⚠️WARNING!⚠️ Spoilers Ahead
Before I get into the review, I’d like to start off by saying, there are tropes in this novel that I am heavily biased toward; some good, some bad. I’ll try to be as objective as possible, but that may not be possible in some cases.
Short Review: It’s a unique take on the “Heros/Humans vs Demons” trope. Now, hearing that, you might want to compare it to Japanese isekai, but don’t. It has a more complex story and is more westernized.
If you enjoy LitRPG progression fantasy novels, where it’s one race against the other, and humanity is on its last leg, you’ll probably enjoy this. It’s far from perfect, but it’s got a bit of everything you could want in a story.
Hardworking, intelligent, OP MC, romance, world building, some character development, and good action scenes.
At least read the free chapters, to see if you like it, but do know that things change a lot at around chapter 100. Could be good, could be bad, depending on your preferences. However, I do recommend giving this novel a shot.
That being said, there are a lot of things that could be improved. If you don’t want spoilers, or don’t want your judgement to be clouded, don’t read the rest of this review. I will be discussing, what I believe to be some of the major ups and downs of the novel.
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Writing Quality(3/5): Honestly, I expected a lot better. This is the author’s third novel, but it’s still littered with grammatical errors. Generally speaking, the writing quality is pretty good. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s top-tier, but it’s a step below. I’m being a bit overly critical, but if there weren’t so many grammatical mistakes, I’d give it a 4/5.
Update Stability(5/5): Pretty standard for this author.
Story Development(3.5/5): This is where I’m heavily negatively biased, but before I say anything, I just want to point out that the story isn’t bad. It’s just, there are a lot of things that either don’t make sense or are just really drawn out.
Let me preface this by saying, I abhor Academy Arcs. I find them boring, uneventful, and are really nothing more than glorified training arcs that stall the plot and take up way too much freaking time. If I’m already on the fence about a novel and I see the author dump his MC in an academy, more than likely I’m going to drop it.
But before we get into that, let me lay out the general underlying plot.
The novel is about a guy named Cedric, who somehow obtains a Godkings eyes. He then uses his newly gained powers to help push humanity out of its slump and fight back against the encroaching demons. At some point, he obtains a [Sage] class and leverages his identity to befriend and call upon humanity’s leaders.
Honestly, a pretty good plot. Not overly complex, but it’s interesting to watch Cedric’s journey through it all.
The main parts I have issues with are(in no particular order):
1. There are more questions than answers and seemingly important information is given at much later times than expected(as if the author just forgot or something).
2. Plot holes.
3. Academy Arc(biased)
4. The repetitive war with the demons.
5. The future cosmic arc(remains to be seen)
Alright, let’s go through them one by one.
First, more questions than answers.
By this, I’m really talking about minor details like the power scaling of the world. How do levels work? How do tiers work? How many tiers are there? What’s the strongest?
The author just glosses over this for the longest time and, to my knowledge, never directly addresses it. We’re just supposed to guess and even then, I’m still not quite sure exactly how everything works or who’s the strongest.
This isn’t just the case for the power system either, but with tons of minor details. It’d take too long to dive into every single one of them, but just know, if you have a question that isn’t about some major plot device, it’ll likely not be addressed or answered at all. You’ll be left guessing with the minimal context clues given.
Second, plot holes.
There’s really only one that I find particularly glaring: why can’t the demons distinguish Cedric as a Sage?
Just for clarification, Cedric has two identities: his every day identity (Cedric) and the one he shows the demons (Derrick). Derrick is his “Sage” identity.
This, in and of itself isn’t a problem. The problem comes when almost every single higher up of humanity can discern his Sage identity at a glance. How? Idk. Reasons, I guess.
But, for some reason, the demons look at Cedric and just think, “He’s a talented school boy. Nothing to worry about.”
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How?
Mind you, humanity is losing big time in this war against the demons. Their overall power ceiling is at least a step below the demons.
I understand that some humans can find out Cedric’s identity through the Acala… Even though I find that a little farfetched, considering the MCs system authority, I’ll give it to you. But a lot of these old dudes just glance at the MC and go ‘Young Sage!’
You have to understand that the demons have probably killed around a dozen other sages. You’d think, at least Demon Lord level beings, could discern his identity rather easily. Remember, the demons are supposed to be cunning and actively searching for him…
Another plot hole is… how do people above Tier 9 get stronger? Maybe I missed something. Is it simply through Demon Lord souls?
This leads into a much larger issue of energy, but I’ll leave that alone for now.
Side note, it also feels like all the so-called “strong people” of the human race aren’t all they claim to be, at least compared to demons.
Third, Academy Arc. Yes, this novel has an academy arc.
Although it’s better than a lot of others, I would just really like to believe there’s a better way of doing things. Like I said before, it’s a glorified training arc that goes on for way too long.
There’s also really only one class that has sort of made a difference in the MC’s power, and that’s the Swordsmanship class(can’t remember the exact name). The others, as per the teacher’s words, can be learned in the library.
The rest of his gains aren’t even obtained directly from the academy, but due to his identity as a Sage and the connections that come with it. Other than maybe swordsmanship and some basic knowledge, everything else he gained was from his own hard work and eyes, hardly due to the academy at all.
BUT! We do get to see a bunch of old men look at the MC and go “Interesting… A Sage…”
Up until the most recent non-priv chapter, he’s still a sort of the academy, merely a sophomore (150+ chapters).
Honestly, the plot before he entered the academy was, in my opinion 10x more interesting than afterwards. I’d rather read about the MC struggle to obtain information, skills, and connections by himself than be burdened by an academy and the accompanying old people. At least, when he’s alone, the plot progresses and things are a lot more unique and intersting.
Again, this is my personal bias, but at this point, I can’t get behind any academy arc unless the entire novel literally revolves around it. To me, it just seems like there are so many better ways to move the story along than that.
Fourth, repetition. The endless hordes are fun, but after the first few times, we know the MC is going to dominate them. This goes back to the academy arc, but for most of the time, it really feels like the war with the demons is on hold when he’s at the academy. Before that, we had cultists, demons, black sky, nodes, and all this other stuff, but in the academy, he just goes on a few missions outside and trains in the academy. It lacks the urgency that the beginning had.
Fifth, the cosmic arc. This hasn’t happened yet, but the author is hinting at some galactic council of OP races. To them, his planet and their plight is nothing. The MC has the bare minimum of talent to be called a “genius” by them. (Which to me doesn’t make much sense, considering he literally has the eyes of a GODKING, but whatever.)
I normally wouldn’t have a problem with this, but it feels too soon. I mean, the battles with the demons hasn’t even reached its climax and here we are jumping into a larger world, where the demons seem inconsequential. To me, it really kills all the momentum you’ve built up until this point.
Now, it feels like, instead of an epic final battle, it’s more of like a side quest. 300 chapters of buildup, only to be turned into a side quest… it’s a little disappointing.
Okay, I dogged on the novel’s plot quite a lot, but now, let me share some of the things I like:
1. Pacing. Its fast enough that things don’t get too boring.
2. Lots of learning, studying, and experimenting. The MC is always progressing. It’s fun to read and the MC is always making new advancements.
3. I love those first few arcs. Him discovering his powers, their limits, and working behind the scenes to eliminate enemies is just so fun to read. Those first hundred chapters are really a delight to read.
4. We don’t get sidetracked by women or skirt chasing. There is romance, but it’s not the main focus. Once the author decides on an arc, he sticks to it, which I can appreciate. (Though, I will say that the romance is pretty below-average. Almost like the parts we do get are rushed.)
5. Even though I hate academy arcs, this one is really not that bad. The MC went there to study, train, and hide out under the protection of the big shots, and that’s pretty much what he does. Sure, the plot stagnates a bit, but we do get what was promised. He does go on a few missions too, so we do get a break from the mootony. The MC isn’t constantly harassed or distracted by randoms, and focuses solely on his goals. So, for that, I can’t hate on it too much as the MC still progresses at a steady rate.
6. I like how the author has portrayed the fight between the world+humans vs demons. This author always comes up with unique takes on cliche tropes, and he’s done it again here.
Haaahh… finally done with that. Haha.
Character Design(4/5)
I love Cedric’s character. He feels very relatable and human. At heart, he’s just a normal guy forced into extraordinary circumstances and is doing his best to shoulder the heavy burden placed on his shoulders.
On their own, the two FLs are great as well. They all feel human.
Where I deduct a point is literally everyone else. It’s as if, everyone who isn’t a kid is just a copy paste. This especially goes for the old people.
It’s as if they’re all bored out of their minds.
“Intersting…” is their catch phrase and it feels as if they’re doing nothing other than sitting around. If you’re an optimist, you could say they’re all “eccentric”, but if you’re like me, you’d just call them bots. Their personalities are quite shallow, and even if we get their backstory, it doesn’t really change anything. They’re just boring, interchangeable characters that are bored.
I know I was a little harsh their with my criticism, but it really does seem as if they just sort of… exist. Humanity is going extinct, and they’re sitting around twiddling their thumbs, waiting for some talented young person to come along. Idk. Not really a fan of them, but I’m also biased against these “old masters” in these types of novels. Their characters are generally all the same, even across different novels.
World Background(4/5):
Alright, I’m kind of sick of writing this review, so I’ll try and keep this one short.
Other than the MC, the world, its background, and the world building are the best parts of the novel. It’s what’s kept me around, paying for each chapter. Although the power system is a bit basic and not fully fleshed out, everything else is good. This author always does a good job in this aspect, and this novel isn’t any different. He really does seem to go all out with creating and shaping the world. It’s fascinating to read.
Final Notes: Where are the lemons, author?! Also, since you brought up cosmic stuff, I hope that the Godking’s eyes aren’t just seeing and learning(which almost seem a bit nerfed since he obtained them).
Final Rating: (~3.8/5). I’m enjoying the novel so far, despite my pretty harsh critiques.
