Because about four weeks ago, the world simply turned. One day we had iPhones and GoPros, Mickey Mouse and hamburgers. The next day we had magic and monsters. And us humans? We became players with levels, items, and classes. Pretty ironic considering how many times my parents told me to “quit gaming and experience real life” while I was growing up. And then real life grabbed us by the balls, and it was the gamers who were prepared.

A gas station clerk at twenty-seven with no future prospects on the horizon, Mike Reynolds is a dropout with an addiction to video games and a less-than-ideal living situation. Life definitely isn't great, but could it really get much worse? When monsters appear on Earth and begin destroying the fabric holding together humanity, that thought is thrown out the window: everything is getting worse, and fast. 'Is my world becoming an MMRPG Apocalypse?' Can Mike make good on his prior experience and carve a foothold for himself as a Necromancer in this RPG world?

Maxwell Carter works a maintenance job at a government research facility. The research lab he works at has an accident, more energy coming through the wormhole than anticipated, enough to completely rupture the shields that were supposed to contain it until they finished determining how to convert the energy into electricity. Previously harmless animals are changed to nightmare threats and people are dying, seemingly due to incidents related directly to their interests.

The system came. The apocalypse ended. Now new worlds have merged with Earth. For Bain Lee, it means leveling his Ocularist class beyond its previous limits. With this strange class and the ability to see into the inner workings of the system, he may find the magic skills needed to earn his redemption. Not only that, but he might discover the secret behind the system itself.

With Earth in the line of fire and invaders from the wider multiverse on their proverbial doorstep, the Milky Way has only limited time before the bridge to the wider multiverse establishes itself. What will our hero do? He peaces out, of course! Why would he join the frontlines? Instead, he finds an unexpected ally in Riseth, a fierce and clever demoness with whom he shares a powerful soul resonance.

Surviving the first days of the apocalypse, William is a wreck and hiding in an attic. The daily acid storms, floating elementals, and bizarre mutated animals are the least of his problems. The reality-warping apocalypse has rules and a system much like those in video games. To survive, he must learn how the new uncooperative system works, choose a class without any real knowledge of what it does and create a place safe from the spawning horrors.

On a snowy New Year's Eve, Fennrick negotiates one last hurrah in a seedy internet cafe, but at the stroke of midnight, he receives a tantalizing invitation: "You have been invited to join the Tutorial." And when presented with the available difficulty levels, he makes the obvious choice: Hell. Soon, Fennrick finds himself in frenzied, violent combat, and it's a toss-up as to which he'll lose first: his life or what little sanity he has left. With his criminal record, estranged family, and nonexistent future, he's ready to accept death.

Giant fireblasts tear across the earth as the Gates of Hell are ripped open. In an instant, billions are killed. Human technology becomes utterly worthless in the face of the end of the world. Fortunately for Jaco, he barely survives the opening act of the Apocalypse. Unfortunately for him, he has to live through what comes next. Those who died in the initial blast are reincarnated as undead monsters. Massive fiery pits swallow up the center of every major city across the world.

Marc's home from college on break, spending his time laughing about some of the crazy news stories he's found online, and gaming. When a message appears in his line of sight, blocking out absolutely everything else, he nearly freaks out. The message warns that the world has been in a variant Natural Laws beta test for millennia and that it's about to revert to the norms.

Growing up, she was the girl down the street. Even then, I knew she was different. She was tough, rough, and had the strength to stop a speeding car with her bare hands. We were as thick as thieves, sharing every adventure. Then one day she revealed a secret. She wasn't from Earth. She was from a distant place called the Arcadia Multiverse. Her people lived under the rule of a god-like entity known as the System. That System had its gaze fixed on Earth. And it was only a matter of time before it came for us.

Today was the Erodicilee's happiest day-until it wasn't. A cruel monster interrupted his trip, stole his mother and fled, but thankfully, he was born for such an occasion. For him, eating creatures will allow him to evolve new abilities to grow strong enough and find the one he loves!

An experimental ASI with a terminal case of curiosity reached out and tampered with the universe in a way that it should not have, and unleashed a torrent of energy we would call magic into our galaxy. Humans, and every other intelligent lifeform for that matter, were ill-prepared, physically and mentally, for such an eventuality. In an effort to save itself, the ASI hastily created something it called the Framework to shape and codify this magical energy, and usher in a new world. A world of classes, levels, and extraordinary power. But also a world of monsters.

Everyone becomes prey when Earth is swallowed up and transmuted to a bestial landscape, the first stage of induction into Elysium's multiverse and a new galaxy in the making. In the blink of any eye, the bloodthirsty creatures of Riven Thane's worst nightmares are unleashed as he; his sister, Allie; and his friend Jose scramble amid the carnage to live another hour. But on this nothing of a planet, Riven is more special than he knows. He's among a select few with a singular bloodline, and the Elysium system has its eye on Riven in particular.

Syl was given a choice by Gramps when they died. Reincarnate as a regular person or embark on a daring experiment. Driven by a desire to honor Gramps and a sense of adventure, Syl chose the latter... only to awaken as a lowly slime. A farmed slime. The life of a farmed slime was cruel. Syl was constantly at the mercy of humans, a slime whose only purpose was to eat and recycle garbage. The threat of lethal core-destroying knives wielded by innocent children was a constant shadow. This was not the life Syl had envisioned. So, they made a daring escape to the wilderness!

The train station harbors danger. Each day, one portal opens, leading to daunting trials and battles of life and death commanded by masked facilitators. Asher is forced to rely on his instincts and his weapon. He must navigate this treacherous world, both solo and with teams, and contend with other players, each harboring their own motives and ambitions. Confronted with unimaginable challenges, every day unveils a new hurdle, and each victory is bitterly earned. In this world intent on crushing him, Asher must fight to survive.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.