Leveling Up In A Deadly Contest...With My Coworkers?! [Stubbed]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Congratulations Milly Hawthorn! Welcome to the God Contest!

Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck in a dead-end job?

Are you sick of your heartless boss and crazy coworkers?

Do you wish something would finally change in your depressing little life?

Well good news! You’ve just been transported to God Contest World. A place of limitless potential, where fantastic powers are only a few monster corpses away—unless they kill you first. Still better than surviving in corporate America, right?

There’s just one small catch…

That dead-end job? Your heartless boss? Those crazy coworkers? They’re all coming with you! And if you thought dangerous monsters and insane gods were bad, try a power-hungry CEO on superpower steroids!

Okay, so maybe it’s not good news.

Benefit: You can make some friends! How about an obsessed gamer, your office bully, and a dangerously creative barista? And have you thought about reinventing yourself? You’d make a wonderful witch!

Corporate Motto: Innovate. Synergize. And whatever you do, don’t die!

*Publishing with Tapas Entertainment (Tapas.io) on January 7th, 11AM PST. Old chapters have been stubbed this morning*

Cover art by Vexdye

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: SAH_Author

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 976
Views: 90,310

Chapters(18 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

lucydRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Just like the author's other novel (which you should check out—another excellent read), Witch of the Castle of Glass offers a fresh take on the system apocalypse genre.
Style: Good pacing. Scenes and chapters flow very well together, and the author does a great job of balancing action and character growth.
Grammar: It's a well-written, solid story with no grammar issues that would break immersion or disrupt the flow while reading.
Story: The setting adds another layer to the usual system apocalypse that elevates the story, adding both mystery and higher stakes. The system is not just a prop but an essential part of the story, integral to the world, and as we discover more about it, we simultaneously uncover mysteries and explore the world at large.
Character: Another area where the author shines. The MC's journey is well done. I want to root for her, and it's fun to watch her grow. As for the supporting cast, they are not just props but real characters that add depth to the story, each with their own personalities and contributions that advance the plot and the MC's journey.
Overall: A fun and well-written story with memorable characters and a solid plot. Give it a try!
FiddlesoupRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This review is for a review swap.
This story is amazing! Its funny, pleasant to read, and with believable well written characters. I plan to get caught up and keep reading.
Characters: The star of the show. The characters are all great and relatable. Xavier is genre-savvy and nerdy. Mildred hates life because adulting sucks, and she's still bullied despite being an adult. Even the enemies get fleshed out a bit in humorous ways.
Story: The story is great and uses a device I've seen before (the Greek gods are real and cause the system Apoc) but in a unique way. The story is directly impacted by the two Mc’s and their characterization which makes for really entertaining storytelling.
Grammar: I spotted no grammar errors.
Style: And finally, style. This read like an edited book. It's sharp with good pacing and so funny; I'm quite amazed it's not tagged as humor. I literally woke my wife up from a nap because I was laughing so loud during ch 5 and 6, especially. The game's lit mechanics feel litrpg in nature, but it is really light, which is why it's not tagged as litrpg. There's also a meta element in the ending notes reminiscent of Will Wight’s bloopers that are quite enjoyable.
KevB2398Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I usually only rate books because I'm lazy, but I had to give this one a review. The character development is stellar and the action is heart pounding every time. None of the arcs feel like they're dragged out and every single character fells like they should be there (they're not just padding). It's just an amazing story from beginning to end.
dan_whoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Everyone starts off miserable, and that makes it work. It gives the characters solid starting points and makes the progression more than just numbers going up. Other reviews already cover the found family and bonding aspects of the story. I want to emphasize how well the author does on keeping the focus on character motivations and actions. Yes, they're in a death-game with event triggers, but mostly the action and story comes from the choices the characters make.
I also really appreciate the pacing of the story. There aren't long breaks in the story while a character ruminates over three choices for a power upgrade and then basically regurgitates the ability in their own thoughts. The characters have a skill web to choose from and are smart enough to plan ahead. There is however a balance between action, emotional growth, humor, and the occasional chill session.
For criticism: there is a little inconsistency between the early story and later chapters in how things work. The most obvious being that at first they don't need to pull items out of their inventory to trade them in, but later they do. It's funnier that they have to pull things out, mind you. But it does seem strange if you're reading through the chapters and run into both instances. There are also occasional typos in some chapters that look like they may be autocorrect issues. for example "tomb" instead of "tome". Not enough to cause confusion, but enough that the author should consider an editor if they publish or move to an audio book.
BreRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is filled with rich world-building, complex characters, and a leveling system that's interesting and varied enough to not feel boring. I look forward to adventures from the whole cast, and cannot wait for updates. Please give this well-written novel a chance. I promise you won't be disappointed at all.
ScroggysMooRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am really enjoying this book. Love the way the author has incorporated life lessons into the story. Things we should all know but sometimes forget to live by. Thank you for the reminder us to be kind and help where and when you can. the visual descriptions are well written and draw us into the story. Love the interplay between the author and his cast of characters. Adds some fun to a sometimes emotional and deep chapter. Great job for your first book. Looking forward to finishing this one and moving on to your next endeavour!! Cheers
SilentSapphicRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The world built by SAH is fantastical, massive, and terrifying. The characters are varied in their motivations, ideals, fears, and actions. There's plenty of twists and turns in the plot that have just the right amount of foreshadowing to make the reader feel clever and validated for noticing without being so obvious as to be insulting. And then we get stuff like bosses in "foreshadowing mode" flying around the countryside. Hilarious when not terrifying.
Character progression and LitRPG elements feel rewarding and well-paced. Our girls grow from weaklings to powerhouses while still encountering challenges that test them. At no point does it get boring, and the stat screens have just the right frequency to be satisfying and not overwhelming.
Most of all, I love the themes present in the story around found family, loving and being loved, and growth and change. I for one can't wait to see what's in store for the newest member of the family, I know she'll do us proud. Plus, it's queer as heck!
My only complaint is the occasional typo or autocorrect error. But that's not enough to detract from my enjoyment, and the actual grammar and sentence structure is unaffected and well crafted.
The Walrus KingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is relaxing and fun to read. A good balance of risk and reward with a fairly unique setting. I love Litrpg stories, but I want there to be some meaning to the numbers. The characters in the story are just starting to get stronger, and it shows in their confidence and abilities. And thank god, no huge infodumps. Abilities have a lot of versatility and aren't specifically defined so far. I'm enjoying how people are using them in the story.
The characters are three-dimensional except in the case of one person whose lack of personality is part of the plot. There are meaningful conversations between the characters as they deal with the life-and-death situation they are in and how they react to being given a potential fresh start in a new world. It's dangerous, but for most of them, ait is n escape from a dead end life.
There are some grammar errors that people have caught, but the author is taking time to fix them. I may notice them more since I have been spending a lot of time editing my own stories lately.
The story so far has me intrigued and wondering what comes next. The story has a lot of 'slice of life' bits, then explodes back into action.
The style of the story is fine. It rolls along from chapter to chapter, making me want to continue reading.
I've noted my thoughts as things roll along. A lot of them are, "Why aren't they doing this?" Then I realize I'm operating with a god's-eye view of the story, and the characters are reacting the way real people would. They aren't murder hobos, they didn't sign up for this and have a huge lack of information.
jumpsplat120Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
if you're looking for a fic that understands people, and isn't willing to pull punches, then you'll absolutely love this! 800 or so coworkers get dumped into a death game with some of the highest stakes imaginable. we follow the 788th most likely to survive, Mildred Brown. Milly finds a second wind in this beautiful death trap, but not just because "she's a pro gamer and has been waiting for something like this for whole life". in fact, we actually have that character in the book; the titular MC from pretty much any other system apocalypse fic on RR. But the Witch of the Castle of Glass asks, do you really win by eschewing human connection? Or maybe, as hard as it might be, that's exactly what we need to hold on to.
Any book that sucks up my weekends is always going to get 4 stars and above. The only reason it's not five stars is it needs an editing pass pretty badly, which I think the author is aware of. But beyond some pretty silly misspellings, missed words, and unintentionally added words, it's still fully understandable, so no worries there. Can't wait to catch back up when this is finished!
MarschallinRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Very readable story in terms of an underdog MC you want to root for, an engaging plot hook, and good SPAG.
But there are two things that made me drop the story:
1) Tonal whiplash. On the one hand, MC is involved in a brutal “game” that can kill her at any time, and has killed many of her co-workers already. On the other hand, MC is the useless protagonist of a tepid romance, blushing after touching her crush’s hand, having an emotional overload at the thought of (squee!) bed sharing, etc.
Now, you might be asking yourself, “Isn’t that a *good* thing? Doesn’t some romance lighten up the bleakness of the situation?”
In theory, yes. But in practice in this book, the transitions are extremely jarring, to the point the reader gets whiplash.
It’s to the point I’d almost say there’s two completely separate book ideas here. One of them is a deadly survival litRPG. The other is a gentle, slice-of-life LGBT romance. Unfortunately, instead of picking one, they’re stitched together like an unwieldy Frankenstein.
2) The plot is a litte railroaded. Things happen because there needs to be an endgame with the big bad after a number of dramatic confrontations. Unfortunately, this comes at the price of inexplicable decisions just to be able to hit certain plot wickets.
It’s not a bad book, and I’m certainly not saying that. It’s just the current reviews are almost uniformly singing the book’s praises as one of the best on the site, which I think is a bit crazy.
I’d say it’s worth a shot to read the book until about chapter 20. If you notice the issues I stated above, and they’re annoying you, it’s going to get worse, not better. If you thoroughly enjoyed it to that point, you’ll likely enjoy the whole book.