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Veronica Roth. This year’s selection of science fiction and fantasy stories, chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and bestselling author of the Divergent series Veronica Roth...

Life is the teacher. Death is the lesson. An undying cultivator is the result. Su Fang’s path of cultivation is a journey of countless deaths. As each new life pulls back the veil that covers the Nine Rivers Continent, he discovers both hidden truths and the chains that bind him.

Chester, as it turns out, is actually a monster god. Unfortunately, we don’t have any time to throw festivals in his honor—the whole world has gone mad and is overflowing with corrupted monsters. His fellow Calamities, enraged that he’d forgotten them, have fused their worlds together in a fit of petty rage. Now, everyone's stuck in a bizarre and dangerous hellscape with corruption overflowing from every dungeon. The strength I’ve gathered isn’t enough.

Melvin Murphy is your average everyday teen... until he finds the System. Melvin has normal problems. High School. Tests. Trying to find a girlfriend (and failing... miserably). But one day he awakens with access to a System that governs all magic. In his attempt to summon a teacher to show him the ropes, he botches the ritual and accidentally summons a magic-wielding girl named Kalliphae. Sure, she's powerful and deadly. A femme fatale who's more intimidating than even the most popular girls at school.

Vir is in chaos, and soon Amber will be at the center of it all. The Sacred Forest, that is Amber’s destination after her attempted exile in the capital. But her journey won’t be simple. The Black Rose wants her for an important plan that will happen at her destination. A plan that will endanger those involved, and unbeknownst to her draw the ire of an Archmage—a mage capable of using Level 400 magic. And as if that wasn’t enough trouble, a high-level member of the Arcane Council wants something from her.

In the mist-shrouded haze of the past, the world of Azeroth teemed with wondrous creatures of every kind. Mysterious elves and hardy dwarves walked among tribes of man in relative peace and harmony - until the arrival of the demonic army known as Burning Legion shattered the world's tranquility forever. Now orcs, dragons, goblins, and trolls all vie for supremacy over the scattered, warring kingdoms - part of a grand, malevolent scheme that will determine the fate of the world of WarCraft.

Reborn in a crypt, Nick was given an ancient heritage and an important task: to become king, and make the Archaens rise again. Nick was now the last one, and he would need to find allies by forming Soul Pacts with both followers and wives. With the power of the Soul Knight class, he would have to use both paladin and necromancer magics to conquer the tower and defeat his enemies. But not all was right, in or outside the tower. A bandit warlord had taken control of the city of Havendale, and a deathly Trial within the tower lurks, barring Nick from collecting his Heritage.

The Resistance has won, but it was Pyrrhic victory. With Sanctuary in flames and Nova missing, it's up to Magnus to turn the tides of war against the Legatus. But will it be enough? Amid this turmoil, Ubiquity Prime's subjugation fleet steadily approaches Kelruhn, promising total annihilation. Up against the greatest foes of his life, Magnus must lead his meager forces in a war where failure is not an option, and the fate of two worlds hinges on the actions of one man.

He thought it was the end, and his gun sat ready to make sure. But an oddball offer from his last friend comes at the literal last second. Curiosity gets the best of him, and he finds himself sucked into iNcarn8, a game claiming to be a whole new life. Now, as Montana, the larger-than-life tank warrior, he has one more last time to get his life right.

Harper thought retirement meant hanging up his glaive, but when the Dungeon Lord offers him something no adventurer has ever been given—a chance to build a sanctuary from the ground up—he can't resist. Finally, a quest where success means creation, not destruction.

Armed with the knowledge of his previous failure, the Master Hunter is able to piece together fragments of information necessary to take advantage of opportunities once missed. However even as he grows stronger, the need for trustworthy allies becomes evident as Trolls continue to jeopardize the salvation of humanity by sacrificing their own teammates to monopolize all the rewards. As history seems to be destined to repeat itself, a small but potent beacon of hope emerges from the darkest, most unexpected of places.

Truth Medici has three questions: Can he rescue his siblings from the clutches of the evil Starbrite Corporation? What will it require of him? And where does he need to go next to make it happen? When he meets Justinian Merkovah—a strangely ageless spellcaster, teacher of religious law, and nomadic exorcist—he's one step closer to discovering the answers. With his experience providing security to the rich and terrible, Truth accepts a gig as Merkovah's bodyguard. What better way for Truth to grow as a mage?

On the fourth floor in Virelia, Nathaniel and Group 4 are gearing up to take down one of the Four Calamities. With their newly formed guild, Angry Kittens, they challenge the city’s powerful matriarch and the five big guilds. Meanwhile, the bus-sized ants are leaving their distant nests and ominously marching toward the city. No one knows why. It's time to confront The Colony, battle The Fallen Hero, tackle The Living Tree, and uncover the mystery of the fourth Calamity.

For Chris Mason, working construction at the pinnacle of New York's skyline feels like being on top of the world—until that world is shattered when an otherworldly portal transforms Manhattan into a deadly fantasy realm. Chosen as a "salvager" by a mysterious System that has plagued humanity throughout history, Chris must now scavenge the ruins of his city for materials to craft weapons, armor, and shelter while the city continues to transform around him.

Where power is measured in cards, Arthur stands among the elite as a Legendary card wielder now forever linked to a frighteningly powerful dragon. Or Brixaby will be once he grows from the size of a parrot. Before that can happen, a chance encounter whisks Arthur and Brixaby away to a place they never thought possible: A new dragon hive outside the kingdom. This Free Hive doesn't suffer from the scourge that's infected the rest of the planet. It's a place where crafting using card powers is king.

Humanity has fallen, killed by stronger races of beings after being warped away to a new reality, the mystical Seven Layers. Humanity's goal had been simple. Make it through all Seven Layers and reach Heaven. Humanity failed. Humanity died. Micheal Care's memories have been transported back into his past self thanks to a magical Artifact he found by chance. He is no chosen savior. He is no divinely picked hero. Can he change the future?

Gary doesn’t have all that much going for him. He’s a teenage boy who lives in a Tier-3 town that’s barely hanging on, and his family’s just a rung above dirt poor. Which is why he’s taken the very dangerous step of becoming an errand boy for the savage Underdogs gang. He doesn’t like what they do, but if he tries to get out, he’s pretty sure he’ll get very dead.

Stuck under a mountain of debt, Ike can only dream of the world of hunters. Ranks, power, and the System are out of his reach, until the day he awakens a Unique skill. Ike must break out of the slums and overturn the hierarchy of the System to fulfil his dream of becoming the ultimate hunter. Harvesting the skills of monsters, he turns against the world's logic.

As if things couldn't get any worse, Arthur is trying to survive yet another dreadful shift at the Hammy Burger when a supervillain barges in and takes him as a hostage. It's clear, from the get-go, that this villain is a poor schmuck who just happened on a dose of ChemX. And so, in an attempt to save the poor bastard from the consequences of his foolish actions, Arthur tries to convince him to surrender. But when the caped cavalry arrives, something happens and Arthur is exposed to a leak of the mysterious chemical substance.

Wulf is one of the last survivors of the demonic apocalypse. At the brink of oblivion, he’s sent back forty-one years to prevent the end. Now he’s a first-year again at Istalis Academy. Having his advancement reset is an opportunity to do everything better. But Wulf is sent back with a seemingly useless crafting class. Nobody can know or he’ll be expelled from his fighter program, where he’ll be expected to channel his abilities through the hollowed-out vessels of stone giants.