Numbers. Go. Up #1

Enter the Algorithm

He published Chapter One. The universe said ‘lol no.'

Jayden Cross is an unemployed writer with a messy apartment, a disaster sleep schedule, and exactly zero control over his life. That all changes the moment he publishes Chapter One of his LitRPG serial—Isekai’d Apocalypse Dungeons Who Fight Monsters—on RoyalWrit.

Instead of modest traffic and polite silence, Jayden unlocks WritTrack™, an intrusive author-leveling interface that treats publishing like a raid boss. His first follower triggers a Level Up. His first one-star review unlocks Dramatic Self-Loathing (Mild). And his brand-new “skill”—Desperate Refreshing—definitely isn’t helping his mental health.

Then things get weird.

Jayden’s protagonist, Chad Steele, starts writing back. Chad’s capybara companion, Barry, fires judgment lasers whenever Jayden’s prose gets sloppy. And a velvet-clad spectral narrator named Bartholomew Vex materializes to provide contractually limited commentary and frequent union complaints.

Soon Jayden is battling one-star bots, jealous rival authors, rogue dungeon mechanics, editorial monsters, and the looming presence of the Big Four author overlords who literally puppeteer the Algorithm. To survive, he’ll have to level up—fast—not just as a writer, but as the creator of a world that’s starting to argue with him.

Because on RoyalWrit, writing isn’t a hobby.

It’s a dungeon.

And the Algorithm is the final boss.

PRAISE AND UNSOLICITED COMMENTS FROM FAKE READERS:

“Cringe title. MC probably has two brain cells. Why do I bother reading this garbage?” — Dr1v3ByStar, honest RoyalWrit reviewer
“Chad is so dreamy.” — BuffWitch42, head mod of Chad's Gym Discord server
“Not enough capybara battles.” — @RodentRightsActivist, lover of capybaras and member of Chad's Gym
“I unionized my narrator after reading this.” — InkReaper92, RoyalWrit Big Four
“The story is good but the author updated slow. 1 star.” — TapToRefresh, random RoyalWrit commenter