Life as a blacksmith’s son was simple. Hammer steel, make deliveries, and court the cute baker down the street. My respectable future lay before me. Then, I was attacked by a giant monster. I had to fight for my life, and I won. Something awakened in me that day, something kept hidden by my father. It gave me strength, speed, and other secret powers. Before he could explain, a fist pounded on the door. It was the Knights of Elsara! Or, as the common folk called them, slayers.

Arden was left in the village by a dying mage, who never returned. With no way out of the village on his own, he had always held onto the hope that one day his magic would awaken and give him access to his spheres. But he’s about to turn eighteen and it’s never come. Instead, he’s settled into his lot as a sarcastic and quick-witted innkeeper. That all changes one night when his old flame, who escaped the village to become a mage’s anchor, returns. Ard’s life is about to go through some dramatic changes, and he’s not ready for them.

The Dungeon is a place of magic and mystery, a vast branching, underground labyrinth that has changed the world and the people who dare to enter its depths. Those who brave its challenges are rewarded with wealth, fame, and powerful classes that set them apart from the rest. Ken was determined to follow the footsteps of his family and become one of the greatest adventurers the world has ever known. He knows that the only way to do that is to get into one of the esteemed Dungeon colleges, where the most promising young adventurers gather.

Dorian Hawke's daily routine was pretty straightforward. Wake up, pull his weight around the village, eat potatoes, go to bed. Not too shabby. Not very interesting, maybe, but it was honest work. Then a boat falls like a meteor from the sky. Next thing he knows, a gorgeous elf and stunning faun tell him that magical blood runs through his veins, and they need him to navigate their ship through space.

Tommy was at the top of his game. He was dating the hottest women on campus, set a world record in weightlifting, and had more fame than he knew what to do with. But all that came to a crashing halt once he graduated from his university. Piece by piece, his success faded into the corporate grind.

Survive. It's all Seven can do. An outcast through no fault of his own, he's forced to work the hardest fields, do the jobs no one else wants to. So, when war comes to his land, he has no qualms enlisting. After all, his life can’t get any harder, can it?

As a C-Tier Lifeblade, Ethan keeps his head down, works hard, and always hits his mark. His skills might not be flashy, but they get the job done—and in SlayerCorp's cutthroat portal acquisitions industry, reliability makes you valuable. He’s built a solid rep as the go-to healer who can hold his own in any situation, with a resume that's earned him the respect and admiration of his peers. But Ethan's biggest challenge isn’t in the dungeons he clears or the creatures he fights. It’s Lily Chen.

After years of clearing out the initial floors of dungeons so that famous teams could take the real prizes, I was around about ready to call it quits. But after getting myself dragged into the final floors of a legendary dungeon by a team of equally-legendary morons, I found myself as the only survivor – and the only one to claim the legendary prize on the dungeon’s final floor.

Atania’s famed griffin knights have been defeated and its army stands on the brink of collapse. The next line of defense rests on the Griffin Academy's graduating class. Jadyn and his friends are eager to earn the title of griffin knight. They've studied magic and warfare for years, but this is not a drill and their enemy is skilled. Hidden forces haunt their every step to the front lines and beyond. Juggling the responsibility of a squad leader, new magic, and the affections of two beautiful fellow riders, Jadyn must adapt to war and decide what it truly means to be a Griffin Knight.

J.B. Clarke enrolled in college to earn his degree and find a steady job. What he got instead was an adventure in a secret underworld where vampires rule over all. Emma Rose, a friendly gamer who turns out to be a succubus, recruits him into Broken Fang, an overly ambitious team of monster girls. These lovely ladies know they’ll need help if they’re to stand a chance against the vampires, and they’re looking for a few good men.

Logan Morrison always fought for everything he had, but it never was much. Growing up truly alone did that to you. One day, when taking on an extra tutoring gig to help out a cute chick with a quirky name, she ends up bringing him back to her place. Cool, right? Well, the next morning, Logan wakes up in chains and comes to learn that Cherry Cola is one beautiful and unhinged monster girl member out of three in a small Fresco City witch coven. Their plans for him? Servitude.

My life was far from perfect, revolving around a dead-end school and caring for my sickly mother. It’s not until a chance encounter with a beautiful and mysterious blonde that I learn the truth about myself. You see, I’m not just an ordinary human. I’m a demon lord, potentially one of the strongest that’s ever lived. My mysterious new friend introduces me to the Academy for Demonic Education, where I learn about my emerging powers alongside my gorgeous classmates, including a shy brunette trying to find her voice as well as a famous shifter princess.

In a world like ours—except there's elves and goblins, so way better—Michael is dealing with some very human problems. He just fired his useless nephew as his tomb-raiding assistant. On top of that, his uncle's fallen ill, so he's got to uproot his life to look after the business, an antique shop in the city. It's full of artifacts from the age of heroes. Swords, gems, and helmets galore.

Jack Pritcher has hit rock bottom, losing his home and job. Just when he believes his sanity might be next, he's presented with an opportunity that sounds utterly unbelievable. The offer on the table is to become a guardian of a Portal, a doorway to another world. But there's a twist – he must keep it a secret. Portals, it turns out, are alive in some way. They possess sentience and dictate their own set of rules that guardians must follow, under the penalty of death.

Have you ever come across those stories with heroes who knew just how to get things done? The ones who were masters in five different martial arts, and knew ten ways to skin a bear after killing it with their bare hands? Yeah, that wasn’t me. Hell, I had trouble asking a girl out on a date. But someone in clerical must have made an error. Because I got ripped from an airplane on my way home after my last day in the Coast Guard. I mean, come on, I wasn’t even in one of the hardcore branches of the military or anything!

Life as a blacksmith’s son was simple. Hammer steel, make deliveries, and court the cute baker down the street. My respectable future lay before me. Then, I was attacked by a giant monster. I had to fight for my life, and I won. Something awakened in me that day, something kept hidden by my father. It gave me strength, speed, and other secret powers. Before he could explain, a fist pounded on the door. It was the Knights of Elsara! Or, as the common folk called them, slayers.

Collected for the first and only time, are these three stories by Kirk Mason! Devour the two interconnected books A Tale of Tail Brushing and Big City Goth GF, and then chase with the standalone, Knight's Bane!

Everyone with the gift is going to the academy. Not me. I'll master magic my own way. School was a chore. All I wanted was to become a magus, enter the academy, and train my chosen affinity. But I didn't pass the test. They said I didn't have it in me. Years later, a run-in with a sassy goth mage named Misty revealed I could do magic. Those damn monocle-wearing pseudo-Victorians at the academy locked me out! Screw them.

The best part about being a knight is the peaceful treks across rolling hills, with nothing but gentle winds and bubbling streams for company. Unfortunately, Richard's next quest breaks that solitude. He needs to gain entry into the fabled Clawmire, and only a flighty catgirl heading the opposite way can help him. Ida is snooty and feral in equal measure. When she hunts, the wildness in her eyes ignites something inside him. When she cooks, his stomach sings an orchestra. And when she leaps into the trees wearing that short purple dress, well, a gentleman does his best not to look up.

Atania’s famed griffin knights have been defeated and its army stands on the brink of collapse. The next line of defense rests on the Griffin Academy's graduating class. Jadyn and his friends are eager to earn the title of griffin knight. They've studied magic and warfare for years, but this is not a drill and their enemy is skilled. Hidden forces haunt their every step to the front lines and beyond. Juggling the responsibility of a squad leader, new magic, and the affections of two beautiful fellow riders, Jadyn must adapt to war and decide what it truly means to be a Griffin Knight.

Dark forces are gathering on John’s horizon, and they want nothing more than to end his life before he becomes unstoppable. John possesses the flux magic of a Dungeon Lord, capable of altering, shaping, and building dungeons. In addition, he has mana magic, making him unique, potentially powerful, and a grave threat to stopping the curse. Of course, this puts a lot of pressure on John, but he's not alone. Ellie, a talented sorceress with exquisite flare, joins John in his valiant cause.

In the not too distant future, dinosaurs rule the world. Alan is deposited in a grassy field with all signs of humanity replaced. A few hundred of his peers are given a loincloth, spear, a few tools, and a mission: to integrate and survive... if they're not eaten first.

Evan was just an average guy working as an EMT, but when he puts on an ancient dragon mask, he’s teleported to the magical world of Inati as a powerful black dragon. Now, he’ll have to save a beautiful priestess, rebuild a broken city, and fight a horde of zombie-like monsters led by an ancient demonic evil. If he wins, then the opportunity to build his powers, treasure horde, and empire will await him. If he loses, then his new friends will all suffer fates worse than death.

Henry was just an ordinary tavern keeper, helping to run the doomed family business. When the Royal Tradesmen's Ball rolled around, he—like usual—wanted nothing to do with it. But the fourth-in-line Lady Garnet offered him a proposal. She wished to shock her family with an outrageous stunt: appearing to court a commoner. He agreed on one condition: no more strangling the tavern.

Our retro-tech towns might seem idyllic, yet go beyond the arcades and coffee shops and you'll reach the danger zones roamed by bionic bots. Me? I ran a video store with my cute friend Emiko. She's always been a little different, so I had to look out for her—we usually just watched movies and played games together. One day, a suspicious pink-haired chick burst into the store, warning me not to watch a tape labeled Property of Steelheart—Do Not Watch! So obviously, I did, and a terrifying ghost crawled out of the screen.

My life took a turn I never expected on the day the world ended. Suddenly forced to fight in a bloody arena by a faceless System, I find the only way to survive is to win. I’m told that ten victories in the arena will give me my freedom, but if I’m going to get there, I’ll need a crack team of hardened allies to fight with me. What I got instead was a bratty college girl with a jealousy streak, a momma’s boy roommate who now inhabits the body of a piglet, and a devastatingly gorgeous teacher whose sword is as sharp as her tongue.

The Dungeon is a place of magic and mystery, a vast branching, underground labyrinth that has changed the world and the people who dare to enter its depths. Those who brave its challenges are rewarded with wealth, fame, and powerful classes that set them apart from the rest. Ken was determined to follow the footsteps of his family and become one of the greatest adventurers the world has ever known. He knows that the only way to do that is to get into one of the esteemed Dungeon colleges, where the most promising young adventurers gather.

Armand, Lich Lord of the Necropolis, is bored. So very... very bored. He's guarded the greatest dungeon in the world against all comers, but the issue is, no one is coming anymore. No adventurers have fought his reanimated dragon. No heroes have fallen into the spike pits. No one's come to admire the menacing décor of skulls and warnings written in blood on the walls. Nothing! So what's a last boss to do when no one's good enough to challenge his dungeon? Why, build a party himself of course!

One minute, I’m working a boring office job and craving more from life. The next? I’m dropped in the middle of a new world as a dragon with jet-black scales and obsidian flames to match. Luckily, I still have my human form, because the locals weren't happy to see me. Thankfully, one was a sweet fox girl who loves to daydream. Together we hunt to survive, build ourselves a shelter, and fight some dragon slayers—even recruit a cute battle-elf. While living the cozy cabin life and having the occasional battle to the death with the locals, another dragon plagues the kingdom.

A lost soul from Earth transmigrates into a world of cultivation and finds himself in the body of a playboy noble who is wasting his life. Except Chen Haoran doesn't have any memories, can't let anyone know he's not the same person, and is immediately involved in a conspiracy with another powerful noble family involving the downfall of a prominent young genius. Luckily, he came to this world with a power: Whatever he gives to someone as a gift he'll get it back 100 times better.