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Dungeon Tour Guide #1
Dungeon Tour Guide
Lucas used to delve dungeons. Now, he has to run one.
After Lucas dies during a freak explosion, divine intervention sees him brought back to life with the power to control a new dungeon.
There's just a couple of his old body is bound to his dungeon, and the craziness of what he thought was his final act is only getting weirder.
When he sees newbie adventures entering his dungeon, though, he decides to help them survive and complete their quests.
After all, adventuring is a process, and someone needs to guide the rookies.
★★★★★ Tour guide was super friendly and helped us clear the dungeon!
After gaining millions of views on Royal Road as one of its best rated serial novels, Dungeon Tour Guide is now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible (narrated by the amazing Travis Baldree)!
About the series : Dungeon Tour Guide is a story about a human healer becoming part Dungeon Core and dealing with adventurers and opposing kingdoms alike. Read it if you enjoy heartwarming moments with genuine characters and a caring MC who won't hesitate to be a badass if necessary.
After Lucas dies during a freak explosion, divine intervention sees him brought back to life with the power to control a new dungeon.
There's just a couple of his old body is bound to his dungeon, and the craziness of what he thought was his final act is only getting weirder.
When he sees newbie adventures entering his dungeon, though, he decides to help them survive and complete their quests.
After all, adventuring is a process, and someone needs to guide the rookies.
★★★★★ Tour guide was super friendly and helped us clear the dungeon!
After gaining millions of views on Royal Road as one of its best rated serial novels, Dungeon Tour Guide is now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible (narrated by the amazing Travis Baldree)!
About the series : Dungeon Tour Guide is a story about a human healer becoming part Dungeon Core and dealing with adventurers and opposing kingdoms alike. Read it if you enjoy heartwarming moments with genuine characters and a caring MC who won't hesitate to be a badass if necessary.
14 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 23, 2023
223 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Shih
14 books37 followersAaron Shih is a Chinese-American college student who is currently wondering why bios are supposed to be written in third person.
He writes progression fantasy and litRPG alongside everything that catches his fancy.
He writes progression fantasy and litRPG alongside everything that catches his fancy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 5, 2025
I picked this up because I've liked other works by the author. He has a great way with power fantasy in LitRPG. Unfortunately, this one is something of an exception with Lucas being tied to a dungeon. I've found Dungeon Core hit or miss with mostly miss in the past. This one actually does a great job with the characters and world building. But the major drawback to dungeons is that they are geographically static. Which means that all of the conflict has to become local (or at least have a local effect) to manifest meaningfully in the story. And here is where I had a hard time.
The thing is, big events are happening. It looks like there's a major world foe developing and Lucas has only defense available. Or, worse, proxies in the form of the adventurers that he's "training". Note, this is where the characters are so strong. I became attached to his relationships and his care for the people he encounters. But as proxies to the bigger fight? Yeah, not as interesting.
I stopped at about three-quarters through because big things were ramping up and I don't care for mindless fanatics as foes. I'm going to go with three stars even with the dnf mostly due to the strong writing and interesting characters that kept me going at least that long.
The thing is, big events are happening. It looks like there's a major world foe developing and Lucas has only defense available. Or, worse, proxies in the form of the adventurers that he's "training". Note, this is where the characters are so strong. I became attached to his relationships and his care for the people he encounters. But as proxies to the bigger fight? Yeah, not as interesting.
I stopped at about three-quarters through because big things were ramping up and I don't care for mindless fanatics as foes. I'm going to go with three stars even with the dnf mostly due to the strong writing and interesting characters that kept me going at least that long.
May 29, 2023
Book one
I originally found this story on Royalroad. Since I have so many stories in my to read pile I had only read the first couple of chapters before it was published on KU.
It's an interesting twist on dungeon building and being tied to the core.
A few mistakes were found and posted on Goodreads.
The only real negative is actually more of a question, why didn't he level up after the death of the level 15 assassin?
Looking forward to more. 8/10
I originally found this story on Royalroad. Since I have so many stories in my to read pile I had only read the first couple of chapters before it was published on KU.
It's an interesting twist on dungeon building and being tied to the core.
A few mistakes were found and posted on Goodreads.
The only real negative is actually more of a question, why didn't he level up after the death of the level 15 assassin?
Looking forward to more. 8/10
July 2, 2023
It's OK, but there's too much plot armor or just plain deux ex machina. Conflict or danger is usually resolved by a level up, new ability, or just some other character showing up to save the day.
Characters are moderately interesting, but not enough to make me care to continue.
Characters are moderately interesting, but not enough to make me care to continue.
August 9, 2025
Not really a fan of this one. It's written as if you already have knowledge of the world, which with knowledge of the genre I could handle but made it annoying to read the beginning and not good for a beginner to the genre. The setup is a low stakes book trying to be high stakes, and that didn't really work well. It's main characters are both low powered and over powered and while it tries to have consequences for actions everyone ends up fine anyway - which is true to the genre but didn't work for me here.
Travis Baldree narrator is fantastic as always.
Travis Baldree narrator is fantastic as always.
September 23, 2025
This is a really fun take on the LitRPG genre. Anybody who's ever DM'd an RPG with new players is going to find a lot of recognizable moments 😅
Travis Baldree narrates the audio and he's really good, BUT he's a 50yo man who sounds like a 50yo man which really works for the style of the story if you ignore the fact that he's meant to be a recent college graduate and there's a minor side plot of his character romancing an 18yo. Like it feels entirely like a kindly uncle/Mr Miyagi situation until they start cuddling on the couch and suddenly I'm like "wait, how old are you meant to be old man?" 😂 🤨👀🤔. If you're reading it with your eyeballs though that might not be a problem.
I'm listening through for the third time right now. It makes great background listening while I'm working.
Travis Baldree narrates the audio and he's really good, BUT he's a 50yo man who sounds like a 50yo man which really works for the style of the story if you ignore the fact that he's meant to be a recent college graduate and there's a minor side plot of his character romancing an 18yo. Like it feels entirely like a kindly uncle/Mr Miyagi situation until they start cuddling on the couch and suddenly I'm like "wait, how old are you meant to be old man?" 😂 🤨👀🤔. If you're reading it with your eyeballs though that might not be a problem.
I'm listening through for the third time right now. It makes great background listening while I'm working.
March 5, 2025
Cute and good fun
June 13, 2023
A fun idea that is poorly executed.
The entire book is just very, very boring. I skimmed through the last half just to finish it. The main character is unimpressive and given his goody two shoes act, comes off as pathetic. The pace and content make this more of a slice of life, and it does not have strong enough characters to pull it off. The skills system is obviously a crutch to fill in for tense story moments. It is very patch work and had nothing but OP abilities for specific moments. This makes the levels and skills notifications a chore to read rather than something to look forward to.
The entire book is just very, very boring. I skimmed through the last half just to finish it. The main character is unimpressive and given his goody two shoes act, comes off as pathetic. The pace and content make this more of a slice of life, and it does not have strong enough characters to pull it off. The skills system is obviously a crutch to fill in for tense story moments. It is very patch work and had nothing but OP abilities for specific moments. This makes the levels and skills notifications a chore to read rather than something to look forward to.
August 21, 2025
1.85 stars. I started this book feeling excited because the premise was unique, but the deeper I got, the more the flaws stood out. The MC’s mentorship role never felt earned. He had almost no real-world experience, yet the story constantly positioned him as someone qualified to train others. It tried to justify this by pointing to his dungeon senses, book knowledge, and his past hobby of building tabletop dungeons, but none of that ever felt believable. Combined with his naive, idealistic personality, he felt more like a plot device than a real character.
The story also drifted away from the dungeon tour concept, focusing instead on forced mentorship, politics, and war, while the rapid and unrealistic growth of the side characters made it hard to stay invested. There were moments I enjoyed early on, but by the end, I was disengaged and just ready for it to be over. I have no plans to continue the series.
The story also drifted away from the dungeon tour concept, focusing instead on forced mentorship, politics, and war, while the rapid and unrealistic growth of the side characters made it hard to stay invested. There were moments I enjoyed early on, but by the end, I was disengaged and just ready for it to be over. I have no plans to continue the series.
November 18, 2023
Help me read more books
This is the only LitRPG book I've read where the dungeon was actively trying to help the adventurers who came to delve it's depths. It actually makes for a pretty good story, and provides quite the entertaining story. And, of course, you can guess, there's those who want to tear it all down, so the story gets a bit out of whack near the end, but it all wraps up nicely, and provides a nice ending, and a new start for the next book, which (likely) is going to have more of the out of hand things I didn't particularly care for in this one, but such is storytelling, gotta make it interesting to as many folks as possible if you want to sell books.
In any case, it's a pretty good LitRPG tale, and one I can recommend highly to anyone who likes dungeon stories. This might be the most unique dungeon story you've ever read.
This is the only LitRPG book I've read where the dungeon was actively trying to help the adventurers who came to delve it's depths. It actually makes for a pretty good story, and provides quite the entertaining story. And, of course, you can guess, there's those who want to tear it all down, so the story gets a bit out of whack near the end, but it all wraps up nicely, and provides a nice ending, and a new start for the next book, which (likely) is going to have more of the out of hand things I didn't particularly care for in this one, but such is storytelling, gotta make it interesting to as many folks as possible if you want to sell books.
In any case, it's a pretty good LitRPG tale, and one I can recommend highly to anyone who likes dungeon stories. This might be the most unique dungeon story you've ever read.
December 25, 2023
Fun and good for people that love dungeons and dragons
I just read dungeon tour guide and if you love dungeon core books and hate dungeon fairies then you should check this book out.
The main character Lucas is a dude from our world who ends up in a magical fantasy land as an adventurer. He was a huge dnd nerd and dm. He ends up as like a human dungeon core hybrid and I enjoyed it.
He does seem older than he is in the book which was a bit confusing. He makes lots of. Dnd references so if you like those that will be nice. I did wish he had utilized food replication a lot more than he did.
3.5/5 in my heart. 5/5 for amazon and for litrpg in general. I highly recommend it.
No dungeon fairy
No sex
No harem
Yes some explicit language
Yes some romance
Yes computer science major
I just read dungeon tour guide and if you love dungeon core books and hate dungeon fairies then you should check this book out.
The main character Lucas is a dude from our world who ends up in a magical fantasy land as an adventurer. He was a huge dnd nerd and dm. He ends up as like a human dungeon core hybrid and I enjoyed it.
He does seem older than he is in the book which was a bit confusing. He makes lots of. Dnd references so if you like those that will be nice. I did wish he had utilized food replication a lot more than he did.
3.5/5 in my heart. 5/5 for amazon and for litrpg in general. I highly recommend it.
No dungeon fairy
No sex
No harem
Yes some explicit language
Yes some romance
Yes computer science major
March 3, 2025
Picked this up as it is currently included with an audible membership
I've tried reading dungeon core stories before on RR, but never really enjoyed them that much. I picked this up as something to listen to whilst grinding on an RPG and ended up listening to it the rest of the day. Characters are well written and have motivation. Plus, despite 99% of the book taking place from the titular character's PoV stuck in a dungeon, there is a real feeling of a world out there
Interesting plot leaves off at a "complete" arc, but it's really just setting up for the chaos of book two. Which is now on my wish list for when I next have a credit :)
Narration: Excellent from Baldree, as usual. However, not even he can make reading stats out in audio form really that understandable :) Glad this one is light on stats as it was still fun
I've tried reading dungeon core stories before on RR, but never really enjoyed them that much. I picked this up as something to listen to whilst grinding on an RPG and ended up listening to it the rest of the day. Characters are well written and have motivation. Plus, despite 99% of the book taking place from the titular character's PoV stuck in a dungeon, there is a real feeling of a world out there
Interesting plot leaves off at a "complete" arc, but it's really just setting up for the chaos of book two. Which is now on my wish list for when I next have a credit :)
Narration: Excellent from Baldree, as usual. However, not even he can make reading stats out in audio form really that understandable :) Glad this one is light on stats as it was still fun
December 3, 2024
Dungeon Tour Guide: 1
Lucas is a transmigrator who wakes up in a fantasy world with the class, Divine Healer. In his second dungeon delve, something goes wrong with the dungeon core, and he throws himself on it ala Steve Rogers to save his team and finds himself waking up fused to a dungeon core far away from where he started. With his new abilities, he decides to design the best dungeon he can and play tour guide. Engrossing read with likable main character, though the world building feels thin. Bit of a slow start with Lucas first ushering through newbie teams, but things eventually escalate, leading up to a climactic battle against the bad guys for a satisfying conclusion. I give it a 3.5, rounded up to 4.
Lucas is a transmigrator who wakes up in a fantasy world with the class, Divine Healer. In his second dungeon delve, something goes wrong with the dungeon core, and he throws himself on it ala Steve Rogers to save his team and finds himself waking up fused to a dungeon core far away from where he started. With his new abilities, he decides to design the best dungeon he can and play tour guide. Engrossing read with likable main character, though the world building feels thin. Bit of a slow start with Lucas first ushering through newbie teams, but things eventually escalate, leading up to a climactic battle against the bad guys for a satisfying conclusion. I give it a 3.5, rounded up to 4.
May 21, 2025
Interesting Premise, But Fell Flat
Dungeon Tour Guide had an intriguing concept that initially caught my attention—offering a different angle on dungeon crawling. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite live up to the potential. I struggled to connect with the main character, who felt more like a vehicle for exposition than a fully fleshed-out person. The worldbuilding came across as basic, lacking the depth or spark that might’ve pulled me in.
The dungeon itself, which should’ve been the highlight, felt dry and uneventful. There was little sense of danger or real consequence for the adventurers, which took away any tension or excitement. Overall, the story didn’t offer anything particularly new or memorable for me. It wasn’t a bad read, just a forgettable one.
Dungeon Tour Guide had an intriguing concept that initially caught my attention—offering a different angle on dungeon crawling. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite live up to the potential. I struggled to connect with the main character, who felt more like a vehicle for exposition than a fully fleshed-out person. The worldbuilding came across as basic, lacking the depth or spark that might’ve pulled me in.
The dungeon itself, which should’ve been the highlight, felt dry and uneventful. There was little sense of danger or real consequence for the adventurers, which took away any tension or excitement. Overall, the story didn’t offer anything particularly new or memorable for me. It wasn’t a bad read, just a forgettable one.
June 12, 2023
Good Characters
The main character, Lucas, has a lot of ideas and is fun to follow along with. My problem is how often options are left to sit before they enter the story. A level-up gives more options, but often they sit unused while the story continues. This just feels like value is unused. It happens often enough to have me garp on. Hopefully, the next installment can add a bit more detail to its plans
The main character, Lucas, has a lot of ideas and is fun to follow along with. My problem is how often options are left to sit before they enter the story. A level-up gives more options, but often they sit unused while the story continues. This just feels like value is unused. It happens often enough to have me garp on. Hopefully, the next installment can add a bit more detail to its plans
November 4, 2023
I didn't pick up this book because the premise, basis the cover, was something that I didn't think I would enjoy. As part a the summer reading challenge i picked it up because I thought it would fit one of the categories for me and I'm glad that I did.
While the tour guiding exists and plays a big part of the story, one thing that needs to be clarified is that the main character is basically the dungeonmaster/dungeon core. This was great.
While the tour guiding exists and plays a big part of the story, one thing that needs to be clarified is that the main character is basically the dungeonmaster/dungeon core. This was great.
June 15, 2023
Interesting concept, very boring. Like incredibly boring. I can't say I liked the protagonist at all, he's so.. Bland? Vanilla? He's annoyingly understanding and nice. Never feels like there's a risk since as the protagonists constantly says, that skill is broken, that class is broken. And those broken things also called plot armor saves the day always
April 24, 2024
Fast-paced action/adventure LitRPG fantasy with a healer who's reincarnated as a dungeon core and wants to help people survive. It's got magic, action scenes, learning and discovery tropes, found family, and a little bit of business/trading. I enjoyed it. Lots of healing magic in this one used for both protagonist and on others, which is a plus.
March 19, 2025
I like the idea and the main character. For some reason, the threat, the king's guard, was not really clear as to why. The fights were okay. I very much enjoyed him taking a party under his wing yet wanted more romance and a more interesting ending. By the end, the main character started to feel naive. I will try the next one but I'm a little worried.
June 1, 2023
Fun read. Good characters. Main character is a dungeon core that has a good side and wants to help the delvers grow and learn, not kill them for power. Good development, but not super fast. Looking forward to book 2.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2023
Great tour, well worth the trip!
The tour guide was fun, and provided some great advice and jokes. He had some intense moments, but overall very wholesome!
Reviewed at: End of dungeon
-rose lucas (shipper)(unaffiliated)
The tour guide was fun, and provided some great advice and jokes. He had some intense moments, but overall very wholesome!
Reviewed at: End of dungeon
-rose lucas (shipper)(unaffiliated)
February 12, 2024
Same old repetitive story of a dungeon core helping out adventurers leveling up and sometimes failing. MC has little depth of character and is a boring one. Borrowed this edition on January 24, 2024, from Kindle Unlimited.
April 19, 2024
Overall it was for me too slow paced and the leveling up was difficult to measure. I got bored in the end and had to give up just 1-2 hours before the ending of book 1. Narration from Travis was ok but I did not get same joy when reading other books his narrated.
Not recommended.
Not recommended.
May 31, 2023
Very good one sitting read
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action.
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action.
June 11, 2023
Fun, if a tiny bit aimless. Luckily it stayed interesting enough for me to keep going.
June 27, 2023
Good
A good start to the book series, I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book released.
A good start to the book series, I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book released.
October 16, 2023
Wait the tour guide is super low level? Like 2 was it?
DNF.
DNF.
Read
October 27, 2023Great book
A stellar first entry from Aaron Shih! Lots of action and adventure, dungeon building and monsters. Looking forward to the next one!
A stellar first entry from Aaron Shih! Lots of action and adventure, dungeon building and monsters. Looking forward to the next one!
November 7, 2023
fun
It was a fun read. Good pacing, well told. Clear cut good/bad dynamic. I was a bit confused as to the power scaling of levels and abilities. Enjoy
It was a fun read. Good pacing, well told. Clear cut good/bad dynamic. I was a bit confused as to the power scaling of levels and abilities. Enjoy
January 1, 2024
I actually didn’t love this which was surprising to me. This ended up being a book about the MC bonding to a dungeon and turning into an adventurer trainer. This is fine overall but kinda boring.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews