Hero x Villain Online: Chronomancer [Superhero Progression]

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2024

Author

Eli'sPencil

• Chapter 1: Hero x Villain Online
  Dec 4, 2024

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• BluesycobaltRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The forewarning I would give is that the content warnings are serious. This is not a fluffy numbers-go-up kind of story. That said, I am always on the look out for stuff that steps outside the bounds of normal RoyalRoad fare and this is certainly it.
  Grammar - Very little to complain about. Hews close to publishable quality with a rare ding here and there to be expected from having only one set of eyes on a work.
  Style - The system is laid out well and even has those little intricacies that keep things interesting. Specifically, the feature of the titular game getting content updates that nudge things in different directions is pretty unique and lends intrigue to the story hook of who or what is putting out this game. The POV is more or less omniscient with a bit of head-hopping within some chapters, but as someone that both enjoys that style choice and employs it myself, I can hardly detract for it.
  Story - As of the latest chapter, the story is a straightforward superhero narrative so, as far as GameLit goes, expect the story beats of something like Super Supportive or even Spiderverse (which I suspect others have made the comparison to) albeit a little more condensed. The tone is significantly darker than both of these which is where I think the story most departs from other stories in the genre. If you're into that, this is the story for you. If violence and moral ambiguity are not your thing, maybe give this one a pass. Regardless, the storytelling execution is there.
  Character - For this I am going to tentatively give 5 stars for now because I have liked the other dimensions of the story, but for full disclosure, the story is still in the system-exploration phase. The latest chapter, "The Blur," is where we are getting our first taste of the broader cast of characters and I would personally leave the score blank if RR let me do that, but I will possibly revisit the story and have more to say later so functionally treat this as a Not-Applicable/5.
  My general ta
• Littlegiant7Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This is a well-written fast-paced story. And I am a good fan of fast-paced novels. The author did a good job of making the first chapter interesting. It compels you to read more. If you don't believe me, click on the first chapter and find out yourself.
  The grammar is nearly perfect. Rarely do I find any mistakes or misspellings. The word exchanges between characters are also engaging. The author also did a good job of describing the character's thoughts which makes it very interesting to read.
  The world-building so far is great.A new games which directly affects reality was released. The story centers on players who could either decide to become heroes or villains. And from what I have read so far, there are more perks to being a villain.  Our Mc Ky so far is on the hero's path with a unique ability of time manipulation. And I don't think I need to say much about this ability, as it is about the most powerful ability a character could possess in any fantasy novel. I like the premise of this novel, as I am not really into novels where characters only become stronger in a game.
  The abilities of the players provided so far are simply amazing and well-thought-of. The fights are also amazing and enjoyable to read.
  All in all, the story is very engaging...
  This is a novel with a lot of potential. I highly recommend.
• Maeve_LindleyRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Grammar and Style
  The grammar, spelling and punctuation is spot on. The Author has mentioned before they are a stickler for grammar and it really shows. It is easy to read and follow and the consistency when 'thinking' "speech" and [game] makes it so easy!
  Story
  I actually don't normally read anti-hero stories as I am a sucker for the good hero, but I think I may have found a new trope to explore. I will be keeping this on my reading list and the tough decisions the MC has to make makes the story fast paced, which is NOT a bad thing in this story.
  Characters
  The descriptions of the world and how the game creates conflict for the MC is interesting. There descriptions are not over the top, just enough to provide a great picture for the scene.
  The descriptions of violence/action are also great - I find I struggle to write this kind of scene!
  Final thoughts
  An excellently written piece of work that I am sure will take off and be loved by many.
  If you are looking for a great fast paced story away from the usual tropes, I highly recommend.
  I may continue on reading just to see where the MC is going and how he completes/beats the game. The suspense created at the end of every chapter so far has kept me going.
  Keep up the great work Author!
• One Way JusticeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  With such an interesting premise (augmented reality video game giving real-life superpowers), I was expecting an engaging start to the story... and was not disappointed!
  It is always a relief to find authors of a LitRPG story who pay close attention to internal dialogue and reflections on their quest for power—makes the characters stand feel more like real humans instead of blank slates on an exp point grind.
  Style: The writing style is engaging, with appropriate use of prose constructions that have some complexity to them. The world and people in it are described in a vivid way, making the story easy to follow and visualize.
  Story: Intriguing premise and plot! Ky wrestles with his burgeoning sense of identity as an (almost) adult. The morality of having and using superpowers is carefully explored, and Ky’s relationship with people changes as a result of his partaking in the game’s beta... most notably his interactions with a school bully change significantly (as may be expected). The addictive nature of power (and gaming I suppose!) is examined through the characters and the moral choices they make.
  Grammar: No issues spotted
  Characters: Ky is a compelling protagonist to discover the world of this story through. His personality changes (partly) due to interactions with other people are a strength of the story. The personalities of the side-characters could do with some further fleshing out, but there is plenty of story left to do that in!
• SkarabraeRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Style: The author has a unique way of writing that helps the story out. Their word choice is also very good for setting the story's tone and conveying events. There weren't many literary devices, but there were some.
  Story: The story is incredibly good. To avoid spoilers, it's about a world where superheroes and supervillains first come into being. The story hasn't delved into all the consequences of it yet, but this is a new thing for the world. It's also a litrpg where the rpg elements are handled incredibly well. The story also develops exactly how it needs to and has the exact right pacing. It also gets into the superhero story right away. Some readers might not like that fast paced elements, but others will be fine with it.
  Grammar: The grammar is incredibly good. Any grammatical errors are either nonexistent or corrected.
  Character: The characters that are present in the story, main and side, are all very interesting. Any character who isn't just a background character also becomes at least partially 3-d. They are also fairly realistic too. As in, their personalities are realistic and I could see real people reacting to the existence of superpowers the same way they did. There is an exception, but it isn't enough to bump the character score down.
• Liam HillsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Overall:
  Fantastic. Despite reading it for a review swap, I found myself reading more than the 10k words we agreed upon. Very fun, I'll definitely continue reading.
  Grammar:
  Good. Not much more to say.
  Character:
  There aren't that many characters introduced yet, but the ones I have seen are great. Especially the MC. He uses his powers in creative, but more importantly, realistic, ways. You're not left there thinking "Uhm... Why didn't he just do X?", because he actually does do X. He has a lot of abilities, and is constantly getting more. Yet none of them are forgotten, and they're used to their full potential.
  Style:
  Very easy to read. Formatting is good and consistent, and descriptions are done just right. Not too much detail where it's not needed, but just enough to immerse yourself. Again, just over all very easy to read. You start a chapter then suddenly find yourself at the end. Almost like time was warped forward... Hmm.
  I haven't gotten to chapter 15 yet, but I know they get 2x longer after that. Personally I like shorter chapters more as they feel like less of a commitment. But I know I'm probably in the minority there. So if you (the reader) like longer chapters, don't worry, only the beginning has "short" chapters.
  Story:
  Still very early on, but I like how it's progressing so far. The system is very interesting, and I'm excited to learn more about it.
• Clover_FallsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Hero x Villain Online follows a high schooler into a beta test of an AR game that turns players into heroes and villains, but in real life. Like, this is real life for them! Not the most original, but intriguing nonetheless. I like how the game sort of tries to push people toward villany, but I'm not too far into the book to see why. The writing style plus the age of the character makes me think that this is geared more towards young adults.
  The story is written in third person past tense with a fairly overt storytelling approach. The narrative voice feels like someone watching the POV character is telling the story, but then we also get the POV character’s inner monologue. English isn't my first language, but I'm not sure which tense this is or if this is even a writing style, but it works for the story. It takes place in our world with the system coming to us through a game. Overall, a good read, can't wait to read more.
• realnotperfectOfficialRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I’m a bit pressed for time, but I owe this talented author a review- and I’d sooner do this now during my break than delay it further.
  [As always, please note I am not King of Alpha Mega Publishing Universe, nor am I Master of Editing With Five Thousand Editing Degrees; these are only opinions.]
  I will begin by saying I LOVED the superpower dynamic, I think it’s very creative and clever.
  My opinions on this book are mostly good, but scattered. There were things I liked and then other things I wish I saw more of. I found that while the superpowers were fun and very animated (and scenes were constructed very well, and there was no shortage of descriptions that were done excellently), I also found it slightly cliché and a little bit of a “trope” in regard to how the superpowers began.
  But what I really appreciated was how the author seemed to have awareness of how common some styles of GameLit/LitRPG are and how most are essentially copy-pastes of other stories in terms of style. The author seemed to know they needed to throw in other elements borrowed from other works or even created originally, and I loved this.
  This is a very early review at Chapter 11 and I’ll say a trillion times that my opinions don’t really have to matter.
  What I loved even more was that Ky can be so relatable: although I personally felt like I saw syntax errors (tenses were not always used correctly, punctuation marks were sometimes absent or on the wrong side of the quotation mark, etc.), it was the writing of dialogue that reminded me to really feel this story more, as opposed to just read it robotically, and metaphorically stare at the visual fireworks given by superpower elements.
  I always say I make plenty of mistakes myself, and I’ll say that while there were mistakes, I thought the spelling was flawless.
  I don’t know exactly where the author intends to go (at this time) with Hero X Villain Online, but I am so happy I read a story that threw me back not only to school but to video games a
• Maverick26Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Grammar -
  I did not notice any grammar mistakes in this story.
  Style -
  The style is fairly fast-paced with important exposition sprinkled in here and there. That means it quickly gets to the action and impactful moments of the story. There is also a lot of introspection from the main characters that lets the audience understand his thought process and his motivations. I enjoy this kind of storytelling. It really keeps my attention.
  Story -
  The story has a creative take on the system element that is very popular lately by implementing superhero aesthetics instead of fantasy ones. The latter is much more common. It also implements this dynamic of heroism and villainy into a core part of the story's themes which is great to see.
  Characters -
  The main character is pretty relatable and is refreshingly self-aware of the attempts to manipulate him that he's faced with. At the point I'm at, not many other characters have been shown but there are hints at possible compelling moments between the main character and his father later on.
  Overall -
  I like the theme of superheroes and supervillains with a video game system. This story poses some good moral dilemmas that made me curious how they would be tackled. This story was really fun to read.
• Harun kartalRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  the book gets ridiculous(or a kinder equivalent of this maybe) after update 1.2 when main character meets other beta testers in my opinion (one of the characters literally have the backstory of flash which made me stop from continuing to the book after 2-3 episodes to see the situation but it didnt satisfied me)