Aura Overload

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

In a crumbling empire ruled by cybernetic immortals, royal bodyguard Hector Finalis was betrayed, branded a traitor, and left for dead. Two centuries later, his lost neurodeck resurfaces in a scavenger haul, and he awakens in a fragile new body, a relic haunted by fractured memories and a blood oath most in this decayed age have forgotten. To survive, Hector must rebuild his aura system from nothing, forcing potentia through a process that can forge flesh, sharpen the mind…or shatter the unworthy. One overload could rip his unenhanced "skin" apart. Bound to criminals and unexpected allies, Hector must claw his way back to power as he uncovers the truth behind his fall, all while struggling to master a rage that could destroy him unless he finds something worth living for. The empire erased his name and rewrote his legacy. Hector will carve it back in blood. How far will he go to unearth the truth—and bury the guilty? New chapters every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday25 Advance Chapters on myPatreon. Art done by Duy Phan on Fiverr

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2026
Author: PlumParrot

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 4,240
Views: 323,568

What readers say about Aura Overload

“Love the concept. Backstory is good, slowly being fleshed out.Good action, great story telling, well described universe (so far).I just wish the chapters came out faster.Good character development, not too slow, and not "I'm SO OP, I can break worlds!"Work…”
R0b0hackRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“I have been reading this on Plum's Patron and just getting to chapter 25. It is a neat twist on Cyberpunk story. The upgrades are handled through an Aura system and traditional cyberpunk themes likes AUGs. How the Aura system works is interesting as you har…”
HammyRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

R0b0hackRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Love the concept. Backstory is good, slowly being fleshed out.Good action, great story telling, well described universe (so far).I just wish the chapters came out faster.Good character development, not too slow, and not "I'm SO OP, I can break worlds!"Works up to the action, and doesn't overplay the tension both inside and outside the main character.Good progression building.
HammyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have been reading this on Plum's Patron and just getting to chapter 25. It is a neat twist on Cyberpunk story. The upgrades are handled through an Aura system and traditional cyberpunk themes likes AUGs. How the Aura system works is interesting as you harvest potential from defeated enemies and than use it to upgrade your system. We don't have too much details yet but allot of potential in it.
I am really enjoying the characters especially Lemon. I like that all characters have personality and are not dumb.
The fight scenes are concise and do not drag on which I really appreciate in a story.
As for the story, with out spoiling anything, it seems like the MC was betrayed and is trying to figure out what happened so he can get revenge.
Give it a try it very well written like all of Plum's stories.
Uh wish I was better at writing these, RR wants forty more words before I can publish this review. Maybe if I just ramble here for a bit I can hit that target. Only eighteen more words to go. I noticed it does not count some smaller words like to and the. And hit the target.
Haz3Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This was helluva pick up from rising stars. To open, it's just as I titled it. It's a fast paced, gritty story starting with street level criminals and a sci fi "dregs", but our mc was once a high profile decorated praetorian. He fights like he was born to do it, and is deeply calculating... When his anger doesn't rear it's head.As for the style. It's very contextually easy to pick up words and phrases, despite it being a very developed hyper-modern world. The lore and inner workings were clearly well thought out and planned, and it flows like a full sized novel. It's coherent, it's catchy, and it's not afraid to get dirty, fantastic style for the setting.The story itself is founded around this precedent, following the partial revival of a highly skilled guard trying to navigate a new "skin" and the underworld that it came from. Tech has replaced basically everything, with two main power systems thus far. Aura, and augments, both of which being rather unique in their expression. Our mc has an ai connected to it all, with a high grade chip that encompassed everything. It functions in a LITRPG style, with levels and skills, but uses "potential" as a sort of harvestable mana. It's uniquely flawed, requires thought and skill to use adeptly, and is by no means unlimited, but it's punchy in its ability.Grammar is great. No issues, good vocabulary.Characters are fun, gritty, and diverse. It's reflective of a highly advanced criminal society, laced with corruption and desperation (as they're the main places our characters are from so far). The mc feels... Almost batman esque. Violent, highly capable, quiet but by no means diminutive. He's smart and planning, but has enough moments of simple joys that this isn't just some edgelord fantasy. It's well rounded, and very good character development.Overall, highly recommended, excited to see how this story progresses
EmergencyComplaintsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Disclaimer: I have read up through chapter 26 off-site prior to the story's launch on Royal Road.Anyone who reads cyberpunk on this site probably already knows who Plum Parrot is. This isn't his first time launching a title in that genre, but where his previous entries had progression (Cyber Dreams) and strong world building/characterization (Neon Dust), they lacked the true litRPG elements that RR loves.Aura Overload does not disappoint in that aspect. Without getting into spoilers, aura systems are common in this settings. Even two-bit back alley thugs sometimes sport them, albeit at unimpressive levels like three or four. Our protagonist, Hector, aims just a little bit higher than that. In fact, once upon a time, he was the best of the best, but a few hundred years of existing only as a neuradeck (you liked Altered Carbon, right? Think stacks and sleeves, only a lot more expensive and uncommon) has degraded his system's capabilities.That leaves him as a regressor who doesn't remember how he died and is extremely interested in finding out what happened to the people he cared about most (spoiler: cyberpunks aren't known for their happy endings). With the clear dual goals of regaining his lost power and claiming vengeance on those who wronged him, Hector has plenty of incentive to grow.As always, the grammar in a Plum Parrot production is impeccable. I struggle to find typos at all, and rarely stumble over a sentence trying to parse its meaning. The writing is clear, concise, and straightforward.With an engaging story and strongly defined, multi-faceted characters, its hard to find anything to complain about there either. You might be able to say you don't like a particular character, but it won't be because they feel flat or generic. In fact, if you don't like someone, it's probably because you're not supposed to! And they're probably going to get punched in the face at some point.
Inerudite SageRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
"...tossed into a large, beat-up, graffiti-covered recycler."
(title's descriptive text borrowed from a sneak peek at an advanced chapter)
This story's style feels authentic for the dystopian genre with depth, grit, dirty humanity, and redemption, just like a properly recycled burrito wrapper. It feels lived in, second hand, like the borrowed body of the MC.
The story is dark, tinged with subtle tensions of character conflict for both the MC's inner and outer worlds, and is highlighted with even more subtle hints of the journey he will take to rise above the darkness that tries to consume him.
As much as I initially didn't want to like the MC based on his "unusual circumstances" and background at the start of the story, I couldn't help but get past my hesitation to identify with him. Driven by everything that haunts him, he is conflicted, passionate, raw, traumatized, and thus very relatable to me as a middle-aged reader who has lived through some serious sh...tuff. This narrative really hits home by displaying the paradox of discovering life's true majesty only once it seems like you've lost everything, even your sense of self.
The stakes are things the MC stumbles into recognizing as he re-learns about himself and who he really is. This makes tension in the story feel artfully offered and developed without cheap artifice like abusive cliffhangers, deus ex machina, glaring plot holes (for convenience/insufficient imagination), shameless pandering/fan service, blatant "virtue" signalling, or inexplicable character "assassination" disguised as "development." It manages to lean into and explore the LitRPG genre without relying on spammed "make number go up" dopamine hits, and offers a nuanced take on "the power fantasy" without serving up a constant steaming refuse stream of over-engineered, gratuitous schadenfreude.
This story is refreshing, engaging, and highly entertaining without the gut punch of nausea that comes from consuming over processed, artificially flavor
IyamGrootRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a fun cyberpunk story with similarities to altered carbon. But the world isn’t nearly as dark as AC. Really I find it pretty light hearted. Interesting slow burn character development and nicely developed plot line and characters. If you liked the authors prior cyber stories you’ll love it.
LamoronRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story is, as of the time of this review, a potential top story on RR. It's a a street level (for now) story, with a focus on all the people our 'not really a hero' encounters, with fairly realistic fights, in which our hero is often beaten to a bloody pulp, shot, stabbed or otherwise broken, but mostly winning.
It is, so far, not in the absolute top (Super Supportive, Beware of Chicken etc.), but in the layer of 'really darn good' just below stories like those.
Lt. TheynaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I found this one thanks to a recommendation from another author, and I haven’t been disappointed since the first page! PP really landed a slam dunk with this one. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s got a wild mix of elements. It’s a bit like if Warhammer 40k got with Cyberpunk, and gave birth to this breath of fresh air.
Style:
It just works. It’s got that dystopian grit to it that makes my something in my head tick. I’m there, in the scene, living and breathing alongside the MC while going through this epic sci-fi progression.
Grammar:
Nothing took me out, which is good. There’s a few errors here and there, but that’s par for the course for RR books. Not much to say about grammar, which is saying enough on its own.
Story:
Plum Parrot really knows how to write them, huh? Crazy how it just sucks you in until you hit the last chapter, and then start crying when you realize you have to wait for the button to light up once more.
Character:
The MC is a total badass with a chip on his shoulder. Look out world—he’s coming and brings hell with him as he learns more about who he himself is. I love a good protagonist, and this one is an easy touchdown.
IRON MANRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I like it but just like neon dreams this series also has magic of somekind, I miss the pure scifi world of cyber dreams. And even in that plum gave Juliet magic like powers which I didnt like much. I have been made aware that the author prefers writing these kind of stories more than pure scifi stuff. Anyway the story and writing seems great as usual from plum parrot, if u enjoyed his other works like the cyberdream or the neon dust series, u shouldnt miss those. And if u havent read cyberdreams, what are u doing, grab a copy now, its one of the if not the most popular original cyberpunk series on this platform.
Rick ScottRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I can't say enough about this story.
It's got flavors of Altered Carbon while being set in a Warhammer 40k like universe complete with an Imperial Empires and Rifts, all while maintaining such an engaging narrative that you feel like you're playing Cyberpunk 2077. The tech is cool, the style is cool, the world is cool. Top marks on all points.
The main character is a veteran badass starting over in a new body with a solid cause for revenge. The combat is visceral and satisfying. You can feel every blow and feel satisfaction with every victory. The progression system is comprehensive and engaging, making you yearn for him to get his next dose of 'Potentia' (the exp of the world) for him to level up or gain a new ability.
The atmosphere is immersive, with all the right tropes and with noir-esque mysteries to solve, leaving plenty to do and plenty more to look forward to. The characters truly bring the world to life, holding true to their gritting cyberpunk roots and roles while still possessing humanity, charisma and charm.
You won't be disappointed by this read. Loved it so much I had to join the Patreon for more.
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