Name: The Shining Wyrm
Rating: 4.72 (466 reviews)
Author: Nighzmarquls

In My Eyes the Pain of the Whole World

★ 4.79

KLeo Gerts

"What is reflected in your eyes? Everything that doesn't kill us makes us stronger. That's what people say. But is it?

Axel is only ten moons old when his world shatters—torn from home, sold into the demon realm like property. In his diary, he lays bare a fate too cruel to ignore, raising questions to which society turns a blind eye.

At the clash of three worlds, war breeds only blood, betrayal, and silence.With Felix and Nel—the only sparks in a drowning darkness—he defies despair.

Together, they endure.Together, they choose humanity. They will protect each other.

This is Axel’s struggle. His defiance. His voice in the darkness.

✨ What to Expect:

🖤 Dark fantasy — only raw truth

🧠 Psychological depth

💭 Philosophical reflections — on identity, suffering, and choice

🔥 Inner strength and magic — a fight not just against fate, but the world itself

🌌 Interdimensional travel — across realms consumed by war.

👥Connections that go deeper than survival — bromance, romance, and found family.

✒️First person narration.

📅 New chapters every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

🖤 Read. Feel. Let the darkness consume you.

"This story is for those who made it through.
And for those still finding their way."

Board & Conquest: A Godly LitRPG

★ 4.7

Maxime J. Durand (Void Herald)

The gods don't play dice with the universe; they play Board & Conquest.

Wepwawet, young god of wolves and scouts, is given a task to prove himself worthy of becoming a major god: form a new pantheon with other junior deities, manage a young civilization on a newborn world, and train mortal Champions to resist an inevitable Titan Incursion.

Being saddled with an ice-covered barbarian village besieged from all sides isn’t ideal, but it's now his duty to transform this ragtag bunch of misfits into the most formidable force the world of Elphion has ever seen. It doesn’t matter how many of his fellow gods want his head on a spike, how many Miracles cards he has to collect, or how many uppity dragons and minions with attitude he has to manage; Wepwawet has never backed from a challenge and he isn’t starting now.

He was already a god; now, he’ll have to become the god.

Art cover by Dinovoila and SelkieMyth.

Updates twice a week (2500/3000 words chapters) on Tuesday and Saturday. Contains deckbuilding LitRPG elements and a tactical-oriented System, a god who knows what he's doing (sometimes), base-building, and a colorful cast of mortal champions.

The Beast and The Swallow

★ 4.64

Ariana Vivoni

The complete edited Book 1 is now available on Amazon for a large cup of coffee. All books on RoyalRoadare first drafts.

The Beast and The Swallow on Amazon

Of all the tales in all the lands, there isn't a story more famous and more heart-wrenching than the one about the Beast and the White Swallow.

Never heard of it? Then come closer, for it is about to unfold before your very own eyes.

In a far-away land of snow and mystery, the fates of two bastards entangle.

He is a warrior and a ruler. She is a physician with a tormented past.

Now both of them will have to learn not only to live together but also to fight against any and all that threatens to ruin their happiness. Amongst chaos, schemes, and war, will they manage to fulfill the most difficult task - finding the way to each other's heart and soul?

The path won’t be easy. A dark cult and even darker magic are resurfacing after years of slumber. And while they wreak havoc in the lands of Norden, the Star-gazer’s voice echoes in the night, heralding a dangerous future:

When the Beast falls, the Swallow shall triumph.

For the Sun to shine over Norden, the Swallow must be devoured.

Many thanks to @AngrySpider for composing this soundtrack for the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrzUOUCrMA4

Godclads

★ 4.66

OstensibleMammal

Professionally edited and published versions of volumes 1 and 2 can be found on Kindle and as audiobooks on Audible!

Avo was born to destroy New Vultun. In a twist of fate, he’ll become its only hope for salvation.

The gods were the enemy. The slaver. The chains. With dreams of paradise, humanity slaughtered them and stole their powers, opening the path to become more – to ascend.

Instead, they nearly destroyed the world.

Vast hive cities serve as the final bastions against the crumbling of reality. New Vultun is the greatest of them all, and within its borders, ascenders wage war to determine the laws of existence itself.

The world descends ever deeper into ruination.

Avo was born a weapon, a slave to his instincts and his masters. He and his brothers were made to burn New Vultun to ashes. Everything changes when Avo gains immortality and becomes heir to an impossible legacy.

He must ascend the megacity of New Vultun. He must challenge the very tyrants that usurped the gods.

He must finally free the world from chains.

Join the Discord and subscribe to the patreon here.

Chapters are usually around 2.5 to 3k words.

Disclaimer: Expect detailed descriptions of violence, cannibalism, and cursing.

Expect: Monster mc, magitech, cyberpunk, implants, atrocities, oppression, non-human protagonist, reality-warping powers, and combined arms warfare.

Do not expect: Smut, romance

If you develop a sudden outbreak of rash after reading Godclads, it's not the story. But go see a doctor. Just in case.

Hope

★ 4.69

sarvashaktimaan

The Aspects are long dead. The venerated creators of reality are no more.

Yet the final scheme of their slayer, of the deceased Betrayer, seeks to grind all they have ever made to dust. And the truth is, it is working. Slowly but surely, the end of all things has been growing closer and closer throughout the eons. Inevitably, unstoppably.

The last Hope is a desperate gamble: For one of the first children of the creators to cast their very soul into reincarnation and perhaps return as something strong enough to stop the end. If there ever was any chance to begin with.

I am not stubbing this story until it's at least complete (if ever).

Expect:
High fantasy.
Weak to strong quick.
Powerful MC reincarnates, gradually starts regaining memories.
MC that is an actual character not a plot device.
My original unique magic system discovered along with the MC.
My original setting with mythos that have both been living rent free in my head for actual years.
Story that matters (or does it?)
No, I can't rewrite the prologue even though I lose a good half of prospective readers on it.

Good writing and decent grammar. Reviewers seem to like it, you might too.

Upload schedule: Updates every Saturday. 3000+ words per chapter.

Meant to be read in RR dark mode.

Valkyrie’s Shadow

★ 4.7

Aeridinae Lunaris

In the wake of the Battle of Katze Plains, the banner of Ainz Ooal Gown flies proudly over the city of E-Rantel. The Sorcerous Kingdom has entered the world’s stage to the clamour of death and devastation; the surrounding nations fearfully prepare even as they reel from its calamitous debut. Within the borders of the newly annexed realm, its Human subjects cower in their homes as the Undead openly walk the streets and stalk the lands. Yet, when a destitute noble finds herself under the auspices of an unlikely benefactor, events are set into motion that will resound over the world for ages to come.

A kingdom builder based on the events and setting of Kugane Maruyama’s Overlord. In a fantasy world where beings of matchless power are transmigrated from the arbitrary existence of a game, Valkyrie’s Shadow chronicles the lives of the natives whose reality has been turned upside down by their advent. It is the tale of a nation created by the whims of a supreme sovereign, and his unstoppable servants who each have their own, often twisted, interpretations of their Master’s Will.

There is no victory in strength; no miracles wrought from magic that will save them: only the inexorable advance of a new world order where those who secure a place of service within will find themselves turned against the world that they once knew.

[Slow buildup. Methodical storytelling with a focus on well-rounded kingdom building and character development.]

Skadi’s Saga (A Norse-Inspired Progression Fantasy)

★ 4.72

pwtucker

An obscure jarl’s daughter will rise to wield the power of the gods.

The old order is collapsing. The Archean Empire devours all in its path, toppling kings, razing cities, and massacring any that oppose it. Sweeping into the north, a land of brutal cold, ragged mountains, and dark myths, they believe their infamous discipline will crush the white-hot rage of its sea reavers and dreaded berserkers.

And at first they are right.

But their invasion dislodges a pebble that is destined to become an avalanche. When Skadi Styrbjörnsdóttir is forced into exile to escape the Archeans, she begins a journey that will bring her to the attention of the gods, arm her with legendary weapons, and set her against immortal foes.

Wielding the power of her ever-growing wyrd, Skadi seeks to avenge her people, and in doing so defy the world-devouring Archean Empire—and one day destroy it.

Content Warnings are selected to give me artistic freedom down the road.
Release Schedule: 5 chapters per week, Mon-Fri.
This web novel is only posted on Royal Road.
See my Amazon author page for other works of epic and progression fantasy.

World Map

The Courting of Life and Death

★ 4.59

VMJaskiernia

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.)

The Shining Wyrm

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