Path to Prosperity [LitRPG] (Vol 1,2 stubbed)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Muscle. Mana. Mastery. Everything has a price.

Percy is a poor child with nothing to his name. He has no power, no family – only an old mentor in his wooden hut outside town. Even that is taken away from him when the old man dies.But everything changes when he gains access to mana and manifests what is known as an [Ego].His Ego doesn’t grant him strength like others would. It's rare, allowing him to consume what he owns and to reforge the ordinary into the extraordinary.A wooden shovel can transform into a weapon of legend. A tattered coat could become impenetrable. Even dormant powers can be transformed into forces of awe.He consumes what’s his by right, clawing his way from poverty to power. But the higher he climbs, the darker the world becomes. Powerful Adventurers vanish without a trace, and Percy is pulled straight into the heart of the mystery.Thrust into a sea of evil powers, a prophecy, and the Seven Hells, he has to rise—or be swallowed whole.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: HideousGrain

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 2,836
Views: 462,548

What readers say about Path to Prosperity [LitRPG] (Vol 1,2 stubbed)

“When I see that there are already a lot of reviews on a story, I usually don't bother writing because I figure they don't need another one. In this case I can't help myself. To misquote my favorite comedy, "It's my bag, baby!" This is just the type of story…”
BarnyBoyRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“So lets not talk about the story. Its good and you should read it if you like stories where the MC is poor and not complete uneducated but at the beginning doesn't understand how the town works let alone how the world works. He's been trained by an old pers…”
Shades98Royal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

BarnyBoyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
When I see that there are already a lot of reviews on a story, I usually don't bother writing because I figure they don't need another one. In this case I can't help myself.
To misquote my favorite comedy, "It's my bag, baby!" This is just the type of story I love to read. It has a logical growth of an undeveloped mc and he takes every opportunity he can to stimulate that growth. The story doesn't bog down into unnecessary details and has a relatively quick plot. The mc is quick witted and brave but not to a fault. He looks out for himself and tries to find the right way to gain the sort of life he thinks he desires.
All in all, it's a well written serial that just happens to be right down my alley. If you have the time, give it a try. It won't take long for you to see if it's the type of story you want to read too!
Shades98Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So lets not talk about the story. Its good and you should read it if you like stories where the MC is poor and not complete uneducated but at the beginning doesn't understand how the town works let alone how the world works. He's been trained by an old person who has died and now he's making his way in the world.
Lets talk about the system and who people gain access to it. One is the Gifted type people who are gifted access to mana through their actions and heritage. The other way is through 'EGO' which is basically a lottery system. If you gain an 'EGO' then you are on a quick train to gaining access to Mana and ranking up which is a cross between levelling up and cultivation.
greenmetalsmithRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Very well written. Characters have depth and the mc is likeable. The world building is still building up but has been creative. The magic system has been unique so far too.
The story is borderline grim so it's not bubble gum adventuring to this point.
Looking forward to seeing how it develops.
Joey MacaroniRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
This story started off pretty strong. It felt like a generic premise but done well. I was engaged and invested in Percy. One of the things that captured my attention was Percy struggling with social skills. His inexperience in life gave him a charm and depth that I hadn't really been able to experience with these sorts of stories very often. It was fun watching him stumble over himself while he got help from the adults. It was wholesome. The first thing that really irked me was the card system. It felt kind of forced to me. After they were introduced, I started hearing the word cardist very frequently. I can tell the author has a lot of passion for the idea and the cards didn't cause too big of an issue plot wise or anything. That was until
Percy unlocked this ability called blade master. Her had this whole training progression thing going and it was satisfying to read. But then he randomly because a "blade master." It felt like cheating in a video game.
Next thing I took issue was with his emotional development. Percy has a very obsessive yet pragmatic approach to things. He makes mistakes but is very good about reflecting on them. This was another thing I found charming about the story. It was Percy gaining experience, lesson by lesson. Then, his powers abruptly change his personality, effectively skipping years of emotional development.
His ego power basically ate his fear and hesitation when he was attacked by some envious adventurers. This allowed him to triumph in the fight. I think this was a subject that could've given many interesting opportunities for character development, but it was kind of just brushed over.
In the end, I think the author struggles with balancing character development and satisfying plot progression. The story still IS engaging and I suggest people give it a try. Their technical skills aren't half bad. Everything generally reads pretty easily.
LeonRaimeRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
This story started off with a lot of potential. The main character had a mysterious air about him—not knowing his parents or where he came from—and the power system, though a bit confusing, was intriguing, especially with the concept of Egos. The protagonist's personal Ego was particularly fascinating.
However, the execution falters. The characters are uninteresting and lack depth. Virtually no time is spent on their development. Honestly, I might be missing something, but I can’t genuinely pinpoint what motivates the protagonist.
The pacing of the story feels rushed, with monumental plot points brushed over as if they are of little consequence.
For example, at the beginning, it’s established that Percy doesn’t know his origins or who his family is. Later, he discovers that he’s the son of the current King and that his grandfather, the Old King, orchestrated an attempt on his life and caused an assassin turned guardian to flee to the country side with Percy. Yet these revelations, which should be emotionally significant, are glossed over. The Old King is forgiven after just a couple of punches, and he accepts Percy on a whim simply because his Ego is powerful.
By the time I reached the current chapter (B3-C43), I realized I just don’t care about the story anymore.
North of My LandRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
Mmmmmmmmmmmurder!
Right, this is a review, so, let's start with the grammar, which is the best part of the story.
The author does not appear to be a native English speaker, as some of his word choices are rather peculiar, but his mastery of the language is generally top tier.
There are few if any typos in any given chapter (though I am coming in late to the party, so some have been pointed out and corrected already). and there is no inappropriate tense switching (e.g., from present to past to present), either, save for the occasional error where a "had been" becomes a "was" or the like.
So, high marks for grammar: if you suffer from apostrophobia, you aren't getting triggered by this story.
Unfortunately, the style is not quite as polished. The MC is very much in his own head (figuring out where that head got lodged is left as an exercise to the reader, but that isn't a problem per se), which means we often lack context for what exactly is going on in the world.
The story starts with what looks to be a third-person limited perspective, and since it's the perspective of a clueless kid, we are left clueless along with him.
This is where you would use third-person omniscient - while discreetely pointing at some of the stuff that the kid misses for the audience's benefit.
Which does happen *as well*, meaning that the occasional mix of perspective makes the story exactly as confusing as you would expect.
When the kid thinks "this person can decide to kill me, and nobody will stop them!", is he being an idiot, or is it factual?
We don't know - and that is a problem. Partly because everybody acts over the top in a way that would have BRIAN BLESSED tell them to take it down a notch. Which leads us to...
The characters. I was sorely tempted to give them one star, but no. They speak in coherent sentences, they have consistent emotions, they are... People. Not reasonable people, nor sane people, but people. It just so happens that everybody in this world reads like they have e
ZeustiakRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
The main character is written as if he were isekai’d into this town and world and yet supposedly he grew up his whole life here.
He also spends a large amount of time thinking about stealing things and then immediately ‘shuddering’ at the idea as if he weren’t the one thinking about it at every turn.
And the MC acts his age, which makes sense since he seems to be a teenage boy, but that doesn’t keep it from getting old quick.
tinySnekRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
It was a good story at start since I wanted to follow it and read later, but later I lost the plot. He was weak at start and started getting stronger but he was always weaker than someone else. I didn't like that part.
It is not very catching story as it goes on, I mean it's also not bad it is a bit bland, I can't tell there's something bad, but I can't tell where's the good parts at the at latest parts.
You could read it, maybe it is better to be read all at once than as updating chapters. Maybe it is just me who don't like this genre. This story is ok but there are better books around I guess.
LittleOverlordRoyal Road
★ 1.0
This story to me is like a magic trick done at a kid's birthday, as interesting as the magic trick is, it's only a simple illusion.
Oh so many faults come from the MC himself. I genuinely don't understand how the Mc is so naïve. It's appalling how the Mc is even like this. Somehow bro is more sheltered than a spoiled brat. The Mc's actions and circumstances are so mismatched.
I myself have no problem with a naïve Mc, but god damn, the Mc's naivety simply doesn't add up at all. The naivety here is so forced that it made my brain rot.
Looking at the beginning plainly, his background is bound to become some sort of future plot point. The one who raised the Mc, Greg, somewhat raised one of the stupidest kids to exist. The fact that the Mc forgot most of the things taught to him is startling as it makes one wonder what he was doing to even forget.
It's a miraculous feat for the Mc to have survive with such stupidity we see in the story. It's like he does nothing in his free time, it's an actually mystery on how he even made money to survive.
It's annoying that the naivety doesn't make sense, and that the Mc acts like a complete fool. It's a wonder on how he doesn't what should seemingly be common knowledge. It's even worse than most of the people he meets is supremely nice to him. It's like everyone is catered to his naivety.
If you looked at a protag that lived in poverty there are quite a few good character traits that would make sense and being naïve isn't one of them. It made it so hard to read. The story itself would have felt so much more smooth if he was just isekaied or just have written the Mc was characters traits that would have fitted his circumstances.
idirdorRoyal Road
★ 0.5
Just like the title of the review says, The MC's personality matches in no way his upbringing It matches more the personality of a sheltered noble kid. He isn't just naive; he's beyond that. At this point, it feels forced, and the excuse of the old men doesn't work because he had to live two years alone. This guy is more like a sheltered five-year-old than a 14-year-old that grew poor in the streets.
Like, how did he make money and survive being a fool like this? Honestly, it doesn't make any type of sense.
So, if anyone is a fan of really naive MCs, this is the one for you. But if you are looking for an MC with above-room-temperature IQ, then just avoid this one. Don't get fooled by the pretty cover and description like I did