
by StolenMadWolf
The year is 2020. Eight years have passed since the Retrovirus spread across the earth and ravaged human society. The lucky ones died horrific deaths. But most were changed, twisted into inhuman monsters called Ferals. These beasts tore cities and nations down, slaughtering, and infecting millions in their insane charge across the world. But they were not the only chimeric creatures to emerge. Other ‘werewolves’ had made themselves known, attacking humanity at every opportunity. Stronger, faster and tougher than the best of humanity, yet smarter and far more skilled than the Feral Hordes. The Nýúlfur. Pushed to their breaking point, humanity lashed out in hatred, if not in chemical, biological or nuclear hellfire, then by their force of arms. Today, only a handful of cities and nations survive, amongst them, the post-apocalyptic country of Cascadia. But the Ferals continue to prowl the world, whilst the Nýúlfur to continue to fight both human and Feral alike out in the wilderness. But things have started to change. One human survivor - one Ian Barber - finds himself twisted and altered through immoral experimentation through the Retrovirus, but instead of being turned into a Feral, he finds himself reborn a Nýúlfur. Now an outcast, he struggles to put what is left of his life back together, but Ian's newfound status gives him a unique insight into the world, and the true nature of the conflict between Humanity and the Nýúlfur. But soon, the mysterious Organisation that experimented on him in the first place will re-emerge. An Organisation with a peculiar connection to the Retrovirus itself… This is a story that is aimed at readers eighteen years old or older. There is a significant amount of of profanity, graphic combat, conflict and topics/themes that are closely linked to events happening today. This is a dark and gritty tale, so please keep that in mind despite the title. That being said, there will be laughs and heartwarming moments throughout. It's been a long time coming for me to get this story out! I will be aiming to release every Thursday and Sunday/Monday after the first week, where chapters are released daily. Hope you all enjoy! This story is also available on Wattpad, Spacebattles, Sufficent Velocity and AO3.
#27
9/2/2026
Peak #31
16d
#26
8/11/2026
Peak #37
1d
#25
8/10/2026
Peak #38
1d
#24
8/10/2026
Peak #50
0d
#23
8/10/2026
Peak #49
0d
One state-enhanced oracle order, filtered by each list. Observed Royal Road ranks remain separate ground truth.
Rank updated 25 Oct 2026, 06:58 UTC
Entry forecast updated 25 Oct 2026, 06:58 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 38% of similar stories
beats 95% of similar stories
beats 43% 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 50–149 chapters band, cohort of 2026-07-02. Conversion is measured as followers gained per 1,000 views over the recent window.