Assassin Awakens

The Sworn Sword, Book 1

By: Miles Hunter

Narrated by: Jonathan Waters

I woke up in a game I never played, stripped of choice, doomed to die.

They gave me the Soldier class and threw me into a barracks ruled by elves. No tutorial. No way out. Just drills, bruises, and the creeping realization that I’m not playing. I’m being played.

My masters are NPCs who think they’re real.

The system says I’m here to fight their wars.

But a hunting accident changed everything.

I saved Prince Thalandril’s life, and now he trusts me more than his own guards. He calls me his shadow. He makes me his blade.

He doesn’t know the truth.

Beneath the Soldier class the system displays, something darker waits. Something forbidden. I am a Mage in a world where magic is a death sentence. Every spell I cast brings me closer to exposure. Every level I gain makes me harder to kill.

As whispers of rebellion stir in the palace halls, my power grows. If I want to live, I’ll have to do more than hide.

I’ll have to become an assassin in the prince’s service, and pray he never learns what I really am.

Assassin Awakens is the first novel in The Sworn Sword saga. This is a progression LitRPG novel. It follows a protagonist with a hidden class transported into a deteriorating, medieval fantasy, full-immersion game. This novel does not conclude all storylines; only the first arc is completed. You can expect hard-earned character progression, GameLit side-quest adventures, palace politics, a slow-burning beginning, an adventurous middle, and an explosive ending. It’s appropriate for all ages.

©2025 Miles Hunter (P)2026 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

Epic story

Narration made this 10x betters and it was already great. The action adventure and mystery blended together with excellent performance!

Growth rate / level uneven and clunky

The characters are fine and their places in the story are etched nicely. My issue is the skill growth/leveling. With just 3 weeks of training the MC becomes proficient with a sword? If the MC is going to speed run the growth then great he should be a badass by the end of the book. But unfortunately every other skill is a grind. I just can’t get firm grasp on how the leveling/growth dynamic works.

Pretty good!

I’m used to a bit more gritty stories but I look forward to where this story goes! Overall a good rpg! I would definitely recommend it to beginners of the genre!

DNF

The Good: Fantastic narration and interesting power system.
The Bad: MC's motivations are undefined,
Setting has a foundation but nothing more,
There are no goals.