Hello, today I would like to share seven of my favorite webnovels that you can read online for free! I typically stick to the sci-fi / fantasy genres with traditionally published novels, such as Dune, old Star Wars EU, Wheel of Time, Sanderson, Malazan etc. Recently I branched out into trying "webnovels" that get published online for free, chapter by chapter as they are written. So here are seven of my favorites:
#1 - Mother of Learning - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21220/mother-of-learning
When looking into webnovels to read, Mother of Learning and Worm are typically the two most recommended books, and for good reason. Mother of Learning was the first webnovel that I gave a chance, and it remains my absolute favorite. Mother of Learning is a time-loop story similar to Groundhog Day, set in a world of magic. The main character Zorian is a grumpy teenager attending a magical academy, but after dying during an invasion of his school he finds himself living the same month over and over. He is the only one that keeps his memories from each loop and he needs to find a way to not only leave the time loop, but to stop the attack on his school.
#2 - Worm - https://parahumans.wordpress.com/
Worm takes place in a version of Earth where "capes" exist, people that developed comicbook-like superpowers after suffering traumatic "trigger events." Some decide to become heroes and help people, others become villains to pursue selfish goals, and some go in between as Rogues who run businesses with their powers. Massive creatures known as "Endbringers" appeared around the same time as the powers, who seem to only exist to wreak havok and attack humans.
The main character Taylor is a teenage girl in high school who triggers after some serious bullying. She obtains a superpower that is not the strongest or flashiest, but still she wants to become a hero and help people. Fate has other ideas, as she is mistaken for a villain and ends up joining a villain squad. She tells herself that she is going undercover to aqcuire evidence for the good guys, but finds herself becoming more and more attached to her new villain team.
The author has written a sequel called Ward, set in the same universe and taking place after the events of Worm. It has a different main character, but some of the same supporting characters.
Ward - https://www.parahumans.net/
#3 - The Perfect Run - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36735/the-perfect-run
The Perfect Run takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth devasted by nuclear war, a war that was a result of the appearance of Genomes. Genomes are normal humans that developed comicbook-like superpowers after ingesting mysterious colored Elixers that appeared around the world as if from nowhere. Different colors of Elixer give different types of superpowers, but drinking more than one drives a person insane and turns them into mutants called Psychos.
The main character is known as "Quicksave," who is a Violet Genome that can stop time for a maximum of 10 seconds, and can make a Save Point like in a video game. Each time he dies he goes back to his save point, which allows him to take outrageous risks and do everything over when things go bad. This has driven his personality to become more than a little unstable. I would describe him as chaotic neutral/good, as he tries as many times as needed to get the best possible outcomes for him and his friends during his "Perfect Run" before he saves again.
#4 - Azarinth Healer - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16946/azarinth-healer
Azarinth Healer is a lit-rpg, with the main character having stats like in a video game and leveling up. It is currently ongoing with new chapters coming out, but the author has stated this is the final arc of the story.
The main character Ilia goes to bed one night on Earth, and wakes up in a different world full of magic and monsters. She stumbles on an ancient ruin and gains a long-forgotten class called Azarinth Healer. Although having a healing class, Ilea becomes a front line brawler that fights with her fists, healing herself of any damage taken as she bludgeons her enemies. There is not much of a central plot in the beginning, the story just follows Ilea's adventures as she levels up and learns about the world. This is the author's first attempt at writing fiction and the early chapters kind of struggle, but at Chapter 35 when she enters the Dwarven Dungeon the story picks up and I did not want to stop reading.
#5 - Blue Core - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/25082/blue-core
Isekai'd as a dungeon. Set in a land of magic, classes and monsters, the main character is a sentient dungeon core. One that has advanced knowledge and ideas from Earth, but no memory of their prior life. The dungeon known as "Blue" decides to be friendly to the sentient creatures such as humans instead of trying to eat them. This choice allows Blue to become the only being that can Purify the Depletion that is plagueing the land and its inhabitants. I was surprised at how entertaining this kind of story was, a refreshing change of pace.
Blue Core does feature strong sexual content (and tentacles), but those chapters are marked as explicit and the scenes can be skipped without missing much.
Also written by this author is Paranoid Mage, which is still ongoing and a very fun read so far.
Paranoid Mage - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/49879/paranoid-mage
#6 - Everybody Loves Large Chests - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/8894/everybody-loves-large-chests
A funny title and also a pun. The main character is a dungeon monster called a mimic, that disguises itself as a treasure chest to lure in unsuspecting adventurers to eat. Boxxy T. Morningwood gains awareness of his surroundings, decides to leave his starting dungeon complex, and accidentally destroys an entire city and the Hero of Justice with it. Things spiral out of control from there as Boxxy becomes the Hero of Chaos and wreaks havok while adventuring across the continent.
Everybody Loves Large Chests features strong sexual content (tentacles again), as one of Boxxy's familiars is a succubus. However our MC has no sexual urges, and is only concerned about tasty or shiny things, as a good mimic should be.
SOURCE: Boxxy fanart by winRoot - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/8894/everybody-loves-large-chests/chapter/137623/not-a-chapter-art-gallery
#7 - Sexy Space Babes - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/37934/sexy-space-babes
Earth has been conquered by a technologically advanced, purple-skinned, seven foot tall alien race with a 1:8 male to female ratio. After getting blackout drunk and punching one of his conquerors in the face, Jason faces a choice of imprisonment or conscription into military service. This story obviously features sexual content, but not as much as I was expecting. There is much more real plot than smut, and was an enjoyable easy read. The first three arcs are completed, with the author intending to write more after finishing part one of their side project.
Which beings me to Sexy Sect Babes, which after 16 chapters still has no explicit scenes so I kind of feel baited. However the story is quite good, with the MC being a space miner that gets transported to another realm with less technology. Instead his new world is one of cultivation and wuxia. The MC uses his advanced mining suit to pretend to be a powerful cultivator and basically becomes a benevolent overlord of the first town he comes across.
Sexy Sect Babes - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/55562/sexy-sect-babes
So those are some of my favorite webnovels! Please feel free to recommend any other webnovels that you have read