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Shadowborn
Shadowborn
420.9k Views 10449 Favorites 116 Chapters 2 Chapters/Week 1620 Readers
4.7 (181 ratings)
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Synopsis

Zaren saved the world once, and it cost him everything. But when a goddess seeks him out offering something impossible, he has to set aside his hatred for the divine. A threat from another realm threatens their world, and only a goddess whose domain is far too intimate for Zaren’s liking is convinced of its existence. She needs Zaren to prepare the world for a war nobody believes is coming before its too late. The only problem? Her deal involves resetting Zaren’s level back nearly to one.

Alone and with only a shadow of his former power, Zaren has to collect both levels and allies in the hopes he might stand a chance against the looming threat. But the world he’s trying to save isn’t quite the one he left behind. The rules have changed, and he needs to learn how and why before he stands a chance of saving anyone.

But if Zaren wants to have a chance at completing his impossible task, he’s going to have confront the scars of his past and unravel the darkness that lurks within him. A task that might have more to do with his mission than he previously thought. Luckily, those put on his path, seemingly by fate itself, seem more than willing to offer a helping hand. And, if he plays his cards right, quite a bit more.

(All characters involved in explicit scenes are 18 years or older)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What to expect:
-Overall plot driven with a serious tone
-While not the first story I've ever written, it is the first erotica I've ever attempted so expect me to be somewhat inexperienced in those areas. Feedback is always appreciated.
-Dark themes, traumatic pasts mixed with lighter moments that will slowly head towards happier waters as Zaren fights against the world he finds himself in.
-Longer chapters, almost always over 5k words
-A competent MC with a tortured past doing his best to move forward
-Occasional other POVs from various characters, sometimes not immediately relating to the current characters (though they will always factor in eventually)
-Plenty of smut. Though it isn't the main focus of the story and doesn't start too strong, it will ramp up over time.
-LitRPG elements with less emphasis on number crunching and more on the end results so as to not bog the reader down with numbers and data
-A wide cast of characters, races, skills, classes, etc.
-A world that isn't openly smut-themed in nature, but there might be some secrets Zaren uncovers as he explores it...
-No NTR, incest, furry, or generally taboo kinks

-Current Update Schedule is Tuesday/Friday at 6pm CST.
(Cover art courtesy of img2go AI generator)

Genre
ActionAdultAdventureEcchiFantasyHaremLitRPGRomanceSmut
Tags
Adventurers Caring Protagonist Character Growth Demi-Humans Discrimination Fantasy Creatures Fantasy World Former Hero Game Elements Girl's Love Subplot Goddesses Handsome Male Lead Heroes Level System Magic Male Protagonist Multiple POV Nudity Past Trauma Polygamy R-18 RPG Saving the World Threesome Toys
Table of Contents 116
Reviews 21
Table of Contents
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  • 5 stars 76% (13)
  • 4 stars 12% (2)
  • 3 stars 6% (1)
  • 2 stars 6% (1)
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    New Reader_Bob
    Status: c23

    I really enjoyed the story for a while, but it just stayed too dark for me.  If dark is your thing I can see why people give it five stars.

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    0 Likes · Like
    Derisat
    Status: c33

    The perspective jumps from memories to hallucinations to what's happening right now, and given with no warning, usually at the start of a chapter. So you stop reading one thing and then you start in the middle of an alien thought in an alien situation in a different time with different people with entirely different names, that have not been introduced to you yet. When it hasn't even resolved what happened in reality.

    Characters have been introduced rapidly and it's hard enough just remembering their BS fantasy names, they haven't stuck with us enough to form a memory, an identity with the reader. And then you slingshot it off into some hallucination of the past with literally an entirely different set of actors and even the main characters called different. Jarring and unpleasant and right now I do not give a f**k that they're stuck down with the bugs, we spent just as much time locked in his lunatic head and a flashback with people that are already dead that have no bearing on the future or the movement of the plot.

    Very early on the writing becomes bogged down with unimportant things to the reader. They may be important to the psychology of the main character but you don't need to tell their life story. Show his actions now, have them reveal his path slowly to the people around him as he talks about what made him. Massive amounts of words and chapter space dumped into flashbacks and hallucinations suddenly. With an entirely new cast of DEAD npc's, this early in the novel, to rememorize. 

    I no longer care about the dark sewer, I've been brought out of that, I don't care that they're surrounded by spiders, I've been brought out of that three times so far. There's no more tension, there's no more danger, there's no more risk of loss. The author has effectively neutered the tension of his whole story and bogged down the resolution to the problem that actually matters, surviving their current situation.

    Now it is boring

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    13 Likes · Like
    aihikari
    Status: c40

    Now, how do I go about this? Short then.

    Enjoyable main plot. Sensible MC.

    Sub-par s*x scenes. Too much yuri in the harem, to the point MC is not even in the picture anymore.

    Plus 2, minus 2, which keeps my rating at 3 for average.

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    8 Likes · Like
    AonDuine
    Status: c42

    ***EDIT***: Changes have recently been made that roll back the ntr-ness of the original description for the harem. Everything else holds true below, but after reviewing the changed part of the story, those concerned about ntr can rest more easy if deciding to read/continue reading this story.

    Solid story. The girls are all fun and the setting is pretty interesting thus far even if the mysteries feel a bit more like unplanned holes in the logic of the world rather than actual mysteries at the moment. The action scenes are pretty awesome and the MC has a cool backstory and is generally a fun MC even if he starts feeling a bit generic and cookie-cutter as the story goes on (particularly with regards to his relationships with the various girls). Taken purely from the main-story's value, a 4.8 rating seems fair. However, I'm giving it a 4 due to the other aspect of the story.

    Honestly, the erotica and everything connected to it is the weakest part of this story and detracts from it heavily as the story goes on. The author's skills in writing a solid semi-dark fantasy are much better than their erotica writing skills. I find myself often skipping over the pervy parts of the work after the first 10ish chapters because it quickly becomes the same-old same-old both in the s*xual acts performed and the words used to describe the s*xual acts taking place. They also take place rather frequently and in great length so big chunks of the story are often interrupted by acceptable but comparably sub-par erotica. The romantic aspects of the work that were pretty well-written near the beginning quickly became overshadowed by the erotica and now, any "romance" pretty much takes place in a s*xual way (the girls are ALWAYS horny) which makes the feelings of these otherwise well-written characters seem shallow. 

    The author also has slowly been introducing more and more yuri into the work in ways that aren't related to anything the MC is taking part of; in the last 5chs or so especially. I really don't care about other relationships to begin with, and the random yuri for no discernible reason just feels like a shoehorned-in fetish for the fetish's sake that detracts from the story at large.

    In that same vein, the MC also just announced he was down for his harem to have open relationships with other people as long as they were woman. The hell? Women or not, the MC is Will Smith all of a sudden? Personally, the idea of the MC's girls just having other s*xual relationships independent of the MC with others, woman or man, is just unpleasant, feels like ntr, and again makes it feel like the relationship is built on nothing but s*x rather than any deeper love or emotion; despite the story outside the erotica indicating that this should not be the case.

    Overall, the main story is well written, but the erotica ends up being a letdown that negatively impacts the story's flow and my perception of the character's relationships. I'm continuing to read for now, but frankly I am very close to dropping it despite the enjoyable main plot.

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    8 Likes · Like
    3hyv
    Status: chapter 11

    Wow a diamond in a sea of sh*t. Great writing, great worldbuilding, believable characters, gritty action, tough hero, romance and tasteful lemons, on point litrpg elements, interesting plot. Only need to hope that author sticks through this and doesn't hiatus.

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    8 Likes · Like
    tatekim
    Status: chapter twenty one – hard conversations

    It's pretty good. You can tell the author's really putting effort into it.

    The MC has been through some tough times, but he gets this chance at a better life by striking a deal with a god to bring back his deceased friends. As we keep reading, we uncover more and more about his past. Now, that's both a good and a not-so-good thing. On one hand, it keeps you hooked, dying to know what's next. But on the other hand, sometimes the MC's actions feel a bit too passive because we don't have the full picture of what he's been through. The tag "Weak to Strong" doesn't currently apply to the MC; he's nerfed but still much stronger than anyone around him. They have just reached a larger city (chap 20), and I hope to see some powerful people and how he will deal with them.

    We've got some interesting characters in general, mostly ladies. The followers, you could consider them as "strays"; they have some personality and simple goals. They are discriminated against or abused, and now the MC is here to protect and love them. There's not much romance, but there is some smut.

    The world seems to be heavily impacted by gods, but I don't remember any religion being mentioned. There's a lot of discrimination against demi-humans, and there are laws to support this so the MC wants to change that.

    The system is good; it's there to give a sense of growth and direction. Not those 30 lines of status every chapter, just a simple "Level UP" and "HP/MP", apply status where needed, and select skills. The action/fights are well done with a sense of struggle and tactics; I could easily imagine those scenes.

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    6 Likes · Like
    Neigh
    Status: chapter twenty: anford

    One of the few Novels, that are really, REALLY! Good! It is well written, no Inconsistencies, with no Plotholes, not even minior ones (At leasts for me), and has many Details, that makes up the Taste/Color of the Novel! And that while not feeling stuffed, with the Details, while reading it! The only bad (Or better said not near Perfect thing is) it does get confusing when we get another PointOfView after these *****, with no knowledge of who or where it continues.

    I really hope the Author continues to write this Novel, the pacing of Updates is very good too, with 3 Chapters per Week with quite a lenght of said Chapters. 

    5 Stars from me For this Novel!

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    4 Likes · Like
    zigzag12321
    Status: chapter twenty-eight: royally screwed

    Truly a diamond in the rough, a needle in a haystack, probably top 2 best stories I’ve read on this site

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    4 Likes · Like
    Runner
    Status: c0

    So far, great story and a lot of potential.

    If you think you might enjoy the details in the summary, you should enjoy the story.  Here's what I liked -

    Besides the good story telling -  Characters, world, and the plot line all make sense and seem to be developed.  These can change as the characters grow and effect the environment around them.  Example is the growth of the MC.  How he has gone from being a affection starved loner who's scared of getting close to people and is seeking death to having someone he cares for.  While the gods/goddess seem to influence the world by nudging the scales one way or the other but have limited ability for active interaction with the world. 

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    4 Likes · Like
    NingTheDragon
    Status: chapter thirty-four: bluffing with the...

    Really well done, bit dark at times but still one of the best stories in this site. 

    Read More

    3 Likes · Like
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