Runeforged
M.S. Davidson
Ben Crawford was a simple restaurant manager until he woke up in a void, stared into the eyes of death, and was spat out into Ark, a fantasy world where power is everything and Runebinding magic is the key to survival. Ben shouldn't be able to use Runebinding, but he can -- and he is learning faster than anyone should. Guided by a snarky spirit (Ted) and joined by a fire-breathing seven-tailed dog (Red), he must navigate a world where the gods are dead and politics are more lethal than monsters -- and may have to punch a few gods and win a planet-wide tournament along the way.
Progression: Zero-to-hero LitRPG progression centered on Runebinding magic. On Ark, power is everything and Runebinding is the key to survival; protagonist Ben Crawford begins unable to belong in this world at all and advances at an anomalous pace ('learning faster than anyone should'), climbing from restaurant manager to monster-smiting warrior toward apex predator, with a planet-wide tournament as a formal proving ground. Marketed by the publisher as featuring 'explosive progression'. Verified from Aethon Books and Goodreads book blurbs (both describe a zero-to-hero LitRPG with structured power ascent).
Goodreads
