Description

Bitten by unemployment. Burnt out by life. Josh Smith touched a gate. Now he has the head of a blue cattle dog, a tail, and the uncanny ability to smell mana.

Then he’s drafted into an elite Australian rescue unit tasked with diving into unstable portals to save those trapped within. Each world beyond the gates is stranger than the last. Each mission changes him a little more.

What to Expect:

- Episodic portal missions in surreal, hostile worlds- A slow-burn progression story with emotional depth- A literal dog-headed protagonist, yes, seriously- PTSD, trauma and healing- Hard-earned upgrades. Physical and otherwise- Australian setting, grounded sci-fi tone, and dry humor- No system menus, no harem

- No central villain, no prophecies, just a broken man clawing his way forward

COMPLETED

Community Reviews(1)

SaucingtonRoyal Road

★★★★★ 5.0

Overall: 4.9/5
This was tanfastic! It was such a fresh take on our favorite isekai/portal fantasy kind of stuff. It's bold. It's creative. It's bizarre in a way that makes me giddy.
I love when I see something that makes it clear that LitRPG and portal fantasy/isekai stuff is nowhere near done. Shit like this makes it clear that we haven't begun to scratch the surface of what's possible.
There's emotional weight here, too. It all hit me when Josh returned to the office. Healing isn't linear and sometimes it hurts a whole lot. So does growth. That's what this story taught me.
Also, the MC's power set, weaponizing his omnipotent sense of smell, that was a really crafty move.
Style: 4.5/5
Other than the first paragraph or so, the writing is electric and distinctly Good Boy. It's a rollercoaster of the absurd, the relateable, the familiar, the mysterious, and the human. This writer's much better at building absurd or comedic tension than anyone else I've seen 'round here.
Grammar: 5/5
No problems that I remember, so readability wasn't impacted if there was anything like a missing word here or there.
Story: 5/5
This is a class in how worldbuilding should be shown, not told. The world is built through action in this whole piece. It's not spoon-fed; it exists to move us through this mystery where we're as clueless as the main characters, and all we get are little snippets of conversations from the evil bosses to clue us in. I'd like to see a little clearer goal for the protagonist sooner besides "stop being poor" because he's got a whole lot of relationship goals to unpack and it was a little confusing at first to see just how shitty his parents could be. This is one of those "found family" pieces in many ways so you can give the parents the Dursleys treatment up front.
Also, a quick WTF-laugh at Atlassian still existing and being a major player in the apocalypse. That was unexpected. I was waiting for references to Jira and Confluence to drop.
Character: 5/5
The first cha