Trailer
A LitRPG survival romance about an underestimated rules nerd, the undefeated straight champion he got benched, and a System that chained their hearts together.
StoriesByTroy
Genre: LitRPG · Adult M/M Romance · Survival Thriller · Enemies to Lovers · Forced Proximity · Slow Burn
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AGE RATING & CONTENT DISCLAIMER
This story is rated 18+ (Mature). It contains explicit sexual content between consenting adult men, strong language, violence, and character death.
By reading beyond this page, you confirm that:
• You are 18 years of age or older.
• You are comfortable with explicit male/male sexual content.
• All characters in this story are adults (mid-to-late twenties and older), and every sexual act depicted is between consenting adults.
Themes include: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, one bed, a “straight” rival, secrets, survival games, and a slow burn that does not stay slow.
If any of this isn’t for you, please don’t read further.
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THE TRAILER
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The black card showed up in my hand while I was holding a burrito.
Three hundred of us woke up in the Atrium. Under the Spire. Inside the Ascension Trials.
Injuries are real. Hunger is real. Death is permanent.
The System gave the Berserker a Rank B.
It gave me a clipboard.
[CLASS ASSIGNED: AUDITOR]
[Rarity: Common]
[Rank: F]
And then he walked in.
Roman Cross. Ladder Seed #1. Forty-one and zero. Six-foot-three of disciplined, scowling, very straight muscle.
The only man I’ve ever beaten.
He’d tell you I tattled.
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[SYSTEM ALERT]
[UNIQUE PARTY CONDITION DETECTED]
[BOUND RIVALS]
[Party Members: Nico Hayes / Roman Cross]
[Death Condition: If either party member dies, the surviving member will die.]
[Bond Removal: Locked.]
Every time he gets hurt, I feel it.
Every time he levels up, I gain something I never asked for.
And if either of us dies, the other follows.
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“Relax, Fine Print. I’m straight.”
“Congratulations. Do you want a badge?”
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[RESPITE: BONDED SUITE ASSIGNED]
[Occupants: 2]
[Beds: 1]
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“You’re the guy who couldn’t make the team, so he became the referee.”
“And you’re the guy who’s never lost a fight in his life, except to a man with a strength stat of six. Scoreboard, Cross. One–zero.”
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“Stop moving, Hayes. Unless you want to find out how straight I’m not right now.”
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“Tell me to stop.”
“Don’t you dare.”
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[YOUR SECRET OBJECTIVE:]
[Ensure that Roman Cross fails his objective.]
[ROMAN CROSS — SECRET OBJECTIVE:]
[Deliver Nico Hayes to the Red Hand, alive.]
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He knew my name before the System said it.
He had a quest to make me feel something.
And the System was counting every time I did.
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The one man I can’t trust
is the only man I can’t afford to lose.
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MEET THE CAST
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NICO HAYES
26 · The Auditor
Openly gay, terminally sarcastic, and the most underestimated man in the Trials. Two years ago he was a Ladder rules adjudicator who saw a hidden line of text nobody else could see, got the number-one seed disqualified, and got fired for it. Now the System has handed him a Rank F class with a strength stat of six. He talks when he’s scared. He’s always scared. And he reads everything.
ROMAN CROSS
28 · The Undefeated
Ladder Seed #1. Forty-one wins, zero losses. Disciplined, ruthless, built like a cathedral, and absolutely convinced emotions are a liability. He’s straight. He’ll tell you so. He thinks Nico cost him something he’ll never get back. He’s carrying a folded letter in his jacket he won’t let anyone read, and he knows more about the System than he’s admitting.
PRIYA RAMAN
25 · The Field Surgeon
Lost her whole team in the first hour and decided to adopt the most dysfunctional pair in the Trials instead. Warm, blunt, and annoyingly observant. Has called it from the start: “You two are either going to kill each other or fuck. Possibly both. Possibly today.”
JULES MARCHETTI
27 · The Sniper
Iron Lattice’s sharpshooter. Perception nineteen. Curly hair, a crooked nose, and a crooked grin. He calls Nico “gorgeous,” flirts like it’s a sport, and has noticed exactly how hard Roman’s jaw clenches every time he does it.
TALIA OKAFOR
30 · The Commander
Leader of the Iron Lattice, the strongest team in the Trials. She weighs everything, trusts nothing, and wants the one thing nobody else has noticed is valuable: the Auditor.
BOONE GARRITY
33 · The Butcher
Ladder Seed #2. Always the bridesmaid. He hates Roman, he’s figured out exactly how to hurt him, and he’s spent the whole Trials trying to find out which one of the Bound pair dies easier.
THE HOST
Age unknown · The Voice of the System
Silver suit. Silver smile. Airline voice. He keeps reminding everyone that the Trials are a fair contest. He says it a lot.
G.
Identity unknown
Engraved on the back of Roman’s watch: G — come home.
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One System. One bond. One bed.
And a rival he was never supposed to want.
BOUND TO MY RIVAL
