The Tattoo Summoner [COMPLETED. UNDERGOING REWRITE]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

This story is completed in its current state, but it's also currently undergoing a rewrite for a relaunch.

Follow if this interests you and you want to be notified of the new version!

How’s a tattoo artist supposed to survive the apocalypse?

Tanya Angelo knows how to handle herself—life in London’s East End taught her that much. But gang trouble, crushing debt, and the odd creepy client don’t exactly prepare you for the end of the world.

Now monsters are spilling through portals, Earth-themed magic is awakening in random people, and Tanya’s hearing a voice in her head calling itself The System. It’s chosen her for a powerful Unique Class: Tattoo Summoner.

Not only does it allow her to craft new summonable tattoos, it also brings all her previous designs to life. And she can’t control any of them.

That’s the funny thing about getting a Class in this new world: you can start with control or power, but not both.

What to Expect:

- Mixture of action and crafting magic tattoos

- Tattoo parlour shopkeeping later on (Book 3 which is currently updating)

- Eclectic party with unique Earth-themed classes

- LGBT characters, including a major trans character

- Medium LitRPG crunch with deep dives into ability choices but limited numbers in combat

- Slow burn levelling and plot

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2025
Author: arliewrites

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 2,392
Views: 537,159

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

AutonymosRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This looks as though it's going to be great once the ball starts rolling and I'm sure it's going to be a great book. Once it's been going for a while I'll write up an advanced review. I hope that Mrs. Sneer, MC and Botanist get to a safehouse at some point and use their talents towards helping everyone get prepared for dealing with the horrors.
MJPackardRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Tattoo Summoner is a super fun exploration of creativity in a magic system. I'm a critique partner of this author, and about 10 chapters in, I'm loving the unique flair Tanya's powers bring to the apocalypse setting.
I wasn't a regular of litRPGs before this story, but as a lover of magic systems, the possibilities here are genuinely exciting. Each chapter gets me thinking about what upgrades she could take. Also, as an artist myself, the idea of surviving the apocalypse through the power of sentient tattoos is just too cool haha. I'll be eagerly following this one until the end!
Style:
This one often fades into the background as it's a pretty easy read, but you'll definitely be pleasantly surprised by the creativity of descriptions found in this work. The prose is tasteful and gives breathing room to the characters and the system. If anything, I'd like to see more material description to immerse me in the scene in future chapters.
Story:
Pacing-wise, the story takes it pretty slow. If you understand that up-front, though, the slow-burn aspect works wonders for getting into the system and empathising with the MC. From what I've read so far, there's a nice balance between action and rest. The story also has some interesting surprises up its sleeve to subvert the predictable parts of a system apocalypse story.
Grammar:
I'm nit-picky when it comes to grammar, but this one tripped me up less than most stories on here, so can't complain.
Character:
Characters appear pretty slowly, but I don't mind that at all - the development you get drip-fed for our MC Tanya in particular feels subtle, relatable and realistic. Even with just Tanya largely carrying the early chapters, this is probably my favourite aspect of Tattoo Summoner so far!
SeliMeliRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This has quickly become one of my favorite stories on RR. It's creative, character driven and action packed.
Style: No complaints. It's easy to read, descriptive but not tiring and, in my opinion, very well paced. I like that the story is taking it's time setting up and exploring emotions in the quiet moments, before exploding into the action again.
Story: What's there not to love? System in the Apocalypse, heavy on the fantasy elements, immediately interesting. The story starts out strong from the get go and only gets stronger the more we learn about the people, the circumstances and the magic system. The magic system, by the way, is so well thought out I could cry. I honestly can't wait to explore more of it.
Grammar: I've noticed no glaring mistakes with grammar, spelling or sentence structure.
Characters: Arguably the best aspect of the story, even with how much I appreciate the magic system. The characters feel like real people, flawed and likeable and interesting. I want to know more about everyone, their relationships and how their lives will develop.
All in all, I'm really glad this landed on Rising Stars as quickly as it did, so I could start following along so early on in the story.
TempestWalkingRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really like this story! The backstory behind the system and the general slow deterioration of society in an apocalypse is something done super well in this litRPG that you don't see in others. I also feel like while the MC is very powerful, she definitely isn't so OP that everyone else is irrelevant. In fact, I don't think she's even the strongest in her "party" quite yet. My only gripe with the story is that she's less of a frontliner, but that's more so my own taste in and of itself rather than an inadequacy of the story. I'm excited to keep reading!
kette442Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I went into the story because of the unique sound of it, not many stories focused on Tattoos I guess.
I liked the characters and world building in general, of course some of it could be polished a little but it is such a unique world building with background of how the system got to be etc, really great.
Some reviews said that the pacing is not perfect because there are not many tattoos happening in the beginning. I read the story while it was already complete and just got sucked in and didn't feel this too much.
Could be because I didn't go chapter by chapter though.
Big ending fight was really nice, brought tears to my eyes and had me smiling at the end. Just the way it's supposed to be.
Only minus point in my books would be that it lists as completed where I would've loved this to be more of an introduction arc.
Recommended for reading anyways!
BloodartistRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Visually stunning. The detail that is captured in every interaction really sets this series apart; paired with refreshing and unique classes, this series truly sets itself apart as a must read. The journey through London feels real, gritty, but whimsically accurate (while even being explained in American when need be lol). It is also nice to see a post apocalyptic setting that more realistically handles system integration; there is no startling going from normal to high fantasy overnight, or the other common feature of going from society to backstabbing for canned goods, instead it shows a paced approach to system integration in both the positive and negative impacts it would bring.
Characters seem real and complex in a way that is often overlooked in the post-apocalyptic genre. Everyone featured is not a simple trope of good or evil, but rather a canvas of grey that reacts to situations accordingly and appropriately. The protagonist is intelligent and motivated by a complex life. Side characters also seem uniquely alive even when only featured for a short period of time. It leaves you wanting side stories and perspectives flushed out for every person you meet, while still maintaining a forward focus on our main girl.
Overall, a great way to get inked and go on adventures alongside some nuanced and growth-based summons!
CarrieRinaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a wonderful story - engaging, unexpected, and with characters that have depths and that you want to root for. I'm hooked. This is a rare story where the main character interactions aren't family or lovers (or lone hero saving the world)- but create a cohesive team facing the apocolypse. I highly recommend.
HeatheniaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm really enjoying the story and characters so far. The story is only just starting but the characters already have so much life and personality. The powers are also quite cool and unique. I was wondering at the beginning how they would make Tattoo summoning interesting and viable, and they've done a good job, by giving the powers a lot of versatility. I definitely didn't expect this story be this good, which is my fault lol. I would recommend giving it a go!
J P KoenigRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Tattoo Summoner is one of those rare takes on a genre that manages to bring something new to a well known formula. The story starts off with what seems to be a standard "system arrives"-style apocalypse, but very quickly shows in high style that it is so much more.
The main character, Tanya, is down-on-her-luck tattoo artist from a rough part of London, and she sounds like it. The authenticity in her speaking style can only come from a native, and it gives true flavor. But more than that, it speaks to her motivations. She has real world limitations trapping her in her circumstances, and the whole "system arriving" thing - that's really not very important when a gang is breathing down your neck right here, right now.
From how she has family to deal with, to the grumpy neighbor Mrs. Eceer (who's fast becoming my favorite character), there is a real world edge and emotional depth to this apocalypse that is missing from most tales of this type, and it makes Tanya's decisions so much more impactful.
And that leads into the sheer creativity of the Tattoo Summoner class and how the author has implemented it. It's very unique and flexible, and lends to the alien feel of the System, which feels truly inhuman here as opposed to some random game imposed on the world.
If you're looking for a fresh, unique take on a system apocalypse, I'd strongly recommend giving this one a try!
Justinwrite2Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Note: I was a beta reader. More than that, the author was my first beta reader as well. She is great, and the book is great. I love me a tattoo baddie raising havoc, but more than that I love that this book gives dimension to each character. You can feel that these people are real, not just caricatures.
The magic system is really cool and the MC fairly logical which I like. Humor is top notch.
The only critique is that my dumb American brain gets confused at this sourpuss spellings used by the homeland.
Seriously, read this book. Its awesome.
Since more words are needed, let me tell you this.
Crunchy stats, lots of pages, good magic, cool MC. Tattoos. What more do you need? One of my favorite stories updating. Hopefully you love it as much as I do. Also the author did her own cover how cool is that?
Now for a fun fact about tattoos:
did you know the first tattoos were on the icemen circa 3300 BC. Early Egyptians had them too. I've always wondered about that. Is that why they shaved their heads? To have more space to tat? Probably not, but I need to fill out 200 words, so we can pretend for the sake of this review that yes, the pyramids where build by clean-head shaven homies with loads of tats.