The Ill Starred Knight (Weak to Strong, Underdog, Idle Clicker, Broken Build)

George wakes in a white room with no memory, a ticking countdown, and a single red button. He's fifty-year-old father trapped inside a deadly idle game. Even worse, George's entire progression path appears to involve clicking a button over and over while stronger players carve their way through the game around him. Then he receives a cheat-code ability. Suddenly, the more danger George faces, the sharper his mind becomes and the more time slows around him. What begins as a desperate fight for survival slowly transforms George into something terrifying—a time-bending knight in magical armor with an AI sidekick in his head. What to expect: • Middle-aged underdog MC who grows on you as he rediscovers his own identity and learns how to survive • LitRPG + clicker/incremental progression • Creative system exploitation • Scrap-built machines, traps, and automation • Deadly survival trials • Slow-burn progression into an endgame monster • A friendly, but sarcastic AI companion with lots of banter • Sci-fi/fantasy apocalypse • Found family A friendly warning (for future commenters): This story takes its time getting started, but the action ramps up considerably in the second half. Its protagonist also has a checkered past—and some decidedly unlikable moments in his backstory—that he is struggling to confront and redeem himself for. Oh, and part of his body gets taken over by a witty, sarcastic brain spider who becomes his extremely banter-prone sidekick. So, if slow burns, flawed protagonists, body parasites, or copious banter aren’t your thing, this may not be the story for you. Consider yourself warned.