A new world with nearly unlimited possibilities. A status, classes, magic and monsters. Sounds good? Well, for Ilea it didn't come quite as expected as for some other protagonists, nor was there a king or god to welcome her.
The grand quest? Well, she might figure that out someday but for now, a new world with new food is prize enough. Her fists at the ready, she's prepared to punch and get punched, however long it takes and however many limbs she might have to regrow.
A story I've started writing now quite a while ago. Transported to another world, somewhat standard fantasy setting with my beginner attempts to make it dark but funny. There are Litrpg elements here but I do hope it's not too heavy and annoying. The fights should be interesting and aren't just numbers vs numbers. Contrary to the title the protagonist will be quite an offensive fighter.
Ilea Spears is your average sarcastic kick-boxing fast food worker and soon to be student. She will be transported to another world rather conventionally and will be confronted with survival in the wild.
Give it a shot and let me know what you think. My experience is incredibly lacking. If you find yourself hating it early on, do convey your anger in a detailed comment or review :) I want to get better but without any feedback it's simply quite difficult.
Quick heads up: Around chapter 120 there are a bunch of longer PoV changes that I discontinued again shortly after. The Arc around chapters 150-200 is darker than the rest and the themes shift quite a bit. Just know that it goes back to what you've come to know after that section.
Thank you for reading.
Chapters usually around 3k words
- Update on AzarinthNov 16, 2022
- 2007 reading
- 250 plan to read
- 153 completed
- 90 paused
- 124 dropped
This story has been a three times a week treat for me for quite a while now. Starts out interesting, and as the protagonist learns and grows, we get exposed to more of the world and its backstory. No grand quest or divine mandate to get in the way of exploring, just Ilea's own pace. I'm glad to see the story make its way to scribblehub, and I hope any new readers enjoy this story as much as I have.
Read More
I was on the fence for the first 10-15 chapters thinking it would just be another novel with a concept and no planning, but after that I was hooked and could barely tear myself away even to sleep until I caught up with the most recent chapter on patreon.
The characters all seem to be distinct and believable, and it is very easy to see them as people. The main character herself, while an introvert keen on avoiding attention, is a danger loving adrenaline junkie, enjoys the quick gains in power possible in her new world, constantly snarks for various reasons, is caring towards the plights of others, a bit of a philanthropist, but is still relatively inexperienced and can easily find herself out of her depth emotionally and physically. She really grows over the course of the story, as a character and not just as a ball of powers.
All characters, even minor side characters get a significant amount of characterization:
Trian: initially comes off as a spoiled noble, but is quickly revealed as determined and serious, valuing responsibility, and devoted to his family. Also, opens up to other character over time shedding his snobbish guise.
Aliana: Quiet, self contained, harboring a sadistic streak she unleashes at any opportunity. She is hasty to resort to violence and loves the smell of cooked meat (relevant due to her combination of water and fire magics). Quite a competent cook as well as a powerful mage willing to take risks for her friends. A bit of a romantic as well.
Walter: Perhaps a little too kind for his own good, He believes in tolerance and open-mindedness and does his best to look after his motley crew of misfits, though perhaps over-protectively at times. Tries to be accommodating even to enemies, but plenty willing to kill those that would pose threat to his people.
I could go on about just these characters traits for quite a bit longer, but, point is, they have personality, and the same can be said for any character in the series. Even one's that show up for only a few paragraphs get something.
A deep and satisfying lore evident from the first chapters. Even as early as the Azarinth temple there is abundant worldbuilding as the basics of the world are established, from the Azarinth's self-righteous histories, to the decrepit state of their ruin and the mystery of their disappearance, to the ecosystem of the surrounding forest. Everywhere the story goes, more gets fleshed out while raising even more questions to be answered in turn. Mysteries like the Taleen and their creations, the North and it's current state, or the elves (Azarinth Healer's elves are rather unique) and their apparent enmity with humanity are just some of the questions central to the story.
The humor is largely snark or derp and can usually get at least a smile. Heavily aided by the personality and depth of characters and driven by the wild powergamer of a main character that often gets smacked back down to earth for treating the world like a game. The humor also lends weight to moments of seriousness by either stopping or changing in tone. It can be as much levity as a distraction from things best not thought about.
The text flows wonderfully, whether descriptions of terrain, beasts, fights, or conversations. All is fluid and immersive. I will say though, while the fight scenes are quite intense they can, occasionally, feel a bit samey. This is often caused by having very similar flow to the fights; A different foe, but the same progression in the fight; or just fighting the same kind of enemy repeatedly. This is a very small problem as it occurs quite infrequently, but it is there.
The antagonists are just as well characterized as everyone else, just with less screen-time. They are usually powerful enough to pose a credible threat, but are scary due to the influence they wield and what they can do to others, and this novel doesn't pull its punches with regards to gore. Even unthinking machines can be good nemeses when they're ancient relics of an absent civilization.
Overall, watching Ilea change and grow over the course of the story alongside the characters around her, the interesting personality of the characters, and the deep lore combined with the interplay with the antagonists forms a compelling narrative hard to top.
Later on the novel can get very repetitive and can also sound preachy or soap-boxy at times. This can make it come off as very stupid even if it is just Ilea's thoughts after it happens repeatedly. It feels like the story is trying to justify certain developments and gets awkward to read. Hence a change to a 3/5 rating.
Read More
The story is great.
I usually don't read anything with female protagonists, because most of the story is about romance or emotional conflicts, but this story has none of that.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys an Isekai with a protagonist who is thirsty for battle.
The world is well made, it has plots and subplots.
There is a lot we still have to discover about the world.
The secondary characters are not thrown away, they come back after some time.
And I think this is the first LitRPG that I read that the numbers make some sense.
Read More
I absolutely love this story! The plot is interesting and keeps you engaged, without being clichéd. The author answers questions well, that others in this genre perhaps don't. The characters in general are great and I love the main character's personality. Both her humour and outlook are very appealing; I find her pace refreshing also. I can't wait to hear more about Illea's travels. I binge-read all the way up to the latest chapter, so absorbed was I. Thank you so much Rhaegar!
Read More
If Sakura from the hidden leaf village wasn’t useless.
Or
An isekai’d Granny Tsunade from a parallel universe
Loving it! ?
Read More
Ilea is such a baddas
Read More
Hands down my favorite webnovel and one of my top 5 all-time favorites books. And reading is my most time-consuming past-time so I read a lot.
A main character that seems almost alive, who knows how to grow a pair (even though she is a girl) without falling in the overconfidence. She is powerful but not the strongest, there is always another drake and she knows it, and her strength is the fruit of her endeavors and not some divine providence. She is conscious that she is not a saint but still follows her ideals when possible. Ilea is a Strong Woman.
The side-characters are too extremely well-developped with their own personalities and sets of skills and history.
Same for the worldbuilding that expends with Ilea's growth, starting little to slowly but surely picture a world briming with life and danger. New characters are added little by little and in a not-forced kind of way, same for the enemies, and this, is beautiful.
One of the strongest points (at least for me) is the way the system and combats are handled by the author. The power curve doesn't feel artificial and it is exalting to watch Ilea's endeavors against forces of nature, and then see her grow and come back to give a good beating to her previous drakes.
Special mention for the rose knights, I have rarely ever smiled this much while reading a certain beating.
There are also some nice references to other cult stories like a goblin slayer cameo and a certain Neeto as obsesed with his bones as in his original universe (nice pfp btw)
And everything is wrapped in a vivid writing style that puts you in the core of the action and Ilea's thoughts as if you were in the front rows in a theater.
For the rare flaws I found, one is concerning the writing. Some words are sticking to their neighboors likethis and sometimes the "X answered to Y question" and others things whose name I forgot are weirdly placed and can lose you in the conversation.
The second flaw is more of a personal opinion and spoils a bit so read at your own discretion:
The Taleen guardians and other bad robots are a bit too similar to the elder scrolls' dwemer ruins and are -for me- a bit too overused/boring but well, that's not a real turn-off.
I also want to remind/inform other readers that there are around 100 more chapters on royalroad atm and that Azarinth Healer got a very nice wiki where you can find, -between other interesting things-, a map of the human plains. Be careful though, like every wiki, you are exposed to spoilers.
Finally, I want to thank Rhaegar for writing this amazing story and bringing it to SH, lest I would have probably missed Ilea's adventures for a much more long time. Cheers for the ultimate writer! :3
Also forgive me if I made some errors, english isn't my main language and I am still learning even though I feel like I've become somewhat proficient in writing it.Read More
It’s really well done and is fun to read.
Read More
I had put this on my "Intrigued" list sometime back. However, I never got around to it before the author decided to remove it off the site and turn the listing into a sale. Sad discovery for me.
I understand the desire to profit off one's creativity, however I dislike it when they go about it this way. For my part, I don't spend money on unknown authors of unknown caliber.
So, fair warning to anyone coming here thinking to find an interesting story, nothing to be seen anymore.
Read More
A really well-written fun story (my fave scribble so far).
The story is a power-fantasy adventure, of battle-maniac Illea on her journey to power in a monster-ridden world. It's a simple litRPG, it dabbles in just enough mystery, tragedy, and politics to make the world feel alive. Despite the long ability lists and tricky action sequences, the author does a great job making readable.
It's a lit-RPG, so the story is long, the plot is weak (not that investing) and it drops drama to focus on whimsical monster fights and training sequences (after ch200). The start carries the story, tying the character into the world and getting readers invested. Eventually the initial intrigue wears off, the main character becomes too strong to have interesting human issues, and it becomes a repetitive slog of action/power-ups, with shallow monster relationships.
It's great at what it wants to be, if you like power-fantasies then give this one a try.
Read More