Progression Fantasy

Progression fantasy is the umbrella genre that LitRPG, cultivation, and martial arts cultivation all live under. The core promise is simple: the protagonist will get measurably stronger over the course of the story, and the reader will get to watch every step of that journey.

The defining works — Cradle by Will Wight, He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon, Mother of Learning by nobody103 — share a structural commitment to growth. There's a power system with clear tiers. The hero starts near the bottom. Every arc earns a meaningful upgrade. Readers feel the satisfaction of competence accreting in real time.

The community lives at r/ProgressionFantasy, one of the most active genre subreddits on Reddit. It's the kingmaker community for web serials — a story that lands there can find tens of thousands of readers overnight. IlorisNovel is built to be the long-term home for those stories: ad-free, with audio on every chapter, and authors keep 93% of what you spend.