Butler to a Core Lord: A LitRPG Apocalypse (STUBBED)

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2023

Author

paulperk

• Writing Debrief + LAST STUB WARNING
  Jun 11, 2024
• Crazy Rich Apocalypse
  Oct 28, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• whoremoanRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  this is honestly a very well worth the read novel
  the intrigue and suspense combined with the mysterious enemy that hunts mc down and closes in the walls each turn table of the clock makes me eager for every chapter
  my only hesitation is with the main character. he can be too soft
• AnonymousNoLifeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Easily one of the better/best reads on this site. Written to completion, good pacing, great wording/grammar. Deserves to be up there with the best of them on this site. Card-based, but doesn't feel like it's used to pad word count like some other card-based stories. They fall to the wayside as a more system/power structure rather than the entire reason the story exists, as it should be. MC is smart, thinks ahead, and understands the emotions built into the characters. The world feels like it interacts with him, and him the world. It all takes place in a small area, but feels like it spans time itself with the world-building and characters. Worth a read, or at least give it that cursory skim through of a few chapters to see if it's up your alley.
• Ajax StoneRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  After having caught up on all currently released chapters, I can say that I am a big fan of this novel so far. The ideas and execution have been great so far. The author has mentioned that their written characters have been lacking in terms of what motivates their actions. We get a little background but there are times when I get a little confused as to why characters are handling situations the way they are. As previously stated, the author knows this so I'm sure it will be rectified. All in all, I love the story and our main character even without fully understanding his past.
• GrinRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Time to do my part.
  TL;DR: Feels fresh, living and writhing. Kinda dark, very characterised characters, great suspense, fantastic writing. I am absolutely hooked.
  I usually dislike card litrpgs but this one's stellar.
  It kind of reads like a detective novel except in a dark fantasy world with progression elements. If you've read the smol blurb the author put up, it's accurate.
  You can feel a lot of work went into everything, especially the story. It all reads very fluidly, the stakes are high and the plots complex. The fact the Enemy uses mind magic just keeps us and the MC on our toes... what can it do ? What can't it do ? Is the battle already lost ?
  I'm slow to like characters in general, but I feel this is going in the right direction. Even the cartoonishly evil ones feel like true threats, and the usual dwarves and elves all have something I can't place that makes them feel a lot more distinct and alive than most other fictions, while still retaining some characteristics you're used to.
  There has been some worldbuilding and assuredly more to come, but this is not the strong point of this novel.
  No, it's the planning, the stress, the pressure, the split seconds decisions that get you to turn the page everytime, the anxiety of not having enough information to be sure you're making good or impactful decisions...
  It's the mystery, the shadows that lurk, the fact you're trying to figure out their intentions, the paranoia and the simple certainties...
  Yeah it's great, go give it a whirl.
  In my humble opinion it's not perfect, but I think it's one of the better ones on this site, so a little help in the form of a 5-star review can't hurt. If we're taking this on the "out of 20" scale, I'd give it a 17.
  Thank you for writing, paulperk.
  Hope you all have a wonderful day !
• K4m30Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I really don't know what else to say, it's good, very good. like, it might be one of the best things i've read in a long time. Read it for yourself, the first few chapters are a bit rough as i recall, they make sense in hindsight, but without the context of what happens and why, it all seems a bit strange. like "Huh, that doesn't make any sense, even rich people don't get to have their servants fight each other and animals on the regular." minor spoilers, but it's from the first chapter or something, so whatever.
  I've finished it now, and although it's being pulled, the story is just as good as i expected. it's a good read from beginning to end.
• Lord RagnorRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I feel like the author didn't do this novel it's due when he wrote the description.
  "Time Magic versus Mind Magic" is a captivating blend of genres, seamlessly weaving together elements of time loop, deck builder, dungeon core, dark fantasy, thriller, and apocalypse. Danny Taylor, the butler to an eccentric man whose apocalyptic predictions miraculously come to pass, plunging the world into a relentless realm governed by a formidable system of magic. We know basically nothing about Taylor's master, just the fact that he's loony as all hell.
  The narrative takes a unique turn as Taylor's master, granted power and land by the enigmatic System, succumbs to an unexplained malady that renders him unfit to rule, this malady being the fact that he actively being tortured in a mind/r*pe prison in the future by the "Enemy". The revelation that his master is fleeing a mind-devouring demon possessing a god. Taylor is bestowed with a Time Core and a chilling mission: to locate and eliminate this existential threat before it engulfs humanity. While also being manipulated by a semi-omniscient being.
  What sets this novel apart is its incorporation of nontraditional Core/card drawing mechanics, so the standard leveling system is replaced by Yukio-magic the gathering type magic but no summoning beasts from cards in a way. Creating a fresh and immersive reading experience. The tone is notably serious, reflecting the gravity of the situation as Earth transforms into a harsh landscape governed by magical forces. The narrative promises a rollercoaster of emotions, combining the suspense of a thriller with the intricacies of dark fantasy.
• RocksNPebblesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story is well written and enjoyable for the niche it has carved our for itself. I found the system to be peculiar and distinct from other LitRPG and even from other card based litrpg. This isn’t like All The Skills where cards are a stand in for powers or abilities. I won’t spoil it, but it is perhaps more along the lines of what you’d think of with card usage.
  That said I’m a bit put off by the quite limited nature of the time loop and I wouldn’t call it a loop per se. Limitations are good and it avoids OP characters and makes problems difficult and non trivial to solve. There is simply so much the MC and allies cannot do as they are weak and lack knowledge, which is great as they have to think, be clever, and occasionally lose as you would to far more powerful foes.
  But this does make it into more of a puzzle and less of an open world environment. It is like a boardgame of Clue and the story is done well with style and pacing. It does not feel overly contrived or plot armour or deus ex machina, but the plot is still on rails as it takes place in a discreet scenario of somewhat system defined events. There is freedom in it, but also many limitations.
  A great story well done, but just not to my tastes as I prefer a more open world and the servant nature and strict hierarchy of this story is not that, though it is well done and advertised that way. Well worth a try!
• TheEagleRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I love this story. The development of the character, the plot, the suspense, and the Author's writing style. I do not like the delay for new chapters. It has a new take on the whole time travel and apocalypse angle. I've seen a lot of books with those concepts, but this one definitely stands out.
• seagullRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Just binged the available chapters and as of now, the characters, stakes and direction of the story has been implemented.
  Short review :
  Like system apocalypse, time rewinds and mysteries, read this book. It’s good
  longer review:
  To start, the writing is pretty impeccable. Clear presentation, good sentencing and pace. Feels like a published novel so that is always a pleasant surprise.
  On the world building, it seems to have a defined concept. Familiar enough for all system apocalypse, core worlds and card system readers but without being over complicated (yet) and with a fresh perspective.
  Characters are likeable and the one we are supposed to dislike are not insufferable (for reader). Main character has a good head on his shoulder without being overpowered or a weakling. Good variety in the cast (number of names can be confusing but not overwhelming)
  The draw of the story is the mystery the main character has to understand and the stakes of survival. Lots of hints have been put down know and without spoiling anything, I look forward for all the pieces fall together.
  The story is highly recommended now, but the 10/10 will hinge on the ending (as all good mystery do)
• ArararaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Good system apocalypse story, with time loops. Fat, meaty chapters, solid writing. The system is kind of a "deckbuilding" / card-based one. You pay mana to "pull" cards (Skills) from your cores ("deck"), and can craft them into more powerful ones, as well as improve your cores in order to unlock more powerful skills. And you farm mobs for mana, which replaces "experience" in more standard Systems, it's probably this story's most interesting and creative part. The time looping part is also pretty cool. And it's a system apocalypse. These three aspects have always done well on RR, so there's kind of no way the story won't become popular, it's a combination that can't fail (as long as the story doesn't implode from complexity), it's made to cater to RR (maybe even, too tailored, shamelessly farming the most popular tropes). But it doesn't matter, for now the story is enjoyable enough.
  Style: 1st person POV, an interesting choice. I have to admit I prefer 3rd person POV, as is usual on royalroad. We would get more descriptions that way. As it stands, the MC doesn't think alot about what the castle looks like, what other people look like, etc. He knows it all by heart, so he doesn't spare any "thoughts" about it - leaving the story lacking in descriptions. We mostly get his plans, action scenes and dialogues. But it often leaves me wondering what everything looks like, especially the characters. There is not nearly enough descriptions. And lastly, the paragraph spacing hurts my eyes, it's just too big. Need to scroll too much.
  Grammar: Good, nothing to write home about. There are some typos, usually I notice at least one per chapter, which isn't perfect, but it's definitely acceptable. The prose is fine, the action scenes flow well.
  Story: Intriguing, I like how we're not told absolutely everything, there is stuff that's left up to interpretation or mystery. If I had to complain about anything, it's that at the time of writing this review, the story is almost 100k words