Competitive Advantage

On Ludus, life is often cheap. Nora's childhood hadn't given her many options. With nowhere else to go after losing her family, she joined an old friend in a street gang and found an unlikely home there. But unfortunately, tragedy is about to befall Nora. Grudges from the distant past and movements of shadowy organizations may take away everything she is familiar with and all that she holds dear...possibly even her life. Danger has never stopped her before, but survival may require escaping her old life and embarking on an insane, desperate journey.

Steve doesn’t know who he is. Or who he was. He doesn’t know anything, actually. Not even where he is. Other than a vast open field of dirt. All Steve knows is that he’s apparently supposed to build a farm. At least that’s his only workable assumption. Given the number of farm-tools left to him. That and the massive number of sacks full of seeds. Unfortunately, this isn’t even the strangest part of this new life. Hidden inside the farm tools, Steve finds messages. Messages that appear in floating windows in front of him.

Jade has spent her life fighting boredom in the terminally ill ward. Surfing the net or reading, she always envied the ability of others to go out and experience the world. She knew her wish to live a normal life was far beyond her reach, but after waking up one morning without the sounds of her life support, she opens her eyes and finds herself with a weak but healthy body in a magical world.  

After being betrayed and cursed by an extremely rare spell, Oren, a powerful and influential player, finds himself as a first-level goblin! Without even a fraction of his previous power, he vows to pull through and have revenge on those who betrayed him. His thorough knowledge of the game's world and his unique ability to immerse himself entirely are his only advantages. But first, he must figure out how to survive long enough playing what is basically a low-level fodder monster!

For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those who enter these mythical places of power: why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies? Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Heart.

This magical world is about to have an industrial revolution. Get pulled from a life of 20th century boredom and thrust into a fantasy world. Find out there are a bunch of powerful monsters and evil wizards intent on killing everyone. Use new magical powers of earth and metal to craft awesome armor, swords, and guns. Kill the bad guys, become a hero, and have a harem of hot women.

Henry and Jason led normal lives in Seattle before they were abducted to another world. Their kidnapper, the vain, self-styled god Dolos, refuses to send them back unless they can accomplish an impossible task. Oddly, Dolos doesn't seem to care if they succeed or not. Luckily, Henry and Jason studied Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) on Earth. Unfortunately, a Japanese American EMT and a geeky IT programmer don't have many other useful skills on a sword-and-sorcery world like Ludus.

Alex has taken firm control over his county as the Count of Brit. By and large, everything has settled into a fairly normal pattern for him, his numbered, and his wife. There's still an ongoing war between two Duchies, and Regina Tannulf, Alex's liege and lord, has plans for him. Plans that he wants no part of. Except that he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Jason logs into Awaken Online fed-up with reality. He's in desperate need of an escape, and this game is his ticket to finally feeling the type of power and freedom that are so sorely lacking in his real life. Awaken Online is a brand new virtual reality game that just hit the market, promising an unprecedented level of immersion. Yet Jason quickly finds himself pushed down a path he didn't expect. In this game, he isn't the hero. There are no damsels to save. There are no bad guys to vanquish.

In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one. He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a super villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state.

Ash led a very normal life by his own standards. Right up until he was literally pulled into a portal that spat him out into another world. One that was full of martial arts. And martial artists who could use magic. Three years of living his life as one of the citizens, those without power, and Ash has figured out how to survive with his adoptive family and a lot of persistence. His goals in life have become to give back to those who gave to him. And he’d do whatever he had to to do that. Except Ash is about to get his life turned around again.

The decision to start a new life is never an easy one, but for Joe the transition was far from figurative. Becoming a permanent addition to a game world, it doesn't take long to learn that people with his abilities are actively hunted. In fact, if the wrong people gained knowledge of what he was capable of, assassins would appear in droves.  

After years of slavery, subjected to torments of body and spirit by the inhuman Kin, Travis Sterling can barely recall his old life. Memories of Earth, and of disappointing his family barely seem real anymore. But even without the occasional voice in his head, Trav knows he’s different. A vast amount of rune crafting knowledge has mysteriously taken up residence in his mind; too bad he doesn’t have any mystical power. If he could find a way to actually use any rune magic, his situation could change.

Large chests are said to encompass all manner of hopes and dreams. Men covet them. Women envy them. But one fact holds true - everyone wants to get their hands on some big ones. The same holds true for one intrepid adventurer - a strapping young lad by the name of Himmel. Armed with his grandfather's trusty longsword and the dream of being the strongest, he sets out on the journey of a lifetime!

Lee is a quiet and unassuming office worker who leads a life of solitude, comfort, and routine. Day in and day out, he shuts off his brain, keeps his head down, and goes about doing his job and minding his own business. That is, he does until a drunken god shows up randomly one day and whisks him off into another world, demanding that Lee serve as his pawn in a game between the gods. Now, trapped in a completely different world full of danger, magic, and creatures, Lee has to figure out how to stay alive long enough to make it back home.