The Path of Ascension

A LitRPG Adventure

By: C. Mantis

Narrated by: J.S. Arquin

Orphaned by Monsters. Matt must power up to save others from the same fate.

Matt plans to delve the rifts responsible for the monsters that destroyed his city and murdered his parents. But his dreams are crushed when his Tier 1 Talent is rated as detrimental and no guild or group will take him.

Working at a nearby inn, he meets a mysterious and powerful couple. They give him a chance to join the Path of Ascension, an empire-wide race to ascend the Tiers and become living legends.

With their recommendation and a stolen Skill, Matt begins his journey to the peak of power. Maybe then, he can get vengeance he seeks....

Experience the start of an action-packed fantasy adventure that blends everything you love about LitRPG with Xianxia. With five million views on Royal Road, this hit web serial is new and improved and now available.

About the series: This is a mix between LitRPG and Xianxia. It's like a car that looks like a LitRPG with dungeons and skills, but the interior and engine are all Xianxia. It features a magic system and progression system that are logically and internally consistent, as well as realistic fight scenes and a rational MC.

©2022 Aethon Books (P)2023 Aethon Audio

Great Story but...

Narrator almost ruined this did me. Please don't say skills like that, it was horrible and immersion breaking.

skills and enchanting

alot of the skills are relatable to the RGPs I play and I really like the way Matt can "cheat" his way through most restrictions

If you are worried about negative reviews

First of all I must say I really enjoyed it. I was worried about the negative reviews and while I understand where the annoyance with the narration I was able to ignore it. The main issue for me was interjection of a different “system” voice that popped up any time a skill was uttered. It is weird and jarring and I really hope that doesn’t continue. It is ignorable though and happens less towards the end of the book. Also some of the voices in the beginning were obnoxious even some of the main characters but they soften as the book goes on.

Additionally it is a story initially published on royal road I’m pretty sure and like many stories that are originally published on there (but not all) the author takes a little to find their voice or you could just simply say they improve. It doesnt start off bad, in fact it starts off good, but it gets better and more interesting as the world grows and you get introduced to more of the setting.

I dont write reviews often but I was almost scared off of this book and I’m really glad I gave it a shot because I really enjoyed it and will listen to whatever comes out next.

Great characters all around

This is a great cultivation style story. The characters are very enjoyable(her family and extended family are so great) and the progress and pacing is great. I thought I had much more time as the last 7 hours slipped right on by. I will eagerly await the next one in this series.

The narrator does a great job but I do admit the skill titles didn't need the separate recording. I did get used to the style as the book went on but it is a bit emersion breaking especially mid conversation. The characters are voiced very well and are distinct enough that you know who is talking.

Overall I recommend this book!

narration choice

Enjoyed the book, the story was entertaining and the narrator did a good job. The issue I have whith this book is the way they handle the skill names when their read.

Ignore the first few hours - it gets much better

LitRPG is hit or miss to me. Done right, it explains why some spend all their waking time in a universe that's simulated, and done wrong, particularly audible wrong, it's someone reading an old phonebook full of numbers and names. It's not easy to put in writing/words that are extremely visual. Games which operate often with hundreds of characteristics and metrics, get lost in translation when you just read it all. The relationship between characteristics, character stats, environment, threats etc. is waste - and the good LitRPG stories give you insights into why learning and discovering a very mathematical universe can be attractive.

This book starts out as the second kind. At some point for minutes tables of values were being read. It's like someone at a cooking show trying to describe every smell as the TV viewer cannot smell it. And doing so for minutes. And when you thought it was done, it started up again. The story really doesn't kick in for hours - you don't really identify with the characters early on, but when you do, the story makes sense and you start rooting and hoping for the best to happen. So give it a chance, don't let the early chapters discourage you.

Great story but didn't enjoy the narration.

struggled to finish this one with the narration. the story is great but I think I will stick to reading it only.

Good Story with minor problems

This book is good read. It has an interesting plot, good character dynamics, and potential for some attention grabbing struggles for the main character.
The side characters could use some flushing out at times and some better narration choices could have been made.

I personally find the worst part to be the narrator's choice to SHOUT the name of the skill mentioned EVERY SINGLE TIME as it broke the flow of the narrative and conversations between characters. REALLY ANNOYING! Especially when the SHOUT is in the middle of a character speaking about multiple skills. . .in a row.

Otherwise it is a fun read, and each support character seems to be fully developed with some fun quirks.

Excellent

Well written. I hope there’s more to come. If you’re a fan of Litrpg just buy the book already.

Skill name jarring

My only complaint is the skill names being read in a completely different tone. I found it more distracting than helpful. Otherwise, fantastic first book. I look forward to the next.