Euran - In the forever dark ['Mature' isekai]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Having little memory of his past life, our protagonist reminisces over his early childhood; warm at times, others dark.

When Euran finds himself on the run, alone, through shadowy forests, his childhood discovery of conjuring flame quickly becomes both a blessing and a curse, echoing the very people that drove him away.As a budding man forced to face life head on, while new faces emerge, friendships form and conflicts brew, the question remains - is he truly cursed, or is the world just cruel to those born different?

In these grim lands where mercenaries claw for silver and life is fragile, survival favors the quick thinkers, the strong…or perhaps just the lucky.

What to expect:- First person viewpoint (Exception: the prologue)- A character arc that spans from weak to... well that's for the story to tell- Emotional distress and down to earth dilemmas- Slow-burning progress, and subtle hints of isekai elements- no set schedule, but roughly 1 chapter released each week

What not to expect:- Unnecessary gore- Sexually 'mature' content

Thank you all for feedback and support.As of 7/11 2024 an extensive paragraphing/dialogue edit has been done for improved readability.Chapter 9 and onwards will be edited before release.Feel free to PM me with further feedback.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: BT.curio

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 7
Views: 5,534

Chapters(15 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(8)

Worst-answerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Not much as happened yet , but we are introduced to a new beginnings with a mysterious being who reincarnate MC for whatever purpose.
It picks typical stuff of the isekai and twist it a bits , despite being dark is not yet exaggerated and not everyone is an asshole .
I can't really say much since there are few chapters. But I think it's a work with slot potential. And also really well written I assume that author Is a native.
I would suggest to give it a try .
YisoncoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As a fan of darker narratives, I often find myself drawn to stories that challenge the conventional norms of the genre. This one truly stands out in that regard. While many isekai stories tend to follow the formula of overpowered protagonists and feel-good adventures, this story breaks away from those clichés, offering a fresh and intriguing take on the concept of rebirth in a new world where things aren't given to the MC on a silver platter.
What sets this story apart is its emphasis on the protagonist's struggle with the unknown. Rather than effortlessly mastering their new environment, they are constantly faced with mysteries and challenges that remain just out of reach. This adds a layer of depth and realism that is often missing in typical isekai plots, where protagonists quickly adapt to their surroundings with ease. Here, the narrative explores the discomfort and confusion of being thrust into a world where not everything can be controlled or easily understood, making for a more immersive and engaging experience; but also leaves the reader questioning "what next?".
This unique approach kept me hooked from start to finish, and I am genuinely excited to see where the story will go next. It's a refreshing shift in tone, and I’ll definitely be following this story as it continues to unfold.
In my review, I gave 5 stars on all except grammar. While I only encountered 3 or 4 words misspelled or with the wrong tense, the formatting of conversations is very difficult to follow at times. Because there isn't a category for format, I reflected this difficulty in the 4.5 stars in grammar. I have also provided the author with examples for which to break up blocks of text for easier reading. Overall, this is a very minor detail and I highly recommend reading despite.
Perry OkeefeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The overall story is fun and engaging, I especially liked the beginning dynamic in the village were... spoilers ahead
The villagers become convinced that the child is cursed, though I wish there was more information about WHY they thought that, other than that he had a birthmark.
The grammar is fine enough for a casual read, but the story need some heavy duty proofreading to catch the errors and make the readability better. If you don't have someone to help you proofread it you can use one of the free AI tools like chatGPT to help you proofread. I like to input my chapters into chatGPT before I post them and just ask the AI to look for any grammatical errors. I don't end up using all the suggestions it makes, but it is a very helpful tool to have.
The story is still early so its hard to get a real feel for where things are going to end up, but so far it seems to have a lot of promise.
The characters are the best part of the story, they are interestingly crafted and I can't wait to learn more about them. From magical ice sorcerers to axe wielding giants, its exactly what you want from a fantasy novel.
R. C. VettaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is a fascinating exploration of a grimdark isekai. Some of the more common Mature and Grim Dark elements are not very prevalent in the first few chapters so do not let the tag dissuade you from reading. It is much more approachable than some other stories of the genre that just throw you in the deep end.
Style- The style of the story is very stream of consciousness from the main character's point of view. As you read you see the world through their eyes and the author does a good job communicating that.
Grammar- The author appears steadfast in keeping their blocks of text, so know what you are getting into when you open up the chapters to read. If you are using text to speech you may want to slow down the read speed to help keep the program from reading through everything too fast. The main reason for the 4 of 5 is the lack of paragraph breaks when a new speaker starts talking, which is easily fixable.
Story- The major plot has a great deal of mystery surrounding the main character which has yet to be explored in great detail, but there are hints at a deeper story if you read closely. The method of isekai is one of those great mysteries which I find to be more entertaining than if I am handed the method right away.
Currently, the story is focused on the main character, their arrival into their new world with little memory of who they are, and some interesting interactions with the natives.
The character meets up with a couple of guys and they quickly become compatriots. Each character comes with their own set secrets that are just waiting to be discovered.
The magic system is tied to emotions which is quite interesting and is remeniscent of MTG Lore. Particularly, when a practitioner's strongest element can leach into spells of a different type. Currently, I would have to call it a soft magic system as there are few details, but there is plenty of potential. I would assume more is going to come, but whether it will make it all the way to something with in
Spicy Space SquidRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Euran is an interesting one. Branded as a darker take on isekai, I find that it plays with the genres tropes in a way that really tickles the mind. Rather than being reborn with one's memories intact or otherwise inheriting them in bulk at some arbitrary point or other, the main character carries only the faintest shadow of a reincarnated protagonist, recalling on occasion bits and pieces, or otherwise demonstrating a little more acumen than one might otherwise expect. Personally, I enjoyed that Euran deviated from the usual baby or young child does some ridiculous BS and then gets praised by everyone.
Style
The style is the only part of this work that bothers me. It is a viable style for sure, and the prose itself is solid, but it ignores the typical rules of paragraph breaks, and often has large chunks that go on for several hundred words at once. Personally, I find that this arrangement makes it a little bit more difficult to follow and would prefer more paragraph breaks for a clearer flow and a more reader-friendly experience, though again, Euran's approach isn't non-viable.
Story
The story led me to raise a brow, and not in the bad way. Being rather familiar with the isekai genre, I found myself cocking a brow and immediately speculating as to the plot's direction as certain events unfolded. However, my expectations were often subverted, and not in the lazy way of just doing the opposite of whatever is expected. The story is also dark in a way that is surprisingly tasteful; while the very beginning might fool you, it's not simply edgy for the sake of being edgy, courtesy of the characters being more thought out than most other works in this genre. The one complaint I have about the story is that the pacing is a little quick for my personal taste, though I see that more so as a result of the genre and intended target audience than a flaw of the fiction.
Grammar
No complaints about the grammar! I noticed a few typos here and there, but nothing that was jarring en
tonyxstormRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
We start off with a typical rebirth Isekai story that stars a protagonist who meets a goddess before being reborn. You would think we'd end up down a path of tropes and harems but the story we get instead is taking its time to build mysteries and develop character. I tend to like stories that imply larger stakes from the beginning while still taking time to get us interested in the characters and I feel like Euran could be one of those stories.
Style Score: This novel has some chunky paragraphs and there isn't a flow to the text which emphasizes the story being conveyed but I wasn't upset with it. You can still follow the story clearly and scenes are clear to understand. The last few chapters do better on this so it seems the author is doing a good job applying critique.
Story Score: Im enjoying the story so far. It's been a slow build while still hinting at potential plot threads involving a special ability our mc has and the darker sides of adventuring. There doesn't seem to be a grand overarching narrative in the "chosen to save the world" kind of way but considering how he was isekai'd there is potential here for something interesting to be unraveled.
Grammar Score: Didn't catch many grammar issues and the writing has been pretty solid for me thus far.
Character Score: My favorite of the characters introduced so far would probably be Urax. The characters are realistic and have backgrounds that influence how they are without being melodramatic. Some early characters that could've taken a cliched response in reacting to a mistake the mc makes instead take actions that I feel were justified without being overly harsh.
PBJ_TimeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
When I saw the "isekai" tag, I thought I was getting into the same tired tropes, but so far, I haven't seen much of the sort besides the reincarnation part.
Style: sadly, I feel this is its weakest point. The prose is solid, don't get me wrong, but far too many paragraphs would be better off divided into several shorter paragraphs for readability.
Story: this is where it gets interesting. Like I said, this is not your typical isekai nor is it trying to be "edgy" for the sake of edge. It starts off with fairly dark narratives, but as the story progressives, it actually becomes pretty dang wholesome. The scene with that cat honestly gave me a sense of peace with the world they live in.
Grammar: despite my complaints about the walls of text, the proofreading was solid. I've only seen one or two errors, but I don't see that as a bad thing in any way.
Character: even when all the characters are thrown into situations that would make the story feel like a wannabe Berserk clone, their interactions are actually very grounded and human. Euran doesn't come off as a brooding loner, neither do the other characters like Urax. Their approach to dire situations and life as a whole genuinely plays to their strengths.
Overall, minus the readability, the author has a fantastic story to tell.
JD HopkinsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is not a review swap, and I'll explain why I specify that.
I'm going to be honest. A review swap was what initially brought my attention to this work. But, I refused to do the swap at that time.
I instead told the author that their work, while creative and interesting, had major technical issues with paragraphs and dialogue. I chose to be honest, though I was hesitant to do so, and I'm glad I did.
They were extremely receptive to the feedback and began working immediately to clean up their writing.
So, although we never swapped reviews, I never forgot about them or this story. I came back to reread and see what I thought.
The author deserves major kudos for the editing work they've put into this alone.
No, this isn't perfectly writtenn, but very few things ever are.
However, this is a great read. It does have some very dark and gritty themes, yet I found it maintained a real sense of fun throughout, which is difficult to pull off.
I hope the story and author gets the attention they deserve.
And I really do want to praise the author here for being so receptive to constructive criticism. Due to that amazingly positive attitude they were able to take their amazing story to greater heights.
And just to be clear, this isn't a review. BT.curio, you owe me nothing. This is simply me appreciating you and your work. Well done.