The Beast and the Sage

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Friday release schedule, with the potential for the occasional extra chapter.

(Primarily progression litrpg with a decent dose of comedy, and one very slowly developing romance.)

Levi always has a plan that never quite works out. Gaming the new system for the best class possible, he ends up with a class that suits him perfectly. Unfortunately, that's bad thing.

Paige never has a plan, yet things usually work out just fine. Choosing to let the system decide her class for her, Paige gains a powerful class that excites her. But she soon starts to wonder just how much her class is affecting her behavior.

After the world has been completely changed, and a set of VR-like rules set the stage for the new world, a beast and a sage find themselves as traveling partners. The unlikely pair develop into a formidable team and more... despite differences in their personalities and classes.

(Note, there is very little traveling in the first book.) The traveling part really only starts in book 2, though the theme of traveling together is a major part of the overall story.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: JD Hopkins

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 1,531
Views: 339,901

Chapters(82 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

kirbydabearRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This one alternates a quick pace with more drawn out scenes. Both allow the author to explore and display the characters.
There's no immediate cheat or anything - every step feels earned.
This one skews Adult (as opposed to many YA-level works on RR). The romance is clearly a big part of the story and is done tastefully so far.
Excited to see where it goes.
WishFlowerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I am by no means a writer, however, this has to be one of my favorite things I’ve read in a long time. I’m very excited to see this story plays out! Absolutely loved this flash forward. Mr. Stowe’s description makes me cry… I just love old men. Definitely love that she is the beast!
J. G. SadsquatchRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Beast and The Sage is the kind of immersive read that hits all the sweet spots: rich worldbuilding, complex characters, and a plot that keeps pulling you back in.
The setting is so intricately thought out, that it almost feels alive, with a system-based world that’s way more than a simple game overlay—it's part survival, part mystery, and part dark humor, all woven together beautifully. Every scene has this depth, peeling back new layers without ever dragging, and it’s balanced with prose that’s sharp and full of personality.
The characters really shine. Levi and Paige aren’t your typical protagonists; they’re refreshingly human, a little messy, and so easy to root for. They’re navigating this bizarre new world with a mix of humor, grit, and relatable exhaustion, and even the side characters feel like they’ve got lives beyond the page. Grace? The old lady alchemist might just be my new favorite, with her weird wisdom and unfiltered charm. It’s like everything in this story, from the plot twists to the smallest details, is set up to make you care.
This is a rare story that nails both an intriguing premise and the execution—highly recommend it for anyone into epic adventures with a side of laughs and some beautifully weird worldbuilding!
PS The Crows made me spit out Sprite all over myself lol 5/5!
Brandon KempRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Awesome story so far keep it up! I'm loving the character development so far but can't wait to get deeper into the world and see how everyone develops. You do seem to have a few hard chapters coming so I thought I'd send some encouragement anyway can't wait for the next chapter.
JeffShowRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
I really enjoyed reading your book! The plot is engaging, and the characters feel well-developed, as it added a lot to the story. There were a few moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, but overall, I think you're on the right track. Looking forward to reading more and seeing how the story unfolds!"
AbathaRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Really enjoyed the start to this, the interaction between the characters and the overall “balance” of the story. I like that it is predominantly dual POV and it is clearly going to be character driven alongside general progression. Interested to see how the author develops the relationship so far I think it’s been handled really well.
Laurent JerryRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Its a decent read. The whole story mainly revolves arround the relationship of the 2 MC, which are finding their pace with each other.
There is a lot of cultivation nonsence that you can safely skip, its not really key to the story
I really like that the romance is taken seriously. I'd like more for the MC to be more wholesome with each other, as so far they mainly whine and dont understand their partner and get frustrated, which can only go on so can only last so long without being annoying.
Overall ive liked what ive read so far.
RoxaraiRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
This is all a personal opinion on the story so try not to get offended by anything I say, I’m only human. I think a lot of the situations, dialogue, and character interactions are forced. Like the author had an idea on what they wanted the relationship between certain characters to be and is moving the story around that. In turn, this makes a lot of interaction between characters seem robotic and forced. I would say it is not a terrible story but for me personally, it is not good either. I will end this off saying that this is only my opinion and if the author enjoys writing it and a reader enjoys reading it, that is all that matters.
ReadWriteExecuteRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
Like others, I had high hopes for this story, but it's not for me. Accounting for preference, 1.5/5 stars. Otherwise 3/5. Had potential for 4/5 or higher based on synopsis and opening, but it didn't live up to it.
Style: 3/5
Okay. Not juvenile, simplistic, or too wordy.
Had unnececessary profanity. Some people think it's realistic, but it doesn't really make a story better.
Attempts at humor I mostly forgot. Unless it's witty and fits with the story, it tends to distract. I do like humor, but not cheap humor during serious events.
Story: 2/5
The setup was good as an intro. The more it was referenced (and thus gave reason to think about it), the more it needed better reasoning. (started 4/5, ended 3/5)
The system was interesting; the potential was interesting. Not enough progression, though. (4/5)
The character/event progression could have been really good, but sadly failed. (1.5/5)
For a story with dual MCs described as a pair of traveling companions, they spent way too much time apart from each other, with other people, and not traveling. I know story setup can take a little time, but... both are introduced in the first chapters as having very good reasons to stay outside the safe zones and develop individually, clearly belong together/nearby to survive in the world, and even have reason to meet early; yet they almost feel secondary to other characters.
High potential, mediocre execution, somewhat bad progression (mostly because it just doesn't for so long).
Grammar: 4/5
Nothing really stood out to me to distract from reading, so this is good, but not exceptional enough for 5/5.
Characters: 2/5
Itemized, possibly minor spoilers:
Rick/Mr. Stowe were well-done. (4.5/5)
I had high hopes for an intelligent character in a genre saturated with idiots who succeed through plot armor or random gimmick, or that are supposedly smart but do dumb things because the author wants to create drama. I could do without the hinted-at tragic backstory that is so prevalent, but I felt
irreverent_quotesRoyal Road
★ 0.5
To start with the good, the grammar is well executed, no glaring errors or misused words that really stand out.
Beyond that, the worldbuilding is limited to non-existent, the concept is unfun, the characters are wildly unlikeable.
The authorial voice is very strong, even preachy, leaving the dialogue without any feeling of interactions between unique characters. The story feels more like hastily thrown together mechanical puppets lurching down rails to a foregone conclusion rather than an organically crafted narrative where the results feel like the natural outcome of the actions of vibrant and distinct characters.