Dylan of Dirt - (Book 1 - Stubbed, Book 2 - Complete, Book 3 - Writing) [LitRPG Progression Satire]

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Book 1 was STUBBED on August 14th 2025 on Royal Road. Book 2 is COMPLETE on Royal Road. Book 3 is being written and will start releasing after my hiatus.

I've included enough of a recap in Book Two that reading Book One is optional. Some may prefer starting with Book Two, as Book One was highly unpalatable to some readers.

An Accidental Hero. A New World. A Reckless Amount of Deaths.

This is a self-depreciating, snarky, irreverent, emotional story about an average, lovable idiot who is on a journey to become one of the most over powered entities in the multiverse (or Dylanverse as it's more commonly known).

*Jedi mind trick wave of the hand*This isn't the wish fulfillment, self insert story you are looking for... (Come back in a few books. Dylan might be bad ass enough for you then.) He's gottaearnit first!

Still here? Cool, roll the blurb!

"Dylan was having a normal day—well, as normal as life gets when you’ve been socially isolated by Uber Eats and Amazon Prime. One unfortunate step off a curb later, Dylan finds himself in a strange fantasy world with no phone, no pants, and an endless stream of WTF moments. From bloodthirsty dragons to time-manipulating artifacts, Dylan’s new reality is equal parts confusing and lethal.

Dying might be temporary, but survival is anything but simple when fate hands you magic powers and you accidentally skip the tutorial.

Resets, resets everywhere. Thirty-five lives. No clue what they’re meant for. And with every new death, the stakes rise—as does the body count.

Between shirtless elves, dragon sorcerers, and a mysterious rogue with too many pockets, Dylan’s going to need more than snark and stubbornness to navigate his way through a world that doesn’t play fair. Can he figure out his newfound powers before he runs out of second chances?

Follow Dylan as he makes friends, mistakes, and learns how to become an adventurer."

What to expect:

- 2-3k word chapters, 3 rotating POVs (70%+ MC), no cliffhangers on POV swaps.- Unique progression system: magic abilities, ranks, contracts, quests, loot boxes, and much more.- Slow-burn, slice-of-life storytelling, and comedy throughout.- Chapter schedule: Hiatus until October.- Bonus: Jump 20 chapters ahead on Patreon.

A perfectly imperfect protagonist stumbles into an intergalactic fantasy world where magic, adventurer ranks, and lootboxes shape reality. With slow-burn character development, layered progression, and humor that thrives in the chaos, this slice-of-life comedy explores what happens when an average guy skips the tutorial and has to figure things out—one reset (and side quest) at a time. No harems, no POV cliffhangers, just honest growth and a sprinkle of romance... (eventually).

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: Matthew-McKay

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.1/ 5.0
Followers: 674
Views: 74,243

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

Blind LibrarianRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Pure fun that one. DOD starts without talking its self too seriously, addressing all the tropes and shortcomings of classic Isekai novels in a provoking and adult way.
But… if you actually put yourself in the shoes of the main MC you will experience an emotional rollercoaster that takes you from highs of laughter to valleys of suspense - and sometimes pure terror, and makes you think of possibilities.
What if your body cannot handle the ingredients of the food in this world. What if you are lost in the translation. What if the moral and cultural norms are completely different and some times people are trying to kill you out of mercy. What if sexuality is a joke. And how are you supposed to make decisions about things that you can’t even begin to understand? And that is just the beginning.
Filled with crazy and intelligent humour, an MC with a golden heart that actually respects the local community he finds himself in, you’ll have fun spotting many hidden references to pop culture and other Isekai novels.
Also filled with great characters that live and breathe on their own and don’t need the MC to exist, DOD is quickly unfolding into a whole new world that is more alive and engaging than most others “serious” stories out there.
Give this one a try. If you are getting bored consuming Harry Potter like fast food and other over powered “chosen child” templates, or annoying brats like “He Who Fights With Tantrums” excrements, it can’t get better than this. One of my favourites. 5 full stars from me.
Brianna StormCloudRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I was engaged by the flawed and realistic characters from the first chapter, particularly the MC, Dylan. You can empathize with his bewilderment, yet smile at his naivete. The world and culture are revealed as Dylan is exposed to it.
One of my favourite things about the book are all the little pop culture references. Well done to Matt, I think you're an amazing author, and look forward to reading Book 3.
Chele42Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Just finished book number one. It was engaging, I enjoyed the world building, though I’m still very confused about how he got there. Dylan is hilarious. I enjoyed this so much that I’ve signed onto the authors Patreon so that I could get an ARC, Which I will definitely read because the author says he has done some editing. I will continue to follow and read new chapters as they are posted, I wanna see what happens with Dylan of Dirt!
Egag99Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A very enjoyable story. The characters are flawed, which makes them believeable. The story is good and definitely starts to pick up in the back half. And the main character is very fun to tease. I can't wait for book 2 to start and see where the story goes from here.
SuugaahRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Barrel of laughs.... or should I say
"BUCKETS"
10 out of 10 'WILL' recommend
Engaging and relatable characters, amazing world building, and all round enjoyable plot / story line. The main character is believable and likeable, without being too in your face. Always knew cupcakes were dangerous. I love the interactions between the protag and his "Friends".... "Keepers".
Thankyou for sharing
TiffyMcKayRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Update: This story really gets rolling around chapter 50. Worth all the world building, meeting characters, & getting acclimated into life on another world.
These are some of the things you can expect to find in Dylan of Dirt: Laughter, neurodivergent characters, an immersive world, and fight scenes.
Things I love about the characters: Dylan is a hot mess AuDHDer like me and Charles is autistic AF who reminds me of Sherlock, but scarier, which I love. 😆 The characters have their own internal flaws that radically shape how they interact with the world. I love that about them. They feel real to me. He also does dialogue exceptionally well, each character feels like their own person. (Update: I love the journey Nathan's on too. You beautiful, broken young man.)
The amount of slice of life interwoven throughout this story is over 9000. I didn’t know I needed that in my life. Each side quest that interjects itself takes on a miniature life of its own and brings to life every character you meet. 10/10 on emotional depths of background characters as well.
I’m big on fight scenes. I go a little feral when there’s some good slaughter going on, especially if I can follow the fight well and characters are making realistic choices for who they are. This story delivers on that for me.
The comedy threaded throughout the entire story is amongst the highlights of this series too. There’s been times where Matthew has judged if something needs to be ramped up depending on how much laughter he gets out of me while I’m alpha/beta reading this story. Comedy is one of his specialties.
Finally, the little magical inventions and magic abilities he’s created always captivate me. I find myself yelling across the house “I WANT THAT” at him when I’m reading this story.
The grammar's actually pretty impeccable too.
[I happen to be married to the author, but I’m also an avid reader and writer if that helps balance the scales.]
mustachRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So far the story has been engaging, and while the chapters feel short, that just might be cause I want them to come out faster.
Dylan a run of the mill American who is somewhat clueless like we all are to things outside of our wheelhouse was on his way to get a cupcake, then he wasn't, he ends up in a new world and ADHD's his way thru multiple deaths. Before finding a path forward, most of the book is understated humor driven, as evidence by mistranslated of common slang, which MC is constantly using.
Tenijjay lRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
I like the book concept, the power concept and everything
But i just feel like i am in this chapter and nothing has been achieved
Idk how young dylan is but he really has been acting like a child, regardless of the fact that he is in a new environment, or that he has a past trauma, or that he has died multiple times and is probably depressed and sad, he also said that he is in a dangerous world with things that could kill him and we have seen examples of that with the fracture but nathan and charles keep treating him like a child, not as someone new coming into the society
Like he has died multiple times and there was no active attemot based on the chapters so far to learn about magic, his powers or subtly try to get more, no training and he is already going on an adventure.
And i can't blame the rest for allowing him to make his decisions, they d not want to impose and also the environment they live in is different from Dirt, with fighting and all
So i assume they are looking at himfrom that perspective, It is so baffling to me that you did not have any chapter and we are in the 48th chapter and there has been no talk about how earth was, no questions asked aboout the different races, wwhy he is physically weak and all that, nothing about the power system just teases and this is chapter 47
It is as if i am reading a "Let's not hurt dylan and do whjatever dylan likes book"
I really like the concept and the story but i feel like it is tooo slow
We have not delved into any lore from earth or this new world, not delved into the power systemm, not delved into anything basically
NubiumNebuliRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
I am kind of stumped. Perhaps I should have read the full description, maybe there's a "PARODY" tag I missed.
Clearly, the author knows that Dylan is dumb, uninteresting, and incapable of carrying the plot forward. They clearly convey that through the story (though I've only gone till chapter 5). So why?
Are we meant to sympathize with Dylan? Laugh at him, with dramatic irony? The setting could be good, but it's difficult to tell when the narrator is barely sentient. I mean, how do you not notice you're naked as you pick up a ball? I'm guessing it's meant as a joke. I hope?
The first chapter is confusing, not just because the MC/narrator is stupid, but because he is so stupid that he cannot notice that his surrounding has changed. As for his personality... well, he's... pathetic and... cowardly... but he means well? Mostly? He's not a character so much as an archetype. He's a parody of a character. Which I believe is done on purpose. Problem is, you can't invest yourself into a 1D/2D character unless the interactions are good. And they aren't, because he's stupid and the scenes don't turn out to be interesting.
RaganashRoyal Road
★★ 1.5
As other have stated the MC is just...incompetent, and pathetic. He lacks any agency, drive, or common sense to do anything so far. It baffles me how someone can see Dylan growing into an adventurer, or even being trusted to take care of himself. It's a shame too, cause the world building and other characters are written well.