[ Bound by Code ] - The Girl with the Fishbowl Head: A Soft and Creamy LitRPG [Book 1 Complete!]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Book 1 is finished! I am working on Book 2 now to launch in the next few months. Keep an eye out for An Abundance of Monsters ;)

It has been 150 years since humanity escaped a dying Earth into the Interverse, a connected conscious and digital wonderland where Stats rule everything. Those without a good Starter Skill are left to flail about, aimless, as the others hone their Stats to be the best in their destined fields.

Darcy Rae is one of the unlucky ones. Not only was she born with a worthless starter Skill but she also is emotionally attached to the noobiest of noob helmets. But when the Admins of the Interverse announce a Tournament promising mad Stat gains for all who enter, she is given her first glimpse of hope in more than two decades.

This is the story of how the Interverse's biggest loser becomes the User that changes everything, known only as...

[ The Girl with the Fishbowl Head ]

What to expect:

- A RuneScape inspired LitRPG system where there are Stats and Skills for everything you can imagine!

- A protagonist that will use her wits, training, and some illegal psychic powers to advance to the top.

- Quite a lot of fish and fishbowl imagery, if you got an allergy, watch out!

- A post-apocalyptic world where humanity has retreated to a digital land with mysterious origins.

The first Arc is based around a tournament that will include battle royale scenarios and monster hunting alongside more traditional 1 vs 1 fights.

Also, a content warning, there are some themes of mental health and one chapter in particular goes pretty hard into it. I will provide a warning when that chapter comes.

And also be aware, this is the first LitRPG I've ever written and as such I do not go too heavy on the number crunching. I hope to over time include more and more RPG elements as the story progresses but, as of now, things are... soft and creamy.

But if you choose to join me on this journey, who knows where we will all end up?

Uploads: 3times a week, Monday-Wednesday

Chapter lengths are around the 1.5k-2.2k range. But a few have dipped above or below.

Join us in The Fishbowl!https://discord.gg/BuEjcapR6b

If you want to hire my awesome cover artist, contact them here!:

[email protected]

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2022
Author: wiserthanthou

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 734
Views: 259,841

Chapters(92 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(8)

BellwetherRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A story with a lot of action, sudden plot developments and a healthy dose of humor. The premise seems amusing on its own, but as the story progresses, it grows and becomes even better as the world-building starts to shine. Overall, I recommend it to most people who are in search of an adventurous and hilarious LITRPG story.
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DoodlerMcGeeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was unsure about this when I first saw it. I started out kinda disliking the main character because she initially seemed like a "woe is me" Gen Z'er (I am one so I didn't really want to read about another lel). But I'm glad I stuck to it because it is honestly a great story that comes to life the further you go.
Style is really cool. The ideas are really interesting with lots of online gaming tropes that I love. The concept of the interverse is strong and I can just imagine innumerable little alcoves with tons of players living and working in them. I get Blade Runner vibes but more vibrant and less depressing.
Story started out a little iffy for me like I mentioned before but once it got going I was invested. I think that's just a small hurdle people have to clear first because the payoff is worth it. Without giving too much away, the world just seems to keep growing with every new story event and this is what I came to this site for. I want a world that I can get lost in and this story delivers.
Grammar is a small issue sometimes. Mostly, the writing is good but there's the occasional misspelling. Sometimes, however, word choice can be much better. Certain words that are chosen negatively affect the way the sentences read and that can be jarring. Also, the expression tends to jump between formal and informal. I understand this is nitpicky but I only say this with the hope that the writer improves and he has shown the capacity to improve.
The characters have been great so far (the MC once you get to know her). The side characters are fleshed out and not just an afterthought (Love Angelia. More Reggie please. Sam and Percy are my spirit fish). With stories that feature a female lead, writers either go sexy mode or woke mode and neither is any fun. Darcy from this story is just a lady trying to vibe and that resonates with me. She doesn't have a cringe statement to make, and there's no description of how slender or shapely her body is. She likes the things that she
KageusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Advance Review submitted at Chapter 54:
I have been following this story for quite some time and it has legitimately become one of my favourite stories on this site. What started out as a simple tale of a young lady who lost her way in life has become so much grander.
The writing style is intriguing, told from the perspective of the main character with a level of self awareness that adds a great deal to the narrative without being too tongue-in-cheek. Achieving this balance is difficult and it has been done well in Fishbowl.
Grammar wise, the writing does have the occasional trip-up in terms of spelling, punctuation, and word usage. However, it is exceedingly rare considering that most of the writing is flawless. Therefore, I have decided not to take away any stars.
The story itself has evolved over time and has expanded in scale beautifully. None of it has felt forced and the pacing is excellent. The plot has progressed very naturally and while we started with tiny missions of self improvement, we have moved into events that could shape the world of the narrative and I'm gleefully tagging along for the ride.
The characters have to be one of my favourite parts of this story. The author knows how to create interesting side characters and in my opinion, this is what separates a flat, two dimensional world from one that feels immensely alive and vibrant. The interverse feels like it lives and breathes with users and I really love how the author has done this through even the smallest character interaction. None of the characters no matter how small, feel like plot devices. They're all part of an organic universe and I think that deserves a great deal of praise!
Looking forward to the rest of this story :)
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Review below was from a basic review I wrote much earlier in the story:
This is looking really good so far! I love how the stats are a major part of the plot with
ThorgalRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The cover really stands out and made me follow this story.
Story: Darcy, a jack of all trades, is bound to not be specialized in any specific skill. She laments the cards she was dealt and wishes her life would be different. We follow her journey of discovering herself and her purpose through the first arc. That is until we reach what happened in the first chapter and see how she managed to pull it off.
It's an intriguing start that hits close to home, as I imagine, many could see themselves in her as well, taking steps to grow and become stronger, which in itself was quite badass.
Style: Written in first person, which plays to the strengths of this story, as it is easy to tell what she is thinking. The only thing I could note is that some places could be spaced/formatted better, but it does improve in the following chapters.
Grammar: No apparent grammar mistakes and no misspellings as far as I noticed. Only in the first few chapters dialogue punctuation isn't always correct but this also improved in the following chapters.
Character: Darcy is a sweet character and you just can't help rooting for her. Dealing with a skill that didn't allow her to specialize I am curious how she will find something to dedicate herself to and to also improve.
Overall: The first arc is development but there is plenty of combat planned, it offers a nice foundation and emotional weight as the story progresses.
Yeah-uuhRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The intro chapter had me hooked. The chapters that followed had me fully invested. I've always had a soft spot for people who were dealt a bad hand, but still manage to take advantage of the rules of their world in order to succeed. I'm looking forward to seeing what whacky hijinks Darcy gets up to with that fishbowl of hers, and a hefty dose of just the right skill for the job. ;)
Psycho NautilusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Well written, wholly engaging from the first chapter, and a pretty unique take on the trapped in a game world/apocalypse scenario. I'm really looking forward to what shape the lore takes, but even if the Admins never make an actual appearance I'd be happy. I want to see Sam N's family as much as I want to peek behind the curtains. Who am I kidding? It's obviously way more.
Keep it up!
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LOLsuitRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I liked it and would read book two.
Digital game world and under appreciated starter item made for a fun romp. The MC felt real and thus relatable. And it is nice to see an underdog, zero to hero, story.
It has been awhile since I read this, but it sticks out to me as one of the good ones. Nothing negative to say.
varkolakRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
First off, 3* is a neutral rating of neither good nor bad. The characters haven't appealed to me within the first 5 chapters and the world seems really bland. I'm not a fan of tournament arcs in general since they are glorified filler so when I got bored of reading and rechecked to synopsis to see if it was worth trucking through a bit more of intro I found myself unmotivated. On the bright side the story is pretty well written and edited so if you're into this sort of stuff it might be a good one, but again it just didn't manage to keep my attention so I sadly have to drop.