![Sword & Maze: Long Shot Bet [Dystopian LitRPG, Dark Comedy Included.]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalroadcdn.com%2Fpublic%2Fcovers-large%2Fsword-maze-long-shot-bet-aacafiaijrg.jpg%3Ftime%3D1773388054&w=640&q=75)
by Big Bad Rat
The RGN Multimedia Casino Presents… Sword & Maze Exclusive. The cutting edge of gambling entertainment, and the North American Union’s most popular bloodsport. Roy Devans, guilty of a crime he can never take back, is one of five hundred convicts that have been forced to compete in this over the top violent video game event. In the Maze, he feels very real pain, and there's no logging out, no quitting, or mercy of any kind. His debt to society is more than just the shame he feels, it's an actual number, a pool of money the Game Directors can use to pay for the in game torments he’ll have leveled against him. To top it off there’s a plotting psycho bunny mascot to contend with, corrupt Game Directors actively sabotaging his class and build, and his own pathological need to help people putting him in even more danger. Oh, and if he loses the casino will surgically remove his brain and use it to power any number of in game NPCs until his pink meat rots. So go on, join in, lay down your bets… Because there’s a lot of money riding on Roy not even making it through the tutorial. What to Expect: —Roy getting knocked down and getting back up again. —A harsh dystopia that has a working internal logic. —Roy getting stronger as the challenges get harder. —Roy actively fighting against a bad build to make it functional. —Some laughs along the way, because I can’t help myself. What not to expect: —An OP MC. There will always be danger waiting around the bend and Roy will have to use his head to get through it. —A cozy, leisurely story. Sword & Maze moves fast and bloody. —Everyone to make it. People will die. Updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.Advance chapters will be made available on Patreon
#13
7/12/2026
Peak #40
4d
#12
7/12/2026
Peak #50
0d
#11
7/9/2026
Peak #44
2d
#10
7/8/2026
Peak #48
0d
#9
7/8/2026
Peak #49
0d
One state-enhanced oracle order, filtered by each list. Observed Royal Road ranks remain separate ground truth.
Rank updated 2 Oct 2026, 04:39 UTC
Entry forecast updated 2 Oct 2026, 04:39 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
23%
Two or more lists
0%
Likely threshold order: Sci-fi → Action → Fantasy → Main.
Leading bundle: Sci-fi (22%).
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
#7326 of 12,099 · 7276 below RS #50
By genre
beats 48% of similar stories
beats 50% of similar stories
beats 66% 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.
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