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Prodigies and Prophecies [LitRPG, ISEKAI]
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Prodigies and Prophecies [LitRPG, ISEKAI]

17 Chapters
Author:Mikhail Arkash
Status:ongoing
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Synopsis

It was meant to be a simple tour across Central Europe, arranged by a wealthy foundation, for a handful of extraordinary young minds. They weren't expecting anything strange—just a visit to old towns, a few museum tours, maybe a good cup of coffee. Their guide was Vincent, an ex-soldier with a kind of quiet sadness behind his eyes. No one understood how it happened. One moment they were driving through forests, and the next, they found themselves near a small, quaint town on the outskirts of an alternate Prague and Europe that mirror their own but is woven with magic, prophecy, and danger. In this new land, saint-like figures called Archetypes govern the very fabric of the world. Their arrival is seen as an omen. The townsfolk greet them as "Summoned Heroes" destined to fight a rising darkness. But the danger is elusive, shifting like smoke in the wind. Is it the savage Mongol Horde? Or the king of Hungary, ancient and twisted by his own power? Perhaps something more sinister still—rogue Archetypes. With Vincent leading them, the prodigies—each brilliant in their own field—must rely on their intellect, and courage, to unravel the mystery of their summons. What does it mean to be a hero? And if fate has chosen you, can you ever truly escape its grasp? What to expect: one week of daily chapters, then about 3 chapters a week / 180-200 k words / mainly MC PoV / Romance, with warnings / Tech or Military guys use magic to their advantage / depth of character / slice of life 70% - fights 30 -% I like (polite) feedback, so please write your impressions. I'm not a main English speaker, so please excuse the faults. Some minor spoilers ahead regarding the system used in this book: I wrote this story intending to address a few common tropes in the genre but with a fresh approach.  Two key principles guide the narrative: Occam's Razor — "The simplest explanation is usually the most likely." Carl Sagan’s variant —  "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." In many books, the MC arrives in a world where magic exists, an extraordinary claim in itself. How is magic explained? Mana—because... well, magic. But does this meet the "extraordinary evidence" standard for an extraordinary claim? In the real world, our bodies produce their own weight in Adenosine triphosphate chemical energy) every day, or carry enough DNA to encircle the entire solar system. The complexity of reality is staggering, so I think it's only fitting that magic in a fictional world deserves a more nuanced explanation. In this book, Mana is explained as chiralic dark matter (think right- and left-handed symmetry). In a normal universe, it flows in one direction; in a magical one, the opposite symmetry is harnessed. It's a concept that blends the real with the fantastical, and while I'm subjective, I believe it's a neat idea. If others want to use it, I'd appreciate credit—whether in the intro or description. Stats Progression: The progression of stats follows a logarithmic scale. What does this mean? In an arithmetic progression, a Stat going from 10 to 11 gains 10%, but from 99 to 100, the increase becomes smaller. With a logarithmic scale, the growth remains balanced: from 10 to 11, the increase is less than 10%, but from 99 to 100, it's greater than 1%. In practice, stats will be written as 10 to 11, but in reality, the increase will be something 10 to 10 × 1.035 (just an example). Higher Stats lead to exponentially greater power. I hope you find the world of this book vibrant and engaging. I've enjoyed crafting it and hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much.