The Aureate Shards (A LitRPG / Progression Fantasy)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The Aureate System is unraveling. As the Second, only Alex has the power to restore it. Or destroy it all.

Taken from his job as a corner store cashier, Alex is named as the Second, the second coming of an ancient figure which created the System that governs the magic and dungeons of this new world.

But being the Second is not all that it seems. In this world, being the Chosen One doesn't make you a hero.

With a class he didn’t choose and responsibilities he didn’t want, Alex joins a Chaser crew in search for answers, but quickly becomes embroiled in a desperate fight for survival. He will face a siege and famine, dungeons and assassination, triumph and betrayal.And that’s just the first book.

Follow Alex’s path in a series that is the right mix of LitRPG and Epic Fantasy.

What to Expect:

+ Consistent strength progression

+ After first few chapters, stats are shown but used sparingly. Focus on storytelling.

+ Meaningful character development and careful worldbuilding (no info dump)

+ Overarching plot to go along with conclusive arcs every book

+ Complex antagonists and secondary characters

+ Sword + Magic MC

[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: Adrian Six

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 282
Views: 50,913

Chapters(60 total)

What readers say about The Aureate Shards (A LitRPG / Progression Fantasy)

“This story is a notch above many others. It is very well-balanced. Grammar Almost perfect. 1 run-on sentence that I noticed (in 59 chapters) even with descriptive segments. Nothing that throws the reader off. Very minimal spelling and typo. Good range of vo…”
kaoreaderRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“The Aureate Shards is a gripping fantasy that blends dark psychological elements with a high-stakes survival narrative. With a strong protagonist in Alex, the story takes readers on a journey through a world filled with danger, magic, and existential questi…”
Max DanRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(8)

kaoreaderRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is a notch above many others.
It is very well-balanced.
Grammar
Almost perfect. 1 run-on sentence that I noticed (in 59 chapters) even with descriptive segments. Nothing that throws the reader off. Very minimal spelling and typo. Good range of vocab without becoming pompous. No habitual tics, that can become overused and bother some readers.
Character
Very very good. Without wasting narrative time, supporting and even side characters are well-established as fleshed-out people and not just plot devices. There is growth and reveals and realistic secrets. Characters are developed through their conversations and actions, as opposed to being force-fed to the reader. Lots of love was put into creating these characters.
Story and style
World-building is smooth as butter. The author doesn't default into chunks of litrpg exposition and walls of stats and explanations, but weaves them into the story. No boring training arcs. No wasted fillers. No artificial cliffhangers. There is some degree of suspense, a proper sense of mysteries, plot that kept me on my feet.
There was a great balance between conversation (realistic, enjoyable, humorous), narration, exposition, descriptive. It flowed very well within each chapter, and between chapters. Pacing is well-turned. No cheap overpowered victories, but things are won with struggles.
Would highly recommend.
Max DanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Aureate Shards is a gripping fantasy that blends dark psychological elements with a high-stakes survival narrative. With a strong protagonist in Alex, the story takes readers on a journey through a world filled with danger, magic, and existential questions.
The plot excels at creating a sense of disorientation and tension. The transition from mundane life to a magical world is sudden, but it captures Alex’s confusion and fear effectively. The action scenes are vivid, particularly the battles with the boar and sloth, while the introduction of RPG-like mechanics adds an intriguing layer of mystery.
Alex is a standout character, offering humor and sarcasm that make him relatable despite his surreal circumstances. His internal monologue is sharp and witty, grounding the fantastical elements in reality.
The writing is polished, with minimal grammatical errors. The prose is atmospheric and poetic in the prologue, setting a somber tone. The style keeps the reader engaged without overwhelming them, though some moments could benefit from slightly tighter sentence structure to improve flow.
Overall, The Aureate Shards starts strong with its immersive world-building, character depth, and a blend of humor and horror. While the pacing and transitions could be tightened, the story has great potential. Fans of action-packed fantasy with introspective characters will find much to enjoy in Alex’s journey.
Eternal_WinterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
First off, as you all know a reviews reflect the personal opinion!
Overall 5/5 It's a good story with great characters and a world filled with everything I like from a LitRPG books, the author adds jokes and while the novel takes itself seriously it's not dark and depressing. I enjoyed my time reading it because we see a normal man, with a boring job find a new place, somewhere he seemed to belong. I'm excited to see where it goes and can't wait to read more chapters
Style 5/5 What we get here is classic LitRPG, the author used a more detailed style and wants the reader to immerse themselves into the story and learn together with the character. Of course you get the usuall LitRPG things like stats, skills, abilities and so on but they never feel intrusive or dominate the chapters.
Story 5/5 The story so far is great, it's not trying to reinvent the whole genre, the start is classic with Alex being thrown into a fantasy world filled with everything we would expect. But this isn't bad in any way, it's just well made and I don't wanna spoil to much. But if you enjoy detailed LitRPG this one is for you
Grammar 5/5 There is not much to say, the chapters have a comfortable length and have a good format. So far I didn't find any errors that would disturb me while reading
Character 5/5 I really like the MC of this novel but also the side characters that get introduced later on add something to the story instead of tagging along with the MC, none of them feel out of place and improve the overall story.
OrganonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall Score: 5/5
The story begins with Alex, a far too relatable young man, who's description of his current workplace gave me: my first job anxiety.
It quickly moves on to the reason we're here - LitRPG. Alex is thrust head first into a new world and immediately faces his first threat, followed quickly by a second...
He takes one metaphorical hit after another in only a few chapters and it sets the MC up for a LOT of growth. Hopefully over time.
The time the author takes to detail the combat leads to believe that once I get further into the story there's going to be some EPIC multi chapter long boss fights and - who doesn't love a good boss fight.
Style: 5/5
The style here is slow, methodical and detailed. If you like that, you'll like this. The Author takes their time to build the detail, how the MC channels his own skills/spells, the pain he endures during the fight, his internal thoughts.
Story Score: 5/5
It's LitRPG - rating 5/5 so far because the MC has been isekai'd into another world, the System has appeared and we're fighting some 'Peppa's', followed quickly by a staple: the Dungeon.
What else do you want? I'll keep reading and update my review as I go through the story. For the initial 6 chapters (the point of my review), I can't fault it.
Grammar score: 5/5
One of the best I've read, really, really polished! You can see time has been taken when crafting the prose.
Character score: 5/5
Even the first chapter shows the level of relatability and realism the author is putting into the characters - I even commented on it. I got work-anxiety just reading the first few paragraphs.
We've bumped into some other characters and they each have a distinct voice. I look forward to seeing potential growth.
(Review will be updated as I read further)
PotOfJamRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I must say that this rewrite and end of hiatus was unexpected but far from unwelcome. From what i can tell the rewrite improve some of the word flow and improve some sentences but the narrative wasn’t touched.
If you liked the first iteration or i you don’t know this novel i would strongly recommend giving it a try
QaosRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
From chapter one Alex is abruptly yanked into a strange forest. Immediately a quest notification pops up, and he’s soon battling monsters – smashing Wild Boars with a club (“blood trailed the arc of the broken club”). By chapter 5 he’s teamed up with a quirky band of “Chasers” and storming a dungeon. The pacing is relentless and exciting, keeping the reader turning pages. Alex even starts to worry that others might kill him for his newfound power. Meanwhile, the world’s magic system and lurking dangers are hinted at just enough to keep future intrigue alive. Overall the plot moves briskly through its setup – a bit on rails at times – but the mix of action and world‑building stays engaging.
Action scenes are sharply described, and Alex’s dry wit cuts tension – he even jokes that calling his makeshift club “a spear to a claw fight” was the “optimal choice”. Dialogue is casual and fun (Cedric earnestly proclaims, “I am Cedric of Versal… professional chaser, occasional bounty hunter”), which adds levity. The narration stays tightly in Alex’s point of view, making everything feel immediate and visceral. One minor gripe: the story still leans on litRPG/isekai tropes (visible stat screens, instant quest pop‑ups) which might feel familiar to genre fans. Otherwise the tone is polished and engaging, balancing gritty detail with tongue‑in‑cheek humor.
Alex himself is a likable protagonist – tough and resourceful, yet still insecure (he genuinely fears others might kill him for his power). The Chaser crew he joins are colorful foils: Daven the jokester archer, Cedric the pompous leader, and the quiet mages Diana and Valerian. Their camaraderie feels natural, and Alex’s own development (from scared newcomer to brave party member) rings true. My only nitpick is that Diana and Valerian have had little focus so far, but the group dynamics are friendly and believable. In short, Alex’s growth and new friendships feel sincere.
The writing is well‑polished. I spotted virtually no typo
R. W. McRaeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
What makes this stand out isn’t the system, the magic, or the monsters - it’s the refusal to rush. This isn’t a story chasing spectacle. It’s patient, deliberate, and far more interested in the weight of a choice than the size of a fireball. (That's not to say it doesn't start off strong, though, because it does. Immediate action. I was sucked in right away.)
At its core, this is a book about dislocation. A guy gets dropped into another world, but instead of falling into the usual power fantasy rhythm, the story sits with the discomfort. The pacing holds space for the uncertainty, for the hesitation, for the fact that becoming powerful doesn’t automatically mean becoming safe. That focus on lived consequences - on pain, exhaustion, mistakes, and guilt - grounds the progression in something that feels human.
The system is present, but it’s not hand-holding. There are no tooltips, no tutorials. Magic isn’t a menu of tricks - it’s something wild and volatile, barely understood even by those who use it. That vagueness is a feature, not a flaw. It forces the characters to learn like people, not players.
The world is rough, layered, and indifferent. Towns don’t welcome refugees. Villagers are flawed, not noble. The antagonists are violent, yes, but the real danger is how little anyone understands about the forces in play.
It’s a story about trying. Not triumphing, not mastering, not solving - but surviving, adjusting, enduring. And it’s all the stronger for it.
MurkelRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
That is my rating. Your personal rating for the story changes to five stars if you enjoy sitting in the middle of a bunch of noisy teenagers. I'm talking about the kinds and depths of the conversations you'll experience, not the ages.
Nothing wrong with that, especially not if you are a participant, but at least for me, passively reading the endless chats when I came here for an exciting alien magical world is not too appealing. Granted, this style is par for the course in this genre these days, so if you define "normal" by frequency this is a normal LitRPG story.
In general things just take too long. When a fight starts and when it really starts I can skip two pages. There is also only so much that I enjoy several pages long lowest-level fights - most of them consisting of the party talking, with one another or the MC with himself.
The next thing is the for me too detailed exploration of the magic. Some of it is okay, but I have to weigh it against what else I get from a story.
Last, I don't particularly enjoy this MC, but if that was all I would still continue to read, he is not unbearable either. It's mostly all the boring talk, well suitable for a sitcom where that is exactly the main point but not what I want from these kinds of stories.
For me, this story is mostly fluff and only a little bit of actual content. Readers here for the party and chat experience will probably be satisfied though.