Wishlist Wizard: The Rise of the Zero Hero [Book 2 Stubbing March 31]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Wayne appeared in the summoning chambers for Chosen Heroes.

While getting Isekaied was good news, Wayne was 50 years off of the usual cycle for heroes. His body did not become superhuman, and his system access was glitched. He could open menus, but his only clickable option was to view his unimpressive stats. His other option was called Christmas List. None of the scholars in the world found any record of this ability appearing before, and it was greyed out.

Four years into living his second quiet life, he happens upon a strange artifact from Earth: A single page from the 1990 Electronics Boutique Christmas Catalog. His once inactive ability gives him the power to add skills and abilities to his system by ripping them from the games listed in the catalog.

With a second lease on his second life, Wayne sets out with his best friend and fellow Royal Scholar Fergus to collect more catalog pages. Along the way, they figure out how to combine abilities from wildly different systems–like upgrades from a railroad management simulator complementing a magic sword ability from a classic action RPG–while he does everything he can to not repeat the mistakes of his past life. Thankfully, Fergus loves living to the fullest and is always ready to remind Wayne that life is short, so enjoy that wine.

This lighthearted LitRPG progression fantasy story mashes a wide array of game genres into a single system, forcing Wayne to navigate a strange chimera of skills and buffs and upgrades. Can his build give him the strength to adventure like the Chosen Heroes, or will this be yet another isekai disappointment?

What to expect from this series:

-Power progression from unusual sources

-Very light number crunching with a greater emphasis on ability synergies

-Playful spins on game and isekai tropes

-No retro game knowledge required

-No harem content

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: marshalcarper

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 1,370
Views: 216,916

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

AlejoTheBearRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall I'm loving this story. Follow Just Some Guy who is slowly breaking the system by building his abilities out of legos, diplo blocks, knex, lincon logs, and some play doh. Earger enough to see what monstrosities the author creats out of all that.
No jaring issues with grammer os spelling eother wich is always very nice for me.
CJ HolmesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Wishlist Wizard is one of the most fun isekai stories I have ever read. It has wacky powers, weird monsters, a global mystery, and a hero who just wants to see the world. He has the good sense to surround himself with people who value the journey as much as he does.
There's plenty of WiWi, too, over 80 chapters as I write this. You'll eat it up, and then wish for more.
angels-ribsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love these books. They are a comfort to me, and - admittedly - reveal how much I don't know about game history.
I'll miss it deeply when it's over, but that means I can reread it and enjoy it again. Absolutely worth the time reading, too; the author is excellent at character voices, and the humour really does feel like it fits the ages.
itsgottabeodinRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'm not sure it is possible to say enough nice things about this fiction. I came expecting a silly power fantasy, and I got a cozy ~absolutely charming~ story about people doing their best to live a fulfilling life.
Style: Not your typical isekai, this has all the old school video game nostalgia of (my) youth wrapped up with a really charming bromance and actual laugh out loud humor to boot.
Story: The pacing is great, the plot is meaningful, there are frequent meaningful power-ups keeps the dopamine flowing - AND the series is moving towards an actual conclusion.
Grammar: Most of the typos or grammar issues are from the game descriptions and manuals that the author has brought in faithfully warts and all... so to say, very little grammar issues and typos. In fact, I'm not sure I noticed any in the first two books. Maybe just a few typos and line-breaks in book three so far.
Character: Just fantastic. Our MC comes off as a real human who makes mistakes but overcomes them. Of all the fiction I've read on royalroad and likely the majority of published fiction, this cast has felt the most 'alive' or 'real' to me. They've all got their issues and their backstories and are all being molded by the events happening around them. Absolutely phenomenal.
Special extra credit props to the author for bringing the story to a conclusion.
jbgeeksRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This whole story has been a blast to read. It has, like any story, its ups and downs, but overall the experience has been fascinating and oh so fun. I find Wayne and Fergus' bromance to be the best written friendship I have ever read, just two old guys adventuring together and just being wholesome. The whole party dynamic is great, and the abilities(although confusing due to sheer quantity after awhile) are delightful . Great work!
Chele42Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I’m actually really enjoying this one. I like it almost as much as the other one that this author has written. Reading about some of the older games reminds me of when my Husband started programming in the game industry in the Early 90s. Games have definitely changed a tremendous amount so it’s kind of fun reading about these early games effects in this world. I recommend this author a lot. No problems with grammar, the storyline flows, and I haven’t noticed any plot holes.
GrimmlockRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story manages to balance a light-hearted sort of old-school litRPG vibe with some well fleshed out characters, a pragmatic and slightly jaded outlook which remains none the less open to wonder, and a professional level of grammar and editing. The mystery, so far, is engaging, and the particular system is interesting without being so complex as to bog things down. Well worth reading.
Reader1587Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
No disputes with story grammar, style, or characters. There are only a few quirks that prevented me from giving the story full marks.
+ Unusual abilities and their usage
+ Interesting system
+ Map & spells catalog available
+ Dating attempts
+ Messed up romantic lifer
+ Humor & sarcasm
+ Zero Hero personality
+ Clash between the look and mental maturity of the protagonist done well
+ Belittling nicknames for the hero, but no bullying or attitude from the locals.
+ Old scholar as a companion
+ Absence of irritating or dumb characters
+ Realistic aspects of hiring new party members
+/- No clear antagonist yet.
- Some stats are more like an afterthought, seemingly having no impact on the story.
- Slice of life vibes (personal preference; not fond of the genre)
- Investigating past heroes feels like mixing the genres.
- Not a fan of diary entries in each and every chapter (don't care very much about the past heroes).
- Uneven pace in a few chapters.
NorthernReaderRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
The story delivers exactly what it says on the tin.
It is a fun and interesting take on the isekai genre, with good humor, and a well done plot.
Ultimately, the story failed to keep my attention, but that is not to say it isn't good, it is quite good, just not 100% my cup of tea. I would still suggest anyone who likes gaming/isekai stories gives it a go. It is well written, both in regards to grammar, plot, dialogue and mechanics.
CatgurlRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Decent story. I like the friendship between Wayne and Fergus. I like the overall mysterious plot. I like there is plenty of action and the pace of the story does not drag, although some of the prose is a bit trite.
Laszlo's diary from 50 years earlier is heart-wrenching - I just want to pull the kid out of there and send him home. That sadness is offset by Wayne and Fergus's present day more hopeful adventuring. Though the theme does seem to be getting a bit darker as the story advances - have to say I prefer the light-hearted adventuring.
Characters are good. World is interesting.
Annoying that MC is quite stupid in spots, but that is mitigated somewhat by him admitting he is stupid. And I am NOT referring to his obliviousness with woman.
Example is not suspecting he could only pick two games per level when it was already clearly indicated from past experience - a smart person would have picked the two games he wanted most first, then tried for a third to verify. This was a little too stupid.
Another is when he sees two red dots in one body and does not instantly suspect the other is Rebecca.
Another is when Julian questions if they might be saviors - Wayne does not pick up on that and at least try to talk to Julian; granted, Julian shows as a red dot meaning enemy, but so did the friendly demon and it is already clear the system is suspect.
Another is when he does not ask the druid why they did not tell the heros 50 years ago about Rebecca and Julian and explain what was going on in the parlay. Actually, that whole plot thread was off - if you really want to stop conflict, you explain your viewpoint to the other side, especially when you are parlaying - you don't just tell them to leave with no explanation. This plot thread would benefit from editing.
Many other instances like this. Some may be writing oops or deliberately done to advance the plot, others may arise from yet undisclosed plot mysteries, but if so could use better foreshadowing. Either way they could