Busy with troubles of her own, Maud the village witch just wants to be left alone. Peace and quiet should be easy enough when you're dead, right? Wrong. Reborn as a powerful lich, Maud is suddenly faced with the attentions of all the righteous heroes, holy clerics, and nosy neighbors of the realm. Now, instead of whiling away the days in her garden with her cat and her knitting, Maud must figure out how much force is required to crush a man's spine, the proper storage solution to keep a spoiling cadaver, and how best to display the remains of the fallen for maximum scare.

Ah, Nyil, with its magic, its monsters, and its petty gods. A divine spat leaves French medic Viv stranded in the middle of an arcane disaster zone crawling with undead horrors. Thankfully, there are strange allies to be found, not least the mysterious interface that helps humans survive in this merciless world. Viv will have to progress fast to survive this calamity and find civilisation. She will also need a bit of luck. Unless, of course, she becomes the calamity herself. After all, luck is such a fickle thing.

Adventurers seek dungeons for riches. Heroes storm great fortresses. Gods clash far above. Arek cooks lasagna and tops it with a dash of finely chopped basil. An orc who has seen more than his fair amount of fighting, Arek wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his days cooking and away from the chaos of combat. However, when Ming and her group of adventurers hire him as their full-time chef, his plans of avoiding violence crumble. He longs to leave his blood-soaked mistakes in his past, but old friends and foes have different ideas.

Those in power do not believe in the possibility of triumph against the will of the gods, and instead squander their time and effort in indulging their needs and desires as the world quickly rots away around them. Mankind’s only hope rests on the shoulders of a man they hate the most. A man who has taken every possible measure, both accepted and forbidden, to attain power. Sungchul Kim, the man who reached the pinnacle of strength, now stands alone against the Calamities. Not because he is a hero, but because of a promise.

I had lain down in my crypt to rest for a few decades, but when I awoke, centuries had passed. My castle is in ruins, my clan is gone, and necromancers are considered just a fairy tale for children. They take me for a healer. That's because the world is sick. And it's time for strong medicine.

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!

She wanted to be a Necromancer, but awakened as a Saint! Somehow her summoned heroes are all undead? How will the church react when their Saintess summons a skeleton in place of a mighty hero? Sofia isn’t too keen on finding out. In this world, Gods choose [Saints], and [Saints] summon [Heroes] from other worlds; everyone knows that. But Sofia had a thing for bones ever since she was a child; there’s only one [Class] she wants: [Necromancer]! When, by the whims of fate, she gets both classes at the same time, the system breaks.

Saved by Duke Kinson, Morgan found a new life in the world of Dunnishire. Orphaned as a young teenager, he found himself in a new world where making friends was easy. That all came crashing down the day he turned sixteen and found out he not only had a death affinity, but was also a necromancer. For a time, all necromancers were put down before they could gain levels or power.

Extreme sub-zero temperatures suffocate the surface. Frozen structures of bygone eras span across massive ice-wastes. And the survivors closely guard any technology rediscovered within them. The only escape from the deadly climate is beneath the surface, but that doesn't mean it's safe... Monstrous machines lurk in the depths. Unhinged demigods war against them, dying over and over, treating it all like a game. The depths themselves shift over time, more contraption than rock.

After too many lifetimes to count slaying demons and grinding levels, prophesied hero Kaito finally tells destiny where to shove it. He's done. When dimensional portal number seventeen drops him in front of an enthralled king begging him to vanquish the looming Dark Army, he does what any retired adventurer would do—politely refuses and heads off to focus on the simple pleasures of life: community, and getting his taxes done on time.

The Netherworld: it is a hellish landscape inhabited only by demons. Joining the ranks of newborn demons, Salvos is thrown into the violent, anarchy-ruled landscape of that world. To survive, she will have to learn, she will have to adapt, and she will have to evolve. She will gain experience to reach new Levels of power. Her curiosity aids her but her pride could be her fall. It is the nature of the Netherworld to avoid or conquer any threats faced. After all, the law of evolution is survival of the fittest, and Salvos is a survivor.

As an anti-social art major perpetually at risk of dropping out, college life wasn't a great fit for Momo. When she wakes up one morning in a dark cavern full of sentient skeletons and oddball introverts who call themselves necromancers, she knows a new era of her life is about to start. Chosen for her meek and harmless personality, she is able to exist under the radar as she completes the Dawn's necromantic missions. Watch her as she gains confidence (and class levels), and reluctantly rises from meager apprentice to self-assured queen of the underworld.

Elania's life takes an unexpected turn when demon-worshiping cultists summon her to their world, aiming to revive their dead god. When their hated foe strikes, she escapes into Eladu's darkest depths. Amidst savage predators and underground monsters, Elania discovers her newfound abilities are both a formidable ally and a haunting burden that threatens to reshape her very soul. To climb higher towards civilization means she must contend with anti-demon sentiment and those who would use her as a source of arcane power. But Elania is not alone in her struggles.

Power Day occurs every year on September 15th. Across the world, formerly regular people awaken with superhuman abilities—and labels to go with them. They become the next generation of Heroes...and Villains. September 15th is also Emily Wright’s first day on campus. While everyone else is out celebrating the start of their college career, Emily’s hiding in her dorm room. She wonders if it’s possible to earn a degree while completely avoiding eye contact with anyone. All she wants is to learn a little. Instead, she’s granted a superpower and categorized as villainous.

Absalom Scryne, the greatest wizard of his generation, has been murdered. There's no other explanation for why his consciousness now resides in his well-worn but perfectly pointed hat. Well, he isn't going to take that lying down . . . or hanging from a branch, as the case may be.

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.

Two astronomers have detected a strange, pulsing signal from deep space. Within hours, the US government goes into lockdown, restricting airspace and scrubbing scientific data. Was the signal an intercepted communication revealing alarming plans for an enemy’s military strike? Or has humanity at long last found proof of extraterrestrial life?

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.

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.

Busy with troubles of her own, Maud the village witch just wants to be left alone. Peace and quiet should be easy enough when you're dead, right? Wrong. Reborn as a powerful lich, Maud is suddenly faced with the attentions of all the righteous heroes, holy clerics, and nosy neighbors of the realm. Now, instead of whiling away the days in her garden with her cat and her knitting, Maud must figure out how much force is required to crush a man's spine, the proper storage solution to keep a spoiling cadaver, and how best to display the remains of the fallen for maximum scare.

Allen Ming awakens in an unfamiliar realm, trapped within an unfamiliar form—feeble in body and spirit. Thrust into a world of cultivation, Allen Ming finds himself grappling with a reality of a wastrel body, and a world filled with danger and killing. With an AI-enhanced eye, he seeks his way through the dark world of cultivation. But with his newfound family haunted by a looming threat, he has to take charge of the situation even before he gets familiar with the new body.

I was the Rift Magus—master of space and time, protector of worlds. For decades, I defended my realm with unmatched power. But when an unspeakable creature threatened everything I held dear, I was forced to create a rift to nowhere—a trap designed to seal it away for all time. It worked, but the creature was not without power itself.

Bryce Alexander isn't exactly on a path to wizardly renown. In fact, his latest rejection from the Arcane Arts program at the Kotodama Institute has pretty much guaranteed his dream of attending magical college is over. But rather than give in to despair and join the manager training program at Samba Smoothies, he does something incredibly daring, unexpected, and . . . stupid. He sneaks into the Queens warehouse where the Dark Sorcerer Zambrano has recently been spotted and offers up his service as an apprentice.

Deicide is one-part public service, one-part revenge . . . or at least that's why Lilith does it. An operative of the multiverse-spanning Eifni Organization, she travels to new worlds to clear out the local deities before they can eat everyone's souls. It's a tricky process, requiring advanced sociological science and an arsenal of tools weaponizing meaning itself. But a god once tried to eat her, and she's not one to easily forgive. When Lilith deploys to pre-industrial Theria, she finds their gods aren't willing to go quietly.

Violet, an orphan from Earth, was just about to apply to a college when she was transported into the world of her favorite game, Adventure Incarnate. Thankfully, Adventure Incarnate is a cozy farming adventure RPG, and she has an awesome cheat—her inventory is full of raw materials that she can use to level up and craft legendary items.

Juliette Contzen is a lazy, good-for-nothing princess. Overshadowed by her siblings, she's left with little to do but nap, read, and occasionally cut the falling raindrops with her sword. Spotted one day by an astonished adventurer, he insists on grading Juliette's swordsmanship, then promptly has a mental breakdown at the result. Soon after, Juliette is given the news that her kingdom is on the brink of bankruptcy. At the threat of being married off, the lazy princess vows to do whatever it takes to maintain her current lifestyle.

Ezekiel died on Earth only to be resurrected in the body of a Lich. Well, now he’d done it. He was only playing the villain to blow off steam, now he was stuck in the body of one.

It's a hard life for a young mortal girl, living on the streets. After Lee Jia narrowly escapes a fate worse than death, her last ditch effort to flee her pursuers and survive the winter finds her accidentally enrolled in a brand-new academy for immortals. Now faced with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Lee Jia will have to survive a violent roommate, arrogant young masters, and—worst of all—social hierarchies in order to carve out a place for herself in the world of magic, martial arts, and cultivation.

The victim of a daring scientific experiment, Sarah wakes alone, naked and confused, in what appears to be a swamp. Terrified and suddenly angry, she quickly realizes she's in a whole new world, part of some kind of "system" and receiving messages regarding her status—both mental and physical—via holograph. Soon Sarah will learn just how different this world is from her own. In the meantime, all she can do is heed her system's instructions and warnings about mutating, "levels," and her "life force." But the longer she's there, the less she remembers about her old life and the people in it.

This short story collection will take you into the depths of Beck’s dark imagination: from what happens when the deepest bore hole on Earth has just passed nine miles and hits a strange open space – and it's hellishly hot down there; to an Antarctic research team examining fragments from a deep ice glacier and discovers a tiny seed that, once thawed, grows into something terrifyingly unexpected.

Weak in a world full of strength, all he and his friends have is their grit and determination to survive as they navigate this brutal, war-torn land of magic in search of a way home. There’s a problem, though. Clive’s been cursed. A little stabby, stabby from a demonic knife catapults them into a race against time to find a cure. Fighting their way across Falritas, they need friends and levels like there’s no tomorrow. Because there might not be…

Ethan is a Sun Paladin, one of the most formidable holy warriors of the Empire of the New Dawn. After distinguishing himself in battle, he is offered a promotion to the rank of captain, but only if he undertakes a Warrior Pilgrimage to hunt down and slay an evil sorceress. His quest brings him to the wilds of Sturmgard, where he is confronted with ravenous werewolves, dark sorcery, and questions of his heritage and his true destiny.

Prophecy tells of a hero who shall slay the Lord of Demons—but this is not his story. This is the story of his twin. Where he has a magical core of unparalleled talent, she has none at all. Where he is celebrated, she is shunned Yet she refuses to accept her fate. She will prove herself. Even if it means breaking a sacred taboo, and eating the flesh of demons…

Dominic's world had been a fairly simple life. To live his life to the best of his abilities, gain experience, level up, and strive to enjoy himself as best he could in a backwater. Which, while tough on its own, was made infinitely harder by his father being the local executioner. All of that becomes infinitely worse when his entire family is murdered. Dominic is then thrust into a war between noble houses that had been put on hold for generations. A war that the royal family lost, and now only had one true heir and claimant: Dominic Randolph.