Common Clay

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Clay has always lived in a world of heroes and monsters. Ever since he could remember, he’s wanted to become one of the brave adventurers who fight to destroy the Lairs and Dungeons that spawn those monsters. He worked his entire childhood to be strong enough, fast enough, and brave enough to be given a [Class] that would give him the power to protect the people he cares about from the things that would destroy them. Then, on the day of his Choosing, the gods do not give him an adventurer’s [Class]. Instead, as every one of his friends goes out into the world to be a hero, he is told he is a [Commoner], more fit for plain labor than a hero’s work. His destiny is meant for a farm, not a Dungeon, and he is told to adjust to that fact. He decides to fight the monsters anyway. So armed with his wits and not much else, Clay sets out to show them what a [Commoner] can really do.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2023
Author: WanderingLeaf

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 2,700
Views: 1,102,747

What readers say about Common Clay

“"Common Clay" by WanderingLeaf is easily one of the most well-written LitRPG stories I've read so far, so bear with me as I sing its praises. The characters all feel real, and their interactions with one another and the system show personality and charm. Wh…”
Headmaster HamRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Having finished book 3, I’m pleased to say I’ve enjoyed it as much, or more, than mainstream fantasy. The world is well developed, the characters are realistic in their growth and motivations, and the tone of speech is the right amount of conversational. I…”
KingChickenRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

Headmaster HamRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
"Common Clay" by WanderingLeaf is easily one of the most well-written LitRPG stories I've read so far, so bear with me as I sing its praises.
The characters all feel real, and their interactions with one another and the system show personality and charm. While Clay shows less emotional growth than I might have hoped, his valor and will are undeniable. His family felt realistic given the setting, and time was spent flushing out his parents, friends, and potential love interests. There were inside jokes, hard goodbyes, and evolving relationships.
The plot feels natural, and there weren't any of glaring plot holes that plague so many stories on this site. Clay's enemies grow as he does, challenging him in interesting, engaging ways. I was particularly fond of the fight scenes, which were descriptive but kept the speed and danger one would would expect when fighting a spider the size of a rottweiler.
The writing was clean (there weren't any issues that stood out to me), and it seems clear that the author took the time to produce high quality chapters. Despite only publishing a new chapter once a week, each chapter is long enough that I never found myself disappointed waiting for more (I normally prefer shorter chapters, but I never got bored or distracted reading through "Common Clay"). I'm genuinely excited for the start of book 2 (I think book 2, chapter 1 starts next week), and I'm shocked more people haven't been singing WanderingLeaf's praises.
Given the relatively low impact of stat increases and the nature of leveling, this is a bit of a slow-burn in terms of level/stat growth. As such, it felt closer to a normal fantasy story with LitRPG elements added, though that might change with future books. I don't think that's a bad thing, but it's good to know what you're getting into.
If you like a story where the MC says "nah, the gods were wrong" and surpasses everyone's expectations despite getting the most basic class possible, this is the story for you.
KingChickenRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Having finished book 3, I’m pleased to say I’ve enjoyed it as much, or more, than mainstream fantasy. The world is well developed, the characters are realistic in their growth and motivations, and the tone of speech is the right amount of conversational. I also appreciate that there isn’t a ton of filler padding out the fiction, making it feel like I’m wasting my time waiting for the ‘good stuff’.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this series to anyone looking for a fantasy series with a slow magic growth curve (low magic) and intelligent combat. There are even politics involved later in the story as the main character widens his world.
There are other reviews that point out that commoners are supposed to be weak and yet it seems any commoner could start killing monsters any time. I think they’re reviewing too early, and are not aware that the story does address this as a plot point later on. I did get the sense that the main character definitely felt he was in mortal danger for much of the first arc, and that came through in the writing. Besides, it would just be a bog standard fantasy progression story with no conflict if everyone was just levelling and grinding on monsters all the time. I think if you want a power fantasy, there are other fictions to read.
4iiiidnerdRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have very much loved this story where a simple man of mundane prospects performs the most heretical task of revelation, defying the spirit of ordinary, the common position. Maybe stories like this have an unavoidable satirical edge to show that ordinary people may have an unexpected value, though perhaps that value is more often undiscovered and/or undeveloped. This is a story despite gods and nobility which is quite good and worth reading. Thanks for the chapter!
DeathlyOreoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
...and that's not a bad thing. This story is a fairly straightforward progression fantasy, where the mc starts with a disadvantaged class that is supposed to be unable to progress, but through his own ingenuity, determination, and bravery, finds a way forward. He kills monsters in clever ways, gets slightly stronger, and then rinses and repeats until he accomplishes his goal. There aren't too many bells and whistles to make this story stand out from other "standard" litrpgs, but I don't think it needs to. It's written well enough, with an mc and supporting characters that are interesting enough, to keep me hooked from the beginning to what's current (end of book 1).
Where this story really shines is the monsters and how the mc defeats those monsters. There are no fodder monsters in this world; from the very beginning you get the feeling that clay could die to the weakest of the monsters the second he makes a mistake, giving credence to the premise that no other commoners have been able to level like him. He can't just brute force his way through, and he has to observe and formulate a new strategy for each set of monsters, making use of the new resources he accumulates as he slowly levels and grows stronger.
The weakest part of this story, in my opinion, is the litrpg aspect. It's EXTREMELY light on customization or blue screens, which some people might prefer, but I would have definitely liked for there to be a bit more nuance to the system, as well as to see regular updates of his status in more chapters.
As it is, there's pretty much 0 creativity or agency in the leveling system, especially for clay. Each person is assigned a class outside of their control. That class determines the max of each of their stats, how they are able to level, and what abilities they have. But it seems pretty easy to level stats to the max (the mc never takes longer than a few days/weeks to hit his new max after leveling), and most people seem to all have the same max attribute values,
JasonBRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
No clue if this ever showed on the "others liked this" scroll, but I am glad I found this before it gets stubbed.
Good development, MC isnt a whiner (kinda OP, but not horribly, yet anyway). Just enough slice of life and not so many back to back nonstop fights that I want to hurt my phone.
I sincerely hope books 2+ keep Clay growing and as common as he can be. 5/5 stars for book 1, highly recommended.
HoneyBeaverRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Common Clay is one of the best stories out there. I've been an avid reader and whenever it updates i go to it before anything else (including several stories much higher regarded). The writer clearly has a vision beyond seeing how long they can ride the wave with filler. Can't wait to see where it goes!
EldritchPastaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As with the title, I'm sad on both the front of not finding the story sooner from how much I enjoyed it, but also sad I didn't find it later so I would have had more to read all at once. Only really found this story a bit ago, but despite that I've loved reading it, and gotten a few laughs through the story too.
Everyone wants to be an adventurer, a hero, the paragon of humanity and the spirit of adventure. Who hasn't wanted to be able to hold out their hand and throw a fireball, or to fight monsters. The main character, Clay, is not the odd one out in this, and desperately wanted to be one, even if it held a risk or could have caused his family to worry. And that is why the character score gets a full 5 stars from me. Each character is real, believable, and has a proper personality that they follow. There aren't flat characters, no one is just a cardboard cutout ready to say some canned lines whenever the MC comes by to progress their plot. The world is alive, moving, and has time constraints that Clay has to work around to prove that just being a commoner does not mean he is common.
Which leads me to the overall story, which is wonderfully woven together with the building up of the characters, starting from the seed all stories grow from. A reversal of expectations, and a drive to succeed even in adversity. Clay's journey is a perfect example of "Zero to Hero", in a way that is refreshing to see, not a sudden jump to power, and is logical in how he works through things. He doesn't suddenly overpower his enemies, he uses his head. He fails, he falters, he trips, but he gets up and keeps moving.
Additionally, stemming from this is how well WanderingLeaf's style keeps the story being fresh and not grow stale. The magic system used is simple, yet intuitive, and balanced by using proper ingenuity to bring out the true potential of each spell. Screens don't exist here, just a simple list that doesn't stand out but slots into the story easily, not drawing the eyes from t
Gary123Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's refreshing to see the care and moderation that the author took creating this story.The main character takes a methodical approach to combat, but he never seems inhuman. The power progression might seem underwhelming for those accustomed to other stories, but every marginal improvement is felt within the story and feels earned.The care the author took extends to the denizens of the town, as well. Any tropes seen are applied tastefully and dont detract from personality. Everyone is three dimensional, from what I can see, they feel like people. I'm especially happy about the wonderful family relationships on display.All in all, while it's still early on, I've got high hopes for this one. Definitely give it a read.
GheldanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've really been enjoying this story thus far. While I will admit the MC is a bit if a Mary Sue, the author manages to make his achievements feel earned. The side characters are interesting and the MC ends up leveraging wit and tactics more than anything else to achieve his victories.
I was actually a little sad when I got to the end of the published chapters. I really wanted to continue reading.
Knight ParzivalRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is such a hidden gem. I have been binging all of the chapter ever since I discovered it. The characters are likable and i’m actually interested in how they develop and talk. The relationships are nice and believable and the mc is great. He feels real and like a real person. He does not take massive risks for no reason, and is generally a relatable character. The system is quite enjoyable and is integrated in a nice way. There are no blue boxes, but progression is crunchy and well thought out. Battles are won and make sense, no bs wins that the main pulls out of nowhere. The main character is not extraordinarily op, but gets stronger and is cautious. His oproach to combat is careful, much like a normal person, while still being full of action and excitement. Battle scenes and descriptions are detailed without feeling drawn out. Side characters are interesting and do not feel inhuman and useless. There are no pov switches, at least from where I am rn, but side characters are still developed.
Overall, 5’s all around and hope for many chapters to come.
PS: don’t worry about the once a week chapter releases - chapters are quite long and enjoyable to read with barely any cliffhangers