The Unified States of Mana

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

My name is Kyra Baker, I’m 20 years old and a university student, and recently I’ve been offered a scholarship to adefinitely-not-shadymagical academy. A ‘support device’ I was given shows me a list of classes I can take, all involving mana, magic, and Skills with a capital S.

To get there I was lumped into a ship full of strange and alien creatures, jumping between worlds as we pick up more and more hapless ‘students’. Things were starting to make a little sense, until the ship crashed into an alien world.

Now, I might be getting trained as a rebel soldier, or something?

Looking on the bright side, I haven’t gotten this much exercise in a long time and there are plenty of cute girls around. When I develop some Skills and work on my classes, maybe I’ll become strong enough to actually have the time to flirt with them.

~ One of the few surviving records thought to be written by the Empress before her rise to power.

Cover by zaex321123 on DeviantArt

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2021
Author: FormlessChimera

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 1,315
Views: 1,235,782

Chapters(294 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

AurnyxRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Tl;dr My favorite story on this site. Other reviews scared me off, but when I finally got around to reading it I found an amazing world with interesting themes and intriguing characters.
I've read dozens of stories on Royal Road, but this is my first review. The main reason I feel the need to write one for this story in particular is that I came across this story a few times while hunting for something new to read. The reviews warned me about pacing issues somehow both too fast and too slow, or they talked about how the characters were one dimensional and unlikable. It was honestly only by chance I ended up reading it anyway, and I was entranced.
The world the story takes place in is perhaps what I love most. Most of it so far takes place within a dystopia which I find to be surprisingly unique. The alien species encountered have an interesting variety, and the tendency for them to be bipedal and look somewhat like humans is even explained in universe. The magic system is genuinely fun and intuitive, as no branch of magic feels extremely broken yet, and the playing field is kept level, especially in combat.
Speaking of combat, the pacing in this story is amazingly dynamic. The first dozen chapters after the intro are full of combat and moments when main characters are close to death, capitalizing well on how the plot armor hasn't been established yet. Before too long, though, the main characters are taken out of that situation and put into an environment that has almost too little conflict at times. In future chapters it goes back and forth between chaos and calm. This may sound off-putting, and some people clearly were driven away by this, but in my opinion the pacing serves a purpose: character development. During each crisis, characters are stretched to their limits and often pushed beyond what they can handle. They form bonds that would have taken months in other conditions, they find new capabilities within themselves, and they are scarred mentally. Whenever th
ZZSliderRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
After reading the first few pages, I simply dropped off the map for a few days because all I could do was just read the next chapter after chapter. It was both a dissapointment and a blessing to my functionality when I got to the end of the vast amount of chapters that have been put out so far, and continue to be published at an astonishing rate.
The story itself is great, with a driven and somewhat-egomaniacal main character that aims to build a new society in a world of non-traditional gameLit mechanics and a quiet dystopian order that threatens to eliminate her and her loved ones. And there are a fair bit of loved ones, as her magnetism and leadership attracts a tidy number of lovely ladies into her imperial polycule. Their dynamic is lively, rich, and compelling, adding a special flavor to the story's events.
Its refreshing to see a main character that takes charge and moves fast, though there is a valid critique to be made about it being too fast, at least writing wise. While the breakneck pace is what drew me in so deeply, I think it would benefit from more chapters that give the characters time to deepen their bonds outside of combat and flesh out the setting. Even the characters themselves often make note of how rapidly their romantic relationships have developed.
In any case, I would highly recommend this story to those that a fan of the genre and ask that you go in with the expectations that, while it might not be perfect, it's a damn good read.
To the author: thank you so much for your hard work and creativity, I can't wait to see where Kyra's journey goes from here!
grapefanta111Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story. The world that we see here is complex and fascinating. The main characters remain completely endearing; they're knowable. The dialogue is very well written. The characters' relationships are endearing, funny and fun. The story also has nuanced psychological and political layers. There remains a satisfying logical consistency throughout. It's a great story. The writing is excellent.
femtheangelRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Amazing start to the story. Really left me wondering what was to come. Love the characters so much. First time I read harem and didn't cringe. So thank you for that😭❤️. And this is supposed to be 200 words long. Sigh. I think your work is really good and I hope real life or some unforeseen circumstances makes you drop it or go on hiatus🙏🏾. And it's still too short. Damnit.
im every woman, it's all in me
i think they should have stopped after the 3rd installation of the Ben 10 franchise. They might have overmilked that cow to death chileee
Alexander BivensRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a very solid story, with fun setting and cast of characters. The author updates quite frequently as of this review on every weekday, despite the fact that the chapters feel quite girthy and satisfying to read even if you are reading them stand alone as they come out. It has that kind of light and airy yet still easy to get absorbed into feel like that of ravensdagger's stories. It's not the perfect story, but i'm giving it 5 stars anyway to compensate for royal road's community of harem haters and for those that have a chip on their shoulder for lesbian female leads.
SensibleMalarkeyRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Meet Kyra, she has recently been enrolled-kidnapped as a student-soldier to the Landra Inter-Realm Academy of The Unified States of Mana. On what would have been her first day of ‘Magic School’, events go spectacularly, horrifyingly wrong. The ship transporting Kyra and her fellow students suffers an attempted highjacking by a crazed red woman named Red, resulting in a crash landing on an alien planet. From there, Kyra is harshly introduced to the Wild West equivalent of this mana rich universe. Troubles include: death, conscription, brutal boot camp training, a siege, killing, and some light cannibalism.
Within all that ghastliness Kyra starts to learn magic, meets and finds support from three other young women: Eshya, Nel, and Vii, and supports them in turn, until, and after, their eventual rescue.
And that’s all within the first 16 chapters. The opening arc is fast and savage, providing a distinct look at how dangerous this ‘new normal’ can be, and what a world can look like outside of the Unified States control: cutthroat, survival of the fittest, with very little compassion.
It is an introduction that has teeth, that reverberates and leaves an impact on Kyra and the girls which can be felt hundreds of chapters later.
Now, if that sounds intense - it is - though the opening bloodbath to this universe is not representative of the story as a whole. There are quiet moments, there is calm, there is beauty. As well as a wicked sense of humor. It’s simply impossible to not assert the importance of those 16 chapters: the pace they set for the story to come, and the influence they have on our main cast.
Character
Kyra in five words: ‘abrasive, but fun as hell.’ I love her and find her to be damn refreshing. She’s a strong willed, mouthy, stubborn, fucking hilarious… and broken individual.
During her short time in Red’s ‘bootcamp,’ Kyra witnesses something so uniquely cruel and unbelievably barbaric that she effectively snaps. Conjuring a grand scheme to create her own e
BlenheimRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Although a little slow after the crazy initial rush, the story is really enjoyable. The USofM is a really interesting empire, incompetent enough to give the MC and other characters freedom to run around getting into adventures. The MC is pretty insane, having developed a personality that is abrasive and egotistical. It is just a shell hiding insecurity, much more relatable than overpowered leveling psychos in other stories.
ThePluralEyeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The plot, writing and overall readability of this story is great, but it does have some issues. Mostly, there are lots of unique and important side characters, to the point that it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. I have read stories with more characters, and they solve the issue of "who's this guy from a dozen chapters ago?" By referencing each characters most memorable traits from time to time, especially when they haven't shown up for a while. I don't think it would be too difficult to implement this in future chapters or retroactively for previous chapters, and it would fix the only real problem I have with the story.
TogakureRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Please, do continue with writing this story. I'm enjoying the world building and characterisation, and wish to see where it goes from here.
Thank you for writing, where most just wave their opinions around (this includes me unfortunately, as yet).
(This review must be at least 50 words long, I hope this last paragraph helps with that).
O41Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
The world-building offers captivating worlds and a multiverse with intriguing ideas. The main characters are compelling. The story is the definition of a classic good vs. evil plot enriched with moral twists here and there. The magic system, especially the implants, is fascinating and adds depth. A unique, imaginative, and highly engaging read.