I Am Become Death: A Progression Fantasy [Cultivation-based power system]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Nothing will ever change. Unless he changes it.Matthias Stonebreaker is tormented every day.He has no talent for The Gift of magic or the Enforcement of life energy, and will one day be forced over the frontier, where ferocious monsters destroy all those who can't defend themselves.And he certainly can't, until a near-death experience awakens a new path to power. The path of Divine Breath.Now he must learn how to cultivate the very energy of the gods to steal their divine strength.Supported by his cursed brother and younger sister, he will walk the path of shadow and death itself.But he must be careful, for in this world......even death could die.***** Welcome to my next novel series, after Mark of the Fool, Ogre's Pendant and Rune Seeker. I hope you enjoy my next story.This is a progression fantasy with power systems heavily inspired bycultivationwith its own unique twists. I love murim stories and there's some love letters to those in this series.***Rating: This story is kind of like a hard PG-13 movie. There'll be gore, detailed fights and injuries, with some swearing but not much beyond that. If that changes, I'll warn you.Tone: Tone will be an action-adventure story, with emphasis on training, mystery, cultivation, martial arts, and mystical elements. There will be slice of life sections as well. There will be mentions of war, death, grief and violence.MC: MC is tough, driven and emphasizes willpower with some analytical elements. He will be mostly in control of his emotions, with some exceptions. MC starts weak, will progress in power, becoming very strong and gains power quickly. He's giant-blooded so he will blend strategy, strength and crushing power, stealth and magic.Fights: Fights will be detailed.***Stuff this story won't have:- Extreme grimdark content - Murderhobo plots - Edgy, anti-hero MC - Pacifist MC - Harems

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: J.M. Clarke (U Juggernaut)

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 4,575
Views: 632,571

Chapters(73 total)

What readers say about I Am Become Death: A Progression Fantasy [Cultivation-based power system]

“This is a well-written story with no noticeable plot holes. The narrative flows smoothly, and every element contributes to the overall progression. The plot is carefully crafted, maintaining consistency and coherence throughout, ensuring a seamless experien…”
ALightNovelFanaticRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Amazing start to a book. I was instantly hooked and couldn't put it down until I had caught up with the release. Now I am wanting to go back and start reading Way of the Fool while waiting for new chapters if its quality is anywhere close to this one.”
BevansRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

ALightNovelFanaticRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a well-written story with no noticeable plot holes. The narrative flows smoothly, and every element contributes to the overall progression. The plot is carefully crafted, maintaining consistency and coherence throughout, ensuring a seamless experience for readers without any distractions or inconsistencies.I'm enjoying the daily life and struggles of Mathias Stonebreaker and his family. Their experiences feel genuine, with relatable challenges that add depth to their characters. The portrayal of their interactions and the way they navigate obstacles makes for an engaging and heartfelt journey.
BevansRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Amazing start to a book. I was instantly hooked and couldn't put it down until I had caught up with the release. Now I am wanting to go back and start reading Way of the Fool while waiting for new chapters if its quality is anywhere close to this one.
C.J. ThompsonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So, yes, I may be a tad bit biased. I'm a huge fan of Mark of the Fool, among... other reasons. But! Regardless of that, I Am Become Death is shaping up to be stellar. I've only read the first 9 chapters at this point, but I will say, if you liked Fool, you'll probably like this.
It's got a smart MC, solid relationships (and healthy ones at that!), and good action when the time comes. The world starts out small, which is great so it's not too overwhelming, but there are plenty of little hints of things to come. Teasers, I guess, and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go.
If you weren't a fan of Fool, I'd suggest giving this a try. While there are similarities in the style, this is its own story, and there are enough differences to make this worth your while.
I'll definitely be reading.
Maxime J. Durand (Void Herald)Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I Am Become Death is, so far, an excellent character story carried by stellar worldbuilding and a very interesting take on magic, blending spellcasting, cultivation, and robbing the gods blind.
I Am Become Death is a medieval fantasy story following Matthias, a young knight-in-training with the unenviable position of being one of the few people in his country without the aptitude for body reinforcement and the word/command-based sorcery that determine most people's social status. Disowned by his lordly father and forced to live with his siblings, one cursed with bouts of berserk rage and the other far too young to help, he lives a life of mockery and bullying from older squires. His life, however, takes a turn when he discovers himself an aptitude for the third and less well-regarded path to power: that of the divine-thief, who steals power from the embers of divinity which the gods left behind when they walked the earth (a system rather similar to the Ur-Priests of D&D).
The setup of a bullied boy discovering himself a mysterious power capable of turning the tables on his tormentor might sound a bit cliché, but the story so far is carried by the strength of its worldbuilding and cast. J.M. Clarke has clearly done a lot of work in developing his fantasy world, nations, and background, while Matthias' relationship with his family, fellow knights and wizard mentor take a large focus. Their interactions help the world feel alive in many ways and draw you in. They're very much this novel's main strengths so far, at least to me.
A warning though, this is a fantasy work that takes its time. Most of the early chapters set the stage rather than focus much on action and power progression, so this will probably like a slow burn to most.
I might change my mind later as more chapters are released, but so far, I'm eagerly awaiting new updates and I encourage you to take a look if you're interested in a character-driven fantasy.
Nameless32Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Note: I beta-read this story, so I'm far ahead of what's posted right now
Oh my, I don't even know where to start with this one.
Okay, so I read Ogre's Pendant and Rat in the Pit. I read Mark of the Fool. I read Rune Seeker. And now, I'm reading I am Become Death.
And having read all of these stories, I can really say this is an incredible blend of everything Juggernaut has written before. He hits you with all the things that made Fool great -- the wonderful characters, the progression, the prose and the moments of pure emotion -- but with some of the intensity that I absolutely loved from the Oaths Blood and Coin series and an amped-up progression focus.
Chapter 6 really is the turning point for this story, and it's this perfect encapsulation of the thesis of this world that's just a bit darker and grittier than Fool's was. This is a setup where every single scene plays such a pivotal part in it, and as a result the emotion that comes is so incredibly powerful.
You can really feel the need in the main character's heart to progress, in a way that I've only seen in stories like Cradle and Iron Prince. And I don't think it's any coincidence that those two happen to be two of the all-time greatest progression stories ever. This book intertwines the progression so deeply with its characters and world that its foundation is just rock-solid.
And once you get to the payoff... oh my god. The payoff. You need to read it to understand.
I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this may be Juggernaut's greatest work yet.
(And no, I'm not Juggernaut's mom)
WormywormwormRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Very good story. On par with Mark of the fool.
Liked the reference to the baghavat gita in the title. Mathius is a relatable character in a very unrelatable situation lol, but thats the fun of the fun of the story.
This word count is kinda dumb not gonna lie.
CremYRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
So I was able to read this book earlier than its official release date on royal road through Patreon. So far I’m at chapter 33 and I have to say this by itself is a very good book. I’m pleased with the characters, power system, and lore that we have been learning about through vague mentions. Now would I say this book is better than fools first 30 chapters…no. However like I said earlier this is a very good stand alone book that I’ve been enjoying throughout the week. Overall we are still only halfway through book one and J.M has expressed that the book may be the length of fool or longer, so we have lot of story left to go. I will mostly likely update my review at the end of book 1 or whenever. In the end this is a great book, and when reading it I would encourage others to retract themselves from the grand expatiations of fool and take the book for what it is. A half giant man cultivating power from the gods and becoming death.
HerrkaNeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
After mark of the Fool finally something new. Literally just thought today it was about time for a new story. I will update but I want to help with 5 stars already.
Good that we start already with a few chapters that I will read now after checking in on the other stories here.
So far so good.
anon_userRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
TL;DR: Cool story aside from my personal gripes with the tropes.
I'll start by saying this is a great story and if you haven't felt the same as me about the author's previous work, you can safely ignore it.
So, the story is well thought out, you feel the experience of the author shining: the characters have clear goals, you get the hang of the social dynamics right off the bat, there's lore in the background that leaves you wondering, etc.
My main gripe is that it suffers from the same issue as the author's previous work: a weak, good for nothing young guy discovers a way to become strong in a world that values strength. Not a bad premise at all, but the powers often come too fast and are too great right at the start; more so in "I am Become Death" than "Fool" or "Rune Seeker" though. As a result, the victories of the MC feel undeserved and the power scaling between characters is often inconsistent. It's also pretty typical that pain is used as a shortcut for training in the stories such that the MC can have a power-up in a short time frame (a common trope though, not holding it against you but it does happen often enough).
As a result of the above, it then comes down to cool fights that the author clearly has a blast writing! But they feel less impactful and mostly there for the coolness factor.
This review is a bit more personal I suppose because I was expecting some more risk taking from the author in terms of story-telling, at the same time it's all great work and it does work, people enjoy it! I also realize I might not be the target demographic for the books, in any case keep at it =)
Fun story I'd recommend if you're looking for a young adult fantasy type of thing. Have fun!
PatchumzRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
It's an enjoyable series with very few grammatical errors and a lot of worldbuilding. The magic systems are very fun and the characters are pretty distinct. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes this author's previous works.
For me however, the D&D influences are blatently obvious even if the author didn't talk about his D&D campaigns in many of the author footnotes. This isn't a good thing, for my enjoyment personally.
It reads like a character has to narrate a lot of scenes with dialogue and when characters talk to each other they effectively vomit lore and exposition to each other. There's still some 'quiet' exposition and worldbuilding like you would expect with a novel (show vs tell) but too often you get pulled out of the fantasy by one the characters taking the role of the narrator. Exactly like what you have to do in a D&D campaign anytime a character or the DM needs to explain a plot or character motivation.
This can be a minor deal breaker if you're not a fan of reading a D&D campaign, but I expect most people won't mind it very much. It just bugs the hell out of me, as a prolific novel reader who is way too used to traditional narrative structures.