
by Machine Trooper
A time travel conspiracy thriller/sports adventure, which grazes a few other genres as it goes. Why would a pre-adolescent trailer park latchkey boy be targeted for "erasure" by an interdimensional conspiracy? He's got no money, no power, influence, prospects, not much of a father and certainly no significance in the multiverse. His lineage is nothing special. He's got mechanical aptitude and an interest in American football, but that doesn't make him a threat, does it? However, his hard drinking, hellraising daredevil of an uncle...HE seems dangerous. But he takes a paternal interest in his nephew, just in time to rescue him from a portal-hopping death squad. Through Ike Jaeger's journey to manhood, with the guidance of Uncle Si, he's going to level up in life, love, and full-contact sports. He'll become dangerous. And he's also got one helluva cheat code: Uncle Si's time machine. But sooner or later, he will have to face the Machiavellian Cabal desperate to find and terminate both Ike and Uncle Si before the renegade time travellers disrupt ancient plans to enslave all humanity across the multiverse. WHAT TO EXPECT: I'm thinking that once I settle into a routine, this will be on a Wednesday/Thursday afternoon posting schedule, maybe adding Saturdays to see if that helps even though "weekends are where the Internet goes to die." There's a chance I'll explain stuff that's already been explained, or contradict something I said earlier, or make other mistakes...by all means point out those mistakes so I can fix them. This won't be like the LitRPG stories--the protagonist isn't in a video game. But he does progress. The narrative begins when he is a pre-adolescent boy and ends when he is a man in his late 20s. Along the way he levels up in tech proficiency, sports, martial arts, aviation...plus more basic human skills like leadership and dating. I learned everything the hard way, with much suffering and heartbreak, and wish I had access to a book like this when I set out on the road to manhood. More than anything else, though, I hope this is fun for you, even when dealing with heavy subjects. Happy reading! UPDATE: I guess I have to say this, here: This is not a "harem" story. This is rated "R", not "X". Sex takes place, but either off-camera or with strategic framing and soft focus. It's also strictly "heteronormative" and one-on-one. There are no polyamorous menage-a-whatever scenes, implied or otherwise. However, the MC does become sort of a "chad" for a while, so this also isn't a story of a guy who remains a virgin into his 30s and finally wins his childhood crush then instantly becomes the perfect lover blah blah blah. SHOW SOME LOVE: Comments, follows, shout-outs and all that good stuff are appreciated.
No streak history
Rank updated 13 Aug 2026, 04:15 UTC
Entry forecast updated 13 Aug 2026, 04:15 UTC
Overall Rising Stars shadow rank
deep field · ~#4418 of 7,531 · 4368 below #50
By genre
beats 91% of similar stories
beats 54% of similar stories
beats 66% of similar stories
Firing on all cylinders
Traffic and conversion are both strong for a story this size. Readers are finding it and sticking — if Rising Stars is the goal, this is the moment to push.
At this conversion, the Sci-fi Rising Stars bar (≈1 new followers/day) costs about 144 views/day — the story currently gets ~62.
Benchmarks: 8,060 active Royal Road stories, percentiles within the 20–49 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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