Welcome dear friends, to the Virtual Reality Full Immersion System called Bookworld Online!
Your name is David Drake and you are a 10 year old slave to the Marsh Hag. You were bought from your parents when you were only a small child at two years old. You don't really remember your old family at all. That's a good thing, since you would hate them on sight for selling you to her. All you've know for your whole life is pain. You are usually quickly healed and receive a lot of training and experience as her unofficial apprentice.
It's unofficial because she would never pay to have you registered as an actual apprentice. To everyone else, you are just the boy she took pity on and brought into her home. What they don't know is that you are much more than that. So much more.
You are her food. She uses you as her own personal buffet and she indulges herself quite often. You even have the permanent scars to prove it. You have learned many things from her, mostly without her knowing, since you have been helping more and more with her spell work the last few years and her potion making. The only parts you can't do are the magic condensing rituals that her potions require and the mana infusions that a lot of her other creations need.
Do you wish to initiate the Main Storyline with these parameters?
Please Note: I publish daily.
Second Note: I changed this story to a fan fiction. It is based on Swamp Boy (https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/4342/swamp-boy). The old story (on another site) is about 4 years old and was dropped after 19 long chapters. The author hasn't been online since then, so I figured it was safe to do my own take on it.
- 320 EpilogueOct 21, 2021
- 319 The HagOct 21, 2021
- 318 The End Is HereOct 20, 2021
- 317 The End Is NighOct 19, 2021
- 316 Home Is Where the Heart IsOct 18, 2021
- 315 The Hunt Is OnOct 17, 2021
- 314 The Truth RevealedOct 16, 2021
- 313 The Start of SuppressionOct 15, 2021
- 312 If You Build It, You Will ConquerOct 14, 2021
- 311 My Old New SelfOct 13, 2021
- 310 To YumaOct 12, 2021
- 309 Helping HandsOct 11, 2021
- 308 Innovations Invite Destruction ConclusionOct 10, 2021
- 307 Innovations Invite Destruction Part TwoOct 9, 2021
- 306 Innovations Invite Destruction Part OneOct 8, 2021
- Content Warning
All Rights Reserved- Completed
- 848 reading
- 130 plan to read
- 71 completed
- 17 paused
- 47 dropped
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I *highly* suggest anyone that reads this story pay very close attention to the "Tragedy" tag. 'Cause this story *earns* that tag. Over and over and over again to the point of outright Grimderp. It's got an interesting plot, no lie, but yea. Be ready for this to *start* dark, and *stay* dark. Guro warnings as well.
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"Marsh Man" is a very well written "realistic" fantasy novel. "Realistic" because the author may write anything he so desires to fit in a fantasy build enviroment that doesnt fit in our real life or known form of community or society but still made it so that the protagonists way of life feels so real. The protagonist starts with nothing as he slowly starts to earn everything he has to his person as the story progresses. If the author reads this review, please remove the name of the protagonist from this novels summary and prologue chapter. It would be in the spirit of your story as your protagonist realy starts with nothing.
The story itself has been written in such a way that you can feel with the protagonist as he stumbles through his life. As the years flow and he gets older we as the readers see what choices he makes and what consequences can follow in all their glory. The painful ones and the beatifull ones. Grammar and choice of words lets you read every chapter from start to finish without feeling a weird pause. Story elements the author wrote and left open are slowly being reintroduced and explained as the time in the story flows. Some you see coming, some are not good or fully explained but most are very well integrated and beautifully used. This novel earned his tags and I would recommend to first read the first 10 to 20 chapters as they represent the "tone" of this story before deciding to read further or droping it.
I personally read from chapter 0 to now and I was hooked. It was something else to read after so many other novels that felt dumbed down for a wider audience. I would like to thank the author for his work and im looking forward to how you finish your work of art.
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It's really a great story. I really suggest you guys who stumbled here to read this. There's a slow start and yeah I know it's really boring to read something like that but pls try to push through it. Be careful of the 'tragedy' tag tho. It's not for weak minded folks coz there's a lot of painful parts. Like LOTs of it.
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There are so many things to say about this story. First, it’s a Great read. Second, it’s a journey. Betrayal is a constant and strong companion throughout this story. Betrayal of friendship, trust, friends, family, everything that could be betrayed was betrayed. Frustration for the MC and at the MC will exist in this story too. The MC is not a perfect person. He is strong willed and sure of the steps he takes in everything he does. However, his kindness towards people that show him kindness is often abused. He lashes out in anger to retaliate. The characters that are around the MC are all nuanced and flushed out enough to not feel 2D. You can understand the characters motivations and it’s never like “evil character will evil” because that’s what an evil character should do.
The MC was intentionally left ignorant by his master, his associates, his “friends”, his leaders for almost his whole life. The MC is a force but the story proves that even though the MC is strong, without knowledge and how things work in the society, he can and will get manipulated.
I recommend reading this story. There are painful parts, their are emotional parts, but the pay off is worth it.
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This will probably the last chapter I will read on this novel or maybe continue it if I get my emotions sort out... Reading this has been an emotional Rollercoaster of a journey, once you start to settle it suddenly turns around. With all the sh*t that happened with the MC I just couldn't keep up with it
especially since all ships leads to doom... It's still a novel I would recommend especially since it has a great character building
Ps: I will probably read some generic slice of life webnovel after this to sort out myself
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Absolutely flawless and captivating writing.
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It's a dark grim story, written based on a a medieval swords and magic where there's pretty much dumb politics and racism along with slavery which give you more dark nuances within.
It's a game, but it's more offline game with VN like setting in a virtual realistic way of things and reincarnated person role playing game.
Hey, it's fun. If you've read the author other's series called morbis, then you'd understand thr character is like that one with more emotions within and less cold blooded.
The MC is smart, but dumb at the same time. A diamond within a scrap dumb where the slave owner might be better than most of the wizard he met...
I can only say just read them, I'm still reading them myself so I can't say much about it, but it'd potential. Hope the author ahine those potential so I can enjoy them more than I do now...
Don't give virtual cookie bokuboy, give a real one lol ??
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Decent writing, but the worst kind of Beta pushover MC. So much of the story doesn't make sense because the MC just lets everyone abuse and push him around when it is convenient for the plot. The same MC is blatantly stronger, faster, and smarter than literally everyone around him... He just takes it because reasons? He could leave at any time and no one could stop him, but he just does what they tell him to. It's like swiss cheese with all the plot and logic holes. The story has so much potential, I kept reading with the hope it would improve. Unfortunately, the MC just becomes more of a wet noodle as the story progresses.
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All in all, this is a very good story. I especially liked the beginning, because the novel didn't baby the MC but outright mistreated him, abused him, battered him - a very rare occurence.
This makes the novel very satisfying because we see MC overcome his past traumas and grow from them, making the character growth so much more meaningful.
The style, the flow, the grammar are not spotless, but much above average of this site.
The characters are, for the most part, not two-dimensional.
It seems to have a direction and a plan, and the world elements don't just come out of the author's ass on the fly. Everything seems nicely interconnected, no loose threads are left hanging. The story, in fact, is beautifully polished and easy to read. I cannot, in good conscience, give it less than 5 stars.
But it has its flaws.
I will be very honest. I was recommended this novel because it was said to me that it had a tortured MC, and I read it with according expectations. This is important, because the flaws I will be pointing out largely have to do with these expectations rather than the quality of the novels itself - i.e. If you don't have the same expectations, these flaws may not be flaws in your eyes. Accordingly, the good sides I will talk about will not be necessarily good for all readers.
At first, I was delighted with how the story went. MC was abused, mistreated and manipulated in every grotesque way ranging from verbal abuse to having his whole body mutulated and sometimes s*xually harrassed. It was delightfully painful and enraging to read, I loved to hate the hag who was so terrible to MC.
after the hag went somewhere and left him
the story then took a turn for the "worse".
MC, metaphorically speaking, now conquered the boss area of the game and went to the beginner area to dunk on the noobs, i.e. Now, without the big bad hag MC was the biggest and baddest boy in the game
there was no longer any tension. Some clown tries to mistreat the mc?
Who do they think they are? The hag? MC makes quick work of them.
Some problem arises? Hee, that isn't a problem for the MC who has passed the school of life in the marshes. It isn't difficult at all to do something so pathetically simple. After all, MC has had to do similar things under the abusive control of the hag, who demanded nothing but perfection, but all the while he did it being wary of snakes, bugs and monsters.
Some penalty against the mc? That is nothing compared to what the MC has experienced under the abuse of the hag.
See?
after the hag was gone, the story became lukewarm and lost its tension. Sure, there were some minor inconveniences. Some entitled and arrogant pricks picking trouble, unreasonable bosses or what not, but they were all so lukewarm.
That is my main problem with the story so far.
Also, why is MC so confident? In the beginning of the story there was a lot of psychological struggle going on. MC fearing and hating his captor and slaver, struggling whether to lash out, try to rebel and eventually having to succumb to the abuse. Even befor ehe learned to think, he was raised by an evil monster. I was expecting MC to be traumatised, wakimg up every day in nightmares, fearing even his own shadow - not going tueeee over every problem.
MC is way too powerful. I don't have anything against it, but he is, for all intents and purposes, a cripple without an education, who was abused his whole life. It shouldn't be an excuse for him to act tough, at least not only an excuse, it should be a mighty obstacle. But he solves every problem that comes his way without batting an eyelid and better than everybody else by miles.
Another problem is, how come the people are so kind and understanding? While he was enslaved, there were no people willing to help him, and they feared and discriminated against him. After he becomes free - well, people still do, but too many seem to instantly get his problems and become accomodating.
Again, that is me just speaking about my expectations. It doesn't make the story bad in an objective view, but it is my review.
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