Just gonna say it first, underrated. VERY underrated.
Now let's do some (mostly impartial) pros and cons:
PROS:
- It's FREE. I mean come on. At least at the time of this review, all chaps until now (ch 231) are free to read on webnovel. Major plus.
- The characters and their interactions actually feel realistic. You can imagine most of the scenes naturally taking place.
- No harem. No 1️⃣8️⃣+ stuff. There hasn't even been romance yet, which I'd say seems like a good choice considering the MC and others' current natures.
- Though it isn't showcased in the early chaps, MC is very intelligent when it comes to schemes, money and serious fights. He isn't weak, but there are many opponents stronger, so he makes up for it with versatility, wits and being over-geared.
- MC is more sociable than many MCs I've read so far. However, his 'friend circle' could've been better. That's all I'll say.
- Oh, and he has a sentient system (which isn't stupidly OP, or OP at all for that matter) whose existence he prefers to ignore most of the time (because of its high-cost functions). It's slightly annoying, but don't worry, u rarely remember it's there
- Not a major spoiler, but the MC's hobby is cooking, and no one can deny his skills in this department. The descriptions get my mouth watering often (but can occasionally get annoying when I want progression).
- Arcs where MC hides his identity are ones that I really like as that's where he really shines. (Rare yet enjoyable moments of non-cringe coolness and domination)
- Barely any noticeable info dumps.
CONS:
- Personally, the cast introduced until now has mostly annoying personalities (probably deliberate, but still). Some of the most recently introduced characters just seem like annoying extras whose conversations or fights I had barely any interest in. On that note...
- A couple of arcs have exasperatingly fewer MC scenes relative to the side or mob characters. (Like "THIS MOB FIGHT SEEMS SO POINTLESSLY LONG! JUST GIVE ME MORE KAEL SCENES!!" level of exasperation)
- The pace and progression are noticeably slow in the earlier chaps but get better in the later ones.
- Sometimes, the MC suffers because of ridiculously petty company. Tho, this should be solved with a bit of character-dev.
- Unfortunately, Kael ain't the best looker in his transmigrated body (find out for yourself how bad it is) and... LOTS of characters let him know that. My beef is with the second fact. I think he might be improving though. I'll be satisfied as long as the ugly-hate is reduced tho.
IMPROVEMENTS:
- I guess the characters' appearances could be mentioned or implied a bit more often (I don't have clear images of them in my head). Not on a crazy level (like hair and eye colour mentioned every other chap) tho.
- The descriptions are well done when used at the right place and time. But sometimes it goes overboard and too repetitive. Try decreasing the assistance of the AI maybe, author?
- Lastly, I guess the world and creature building as well as power scaling could be elaborated more.
That's about all I can think of right now. Hope it'll help any readers as well as the author. You're welcome 🙃.