Escape Artist [A Final Boss Retirement LitRPG]

After spending fifty lives as the prophesied Lord of Dusk, Corbin is officially done trying to stop the Hero of Legend. He's tried everything he could think of. Fighting. Surrendering. Killing the Hero early, late, and just about every point in between. Somehow it almost always ended with Prince Frederick standing over his corpse and Corbin's unique Escape Artist trait resetting him back to the day it all began. So this time, he's trying something different. He’d do without all of his usual things. From the armies and forbidden relics, all the way to that stubborn, annoyingly inevitable prophecy. This time he’d make do with just an Alchemist class, a hundred acres at the edge of nowhere, and a dream of brewing ale that doesn't taste terrible. Unfortunately, farming requires workers. Workers need roads. Roads bring merchants. Merchants bring settlers. And the failing hamlet Corbin chose specifically because nobody cared about it is suddenly becoming a thriving little town. The real cherry on top that made it worse? Corbin is starting to care a bit too... And somewhere out there, the Hero of Legend is still looking for the last member of his prophesized party, not knowing that the missing companion and the Lord of Dusk were one and the same. Escaping destiny was supposed to be less of a headache than this. New Chapters Uploaded Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! What To Expect: -Chapters between 1500 and 3000 words, with the general average being around 2200ish (there's some that need some more leg room while others benefit from brevity!) -A regression/loop premise on the MC’s 51st attempt—but this story follows his attempt to break the pattern, rather than repeatedly replaying the same timeline. -LitRPG mechanics with classes, levels, skills, system windows, property management, contracts, and businesses, without heavy stat-sheet crunch. -An extremely experienced, but exceptionally traumatized morally gray protagonist who is deliberately trying not to become powerful again. -Slow-burn settlement development, farming, alchemy, brewing, construction, trade, and the increasingly complicated consequences of trying to live a “simple” life. -Character-driven slice-of-life and dry humor punctuated by monsters, violence, old trauma, and a prophecy that refuses to stay ignored. -A very slow-burn romantic subplot. The chemistry exists, but it's not the major plot driver and there's absolutely no harem! -A protagonist who's already been the final boss—and would really, really rather not do it again. Read 10 Chapters Ahead on Patreon!  Come on over to my Discord to talk about the story, see advanced news, and just talk nonsense!  https://discord.gg/4sSUCQewa3 If you are reading this anywhere other than Royal Road or my Patreon, it has been stolen and reposted!