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The Traveller's Trilogy #1
Traveller's Trial: An Isekai LitRPG Adventure!
Koji Athame left his house for the first time in five years today. When what was supposed to be a quick trip to visit his parents, turns into a deadly crash. Koji finds himself waking up in a realm of danger and wonder beyond his wildest imagination. It doesn’t take long to figure out he’s not in Kansas anymore, after escaping a monster attack and unlocking his new Traveller system, Koji learns that the Trial he and the other survivors are in will only exist for 4 more days, and only the strongest can escape.
With time ticking against him and the fate of his newfound companions hanging in the balance, Koji must navigate treacherous landscapes, battle relentless monsters, and confront his own inner demons. As tensions rise and the world crumbles around them, Koji's party must unravel the secrets hidden within the perilous trials they face.
With each victory, Koji grows in power, learning how best to allocate his attributes and how to efficiently use his growing magical repertoire. And amidst the chaos, he has to grow and fund his personal pocket dimension, his own Home, in this unforgiving realm.
Yet, not everything is as it seems. As Koji grapples with his unexpected abilities, the side effects of selecting all random for his starting gear, and a skipped tutorial that have held vital knowledge, he must confront a snarky, voyeuristic deity and escape the web of schemes his fellow humans have laid.
Immerse yourself in the heart-pounding journey of Koji Athame as he battles monsters, treads the fragile line between life and death, and unravels the truth behind why he was brought here. Don't miss this pulse-pounding LitRPG fantasy, where every page brims with danger, system shenanigans, and the allure of unlimited possibilities. Grab your copy now and join Koji on his quest for survival, power, and redemption. The clock is ticking, and the adventure awaits!
With time ticking against him and the fate of his newfound companions hanging in the balance, Koji must navigate treacherous landscapes, battle relentless monsters, and confront his own inner demons. As tensions rise and the world crumbles around them, Koji's party must unravel the secrets hidden within the perilous trials they face.
With each victory, Koji grows in power, learning how best to allocate his attributes and how to efficiently use his growing magical repertoire. And amidst the chaos, he has to grow and fund his personal pocket dimension, his own Home, in this unforgiving realm.
Yet, not everything is as it seems. As Koji grapples with his unexpected abilities, the side effects of selecting all random for his starting gear, and a skipped tutorial that have held vital knowledge, he must confront a snarky, voyeuristic deity and escape the web of schemes his fellow humans have laid.
Immerse yourself in the heart-pounding journey of Koji Athame as he battles monsters, treads the fragile line between life and death, and unravels the truth behind why he was brought here. Don't miss this pulse-pounding LitRPG fantasy, where every page brims with danger, system shenanigans, and the allure of unlimited possibilities. Grab your copy now and join Koji on his quest for survival, power, and redemption. The clock is ticking, and the adventure awaits!
- GenresFantasy
323 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2023
56 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 20, 2025
What if the LitRPG protagonist was a dumbass?
Like I mentioned in the opening, Koji is a highly unorthodox LitRPG protagonist. Your average main character in a high fantasy with numbers is some level of competent in fighting and/or video games. If they don't have the athletics, they at least recognize the system and know how to use it to their advantage. Koji has neither. He both falls over in the subway and skips the entire tutorial by accident. I loved this idea: a complete fish out of water that has no reason to know what he's doing forced to do it anyway. The system in the book dunks on him constantly, giving him a giant luck score to represent the way he keeps accidentally stumbling out of danger. Thing is, it doesn't last very long. Pretty quickly, he becomes the magic caster that spams the same OP spell repeatedly and clears out giant amount of monsters on his own. But for a little bit, we had the perfectly unprepared main character I yearn to see in more LitRPGs.
The mechanics of this book were a huge driving force. The majority of page time is spent with Koji either fighting monsters with his growing skill set or working on upgrading his system. The mechanics of his Home system felt unique (and probably what I would've picked for myself, tbh) and the action scenes were described well enough for me to keep up. That being said, the fight scenes made up the vast majority of the book's page time with very little character connections in between. This is a LitRPG for readers primarily interested in the mechanics and the system of this video-game-esque world. Those more on the fence about the genre probably wouldn't get as much out of it.
Ironically, this focus on action and mechanics over character made the book a much faster read for me, but only because I was so little emotionally connected. I have a habit of getting so concerned with what may or may not be happening next in a story that I feel a greater sense of exhaustion after. At my worst, I put off finishing a book for weeks because I'm not prepared to feel big emotions. (Yes, I've taken all the self-evals and they say exactly what you'd expect.) But here, it was less vested emotional desire and more neutral interest in the concept.
That's not so say there isn't some level of character interaction and a character arc for Koji. The book is very clearly trying to set him up as someone growing from people-averse to trying to think about others and work with them. But the amount of time spent on it is so small compared with the fight scenes. There would be several chapters put together of methodically clearing rooms in the dungeon, then a quick conversation of less than a dozen sentences exchanged to set up who everyone else is. Koji spends more page time thinking unkindly about other people than actually growing to like them. There's a big twist near the very end that probably would have hit much harder if there had been a greater semblance of connection set up beforehand.
As for the ending, it was... gigantic. Like "I don't see where he goes from here mechanically" gigantic. It wouldn't be a problem for a standalone novel, but it's a bit more concerning for the first book of a trilogy. Still, I'm sure the systems and concepts will be expanded in intriguing ways in further installments. I don't think I'll be continuing, but other readers could get a lot out of it.
Seriously though, someone get me a Hearthkey
Like I mentioned in the opening, Koji is a highly unorthodox LitRPG protagonist. Your average main character in a high fantasy with numbers is some level of competent in fighting and/or video games. If they don't have the athletics, they at least recognize the system and know how to use it to their advantage. Koji has neither. He both falls over in the subway and skips the entire tutorial by accident. I loved this idea: a complete fish out of water that has no reason to know what he's doing forced to do it anyway. The system in the book dunks on him constantly, giving him a giant luck score to represent the way he keeps accidentally stumbling out of danger. Thing is, it doesn't last very long. Pretty quickly, he becomes the magic caster that spams the same OP spell repeatedly and clears out giant amount of monsters on his own. But for a little bit, we had the perfectly unprepared main character I yearn to see in more LitRPGs.
The mechanics of this book were a huge driving force. The majority of page time is spent with Koji either fighting monsters with his growing skill set or working on upgrading his system. The mechanics of his Home system felt unique (and probably what I would've picked for myself, tbh) and the action scenes were described well enough for me to keep up. That being said, the fight scenes made up the vast majority of the book's page time with very little character connections in between. This is a LitRPG for readers primarily interested in the mechanics and the system of this video-game-esque world. Those more on the fence about the genre probably wouldn't get as much out of it.
Ironically, this focus on action and mechanics over character made the book a much faster read for me, but only because I was so little emotionally connected. I have a habit of getting so concerned with what may or may not be happening next in a story that I feel a greater sense of exhaustion after. At my worst, I put off finishing a book for weeks because I'm not prepared to feel big emotions. (Yes, I've taken all the self-evals and they say exactly what you'd expect.) But here, it was less vested emotional desire and more neutral interest in the concept.
That's not so say there isn't some level of character interaction and a character arc for Koji. The book is very clearly trying to set him up as someone growing from people-averse to trying to think about others and work with them. But the amount of time spent on it is so small compared with the fight scenes. There would be several chapters put together of methodically clearing rooms in the dungeon, then a quick conversation of less than a dozen sentences exchanged to set up who everyone else is. Koji spends more page time thinking unkindly about other people than actually growing to like them. There's a big twist near the very end that probably would have hit much harder if there had been a greater semblance of connection set up beforehand.
As for the ending, it was... gigantic. Like "I don't see where he goes from here mechanically" gigantic. It wouldn't be a problem for a standalone novel, but it's a bit more concerning for the first book of a trilogy. Still, I'm sure the systems and concepts will be expanded in intriguing ways in further installments. I don't think I'll be continuing, but other readers could get a lot out of it.
Seriously though, someone get me a Hearthkey
November 26, 2024
Really good
This was a really interesting read. It was a lot of fun as well. That being said, the MC is hard to root for. Well, he is for about 85% of the book. Don't let that scare you off. He evolved quite a bit in that last 15%. It's well worth the read.
Highly recommended.
This was a really interesting read. It was a lot of fun as well. That being said, the MC is hard to root for. Well, he is for about 85% of the book. Don't let that scare you off. He evolved quite a bit in that last 15%. It's well worth the read.
Highly recommended.
April 7, 2024
Good book!!
The mc was broken but still manages to come out better than the others. Still did not understand why the Archer hated them so much.!! I really want there to be a second book!!
The mc was broken but still manages to come out better than the others. Still did not understand why the Archer hated them so much.!! I really want there to be a second book!!
July 9, 2023
great book
Great first instalment in the series , I can put wait to see how the author develops this story to something brilliant !
Great first instalment in the series , I can put wait to see how the author develops this story to something brilliant !
April 7, 2024
Great read
different take which I really enjoyed. Could do with fleshing out more of the characters. Can't wait for the next one. Well done.
different take which I really enjoyed. Could do with fleshing out more of the characters. Can't wait for the next one. Well done.
October 31, 2024
Fun system, interesting protagonist
I really enjoyed the MC, system, and combat. The antagonists are properly despicable. I can't wait for the next chapter.
I really enjoyed the MC, system, and combat. The antagonists are properly despicable. I can't wait for the next chapter.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews