Quick question about some so-called "adverbs". I've seen some people claim
that noun + に particle (本当に) isn't really an adverb. If it isn't an adverb,
then does anyone know what the function of the に particle is here?

I've seen monolingual dictionaries say that these are adverbs, but then there
are people claiming that they are only called adverbs in textbooks to simplify
things for English speakers. Both seem plausible - which is true?
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adverbs
Is it an adverb or not?
Well it certainly functions the same as an adverb. Just as in English, it tell
the extent or how much of something.
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If you wish to know what part of speech 本当に is according to "school grammar"
in Japan, then it is a [副詞]{ふくし}. Every kid in Japan is being taught that it
is a 副詞 as I type this. I want to stress that using English grammar terms such
as "adverb" and "adjective" will only slow down your Japanese study in the
long run, trust me.

There are a handful of people who claim otherwise regarding 本当に, I admit. So
the choice is yours. You could either join the main school of thought or go
independent. After all, words never come with tags telling what parts of
speech they belong to. You will need to decide which theory makes more sense
or seems more persuasive.

I learned English in Japan by using whatever books that happened to be around
me (and there were only a few). Years later, do I look like I know nothing
about English grammar? Do you have difficulty in reading my English?

You will surely need to know what types of words 本当に can modify in order to
use it correctly, but whether you believe the word is a 副詞 or not will not
make a cool topic at the party. Cheers!
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