LEVEL UP
What if real life had a game interface — and you could grind your stats like an RPG?
No virtual world. No respawns. The game is your life.
Phil’s stats are pitiful. Time to grind real life.
Phil is thirty-two, unemployed, and his wife has just walked out. The same day, a mysterious wetware interface boots up in his head — showing him his real-life attributes. Strength, Stamina, Intellect, Charisma: all deep in the red.
But here’s the thing about stats: they can be leveled. Workout by workout, book by book, choice by choice, Phil starts grinding his own life the way he used to grind MMO raids — and discovers the interface has plans of its own.
The novel that started the RealRPG wave: no virtual worlds, no respawns — the game is your life. It took Russia by storm in 2017 and spawned a genre. Includes the spin-off duology The Knockout.
Praise from the authors who built LitRPG
“Watching yet another gamer grind his character around the clock, I kept wondering: who could he become if he put that same effort into himself? Not into a game — into real life. This book is an attempt to answer that. And I have to admit, an excellent attempt.”
“A very good book. My life stopped for five hours!”
“A Real-LitRPG author faces the challenging task of walking the tightrope, doing a balancing act between the drab normalcy of everyday routine and the hero's larger-than-life adventures which might prove too improbable to convince the skeptical reader. In this book, however, Sugralinov has successfully pulled off both!”
“Hugely motivating! A fast-paced, easy read which was worth the sleepless night. On to Book Two!”
“A LitRPG about everyday life. Doesn’t sound exciting… but it was. I couldn’t stop reading it — finished in one sitting!”
“Highly recommended to any LitRPG fan. It’s a must-read — a different take on the ‘real life turns into RPG’ story.”
“Enjoyment: 30/30. Overall: 80/100.”
Ratings, platform by platform
What readers actually do with this series
“I just completed my third re-read (rather Listen on Audible) and am itching for that next book in Phil’s storyline!”
“I re listen at least once or twice a year and Gave the book to my sibling on their birthday”
“I haven’t been so enthralled by a book by an author previously unknown to me since I encountered Super Powereds Year 1”
“You are the only Russian fiction author I have so far encountered without jarring grammar after translation.”
“Just finished all three books today, amazing ending!”
“great writing, excellent translation from Russian. motivated me to quit stalling and get in gear.”
Where this universe goes next
“It was thanks to Phil that the Snowstorm corporation and Disgardium came into being.”
“…Let me take a year somewhere in the middle between 2018, which Phil left, and 2110, which he travelled to, and describe the world at that time.”
Before you start
The first act is slow on purpose. No dungeons, no respawns: a thirty-two-year-old with terrible stats and a life that just fell apart. Stat blocks are part of the pleasure here — if numbers aren’t your thing, you’ll know within an hour.
Higher stakes, real business, real sport. Less of the first-book discovery, more consequence — and Phil finally has something to lose.
The scale jumps: the everyday story becomes classic LitRPG on the road to the Selection. Some readers love the turn, some miss the quiet of book one. Better you know now.
Ready to level up?
The complete trilogy is out. Your interface is waiting.
Start the Trilogy The Knockout spin-off →Read next
Level Up: The Knockout
Same world, new hero: Mike “Crybaby” Hagen has never thrown a punch — until an interface tuned to his favorite MMA game appears in his head. Complete duology, co-written with Max Lagno.
Explore The Knockout →