Returner's Defiance

Garth had been the favorite for the number-one draft pick in the next season of the USA's top sport. His college career was supposed to end on a high note… but it didn't. Sabotaged in his final game, he found himself shut out of the Dungeon League of America, forced to retire his jersey in shame. With no other options, he leaned on his university degree and became a licensed psychiatrist and therapist. That should have been the end of his dungeon-crawling days. But then, a new dungeon appeared in his city.

For my wife, Isabelle, I gave up my dream of becoming a mage. A price I paid gladly. But now, years into our loving marriage, she’s the one pushing me to attend the Academy. This is where the queendom's elite hone their power. I expected the disdain of the nobles for a commoner like me. I did not expect the Academy’s greatest challenge.

I thought volunteering to be put into cryostasis for three days would be a great way to make some extra cash. Apparently, the rest of the world thought it would be a great time for an all-out nuclear war. Destruction was unleashed on such an incredible scale they say the very laws of physics changed. Now, massive mutants roam the city, looking for something—or someone—to eat. Violent gangs fight for control of the city's remains. Strange, human-animal hybrids are now part of our struggling societies. And perhaps strangest of all, magic is now real. Yeah, I'm still trying to process that one.

Life has a funny way of throwing a wrench in the spokes. One day I was about to take my hot coworker out to lunch, and suddenly I was struck by lightning and transported to a different world. Crazy how that works. Once I got over my initial shock, I realized that this place was absolutely incredible. Furthermore, all of the adult men were killed in battle just over a year ago. Yes, I was the only guy in town. Destiny’s hero, right? Wrong. Turns out I wasn’t the hero they wanted and prayed for.

Growing up, she was the girl down the street. Even then, I knew she was different. She was tough, rough, and had the strength to stop a speeding car with her bare hands. We were as thick as thieves, sharing every adventure. Then one day she revealed a secret. She wasn't from Earth. She was from a distant place called the Arcadia Multiverse. Her people lived under the rule of a god-like entity known as the System. That System had its gaze fixed on Earth. And it was only a matter of time before it came for us.

The Dungeon is a place of magic and mystery, a vast branching, underground labyrinth that has changed the world and the people who dare to enter its depths. Those who brave its challenges are rewarded with wealth, fame, and powerful classes that set them apart from the rest. Ken was determined to follow the footsteps of his family and become one of the greatest adventurers the world has ever known. He knows that the only way to do that is to get into one of the esteemed Dungeon colleges, where the most promising young adventurers gather.

After years as the Free States of Caldia's most lethal weapon, all I want is to study magic at Stoneway Academy and find something resembling a normal civilian life. The Great War against the Democratic Republic of Auropa has finally come to a ceasefire, but tensions haven't necessarily died down overnight.

Arden was left in the village by a dying mage, who never returned. With no way out of the village on his own, he had always held onto the hope that one day his magic would awaken and give him access to his spheres. But he’s about to turn eighteen and it’s never come. Instead, he’s settled into his lot as a sarcastic and quick-witted innkeeper. That all changes one night when his old flame, who escaped the village to become a mage’s anchor, returns. Ard’s life is about to go through some dramatic changes, and he’s not ready for them.

As a villain for hire I followed those rules, facing down heroes in scripted fights to make them look good for the press and brand deals. Sure, losing every time was a pain, but the money was good. Well, decent. And it kept real heroes off my back. Well, usually.

My life was far from perfect, revolving around a dead-end school and caring for my sickly mother. It’s not until a chance encounter with a beautiful and mysterious blonde that I learn the truth about myself. You see, I’m not just an ordinary human. I’m a demon lord, potentially one of the strongest that’s ever lived. My mysterious new friend introduces me to the Academy for Demonic Education, where I learn about my emerging powers alongside my gorgeous classmates, including a shy brunette trying to find her voice as well as a famous shifter princess.

The local wolffolk mafia longs for their glory days, and their alluring don, Alessia Lionetti, wants a powerful enforcer to bring them back. That's Vince. This is his big break from his days as a hired thug. Working for the mafia has a short life expectancy, though. Especially in a world where the masquerade shattered long ago. Demons run banks, birdfolk ferry people across town, and the police possess crack teams of sorcerers to keep the peace. Bad news for Vince and his dreams of mafia wealth.

Rob was a police officer in sunny California. He was tired of dealing with trust fund babies and kids with more money than common sense. When he learns that his life would come to an end in six hours but a beautiful goddess gives him the chance to live out the rest of his life in another universe where time works differently he jumps at it. Now he finds himself as a lawman in a frontier town full of beastkin, elves, and orcs.

Have you ever felt like there was something inside of you pushing your actions? A dormant beast, so to speak. I know it sounds crazy. But, that’s the best way I could describe how I’ve felt for a long time. I thought it was normal, some animal part of the human brain that lingered from evolution. But, this is the story of how I learned I wasn’t exactly human, and there was a world underneath our own where all the things that go bump in the night live. And, that my beast was very real indeed.

I expected aging out of the foster care system to be hard. I wasn't expecting it to include finding out I was a Warlock, destined to be hunted by the most powerful Witch Families so they could bind me to a coven of thirteen witches and spend the rest of my life "harvesting mana". Add to that a set of magical resonants that made me an even bigger target to some of those Witch Families, some of which would rather kill me than let a rival get me.

A former villain is living a quiet life, hidden among the masses. Miles has one big secret: He might just be the most powerful super in existence. Those days are behind him. But when a wounded young lady unable to control her superpower needs his help, she shatters his boring life, pulling him into the one place he least expected to be—the Bureau of Superheroes.