Prodigy's Guide (250 Years Post-Apoc)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

On January 1, 2024, the Trialbringer arrived. A new age was ushered in by the appearance of mana and generation of trials for humanity to conquer. A chance for the greatest to rise to the forefront and bring a new era of prosperity. While people uncovered the rules of this new reality, monsters enhanced by mana reached terrifying heights and tore civilization apart.

Now, one city stands alone against monsters that roam the countryside. Led by Tier 3 warriors, the city of New Chicago has successfully adapted to the new world. Is adaptation really enough, though? Will they ever stabilize mana on Earth, ushering in an era of greater safety and prosperity?

Nearly 250 years after the Arrival, a young prodigy approaches graduation from New Chicago's Academy. His name is Alex Moore, and he has a plan. Kinda. It's a work in progress, at least.

Sadly, it turns out that grandiose, hazardous plans don't fly with wizened instructors or concerned friends. As grand forces act upon him Alex will have to discover if he's forging his own path, or just following someone else's guide.

This story has been posted to Royal Road and Patreon under my alias, Lionheart. Any other website where you find my story is hosting it without my permission.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Lionheart1331

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 1,529
Views: 503,970

What readers say about Prodigy's Guide (250 Years Post-Apoc)

“The novel is incredible, the characters seem well written with side characters feeling differentiable and not cardboard cutouts. The story is captivating with a good amount of world building as well as leaving a lot of unknowns and mystery for later expansi…”
Gabsy2020Royal Road5.0 / 5
“I am reviewing this at chapter 19 and I must say the author has something special here. The amount of depth and detail that is in these 19 chapters is astonishing. I love the world-building, the not one-dimensional support characters, and even the depth of…”
dusansfRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

Gabsy2020Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The novel is incredible, the characters seem well written with side characters feeling differentiable and not cardboard cutouts. The story is captivating with a good amount of world building as well as leaving a lot of unknowns and mystery for later expansion. Furthermore the professions system is very interesting and quite original. Overall the novel is awesome and I'd heavily recommend giving it a read
dusansfRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am reviewing this at chapter 19 and I must say the author has something special here.
The amount of depth and detail that is in these 19 chapters is astonishing. I love the world-building, the not one-dimensional support characters, and even the depth of the side characters.
The chapters are decently long and detailed and the descriptions of combat are logical.
So I wholeheartedly recommend this novel.
Kepp up the good work.
gotagRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a review update, previous review only went to chapter 10, but with first arc having finished it makes sense to update.
Overall this is what I want in a story in the cultivation/lirpg hypbrid space. The main character works hard, thinks outside the box and has been rewarded for it. The reward comes with a timer though and now we're cooking with gas. We have a very hateable "villain" too, depends on how you look at it I suppose. The mc has a good cast of friends to support him as he goes on his quest to survive and help earth survive. I've seen some people joke that the most immersion breaking part of the story is Chicago survived the apocalypse, but hey, it's actually new Chicago.
This is a story where we get crazy acid-trip visions as the MC connects more and more to mana. These are part of what I enjoy of stories like Defiance of the Fall, Godclads, or Virtuous Sons. The incomprehensibility of higher laws to the mortal mind is fun and hopefully presages an expansive universe.
We are still early in on the story, there has not been much "action" as in combat, but as I wrote earlier it's likely the story kicks it up a notch now.
It's a realistic world for a post apocalyptic litrpg. There isn't mass idiocy preventing everyone else from doing what the MC does. If the MC is special it's that he dreams big, works hard and stumbles into success. But now that his plan has worked will his dreams keep getting bigger? Or will the downsides of his last plan make him cautious? I am interested to see.
ig88Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
High quality novel that delves deep into the system/magic mechanics. Must read for all LitRPG fans. Especially if they like 50 - fifty words long reviews such as this one. What a joy to review this novel in 50 - fifty words without any exaggerations! Start reading this novel right now before you finish reading all 50 - fifty words of this review!
Graal 999Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
1. I am Really enjoying the story so far (I have reached 42 chapters read in barely 2-ish days). I originally came over from Path of Ascension, while waiting for new chapters there & stopped back off in Mother of Learning; I had thought that it stopped, but was pleasantly pleased to find that that was not the case. Which is where I got recommended to come here. (Both of which are INCREDIBLE stories, I 100% Recommend!)
2. I personally resonate with the system. I keep finding myself drawn to the simplicity mixed with the complexity.
3. I love the Unexpected out of the blue twist that happens to the MC, prior to chapter 42. Chef's kiss! Absolutely Superb!! Gg. Keep it up!!!
4. The Interesting & seperate characters that I feel will augment the MC beneficially. They each have their own individual progression that I for one Greatly appreciate.
5. There are WAY fewer Favorites & Ratings than reviews... Which the story is Definitely good enough & deserving of to do both for. Which reminds me I personally need to go do the same for PoA & MoL too. /facepalm.
6. A little critique to go with my raving review. I am a perfectionist & grammar nazi. This will probably be detrimental when I finally put my own stories on here. I have noticed some spelling errors & grammatical issues as well so far. Here's to hoping that they are few & far between. Really good job overall, the story is both riveting & captivating in equal measure. I am Very much looking forward to the other almost 400 more chapters currently.
HiramwilliamsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I had a hard time to start with because I'm not familiar with the writing style. But sticking on really paid off. I was just reading this to fill time, but after the initial arch I could feel that I was actually invested in the story. Worth trying, if it feels like a slog, at least get to chapter 30.
HouffRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
While there are only 15 chapters out, the early story shows a lot of potential to be more than just another dungeon delving litRPG. Characters are smart, capable, and driven from the start which is always nice to see. The dialogue feels very human and organic (never a guarantee in the genre) and the on-point banter is a lot of fun. Big early PoA vibes here, highly recommend
JdAwd70Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am enjoying the story. Understanding, the struggle to achieve the primary heart runes just to start their mana bodies. Then seeing even those who are at the top are still struggling to improve there understanding of mana. I am looking forward to see what will happen next.
Keep it up Lionheart.
KutRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A Post Apocalyptic LitRPG, however set after the initial changes the Apocalypse brought with it.
Style: This story feels like its close to hitting its true stride. The building blocks and characters have been laid out naturally and distinctly. Fights and combat seem to be detailed but quite quick and there is enough description to imagine the enviroment. You can feel the story building up towards something, however there is still room for nice speculation to what turns and twists there might come.
Characters:
The characters feel natural and logical. Alex isn't a neet shut-in without social skills who is getting things handed to him through stupidity. His friends and support characters feel alive, they aren't just Spear guy with a quirk, Mana guy with a quirk. They have a dynamic and its fun.
Story:
The small downside (but personally the good side) is that the story is clearly taking its time, it's not a quick and dirty powerfantasy. It seems to be building towards a longer adventure on the back off well written, likable characters (with interesting pov's!) and a grand world (universe?) to explore. The world has a very unique and intricate mana system that I want to read more about.
Grammar:
The most boring topic but deserves to be mentioned. The story is clearly written by a native speaker who tries to look through his story before he hits publish. Ofcourse it isn't perfect, but from what I can see you can expect a polished story.
Conclusion:
Solid start, Style and Score can definitely be moved up and down depending on how the story moves when the MC gets some power to handle.
Merc715Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Style: the writing flows well and keeps the reader engaged. Nothing to complain about here.
Story: normally I don't read a story until more chapters have been released, but I saw a complete arc had been writtten, so I gave it a shot. The first arc built up the world well and established interest in the main character. There are a decent number of intriguing plot points that can be expanded on in the following arcs, particularly around the currently strongest hero, David.
Grammar: Grammar is good. A few places where commas were used where periods were needed, but those are few and far between. Wasn't enough to distract from the story any.
Characters: the first arc mostly established the main character and did that well. David's character is also done well with clear potential for further developments. Mc's teammates hopefully get simular treatments as they become more prominent in the story.
Overall: A welcome edition to the litrpg/cultivation scene. Has potential to be great as more is written.