The Mortal Shard

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Most people have to die before reaching the next world.

Not Liv.

You see, she has something of a curious fate.

After a chance encounter with an otherworldly artifact, Olivia Lockard is transported to a new world where everyone is immortal– except her. What’s worse? Her unintentional theft has made her the target of not one, but two dangerous factions. One desires the artifact she’s bound to, the other, her life.

In a world where death is no longer permanent, she must adapt and learn to use her budding magic. Provided she can find a teacher, for the arcane energy surging within her gemcore has become all but extinct. Those who lay claim to what remains are either priests, or fugitives and neither can ever be fully trusted. Not with a secret like hers.

~*~

Readers can expect:

- Steady, earned progression

- Light LitRPG elements

- Skill trees

- Extensive World Building

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: Svenwritesbooks

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 26
Views: 8,257

Chapters(28 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

cursedclarkeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Mortal Shard drops you into its world with the confidence of a storyteller who knows they do not need to hold your hand. The opening scenes work because they balance the fantastical with an unsettling sort of physical realism: the pain, the disorientation, the indignity of waking up naked in front of your neighbors. That grounded sensory writing keeps the magic from feeling weightless. By the time the point of view shifts to Olivia, the reader already trusts the author to handle both mystery and worldbuilding in tandem. The prose is confident without being self-indulgent. Sentences carry their weight, and the pacing between discovery, danger, and dialogue feels purposeful. Grammar and syntax are clean; the occasional flourish is earned rather than sprayed over everything.
Story-wise, the first five chapters manage the rare feat of being both indulgent in premise and careful in execution. The litRPG mechanics such as skill trees, stat readouts, and inventory management are integrated into the plot rather than dumped in the reader’s lap. Olivia’s skill selection scene, for example, doubles as character development, showing her pragmatism and mild sarcasm in the face of the absurd. The book also resists the urge to make her instantly overpowered. There is a gratifying sense of her starting weak and thinking her way through problems. Worldbuilding is layered in through artifacts, snippets of in-universe text, and cultural details like the Rot and the social etiquette around it that feel lived-in. It reads less like someone flipping through a game manual and more like a real world with its own history and politics.
The characters are sharply drawn in just a few strokes. Olivia is immediately likable because she is flawed, snarky, cautious, and occasionally petty, but never passive. Kaedric’s introduction is a good example of restraint. The author does not lean on instant romance beats or excessive physical description, instead letting banter and wary cooperation defi
AjtypeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is a fairly simple isekai set up that is fairly well done. People are people and that means some are kind, some are mean, and some are selfish. I appreciate that, humans aren’t all evil and some are actually worthy of trust.
This seems to fit into a slice of life where power leveling and violence take a back seat. Gives me many of the same vibes as the Wandering Inn.