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Stubborn Skill-Grinder in a Time Loop #1
The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In a Time Loop
An action-packed LitRPG Adventure perfect for fans of Mother of Learning, Primal Hunter, and The Perfect Run!
Fight. Grind. Grow strong enough to stop the Cataclysm.
Orodan was an orphaned street rat who clawed his way to the county militia with hard work. When calamitous events unfold and draw him into events bigger than himself, Orodan's battle-loving disposition leads to a warrior's death.
Then he wakes up again at the start of the Cataclysm. Then again. And again.
In a world of skills, titles, and blessings, a smart time-looper would perhaps scheme, plan, amass equipment, and allies. But not Orodan. If there's one thing he's good at, it's stubbornly trying the same thing over and over again via brute force till it's done.
If a wall is in front of him, going around is not an option. Instead, he'll batter it thousands of times until either the wall breaks or he does. And gain skill levels along the way.
Until, maybe one run, he'll grow powerful enough to stop the Cataclysm.
Experience this fast-paced LitRPG Adventure about Orodan and his progression toward becoming extremely overpowered using a time loop. The series features a detailed system, loads of skills, time loop regression, varied progression paths, deep worldbuilding, cultivation aspects, and a heroic character you can't help but root for!
Fight. Grind. Grow strong enough to stop the Cataclysm.
Orodan was an orphaned street rat who clawed his way to the county militia with hard work. When calamitous events unfold and draw him into events bigger than himself, Orodan's battle-loving disposition leads to a warrior's death.
Then he wakes up again at the start of the Cataclysm. Then again. And again.
In a world of skills, titles, and blessings, a smart time-looper would perhaps scheme, plan, amass equipment, and allies. But not Orodan. If there's one thing he's good at, it's stubbornly trying the same thing over and over again via brute force till it's done.
If a wall is in front of him, going around is not an option. Instead, he'll batter it thousands of times until either the wall breaks or he does. And gain skill levels along the way.
Until, maybe one run, he'll grow powerful enough to stop the Cataclysm.
Experience this fast-paced LitRPG Adventure about Orodan and his progression toward becoming extremely overpowered using a time loop. The series features a detailed system, loads of skills, time loop regression, varied progression paths, deep worldbuilding, cultivation aspects, and a heroic character you can't help but root for!
718 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 13, 2025
1052 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
December 19, 2025
I enjoyed the book emensly. The determination of Orodan to be one a better warrior is fenomenal.
Looking forward for the second book
Looking forward for the second book
May 22, 2025
I actually read this one online. it's been written over in Royalroad. I almost dropped it a couple of times. at first I thought the skill Creep was way too quick and that the MC was more than a little slow in the head. I came to realize that he just liked going straight at things. no need for strategy if you're going to charge right at it and beat it down. actually turned out to be much better than I originally thought it would be. I am now actually reading book two as the chapters are released. it's just a good way to burn a couple hours every day. give it a shot you never know you might like it.
7/10 because of the fact that I almost dropped it twice.
7/10 because of the fact that I almost dropped it twice.
May 15, 2025
شخصية واحدة في حلقة مغلقة من الزمن يحاول كسرها، ويستغل الدورة هذي وعدم إمكانية موته الابدي في وضع نفسه في أخطار متعددة حتى يصبح أقوى ويتدرب.
استمتعت فيها بشدة وبالذات شخصية البطل نهر جاري لا يتوقف يكتسح كل ما امامه.
Fast paced litrpg with loads of skills and varied progression paths
استمتعت فيها بشدة وبالذات شخصية البطل نهر جاري لا يتوقف يكتسح كل ما امامه.
Fast paced litrpg with loads of skills and varied progression paths
May 17, 2025
3.5 Stars
The first half was very good, despite being grammatically challenged. It's a long book so that's a lot of good reading. Sadly, the second half became repetitive and I felt like I should get a room for the author to spend some special time with Orodan, the protagonist.
It rubbed me the wrong way when the author repeatedly praised Orodan for being prepared to risk death to grow stronger. The guy was in a time-loop — permanent death was not a thing.
So, if you like OP MCs and don't mind rapid and forced progression (think Darwin from X-Men), then you'll enjoy most of this novel. I'll only be continuing if the next book takes a radically new direction.
The first half was very good, despite being grammatically challenged. It's a long book so that's a lot of good reading. Sadly, the second half became repetitive and I felt like I should get a room for the author to spend some special time with Orodan, the protagonist.
It rubbed me the wrong way when the author repeatedly praised Orodan for being prepared to risk death to grow stronger. The guy was in a time-loop — permanent death was not a thing.
So, if you like OP MCs and don't mind rapid and forced progression (think Darwin from X-Men), then you'll enjoy most of this novel. I'll only be continuing if the next book takes a radically new direction.
May 15, 2025
massive
A *lot* of chapters. Quite fun.
But it was clearly written as a serial. This is evident in the repeated descriptions. Not talking about the time loops; this is repeating descriptions in chapter after chapter.
I still want more. I might be a bit stubborn myself.
A *lot* of chapters. Quite fun.
But it was clearly written as a serial. This is evident in the repeated descriptions. Not talking about the time loops; this is repeating descriptions in chapter after chapter.
I still want more. I might be a bit stubborn myself.
May 19, 2025
fun (if you like OP MC stories)
This one really took some time for me to get into. I also thought the initial power creep was way too much and too soon, but once I adjusted to the story style I actually I started enjoying the journey. This is more or less a genius of hardwork/ straight forward/ dumb in other aspects MC. Of course it’s an OP MC trope and most times it did feel like he got power-ups a bit too easily, but at the end of the day it was a good read. We very slowly got a bit more world building towards the end, but I hope in later instalments we get to see more. I’m heading straight to royalroad to continue
4.3/5
This one really took some time for me to get into. I also thought the initial power creep was way too much and too soon, but once I adjusted to the story style I actually I started enjoying the journey. This is more or less a genius of hardwork/ straight forward/ dumb in other aspects MC. Of course it’s an OP MC trope and most times it did feel like he got power-ups a bit too easily, but at the end of the day it was a good read. We very slowly got a bit more world building towards the end, but I hope in later instalments we get to see more. I’m heading straight to royalroad to continue
4.3/5
May 14, 2025
The MC is a MORON! The moment he figures he's in a loop, no introspection, no thinking, no strategy, not a single spark of intelligence. What he does is reproducing the same exact moronic action and getting himself killed 44 more times in painful ways, on purpose!
May 13, 2025
One of my favorite
There's so many things about this book I love. I follow the story on royalroad and of the 20+ I follow this is the one I am almost always most excited to read.
The story is masterfully told and the pacing is very rewarding.
Our MC is diligent and hard headed and seeing him solving problems in his bullheaded fashion is very rewarding.
The power progression is very quick however I always feel like the MC has reason to continue progression.
Give it a read and you'll be hooked!
There's so many things about this book I love. I follow the story on royalroad and of the 20+ I follow this is the one I am almost always most excited to read.
The story is masterfully told and the pacing is very rewarding.
Our MC is diligent and hard headed and seeing him solving problems in his bullheaded fashion is very rewarding.
The power progression is very quick however I always feel like the MC has reason to continue progression.
Give it a read and you'll be hooked!
May 13, 2025
Amazing Book
If you're in the mood for a fun time loop story, look no further than here. Unlike most books in the genre, this one takes the progression and time loop aspects, and turns it up to 11. If you love thr dopamine rush of numbers go up, this is the story for you. Aside from that, the story is very enjoyable with a protagonist that's fun to read, and side characters you'll come to love.
Give it a read, you won't be disappointed!
If you're in the mood for a fun time loop story, look no further than here. Unlike most books in the genre, this one takes the progression and time loop aspects, and turns it up to 11. If you love thr dopamine rush of numbers go up, this is the story for you. Aside from that, the story is very enjoyable with a protagonist that's fun to read, and side characters you'll come to love.
Give it a read, you won't be disappointed!
May 13, 2025
Time Loops Done Different
Great story! I love time loops but I always get bored with the repition. This story does a great job of avoiding that pitfall. The main character is extremely entertaining and hard headed doesn't even begin to describe him. (Luckily that's perfect for him) would definitely recommend reading.
Great story! I love time loops but I always get bored with the repition. This story does a great job of avoiding that pitfall. The main character is extremely entertaining and hard headed doesn't even begin to describe him. (Luckily that's perfect for him) would definitely recommend reading.
May 13, 2025
Top notch series
So glad to see this finally being published. The series is definitely in it for the long haul and I can’t wait to see the ending.
Once you get caught up here, check royal road for the rest !
So glad to see this finally being published. The series is definitely in it for the long haul and I can’t wait to see the ending.
Once you get caught up here, check royal road for the rest !
May 14, 2025
great book
I have seen this book for awhile and it didn’t disappoint would highly recommend. The plot was good it can be hard for time loops and it all made sense. I love the character flaws and how it makes him stronger in the end. Great book cheers to the author
I have seen this book for awhile and it didn’t disappoint would highly recommend. The plot was good it can be hard for time loops and it all made sense. I love the character flaws and how it makes him stronger in the end. Great book cheers to the author
July 2, 2025
It’s pretty good. It follows its formula faithfully and is pretty classic time loop get big and strong story. Surprisingly enjoyable, with only a few personal gripes about pacing and certain story aspects.
August 6, 2025
This first book is good, but it absolutely kicks off in the ones that follow (read off RR). This series slaps.
May 28, 2025
This has a solid base that gets op and unbalanced. becomes a bit boring by the end. It still had a lot of potential, though.
May 13, 2025
amazing
The author created an amazing world with an even more intriguing character that interacts with this world. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
The author created an amazing world with an even more intriguing character that interacts with this world. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
April 13, 2025
Very minor spoilers.
The book is great, I liked how the character journey was handled for Odoran. At the start when we didn't know much about him the focus was on showing his simple outlook and skill growth but as he grows more powerful he starts to evolve from simply being a warrior to a crafter and teacher, it allows the other characters to shine and makes it more the story more interesting to read
The book is great, I liked how the character journey was handled for Odoran. At the start when we didn't know much about him the focus was on showing his simple outlook and skill growth but as he grows more powerful he starts to evolve from simply being a warrior to a crafter and teacher, it allows the other characters to shine and makes it more the story more interesting to read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2025
Orodan sure is stubborn!
This is a lovely time loop story with tons of world building.
Orodan finds himself stuck in a time loop and decides to do the most natural thing, fight really strong enemies at every opportunity. Something about his persistence and his desire to help make for a great read.
This is a lovely time loop story with tons of world building.
Orodan finds himself stuck in a time loop and decides to do the most natural thing, fight really strong enemies at every opportunity. Something about his persistence and his desire to help make for a great read.
June 3, 2025
Disappointing
This starts quite well. Orodan is dedicated, principled, proud enough to always step up, and humble enough to keep learning. The setting is fairly logical, with a kinda consistent power hierarchy. The power System is strange but works pretty well. All good stuff.
The problems are in the overblown descriptions, loose pacing, and plot twists. Lengthy descriptions bloat the page count, adding numerous unimportant details that detract from fights and stand offs. The pacing is insane - one page had a thousand loops, and another loop took four hundred pages - and the extremes should have been heavily edited. The plot twists are largely predictable, no matter how often the text congratulates the author for a clever subversion, and the fawning over the protagonist rapidly became annoying.
My biggest disappointment was the flaccid ending. The first couple arcs left me hopeful that this was a complete book; the interminable school arc swiftly disabused me of that notion.
I hand fun but I cannot recommend this one. I doubt I will read the sequel.
This starts quite well. Orodan is dedicated, principled, proud enough to always step up, and humble enough to keep learning. The setting is fairly logical, with a kinda consistent power hierarchy. The power System is strange but works pretty well. All good stuff.
The problems are in the overblown descriptions, loose pacing, and plot twists. Lengthy descriptions bloat the page count, adding numerous unimportant details that detract from fights and stand offs. The pacing is insane - one page had a thousand loops, and another loop took four hundred pages - and the extremes should have been heavily edited. The plot twists are largely predictable, no matter how often the text congratulates the author for a clever subversion, and the fawning over the protagonist rapidly became annoying.
My biggest disappointment was the flaccid ending. The first couple arcs left me hopeful that this was a complete book; the interminable school arc swiftly disabused me of that notion.
I hand fun but I cannot recommend this one. I doubt I will read the sequel.
June 16, 2025
- this review is based on the web serial edition and I will update it once I know where it cuts off in book 1
As someone who loves time loop stories, I always seek out ones combined with another love of mine, LitRPGs. What we have here is a fantastic take on one with all the fixings you are looking for: a time Looper who utilizes the ability to increase his strength as well as his knowledge, a mix of skipping repetitive loops and satisfyingly displaying knowledge gained over said loops, a crunchy stat and skill-heavy LitRPG that balances OP power fantasy with wonderful progression of power and scale, a collection of story tropes that comfort you and are sometimes done in unique ways, and a cast of characters that grows but will be revisited from to time.
It's immensely bingeable, funny, and action-packed. One of the genre's best.
As someone who loves time loop stories, I always seek out ones combined with another love of mine, LitRPGs. What we have here is a fantastic take on one with all the fixings you are looking for: a time Looper who utilizes the ability to increase his strength as well as his knowledge, a mix of skipping repetitive loops and satisfyingly displaying knowledge gained over said loops, a crunchy stat and skill-heavy LitRPG that balances OP power fantasy with wonderful progression of power and scale, a collection of story tropes that comfort you and are sometimes done in unique ways, and a cast of characters that grows but will be revisited from to time.
It's immensely bingeable, funny, and action-packed. One of the genre's best.
February 21, 2026
A mind-bending, unpredictable roller-coaster of pace and payoffs that just works!
This book is honestly crazy. I’ve never read a time-loop series before, and if this is par for the course, then sign me up! If not, then this book is exceptional in its ability to bring the fun.
The world-building and magic system are fairly boilerplate. The magic system itself is rather simplistic compared to others even if the MC amasses dozens of skills and whatnot by the end of the book. I actually tend to prefer simplistic systems as it prevents series from getting bogged down in stat sheet maintenance, which is a phenomenon I’ve named in this new genre for when a series has such a complicated magic system that the author is forced to dedicate ever-increasing word counts per book in the maintenance of the stat sheet (leveling them up or the equivalent) and using them in fights (dragging them out). This series definitely has the potential to have that issue, but I’m hoping the fact one can combine skills, and the simple way they level, means this series won’t have this problem.
The world building is basic but it works. There’s enough mystery in the otherwise fairly basic setup to keep me interested in this aspect of the story. These are: What’s with the system error message? What’s the cause and purpose of this loop and why MC is the one in it (have my theories on that)? What’s with the gates?
One downside in this aspect of the book is the lack of environmental descriptions. It’s one of those series that just does the basics, or not even that half the time. This isn’t a big deal to me, I don’t mind my imagination filling in the blanks, but I know this bothers some folks, so thought I’d mention it.
The characters are above average, average being one dimensional. Not that bad, but not great. Characters are more or less as they present themselves, which isn’t very realistic and kind of a knock so far, with the exception of one of the god characters. They get a notch above average by being a wide assortment of personalities and likability. The MC is a fun protagonist in the berserker sort of way, but it’s never explained where his stubborn doggedness for fighting and death comes from. This is a common issue in this genre, where a main character’s exceptional character traits are never given context for where they come from.
The combat is kind of all over the place. It can go from relentless hundreds of loops of fighting to being months between them. One knock on the combat is that it’s largely narration, and less a blow for blow account. I think being all one or the other is a bad choice, the best stories seamlessly take us in and out to balance excitement and monotony. This book is almost entirely summarization/narration, and only occasionally blow for blow.
The plot is a roller-coaster. One of the strongest aspects of this story, which is rare for series in this genre. Usually it’s the least important aspect to the final goal of sweet payoffs. But I found myself really enjoying the changes of pace and direction as it mirrored the changes in the MC’s approach to his loops and getting the most from them.
I think the payoffs are quite rewarding and are really the best metric for how I ultimately rate a book. It should make you feel like the read was worth the time and money invested, and should leave you wanting more. This book definitely accomplishes that.
In summary, I think this series has great potential. It has shown with the distinctly different three arcs of this book, that there’s actually a ton of potential for going in more unpredictable directions even within the bounds of a time loop. So even though I think the combat is a little too narrated and the characters kind of bland, I think the rest of this is good enough to warrant a five star from me. Hopefully, future books can live up to it or even improve upon it.
This book is honestly crazy. I’ve never read a time-loop series before, and if this is par for the course, then sign me up! If not, then this book is exceptional in its ability to bring the fun.
The world-building and magic system are fairly boilerplate. The magic system itself is rather simplistic compared to others even if the MC amasses dozens of skills and whatnot by the end of the book. I actually tend to prefer simplistic systems as it prevents series from getting bogged down in stat sheet maintenance, which is a phenomenon I’ve named in this new genre for when a series has such a complicated magic system that the author is forced to dedicate ever-increasing word counts per book in the maintenance of the stat sheet (leveling them up or the equivalent) and using them in fights (dragging them out). This series definitely has the potential to have that issue, but I’m hoping the fact one can combine skills, and the simple way they level, means this series won’t have this problem.
The world building is basic but it works. There’s enough mystery in the otherwise fairly basic setup to keep me interested in this aspect of the story. These are: What’s with the system error message? What’s the cause and purpose of this loop and why MC is the one in it (have my theories on that)? What’s with the gates?
One downside in this aspect of the book is the lack of environmental descriptions. It’s one of those series that just does the basics, or not even that half the time. This isn’t a big deal to me, I don’t mind my imagination filling in the blanks, but I know this bothers some folks, so thought I’d mention it.
The characters are above average, average being one dimensional. Not that bad, but not great. Characters are more or less as they present themselves, which isn’t very realistic and kind of a knock so far, with the exception of one of the god characters. They get a notch above average by being a wide assortment of personalities and likability. The MC is a fun protagonist in the berserker sort of way, but it’s never explained where his stubborn doggedness for fighting and death comes from. This is a common issue in this genre, where a main character’s exceptional character traits are never given context for where they come from.
The combat is kind of all over the place. It can go from relentless hundreds of loops of fighting to being months between them. One knock on the combat is that it’s largely narration, and less a blow for blow account. I think being all one or the other is a bad choice, the best stories seamlessly take us in and out to balance excitement and monotony. This book is almost entirely summarization/narration, and only occasionally blow for blow.
The plot is a roller-coaster. One of the strongest aspects of this story, which is rare for series in this genre. Usually it’s the least important aspect to the final goal of sweet payoffs. But I found myself really enjoying the changes of pace and direction as it mirrored the changes in the MC’s approach to his loops and getting the most from them.
I think the payoffs are quite rewarding and are really the best metric for how I ultimately rate a book. It should make you feel like the read was worth the time and money invested, and should leave you wanting more. This book definitely accomplishes that.
In summary, I think this series has great potential. It has shown with the distinctly different three arcs of this book, that there’s actually a ton of potential for going in more unpredictable directions even within the bounds of a time loop. So even though I think the combat is a little too narrated and the characters kind of bland, I think the rest of this is good enough to warrant a five star from me. Hopefully, future books can live up to it or even improve upon it.
February 2, 2026
If you like overpowered heroes that are never challenged and gain hundreds of levels without any effort, this is the book for you. If you like epic kaiju fights with no stakes because victory is a foregone conclusion and your just there for the splosions and xp, this book is for you. If you love protags whose only personality trait is "me fight strong monster and win, coz me craaaizee", then this book is for you. If you love number-go-up and don't really care how, this book is for you.
for the rest of you, here is my review:
This book doesn't know what it wants to be.
It starts out as a story about a time loop grinder who gains skills because he tenaciously puts himself in extreme situations with the benefit of loop resets. but quickly turns into generic anime protag with zero challenges and zero stakes.
It started out fine, but after a while he becomes powerful enough that he is effectively immortal even without the time loop. so... with such low stakes his leveling must completely flatline, yes? He must rely on grinding for thousands of years to eek out a tiny bit more power, yes? Haha, of course not. actually his leveling speed actually increases! and he's not even looping anymore.
In the second half of the book he's essentially done utilising time loop rests to exploit life or death battles. Instead he spends 2x 6 months leveling dozens of skills to master level by... just doing it... which turns this book from "time loop skill grinder" to "That time I became more powerful than god without even trying".
For example. despite him admitting he "isn't very good at smithing and probably won't ever be any good at it" he gained 30 levels in 1 month having never tried it before... and that's the stuff he sucks at. I mean there is something to be said about leveraging experience form other areas, but... where is the overlap here?
Despite having the power of a divine avatar and no risk of death (he can't die because of his infinite regeneration), giving him no reason to level so fast, he not only power levels everything he so much as dabbles in for half a second, he also gains dozens of legendary and mythic unique skills after days (and sometimes mere minutes) of thinking real hard about the subject (so much for these only coming to those in extreme life or death situations).
By the end of the book, not even the gods can harm him. and not even the big bad is a match for his plot armour. and yes, I read the entire book. it was a painful slog, but I had to know how it would end if only to complete this review.
conclusion:
Uninspired, derivative, lazy, uncreative, and confused. But...I did finish it so...I can't say it's completely boring... in much the same way I can't say a strobe light isn't completely boring.
for the rest of you, here is my review:
This book doesn't know what it wants to be.
It starts out as a story about a time loop grinder who gains skills because he tenaciously puts himself in extreme situations with the benefit of loop resets. but quickly turns into generic anime protag with zero challenges and zero stakes.
It started out fine, but after a while he becomes powerful enough that he is effectively immortal even without the time loop. so... with such low stakes his leveling must completely flatline, yes? He must rely on grinding for thousands of years to eek out a tiny bit more power, yes? Haha, of course not. actually his leveling speed actually increases! and he's not even looping anymore.
In the second half of the book he's essentially done utilising time loop rests to exploit life or death battles. Instead he spends 2x 6 months leveling dozens of skills to master level by... just doing it... which turns this book from "time loop skill grinder" to "That time I became more powerful than god without even trying".
For example. despite him admitting he "isn't very good at smithing and probably won't ever be any good at it" he gained 30 levels in 1 month having never tried it before... and that's the stuff he sucks at. I mean there is something to be said about leveraging experience form other areas, but... where is the overlap here?
Despite having the power of a divine avatar and no risk of death (he can't die because of his infinite regeneration), giving him no reason to level so fast, he not only power levels everything he so much as dabbles in for half a second, he also gains dozens of legendary and mythic unique skills after days (and sometimes mere minutes) of thinking real hard about the subject (so much for these only coming to those in extreme life or death situations).
By the end of the book, not even the gods can harm him. and not even the big bad is a match for his plot armour. and yes, I read the entire book. it was a painful slog, but I had to know how it would end if only to complete this review.
conclusion:
Uninspired, derivative, lazy, uncreative, and confused. But...I did finish it so...I can't say it's completely boring... in much the same way I can't say a strobe light isn't completely boring.
May 17, 2025
Orodan was a humble member of the county militia who has no idea what sort of politics would make the local corrupt nobility suddenly part of a larger battle that ends with Orodan himself getting killed. Only death is NOT the end, and this poor orphaned street-rat turned time-looper is about to tackle his newly-expanded world head on. Even if it kills him. Repeatedly.
If you're familiar with more traditional time loop stories like Mother of Learning, this book will be even funnier. Orodan is proud to resist all the intelligent ways of dealing with his current situation, like making plans to avoid things that kill him. Instead, he's determined to be the BIGGER wall, the harder rock, the more violent combatant. Even if it means dying a few hundred (or more) times against something he absolutely has no chance of winning against.
Because his progress carries over, and who wouldn't want to gain skills at the cost of horribly violent deaths repeated over and over within the span of minutes?
The best part is that this story is half-serious, half tongue-in-cheek. Orodan is ignorant, for sure. And learns some things very slowly. But his method works for him well enough that he keeps plugging away at it. Although I was definitely laughing when he eventually approaches the horror of books as though they're some enemy he has to confront and conquer. He's . . . really not a reader. Very much more into hands-on work.
And his truly mad ways of training are often good for a long laugh (what he does with the gravity orb is fantastic).
The story mixes longer and shorter time-loops as Orodan changes his goals. He may not know precisely why he's here, but there are some big Quests he stumbles on that help provide some structure to his madness. I like how the challenges are all completely insurmountable at first, and yet how they become visibly more possible the more he works to shore up his skills.
The stat sheets are very long, but thankfully don't come up too often. Most of the mechanics are more focused on single skills, and the fights are far more than just who has bigger numbers. For instance, Orodan's propensity to crazy levels of violence is sometimes enough to give him the upper hand against foes who aren't willing to die to take him down. And I really like that he's also tackling a few crafting disciplines to round himself out (even if his skills primarily lie in combat).
Overall, I liked this as a web novel, and I'm glad it's now a book where hopefully more people will see this nutcase in action. Highly Recommended.
If you're familiar with more traditional time loop stories like Mother of Learning, this book will be even funnier. Orodan is proud to resist all the intelligent ways of dealing with his current situation, like making plans to avoid things that kill him. Instead, he's determined to be the BIGGER wall, the harder rock, the more violent combatant. Even if it means dying a few hundred (or more) times against something he absolutely has no chance of winning against.
Because his progress carries over, and who wouldn't want to gain skills at the cost of horribly violent deaths repeated over and over within the span of minutes?
The best part is that this story is half-serious, half tongue-in-cheek. Orodan is ignorant, for sure. And learns some things very slowly. But his method works for him well enough that he keeps plugging away at it. Although I was definitely laughing when he eventually approaches the horror of books as though they're some enemy he has to confront and conquer. He's . . . really not a reader. Very much more into hands-on work.
And his truly mad ways of training are often good for a long laugh (what he does with the gravity orb is fantastic).
The story mixes longer and shorter time-loops as Orodan changes his goals. He may not know precisely why he's here, but there are some big Quests he stumbles on that help provide some structure to his madness. I like how the challenges are all completely insurmountable at first, and yet how they become visibly more possible the more he works to shore up his skills.
The stat sheets are very long, but thankfully don't come up too often. Most of the mechanics are more focused on single skills, and the fights are far more than just who has bigger numbers. For instance, Orodan's propensity to crazy levels of violence is sometimes enough to give him the upper hand against foes who aren't willing to die to take him down. And I really like that he's also tackling a few crafting disciplines to round himself out (even if his skills primarily lie in combat).
Overall, I liked this as a web novel, and I'm glad it's now a book where hopefully more people will see this nutcase in action. Highly Recommended.
September 1, 2025
This book starts out pretty good: Orodan, an ambitious but disciplined young militia soldier for his city, has spent yrs working and training to get where he is in life (which is apparently impressive for an orphan like him). Still, he finds out pretty quickly that it's not enough when he stumbles into a sinister plot and valiantly takes a stand to defend his city. After he dies, he wakes up and finds himself stuck in a time loop. Could this be his chance to save his city?
I found Orodan kind of boring as far as characters go. IMO the way the author utilizes the time loop in this story is lazy. The MC just wakes up and throws himself into the exact same fights over and over again to the exclusion of all else. This means he only ever wins because he eventually gains immunity to every skill used on him. He doesn't really grow as a person (not even in age, i would think), or learn anything or do anything interesting; he just repeats the same actions over and over again. It really doesn't help that the author seems to embrace the idea that his MC is a stupid beserker type (i felt like the MC's stupidity and stubbornness was used way too often as an excuse for the lazy writing).
The pacing and plotting of this story felt very off, though I guess that's not unusual for an web story. Not even halfway through the book, our MC's power already rivals a god's! I quickly began to lose interest in the story.... For whatever reason, the author decides this is the perfect time for an academy arc, but it feels so off! Everyone is in awe of the MC and he basically spends all his time impressing everyone. It's super cringy.
I'm fine with overpowered characters (obviously, i wouldn't be reading litrpg if i didn't like them) but if your MC basically has god level power halfway through the book, what else is there left to write about? Especially, when all the MC has to do to defeat anyone is just fight them over and over again until he gains immunity to their power?
I found Orodan kind of boring as far as characters go. IMO the way the author utilizes the time loop in this story is lazy. The MC just wakes up and throws himself into the exact same fights over and over again to the exclusion of all else. This means he only ever wins because he eventually gains immunity to every skill used on him. He doesn't really grow as a person (not even in age, i would think), or learn anything or do anything interesting; he just repeats the same actions over and over again. It really doesn't help that the author seems to embrace the idea that his MC is a stupid beserker type (i felt like the MC's stupidity and stubbornness was used way too often as an excuse for the lazy writing).
The pacing and plotting of this story felt very off, though I guess that's not unusual for an web story. Not even halfway through the book, our MC's power already rivals a god's! I quickly began to lose interest in the story.... For whatever reason, the author decides this is the perfect time for an academy arc, but it feels so off! Everyone is in awe of the MC and he basically spends all his time impressing everyone. It's super cringy.
I'm fine with overpowered characters (obviously, i wouldn't be reading litrpg if i didn't like them) but if your MC basically has god level power halfway through the book, what else is there left to write about? Especially, when all the MC has to do to defeat anyone is just fight them over and over again until he gains immunity to their power?
July 2, 2025
The main character has zero friends. Zero connections to other humans. He's an asexual weirdo. All he wants to do is fight, in the dumbest ways possible. Since he is invincible, he keeps getting rewarded for fighting like a retard.
Is book supposed to appeal to really stupid, stubborn people, who can relate to this main character?
At some point he starts having casual sex with widow. He still shows himself to be incapable have having any real feelings. So supposedly he is not asexual, but he still acts that way 99% of the time.
I wish that at his 666th death, he would meet the Grim Reaper, and the Reaper would say "well, you've used up all your reincarnations, this was your last and final death. You were the fastest mortal ever to use up 666 lives". Sadly this doesn't happen, and the MC keeps getting rewarded for his stupidity.
Fight descriptions don't make sense. Once the MC got his "reflect every damage" skill, it would be over for everyone else. He reflects ANY type of damage and returns it with 2x damage, and later with 3x damage. This would end all of his fights. No person that he fights can take 3x damage of all of their attacks. That alone should kill everyone. And then add on his own attacks. Yet the book treats it as if he barely got any stronger. As if everyone can just keep fighting him normally. Nobody can fight someone normally, when 3x their own damage is always coming back at them. They would immediately die, or they would stop hitting him hard at all. Then they would try to run, and can't. At that point they would all surrender.
The further you read, the more annoying and egotistical the main character becomes. The stronger he is the more arrogant he acts.
DNF 94%
Is book supposed to appeal to really stupid, stubborn people, who can relate to this main character?
At some point he starts having casual sex with widow. He still shows himself to be incapable have having any real feelings. So supposedly he is not asexual, but he still acts that way 99% of the time.
I wish that at his 666th death, he would meet the Grim Reaper, and the Reaper would say "well, you've used up all your reincarnations, this was your last and final death. You were the fastest mortal ever to use up 666 lives". Sadly this doesn't happen, and the MC keeps getting rewarded for his stupidity.
Fight descriptions don't make sense. Once the MC got his "reflect every damage" skill, it would be over for everyone else. He reflects ANY type of damage and returns it with 2x damage, and later with 3x damage. This would end all of his fights. No person that he fights can take 3x damage of all of their attacks. That alone should kill everyone. And then add on his own attacks. Yet the book treats it as if he barely got any stronger. As if everyone can just keep fighting him normally. Nobody can fight someone normally, when 3x their own damage is always coming back at them. They would immediately die, or they would stop hitting him hard at all. Then they would try to run, and can't. At that point they would all surrender.
The further you read, the more annoying and egotistical the main character becomes. The stronger he is the more arrogant he acts.
DNF 94%
January 7, 2026
The main character is very likeable and grows on you as he is put through hell over and over again due to this books use of a 'time loop' mechanism where everytime the hero dies he reawakes back at the exact same time and place, seemingly doomed to repeat his time again.
At first I thought oh it's ground hog day film plot ripped off and that the repeated fight scene plot would be dull, bit its the authors pure imagination that brings so many variations into each 'loop' that makes it a very fun jaunt.
Yes there is a lot of litrpg tropes like skill grinding, use of ever more impossible magic and gods taking over people which has killed many a litrpg for me. but atleast the author has kindly kept reading out the very long list of skills and their level stats to a few key points (usually at end of sub plots).
But not here, as the gods characters are well written and believable and the magic use is kept appropriate to the sub plots.
But the key difference/uniqueness here is the pure stubbornness of the main hero to take on every hardship in his life as a positive. He is very much the statue of stoicism. Where as others would see them as a negative and give up - a refreshing outlook that I would like some of! Having been through lots of stress myself over last few years, I found it a nice contrast to real life mental health approaches.
I'm very interested to see where the 2nd book takes him.
At first I thought oh it's ground hog day film plot ripped off and that the repeated fight scene plot would be dull, bit its the authors pure imagination that brings so many variations into each 'loop' that makes it a very fun jaunt.
Yes there is a lot of litrpg tropes like skill grinding, use of ever more impossible magic and gods taking over people which has killed many a litrpg for me. but atleast the author has kindly kept reading out the very long list of skills and their level stats to a few key points (usually at end of sub plots).
But not here, as the gods characters are well written and believable and the magic use is kept appropriate to the sub plots.
But the key difference/uniqueness here is the pure stubbornness of the main hero to take on every hardship in his life as a positive. He is very much the statue of stoicism. Where as others would see them as a negative and give up - a refreshing outlook that I would like some of! Having been through lots of stress myself over last few years, I found it a nice contrast to real life mental health approaches.
I'm very interested to see where the 2nd book takes him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2025
Disclaimer:
Due to the nature of Goodreads’ aggregate review system, I only leave 5-star reviews. Please note that a 5-star rating does not mean the book is perfect; it simply means I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others. I will try to specify in my review the type of reader who might enjoy the book.
Negative reviews are not something I typically write.
I primarily listen to audiobooks, so I’m not concerned with punctuation or minor editing errors. However, I may comment on the quality of the narration.
Review
Significantly better than I expected! After listening to the audiobook, which is narrated spectacularly by the great Daniel Wisniewski, I took to royal road and binged the remaining 750,000 words over the course of a week. There is some serious character growth, power creep is dealt with expertly, and the depths of the system and greater universe are explored in a fashion not typical seen in other books in the genre. All of that while introducing twists and turns with the plot that felt fresh. Do not be fooled, the MC may be the embodiment of bull headedness, but there is so much in addition to that. Genre fans will find a high quality contribution to the ever growing catalog of Litrpg/progression fantasy. Give it a try.
Due to the nature of Goodreads’ aggregate review system, I only leave 5-star reviews. Please note that a 5-star rating does not mean the book is perfect; it simply means I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others. I will try to specify in my review the type of reader who might enjoy the book.
Negative reviews are not something I typically write.
I primarily listen to audiobooks, so I’m not concerned with punctuation or minor editing errors. However, I may comment on the quality of the narration.
Review
Significantly better than I expected! After listening to the audiobook, which is narrated spectacularly by the great Daniel Wisniewski, I took to royal road and binged the remaining 750,000 words over the course of a week. There is some serious character growth, power creep is dealt with expertly, and the depths of the system and greater universe are explored in a fashion not typical seen in other books in the genre. All of that while introducing twists and turns with the plot that felt fresh. Do not be fooled, the MC may be the embodiment of bull headedness, but there is so much in addition to that. Genre fans will find a high quality contribution to the ever growing catalog of Litrpg/progression fantasy. Give it a try.
April 14, 2025
In the LitRPG and time loop genre this is a breath of fresh air
For LitRPG lovers, this book makes great use of the system exploring the depths of the how system is even possible and every skill gained is actually used instead of just being just there to take up space growing throughout the story.
For those who just want a good time loop book, here unlike books of the genre he does the thing that most wish they would do, abuse it to stubbornly gain skills and levels through impossible situations to survive.
The Story is about Orodon a stubborn warrior who throughout the loops grow in power but also as a person, as being Stubborn can be also a strength and a weakness. Who grows from being a orphan into powerhouse through the challenges, mentors and friends he makes along the way.
Personally what a love about this book is that Orodon has values and morals that he keeps during the time loops, he does some mistakes be he clearly grows as a person. In addition this is no slow burn kind of book he grows fast but in a believable way, and the characters he meets feel real and fleshed out.
For LitRPG lovers, this book makes great use of the system exploring the depths of the how system is even possible and every skill gained is actually used instead of just being just there to take up space growing throughout the story.
For those who just want a good time loop book, here unlike books of the genre he does the thing that most wish they would do, abuse it to stubbornly gain skills and levels through impossible situations to survive.
The Story is about Orodon a stubborn warrior who throughout the loops grow in power but also as a person, as being Stubborn can be also a strength and a weakness. Who grows from being a orphan into powerhouse through the challenges, mentors and friends he makes along the way.
Personally what a love about this book is that Orodon has values and morals that he keeps during the time loops, he does some mistakes be he clearly grows as a person. In addition this is no slow burn kind of book he grows fast but in a believable way, and the characters he meets feel real and fleshed out.
September 20, 2025
DNF at around 60%.
I get the feeling the author has never truly experienced pain. How else do you write a story where the protagonist’s “willpower” lets him shrug off death and agony like it’s a mild inconvenience?I kept hoping he’d stub his toe on a table—just once—to remind him what real pain feels like, since clearly his protagonist’s resistance is pure fantasy.
Orodan could have been a balanced character: diligent, ethical, and fiercely determined. But instead of exploring all three traits, the author zeroes in on his willpower and turns him into a circus act. Midway through, I had a flicker of hope—a strategic mentor appeared who might bring some nuance. But no, the author doubled down and kept the MC painfully dumb.
As a result, his skills lose all meaning, and the plot becomes a monotonous grind of training… again and again and again. I enjoy a good grind, but this was just mind-numbing.
So who is Orodan? A man who repeats the same actions until they work—thanks to his resistance. He learns nothing, feels nothing, and remains a soulless, mediocre character, no matter how strong. The time-loop mechanic is wasted entirely on this. Disappointing.
I get the feeling the author has never truly experienced pain. How else do you write a story where the protagonist’s “willpower” lets him shrug off death and agony like it’s a mild inconvenience?I kept hoping he’d stub his toe on a table—just once—to remind him what real pain feels like, since clearly his protagonist’s resistance is pure fantasy.
Orodan could have been a balanced character: diligent, ethical, and fiercely determined. But instead of exploring all three traits, the author zeroes in on his willpower and turns him into a circus act. Midway through, I had a flicker of hope—a strategic mentor appeared who might bring some nuance. But no, the author doubled down and kept the MC painfully dumb.
As a result, his skills lose all meaning, and the plot becomes a monotonous grind of training… again and again and again. I enjoy a good grind, but this was just mind-numbing.
So who is Orodan? A man who repeats the same actions until they work—thanks to his resistance. He learns nothing, feels nothing, and remains a soulless, mediocre character, no matter how strong. The time-loop mechanic is wasted entirely on this. Disappointing.
July 19, 2025
Surprised Me
Almost didn't get past the first chapter because this was clearly another perpetual grinding meme. Would have really missed out if I had stopped. It's always so much fun when an author manages to find a way to do something more and add depth and differences to where you can still be entertained. At least before an abundance of clones appear, this deserves to be acknowledged as a starting point.
Appreciated that the storyline managed to keep me from tuning out due to the inherently repetitive content of a "grinding" scenario. The thought of managing an expansive number of do overs and never truly completed quests covering a lengthy timeline does seem either daunting or mind numbing. Can't decide if being able to set a new "resurrection" point or location would be a plus. That's why we get series? Lol.
IMO, the last chapter was truly fun. Made me smile. And that deserved a review.
Almost didn't get past the first chapter because this was clearly another perpetual grinding meme. Would have really missed out if I had stopped. It's always so much fun when an author manages to find a way to do something more and add depth and differences to where you can still be entertained. At least before an abundance of clones appear, this deserves to be acknowledged as a starting point.
Appreciated that the storyline managed to keep me from tuning out due to the inherently repetitive content of a "grinding" scenario. The thought of managing an expansive number of do overs and never truly completed quests covering a lengthy timeline does seem either daunting or mind numbing. Can't decide if being able to set a new "resurrection" point or location would be a plus. That's why we get series? Lol.
IMO, the last chapter was truly fun. Made me smile. And that deserved a review.
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