
by Steve Rock
“A Pioneer’s Blood Waters the Tree of Civilization” The Galaxy has finally learned peace. The Akaadi Imperium and Libera Coalition have put down their blasters for now, turning to the Frontier to replenish their resources. To do that, they'll need Pioneers. Dropped into remote, inhospitable worlds, Pioneers must hunt for useful salvage. Valuable materials, lost technologies, and unique lifeforms are all pursued at grave peril. Enter Daniel Hardgrave. The old man who raised Hardgrave had always told him, "Do what you want, Danny, but never become a Pioneer. Life's short enough. Don't become expendable". Hardgrave had listened, scratching out a living as a humble fry cook. Until he learned he had a little sister to take care of. Wanting to fund her education and give her a better life, he enlisted as a Pioneer. And unknowingly threw himself into the maw of the Apocalypse. Old powers are gathering, threatening everything Hardgrave has ever known. For an ex-fry cook trying to provide for a genius little sister and cynical cat, it's an impossible threat. But his timely discovery of an ancient technology could change all of that… Inspired by series like Warhammer 40K and videogames like Helldivers 2 and Lethal Company, this is a tale of a man who faces danger where others will not go. What to expect: Pulse-pounding action in exotic environments. LitRPG-like progression, with a sci-fi twist. Minor romantic and comedic elements.
No streak history
One state-enhanced oracle order, filtered by each list. Observed Royal Road ranks remain separate ground truth.
Rank updated 2 Oct 2026, 02:38 UTC
Entry forecast updated 2 Oct 2026, 02:38 UTC
Ranking model: rs-public-oracle-state-v1
Forecast model: rs-model-entry-v1
Chart history contains only this ranking model's runs; legacy points are not spliced in.
Coupled 14-day outlook
rs-joint-entry-copula-v1
Any eligible RS entry
2%
Two or more lists
0%
Likely threshold order: Sci-fi → Action → Adventure → Main.
Leading bundle: Sci-fi (1%).
Estimated from one fitted shared story path; category probabilities are not multiplied as if lists were independent.
Separate entry forecast; this probability does not enter the ranking score.
Overall Rising Stars Shadow RS rank
#4750 of 12,418 · 4700 below RS #50
By genre
beats 44% of similar stories
beats 14% of similar stories
beats 70% of similar stories
Mid-pack, room on both levers
Traffic and conversion both sit mid-field for a story this size. Growth here compounds from consistency: steady cadence feeds traffic, and a sharper hook lifts what each view is worth.
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 150+ chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views over the recent window.