About the Series
On Launch Day, over four million people vanish from Manhattan and a tower 101 kilometers tall rises from the empty city. Its one hundred floors each hold a challenge, and the prize at the top is a Wish of Unlimited Power. Each floor presents unique challenges (combat, puzzles, environmental hazards), and clearing a floor grants advancement. The protagonist, Cayden Caros, had to wait over two years to reach the minimum entry age of 16, and he spent that time researching and preparing. The floor-by-floor structure provides natural milestone satisfaction: clear floor, get reward, face new challenge.
The tower-climbing structure is one of the purest progression frameworks in the genre. Each floor is effectively a contained challenge with clear victory conditions, making the progression feel game-like in the most satisfying sense. The party dynamics mean multiple characters contribute meaningfully to each challenge, and different floor types favor different builds.
This works for readers who want a short tower-climbing LitRPG. Two books are out, and the structure delivers consistent advancement milestones. The tradeoff: no third book has appeared since 2018, so the climb is unfinished. The characterization is functional and stays on the surface. If you want extensive worldbuilding or character development beyond the climbing party, this focuses narrowly on the ascent. If you want the tower-climbing loop done cleanly, it delivers, with the caveat that the story is unfinished.
Reading Order
- SpeedRunner (2017)
- Liar King (2018)
If You Like This Series
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Floor-by-floor dungeon progression with much deeper characterization; ongoing
- Arcane Ascension by Andrew Rowe. Tower climbing woven into an academy setting; more complex, longer
- Iron Prince by O’Connor & Chmilenko. Ranked combat progression in a different structure
- Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout. Floor-based dungeon from the dungeon’s perspective; completed
- System Apocalypse by Tao Wong. If you want the “Earth faces a threat, champions must ascend” premise at larger scale; completed