
by Sinky
Adam Henshaw thought he’d left his tortured past behind. Joining the army was supposed to be a fresh start—an opportunity to put his talent for violence to more humanitarian use. Or at least, that’s what he told himself. Being far away from his psychotic older brother, Earl, was definitely a much needed perk. But when a simple guard mission turns into a massacre and invincible soldiers pour through a mysterious portal to snatch up warriors like livestock, Adam’s world collapses again. In his new world there’s only one route to survival, ascend, train and tap into the powers of his new existence. Through sheer grit, fast fists, and a little luck, he lands himself in an academy for warriors with untapped magical ability. He might be a hated outsider, but it’s the perfect place to develop the skills he needs to get home. What he doesn’t realize is that his past has followed him. Earl is a criminal, a wild card, a danger to all those around him. He’s also disposable and the perfect candidate to find out what’s happening on the other side of the portal. It was a fool’s errand. There is no return and for Earl, there is no academy either. There is only blood, dust, and the roaring arenas of the Union. The cosmos is vast, but no distance can stop the inevitable collision between brothers.I'll be posting three chapters a day for the first week and then dropping to one a day five days a week after that. I have a decent backlog, but I'm still tweaking things as I go. Hope you enjoy the struggle! Currently 20 chapters ahead on Patreon depending on tier. Mage Mangler - Patreon.
#6
2/5/2026
Peak #50
0d
#5
2/5/2026
Peak #50
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#4
2/4/2026
Peak #49
0d
#3
2/3/2026
Peak #49
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#2
2/2/2026
Peak #48
0d
One state-enhanced oracle order, filtered by each list. Observed Royal Road ranks remain separate ground truth.
Rank updated 2 Oct 2026, 08:18 UTC
Entry forecast updated 2 Oct 2026, 08:18 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.
Previously appeared on Rising Stars, but no supported current projection is available.
beats 5% of similar stories
beats 77% of similar stories
beats 99% of similar stories
Readers arrive, few stick
Traffic is strong, but conversion trails comparable stories. The usual suspects are the blurb, the cover and the opening chapters — fixing the hook multiplies everything the existing traffic brings.
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 10–19 chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views over the recent window.
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