Stumbling Up: A Loser's Guide to Progression

Meet Richard: ‘immortal’ banana slug, emotional terrorist, dungeon life coach… Then there’s Cole. He just wants to survive. Richard has goals. Neither of them is optimistic. In a world split between mundanes and adventurers, Cole rolled the worst specialization imaginable: [Self-Criticism]. One drunken mistake later, he’s conscripted into the front lines of a world-spanning war. First stop? A deadly trial dungeon with a sarcastic slug, a mysterious goth, and two best friends who are absolutely not qualified for this.Richard is a ‘foot-long’ telepathic jerk with a gift for emotional damage. Leo is a pink-sweater-wearing himbo with a double-bladed axe and a hit-first mentality. Tandy is a genius crafter with a deep and irrational hatred of sheep. And Meredeath? She’s not in Kansas anymore but she is kicking monster butt in platform boots. Together, they form [Your Mom’s Party], the dungeon’s least-likely survivors.Stumbling Up is a character-driven, stat-lite LitRPG with slice-of-life pacing, sharp banter, emotional gut-punches, and more than a few dick jokes. It’s about failure, friendship, and finding value in the messiest parts of yourself. Welcome to the party. Try not to die.———————Update Schedule:3 Chapters a Week thereafter (Sun, W, F) @14:11 ESTMore on Patreon. Bonus Chapters when we hit (Follow, Comment, Rating, and Rising Star) Hidden Objectives.———————What to Expect ✅ Stat-lite LitRPG mechanics (Skills, specializations, party dynamics—not spreadsheets)✅ Character-driven narrative with emotional arcs and messy growth✅ Found family and friendship front and center✅ Dungeon crawling with unconventional strategies and slice-of-life interludes✅ Banana slug wisdom (or at least loud, sarcastic opinions)✅ Progression through failure (because some of us level up the hard way)What You Won’t Find ❌ Harem or romance-driven plotlines (but feelings may still happen. Poorly.)❌ Spice (unless you count dungeon bile or Meredeath’s combat boots)❌ Power fantasy wish fulfillment (unless your fantasy is learning to like yourself)❌ Edgelord monologuing (unless Richard is making fun of it)❌ Generic dungeon tropes (everything here is squishier, smellier, and probably alive)