This story primarily follows Narcissus, a figure in Greek mythology who put the word ‘narcissistic’ into the dictionary.
However, this story’s version of Narcissus is a little bit different. In this iteration, our MC, Narcissus, is a female with an intoxicatingly alluring charm, and hands so dexterous, she can build a wooden cabin in less than an hour.
There are just so many implications with MC’s hands being dexterous, so take it as you will.
The story most definitely takes the format of Progression Fantasy more than Mystery Thriller despite its category, so you can definitely take this story as a Fantasy story with a strong Horror flare instead of pure horror/thriller.
Makes me wonder why it is in this category to begin with.
We follow Narcissus as she became an NPC in Fallen Carcosa Online, a Survival Colony-Management Horror VRMMO that is not released yet in real life, so our protagonist got some time to comfily settle in before the world is filled players in this horrific world.
Because the ‘Horror’ aspect of the game involves you surviving a literal SÇP-like encounter every single night, in a day that consists of 24 hours of daytime and 24 hours of nighttime.
The SÇP-like encounter that appears on the night is known as Calamity Object, they come in many flavors, with some ranges from being an active threat, passively a threat, a literal eldritch horror, uh-oh, to a surprisingly helpful little fellow if interacted with the right method.
You can have a sentient clay that can transform into a tool that solves your problem, a memory parasîte from Rîck and Mórty but actually helpful, to a colossal withering eldritch deity that will bend reality if you interact with it at the slightest.
There are also things called Qliphoth Objects but I won’t spoil much.
Also, remember when I said that Narcissus can build a wooden cabin in less than an hour? In her preparation for her first ever Ordeal, a.k.a the nighttime, she literally deforested her entire area and built a fortress with layers of walls, defenses, trenches, and ballistas at strategic position.
In less than 12 hours.
The MC is that paranoid and cautious. But personality wise, she is an overachiever. She will shrug off wounds and torn muscles in order to survive, and she always ensures to give more than 100% to achieve her goal.
She also has a great level of psychopathy, but not to a cliche level where she outright feels no empathy and emotion like a cold and emotionless robot. Hilariously, MC can be quite a gremlin and humorous, which is a great contrast to the horror that lurks in this world.
She is also in love with herself.
This is currently my most favorite book on the web because of how unique it is, so there might be some bias in this review of mine.
Overall, 9/10
