Portal to Nova Roma
J.R. Mathews
To find peace, Alexander must first embrace war. After tragically losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief. Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. He doesn't know why, or how, such a world exists, but he doesn't care. All he cares about is finding a place where he can escape the misery of Earth and start over. Join Alexander as he risks it all by downloading his consciousness into this new world — Nova Roma — and as he and his growing legion learn that the rest of the world may not be as ravaged and destroyed as they thought, setting sail for ancient Venice, confronting pirates, merchant families, and a darker violent side that threatens to take control.
Progression: High-confidence progression fantasy (LitRPG/GameLit) with structured, quantified advancement central. Rogue AI Alexander transitions into a LitRPG cultivation-style world with explicit levels, skills, and legion management. Progression is tracked through skill acquisition, loss and regain of majority of skills when shackled (Book 2: Lost, shackled, and without the majority of his skills, Alexander will be forced to confront a new side and new powers), legion growth, territory conquest, and combat against pirates and rival factions. The alternate dimension operates on VR-game-like rules that Alexander recognizes from his past happiness, providing a clear System-driven ladder. Verified via Goodreads ratings 4.46 (4517) and 4.42 (3130), descriptions centralising skills, legion, and portal-based progression, and author J.R. Mathews also known for Jake's Magical Market LitRPG series.
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