The First and Last Emperor [LitRPG, SysApoc, Mage]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

“Of course I’m a tyrant. I’ve never claimed to be anything else.”-The First and Last Emperor. "Before today, there were few reputable records detailing the journey of the Emperor before the War of Three and One, and none of his life before the System's descent and the death of the Old World. There were many rumors, to be sure. He was the son of a high cultist. It was he who flooded the west. That the System came for him. Some claims have more foundation than others, but the simple fact is that he did not share that history with us, and those who were close to him do not speak on it. However, from the few records we do have, we see that the boy named Solis, who would later don the mantle of Emperor, was very different from the man the world would come to know. We've confirmed that now. For the first time, we have records detailing the Emperor's rise to his title." What to expect: - Pure Mage (not a spellblade, enhancer, etc) - Weak to Strongest Progression - Epigraphs from the future - Themes of Legacy - Some firearms/modern tech - No harem - M/W/F chapter drops - Kingdom building starts in full in book 2 Inspirations: - Delve - Worm - Full Metal Alchemist Read the first chapter here!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2026
Author: StaleCrow

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 1,477
Views: 124,040

What readers say about The First and Last Emperor [LitRPG, SysApoc, Mage]

“Loving this so far. It's got most of my favorite things and especially a system with internally compounding/synergising features. Awesome. Creative (ab)use of mechanics here we go. The world is broken, everyone is scattered, monsters with a desperate drive…”
sigmaroyalroadRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“Super fun read! I love the premise, and it's really well done. The MC has an interesting back story that's slowly explained and justifies his actions really well. The way the magic works is really interesting, and the over arching theme that the system migh…”
DarkModeRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

sigmaroyalroadRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Loving this so far. It's got most of my favorite things and especially a system with internally compounding/synergising features. Awesome. Creative (ab)use of mechanics here we go.
The world is broken, everyone is scattered, monsters with a desperate drive to destroy all humans are everywhere and noone knows how any of it works. Enter the MC, unreasonably resourceful by virtue of a well planned backstory and perfectly positioned to dig into the mysteries of the new reality by virtue of his highly risky glass cannon build.
Believable protagonist without excessive plot armour on a mission surrounded by believable and reasonable secondary characters with their own personalities and goals.
Good pacing and progression, exactly the right amount of numbers and blue boxes and so far all working at a very human scale rather than dealing with gods or multiversalsl shenanigans. On the surface The System itself is as deeply impersonal and amoral as we're used to, though there are some hints that whoever is behind this one is a little more benevolent than some. Plenty of excellent world building with loads of breadcrumbs that I'm very much looking forward to exploring going forward.
Most hyped I've been since I first started reading Delve 10/10
DarkModeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Super fun read!
I love the premise, and it's really well done. The MC has an interesting back story that's slowly explained and justifies his actions really well.
The way the magic works is really interesting, and the over arching theme that the system might have a lot more going on than it seems is intriguing.
I've been loving it! Absolutely give it a try :)
DreadRedRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Enjoying the story immensely!
We know from the title and the summary itself that the MC is gonna be a "great man" one day.
Yes, the LitRPG is done quite well. Yes, the System Apoc is done amazingly well, but what this story does the best, and in my opinion better than just about any other story is show the early life of someone headed for something great, someone who genuinely has the potential, but is certainly not there yet.
Solis as we see him in the beginning has the traits which could mean something, but it's hard to reconcile him with someone who is one day going to be the First Emperor, but as the chapters go by, he gets closer and closer to that image. This transition is gradual and feels entirely natural for someone of that sort facing those odds. Facets of him come out that lurked behind, his past is shown and gradually but inevitably, the Last Emperor emerges.
I will follow this story with great interest.
ElymasRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I’ve been really enjoying The First and Last Emperor so far. The premise immediately caught my attention, and the story has done a great job of delivering on that promise. It hooks you early and keeps you invested as the narrative unfolds. The concept feels fresh, and there’s a clear sense that the story is building toward something much bigger, which makes it genuinely exciting to follow.
One thing I particularly appreciate is how the story takes the time to lay its foundations without feeling slow. The progression feels natural, and the early chapters do a solid job of setting up the larger journey that the protagonist seems destined for. There’s a strong sense of direction behind the writing, which makes the whole experience feel purposeful and engaging.
The epigraphs are very cool as well. They add a great layer of flavor to the story, and I especially enjoyed the ones that talk about or reference Emperor Solis. Those little touches make the world feel deeper and more lived-in, and they’re honestly a highlight for me.
My only real complaint is that there are far too few chapters right now. This is completely unacceptable. I want more chapters. Immediately. Preferably yesterday. Of course, only for scholarly purposes.
Overall, a very promising start. I’m genuinely looking forward to future chapters and volumes.
HazRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
5/5 Stars hands down, I'm always a sucker for post-apocalypse stories with a focus on community building and this is looking like it shaping up to be a banger. I don't know much about grammer or prose but overall I can say that it feels nice to read and the narrative has kept me engaged thoroughly, the main character is fun the secondary characters are interesting and the System mechanics are interesting and not being bogged down with thousands of meaningless numbers that make me glance over them.
The only complaint I have is that I cannot yet give this author money for more chapters.
LameNameYoRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So let's start with the bad:
There aren't another 400 chapters for me to binge read.
Seriously though, I don't normally start books before the 500 page mark just because of how many get dropped so quickly, and I regret it simply because I want more, not because I've got any issues. I only took off a half star on style score so I didn't look like a bot just throwing out a 5*.
The good: I have a weakness for a pure mage build, and this one is being done what I would consider right. He doesn't struggle for 20 pages and go OP, he actively earns his advancement, stumbles, and keeps going. The other characters are steadily, but well developed without feeling like it's taking away from the actual story or MC.
Style: We start after about a month of integration, so there is some missing back story that I'm not super fond of in general, but again, the author does it in a way where it doesn't feel like we're missing critical information, just alluding to what will likely be important characters later.
Story: it's different enough from the standard without feeling like the author is sabotaging their own writing for the sake of being different. There is a clear story, short, medium, and long term goals, but those are seen by actions based on character development rather than "next I'm going to do this, hopefully after this, and someday this". It feels less spoon fed.
Character: I guess here I could have taken off a half point instead of style but the characters are great, my only complaint is it seems everyone the MC comes into contact with has a tragic back story. Now admittedly, the "system" is the implied reason for these similar back story people to end up finding each other, but between
Solis & his sister being alone / raising each other pre apoc, Dimitri and Ira's kids being separated from them, Samir is a doctor without boarder which based on other details I'm assuming lost someone(s) as the only really developed characters so far, it's just all tragic
But again, characte
orionamongthestarsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Great writing, believable characters, intelligent MC. Love the direction, love the MC, love the dialogue and furthermore love that it’s not endless growth just for growth. If you want a great story, with purpose, drop what you’re doing and read this book. Honestly this should be number one in RR so get over here, read the book, fall in love and let’s get this author to write more of this story.
ps. Author you owe me a chapter… 😁
re el geshRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The biggest thing that stood out to me is our character actually has flaws and seems to try to learn from them and not succumb to his nature.
It makes for a compelling read since many of the action our character would take would be met with gratitude in other novels or even just acceptence - where here side characters actually take issue with what in reality would be a problem.
Eager to see where this leads
Cyram80Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
As the title says, I've not been reading all that much yet, but so far, I love the story. The setting is an interesting variation on a system apocalypse, the suspense is high (can't wait for the class reveal) and the characters so far are nice and diversified. Not too much monster variation yet, but I'm sure that'll change once the greater world opens up.
OdessaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
When reading litrpgs, one of the biggest issues I have is "extreme MCs". Well, if some MCs are too strong, and some MCs are too weak, then I guess Solis is what I'd consider the Goldilocks MC: he's just right. He's not super strong at the start, naturally, because the apocalypse is fresh and he's being stingy with his talent points, but don't make the mistake of thinking that means he's helpless! A good writer knows there's more types of power than raw numbers- observation, manipulation, even socialization- and the author delivers an MC that is capable of using what he's got available in a believable way.
Style: The story is realistic and pragmatic without indulging in tedious minutia. The problems faced are real (well, I mean, as real as can be if we assumed a system apocalypse is in progress) and grounded in a natural progression. There is a coherent cause and effect. People react naturally and are well characterized. There are secrets at play and strangers are not immediate best friends. Basically, there is a level of nuance to this story that tickles the brain and leaves me satisfied.
Story: Though this is a system apocalypse story on a site filled with system apocalypse stories, this one is fresh and invigorating. I think the author's decision to start in already mid action is a great choice that prevents the boring preamble that bogs down many of the genre. We get into the action quickly, and at a pace that satisfies our need to know more.
I don't want to go into spoiler territory, but there's a cliffhanger involving a monster that really got me to sit up and be like "oh damn!" Seriously, that moment was so well delivered that you owe it to yourself to at least read up to it.
Characters: While Solis is the MC, you'll quickly meet a few other characters that all have their own personalities and motives. It is SO REFRESHING that these characters has their own voice and motives. For example, there's this jerk in the first chapter that I know is not a good bloke,