Steel and Mana

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Leon was a robotics engineer with a bright future... until he was run over by a military truck and killed on the spot. But death wasn’t the end. Thanks to a cosmic glitch and to an idiot, he wakes up in a new world, reincarnated as the son of a minor noble family guarding the wild frontier of a massive Empire. With his intact mind, enhanced brain, and a world begging for progress, Leon sees opportunity everywhere... One that he will grab for sure.

But not everything will go smoothly. Monsters come over in the winter, the Empire monopolizes magic and technology, and society clings to barbaric ways. Refusing to accept the status quo, he decides to reshape his family’s backwater territory into a land he would enjoy living in. Armed with knowledge from his previous life, modern problem-solving, and a desire to live a comfortable life, he plans to revolutionize his territory.

However, in a land where magic is rare and unknown to ordinary people, he knows he’ll need more than blueprints to succeed. He will need his own wizards and witches... Especially to make sure his territory isn't overrun with beasts when winter comes.

Hey-ho! Welcome! I thought I need to add some information to those who want to know if they should just skip it or not: First, I ain't planning to introduce world-changing, thought-provoking ideas here. It is all for the plain and simple reason of having some fun. What you need to be aware of if you need more details:

- Yes, this is an isekai story. No, there are no 'cheats' or systems involved with gaining skills. He is just a guy reincarnating with a gene-modified brain, so it explains why he can remember things and be smart. That is it. Think of it as him having a perfect memory. If you perceive confidence as arrogance, you may very well dislike the MC right off the bat. He is not someone who will lay low and try to blend in when his territory is the most backward and abandoned place in a vast Empire. Where the throne is so far away, messages take months to go back and forth.- The story mostly focuses on kingdom-building stuff and slice-of-life elements, not on conquest or curb stomping others. The main conflict will be centered around wars, yes, but it won't be one guy vs. the world or something like that. Magic is going to play a big role in building up the territory, as I plan to branch out into magic technology later on. I am going to rely heavily on magic because I am mostly a fantasy writer and not an engineer.- The MC's main goal is to enjoy himself. This also means girls. So there will be a harem. Those who are familiar with my works, how I do groups, and how my characters act will know I don't like doing cardboard cutouts of characters. Most of my stories have more than one character accompanying the MC. The same will be true here, with the extra caveat that they will also be involved romantically with the MC.- The story plays out in a 1st person POV. There won't be jumping around multiple POVs; I don't like that. Only when the story requires it and the MC can’t be present by himself for some story parts.- Don't take this story seriously nor look for scientifically 100% real and codex-like solutions for problems. This is a fantasy world, a totally different culture, and with history, that is NOT OUR world! There is magic here, and the MC has a supercomputer for a brain. I think that says it all.- My main goal is to enjoy writing some whacky but real-sounding scenarios. They will be based upon feasible ideas, but I am not writing a damned textbook about thermodynamics. Laws will be bent and broken when the story needs it.- Regarding smut, there are some chapters with erotic scenes, but not every other chapter. So expect it when the mood is there in the story and not because I must cram as much snu-snu in as possible... That won't happen.- No guns. Why? Every similar story has guns. This doesn't. This has mechs and power swords. Why? Because I said so.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2024
Author: Corty

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 825
Views: 1,391,711

Chapters(566 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

Memo SanchoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Im going all in on 5stars, just cause of how much im enjoying this story. Im on chapter 273, and stood outside a store today in the shade for almost an hour reading on my phone to avoid a 5 or 6 minute walk. I was avoiding not being able to read cause of the sun....
The mc doesnt win every opportunity, isn't the most talented, isn't incredibly moral, and doesnt make all the right moves. Yeah, he wins ALOT, but i still like the evolution to the story.
Do I still need more words? I just want to get back to reading..
Dammit royal road, let me... oh, btw, i actually lost my sh*t twice while reading... whiping my eyes and sniffeling, super glad i wasn't at work when it happened.
You gotta be kidding me. This is why i dont usually do reviews. If i wasnt annoyed that this story wasnt getting the love i think it should, i would abandon this review nonsence and get back to the story. I only have 2 more hours before i have to sleep so i can work tomorrow. Now this had better be enough words. 200 effing words, grrrrr.
joeseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
After a brief allegory of the afterlife, most of the introductory chapters are about world-building and centered on enumerating the many things the MC wishes he could do, and the MC has way too many plans. The timing of the action start is a bit weird. Though I prefer it over the option of starting like his parents at 12 with a fiance that would not have time to be given any depth in the scene setting the chapters. It is also teased how he could've been born as an unborn, but he's already 15 by the third chapter.
The author has probably read Jobless Reincarnation, or at least a story inspired by it, since even though the story is radically different, he keeps teasing about how he could have gone down that route.
I pity the author for having the first written review with such a low score (most of the reviews that guy wrote are under 2 stars, which are a massive hit in the RR algorithm for new stories like this).
Edit: If you don't like harem, it's probably not for you, but the harem parts are easy to skip. Though, as another user said, I could live without the MC assaulting the main love interest in the first chapters.
Assault is assault, she has been scared of him at the start that wouldn't help her open up.
After the first night she went to the castle, you can change all his assaults to flirting. And making her remember the first night they disrupted her magic (just like you do later in the story). I mean until it's clear they like each other, it's unnecessary.
It's not that hard either to have her teasing about having been naked.The two scenes in which she lost control over her powers were well written, neither forced nor sexual. Her being able to tease back is in line with her strong character (she has led people in the woods for years) and would make the start of the relationship less unilateral.
BozznsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Im not a person who writes reviews but i enjoy this book and it's characters. The early chapters can be deceptive as there are time jumps that blur the characters ages. But it is really fun once the spy intrigue starts. Not a atyle for everyone but for those that like mechs, magic, intrigue and a helping of steamy romance it fills that need quite well.
adomanakwaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I can’t explain how much I love this series.
hits every itch I’ve been trying to scratch from a mana x mech reincarnation story I’ve been looking for.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I love this. Read 400 chapters in a week and that’s never happened to me before, being so invested in a story. I’m not much of a reader but I do enjoy a book once in a while but I usually go for shorter ones cuz of that.
The story is so good and the fact that nothing was dragged and now we’re at the story of the next generation makes me feel like I’ve grown with these characters
Started reading this cuz I saw you were in Hungary and I was like “ I moved here too recently ” so lemme try reading some of your work. (It was such a stupid reason now that I think about it lol) Haven’t looked back since and just excited for what’s to come.
I know this story will have to end one day sadly but I’m praying so hard that we get enough chapters to explore Leon’s children’s futures and maybe even a snippet about the future of Avalon even after Leon’s passing ( not that I want him to die but I can see the legacy he’s leaving and I can’t wait for him to get glazed in future history books lol)
anyway 11/10. Recommending this to all my friends and any stranger I talk to who likes novels.
Newbie637Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
For those looking for an Isekai and Kingdom Building story, you'll enjoy this. Like the description says it has mechs but the MC doesn't gain his fleet of mechs early on which is nice and realistic. It also is not a one man show, you have fleshed out characters massively contributing to the MC's faction. Overall this was a nice read, shame that it's on its last volume though. Author doesn't want to prolong the story without thought and proper closure.
Ambrose DavidsonRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a lighthearted and smutty power fantasy. The blend of industrialization and the magic system is interesting. I loved reading about the main character’s genius and the adaption of side characters to their changing world. The battles feel tense because I was always rooting for a side character. This story has a lot of great “Shock and Awe” moments. The pace is near perfect and I really enjoyed reading this.
For criticisms, others have already noted the grammar and the concentration of smut in the first volume, but these issue become milder in the later volumes. I think the main issue this novel suffers from is the characterization for villains and foils. This makes it where the main character doesn’t have a worthy challenge, and that is really important even in a power fantasy.
[Spoilers from here on]
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Pascal and Ignis have good aspects but they are too weak and foolish. I would have rather seen them fail because of their character flaws rather than pure underestimation of the MC. I also think the Khan was done somewhat dirty by the plot.
My main gripe is with Pascal. He is the foil to the MC and represents those unable to adapt to change like the Khan and the original Geth Emperor. His arc starts really strong, but I think the main character didn’t pay enough to defeat him. I think it would have been really interesting for Sasha to be sealed away to counter the Vasa attack, but instead it is defused without a major cost and he dies from the spear anti-climatically. I would have paid to see him as a cursed ghost in the Ishillian castle, a fate mirroring the original Morningstar. It is really powerful when your villains get what they want sometimes, a bad eternal life would be a fitting end.
I have more nitpicks of course, but it is because at the end of the day I really enjoyed this book. I hope to read more from this author as they continue to hone their skills!
Federated SunsRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
By this point I've gone all the way up to chapter 527 so I'll leave my review here.
First the grammar needs work. In most of the books the author admits to overusing the exclamation mark way too much, this only gets better by volume 5 but it still not used correctly at times but it's not a prevalent. It was annoying to me how much it was used in earlier volumes.
The main character is your typical mary sue that always makes the correct plans and everything works out for them and they don't really have to struggle for the most part. They want to do something they just do it, even if it makes no sense how they did it. He wants an airforce? Sure, gets done within a year with no issues even though the person is not a pilot or has any piloting experience they just know how to make a plane and how to fly it. This kind of thing happens all the time so if this kind of main character annoys you, this story isn't for you.
There is a lot of good political side of stuff in the story so that was interesting to read as well. The magic system wasn't bad and they don't go into too much detail with it, just enough so you can understand it and the rules it goes by.
The story is too sexual in the earlier volumes, so much so that I'm surprised this story wasn't deleted by the site admins for breaking the rule on it. That gets toned down in the last two volumes but volumes 1-3 go overboard with it to the point that it was getting in bad taste with how much the story had of it.
I found that some characters seem to have a suddenly change almost in personality in the story. Like the author was going one route and then decided to retcon it and go a different route. This happens to one character in particular who I won't spoil.
Now it's not a bad story, it has some good moments, the action is done well and the world is interesting one that is explore more and more as the story goes on. It does have some flaws like I listed above but if you like a long read and aren't a stickler for details I
DnojRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
This is more of a note to myself that happens to also be a review.
3 chapters in and I'm getting a headache trying to decipher this story.
I'm interested in the plot, but there's multiple issues right off the gate.
Paragraphs are not consistent, and way too long in most cases. Similar ideas should be grouped together, but that's not the case in this story. A paragraph can start with one thing and end up switching topics half way through.
Too much telling, not enough showing. A.k.a. exposition dump. Not enough dialogue.
No depth to characters. MC's mother and father should be important people, but they're just mentioned and not really shown. The first actual character we get is his... Servant? Butler? Guard? I can't be assed to remember.
MC pervs on his parents boning while he's still a baby. Seriously wtf?
I'll come back and finish this when I'm feeling like I punishing myself. Who knows maybe by then this gets an editor.
OmegaPillRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
The main character is a cross between meliodas and mushoku tensei, but with the mind of Sherlock and Wikipedia download to his brain.
so if you want a perverted main character in a world where everything does his way then give this a try.
(to fill the min words:
don’t have the main character assault a girl then “be a gentleman” and not sleep with her because “he won’t force her into anything”)
BookmanRoyal Road
★★ 1.5
I can count the storys i give 5 stars on one hand.
The Avarage Story is 2,5 stars.
Avarage means nothing overly good or bad.
Not this story doesnt seem to have any reviews yet so i bumbed my final score up by 0,5 stars.
I wanted to give 1 star. At least until chapter 3.
Becourse thats where i had to quit, as reading this is very painfull for people who are used to reading works that are Shown.
First chapters typical reincarnation.
There is nothing good about it aside from the tiny bit of dialoge we get.
And this is already a mistake.
The most important chapter in any story is chapter 1.
It has to be nailed into perfection, or as close to perfection as possible.
Half hearted as it is here, its just not good enough.
But oh fine i go to chapter 2 and already start skipping over entire paragraphs.
If Chapter 1 was bad, then chapter 2 was abysal.
The entire childhood from baby to adult is being told.
Not just told but even skimped over.
There is no dialoge, not a single sentence.
We are told who his parrents are,
We are told what they do,
Told where he lives,
Told what they spoke of.
Everything is Told.
"Dont Tell me the moon is shining,
Show me the glint of light reflecting on broken Glass."
-Anton Chekhov
Im a sucker for Harem, kingdom builder and reincarantion storys.
This has all 3s but sadly its all quanitiy and no quallity.
Mabye this turns out better in later chapter but i have no energy or interest in even trying to get through the slog.
Here are 2 links to hopefully improve what might be a good story if it was Shown to us instat of being told.
Addings actual links is against the rules, even helpfull once so i add them as text.
"Show and Tell":
https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=-83QrAAbnQY&t
"How to write compeling Dialogue"
https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=jpWKp-fnZuU
the guy has a ton of good stuff.