The Daily Grind
Argus
The Daily Grind is a slice-of-life LitRPG progression fantasy about James Lyle, overnight IT tech support who discovers an infinite cubicle dungeon hidden in his office stairwell. What begins as a time-dilated maze of animate staplers, killer mail carts and sticky-note swarms becomes a systematic progression: James and friends (Anesh, Alanna) collect skill orbs, level up in mundane office skills (fax machine repair), and gain magic to fight sentient office supplies. Each volume escalates from personal dungeon delves to building the Order of Endless Rooms, confronting corporate darkness, memory-erasure, and shadow agencies hoarding dungeon sorcery, while juggling romance, family, and mental health. With more than four million views on Royal Road, the series blends wry office satire with explicit LitRPG leveling and world-building.
Progression: Central LitRPG progression via dungeon skill orbs and office-themed System. (1) Levels & Skills: Entrants earn levels and skill orbs (e.g., fax machine repair, stapler combat) inside the endless cubicle labyrinth; time dilates (minutes outside = 8 hours inside). (2) Stat Growth & Magic: Repeated delves grant magical abilities that stack into wizard-tier power; James progresses from IT worker to wizard leader of the Order of Endless Rooms. (3) Faction & World Tiers: Progression includes recruiting rescuees, expanding the Order, and uncovering conspiracies — shadow agencies keeping magic secret, dungeons appearing under high schools, and interdimensional entities. Each book verifies LitRPG mechanics via Goodreads descriptions noting 'level up', 'skill orbs', 'RPG action', and 'progression fantasy'.
Goodreads
