The Code is Mightier than the Sword (A LitRPG Adventure)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Book 1 is only $0.99 on Amazon at the link below:

The Code is Mightier than the Sword

Books 2 through 4 are only $2.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited:

Catching Lightning in a Bottle

Within the Realms of Possibility

Angles of a Feather

When Terrorists use an online RPG to run their organizations, the CIA needs to recruit gamers to fight back.

Jace Thorne's introduction to The Realms of Infamy is innocent enough, if not a bit eccentric. Play this fantastic new game, solve the riddle no one else can, and get paid 100k. Sounds simple enough, but as soon as he enters the RPG, his friends are kidnapped, and the simple riddle turns into a deadly trap where the prize is the most powerful object in the game.

The kidnappers want the loot, but as Jace levels up, adds a powerful wolf and vampire to his party, and starts breaking the game, they want everything about him. He faces giants, demons, orcs, hookers, and hostile players who are over twice his level, all while trying to figure out this game he's never played before.

Eventually, he will have to decide if the friends he has made in the game are just as valuable as the ones he has in real life.

Book 2: Catching Lightning in a Bottle (Complete)

The CIA is alerted that four regular players have been kidnapped, tortured, and are being held for ransom. The clock is ticking before the torture gets severe enough that unplugging the players and potentially lobotomizing them may be the best option. Jace is tasked with the rescue mission, but needs a bigger party before he can pull it off.

Jace must find the best crafter and best archer in the game and break the rules even more than before to do it. But will these new companions get along with the ones he already has? Jace is used to his plans going off without a hitch, but when they start failing, and disaster ensues, will his dysfunctional group of powerful characters be able to put aside their differences long enough to help their leader pull off the impossible?

Book 3.1: Cursing the Darkness (Completed short story)

Esther and Gromphy go on a mission to put a powerful curse on a dress. This requires that they mingle with some of the realm's darkest and most dangerous characters. Esther meets an old friend from the past who threatens not only the completion of their mission but the comfortable life Jace has given her. Once Esther learns where she came from and that there are others like her, she will be motivated to find out more, even at the risk of disrupting Jace's plans.

Book 3.2: Blood Brothers (Completed short story)

Sir Wallace Wilhelm has been given a chance to secure a powerful NPC that, up to this point, no one else in the game has gotten. As with most modules in the Realm of Infamy, this one will force her to make morally questionable choices and ally with untrustworthy characters. However, she will try to use the time she has spent with Jace to find an alternative path and "break" this module to get what she needs.

Book 3.3: Hell Frozen Over (Completed short story)

Gromphy has a secret project to make Jace even more powerful than he already is, but he needs a powerful ice mana core to do it. Psycho, Draya, and Snowy head out on a secret mission to find one. They need the help of another player, and the elven ranger isn't sure he can be trusted. The module they need to pass is the realm's take on a Disney classic, so you can be sure it will be an R-rated, horror-filled slugfest. In addition, Psycho is pretty sure Gandhi, the game's AI, is out to make the module as tricky as possible because the prize at the end is too powerful.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: David Pontier

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 114
Views: 51,141

Reviews

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Community Reviews(6)

AllynciaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story is engaging, and the characters are wonderful! Each new interaction either reinforces old beliefs in the characters, or creates new facets to explore and cherish. The multiple sub-plots give meaning to the overall arch of the story, along with meaningful 'benchmarks' that had to be achieved for the overall motive to function correctly. There are very few errors that pull me from the reading, and with how minimal they are, I tend to read over them and notice later that something was off. The 'middle' books provide more clarity on the characters, and their motivations away from the main thread, while also clearly moving the story forward behind the scenes. The D&D explanations always lose me a bit, but it simply adds to the complexity of the story. Wonderful characters, wonderful setting, and fully fleshed out ideas for traps and pitfalls make the story more than just entertaining.
Blind_WatcherRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
If you like number crunching and puzzle solving, you will enjoy this story.
Story: Virtual reality being relevent to the plot. Need I say more? The underlying premise of nefarious groups using the deep dive VR for meetups, negotiations, cash transfers, training etc, all makes a great deal of sense and works into how the MMORPG is introduced and implimented in the story. Worth reading just for this plot element alone.
Style: Third eprson perspective is a good choice for the overall narrative direction and keeps things consistant throughout. The numbers, dear god the numbers. The math reminds me of another Litrpg I enjoyed reading a while back, and it really scratches my minmaxing ocd. I like how dialogue and actions reference the character they belong to in just about every instance. It can be easy while listening to TTS reading aloud a story to lose track of who is saying what. So I appreciate it.
Character: Jace 'Jason" is an interesting protagonist to follow. He comes accross as something of a 'know it all' but it really works for the context of the story. The characters being well rounded and rather likeable is almost to the story's detriment . As another reviewer has mentioned, leaving behind the prologue's (Chapter 1) cast, feels a little dissapointing. I got over it, but I would really like to see them brought back into the story in some capacity down the line.
Grammar: No problems thar I could find or noticed while reading through.
KevinZRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story. The combat and puzzle solving combined with the unique character interactions are excellent. Please don’t judge this story until you get to Module 3 and meet Esther. She is an incredibly unique character. Her complex history and how she plays off the MC are very entertaining.
Style: There are a lot of numbers in this story. The author has made a point to let you know everything happening in the dice roll department. A character doesn’t get a lot of damage just because they stabbed someone in the throat or got lucky. Rules govern everything. Sometimes it is heavy-handed, but the MC is an accountant. Several times he needs to “Do the math” to solve a problem, so I think the numbers are thematic. Also, as the story progresses, the numbers show up less frequently, and the reader is trusted to understand they are still working in the background.
Story: This is a classic progression story, where the MC becomes more powerful as he levels up, gains equipment and abilities, and recruits party members. However, there is an ultimate goal and good foreshadowing toward a final showdown. Also, the story is told in Modules, where each quest has a purpose and a boss battle at the end. It gives the reader a good sense of progress and confidence that a payoff is coming.
Grammar: No issues.
Character: Six stars. If were Jace and Snowy by themselves, it would be great. Fans of Drizzt and Guenhwyvar will enjoy the relationship. But Gracie is a unique touch as she is constantly arguing and fighting with Jace since they see the game and the world so differently. Then Jace meets Esther, and things go completely off the rails. She adds spice and variety to the combat scenes and is always keeping Jace on his toes. Some scenes are emotional; others make you laugh out loud. I can’t wait to see where this goes.
psyphyrRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This first book is a tight story and I cannot wait for the next books to begin. Our MC, Jace, is clever and an inspired min-maxer. His companions are are well rounded and in some cases mysterious. The author shows the tricks he is going to use and then surprises you when he combines them in a new way. The grammar is very good and there only a few instances where the word choice could be better (homonyms).
DrimRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
While a VRMMO story at its core, The Code is Mightier than the Sword is an intense crime thriller to connect the threads. While other stories in the genre would focus on becoming the strongest or number one in the rankings, the game is merely a tool for the main character, Jace, to take advantage of and complete his mission. It is a wondeful mix of clever characters, complex strategies, intriguing puzzles and game design.
Style: If you like numbers, you'll be right out home. Every stat and roll is laid out beautfily and the author does a great job of following the rules and mechanics they put forth. Some of the action is written in prose, so not every moment is filled with numbers, but if one is important, you'll know. I'm pretty new to litRPG but have played a bit of D&D and had no problem understanding the mechanics and terms.
Story: A tense crime thriller with high stakes with well paced plot and action. The beginning did feel a bit rushed with the maincharacter feeling a little too agreeable, but its understandably not the focus of the story and the circumstances are explained more later on. On occasion the main characters did seem to stray slightly from the main path to indulge in their own curiosities and morals. While it is intriguing and adds to the story, it does detract a little from the tension and feels like they aren't always taking the overall threat as seriously as they should be at times.
Grammar: A few name incosistencies and the occasional typo. Nothing major that would ruin your read, and I imagine they'll be fixed soon if they haven't been already.
Character: The characters are all unique and fascinating. They stick to their convictions, even if sometimes to their detriment, but it makes them even more compelling. The relationships between the main characters is especially noteworthy and makes them feel even more real.
I look forward to seeing more of Jace's adventures in the future.
Riz TalesRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Overall: The Author is 100% a Dungeons and Dragons player, and potentially a DM just like me. Okay, maybe 99%. . . Honestly, I'd say give this story a shot as it's a fun read. It follows the typical style of fantasy from a game standpoint as Jace gets trapped inside a game.
Style - Personally, the style was great but then loads of numbers started popping up and some of the math was simply wrong which I know I could just ignore, but I'm the type of guy who constantly has to do it when he sees it. I get that the author wanted to make a consistent system which is rare in novels as most give up on it relatively quickly, but I think that it might be a bit complex for some people considering I've known players that struggle to comprehend the basic mechanics of simpler games.
The third-person style fits, and as I said before, the author definitely reminds me of a DM that is used to explaining what's happening in a given scene.
Story - The story follows the MC Jason who is recruited from his local game, but honestly I don't want to go into those types of details as you can just read the summary.
Now for the important bits. I'd like to say that it does a good job at setting up a scene and delivering it, but some of it feels a bit forced at times. However, none of that takes away from the narrative itself and it's definitely a consistent story that the author has put quite a bit of thought into.
Grammar - Personally I have no complaints as it's easy to read. I think that there's no need to remind the reader constantly who's speaking, but that's just a style choice. Perfect score.
Characters - This hurt me. . . Not because the characters are great or bad, but because I gave it my all for the first time to memorize all the names since there were quite a few in the beginning and they had me invested. There are also no other reviews so I can't even abuse them as a reminder of a specific name. However, they're left behind. . . Jace is great, but my pain will never be forgotten.
Se