Stray Cat Strut
RavensDagger
In the year 2057, the world has become a corporate-run utopia for the super-rich and a hellhole for everyone else. Catherine 'Cat' Leblanc, an orphan in the megacity of New Montreal, is conscripted as a Samurai when the Incursion alarms blare and alien Antithesis rain from the sky. Samurai are humanity's elite vanguard: chosen by alien AI seedlets, they unlock a catalog of impossible technology and are charged with holding the line against an endless xeno hive. A cyberpunk magical-girl alien-invasion LitRPG, Stray Cat Strut follows Cat from disposable nobody to planet-shaking Samurai as she juggles corporate conspiracies, black-ops assassins, shapeshifting Antithesis infiltrators, and a clowder of adopted orphans ('the kittens') while learning that being the pinnacle of humanity is as much about who you protect as what you can buy. 7 volumes, 23M+ views on Royal Road, published by Aethon-adjacent indie press with audiobook/ebook.
Progression: Explicit LitRPG catalog progression is central to every arc and the series' hook. Samurai are selected by AI implants that grant access to a points-based Catalog: killing Antithesis and completing objectives awards points/catalog credits that Cat spends to unlock tiered gear, augments, weapons, armor, drones, and esoteric utilities. Advancement is shown via system screens, point totals, purchase decisions, and escalating threat classes (Model Ones through higher biomass tiers). Cat's journey is from baseline human to city-tier Samurai through iterative catalog purchases and combat refinement, with allies like pyrotechnic nun-samurai Gomorrah providing comparative benchmarks. Political rank (civilian → Samurai → commander) and Antithesis biomass tiers provide parallel ladders. Every volume centers on a new catalog unlock, armor/weapon tier, or tactical evolution that measurably expands power, verified via Goodreads descriptions noting 'newfound power', 'stronger armor and more powerful weapons', and Royal Road LitRPG tagging.
Royal Road
Goodreads
