Guild Scout [GritRPG / Slow Burn / Prog Fantasy] - Winner 2024 RR Wrhithaton

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

I remember standing with my father on the city tower, one day. I admired the lands around the city with my innocent six-year-old eyes.

"Dad, how can you tell if you're doing a good job?" I asked him.

He stared at me, and then scanned the horizon as he usually did. "Do you see an enemy army besieging us?" He asked.

"No."

"A monster horde laying waste to all our society built?" He continued in the same calm voice.

"No, dad!" I giggled, nervous.

"Are our farms and city on fire?"

"Of course not!" I protested.

"Then, the scouts did their job very, very well. Listen, son. There are more threats out there than you can count on your little fingers. If we don't find them and flag them for extermination, all we've built may come to an end."

Now, years later, I stand on the same tower, looking at the same land. My father, may the Gods have his soul, left me his Class, his enchanted bow, and his most treasured secret.

But more important than that, he left me his duty.

Have you ever wondered how that little slip of paper telling people a Goblin village exists in the forest? Or that Wargs are threatening farms? It's because someone went out there to find them. To find the threat before it can grow and ruin our precious civilization.

I am a Scout by trade, and I work for the Adventurer's Guild.

=================================================================

What toNOTexpect:

* Harem.

* A Murderhobo MC.

* Dereliction of duty (by MC).

* AI-generated or assisted content.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: MDW

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 523
Views: 181,252

Chapters(85 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(9)

DobhranRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I wish there were more stories in the litrpg genre like this one. This is elite storytelling.
Relatable characters, intuitive System, and an interesting and rarely used class type (Scout) that is strong without being a walking talking prototype of “plot armor”.
well done, and I really hope this story continues for a long time.
Fantasy loving kfirRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
If you've read the authors's previous novels then you know what to expect; realistic characters, a flushed out world, and a true litrpg system tying it all together.
Probably the best author at making litrpg stats and abilities feel grounded, with actually thought out math for everything, to keep it from feeling like the system works however fits the mc.
NeutralizerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As the royal road writathlon is soon to be over, I am bound to deliver a very preliminary review of this hidden gem.
The characters are emotional and expressionate, which is a trademark of MDW's works. Also so are the well filled plot wonderings, as the reader attempts to guess how/when the mc George will behave when he gets stronger. Also Mr. BABBAGE! is mentioned, which intertwines in the MDW's multiverse and it makes me tingly (was initially brought up as an April fools joke, but the best joke is when it is true).
The sci fi - fantasy unique blend and the different scout point of view is going to create lots of culture shock adventures. This is exactly why we are here - to witness the creation of something unortodox and out of the box!
Also there is the double P joke, together with other jokes, that I am too low level to understand, that breaks the ice of the dark fantasy setting.
Edit: the tag is actually high fantasy, which is even better!
Edit 2: congrats on the 2024 November writathlon. I am specifying the writathlon, because this story win more than one.
laservaderRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Good story, starts a little convoluted and slightly confusing but hits is stride nicely and is fun. I enjoy the references, I know people don't always but I like the humor and the fact that it fits within the lore of the story. How long is fifty words? this feels like enough.
Ukhups ZouRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
If you're tired of carbon-copy isekai power fantasies or cookie-cutter dungeon crawlers, Guild Scout is the refreshing slap of originality you didn't know you needed.
From Chapter One, MDW hooks you with a world that feels lived in—not just another fantasy land, but one layered with deep history, where Earth is a long-forgotten myth and humanity's origins are part of the mystery. The world-building? Immersive and sharp. You get the sense that you're uncovering ancient truths while exploring the present, and that’s rare in a genre oversaturated with “game-like world” clones.
The system is another highlight—it’s not just a bunch of floating text or a plot crutch. It’s a character in its own right, with snark, personality, and a wicked sense of humor. Moments where it drops lines about Chewbacca, Batman, or that wild Christmas event genuinely caught me off guard—in a good way. These references don’t feel forced or gimmicky; they ground the setting in its own lore, where Earth is ancient and the echoes of it are both strange and fascinating.
What really sells the story, though, is the tone: dungeon delving is treated with real weight. There’s danger, tension, and—most importantly—human stupidity. Characters screw up. People die. There’s recklessness, overconfidence, desperation… and it all feels authentic. You’re not reading about heroes on easy mode; you’re reading about flawed people trying to survive and find meaning in a brutal system.
Character development? Top-tier. Relationships evolve naturally. Growth feels earned. The cast is diverse, not just in skills but in perspectives and motivations, and that keeps the dynamics fresh and compelling.
And the best part? The story keeps getting better. It doesn’t blow its load early—MDW builds momentum and layers complexity with each chapter. What started out as “pretty good” quickly became “can’t stop reading.”
Guild Scout isn’t just another dungeon story—it’s an original, immersive, and genuinely fun take on post-Earth fa
KinglikeRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
it’s a pretty good story, long story short however I didn’t want to continue for a couple reasons: spelling errors where a plenty, especially later, the story avoided the ridiculousness of the animes that started the litrpg/isekai genre, it definitely didn’t break free from the tropes, and finally I felt that a lot of suspense and intrigue was ruined by learning that the MC would eventually become a stat monster. Characters being OP is part of fun, but stat checking is gotta be the most boring way to achieve OPness.
Neutral comments: Not really a gritty story, much closer to lighthearted/slice of life even if there are serious moments. Hot OP elf mommy is certainly not a grimdark staple. Not that this story is marketed as or trying to be grimdark.
I liked the references to other stories on RR.
Karl MarxRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
Note: review only written at chapter 6, heavily recommend spending a little time reading the story to see if it’s for you.
Overall the premise, setup, and early world building of the story seems solid and intriguing, giving the reader a solid understanding of how the main character received their class/ abilities, what the main character is and will be capable of, and what actions the main character may take based on the above.
What really hurt the story for me was the contrast in a fair explanation of reason and emotion from the beginning of the story to the short lasting jumble of non-explained, messy emotion and action that takes place in chapter 5.
Within chapter 5 there is a clear hurt of betrayal, lost of trust, explanation of the main characters worry of being used for the guild, an understandable reason for the main character to flee, and a possible fast change in setting to the story (not saying a fast change in setting is necessarily desired).
I don’t believe that the actions, emotions and results of chapter 5 are wrong. What I do believe is that compared to the emotional clarity seen in previous chapters is that chapter 5 fails to have a strong representation and explanation for the characters ending actions and emotions, leaving the reader with a difficult time to comprehend the purpose of the chapter while making the characters seem less human.
I personally quickly found disinterest with the characters after chapter 5, however this is a very early point to drop a story. I heavily recommend reading this story yourself so that you can form your own opinion and not loose out on reading something you may enjoy.
sagegoldfishRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
Grammar needs a little more work, spelling as well.
Plot has a good idea but is pulled down by character, grammar and continuity mistakes.
Most numbers and time lines won't add up or will lead to more questions than answers.
Story is also missing at least the soft sci-fi tag, like a lot story's on RR missing tags, and that is the biggest reason for my dropping of the story.
Sir_SpudRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
Overall the story was a cornucopia of LitRpg tropes with a fairly solid world built beneath them, even if that world building was super repetitive. The problems start pretty quickly with major spelling mistakes, swapped character names, sesquipedalian author, and forgotten ideas.
I am a Scout by trade, and I work for the Adventurer's Guild.
That line in the description just feels categorically false. This might have been the idea behind the creation of the book. Which did give it a strong premise and there was some strong follow through. Until the 1st bad thing happened. It felt so jarring, characters are introduced, ideas are placed, locations described, and then just forgotten. The book laid so much ground work, and then decided to do something different.
Same for character building. So many side character decisions and things happened with what felt like reasons that the reader never learns. The Author gives a ton of suggestive descriptions that leave a lot up for interpretation. This leads to what feels like weird changes in character behavior.
Age gap: 16 year old and a 25 year old.
The relationship felt awkward and forced, which kind of fit my narrative of them both being 16. This is due to the author not bring up the love interest's(Kara) age. Then towards the end of the book the MC sees Kara naked and she's fine with it. And then they talk about the mile deep club when in the dungeon, and how it's a shame he didn't understand her clues of wanting to join. It isn't till after all of that, that you learn that Kara is 25 and the MC is 16. The entire relationship felt a little gross, but it ramped way up when the ages were explicitly told.