Dungeon Tour Guide: A Dungeon Core LitRPG

I really liked the concept, but there are several points that quickly unravel if you think about them. 

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This story has potential, but the amount of plot holes introduced from the very beginning makes every subsequent chapter bumpier and harder to relate. 

Last bit, I feel like he is at the level of supermans disguise. It's like everyone knows the truth, but they are too polite to say it to his face at this point. 

The premise is nice (though I cringe every single time the MC refers to himself as a Tour Guide). 

The LitRPG elements though are extremely weak.  They feel like an afterthought really.  Like the author was checking off an item on a list, but didn't really care much about it.  I have not seen a status screen in at least 30 chapters.  MC also just leveled but you get next to no info about it.  Just something that happened.  An afterthought.

So overall the story is good. I think most people will enjoy it without issues, however for me I am just really annoyed about how pointless it feels. The MC is human turned dungeon, who doesn't want to kill anyone but actually wants to help them. Great love the premise. The problem is how he does it. He training wheels so hard for them. He makes a fun and interesting dungeon, that is already super weak and would require massive failues all around to die in, yet he spoils every possible fun revelation or suspense that they may face.

Obstacle course? Shows them the path. Traps? Shows them what they do, and that they exist. Took Damage you weren't ready for? Healed, sometimes without saying anything so no lesson is learned. I honestly beleive that if the main characters of this story (which the MC isn't one ironcially) weren't so broken and overpowered, training exclusivly in his dungeon would lead them to dying in any other situation. He is a helicopter parent who accomdates to every little thing to prevent them from having to overcome anything. 

Honestly It isn't that bad to read, but it does lead me to wondering the purpose of it all. Every chapter spent with him upgrading his dungeon, or touring people through it feel's pointless because it will go exactly as you expect because the MC doesn't want it to do anything else. 

Finally the thing that I think is actually a flaw in the story rather than just a personal dislike, is the system. It seems convuluted, inflated and whimsical. Nothing seems to matter or is set in stone, as every assumption you have about it is broken by one of the main dungeon divers. You are limited in spells based on level? Nope all the divers know a new spell every room. Weaker spells shouldn't harm things stronger than you? Nope because of reasons. It seems that the only person bound by the rules of the system is the MC, but even that doesn't feel true but rather that he is uncreative. 

In addition to this, is the levels. They seem pulled out of thin air. Guild lady is level 10 and is the strongest person in the region for the guild. Then a few chapters later we see a group of level 20's. Well we are told that levels are expoential so a level 20 should be strong enough to kill a full party of level 10's. Yet what we are shown of the level 20's doesn't seem that way. Further more it is heavily implied that their are people in the world who have reached level 1000. If a level 20 can punch a crater into bed rock, a level 1000 would then be able to destroy the world by sneezing. So all this is to say, how is a level 10 the highest leveled person in the guild in one of the richest regions of this country? It doesn't makes sense, and I feel this will come to a head when we start to see actual engagements with the Kingsguard and Omen, where the Omen will be casually level 200 and everything before this point was pointless. Because if the Omen isn't that abusrdly high level, why would anyone fear him?

after chapter 38, i lost motivation to further read it. The Story feels like a lukewarm adventure story to me. i dont feel any tension in the dungeon Dive, because the power that helps the Heroes triumph and the Evil that wants to stop them ARE THE SAME PERSON. our Dungeon Guide/Keeper basically helps others defeating himself for experience and profit. He already stated that he doesnt want anyone to die in the Dungeon he himself created and controls, so we already know nothing bad is going to happen from the start but he also mothers the people who test themselves on him so severely, that even those small excursion dont feels a tad frightening. the first people he let into the Dungeon, he healed a dozen times from every little scrape and poison they got, and then lets them continue the dungeon even after they almost died without him.

sure there COULD be a fun story to be had if he has a big dungeon and people are stuck in the layers and dont progress and he needs to intervene to save them or guides them on single topics they didnt know about, maybe like the other Dungeon Stories where you show cool new monsters, traps and the layout you change, but he is a tiny 5 Room dungeon people clear as a matter of fact. clearing the dungeon is Expected and not the Super GAU it really should be for him. he should not forget that he is not only the guide but the Heart of the Dungeon too and if he guides all those people to the end, only the Authors will prevents people from going inside his Heart Room and messing with him. he himself is only a Healer and pretty weak in Combat.

if the Author wanted to focus mostly on the guide part of the Story, i think he should have been a guide in someone elses Dungeon, that would have prevented a lot of these problems from cropping up.

I think the overall story so far was great and it's exploration into a limited world fun.

Dungeon Tour Guide has been a breath of fresh air, a palate cleanser between a lot of heavier, slower stories.  It moves quickly, the combat is evocative and interesting without feeling like a grind -- particularly impressive given that it is quite combat-heavy -- and the MC's behavior is pretty much heartwarming.

The author has done an impressive job creating a character that is thoroughly kind without being irrationally sweet, and simultaneously experienced and new to his life in a way that feels genuine.  It helps that the MC's feelings towards other characters mirrored my own in several instances, to the point that I found myself thinking if I has been transplanted into that same situation, I hoped I could play it as well as he did.

I always have a disclaimer in my reviews that I am not a serious literay critic.  I enjoy fast paced "candy bar" stories not big plodding "thanksgiving dinner" literature.  I only mention it so you can decide how much wait to give my revew.

Dungeon Tour Guide is great because it feel like D&D, without hitting you over the head with how D&D it is. 
It is a Dungeon story, but is about more than just the dungeon.
It is well written enough to avoid pulling you out of the story.
It is also unique enough to avoid being, "just another dungeon story on Royal Road"

So far the pacign has been great with a natural eb and flow from action to leveling up.  There is enough going on with the "long story" to fill in hints and create a large arc, but enough cool snap shot story to keep things interesating and moving.

Another review mentioned that the story is bland and while I see their point, I disagree to some level.  There are several moments that are riviting and very exciting and times where I just have no idea how our tour guide will manage.

The best compliment I can give is that I am very excited with each chapter release and read is ASAP.

Quite a while ago, I read the first chapter of this story, and was instantly enamored. As a self-proclaimed enjoyer of dungeon core stories, it hit all the marks for me, and I was excited for more. Sadly, I mainly read on Royal Road, and this was only being posted on a subreddit, so I lost track of the story. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this gem once again, on the rising star list.

After a quick binge of chapters, I'm here to report that this story delivers on it's premise exceedingly well. While the dungeon guide is friendly, it doesn't stubbornly pursue pacificity to a fault. The LitRPG aspects are used to add to the world, and are unobtrusive. I'm loving the dynamic between the characters, and the narrative is top-tier. I highly reccomend this story! 

Great start so far. The intro assumes that you know enough about the standard fantasy isekai litrpg setting, but that's completely fair. Can't shake a stick without hitting another litrpg fantasy in RR. Loving the main character so far. Lucas just has that vibe to him. A real helper turned healer turned dungeon guide. Goos fun.

The sentient dungeon type of novel is very popular and getting one that is original written in proper English is quite nice.

I however didn't get "sucked in" by the story that i found a bit cliché. Don't misunderstand, the concept is good and the execution is without grammatical fault but it's still there that I'm loosing faith.

An example of what i say by cliché is the "mysterious" enemy capable of doing stuff to delvers on "trigger" (really tried not to spoil here).

Same with the first delvers he has. They are not super original, 1 talented, 1 hard working, 1 op base skill (same here i really tried not to spoil).

These have nothing wrong but feel repetitive even though it's my first read...

That being said you should still try to give it a go. It's a nice premise and if it's part of your first 10-20 novel you will likely love it.