This Used to be About Dungeons is a comfy slice-of-life adventuring story that occasionally features dungeons. Updates Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Mostly it's about walking in the woods with a friend, looking for mushrooms to put in your soup, or haggling with the guy selling squash, or taking care of a neglected garden. It's putting some jam on shortbread biscuits. And yes, sometimes you go down into the dungeons with your friends, and you kill monsters there, or disarm traps, but when you come out, you realize you've found the perfect magic item to give to one of the local kids that helped you out when your cat was sick. Look, the dungeons are always going to be there, and sometimes you need to make a journey to one of the Spirit Gates, or make a pilgrimage with the local Cleric of Symmetry to a holy shrine. Your tour through the local dungeons can wait. You'll have rivalries with other groups, and find some dungeon eggs that need to be carefully incubated in case they turn out to be something valuable, and help a friend to build a fishing weir. There's a big world out there, a mostly tame place with lots of magic, and even more to do and see. Join me, won't you?

The cover image is Morning Sunlight Effect, Eragny, by Camille Pissarro.

Given his first weapon when he was still a child, Edward Lee lived a life full of violence in a nation torn by war.

Tormented by the demons of his past, he believed Death would free him.

But through the games of beings beyond his understanding, his death turned out to be the starting point of a new life in a strange world of magic and monsters, as a young teenager.

Beyond simply finding a way to survive the dangers of his new life, Edward will soon realize that there is still a price to pay for his past actions.

Cover art isn't mine.

Buy the books, or cross-post your RR review, please and thank you! ❤

Clandestina is a realm of secrets, fairies, and dark magics. Among the nobles there is talk of a goddess of death, and a forbidden magic she grants to those that follow her-- cræft that can heal injuries that should be fatal or even bring back the dead. But she asks for much in return; blood and sometimes even life itself.

Pierre Salvador has just returned to court after finishing his studies and becoming a surgeon. But as he flirts with his childhood friend Elizabeth Anne, Mora, The Lady of Death, waits for him.

I do not take my books down from Royal Road. I do edit, polish, and rewrite things for the published release. (Vol 1 is just short.)

General Summary:

Sometimes, the multiverse needs expanding. That's where I come in. But, unfortunately, being a deity isn't all fun and games (and is incredibly complicated), as there are always things working against you. Not even the God of the Multiverses can change that. 

Another Summary:

Twelve souls were chosen to expand into the void surrounding the known universe(s), and were given a grace period in which they would experience a relatively safe expansion of their domains. Once that period is up, however, they are free to interact with each other...and what lurks in the depths of the Abyss, the Void, and the Primordial Chaos. I am one of those souls. And let me tell you, this shit ain't easy. Between trying to raise mortals into an immortal army, with which I can defend my domain, dealing with my children, and trying to maintain the balance between all realms of existance, I have my work cut out for me. Sigh. Now I know why, back on Earth, gods worked in mysterious, invisible ways. There's just too much to be done. 

Formerly called RE: Deity

Kira Hawthorne was just another teenage girl until the day a 'god' told the world their 'realm' was getting assimilated, since they lost some War no one on Earth even knew about.

A System is installed on the whim of a very old and capricious god. Kira immediately gets trapped in a pocket dimension, and emerges to find a once familiar world turned foreign... And very hostile.

On just another normal Monday, the world changed. The universe had reached a threshold humanity didn’t even know existed, and it was time to finally be integrated into the vast multiverse. A world where power is the only thing that one can truly rely on.

Jake, a seemingly average office worker, finds himself thrust into this new world. Into a tutorial filled with dangers and opportunities. In a world that should breed fear and concern, an environment that makes his fellow coworkers falter, Jake instead finds himself thriving.

Perhaps… Jake was born for this kind of world, to begin with.

Release Schedule:

5 chapters a week.

Average chapter length: 2500

Tags and content warnings are mainly to give me creative freedom later on. This is my first novel ever, and English isn’t my native language, so go easy on me chaps. Any feedback is more than welcome, of course. Also, this novel is only posted on Royalroad and Patreon so if you are reading it elsewhere, it's pirated and you suck if you keep reading.

A comedy.

All life on Earth has been stolen away by The System, transported to another world at the behest of a distant galactic empire, who lived in terror of humanity's potential.

Ben was a normal, slightly above average man, and had been about to go on the first real vacation of his adult life. Now he must contend with danger and mystery in a world of monsters, magic and treasure, armed with nothing but his wits, and the special item given to him by The System.

This is his adventure.

Welcome to The World.

The world is a wide, wide place. And that's without taking into account the many creatures that inhabit it. When a new Dungeon Core is born deep below the surface, it faces challenge after challenge. The only question is; is it up to the challenge of living in this world?

This is my first attempt at writing a Dungeon Core story. I'll gladly take any and all advice, comments, or criticism. 

Releases on Tuesdays and Fridays. Mostly.

Charlie Norwood, a goblin-exterminating bounty hunter working in the frontier desert, finds herself embroiled in conspiracy when she stumbles across some gnomish warmechs chasing down an elven prince.

A Fantasy Western.

[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon Challenge] 

Powerless and filled with raging anger for half his life, an avenger grasps hold of what was to be his redemption only to find despair and darkness. His mind lost, his anger went on to bring about the path of carnage. He is, but an inextinguishable flame that threatens to consume everything; all in the name of retribution. Death was but a moments reprieve for his agony. His rage overflows even after the sweet release. Unable to be snuffed out by the laws of the world, he is granted life once more In a different era. All those whom his vengeance is focused on, vanished into obscurity with the passage of time. What does one who has all the power of the world at his finger-tips do, when all the reasons for that power have vanished?

Lucky Lachlan is just your average mutt. He's been living with his Girl for as long as he can remember and he'd do anything for her. He might have to do more than he bargained for.

One day when he awakened from his mid-day nap, he saw a box. It had no scent and floated calmly in the air.

Greetings Lucky Lachlan!

You have been chosen.

The End is coming in three days.  Prepare yourself!

Thanks to Kieran Pierce for the lovely cover!

Dog at the End of the World is a participant in writathon.

Buck Jones was born in 1850 and died in 1880. He was an outlaw, and technically still is.

 The world may change, the species may differ, and the circumstances may twist, but Buck knows one thing for sure.

Always draw first.

Real Fantasy Online. The flagship product for the latest generation neural-interface headset. Touting: "The Best NPC AIs", "Better than Life Realism" and "Total Immersion", RFO promises to be a virtual world like no other. But when the line between one's real self and one's digital identity becomes blurred, and the "Gods" have their own agenda, who is the player, and which is the game?

Marcus has played any number of VR games, beta-tested dangerous and unstable systems and lived to tell the tale. He even has a certain amount of fame and influence within...certain circles. He usually disdains the idea of pre-orders and their respective "perks" as blatent commerical exploitation, but this time the bonus is too tempting to pass up. The ability to craft your character's backstory and have it integrated into the game's lore is enough for him to sign up for the Early Access program. He isn't interested in being all-powerful. Frankly, he's been there and done that enough to be bored of the whole thing. Instead, he opts to make a character purely for the purpose of having fun. Things aren't quite what they seem however, and his "backstory" and character class have implications he never would have imagined.

Author Note: First time posting a story online, and I'd appreciate any feedback. Updates may be slow, as each "chapter" will likely be in the 10,000 word range and I tend to revise several times before being (tentatively) satisfied. If people seem to like this I'll try to establish a regular post schedule.

Travel with a newly born demon as he grows and learns in his own world as well as in other worlds as he gets summoned again and again. Usually to die or kill for others in strange and exciting places, but it's never certain what the next one will bring. It has its perks. With each new world comes a new story with new experiences and new lessons. There is always more to see, more to learn and more to know. Maybe, someday, it will all make sense. For now he will just work hard to become stronger, to be useful and, hopefully, survive that way.

A coming-of-age story, but different.

Things start to slow down to a crawl. Colors blur into one another until my vision is completely white. All I can think is "Shit, not this again!"

I hate being summoned.

_________________________________

updates once a week until I get more time

The idea for this story began in two places. One was the ridiculously rapid pace of gaining power in many novels. Both in games and in novels, I enjoy the struggle of the beginning character, why always the rush? The other was the way many monster or non-human MCs always seem to hurry to become human (again). It always felt like a cheap way to grant the character extra powers without the difficulty of writing a non-standard thought process.

Thus I wanted to write the slow(ish) progression of a monster character gaining strength and intelligence, while remaining distinctly non-human. There are no stats, xp or systems, no reincarnated soul or completely formed being to start with - unless I want to make fun of those. While the MC 'evolves', the process takes months if not years to proceed step by little step. Sit down with me and imagine, what would it be like if...

If evil was easy, everybody would be doing it, and there would be more Dark Lords running around than you could shake a stick at. But the road to Utter Domination isn't easy, smooth or straight, as the boy who will one day become Gar the Pitiless will discover.

Indigo woke up in a body she didn't recognize, and a world she didn't know, without memories or even a name to define herself.

Follow her life as she discovers that, not everything happens for a reason, not all bad guys are out to conquer the world, and being powerful doesn't automatically make life easy.

Follow her adventures as she gets drunk with orcs, raids ruins for lost treasure, and chops the heads off hordes of zombies.

Follow her journeys as she meets people, makes friends, and does her best not to kill everyone around her.

[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]

[Winner of the previous Royal Road Writathon participation trophy]

Full disclosure, the cover image isn't mine. Check out the full image here.

I put all the warning tags to give myself creative freedom, but I'm not going to write a story filled with gore or swearing.

This is my first time writing, other than for school projects. I put the gender-bender tag because I wanted to try writing from a female's perspective, and needed an excuse for why my MC reads a little tomboyish. The gender-bender fades into the background over the first few chapters, please don't let the tag keep you away from trying out my story.

Synopsis:

Second chances are rarely earned, and even rarer given. Follow a new life in a new world, where anything is possible. Our MC wakes up, stuck as a baby, needing to decide how she will live her new life. Let's see what future she can forge for herself, when hard work is rewarded with status points and skill levels.

Elevator pitch: '300' meets 'Lone Wolf and Cub'. A retired veteran has to keep some orphans from being eaten by horrible monsters.

This fiction contains the professionally-published novel Obstacles as well as the ongoing sequels. 

Back Cover Copy:
Androkles, son of Paramonos, spent twenty-five years in the world’s greatest army trying to earn enough money to buy back his good name. He’s battle-scarred, weary, and heartbroken after decades of watching dear friends die, but he survived. He’s ready to retire and be welcomed as a hero, finally able to see the reward he sacrificed so much to achieve. 

There’s only one problem: his wife just fled civilization with all his hard-won savings. Now he must pursue her north, through desperate bandits, ravening beasts, and worse. But after he rescues a pair of orphans from starvation, he is faced with his most difficult challenge yet: a question that goes to the very heart of honor. The consequences might be deeper than he realizes, and it’s not just his life on the line…

Updates: Irregular but Ongoing

Book title in the chapter heading.

If you like what you're reading, please consider
purchasing a copy of the published novel Obstacles:
books2read.com/u/mleazq

It is an undeniable fact that good things come in small packages. More often than not, it is necessary to trim the fat in order to bring what really matters to the forefront. Having extra bulk may seem like a good idea, but in reality it is merely a crutch that will one day become a hindrance, as it is no substitute for personality nor ability. Indeed, often times it is the small things in life that brighten up our daily lives and constantly remind us exactly why we do the things we do.

However, it is important to keep an open mind, for while bigger is not always better, there are also times when it is. This holds especially true when it comes to hopes and dreams, which have been known to require a suitably large container from time to time. And while dreaming big could potentially lead to massive dissapointment, one will never truly reach fulfilment if they think too small.

A truth that one small woman with meager aspirations is about to find out.

DISCLAIMER: This is a spin-off/side story of my main series, Everybody Loves Large Chests, which is also mandatory reading to understand this one. It runs parallel to the main plot, branching off from the chapter titled Upheaval 2, so there will be spoilers for anyone who hasn't reached that point.

Ian Dunai is trapped in the only maze an arch-decemancer can't escape.

Time.

Only 1% of the population is blessed with magic affinity at birth. Fewer still have high enough affinities to rule. Ian’s decemancy eclipses all, granting him ultimate control over Death. He conquers cities with a thought and turns them into ruins with a gesture. But overwhelming power isn’t enough to escape the time loop or reveal its purpose.

When Ian discovers a critical clue that he missed years ago, escape is finally at his fingertips.

Little does he know, it's only the first layer.

Release schedule: 2 chapters/week (Mon/Fri at 11:30 AM EST).

Book 1, The Menocht Loop, is complete at ~100k words (~370 pages; chapters 1-41).

After being on Royal Road for nearly 20 months, Book 1 came down from Royal Road on Nov 17th, 2021. Please consider buying it on Amazon. The first 10% of book 1 is still available to read on Royal Road so you can try before you buy. DM me if you want to read the book but do not have the financial means to purchase it.

Book 2, The False Ascendant, is complete at ~110k words (chapters 42-83)

Book 3, The Eldemari's Wrath, is complete at ~145k words (chapters 84-143)

Book 4, The Samsara Crucible, is complete at ~165k words (chapters 144-211).

Book 5, The Seed of Chaos, is ongoing (chapters 212 and on).

Constructive criticism welcome.

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Cover art by the very talented Jeff Brown. (Higher res version here; 3840 x 2400 ultra high res wallpaper version here)