Varen Drakov
Varen Drakov.
The quintessential male lead trope that somehow managed to stand out in a genre overrun with cliché archetypes. As I remembered his earlier fight playing out in the arena, I found myself reflecting on the kind of character he represented. Unlike many of the others in this world, Varen was a character I couldn't help but respect—or, dare I say, even like.
In most female-oriented novels, you could practically predict the male leads by their personality templates. The cold, domineering CEO type who somehow melted into a doting puppy in front of the main character. The obsessed magician who buried himself in arcane studies and was willing to burn the world down for the heroine. The arrogant crown prince, treating everything as his possession until the MC inevitably humbled him. And, of course, the beastkin thug—wild, unpredictable, and strangely romantic when it came to the female lead.