Ether Atlas - The Hidden Grid [litRPG, System Apocalypse, Ancient Mysteries]

litRPG meets Da Vinci Code. In 1974, a stranger handed Gary Gygax the rules of D&D. Fifty years later, the world found out why. The System is here. Millions are dead. Ancient monuments are humming with energy and human biology has become a character sheet. A conspiracy older than civilisation. Arthur Ashworth is a structural engineer who reads monsters like damaged buildings. Donna Callas is a security consultant who fights like she was trained for this. Steve Parr is an archaeologist who just realised his entire career was fieldwork for the apocalypse. Their guide is an alien construct with strong opinions about human architecture and absolutely no intention of telling them anything useful. They were a D&D party every Thursday. Now the dungeons are real, the monsters are real, the stats are real, and the ancient ruins they are raiding were built by something that has been watching humanity for thirty-five thousand years. Over 200000 words written What to expect: [+] Real archaeology, real history, real geography. Every ruin the party visits is a place you can find on a map. [+] Competent adults who solve problems with tools, not chosen-one luck. [+] A hard system. Every level paid for in blood, bone, and rebar. [+] Found family. A party that bickers like one, plans like one, and bleeds for each other like one. [+] Fights that are short, brutal, and leave marks. [+] An alien guide who is technically correct, conspicuously silent, and increasingly out of his depth.