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Rise of the Class Smith: A Dungeon Building LitRPG Adventure
Everyone gets skills. Nobody gets classes. Until a dead-last adventurer kills a raid boss and breaks the system.
Levi Summers is an F-rank tank freelancing E-rank instances for pocket change. He's got two skills, no party, and a past that still haunts him. When a routine run locks into a raid and his team dies around him, he redirects the boss's own lightning into its skull and claims a Dungeon Lord's crown. Hidden inside Class Smithing, the power to forge new classes and give anyone the ability to level up.
Blair Harrington, a Phoenix-kin pyromancer running from her father's guild, is the first to fight beside him. Maddy Walker, a Fairy-kin carrying the same scars Levi does, evolves into his Dungeon Fairy.
But a dungeon lord who forges classes is the most valuable target alive. Killers are already inside his walls. The Outwilds are pushing through his portal. And the entity that gave him this power wants something in return.
Dungeon building meets class crafting, a growing harem of powerful kin women, and the kind of progression where an F-rank nobody forges his own path to power.Dungeon Core AdjacentProgression FantasyUnique Class Crafting SystemZero-to-Hero MCHarem with Kin (Monster Girls)Found Family PartyBase BuildingSystem Magic
Rise of the Class Smith, Book 1 — Ongoing
Heat Explicit Action-packed with humor, heat, and a harem that earns its place
First Person with Third Person Interludes
Series-continuing with resolution
Perfect for fans of Solo Leveling, Danmachi, and Dungeon Keeper. Start the Rise of the Class Smith series today.
Levi Summers is an F-rank tank freelancing E-rank instances for pocket change. He's got two skills, no party, and a past that still haunts him. When a routine run locks into a raid and his team dies around him, he redirects the boss's own lightning into its skull and claims a Dungeon Lord's crown. Hidden inside Class Smithing, the power to forge new classes and give anyone the ability to level up.
Blair Harrington, a Phoenix-kin pyromancer running from her father's guild, is the first to fight beside him. Maddy Walker, a Fairy-kin carrying the same scars Levi does, evolves into his Dungeon Fairy.
But a dungeon lord who forges classes is the most valuable target alive. Killers are already inside his walls. The Outwilds are pushing through his portal. And the entity that gave him this power wants something in return.
Dungeon building meets class crafting, a growing harem of powerful kin women, and the kind of progression where an F-rank nobody forges his own path to power.Dungeon Core AdjacentProgression FantasyUnique Class Crafting SystemZero-to-Hero MCHarem with Kin (Monster Girls)Found Family PartyBase BuildingSystem Magic
Rise of the Class Smith, Book 1 — Ongoing
Heat Explicit Action-packed with humor, heat, and a harem that earns its place
First Person with Third Person Interludes
Series-continuing with resolution
Perfect for fans of Solo Leveling, Danmachi, and Dungeon Keeper. Start the Rise of the Class Smith series today.
682 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 23, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
Did Not Finish
July 28, 2026Great start and solid LitRPG world-building. About 100 pages in revealed some sloppy perspective slips and continuity issues.
April 6, 2026
This book was just ok, though the final battle was very cheesy and off-putting to me.
The MC is a F-class "fighter" that has no offensive skills, only the ability to shield parry and sense danger. He's a fill-in for another dungeon group that tries to run a E-rank dungeon. Only to find out it's a raid instance after they're locked inside and the raid boss is kicking tail feathers. His shield parry evolves while most of the party is dead, allowing him to cause the creature to kill itself with its own attack. Major cheese factor there, with the author providing a deus-ex machina solution. The MC is offered a unique class to not only become a "dungeon lord", but a "class smith" as well. Someone who can create character classes for others.
The only other survivor of the attack jumps his bones after they win, and she becomes the first LI. The second is a former adventurer mate of his that walked away after a really bad run, but now answers his call and flies to be by his side. Basically zero effort on the MC's part.
The final battle they had was also cheesy, as the MC is on his last legs and is about to be slain by the big bad, when one of his summons kills some random enemy and the MC levels up. As in the cheesy MMO version where the character regains full health and mana, plus skill ups. This allows him to not only survive, but to win the fight with the help of his summons and LIs. It was such a heavy handed action by the author to have the "Ding, I'm healed and ready to win!" trope used to save the MC's bacon, that it ruined the scene for me.
I may read a sequel, but I may not. Depends on how full my TBR stack is.
The MC is a F-class "fighter" that has no offensive skills, only the ability to shield parry and sense danger. He's a fill-in for another dungeon group that tries to run a E-rank dungeon. Only to find out it's a raid instance after they're locked inside and the raid boss is kicking tail feathers. His shield parry evolves while most of the party is dead, allowing him to cause the creature to kill itself with its own attack. Major cheese factor there, with the author providing a deus-ex machina solution. The MC is offered a unique class to not only become a "dungeon lord", but a "class smith" as well. Someone who can create character classes for others.
The only other survivor of the attack jumps his bones after they win, and she becomes the first LI. The second is a former adventurer mate of his that walked away after a really bad run, but now answers his call and flies to be by his side. Basically zero effort on the MC's part.
The final battle they had was also cheesy, as the MC is on his last legs and is about to be slain by the big bad, when one of his summons kills some random enemy and the MC levels up. As in the cheesy MMO version where the character regains full health and mana, plus skill ups. This allows him to not only survive, but to win the fight with the help of his summons and LIs. It was such a heavy handed action by the author to have the "Ding, I'm healed and ready to win!" trope used to save the MC's bacon, that it ruined the scene for me.
I may read a sequel, but I may not. Depends on how full my TBR stack is.
April 10, 2026
Story is alright
Author Leon West is one of the many manure shovelers in the LitRPG/mens lit genre.
This story is another of the manure masterpieces.
The premise is interesting enough.
The MC however, is not particularly interesting at all. Identical to pretty much every other MC from the majority of Mr West’s novels, he is a mad libs assortment of new interests but functionally no different than the rest.
Somehow he’s got women falling all over him even before he gains power.
The plot is generic and predictable. Something is attacking. But what is attacking the attackers? The author definitely took his writing cues from Blizzard, heavily.
The female characters are mildly more interesting than the MC.
It’s a 4/10 book for sure, I’ll probably read the next in the series then drop it when it becomes too awful to read, which has been my experience with almost every Leon West series.
Author Leon West is one of the many manure shovelers in the LitRPG/mens lit genre.
This story is another of the manure masterpieces.
The premise is interesting enough.
The MC however, is not particularly interesting at all. Identical to pretty much every other MC from the majority of Mr West’s novels, he is a mad libs assortment of new interests but functionally no different than the rest.
Somehow he’s got women falling all over him even before he gains power.
The plot is generic and predictable. Something is attacking. But what is attacking the attackers? The author definitely took his writing cues from Blizzard, heavily.
The female characters are mildly more interesting than the MC.
It’s a 4/10 book for sure, I’ll probably read the next in the series then drop it when it becomes too awful to read, which has been my experience with almost every Leon West series.
June 5, 2026
This is a very 'not bad' book. Is it good? No. Bad? Ehhh... not really. A 3/10 that has some good ideas.
The characters are very okay. They aren't bad and are more than 1-dimensional, but not by much. I enjoyed them as I was reading the book, but they didn't stick with me when I put it down. The plot starts out very fast paced and exciting, but it fizzles out throughout the book.
While I like the idea of having the main character being a background supporter with him making everyone else stronger, rather than him doing everything himself and making the other characters irrelevant like most harem stories. But the execution is just not very good. Oddly enough the best part of the book is the opening before Levi becomes the Class Smith that the series is named after.
But as the story goes on you can feel that the author started to rush. I saw a few other reviews even claiming that they thought the story was AI assisted, and while I don't think that is the case, I can see where they are coming from. I just think that he either lost interest in the story and just wanted to finish it, or he lost motivation and phoned in the last ~30% of the book.
Which is a shame. If the whole book was at the quality level of the first 25% this would have easily been an 8/10.
The characters are very okay. They aren't bad and are more than 1-dimensional, but not by much. I enjoyed them as I was reading the book, but they didn't stick with me when I put it down. The plot starts out very fast paced and exciting, but it fizzles out throughout the book.
While I like the idea of having the main character being a background supporter with him making everyone else stronger, rather than him doing everything himself and making the other characters irrelevant like most harem stories. But the execution is just not very good. Oddly enough the best part of the book is the opening before Levi becomes the Class Smith that the series is named after.
But as the story goes on you can feel that the author started to rush. I saw a few other reviews even claiming that they thought the story was AI assisted, and while I don't think that is the case, I can see where they are coming from. I just think that he either lost interest in the story and just wanted to finish it, or he lost motivation and phoned in the last ~30% of the book.
Which is a shame. If the whole book was at the quality level of the first 25% this would have easily been an 8/10.
March 24, 2026
interesting mix of genres
Really enjoyed this book and will be picking up future books in the series when they come out. The story has a lot of tropes that are pretty familiar in the litrpg genre but does them at a high level, and mixes the monster portal and dungeon building trope well.
I think a good test in the harem genre is whether I’d still enjoy the book without the smut, and yeah I definitely would. I do wish that the relationship was more of a slow burn rather than straight to banging, but it’s not too egregious.
Spoiler warning, but one thing that annoyed me a bit was that Grace dies super early on and it’s pretty clear she has some afterlife skill that you keep thinking ok when is her story gonna pick up again, and then bam, book one is finished. I feel like there could have at least been a hint about this. And if she isn’t coming back…then talk about wasted potential. Can’t introduce a sexy demon nun and do nothing with her, that’s just mean.
Really enjoyed this book and will be picking up future books in the series when they come out. The story has a lot of tropes that are pretty familiar in the litrpg genre but does them at a high level, and mixes the monster portal and dungeon building trope well.
I think a good test in the harem genre is whether I’d still enjoy the book without the smut, and yeah I definitely would. I do wish that the relationship was more of a slow burn rather than straight to banging, but it’s not too egregious.
Spoiler warning, but one thing that annoyed me a bit was that Grace dies super early on and it’s pretty clear she has some afterlife skill that you keep thinking ok when is her story gonna pick up again, and then bam, book one is finished. I feel like there could have at least been a hint about this. And if she isn’t coming back…then talk about wasted potential. Can’t introduce a sexy demon nun and do nothing with her, that’s just mean.
April 29, 2026
Great book
So this was an awesome book. I didn't know what to expect. Harem books tend to be all over the place In quality. Though, there is plenty of fun time, I found the setting and framework for the story to be quite engaging And fun. A new dungeon lord and all the headaches that come with it. But there's a bonus that has to be managed as well. But with all things, power comes those that want it. Or want to destroy it. This is the first book of a series that I hope has many more as I really enjoyed the read. And I enjoyed the rpg elements immensely. Not very crunchy with stats and numbers, which I would prefer, but still plenty to keep it in the genre and certainly extremely important for the story. Levi has been busy but he has got a lot more work to do, and he's definitely gonna need to find more.Allies to get it done. Looking forward to the next book. Don't know how long I'll have to wait. Hopefully not much.
So this was an awesome book. I didn't know what to expect. Harem books tend to be all over the place In quality. Though, there is plenty of fun time, I found the setting and framework for the story to be quite engaging And fun. A new dungeon lord and all the headaches that come with it. But there's a bonus that has to be managed as well. But with all things, power comes those that want it. Or want to destroy it. This is the first book of a series that I hope has many more as I really enjoyed the read. And I enjoyed the rpg elements immensely. Not very crunchy with stats and numbers, which I would prefer, but still plenty to keep it in the genre and certainly extremely important for the story. Levi has been busy but he has got a lot more work to do, and he's definitely gonna need to find more.Allies to get it done. Looking forward to the next book. Don't know how long I'll have to wait. Hopefully not much.
September 29, 2026
Pretty good. It's contemporary, but like 2000's, before all the AI BS, a good time. But the MC and his girlfriends literally live in the dungeon which is some type of pocket dimension, but there's another portal to another world that's trippy and full of 'Invaders' who.. invade Earth through controlled dungeons/portals. The ending really brought things together and made me look forward to the next one.
Something that bothers me though is the stupidity of the MC. He constantly has to have other people tell him obvious things like 'you can make multiple levels' or 'maybe we should bring more mobs for this large battle we're about to enter' and other such very obvious ideas. And he completely ignores his living situation, pushing the girls to push him to do something about it, which he doesn't do until book 2. I would've made my living space perfect right after setting the dungeon up, but no, this guy is a slob. He hasn't gotten any better in book 2, hence a star off.
Something that bothers me though is the stupidity of the MC. He constantly has to have other people tell him obvious things like 'you can make multiple levels' or 'maybe we should bring more mobs for this large battle we're about to enter' and other such very obvious ideas. And he completely ignores his living situation, pushing the girls to push him to do something about it, which he doesn't do until book 2. I would've made my living space perfect right after setting the dungeon up, but no, this guy is a slob. He hasn't gotten any better in book 2, hence a star off.
April 5, 2026
A great start to what promises to be one hell of an adventure
You would think a dungeon building litrpg would be slow paced and tedious. This one kicks off hard and the speed only goes up from steady to breakneck, only slowing for the required down time before another big twist like if one were in a roller coaster. Highly recommend if you enjoy extremely tactically competent MCs who actually don't let power warp them. Also loving the vision of his own personal class; definitely big kinetic combat from kotor 2 vibes with far more badassery using storm element. Here's hoping to see more class and skill evolutions in the next book
You would think a dungeon building litrpg would be slow paced and tedious. This one kicks off hard and the speed only goes up from steady to breakneck, only slowing for the required down time before another big twist like if one were in a roller coaster. Highly recommend if you enjoy extremely tactically competent MCs who actually don't let power warp them. Also loving the vision of his own personal class; definitely big kinetic combat from kotor 2 vibes with far more badassery using storm element. Here's hoping to see more class and skill evolutions in the next book
April 27, 2026
Good until 60% in
This book started really strong with interesting characters and approachable worldbuilding. The first dungeon run was exciting and suspenseful. For the first 60% of the book, the writing was fine, although in places it seemed to have some AI fingerprints that had been revised by a human.
Had it stayed that way, this would have been a 3-4 star book.
Around the 60% mark, those AI fingerprints became more and more blatant. By 80%, it was full AI handprints. Sure, someone went through and removed the em-dashes and some of the more egregious AI tells, but descriptions started making less sense and character dialogue lost all personality.
This book started really strong with interesting characters and approachable worldbuilding. The first dungeon run was exciting and suspenseful. For the first 60% of the book, the writing was fine, although in places it seemed to have some AI fingerprints that had been revised by a human.
Had it stayed that way, this would have been a 3-4 star book.
Around the 60% mark, those AI fingerprints became more and more blatant. By 80%, it was full AI handprints. Sure, someone went through and removed the em-dashes and some of the more egregious AI tells, but descriptions started making less sense and character dialogue lost all personality.
May 9, 2026
Surprised
I didn't really start this book expecting much. Just a hold over till another book came out, but by chapter 2 I was hooked. The main characters are relatable. The side characters seem to have a bit more personality than most authors take the time to work on. The world building doesn't feel rushed and like there is still a bit more hidden just waiting to be flushed out at the right time. The pacing was smooth in a way that made it feel like a full book, and still leaving you feeling like you need more. Overall a really good start and I can't wait for the next one.
I didn't really start this book expecting much. Just a hold over till another book came out, but by chapter 2 I was hooked. The main characters are relatable. The side characters seem to have a bit more personality than most authors take the time to work on. The world building doesn't feel rushed and like there is still a bit more hidden just waiting to be flushed out at the right time. The pacing was smooth in a way that made it feel like a full book, and still leaving you feeling like you need more. Overall a really good start and I can't wait for the next one.
June 16, 2026
Maybe my expectations were too high, saw people online talking about this and assumed is was a shoehorn for top tier series...I was wrong. It's fine I guess, but there is nothing original here, the chemistry is meh, the harem seemed so 'okay let's do it!' without much chemistry. It might be a symptom of this genre, but it's super predictable, if you've read any amount of this genre you can predict everything, the author isn't willing to kill any important characters, so zero suspense when it tries.
March 28, 2026
Just wow!
This book was not only one of the best in this genre but one of the top 3 books I read this year. It is surprisingly deep, detailed, and with tons of world building. There is so much opportunity for a top tier series in this genre, up there with the best of them. The writing is fantastic and very well edited. The character and character interactions are realistic and the emotions feel genuine. I hope this series continues for a long time. I can’t wait for the next.
This book was not only one of the best in this genre but one of the top 3 books I read this year. It is surprisingly deep, detailed, and with tons of world building. There is so much opportunity for a top tier series in this genre, up there with the best of them. The writing is fantastic and very well edited. The character and character interactions are realistic and the emotions feel genuine. I hope this series continues for a long time. I can’t wait for the next.
April 14, 2026
That was a F#€@ing good book!
Man. I really liked that book. Can see the initial inspiration for this book at the beginning but it becomes its own story not too far in. Great writing, like the MC and his girls, and the broad story and setting are well thought out too. Can’t wait to see where this series goes. I see you “Devouring One”. Ahh, the set up there. Looking forward to the next book!
Man. I really liked that book. Can see the initial inspiration for this book at the beginning but it becomes its own story not too far in. Great writing, like the MC and his girls, and the broad story and setting are well thought out too. Can’t wait to see where this series goes. I see you “Devouring One”. Ahh, the set up there. Looking forward to the next book!
July 9, 2026
Well worth checking out
A Dungeon Lord harem fantasy set in a world with an unmistakable Solo Leveling vibe, Rise of the Class Smith balances character development, world building, action, and spice in roughly equal measure. As the first entry in a series, it does a great job of laying groundwork for later books, without skimping on worthwhile plot of it's own.
I'm looking forward to more.
A Dungeon Lord harem fantasy set in a world with an unmistakable Solo Leveling vibe, Rise of the Class Smith balances character development, world building, action, and spice in roughly equal measure. As the first entry in a series, it does a great job of laying groundwork for later books, without skimping on worthwhile plot of it's own.
I'm looking forward to more.
March 31, 2026
I would give this book 6 stars if I could.
This one ticked every box I look for in a great book. Fantastic easily understand story, great flow. Amazing characters with real emotions and spice. The stats are not intrusive and well placed, the book was long but still felt quick to read. Fantastic all around and I will eagerly wait for the next one.
This one ticked every box I look for in a great book. Fantastic easily understand story, great flow. Amazing characters with real emotions and spice. The stats are not intrusive and well placed, the book was long but still felt quick to read. Fantastic all around and I will eagerly wait for the next one.
April 8, 2026
Leon does it again
Such a fun concept and a great book
The relationships felt natural and not forced the premise zero to hero is always one of my favorite premises,
Expected a twist to be the former party member was now the S ranked director which is why she was so interested in his skills but "The Devouring one" sounds much more likely.
Excited for the next one.
Such a fun concept and a great book
The relationships felt natural and not forced the premise zero to hero is always one of my favorite premises,
Expected a twist to be the former party member was now the S ranked director which is why she was so interested in his skills but "The Devouring one" sounds much more likely.
Excited for the next one.
May 8, 2026
Great start for a new series
I want more already and read the whole book in a day. The world building and system is vaguely familiar from several different games and anime, but it's done in a unique way that is also completely distinct from those sources of inspiration. Definitely check this out.
I want more already and read the whole book in a day. The world building and system is vaguely familiar from several different games and anime, but it's done in a unique way that is also completely distinct from those sources of inspiration. Definitely check this out.
July 30, 2026
fun read
Really like the system in this book, complex but not too much that it still makes sense. Characters are well written and believable. Ai usage is there but the book was heavily edited so it’s only the ai tones and some weird word usage, so it’s a solid book. If it wasn’t after midnight I would immediately read book 2… tomorrow then.
Really like the system in this book, complex but not too much that it still makes sense. Characters are well written and believable. Ai usage is there but the book was heavily edited so it’s only the ai tones and some weird word usage, so it’s a solid book. If it wasn’t after midnight I would immediately read book 2… tomorrow then.
August 21, 2026
Ai slop, and very slow
This is just a mashup of several common isekai and litrpg story ideas thrown together with an AI. Which would be fine if it weren't so boring. Entire chapters of ai flavored filler that adds nothing to the story. And like so many other books in this genre, most of the reviews are clearly paid for.
This is just a mashup of several common isekai and litrpg story ideas thrown together with an AI. Which would be fine if it weren't so boring. Entire chapters of ai flavored filler that adds nothing to the story. And like so many other books in this genre, most of the reviews are clearly paid for.
March 26, 2026
One of my favorites for 2026
Very fun combination of dungeon building, haremlit, litrpg and world building. Probably in my top 3 favorite books of the last 100 and definitely a great starter to a new series. Definitely my favorite book from Leon west so far.
Very fun combination of dungeon building, haremlit, litrpg and world building. Probably in my top 3 favorite books of the last 100 and definitely a great starter to a new series. Definitely my favorite book from Leon west so far.
March 31, 2026
Great start to a series
Honestly this book grabbed me from the get go. I've been missing dungeon core and it didn't disappoint! Levi lucked out into owning his own dungeon and got to work immediately, shoring defenses and building an army.
I can't wait for more.
Honestly this book grabbed me from the get go. I've been missing dungeon core and it didn't disappoint! Levi lucked out into owning his own dungeon and got to work immediately, shoring defenses and building an army.
I can't wait for more.
April 5, 2026
I quit after a quarter of the way through. This is just bad. I have never seen a clearer representation of the author having an idea and not caring how to get it done. This doesn't have a plot, it has random bits that happen so the next scene can get here.
May 15, 2026
Decent not great
Too descriptive and wordy. Took the author three to four chapters to describe something that should've taken a couple of sentences at most. The only saving grace is that the story itself is decent.
Too descriptive and wordy. Took the author three to four chapters to describe something that should've taken a couple of sentences at most. The only saving grace is that the story itself is decent.
June 12, 2026
Zero to Hero
This is a grand start to what can be an epic story. Character introduction is smooth and flawless. The background integration is very easy to follow. Reminds me of Solo Leveling with a fun twist. Well done Mr. West, well done indeed.
This is a grand start to what can be an epic story. Character introduction is smooth and flawless. The background integration is very easy to follow. Reminds me of Solo Leveling with a fun twist. Well done Mr. West, well done indeed.
June 30, 2026
Sure hope the rest of the series is as good as this was.
Relatable characters, lots of action, steamy sex, and a System mostly coherent and understandable. VERY well done. On to book 2!
Relatable characters, lots of action, steamy sex, and a System mostly coherent and understandable. VERY well done. On to book 2!
July 23, 2026
A great read!
You get a little bit of everything, action, progression, character development, dungeon building, and crafting. The MC has depth without being cringe. Looking forward to a lot more!
You get a little bit of everything, action, progression, character development, dungeon building, and crafting. The MC has depth without being cringe. Looking forward to a lot more!
August 15, 2026
Great LitRPG
This Harem LitRPG story is involving and paints an interesting picture of the dungeon crawler world. The story is seen from the viewpoint of the dungeon lord who defines the dungeon and characters in it. I recommend.
This Harem LitRPG story is involving and paints an interesting picture of the dungeon crawler world. The story is seen from the viewpoint of the dungeon lord who defines the dungeon and characters in it. I recommend.
March 27, 2026
I Recommend!
Fast paced and the plot never stagnates. The 900 pages just flew by. Good spice and interesting, diverse characters. I also like the classes so far, pretty unique.
Fast paced and the plot never stagnates. The 900 pages just flew by. Good spice and interesting, diverse characters. I also like the classes so far, pretty unique.
March 28, 2026
you get involved with the characters story and can relate. there is so much that the story can give and can't wait.
April 9, 2026
alot of fun
the book was well written with good flow. Low fantasy with an interesting take on the magic system. Characters showed some depth. Well set up for future stories.
the book was well written with good flow. Low fantasy with an interesting take on the magic system. Characters showed some depth. Well set up for future stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews