Kairos
Maxime J. Durand
Kairos is a Greek-myth LitRPG trilogy (2022, Aethon Books, 3 volumes) by bestselling author Maxime J. Durand (Void Herald). It has been centuries since mortals unlocked the secrets of the Fate System and overthrew Mount Olympus, leaving the Old Gods dead and their thrones empty. In a flooded world of endless seas and scattered islands, Kairos — a young pirate lord from Histria with the rare Talent to speak with animals — dreams of ascending as the newest deity. Cunning, charismatic and ruthlessly ambitious, the [Rogue]-class adventurer must sail uncharted waters, tame fearsome monsters, conquer new lands, plunder dungeons including the last entrance to the Underworld on his own island, and outwit rival god-candidates like the Poison King Mithridates and the wolf-god Lycaon's cultist Romulus. Pitched as 'pirate-themed adventure loaded with Greek mythology' from the author of Vainqueur the Dragon and The Perfect Run, the series follows Kairos from island rogue to dynasty founder as two would-be pantheons clash for the Olympians' throne — with only room for one at the apex.
Progression: Structured advancement is central via the Fate System — the LitRPG mechanics that enabled mortals to kill and replace the Olympians. (1) Fate System & Classes: Every mortal can access the System, which grants Status, Stats, and Classes (Kairos is a cunning [Rogue] with stealth/poison/animal-speech Talents). Leveling advances stats and unlocks Skills; class evolution and godhood ascension are explicit tiered goals measured in System terms. (2) Talent/Perk Progression: Talents like Beast Speech level with use; defeating monsters, taming beasts, and completing conquests grants XP and System rewards, driving visible per-volume power spikes (book 1: pirate-crew conquest; book 2: Underworld dungeon delves; book 3: demigod war). (3) Dungeon & Domain Advancement: Dungeons on Histria guard the Underworld entrance; clearing them yields wealth, relics, and divine authority — core progression loop tied to territory control and pantheon building. (4) Apotheosis Ladder: The central arc is deification — mortal → hero → demigod → god — with rival claimants (Mithridates' empire, Lycaon's wolf-cult) representing competing godhood paths. Each volume resolves a major System milestone on Kairos' path to divinity, making advancement mechanistic, shown in System screens, and indispensable to plot per Goodreads-verified descriptions mentioning 'Fate System', '[Rogue]', 'dungeon', and 'replace the fallen Olympians'.
Royal Road
Goodreads
