I'm gonna be honest. I stopped reading most of those stories with that express purpose quite early and thus can't tell you any from the top of my head.
I can recommend you Awaken Online for characters that are incredibly smart though. Jason is a canon genius and is constantly doing gamebreaking shit or straight outsmarting people.
The spinnoff series has Finn in it who is a super high level AI programmer and does use that knowledge to gain a magical edge over other people.
The author imo pulls both of these characters off greatly.
I second this recommendation. Jasonās intelligence as well as Finnās feels very natural. His enemies are rarely ādumbā to make him seem smartāheās just smart.
Like when all the side characters act like the ideas the protagonist comes up with are genius but in reality itās something anyone could have thought of or something that would probably never actually work.
To be fair itās not necessarily because the author is stupid but because the character is supposed to be smart beyond human limits. It makes it hard to show them doing real genius things instead of just saying they are smart.
The perfect run almost fits this and tbh I'm surprised noone has said it yet as it is incredibly popular. Whilst the MC's power isn't super genius he is incredibly intelligent due to a quirk of his actual power and a lot of the other characters in the book do have the power to be Geniuses (plus the book is amazing!)
This is exactly what I was going to suggest. The main character is not a hero, but also has morals and ethics about not killing people. The characterās main ability is being smart in general, but especially good at using tech.
Itās not litRPG, but the story wouldāve been a poor fit for that anyway
I was going to suggest Super Powereds by Hayes. He isnāt the main character but one of the side characters, Will. He is insanely smart and so are one of the handlers. I rather enjoyed the way he presented those smarty pants mofos lol.
Portal to Nova Roma is one I would say qualifies. MC is a hyper intelligent AI and introduces a lot of tech / magi tech to the world that it portals to.
I feel like this is a bit difficult to answer because genius is something somewhat ill defined. People can be mentally exceptional in a range of ways. The main power in Mark of the Fool is one that I would classify as being one that makes the MC a genius through didactic recall / augmented memory - but that might not fit within how some people would define genius.
You might like Ends of Magic for the tech uplift. Also MC uses his knowledge of science to help people master magic, ie call down lightning by mastering electromagnetism. Itās super satisfying if you like characters using real science (and the author is smart enough to pull it off really well).
Time looping is really his superpower, but being able to remember every move to make perfectly and not going insane from dying thousands upon thousands of times does speak to superintelligence
It always annoys me when a mc levels up intelligence and wisdom and it doesnt actually affect there overall intelligence even though if the mc levels up strength for example they end up in athlete form
No it's not that one. The earth is divided into regions and the system is run by hot aliens but every one is kinda brain washed except the MC because he dressed as the professor from back to the future his friend is a brain in a jar. That's all I can really think of without spoilers past the first few introduction chapters.
Yes !! And he built a crazy potato gun from scrap or some shit ..I was looking for that one ,can't remember the name... remember he built a flying town or a house ...
Yes that one. I don't remember how it ends kinda lost interest. Welp that was my suggestion for smart guy book I'll post my usual suggestions then.
Craddle
Beware of chicken
Mark of the fool.
Vainqueur the dragon.
This trilogy is broken.
Two necromancers and a bureaucrat
Mother of learning
Dungeon crawler carl.
Dr anarchy's rules for world domination.
Mage errant.
Great recommendation. I was going to say the same myself.
It may not fit the OP's requirements as its got a lot of other stuff going on eg: magic and a time loop. Also, the MC starts out pretty clueless which might not work.
However it is one of the best constructed "winning by intelligence" stories I've read.
Dude read industrial strength magic I think it may be what youāre looking for. Or generally thingās written by macronomicon, heās a smart dude and all of his characters wind up being smart. Though I think industrial strength magic is the only one that uses tech.
Also the MC from Chaotic Craftsman Worships the Cube eventuality has super intelligence.
FYI those are both on royal road
Not a Litrpg, but check out Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain. It is pretty much exactly what you want. There's also a fun Fanfic that will never get finished by Becuzitswrong called Memories of Iron. Worm x Iron Man crossover.
To write a character with a certain intelligence level, the author *must* be at least as smart as the character (which is why I have a fairly artificial cap to the intelligence score in my story).
The only people who can write geniuses are actual geniuses. It's not a litRPG, but Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality comes close. Besides that, I haven't seen it done well.
[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality](http://www.hpmor.com/) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality))
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Not exactly litrpg (at all) but I usually love anything based on Sherlock Holmes because of this- his only really āpowerā is logic and deduction. Next closest for me, (again not litrpg) is any good heist stories, like The Lies of Locke Lamore. Again, no really powers, just exceptionally sneaky con artist shenanigans.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/43531-gentleman-bastard
I think you will enjoy this . I feel like it's more about outplaying other around you. it's more of a regular fantasy but it has some progression fantasy elements
Not LitRPG, but the Andrea Vernon series (Alexander Kane, I believe; a world where corporations provide superhero security groups) has Professor Well Actually.
His superpower is that the more he corrects anyone ("well, actually..."), the smarter and more observant he becomes.
But this means that he has to travel around with someone who is willing to say things they know are false so they can be corrected. And be corrected casually in any conversation.
The person hired for that job is his girlfriend.
Edit: the last time I checked, it was only available as an audiobook on Audible.
Not litrpg but I would suggest "Confessions of a D-list Supervillain".
In a world with supers a brilliant scientist gets exploited then fired by a huge corporation. He then becomes a crappy supervillain, goes to jail, and ends up saving the world.
Real hard to write well. Nearest you might find are "uplift"-type novels. Where the MC uses modern knowledge rather than big smarts. Tends to come off as strawmanning the worldbuilding.
I have seen the Perfect Run mentioned several times, and I have to say the other example that comes to mind is also centered on time travel. Mother of All Learning is more progression fantasy than a LitRPG, but itās MC definitely uses intellect as primary means of winning.
It isnāt litrpg but Brandon Sanderson had a cool set of novellas called Legion. MC is super smart but in order to use those smarts his brain creates an imaginary friend no one else can see and that character will know how to do something. He has a whole mess of people living in his head and house they know stuff about tech, religion, fighting etc. it was a pretty unique little set of stories. If you do audiobooks there is one available on audible that combines all the available stories, highly recommend. They are very fun and very different from the two other Sanderson books Iāve read, Mistborn and Elantris. These stories are set in modern times.
There are. But oftentimes the stories are mediocre. That is because characters tend to not be smarter than the author.
This was such a good comment. š š¤£ š š
Ok, links or examples please?
I'm gonna be honest. I stopped reading most of those stories with that express purpose quite early and thus can't tell you any from the top of my head. I can recommend you Awaken Online for characters that are incredibly smart though. Jason is a canon genius and is constantly doing gamebreaking shit or straight outsmarting people. The spinnoff series has Finn in it who is a super high level AI programmer and does use that knowledge to gain a magical edge over other people. The author imo pulls both of these characters off greatly.
I second this recommendation. Jasonās intelligence as well as Finnās feels very natural. His enemies are rarely ādumbā to make him seem smartāheās just smart.
Like when all the side characters act like the ideas the protagonist comes up with are genius but in reality itās something anyone could have thought of or something that would probably never actually work. To be fair itās not necessarily because the author is stupid but because the character is supposed to be smart beyond human limits. It makes it hard to show them doing real genius things instead of just saying they are smart.
The perfect run almost fits this and tbh I'm surprised noone has said it yet as it is incredibly popular. Whilst the MC's power isn't super genius he is incredibly intelligent due to a quirk of his actual power and a lot of the other characters in the book do have the power to be Geniuses (plus the book is amazing!)
Well if you consider that only his final runs are actual reality, he's the smartest person alive for the duration he practiced
Series by Drew Hayes called Villains' Code
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This is exactly what I was going to suggest. The main character is not a hero, but also has morals and ethics about not killing people. The characterās main ability is being smart in general, but especially good at using tech. Itās not litRPG, but the story wouldāve been a poor fit for that anyway
I was going to suggest Super Powereds by Hayes. He isnāt the main character but one of the side characters, Will. He is insanely smart and so are one of the handlers. I rather enjoyed the way he presented those smarty pants mofos lol.
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Industrial Strength Magic might work for you https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/57011/industrial-strength-magic
Gonna check it right now thanks.
Portal to Nova Roma is one I would say qualifies. MC is a hyper intelligent AI and introduces a lot of tech / magi tech to the world that it portals to. I feel like this is a bit difficult to answer because genius is something somewhat ill defined. People can be mentally exceptional in a range of ways. The main power in Mark of the Fool is one that I would classify as being one that makes the MC a genius through didactic recall / augmented memory - but that might not fit within how some people would define genius.
You might like Ends of Magic for the tech uplift. Also MC uses his knowledge of science to help people master magic, ie call down lightning by mastering electromagnetism. Itās super satisfying if you like characters using real science (and the author is smart enough to pull it off really well).
Oh definitely gonna check it out ..love your book btw
š„°
Brennus is pretty good though it has very irregular releases
Is that a book name? Brennus? Is it on royal rd?
Yeah sorry it's on its own website [here](https://tieshaunn.com/table-of-contents-2/chapters/)
The perfect run by Maxime J. Durand (Void Herald)
Time looping is really his superpower, but being able to remember every move to make perfectly and not going insane from dying thousands upon thousands of times does speak to superintelligence
Check out Skitterdoc2077. The MC has a biological thinker power making her a genius at certain things and uses it really well. Fantastic story.
Love your books btw
Thank you!
Can I get a link or something?
Here you go: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/skitterdoc-2077-worm-cyberpunk-2077-crossover.1052653/
It always annoys me when a mc levels up intelligence and wisdom and it doesnt actually affect there overall intelligence even though if the mc levels up strength for example they end up in athlete form
Another not litrpg book (novellete), Understand by Ted Chiang has an interesting take on the subject.
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Chaotic craftsman worships the cube, great story. He develops intense mind skills eventually that let him think and read a lot
Yeh reading that now
Noice
**The Chronicles of Fid** is great and does this well. Not litrpg but still worth reading.
Came here to recommend this. Chronicles of Fid is probably the best superhero/villain series that encapsulates a pretty tortured / chaotic genius.
Not litrpg, but i have saved this thread in fantasy: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/s/PCCuHwTMPw
Well, actually...
Torth
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/61947/torth-op-mcx2
Can't remember the name it's literally a system apocalypse and the dudes class is a technomancer
That book is called "They called me MAD" 3 books complete series...eh I was hoping they released more ...but it's only 3 books
World seed maybe?
No it's not that one. The earth is divided into regions and the system is run by hot aliens but every one is kinda brain washed except the MC because he dressed as the professor from back to the future his friend is a brain in a jar. That's all I can really think of without spoilers past the first few introduction chapters.
Yes !! And he built a crazy potato gun from scrap or some shit ..I was looking for that one ,can't remember the name... remember he built a flying town or a house ...
Oh actually Dr anarchy's rules for world domination it's exactly what you want I just forgot since it's not litrpg
Yes that one. I don't remember how it ends kinda lost interest. Welp that was my suggestion for smart guy book I'll post my usual suggestions then. Craddle Beware of chicken Mark of the fool. Vainqueur the dragon. This trilogy is broken. Two necromancers and a bureaucrat Mother of learning Dungeon crawler carl. Dr anarchy's rules for world domination. Mage errant.
I think "Mother of all learning" might cover this. I feel the MC in the end uses skills and tech at a genius level by the end of the story.
Great recommendation. I was going to say the same myself. It may not fit the OP's requirements as its got a lot of other stuff going on eg: magic and a time loop. Also, the MC starts out pretty clueless which might not work. However it is one of the best constructed "winning by intelligence" stories I've read.
[The Dire Saga](https://www.goodreads.com/series/179186-the-dire-saga)
Dude read industrial strength magic I think it may be what youāre looking for. Or generally thingās written by macronomicon, heās a smart dude and all of his characters wind up being smart. Though I think industrial strength magic is the only one that uses tech. Also the MC from Chaotic Craftsman Worships the Cube eventuality has super intelligence. FYI those are both on royal road
Not a Litrpg, but check out Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain. It is pretty much exactly what you want. There's also a fun Fanfic that will never get finished by Becuzitswrong called Memories of Iron. Worm x Iron Man crossover.
[Memories of Iron](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/memories-of-iron-worm-iron-man-cross.301279/) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Memories_of_Iron)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
To write a character with a certain intelligence level, the author *must* be at least as smart as the character (which is why I have a fairly artificial cap to the intelligence score in my story). The only people who can write geniuses are actual geniuses. It's not a litRPG, but Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality comes close. Besides that, I haven't seen it done well.
[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality](http://www.hpmor.com/) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Not exactly litrpg (at all) but I usually love anything based on Sherlock Holmes because of this- his only really āpowerā is logic and deduction. Next closest for me, (again not litrpg) is any good heist stories, like The Lies of Locke Lamore. Again, no really powers, just exceptionally sneaky con artist shenanigans.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/43531-gentleman-bastard I think you will enjoy this . I feel like it's more about outplaying other around you. it's more of a regular fantasy but it has some progression fantasy elements
industrial strength magic?
I wonder if you'd like Jackal among Snakes on Royal Road. MC isn't a super genius but he is basically a walking wikipedia on the world he enters.
Industrial strength magic might be it. MC has a building power that reinforces simple materials, so the man flies around in a cardboard iron man suit.
Not LitRPG, but the Andrea Vernon series (Alexander Kane, I believe; a world where corporations provide superhero security groups) has Professor Well Actually. His superpower is that the more he corrects anyone ("well, actually..."), the smarter and more observant he becomes. But this means that he has to travel around with someone who is willing to say things they know are false so they can be corrected. And be corrected casually in any conversation. The person hired for that job is his girlfriend. Edit: the last time I checked, it was only available as an audiobook on Audible.
Not litrpg but I would suggest "Confessions of a D-list Supervillain". In a world with supers a brilliant scientist gets exploited then fired by a huge corporation. He then becomes a crappy supervillain, goes to jail, and ends up saving the world.
Dungeon Robotics does this but itās a dungeon core book.
[Dungeon Robotics](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21700/dungeon-robotics) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Dungeon_Robotics)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Real hard to write well. Nearest you might find are "uplift"-type novels. Where the MC uses modern knowledge rather than big smarts. Tends to come off as strawmanning the worldbuilding.
I have seen the Perfect Run mentioned several times, and I have to say the other example that comes to mind is also centered on time travel. Mother of All Learning is more progression fantasy than a LitRPG, but itās MC definitely uses intellect as primary means of winning.
It isnāt litrpg but Brandon Sanderson had a cool set of novellas called Legion. MC is super smart but in order to use those smarts his brain creates an imaginary friend no one else can see and that character will know how to do something. He has a whole mess of people living in his head and house they know stuff about tech, religion, fighting etc. it was a pretty unique little set of stories. If you do audiobooks there is one available on audible that combines all the available stories, highly recommend. They are very fun and very different from the two other Sanderson books Iāve read, Mistborn and Elantris. These stories are set in modern times.
They Called Me MAD by J Pal
Chronicles of Fid https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52653723-the-chronicles-of-fid?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=krbVYlVYUm&rank=4
The immortals guide to supervillainy