Rise of the Living Forge
Actus
Betrayed by his guild after sacrificing himself to kill the demon queen, hero Arwin awakens a month later stripped of his [Hero] class and reborn as the unique blacksmith class [The Living Forge] — empowered by consuming magical items while retaining old Titles. With the war revealed as a guild conspiracy, Arwin builds the crafting guild Menagerie alongside the Demon Queen and other misfits, forging his future through dungeon clears, the Proving Grounds tournament, Forbidden Soulmancy, and Soul Guardian armor. Originally a Royal Road LitRPG, now on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
Progression: Central, explicit LitRPG progression. [Hero] → [The Living Forge] class evolution: power scales by consuming magical items to fuel forge abilities, stacking passive [Titles] and crafting ranks. Advancement gates through formal tournament (Proving Grounds), dungeon tiers, guild reputation, and mastery of Forbidden Soulmancy (lich soul-enslavement reworked as partnership) to create Soul Guardian armor. Quantified via class levels, item consumption thresholds, Titles, and kingdom-wide tournament placement; each volume compounds forging techniques, Soulmancy depth, and Menagerie guild power, driving plot from betrayal to crafting-guild legitimacy among elite adventuring parties.
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