Read as of chapter 95/111
A very pleasant surprise.
I highly recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys the Academy genre and can tolerate a trash protagonist.
To be honest, one of the best academy novels on this site if we are talking about writing quality. Especially the characters. The character dialogue quality in this novel is quite high. There's a clear difference in level when it comes to this point. They really resemble much closer to how real people talk.
However, not everyone would enjoy this. This is due to the protagonist.
And when I say trash, I do not mean weak. Rather his personality is as the title says, is that of a Young Master. So the actions of the protagonist may seriously trigger some readers. He's narcissistic, acts trash, treats people like tools, very arrogant, manipulative, whiny and all.
Why would you read this then?
Because despite his flaws, he is a very compelling character. He has his reasons of why he became like that, tragic backstory, intelligent, will always aim to win at the end, isn't the most heartless garbage, hilarious young master shenanigans, and at the end of the day he embraces the image of a young master. A character that is obviously the stepping stone for the protagonist.
There is also a nice, simple card (power) system, and the author has demonstrated that he can write some intense fight scenes. Ones that span many chapters if the author wishes to do so.
Other characters aren't much inferior to our protagonist either.
Because of the quality of the work, I'm forced to look at the novel with a bit more critical lens than the usual leniency I give.
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SPOILERS for the Author.
Some things I felt were inadequate.
The whole set up of Noah honestly feels more like a way to justify a self-insertion of a person from reality becoming a game character. While it did do it's job, it feels more on the redundant side. It could've been done much better. Rather you can just remove the idea of something like a past life, and just make him a straight up regressor. But of course, this would mean losing the commercial value of a self-insertion, so it may be fine as it is. Still, it can be executed much better.
Regarding Juliana, I just can't seem to fathom how the original Samael was able to tolerate Juliana. Juliana is depicted to be basically Playing the pig, eating the tiger. Awaiting a day so she can have her revenge. Seemingly able to tolerate much abuse in order to have that perfect moment. That's fine. However, she seems to quip and give a lot of snide remarks to Samael, to quite a large extent.
How did a "cold, calculating, demoness" girl like her not get killed for such actions. After all, the original Samael was someone who did not tolerate anyone looking down on him and would go after them relentlessly. All she's doing is asking for a beating and it feels out of character. Sure it can be seen as a stress-reliever, but that doesn't mean Samael himself would tolerate it. If she is a calculating crouching tiger with such tolerance, then I would feel that she wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize her position,
Don't get me wrong, Juliana is great as a character and enjoyable to read, but this point really bugs me to the point that I even mentioned it as a comment on one of the chapters. That's my only issue with her and her relationship with Samael. They have great banter.
Another issue is being careful with Samael of his portayal. He is still trash, so be mindful not to make him seem appear so good if written in a omniscient perspective. I hope the author understand what I mean by this.
Those are the only 3 issues I remember that I was compelled to speak about. Since I read it months ago and only recently picked it up again.
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Suggestions/Hope to see
Samael and Michael one day becoming actual friends with one another. It would honestly be beautiful. Perhaps even a great genuine relationship.
Regarding romance...
I am shipping best girl Alexia with Samael. That girl is amazing. She has great energy, and honestly I think someone like her would be able to charm and make Samael happy. They are both ridiculous. The combination between the two when they stir up something can be amazingly comedic and crazy. Just imagining it is exciting! It would also be really cool if there is a moment in the story where she regains her sight, maybe its a temporary thing but it could be very special if done correctly. Even perhaps a future goal to make her character even more compelling.
Juliana is also the other best option. Great banter, but personally I would prefer Alexia. Juliana is not much inferior to Alexia, and the complex relationship between Samael and her can make a very compelling love story. However, it would be hard to pull off, especially when it comes to the relationship being believable or not. I would suggest contemplating seriously whether to make her the one who wins.
Since I enjoy drama, I would like a love triangle. Harem is a no though. Difficult to pull off to make it believable, especially with your characters. Alexia aside, I can't see it with Juliana. As for Samael, I think he can be open to either single lead or polygamy depending on the direction. Would be more meaningful if it's single lead, considering his tragic life. Perhaps leaning into the direction of someone who wants a genuine relationship, despite being a person who adorns a mask of trickery.
And because love is war!
Final thoughts: It's a very good academy novel and I highly suggest reading it. It might be my favorite on this site if we are strictly speaking about character dialogue. It is definitely up there with something like Advent of the Three Calamities or Bastard Instructor.
Love the work, please keep it up!
You honestly deserve more readers, so it's a little surprising you don't have more, but I suppose the young master being too flawed may be the turn off. But conversely, this makes him much more human and a compelling read.
