Manual Not Included (Dungeon Building, LitRPG, Isekai)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Colt and Lacey were the dream team for the escape room tournament. They won... a trip into the middle of a mountain where they had one pedestal that didn't tell them anything in a language they could barely guess at and a deadline they didn't know about until it passed.

No Manual, Control Runes They Can't Read, and a Mountain to fill with challenging monsters before adventurers come to destroy them.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2024
Author: Charmpagne

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 533
Views: 173,309

Chapters(104 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(8)

KaelasRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love dungeon stories. I've read dozens or more of them by now. So it's always a treat when I run into one that manages to be truly novel in a significant way. The combination of partner DMs, the puzzles, and the mechanics of how dungeons work in this setting make a lovely new flavor I'm really enjoying.
Speaking of the partners, I adore Lacey and Colt. One of the things I've learned over time is that I can't abide stories without loyal friendships. Not for every relationship in the story of course, but I need at least one rock solid friendship to be present and significant or I'll end up hating every character and dropping the book. The two DMs meet that need in spades. The pair know each other, care about each other, and love each other such that it provides a foundation for the story that allows the plot to flourish.
And the plot is nothing to sneeze at either.
Thanks for writing.
Moon_WinchesterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The premise for the story is interesting and so far I enjoy it. Currently giving it a 5 star review since I don't see anything wrong with it and no blaring red flags. Though I have not read too deeply I am interested to see how to story develops. Though I hope that eventually it gains a new cover.
StarWaltzRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This was very fun but I think people need to understand this is part of a series because there were quite a few confused comments.
Nemesis Quest is the first story in the series and is also really enjoyable! Check that story out before you read this one or the meta parts will leave you wondering what's going on.
StyxFiskRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I rarely leave reviews but this one has been fantastic, the two main characters play off each other in a way that feels super natural and quickly draws you into the story.
While light on typical litrpg traits I would say anyone who enjoys that genre, or dungeon stories will love this one.
cant wait for more chapters
scarney5545Royal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I really enjoy this story and look forward to following lacy and colt on their adventures. There is some confusing parts in the beginning chapters, most of the edits helped. If you enjoy humor and characters that feel real, then give this a try. I want to find out if the other stuff mentioned is available books. I am terrible at these. I only write reviews for stories I really enjoy and hope that it helps the author keep going. I love reading but couldn't think up a story to save my life so keep doing what you do.
RedPineRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
MCs are not evil. Dungeon stories are always a gamble ethically, but this one is pretty clean. The lack of traditional evil in the story so far in no way distracts from the conflict and tension, which so far revolves around a combination of ignorance, pride, greed, bureaucracy, and incompetent AI tech support.
There are adult themes. It's relatively tasteful, and there are helpful trigger warnings where relevant. Still, not for children.
The story should resonate with anyone who has worked for or with any large business.
StillnessRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
An overall decent dungeon management story. The character motivations are make deadly puzzle rooms that people enjoy and prevent adventurers from killing them. The character writing itself is also quite good.
I think the author needs to figure out what kind of story they want to tell though. The dungeon management aspect is largely frustrating as the characters don’t have the needed knowledge or control of their dungeon. The ‘system’ is also inconsistent in how it works, such as nerfing things that it once allowed. This is used to increase the challenge the characters are under, but annoying that the civilization/ecology/dungeon building is so hamstrung.
How their new world actually works is unclear, but seems to be entirely gamified with players and NPCs. If there is an overarching plot to all of this, then I haven’t seen it.
The tension of the story has also dropped since death doesn’t seem to matter.
As mentioned, the characters really make the story. At this point, however, I don’t see how the author is going to keep it interesting.
KoranskyRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
Reading till the point i did felt like a chore, and an annoying one at that.
Too fast-paced where it should go slower, too sluggish where it should skip over stuff, too little detail where it matters, too much where it doesn't.
Sometimes characters are acting logically, sometimes they make you question their mental faculties.
I haven't seen much of promised dungeon building/management, except that they accidentally skipped time and the dungeon built itself. Aka, the exact opposite of what i want to see in a dungeon building book.
Now, though, here's my biggest problem with this and what made me drop this - people respawn. That's it, no winning for the MC. No sense of accomplishment, Dipshit #289 WILL come back tomorrow, and he WILL bring his friends, Dipshits through #290 to #295.
This is seen in almost every litrpg-ish dungeon novel with respawns, and i do not trust the author to change that.
AI-looking(who am tryna fool, it is AI) cover doesn't help the case, either.