Industrial Strength Magic
Macronomicon
Perry Z has a Magical Destiny. Born to a Magical Fantasy Princess and a nine-to-five Supervillain in the most superhero-riddled city in the world, Perry's never felt adequate. He's got no talent for magic, and not a scrap of superpowers to his name. When The System boots and unlocks his powers, it forces him to follow in his father's footsteps, but he'd rather take after his mother. Maybe there's a way he can do both. As Paradox, Perry walks the line between Hero and Villain, Madness and Sanity, blending magic and technology — a crafter-progression tale across Franklin City and beyond as ancient cape legacies, Replicator nanotech, and eldritch demigods threaten humanity. 4 volumes (2024-2025), ongoing.
Progression: Explicit System-centric progression central to plot: The System boots and quantifies advancement — Perry (Paradox) levels/grades through a hybrid magic/technology crafting tree, inheriting his mother's arcane royalty and father's supervillain engineering. Advancement is measured by System-unlocked powers, craft-tier mastery (magical fabrication, bio-teleportation, Replicator nanotech), and cape-rank escalation (street-level to god-tier). Each volume marks a tier jump: Industrial Strength Magic (#1) - System boot and initial Hero/Villain alignment choice; Sequel.exe (#2) - city-scale power consolidation against a mad god; Rival.EXE (#3) - continental Replicator/robot war and royal politics; Cataclysm.EXE (#4) - apocalyptic prophecy, time-traveling eldritch demigod and world-ending six-month countdown. Verified via Goodreads series descriptions (When The System boots and unlocks his powers, Paradox walks fine line), Reddit r/ProgressionFantasy review noting crafter Paradox Zauberer growth in power, and series page 4-book System-litRPG framing.
Goodreads
