Cryptmother: Bride of the Dungeon Core [A LitRPG Romantic Comedy]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

... And now apparently her sham marriage was supposed to be keeping the fabrics of the universe tied together. Great.

Necromancers are NOT bargain bin healers!

But that hasn’t stopped any of Graverra’s previous adventuring parties from making her try. After a lifetime of being horribly misunderstood by her peers - like it's her fault mage armor looks like that? - Graverra glitches into an undiscovered and under-leveled dungeon and is finally presented with a marvelous opportunity to shed her support role; all she has to do is make a pact with the enigmatic and infuriating dungeon core and spend her days in wedded dungeon mistress bliss…

Or has she only traded in one support role for another?

Between an emotionally stunted dungeon core husband who still won’t swap out his avatar for a human body and some nagging celestial entity for a mother-in-law breathing down their necks, on top of all the usual worries of running a functional dungeon… What’s a girl to do?

This story is about...

-Dungeon Building & Domestic Spats:A sham marriage is one thing, but both your fates and the dungeon’s resting on it? While your pseudo-mother-in-law plots your demise?!-An Atypical Romance:She knows it’s not a real marriage... Or is it? Are dungeon cores even capable of love? Why won’t this one just let her in?!-The Author’s Thinly Veiled Opinions:On MMOs, TTRPGs, and femininity (and probably some other things)

Updates everyThursday, so help me StrexhinThis is a reupload. The first volume is being revised while the second is in the works!

[LitRPG] [Dungeon Core] [Female Protagonist] [Non-human (male) Love Interest] [Mismatched Couple] [Marriage* of Convenience] [Can You Really Marry a Dungeon Core?] [Illogical use of bones] [Unnecessary amounts of flesh tentacles] [Some Cringe Innuendos] [Wisecracking skulls] [Necromancers] [MMO-like World] [Castle Building] [Dungeon Management] [Planar Rifts] [Questions of Sanity] [Broken System] [Comedic Undertones] [Progression Slow burn]

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: AbruptlyMystic

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.3/ 5.0
Followers: 211
Views: 40,034

Chapters(42 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

Apollo149Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
"Cryptmother: Bride of the Dungeon Core" promises a delightfully unconventional journey, and the opening excerpt certainly delivers on that eccentric charm. The story plunges us into the world of Graverra, a necromancer fed up with being relegated to a "bargain bin healer" by her frustratingly oblivious adventuring party.
The accidental fall into a "sad dungeon" is a fantastic twist, perfectly timed to separate Graverra from her irritating comrades. This sudden transition promises to thrust her into an unexpected solo adventure, where she might finally shed her support role and embrace her true necromantic potential. The mystery surrounding the "Untitled Dungeon" and the ominous, yet strangely playful, chuckle from the darkness adds an intriguing layer to the narrative.
I particularly enjoyed:
Graverra's Voice: She's a fantastic protagonist – feisty, sarcastic, and justifiably annoyed. Her internal monologues and snappy comebacks make her instantly likable.
The Party Dynamic: The bickering with Branimir and Valerae is expertly written. It feels authentic and provides a great comedic foundation for Graverra's eventual escape.
The "Dungeon Core" Hook: The concept of a dungeon core, especially one capable of love, is fresh and exciting. It promises a truly unique "nonhuman MMC" and offers endless possibilities for world-building and character development.
"Cryptmother: Bride of the Dungeon Core" is shaping up to be a delightful read for anyone looking for a humorous, character-focused fantasy with a strong female lead and a truly original premise. If you're tired of predictable heroes and damsels in distress, and you appreciate a good dose of sarcasm and an unusual romance, this story is definitely worth checking out.
DaltemRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall, Cryptmother has an interesting premise and emotionally compelling characters and dialogue interactions.
Style.
First person, the style is quite tied to Graverra and the themes of her agency have been prevelant throughout. Delightfully on brand with Necromancy and crypts, the environmental descriptions have been quite clear
Story.
The story has started to get underway, the tutorial timer is definitely feeling like a sword of damocles, hanging overhead. It's a very character and relationship driven story, with what action we've had, be in service of that too. Some interesting world-building that I believe has only arisen as a side effect, and hasn't been confirmed or denied, is that we haven't seen any children, and that there haven't been any mentions of "gaining" a class...
While absolutely romance is the main theme of this story, and there are elements of comedy throughout, I wouldn't personally class it as a romantic comedy, at the moment, but instead a tragic-romance, though I look forward to when the story develops more to make it an undeniable romance comedy.
Character.
All the human characters are understandable and feel well developed. Centrepoint is Graverra herself, who seems the more emotionally mature one in the romance, which is interesting given how subject to her own emotions she feels.
Grammar.
I've yet to notice any real flaws, it's more than perfectly legible. I feel quite confident that if any grammar issues arise they'll be simple things, that one might be prone to subconsciously skipping over.