The Shadow of Heaven - A Sword & Sorcery LitRPG Dark Fantasy with Heroes, Elves, Dragons, Vampires, a Quest, and Lots of RPG-Style Combat

Zandrew and his friends have escaped from The Empire and reached The Mountain Kingdom, a safe haven for the worshippers of the God of Light Arlius, but they must leave behind this safety, and journey out into darkness and danger, on their quest to find Ankezebaur the Last Avatar of Light, from whom they hope to learn the Great Secret that will enable them to use the Golden Wand to defeat the Dark God Vladius and save the world. New friends, unexpected foes, and a grim surprise are waiting for them. Author's Note: This novel is "LitRPG Lite," which means that it does not give explicit stats, levels, etc., but it is very much RPG-inspired fantasy literature, in which characters acquire items and weapons and spells, gain experience and increase in power by fighting and defeating enemies, and obtain quests that require them to venture into dungeons and fight monsters and defeat bosses, with the ultimate goal of defeating a final boss. I would say that the inspiration for this novel comes more from games than from novels: what directly inspired this book is Final Fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons, not any specific fantasy novel or book or series.