Ten Realms
Michael Chatfield
Thrust into an unknown, unwanted situation, most would feel panic, fear anger and fall into chaos. Erik and Rugrat are not immune to those feelings, but they have stepped into chaos so many times, it is simply a different challenge. Two weeks ago, Erik lost his legs and his arm. Today he got a message: YOU have been randomly selected to join the Ten Realms. One may choose to ascend the Ten Realms, thereupon making a request to the Gods of the Realms. Only those who are Level 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 may ascend to the next realm. Fortune favors the strong! For a retired combat medic and Marine Recon sniper, the Ten Realms offer a clear challenge and sense of purpose that they had only found on the battlefield. How much trouble can you get into in a new realm? With over 1.5 million books sold, this 12-book LitRPG progression fantasy follows Erik West and Jimmy 'Rugrat' Rodriguez as they master cultivation, mana, and dungeon cores to build the city of Vuzgal and forge the nation of Alva.
Progression: Explicit LitRPG + cultivation progression verified via Goodreads series descriptions and header Level gate. (1) Realm & Level Ladder: The Ten Realms are tiered worlds gated by character level — 10, 20, 30...90 to ascend each realm (header: 'Only those who are Level 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 may ascend'). Each realm's dungeon, mana density and sect power scale with tier. (2) System & Cultivation: Upon entry, characters receive character sheets, stats, skills, mana and cultivation pathways (Book 1: 'where cultivation, skills, and abilities must be grown'; Book 2: 'they came to understand their character sheets, and part of the system'). Progression requires tempering bodies, mastering magic, cultivating mana, collecting mana stones, dungeon cores and monster cores. (3) City/Dungeon & Crafting Tiers: Advancement is also settlement-based — capturing the Beast Mountain/Alva Dungeon, controlling 200 people, building Vuzgal city (Book 5), competition for Alva, Alchemist Association trial (Book 3), Adventurer Guild honing blades and cultivating (Book 6), fighting competitions, United Empires and dungeon floors — where crafting, loot, stats and realistic technology + magical abilities are explicit leveling metrics (Book 6 blurb: 'If you love video game action, stats, loot, crafting...').
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