The Achievement [system].

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

WARNING:Please read/skim either the tags or this disclaimer.

Slice of life- very little focus on an overarching plot. High chance to get lost in the details and day to day.

Multi POV- 3rd person limited/corrupted narration for at least 3 characters.

Crude- I put up the warnings but the first chapter should drive that home. Probably makes parts seem juvenile or lean too heavily into the absurd.

Non sympathetic characters- Because this is a slice of life there's going to be a lot of character growth and focus…but for the most part every single character is messed up in a way that will make them a hard “self insert”. I’m sure certain people will love some of the characters but I’m equally sure not many will love all three of them and that's a major part of this disclaimer.

It's a LitRPG-Lite with obscured Crunch. There's an “overly complicated system” - I’ve broken down a system and expanded parts of it to frankly insane lengths because that's what I find fun. The system I’m using in this story is not a simple thing and most of the formulas are hidden for quite a bit of the story - if you like crunch there's very little visible initially and if you hate complicated systems there's quite a bit of it. I’m multi track drifting dislikes!

Non Permadeath- The start of the series has low stakes due to free resurrection. Those stakes will raise further in but throwing the disclaimer here as it’s a dealbreaker for some.

Content warnings- I've given this story all the content warnings, but to reiterate, there are depictions and references to self harm, depression, sexual violence, torture, abusive relationships and other triggers. The worst ones are not glorified or gratuitous but they are there - hinted at, and outright mentioned throughout the entire story.

Now that the exhaustive list of disclaimers is over…

This story is a litrpg with the system ripped apart and bastardized into a broken mess. Not a glitchy or inconsistent mess, but one where key parts have been ‘ripped’ out of it, beaten into submission and other equally important for a true litrpg parts ignored. (hence the gamelit tag but not the litrpg one). There’s no levels, experience, or classes…but there are dozens of stats and skills past where anyone would recommend you use.

As a brief description: This story is based on the idea of what the purpose of a [system] is - to reward you for doing certain actions. What if the actions the system rewarded you for were more convoluted? Standing on your head while sniping a monster in the knees? Eating a well cooked meal on the top of a mountain? Killing the village blacksmith for no reason and impersonating him for a full day? .

If that sounds like something you are interested in welcome! I know I’m going to drive plenty of people away with some decisions as well as formatting the description in this way (full of disclaimers) (I originally just had the previous paragraph) but I really hope some find it entertaining and anyone who would hate the tropes used is warned and decides to stay away.

In terms of plot there might be an overarching plotline, but it's kind of shallow and just exists because there “has to be one”. This story is essentially what I do in skyrim/open world RPG’s which is to spend 3 nanoseconds on the main storyline and then f*** off 20 miles east to do side quests for 150 hours.

OH final disclaimer this story has swears.

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2022
Author: Bluelightning42

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 517
Views: 315,323

Chapters(132 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

BelqinorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A strong story with a great start from an author who has proven he knows how to end a story! If that isn't a glowing recommendation I don't know what is. He doesn't have a patreon so no reading ahead sadly, what we have is what we get.
Style - As with his other work, Bluelightning has a more intellectual style of writing with attention to word placement. I am fairly sure he uses dictation as the story flows wonderfully.
Story - An interesting and far more enjoyable premise than most litRPG and gamelit tend to be. With how thought through his other work was I have the confidence that all of the odd behavior has reasoning and that makes this infinitely more interesting to read.
Grammar - Good use of punctuation and no obvious spelling errors, I mentioned previously that I'm fairly sure he uses auto dictation because of how the words flow.
Character - We have been told in the introduction blurb that the characters will be heavily flawed and dislikable from the beginning, and so far the worst that has happened fits within my experience of the general public as is. Nothing incredibly absurd or sociopathic so far.
D.M. Rhodes (Razzmatazz)Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
From the author of the excellent Dungeon Core Chat Room, The Achievement [system] is a fantasy litRPG novel with the focus of progression based on specific events of absurdity, rather than killing goblins for those sweet, sweet experience-points. We follow various characters throughout the story, with James, Richard, and Maddy being the core unit. The concept is very fun and often nicely absurd, given the premise that it sticks to very well. The characters are enjoyable, and I liked reading the little personal notes that the author (A great dude) leaves at the end of the chapters!
You should really give this one a fair shot!
Ellen TaylorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
For the purpose of this review, let me state up front that I love slow burn as long as it's done right, and this is absolutely done right. The kind of story that builds a foundation of characters so you get to know them personally as they are doing their thing with a sorta plot in the distance. Also, to state upfront, I was not bothered by any of the disclaimers the author kindly placed in the synopsis.
Starting off with the easy ones, grammar was fine. There were a few mistakes here or there, enough that I noticed them.
Style was wonderful. Yes, there are multiple POV's, and all of them were handled well. I never got confused who was in what section, and even the times where there were flashbacks I wasn't confused.
The story was facinating. Yes, a slow burn, but it was great to see these characters in this world and slowly peeling back the limitations and discovering what they could do.
As crazy as it sounds, I feel like the main character is the system/the world, and we have three different opportunities to see that system/world interacting with the three different characters POV's. We have the logical almost bookish way to look at this system, the way of finding it as a game to help you relax (even if that does have a sinister undertone), and then the almost troll like way to try and break it. The system is just as facinating of a character to me as the three human characters who are reacting to it. The human characters all feel real, and the world feels large and vast.
Overall, an incredible job. If you, potential reader, were not detered by any of the disclaimers, you might find your new favorite story.
SopdrinksRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The title of my review says it all—from the contrasting cast of protagonists, the sassy system screen, and the semi-meta fantastical world—I don't know about y'all but I know why I'm in this site, I want that sweet sweet dose of manic escapism where I can just turn my brain off and submerge. This story does all of that, and beyond.
A depressed, realistic MC looking for an escape, but is grounded to reality?? Check.
A manipulative, perfectionist overachiever with one goal in mind? Check.
A chaotic good manic pisser who does what he wants with malleable morals (best boy btw)??? Check.
PROSE: Who cares about the prose if everything that is happening is fun? All you need to know is that it's not a dumpster fire like you're reading a machine-translated Korean web novel and neither is it a slog of thick infodump like you're reading some Lord of the Rings-wannabe book.
WORLD: The world is interesting and amusingly self-aware of its place simply as a "setting" for a cast of isekai'd protagonists to run around on. This is on purpose, and I'm excited to see how the author is yet to expand its meta-setting.
CHARACTERS: This is where this story truly shines—its three-dimensional cast of characters that has their own motivations, holes, worries, problems, strengths, and weaknesses. Each of them is a complete complement and contrast of the other in a perfect trifecta of lawful vs. neutral vs. chaotic. Each of them gives the world their own personal treatment, exploring in their own ways through their own experience, getting powerful in own methods (one has luck, one has effort, one has cheat). This is not to say that each is simply a cardboard cutout of every other type of character in this genre; for each of them are solidly built in their own right, with backgrounds that justifiably explain their personalities.
STORY: There is not much to say about the story aside from that it's compelling. The narrative can drag you around for the sake of it and you'll like it. It can be a fig
ThorgalRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The achievement system is more than just a status system or level-ups. Early on there are already discrepancies between the players who arrive in the tutorial zone in how they exploit their achievements - through this system - which instantly lays the foundation for a story that rewards attentive and assertive characters. Which holds a lot of promise for the future of this story.
Style: The Litrpg elements are implemented incredibly well. The complexity and far-reaching consequences of this power system have been introduced without making it hard to understand.
Grammar: I noticed a couple of points, mainly dialogue punctuation, but other than that there are no things of note.
Story: Well-balanced introduction to the world through three POVs allows the story to quickly establish a solid foundation to build upon. Although not much has happened yet in the earlier chapters, this worldbuilding gives the story a ton of potential for where it can go.
Characters: Great characters, the first couple of chapters mainly focus on the system as well as the three main characters. All three are introduced with imperfections and flaws, however, they also show great promise in their adaptation to this system. Their ability is well established and their roads are vastly different, which makes me look forward to how they will grow and interact in the future.
Overall: If you like a fresh take on Litrpg with a solid system and intriguing characters, check this out!
zaifyrRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Wow, where to begin?
I'm going to start at something small. The system windows. This might not seem like much, but they are way better done than most stories that use them. Its not just a single table cell turned blue. Work went into those things!
The other less plot based thing I want to get out the way. The system is crazy good. You can read the story description and will get a good impression of what it will be like. And it delivers. If you liked Doungen Cralwer Carl's AI you will love this one.
The strongest sub point is that characters. You can tell the author really poured his heart and soul into them. They each feel like real people with real flaws. Also they are not the exact same person. Each brings a very differet voice and pearonality to the table. I can't wait to see them interact.
They style starts off a little odd with really long chapters with many POV. It get much better a few chapters in where it feels more focued. It's not hard to read at all but might turn some people off. (if that would be you I say stick with it it get better)
This is a writathon project so there are a few odd phrasing but I bet that will get cleaned up soon. Nothing that distracts for the story or my enjoyment.
Rookie12Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This review is based on the 13 chapters that were available at the time.
Story. To tell the truth, I was looking to broaden my horizons when I saw that the author promised us unlikable POVs. Out of curiosity, I stepped out of my comfort zone and started reading. Instead of being unlikable, I found POVs actually interesting.
James, he is your typical power fantasy guy. He is so bored with his life that he gladly accepts the offer of being isekai'ed into a new world, a new setting.His main goal, ironically, is to grow so strong that he will never have to be afraid of death or pain again. In his journey, he sort of fails to understand that should he achieve this, he will be bored to death, lol. He is the most usual guy; nothing really works well for him, but through his persistence, he keeps up with other POVs.
Maddy. She is the person who tries to look for loopholes in the systems of this world. A natural leader, despite her doubts and somewhat dark past, she tries to better herself and looks for a unique solution to get stronger. She is not only here for the thrill, but rather to start her life with a clean slate.
Richard: He is the chaotic POV. He can come up with the most insane ideas for how to powergame the system, eager to minmax just for fun. He doesn't have clear goals in life, except for getting strong enough to play pranks on other people. Strength is a secondary objective in his quest, he merely wants to have fun at the expense of others without sinking to the very lows.
The story follows these three misfits, forcing them to headbutt with other players who come into this new world. Some other players may ignore them, others might want to kill them, treating this new world like an MMO. But when the pain is real, the stakes get higher.
The world. The "first zone" feels artificial; it feels created by some deity that made this setting for their amusement. Everything, from a wildlife capable of fighting back, to the trading systems, feels like it was meant to t
PizzaPizzaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
To sum things up for anyone stumbling on this:
-3 PoV characters in a LitRPG type Isekai
-All 3 PoV characters have critical flaws in self-isolation, pacifism, and sociopathic trolling respectively.
-A slow burn, with emphasis on slice-of-life hijinks for all three characters.
Who this is for: People who want something different from the usual isekai LitRPG. The characters are developing on a very interesting, distinct path, but there is definitely a bit of a slow burn to it. It is pretty comfortable, although I personally despise Richard.
Sickened FanficsRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I am giving this review as a person who was educated in an American English school system. If any of my suggestions on grammar are wrong in your country, I apologize.
Style (3): The prose in this story uses intelligent vocabulary. However, this also leads to a dry narrative. It’s very analytical and factual. The flow is slow and stiff. I found myself struggling to move from word to word. Many of the actions' descriptions are mangled. I had to reread them a couple of times. For instance, when James dropped his phone, it wasn’t made clear that he was lying down. It was very confusing to me, and I had to read the lines a couple of times before I realized this. Simply adding that the phone dropped past his ear to thump on the bed/couch/floor would solve this problem and clear up the confusion. The character names listed at the top of each section are unnecessary. All that is needed is the line to break the scenes because as you read the next section it is clear that it contains another character’s point of view.
Story (4.5): The plot is interesting and makes me want to stick it out to continue the adventure, but the prose just makes it hard to do that. I like the idea that in this gamelit, you win achievements by doing naughty things. That is unique in itself as the gamelits I have read always give you achievements and rewards for doing nice stuff. That alone sets the story apart from other gamelit.
Grammar (3): There are a lot of grammatical errors that stood out to me as I read the story. Once again, this review is done by a person who was taught an American form of English. Therefore, my suggestions might not be accurate for others living in different countries.
The biggest issues I found were run-on sentences and short paragraphs. Many of the single and double-sentence paragraphs can be combined to make a full paragraph. The only full paragraphs I have seen are dialogue. I also have issues with paragraphs and though I had learned all of this in grade school, I had t
TinyBookDragonRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Not a single character has managed to be interesting for more than a paragraph.
The achievements are so easy to get that calling them achievements is an insult. Every time a blue screen appears I just sigh in defeat. What should be a rewarding experience of getting stronger is strangled to death by the easiness of achievements and lack luster characters.
The writing, grammar, and dialogue are all well done.
The characters personalities are each well done and fleshed out. It just so happens they all have terrible personalities.