Kernstalion

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

One release per week [Hiatus in November due to NaNoWriMo]

[Changed the Summary based on reader feedback. Thanks guys!]

When Mitchel gets a birthday gift from his girlfriend Sandra - a pre-order version of the newest VR game, he is thrilled. Real-life graphics, full-body senses, and a mysterious world that nobody knows anything about seem like a great way to escape real-life for a few months or longer.

Two days later, his dreams of a pleasant pastime are shattered. After meeting a rude welcome-NPC, getting a weak starting body, and having a near-death experience, he finds himself sleeping on the ground, cold and filthy. Unable to log-out, he now has frightening dreams where the tutorial-AI is walking around in his body plotting Earth's conquest. If that isn't enough, he slowly realizes that the game might not actually be a game but that he could very well be in another world.

Can Mitchel find out what is going on and where Sandra is? Can he regain his own body, and would he still want to when all is said and done?

[The Story]

What this story is: A LitRPG, portal-like, slow-moving story with a protagonist who has to balance crafting and 'magic' to survive. The books have a pre-thought-out plot and finish. Also, the world is harsh, and things don't always go the MC's way.

What it is not: A drama, romance, grimdark, although these elements might appear.

I've had some feedback that the intro seems to set up a very rough life for the MC. There is a reason for this, and I hope you give it a try beyond the first few chapters. Do note, this is not an unreasonably harsh novel.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2020
Author: Carrarn

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 515
Views: 473,500

Chapters(175 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

BarrentRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This book has a nice flow and plot. Its kind of litrpg lite.. which is nice as pages of stats are not cluttering up the story to much, just tracking the progress.
The MC isn't looting all the time for upgrades, he is crafting his way to victory. Which is an interesting path.
The character is not instant OP victory which is also nice.
It is a solid work, thanks for sharing.
ImpalerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There are 120+ chapters and I have finals next week and somehow I keep finding myself reading instead of studying. This is probably the best blend of a typical fantasy fiction and a LitRPG I've read in a long team. Stats are an important and critical part of the story but it is not so pervasive as to be the all-controlling system that most stories utilize. He doesn't learn new spells, evolve into new classes, or gain power ups, rather we see a VERY slow but smooth progression where our MC simply learns how to utilize his spells and skills better and in greater variety. It feels far more realistic than any other story I've read so far, it reads great and you would regret not giving it a try.
Another thing that took my breathe away is how smooth and well done the world building is. Original factions, creatures, races makes SENSE in the way they interact with one another but also how they interact with each other off screen. The world is alive and real and doesn't require the MC's presence to progress, the details required and the effort unleashed is just fantastic. Thank you for writing, I'll definitely keep reading.
grovekeeperRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Reviewed at chapter 98. You kind of forget to rate and review good novels and waste your energy on the bad ones.
Pros.
Great world building which is fleshed out slowly, over the course of time. No exposition, but it comes naturally when the story advances.
No freebies. The MC has to work to get knowledge, take risks and survive. The author makes his life difficult and sometimes we are almost sure he won't escape.
The way the story progresses, new challenges are all really great. You won't feel bored, though there isn't much suspense too.
The litrpg elements are believable and plausible.
Characters are solid with their own motivations and personality. No cut outs. They work to further their goals.
Cons
Sometimes the story line falls off and then continues after some chapters. Characters who haven't been explored well doesn't stay in memory that long. Would be solved when publishing though.
Some minor grammar issues, but solved fast.
Style. Great, first person, a unique take, we know why the character does something, the story not just describe this actions, but we understand the thought process. Combat can be better, but don't ask me how.
Story. Excellent, grimdark, work hard and progress. The romance part is a great backdrop, some genuine love which isn't projected evey single sentence, but you can feel through the lines. That is a great plus point.
Grammar. Good, it was a not that good at first, but improved so much later on. I am not that good at catching errors apart from the most obvious, so can't say much on this.
Characters. Excellent, though with how much other characters are explored, some fall behind. The equality is a bit less.
MorrowjustinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There are soo many choices on what to read on royal road that sometimes the gems get mixed up in the massive amounts of stories you have to dig through. This is one that is worth your time and that has a solid well fleshed out protagonist, a great pace with enough action, and solid system building. If you read it, be prepared to bing read and then be like a crack addict waiting for more.
Bark TwainRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I just started reading your story and I'm really liking it so far. Lit Rpg is where it's at! It's got the kind of adventure I'm looking for. It's the kind of genre I like writing as well. I am looking forward to going through the whole thing and fleshing out a comprehensive reivew soon.
OutcastRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
i really enjoy the plot of the story alot, its a unique take on the generic "hero saves world" and the lit rpg system is really uniue as well, its much more realistic than most litrpg and i never feel that the mc is too op. he has to think and struggle to fight what he cant and what he can fight are still note worthy for the most part.
The grammer and is kinda iffy early on but the quality of it improves significantly later on. overall, pretty good grammer and not many typos.
the plot of the story is kinda boring early on but TRUST ME, it gets really good when he meets a deity. the first part of the story is him getting used to the new world hes in and getting stronger. i would go further but i dont want to give to many spoilers so you'll just have to read to find out!
i really like est's character, the others are well written most of the time but the purpose they serve is kinda bland most of the time, its mostly "i like you because you saved my ass from that monster and now were traveling together" or "you want me dead so ill stay away from you".
i might edit this later as this fantastic story comes out more.
PhobosRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I'm really enjoying this story. There are some minor problems with spelling/grammar as the author is not a native english speaker, but none are so problematic as to ruin the reading experience. The flow is not interrupted, and the author is responsive to corrections and critique.
More importantly, the characterization and pacing are both great, at least from my perspective. There is minor conflict and fighting monsters in the early chapters, but most of the early story is the MC establishing his foundations and learning about the world. World building is usually snuck in, not belabored, and the info dumps that do appear are usually conversations, not narration.
Sometimes the stakes are low, sometimes high. Kernstalion, the other world, is replete with dangerous monsters, but also towns of people just trying to get by with their lives. It's not until fairly far into the story that you find a lot of people in opposition to one another, but it turns out that's more because he starts out in a backwater than a feature of the world. Most of the action takes place away from towns, while those bastions of civilization generally serve as respites. It's a well-balanced story of learning and fighting, but the focus will vacillate back and forth.
In terms of the guts of the story, you get a bit of everything, sometimes Mitchel/Est is alone, sometimes with allies, but the narration is all from Mitchel's perspective. Every character has their own motivations influenced by their pasts and goals. The other early characters are mostly friendly, but you find they all want something of different kinds from the MC. MCl is relatable, particularly for those I expect are the average audience of RR. I wouldn't characterize it as a weakness, but he's a known quanity, enjoys everything gaming, devoted to his girlfriend, standing up for right when he can.
He is thrust into an adventure through a confluence of luck (or misfortune if you like) and the machinations of deities, and despite this s
regikRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Many stories of this kind fall into the trap of giving the main character too much too early. This one does not. In fact, it aggressively goes out of its way to ensure that you can't claim that the starting character is too strong to the point where it is a little absurd, but they make it work.
I do, however, think that the whole session with Rathica into the library stint was a bit too much power too quickly and perhaps used up too much of the rope the author so painstakingly gave the main character.
The grammar is mostly fine but there were a few bits and pieces that could do with a session with an editor to polish away. The characters are actually pretty well fleshed out (outside of Egillia, who is pretty one-dimensional) and I'm looking forwards to meeting most of them again.
This story is a little bit painful to get started with because the whole opening sequence feels very off since the AI is not written very well, but if you can get past the opening 5 or so chapters, things only get better from there on in. An enjoyable read, all in all, and I look forward to more from the author.
varkolakRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Overall I liked the world, characters, and main storyline, but it suffers from a bit of misdirection. The first 5-10 chapters didn't really suck me into the story but after that point book one was excellent. It was well structured, engaging, and just a great read. Then book 2 started and if felt things went down hill. The book became a constant stream of setbacks that the MC never really resolves but just kept trucking through until the next setback happened. I feel that a slight rewrite of book 2 to let the MC consolidate, grow, and overcome a few times instead of constantly being tossed around would do wonders for an otherwise really good story.
SteamrollaRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
The plot to this story is great, and the MC has some pretty interesting abilities. Mostly the spelling and grammar is excellent.
There were some plot problems when I read through all the back chapters in one day, but the author is super responsive and they should be fixed. Now I wish I would have kept track of the less annoying stuff for editing 😂.
But. We're a long way into the story and there are a lot of awesome things going on too.