Read as of 131/131 chaps as of current.
I wrote a very long review... but then I dropped my mouse which had inadvertently closed the review... AGHHRRR
So I will just make it brief.
Should you read it?
-If you are okay with the MC that is more of an extra and a story with large focus on many characters, if you enjoy the living in the novel setting, as well as a slice of life , but looming serious plot then you should give it a go.
It's a novel that you have to give it a go and see if you can handle its issues and bank on a pay off because of how slow it is.
It has good world building particularly in regards to the mechanism and powers. There are also lots of world building elsewhere but also very miniscule in other areas which feels odd.
The writing quality is not bad in terms of grammar and punctuation.
The novel has a lot of issues which drag the story down:
1. Lots of info dumps and irrelevant information which even involves several characters which in the first 30 chaps you will be introduced with about 15+ names and their traits I kid you not.
2. Very large character focus that is executed in a scatter manner, and simultaneously which results in poor characterisation that requires time and with the direction of the story and its events. Very hard to emphasise with.
3. Mc.
Absolutely horrid. Reminds me of korean protagonists near the end game. The mc of this novel isn't mechanical in his growth to power like them, but he is unlikable and I seriously don't know why the author thought it was a good choice to journey the readers into his shoes. He has social anxiety but this point isn't emphasised enough to give a satisfying character development, presentation, or conveying of themes.
I actually don't hate him, but I'm very inclined to dislike him. Thinking of reasons to dislike, I can honestly go on and on.
4. Op for no reason.
Ties into the MC. He worked nothing for it and although there is a mystery which may possibly have answers to why he got to be so op. But from what is shown, there is no intention behind it besides complete convenience for the author. There are many novels with OP / super free cheats for the MC, but they have an actual intention whether it's to faceslap, feel good, show op, steamroll, be a power in the shadows etc. HERE THERE'S NOTHING. He didn't earn for it at all and the powers weren't used to test him or something to make it feel as if he's worthy.
Even worse he shares these powers to others for literally free. No issue with that, but there's 0 struggle and it gives the impression of feeling indignant to readers like myself.
5. Lack of action.
Mc takes until like 70 chaps to actually fight. The fights that do occur which is conducted by the other characters that are in focus do not feel substantial at all. I don't feel a reason to care majority of the time. It honestly feels more like a slice of life. The fights are there because it's required and there's no satisfying driving force.
6. Harem.
I'm a harem lover. I do appreciate the fact that while there are many heroines around the mc, there seems to be surprisingly no heroine that can be said to have fallen for the mc. For the most part, it's good will and romantic feelings have yet to blossom. I like this a lot. This means I can ship without being disappointed at how obvious a pairing may be and expect possibly some juicy romantic drama. HOWEVER, it feels very strange and it bugs me that majority of characters that go into salience throughout the novel are FEMALE. I swear 90% of the males that are in relevance are just antagonists. Wish-fulfilment? Anycase, I really want more male characters to interact.
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Biggest suggestion-
The author should write some auxiliary chapters. One on detailing the concepts of the novels, vital information, even perhaps a timeline of significant events. 2nd. Brief character sheet of major characters at least. Particularly we want ILLUSTRATIONS!! PICTURES PLEASE!
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I usually end my reviews with shipping as I only read romances/harems.
There are a lot of heroines.
Tbh many of the characters are pretty average. Which is unfortunately due to poor execution. Look at Amery, her acting all wary and everything ended up being whatever in the end. It didn't end up being dramatic at all.
From the heroines shown so far, the characters I would like to see as the winning FL would be---
The Princesses, particularly Rumia. They are interesting and their backgrounds can create a lot of conflict of interest. Their personalities can change the mc into a satisfying character development direction. You can even set up a love triangle which can dramatise the story. They are also part of the OG main characters, so the connection of that can put pressure on the MC. There is a lot to explore imo. Honestly, Samantha being possessive is interesting, but I think she's very stale compared to what the princesses can bring to the table.
Azalea- My 3rd choice. She already has a relationship with the mc and I think the fact that because SPOILERS{she sacrificed her own parents} makes her a target of a possible interesting relationship. There is stuff to be worked with. We readers don't know much about her goal and so she's a great choice to be explored.
Amelie is my 4th. I'm always bias to heroines that can be freely with the MC. I think it's cheating that they can do that and that's my issue with Amelie and why she is 4th. That said, I'm not sure what to say besides the fact that I do like her. She kinda seems the obvious choice for the FL. So if the above 3 aren't the ones, then I would hope it would be her, much to my disliking.
So yeah author, I know I critcised a lot, but I hope you can make one of these girls win the heart of the mc!