Vainqueur the Dragon

Jolie Dragon - Dragon Empress

Jolie Dragon, first of her name, spent half her reign adventuring, and the other half ruling justly over the V&V Empire. She especially focused on improving the living conditions of minions, even those living beyond her empire’s borders, and never stopped advertising her cattletarian views. While this earned her scorn from other dragons, her subjects adored her; in time, she would become known as ‘Jolie the Just.’

Chocolatine de Gevaudan - Monster Cook

After Victor Dalton’s ascension, Chocolatine split her time between raising her children, spreading the faith of Isengrim, and working as an ambassador between the V&V Empire and human nations; a job she proved surprisingly skilled at. While lauded for helping monsters assimilate into civilized societies, she is mostly known today for her pioneer work in the art of cooking. Although ironically banned in the V&V Empire, her Stuffed Garfield recipe remains a delicacy in many countries.

Akhenapep - Immortal Advisor

Akhenapep remained trapped in Victor Dalton’s scythe, no matter how many times Sablar argued for his release; when Victor ascended, the artifact was returned to Murmurin and became the official regalia of the Grand Vizier. The specter made the best of his situation by providing ruthless advice to the government and helped shape the structures of the V&V Empire. Leaving a legacy made the nihilistic maniac feel strangely nostalgic—and quite proud.

Croissant & Savoureuse - Mooonlanders

Despite receiving a full pardon, Croissant and Savoureuse never returned to the Empire. They instead lived the rest of their life on the golden Moooooon, protecting the fledgling colonies from giant spiders, eldritch horrors, the slavers of Leng, and whoever dared to threaten their people. Croissant, in particular, mellowed out and became a beloved uncle to his nephews and nieces, often taking them on alien-hunting trips.

Lynette - Cunning Innkeeper

Lynette used her government connections and business acumen to accumulate a fortune, becoming one of the wealthiest women in Murmurin. She remained a champion of the merchant class, working to open the Empire to international trade. Her eldest son Armand took the most after his father Victor, and became an infamous troublemaker. He eventually found his way to the distant gangland city of Las Veganos, determined to make a name for himself.

Jules Rapace - Ghoul Vizier

Jules the Ghoul replaced Victor Dalton as Murmurin’s Grand Vizier after his ascension. He proved to be a moderating influence, never favoring any faction and working to maintain peace, both within the nation and beyond its borders. The only exception was the Undeathstrial Revolution, which he encouraged at all costs, earning no less than five assassination attempts by zealous inquisitors. He always blamed these attacks on a vague [Paladin] conspiracy, although never within earshot of the Empress.

Genialissime, Henry & Barnabas - Dragons Incorporated

Genialissime associated with the troll blacksmith Barnabas to expand his burgeoning dragon enterprise, with the aim to supply all adventurers across the world. Eventually, their association turned into a powerful conglomerate heavily associated with the Church of Shesha. Genialissime never stopped obsessing over class optimization, and left the minion work to Henry while he pursued his latest fancy; the dragon’s magical expertise eventually eclipsed even that of the famed Archmage Nostredame.

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Allison - Mother of the Green

Remaining a lifelong ally of Chocolatine, with whom she shared a household, Allison was never interested in imperial politics and instead assumed her rightful place as the high priestess of Cybele in the V&V Empire. She found happiness in developing a hippie-like, eco-friendly community in the empire’s countryside, and successfully moved her cult’s image away from orgy planners… although her private life was poisoned by persistent rumors about a certain goat incident.

Charlene - Vampire Crime Lord

Charlene slowly turned the Nightblades from a gang of assassins into a ‘legitimate business club’, whose reach even extended to the legendary city of Las Veganos in the New World. It is said that at the height of her power, no crime happened on the Mistral continent without her approval, her name inspiring fear in every scoundrel—this earned her the personal patronage of Deathjester himself. Charlene remained loyal to the V&V Empire, supplying it with information and working in the shadows to sabotage its enemies abroad.

Isabelle Maure - Demon Mastermind

After Victor’s ascension, Isabelle Maure remained a major player in both the V&V Empire and Happyland—what her first son had failed to do with force and empty boasts, she did it with diplomacy. Alongside former demon concubines, she formed a league of corporate barons well-entrenched in the V&V Empire. Isabelle always schemed to put her children on the throne of Murmurin and convince her daughter Braniña to abandon her dream of paladinhood; so far, she hasn’t succeeded.

Noirceur - Divine Nightmare

Noirceur the Nightmare served her rider with great loyalty and sarcastic devotion, even after divinity. Although the mare always complained about being overworked, Noirceur also boasted that only a god could properly ride her in battle. She worked tirelessly to level up on her own, and eventually achieved her dream of becoming a [Chaos Rider] horse. What creature she rode in battle, well… is a secret best left buried.

Tarasque Emperor & EXP Dodos - Terrifying Hybrids

The Tarasque Emperor was released from confinement in Daltonia, and besides the occasional rampage, remained there. His presence protected the local EXP dodos from poachers, allowing the birds to rebuild their population. The terrifying Taradodo and Dodobear hybrids, however, escaped Daltonia and spread on the mainland; becoming the bane of adventurers everywhere across Outremonde.

Buzz Jelly - Brave Cosmonaut

Buzz Jelly continued to serve its country with patriotic zeal, and when the Empire decided to renew its space program in the search for new lands and resources, the tiny slime was the first onboard. In total, Buzz Jelly survived seven space missions, five crashes, three interstellar conflicts and founded two new colonies. The tiny slime always insisted that its personal rockets had to be sword-shaped, and its slimy bromance with Private Molesty inspired many novels.

Marbré - Averagist Revolutionary

Marbré the dwarf remained an advisor to Murmurin’s government, although the presence of hungry dragons forced him to take regular leaves of absence. Obeying the directives of his Supreme Leader, the duergar fostered an imperial alliance with his homeland of Agartha and worked to ‘average out’ the surface world. One of his greatest successes was to make Averagist School mandatory in the Empire’s colonies, spreading the revolution's ideals across borders.

Jack O’Lantern & Cait Sith - Friendly Neighborhood Fomors

Cait Sith, king of cats, never settled anywhere and defended the rights of cats across Outremonde, especially in countries where they had become delicacies exploited for their nine lives. Jack O’Lantern remained a lifelong tenant of Chocolatine de Gevaudan, his quirky personality and friendly presence slowly easing up people to the idea of pacifist fomors. Both fairies became known as symbols of the fairies’ changing ways.

Vainqueur Junior - Jelly Defender

After his master’s ascension, Vainqueur Junior became the first [Priest] of Victor Dalton, sharing a message of family, friendship, and love to all slimes. The mimic witch hut expanded its jelly shelters beyond the Empire’s frontiers, eating anyone who tried to stop it; but also working hard to provide abandoned slimes with adoring families. Today, slimes rival cats and dogs in popularity as pets, especially among V&V worshipers.

Rolo - Overleveled Farmer

Rolo left the V&V Empire to continue his grand work of making the desert green again, settling near the Tower of Sablar. Over the following decades, the golem managed to turn this evil monument into a thriving oasis and trading hub between Nagastan and the west. When asked if he intended to reach level 99, Rolo famously replied that everything comes in time—but only one sheep at once.

The Kobold Rangers - Shields of the Empire

Fulfilling their dream of greatness, the Kobold Rangers continued to defend the V&V Empire against those who would threaten it, becoming heroes immortalized in songs. They inspired many kobold teams to follow the path of the Sentai, leading to an era of reptilian adventurers almost as eventful as the rise of their dragon overlords. Pink Ranger, however, never stopped writing, and her anonymous works became reviled as heresies by the cults of V&V—who never managed to fully stamp them out.

Goblina - Goblin Godmother

Ruling the Teikoku Empire, Goblina continued to expand her horde in the east and proved that goblins could be ruthless overlords too. Many heroes rose to oppose her rising empire, and although they failed to defeat her, they managed to slow down her expansion—especially when her protegee Braniña started speaking up against her oppressive dictatorship. As a good godmother, Goblina took it in stride, believing this was a mere teenage phase that the half-demon would grow out of.

Malfy & Miel - Planar Salesmen

After much effort and thanks to the miracle cure to Hamelin’s plague, Miel managed to restore Heaven’s reputation among mortals. She was nominated as General Secretary of Heaven, purging its corruption, and entered a decades-long price war with her Happyland counterpart, Malfaisant. It is said that they grew to respect one another over time, and could exchange pleasantries as easily as assassination attempts.

Grandrake & Gorynych - Princess Saviors

After finding his own sister-wife and fathering many inbred children, Gorynych became a princess activist, fighting to protect royal dynasties from rampant democratization. He found a reluctant ally in Grandrake, who eventually warmed up to the Zmey, even learning to hear him. They founded the largest princess refuge in the new world, creating a safe haven for endangered monarchies—a move universally acclaimed by dragons, and criticized by everyone else.

Kia - Shining Knight

Kia and Empress Jolie remained lifelong friends and adventurer buddies. Together, they had many adventures, settled new lands, hunted the legendary Truck-kun, and defeated the reborn Orknoob when he rose to threaten the world again. Many of the Empress’ most controversial decisions, such as restrictions on public executions, were said to be inspired by her knightly advisor. Kia eventually took Princess Braniña under her wing, training her to become a [Paladin] in the hope that she might curb the empire’s festering evil one day; but she never got over missing the final battle.

Furibon - The Forgotten One

After his legendary final battle with V&V, the evil Furibon completely vanished from historical records. Some said he had been forever sealed inside Victor’s old scythe [Harvest]; others said he had left Outremonde to poison other realms with the curse of lead. Whatever the case, he remained a controversial character, being reviled as Vainqueur’s greatest enemy, yet celebrated as the savior of the Mooooooon. His dungeon, the Tomb of Furibon, remains a legendary adventurer hotspot to this day.

Victor and Vainqueur - Godlike Pair

Victor Dalton rejoined his best friend Vainqueur in Valhalla as the God of [Minions], [Monsters], [Amorality], and [Souls]. The two were almost never seen apart afterward, Vainqueur leading Outremonde’s pantheon atop his world-sized hoard with his loyal minion at his side. The dragon god was never without a new brilliant idea, such as creating a second silver moon when dragons ran out of unexplored places to conquer; and his chief of staff was always happy to make it a reality.

The Dalton children - Spinoff Children

Well…

That part will be for another tale.

Author, Game Designer, and Internet Dragon - Maxime J. Durand, aka Void Herald.

Beta Tester and chief of staff - Daniel Zogbi.

Regular artist and trusted minion - Gharbi Zouhayer.

And personal thanks to all of my patrons on Patreon, for supporting this story all the way to its conclusion!

Surprise! Didn't expect an RPG-styled slide epilogue and credits?

I mean, I always liked that kind of ending in games like Fallout, Dragon Age or Fire Emblem, where slides showed what each individual character were up to after the main ending. I thought it was fitting to end a LitRPG with that kind of epilogue. One final meta-joke.

In any case, Vainqueur the Dragon has now officially concluded. It's been one hell of ride, years long; an attempt to blend a One Punch Man-like satire of LitRPGs with a cohesive storyline about a greedy dragon’s personal growth. I ended up doing things I never anticipated, like hosting a Vainqueur tabletop-style RPG campaign on Discord.

I thank you all for your kind messages last chapter, and I'm glad you enjoyed this story all the way to the end. While I have kept doors open for a spinoff set in Outremonde (as you can see from the Dalton children's mentions and Furibon's open-ended fate), the adventures of V&V are over. If I revisit that universe, it will be with other protagonists, although V&V and their companions will certainly make cameos. They are gods of Outremonde now after all.

Quite a few people encouraged me to make Vainqueur last longer, but... long story short, I believe that something which stretches on too long will eventually lose what made it special in the first place. Vainqueur's leveling system was meant to bring a character from level 1 to 100, and I always intended for the big V to eventually end his journey as a deity. The story I wanted to tell is finished; I would rather have Vainqueur stay forever good than seeing it lose its luster like the Simpson or burning out midway through an arc like I did with Magik Online.

I hope you enjoyed the whole journey and that the ending gave you satisfaction. That was my only wish.

So what next, you may ask?

Well, first I am in early discussions for a webcomic adaptation of Vainqueur, although nothing is signed yet and don't expect anything on that front in 2020. Besides my new story Never Die Twice (which will also end this month), I'm currently working on a new project called The Perfect Run, a sci-fi/superhero timeloop story - I intend to build a backlog on Patreon before releasing it on RR around mid-October, so stay tuned. Finally, I've also been commissioned to write a Greek Myth/piracy LitRPG, but it won't hit the shelves for a while.

Finally, I'm also going to focus on editing the web serial for Kindle and Audible. After much troubles, I've actually finished editing/publishing the second volume on that platform, with the link available in the author's note below. Every review/rating on Amazon is welcome, as it makes Kindle advertise the work to new people.

And, well, as they say, that's all folks! Thanks for everything, and write you soon!

Best regards,

Voidy Void.