I'll be taking Christmas and Boxing Day off, and then returning to the regular schedule after that. Which, for me, is tomorrow and the day after. Enjoy your holidays, and have a merry Christmas if that's your thing! See you all soon!
2025-12-24 00:29:09 +0000 UTC View PostAaron just kind of stood there for a moment after killing Countless Lorella. The victory felt a little empty.
“Shall we?” Talia said, patting his shoulder.
“Yeah, let’s move.”
“Alright. Let’s make this quick,” she called out. “I want this place searched. Our job isn’t done, and we need to keep moving as soon as possible.
Immediately, the group got to work, scouring the lair. But nothing much of value...
2025-12-24 00:27:09 +0000 UTC View PostAaron almost immediately threw himself into a controlled rage as he engaged the beast lord, but a sudden and very powerful shockwave of sonic energy curtailed his attack. The sonic wave was emitted from the Countess, and it was on a different level than what he had felt from her minions.
The energy that filled this sonic shockwave was fiercely powerful. But it was more than just powerful. There was a darkness to it, as if powered by some...
2025-12-22 22:43:12 +0000 UTC View PostTrying to force energy and everything that came with it from one Skill into another was an extraordinarily crude method of using Skills and hardly provided a desired outcome. Especially not to Aaron in his current form. But that wasn’t his intent. And against the relatively mediocre bat minions, he didn’t really need to go all out and had plenty of energy to spare, which was great, because with all that excess energy, he could comfortably ...
2025-12-22 00:11:54 +0000 UTC View PostLeaving his body behind on a soiled bed beside Talia in the wrecked house, Aaron took control of his spirit and began toward the cave.
Inside, he descended quickly and was met by a dark, damp, and very gloomy cavern that had many adjoining passages veering off in all directions, but he continued onward toward where he felt the aura emanating from.
Strangely, even after a couple of minutes passing down through the passages, he...
2025-12-18 23:57:00 +0000 UTC View PostDespite his nervous laughter, Dorian had managed to calm down enough to go on to explain just how bad fire ants could be. Of course, there was no way of knowing just how many of their original traits these ants had kept, and what had changed and evolved thanks to the System. Either way, though, their description posed a scary challenge.
It wasn’t just fear of fire ants that made Aaron apprehensive, though. He remembered seeing the heav...
2025-12-17 22:31:39 +0000 UTC View PostWhile the goblins were busy at work raising their camp—first by building several simple, settler-style log cabins—Aaron was out gathering ingredients in a nearby wooded area.
Which was incredibly frustrating. Not only were the herbs, wild berries, and whatnot he found scattered throughout the surrounding forests of a lower Rarity than he was used to finding in the trials, but their Rarity actually lowered even further when he picked ...
2025-12-16 22:32:10 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a short stop at the main camp, Aaron gathered all of his people and made for the plot he had scouted earlier.
There was a lot to be done, and the goblins were the first to get started, throwing up some temporary tents and scouting the area around them.
Several of the goblins had gotten particularly close with their wolves, he noticed, and they were already naturally using them as mounts as they scanned the region from their b...
2025-12-16 00:33:44 +0000 UTC View PostAn awkward moment followed the capture of Julius, and Aaron glanced across to his comrades. “Talia?” He said, catching her gaze. “...I think you can drop the sword.”
She hesitated a moment, and then nodded and lowered her scepter, and the avatar shadowed her. Zero picked up on Aaron’s demeanour without a word and calmly walked over to nestle his nose in Aaron’s palm.
Exhaling, he patted the man on his shoulder, trying t...
2025-12-14 23:45:58 +0000 UTC View Post**Author Note**
Thank you for your comments. I'll take them to heart, and I don't want to write scenes that feel rushed to the point. And will try not to.
**Author Note**
Aaron reached out, and the moment he touched the darkness, he felt himself falling into the void. Immediately, as he felt the cold darkness envelope him, countless echoing laughs seemed to bounce off the walls all around him...
2025-12-11 22:34:39 +0000 UTC View PostAaron had no idea what this guy's deal was, but he was almost certain he was no god of shadows. Firstly, why was he here? If gods could interact so easily with their world through the barrier, then surely Yendal would have told him so. Or Lenriel, for that matter, who was granting Pentival power as his proxy. Why go to all that effort if they could just appear like this and directly interact with their universe?
Also, he had felt gods co...
2025-12-10 21:32:18 +0000 UTC View PostDeep within the lower levels below the casino, he sensed it. A spot of pure darkness and immense density. It was otherworldly, and as Aaron sensed the incredible object, a chill ran down his spine.
But the strangeness of whatever it was only scratched the surface of his growing concern. But the odd energy was somewhat familiar, like he had felt it before. It was a dark, dense, and consuming energy. It seemed to drag energy around it, fue...
2025-12-09 23:49:06 +0000 UTC View PostAaron had no time; Carlos had already disappeared beneath the water, and he doubted he could handle the beaver alone. Immediately, he activated [ Spectral Rush ], sending himself shooting after them. He didn’t like the idea of fighting it underwater, but he couldn’t just leave Carlos to die.
Crashing through the surface, his eyes widened. It had only been a couple of seconds, and already the water was filled with a m...
2025-12-08 21:07:11 +0000 UTC View PostAaron flew beside Yuki, who used some kind of Skill that made it look like a bridge of energy was materializing beneath her feet, letting her run through the air.
“Really, Fukuoka, you say? It rings a bell, but I couldn’t place it on a map.”
“And you? Where are you from?”
He had decided to make small talk as they flew toward their target. He figured that if he wanted Julius’ people to open up, he would need to get...
2025-12-07 22:35:01 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone! I'm going to be dropping down to 5 chapters per week, so there won't be a weekend release anymore.
That said, Too Stubborn to Die will remain 40 chapters ahead of RoyalRoad, which I think is pretty decent.
Ultimately, though, as much as I love writing this story, I feel like I need more than 1 day of break from it per week. In the long run, I think this will be better for both me and the story, though especially since ...
2025-12-04 23:13:01 +0000 UTC View PostTalia said her goodbyes. She needed to go and inform Julius that Aaron was taking her spot on the hunt. Meanwhile, Aaron chattered for a short while with Ryan before heading off himself to take a stroll about the little settlement. There were more people than he had expected, and soon, he spotted the small group he had seen when arriving. They were sitting around a fire, and it looked like one of the guards was explaining things to them.
“Aaron?” Ryan blinked. “Bloody fucking hell, mate. It is you!”
The two walked straight toward one another and embraced in a hug, patting each other on the back as they separated.
“When Talia mentioned you, I couldn’t believe it. She spoke of this guy who kept dying in the trials. Same name and everything. Sounded just like you, but I couldn’t believe it was actually you. And now here you are. What are t...
2025-12-03 21:24:29 +0000 UTC View PostAs they walked toward the imposing casino, it didn’t take long for them to spot a few tents and makeshift shelters scattered around the camp’s outskirts. And the further they walked, the more eyes they caught.
“They’re watching us,” Marko whispered.
“Looks like you got fans, bossman,” Sooty said from atop his own wolf.
Aaron smiled and waved back, leading the mounted group along a worn path trodden into the grou...
2025-12-03 00:00:27 +0000 UTC View PostAaron Dober:
Planetary ranking: 1942 of 5,127,446,925
Aaron stared at his ranking for a good moment. But not because of the over 600 spots he had climbed, as impressive as that was. But because of how many people had apparently died.
It had only been a couple of days since arriving on their new world, and if his eyes weren’t lying to him, well over a hundred million people had already...
2025-12-02 00:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post“So, anyway. Yeah, that’s basically what she said. Calls herself Erdek Foulbreath. Not gonna lie, she seems pretty strong,” Aaron said, talking and walking as they neared the jungle edge.
“Sounds about right,” Treg nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve never heard the name. She sounds like a high blood, but she mustn’t have been very important before the Integration. Or at least she isn’t from any of my people’s tribes. But she...
2025-11-30 22:41:01 +0000 UTC View PostSilver light flashed out from the silvermane alpha’s maw as they clashed, and erupted into a beam that felled trees as it exploded across the jungle. Sending wolves bouncing out of the way.
The goblin spectators cowered and held shields up at the display of the destructive power, despite it not coming in their direction. And Treg didn’t blame them. This was easily the strongest beast they had ever seen.
Appearing before the wol...
2025-11-29 22:09:53 +0000 UTC View Post“Okay, listen up,” Aaron said as they walked toward the D-grade wolf and its pack. “I don’t need any heroics. I want us all to come out the other end alive, okay? So here’s the plan. I want you, Treg, and your people to create your shield wall. Focus on drawing the fight out and staying alive. No risk-taking. No fancy stuff. Do just enough to keep the wolf pack’s attention on you, and not me. You’re not looking for kills, you’r...
2025-11-28 03:56:34 +0000 UTC View PostJust wanted to let people know that tomorrow's chapter will likely be quite a bit later than usual. My co-writer does Thanksgiving, and since they edit/review this story, it'll likely release whenever they're done with that.
2025-11-27 03:07:49 +0000 UTC View PostAaron eyed the ant for a moment as it dug through the old camp. It was very thorough, sniffing around and giving particular attention to any spot where they or their belongings had been.
After its short investigation, it seemed to activate a Skill that puffed something into their air, and then continued to follow their trail.
It was too… organized. Eerily so, and while it wasn’t strong, the little ant gave him the creeps.
It slammed down onto the forest floor several meters away, reverberating through the earth far louder than one would expect for its size, and Aaron felt an odd wave of energy ripple through.
It was the first time he had really experienced something like it, and his [ Soul Vortex ] was telling him that it was Earth Affinity energy.
Hmph, interesting.
The man-sized primate glared at him, barely even re...
2025-11-25 22:46:52 +0000 UTC View PostHearing news of the D-grade beast ahead of them, Aaron asked Zach to keep watch, while Treg and Marko were to set up a perimeter
With Marko’s traps lined around them, he figured they would be relatively safe, at least for a short while.
“Okay. Good. I’m going to scout ahead. Look after my body, okay?”
Marko’s brows twisted in confusion, but he just nodded along, seemingly no longer bothering to doubt anything Aaron ...
2025-11-24 22:55:47 +0000 UTC View PostJumping up above the treeline, Aaron followed Zach’s outstretched finger toward the sounds of battle and used [ Spectral Rush ] to shoot through the sky towards it.
It didn’t take him long before he spotted two dozen or so little figures stretched across the land, battling back a swarm of giant toads between the towering trees and marshy lands.
Redirecting himself downward, Aaron sent himself flying toward the ...
2025-11-23 22:59:36 +0000 UTC View PostAt the insistence of his new travelling companions, Aaron sat and waited as they prepared their most recent kills.
It had been a short fight. A bunch of lizards, and he let Marko and Zach handle most of it.
And as it turned out, Marko wasn’t just a skinner. Good thing too, because being a skinner sounded like a very limited Profession. What he was was a skinner and butcher, and once he knew that Aaron wanted meat, he was mo...
2025-11-22 22:06:59 +0000 UTC View PostCalculating rank based on Level, Tutorial points, Titles, Achievements, Wealth, including the total value of both SC and all items in possession, and Kills.
Initial ranking: 2608 of 5,304,184,488
Aaron blinked. 2608 was a pretty random number. When he saw the ranking countdown, he had two possibilities come to mind. Either he would be near the very top for his performance in the Shadow Trials...
2025-11-20 23:41:34 +0000 UTC View PostLow to the rocks, two men kept out of sight, skirting the edge of a cave entrance in desperate search for escape.
Their prey and reason for being in the cave was long dead. It had started innocently enough. They had spotted a couple of cocoa birds and entered to hunt the beasts.
But fortune quickly turned to despair, as they spotted a terrible beast outside the cave’s only entrance.
Suddenly, the man leading stopped dead in...
2025-11-19 22:57:24 +0000 UTC View Post