I Shall Remain (A LitRPG Isekai)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

-{Though I plan on continuing this story in the future, book 1 is a complete story in itself and finished}-

The Book of Job only tells part of the story. The Second Cycle Game Begins. Earth lost its first about 12 thousand years ago.

Xotl is a demon tech working on the Game. His job is to help ensure Earth loses and is Raptured again. He thought he was assigned a lucky team of participants, all weaklings and losers sure to die off early.

Except one of Xotl’s team members, Dan, knows an impossible amount about the Game. And no matter what Xotl throws at him, Dan just won’t die.

A regressor tale from a different point of view. (Not a time loop.)

I Shall Remainwas inspired by L. M. Kerr’sReborn: Apocalypse. This is a LitRPG with self-cultivation elements, stats, classes, and aFinal Fantasy 7-like Materia system.

WARNING - There are a lot of very disgusting comments by a very crass demon, including some that are sexual in nature, but there is no eroticism or any dirty scenes.

What to Expect?

Death

Taxes

What others are saying aboutI Shall Remain.

“I’m not reading this crap.”

-Author’s mother

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2024
Author: Tony

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 1,359
Views: 335,454

Chapters(75 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

something pretentiousRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I Shall Remain manages to do something which I haven’t seen in a very, very long time. It meaningfully explores the overpowered character has reincarnated from the future of the apocalypse trope. I won’t spoil to much, but it gives the protagonist a foil, so even though we know he will win, the conflict is derived from how his winning interacts with the wider world, and not the question of wether he will win or not. I’ve explained it pretty badly, but suffice to say you should go read it.
WarhammaerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The MC is transported into a realm where heaven and hell are battling it out for control of the world. He’s being monitored by an agent of hell, but it seems like the MC knows things, and his monitor doesn’t like that very much.
Love the narrator perspective as he describes what’s happening to one of his bosses. I don’t think I’ve read a story with this setup before - serious protagonist with a comedic narrator.
It’s a great read and I can’t wait for the next chapter.
anapRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
dan is one of the best characters I've read about, he is genuinely one of the most based characters I've ever seen
also the author writes about religion incredibly well, and even if you don't believe in it, its still great, give it a chance, you wont regret it
though be ready for some dark stuff, demons and 'people' who turn to them are evil, which goes without saying
also, there's some pov changes, it mostly sticks with two though
GrumpsterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
An absolute gem to read, with a unique perspective that is not exactly explored too often, from what I have seen at least, with a complex world with everchanging shifting parts and detailed rules about the machinations of the Game, with beautifully developed mechanics within that system; along with a strong main character with an empathisable arc, plus being the underdog is always good. The style and flow of the story makes it wonderful, lingering on the mechanics to make both the world and the dynamic feel lived in. Albeit it can have some pacing issues and can be a tad-bit dialogue heavy, it is overall an amazing read.
LiamVIRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I Shall Remain has the bones of a System Apocalypse LitRPG, only told from the perspective of the malicious alien threat. Following the desperate struggle of a regressor through the viewpoint of his alien supervisor, the story is certainly unique, and shows much promise.
Style: There's an application of a very non-standard style here, which resembles some of the (very few) light novels I've read in its' to-the-point prose. It does an excellent job in conveying the amused indifference of the narrator, while demonstrating Dan's desperation in the apocalyptic circumstances within which he finds himself.
Story: It's hard to fully evaluate a story from the early chapters, but the direction seems consistent with the genre's more successful works: there's the promise of plenty of cultivation, numbers-go-up, SSUR++ ranking progression-style mechanics to be achieved, and in conjunction with the unique style I find myself increasingly drawn into trying to understand this world, the 'opposition', and the nature of the Game.
Grammar: On casual reading, no errors stand out to me. The writing is technically sound (no blatant typos, perfect spelling, grammar conventions appropriately followed with room for style).
Character: Another tough category to evaluate in depth early into a story's lifespan, especially given the (presumably) regressor protagonist is so focused on their immediate survival that they haven't had the chance to be brought to life, but the alien narrator, uncaring Boss and the notable members of the side cast are interesting enough that I'd be keen to learn more.
Lord RagnorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
It's really good, it should be top 5 on RoyalRoad. If you want to read sum for fun this is it. But fair warning. Story is a bit messed up and it should definetely have a R rating or something. Don't know how you make a book about action and saving the world NC-Rated but this one did it.
MaarbergRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The unique point of view similar to C. S. Lewis's book. I really enjoy such a diffrent perspective. I really like that he's been playing the game for 60 years and then comes back to the start of the game. I've had alot of fun reading the story. I'm a bit sad about how slow the story is being released. But that's a personal preference.
VerityGrayRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a well-written, extremely interesting book. The squamish reader need not apply, but for those of you that would find a relatively realistic portrayal of how a demonic System Apocalypse Game would deal with a regressor this is extraordinarily well done. The book concerns itself with an interview between a fairly obnoxious, funny lower class demon tech and his superior regarding the events surrounding the appearance of an apparent regressor in The Game. Told primarily from the point of view of the antagonists, there are also occasional chapters told from the POV of other characters and the protagonist. At several dozen chapters in I have not been let down once. All chapters are interesting and leave me looking forward to the next upload. I see no grammer or spelling mistakes of note. As it currently stands in mid-January 2025, it would be worth purchasing this book if it was for sale.
Having said that, you may not enjoy this book if you prefer your fantasy extremely sanitized (only robots get blasted, stormtroopers always miss, etc.), if you are more comfortable with teen lit (Hunger Games, Twilight, etc.), or if you prefer your stories trigger free.
Several of the evil characters actually do act badly, and sometimes that does work out for them. The book is less about the moral lessons you would find in novels targeted for a younger audience and more about the struggle of people dealing with complex issues, who they are, and why they do what they do. The author is careful to provide chapters from the points of view of key characters as necessary so the reader understands that everyone (good, bad, or otherwise) is acting in a way that "makes sense" to them.
The characters behave as best they can with the tools they have and what they believe, and the reader is left to their own devices to see what they think about that.
DatateqRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
I really tried with this story. Overall the writing is very good and the MC is interesting even if he really needs years and years of therapy. The main thing that killed it for me before I could reach the end of the first book was the narrator. I grant that everything written is entirely within expectations for the nature of the narrator, but it is like seeing the world through the eyes of someone with the emotional and mental maturity of a 12 yo who is also a psychopath. I am honestly surprised I made it as far as I did, but I was skipping large sections to do so. I eventually realized I just wasn’t really immersed anymore and gave up. I get the idea of how the story is being told and why it was done that way, but I just reached my limit where putting up with the parts I didn’t like overcame what I did like.
My other issue was the system. While interesting, it required a lot of exposition to explain everything and by the time all was said and done, I was more confused than anything. I wanted to like the uniqueness of it all, but the naming of things and the weird interactions of the mechanics never gelled in my head.
I hope you keep writing. Good luck.
FffunRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
It is a nice twist on a stereotypical apocalyptic reincarnation with a driven MC who has all the luck and knowledge to infuriate the overlords.
I had to stop for a few reasons mainly related to the narration. The story is told through Xotl the demon tech - it is pretty hard to read. His characterisation is trying to make him alien/evil but the constant racism and sexism that is blatantly "ace blacky's" MO is too much. It detracts from the story and though I want to see this concept work, the constant way Xotl tells us he's fixating on something utterly unimportant but foul was just tedious. I found myself skipping over these initially but when it was multiple times a chapter for several chapters it was too much. I get wanting to paint the antagonists in a certain light, but the back and forth of the interviewer ignoring the demon tech's outlandish statements was repetitive and boring. Find other ways rather than simply telling us the same orgy/orifice-related joke packaged slightly differently again and again. There's human interludes, why not make Xotl interludes for what he gets up to in his personal life, showing us rather than telling us his disgusting proclivities. Get the interviewer to severely reprimand him to the point the "jokes" are limited and the story remains on track.
The hypersexualisation of the human characters also felt forced to me, and a TW on chapter 1 is probably warranted.
Seems like the story hit the mark for others so I've left my overall rating at average. Gl with it