The writer is not bad, but the translator is awful. At first I thought the writer made some strange leaps of logic, and he does, for example this conclusion; MC used to be bodybuilder, hence, MC often went hiking with friends, and because of that, he's a master hunter.

But the translator is worse. He obviously uses machine translation, and maybe a spellcheck after, but doesn't even bother to read it after!

common mistakes are; using royalty instead of nobility, using rifle or gun instead of spear, using wife instead of female... more>> mount, lion-eagle or "lion, eagle and beast" (yes, suddenly one beast becomes three) instead of griffon, leaving sentences that make no sense, and more.

other than that, it's actually not a bad story, a bit simple, and the beginning is basic, but not too bad. Sadly the translator doesn't bother to put in the work, ruining it for me. <<less

I read the whole thing on Google Translate and let me tell you I've only done it for one other series since read web novels (been 10 years). This was fun and exciting and most of the time he didn't skip level but had his contracts do his bidding which is kinda funny. Point is, give it a chance because it's a very fun read.

Good idea but horrible execution.

I loved the idea how MC is able to combine items to upgrade them.

And thats it. That's the only thing I liked about the novel. Dunno if I would call this even a novel, it felt more like a bad fanfic from sites like royalroad. The whole ambience just felt like it.

Then there is the world and characters that just feel superficial, empty. The people in the novel feel like cardboard cutouts instead of living beings. They are created certain way and are there... more>> just to fill the plot, rather than having their own lives. MC included.

Tho there was one thing I really enjoyed when reading the novel. That was - the comments under every chapter. Found it really fun seeing people point out the naivety of the author, plotholes, bs logic, clichés ect. <<less

It's a read that is well worth your time, but don't expect a masterpiece.

~※※~

It's not perfect, it has some plot holes, some inconsistencies, and some repetitive aspects, but it's quite the ride.

... more>> It's definitely far from being counted as one of the best out there in this specific genre, but it definitely holds enough qualities to be considered a good read.

There are some frustrating aspects in the stories, like how most villains are always "petty" people.. Mostly wizards, and the trouble they cause always originates from him showing his wealth or his quick ascend in power.

That said, though, it's still a step-up from the "arrogant young masters" in the novels of same genre, so it wasn't too frustrating.

The first thousand chapters were very entertaining despite all its weaknesses, I've never thought of having to stop reading through the thousandth.

Though the quality definitely dropped past the thousandth chapter mark, and continued dropping in quality by the 1200 mark. Some of the novel's strengths at the earlier chapter suddenly stopped.

Maybe it's lost of passion, or lack of ideas on the author's part, though the word count for each chapters remained consistent, kudos to him for his efforts.

I still feel really bad about how his contract beasts/spirits suddenly got side-lined, never making an appearance in the later chapters, and even if they do, they are just mentioned in passing.

Though the "romance" exists, it definitely never became a focal point of the story, more like it just exists for the sake of existing. Its development wasn't that great, but not too bad either.

The ending was rushed, it's like the author just wanted to wrap everything up already, but it's not that bad, though it would have definitely been better if the ending was staged properly. <<less

Good, not perfect.

---

Good in the sense that almost everything that gets set up pays off before the end. Not everything gets revisited, but few things are introduced but forgotten about (I'm looking at you, many other novels)

Good also in the sense that many villains' motivation is understandable from their perspective. It's just that from their perspective the logical thing is to rob the MC. Or put him in his place. Or eliminate the MC before he can grow to become a threat. There are logical reasons why people... more>> behave the way they do, from the orc invasion near the beginning (they're starving, though there is more to it you discover later) through the end. It's never "Because they're EVIL!"

Good also that even though the MC hides their strength, they're not always the strongest around. In fact, often they aren't, and have to keep hiding their strength to not get easily eliminated by much more powerful foes. The hero doesn't always win. Sometimes he has to run away and hide while working toward getting stronger.

Not perfect in the sense that, well, it's not perfect. It's slow at first, rushed towards the end. Some interesting characters you just stop seeing at points as the MC grows beyond their circle.

It reminded me a little of Hail the King though only because both are transported-to-another-world cultivation novels that heavily feature "Diablo II" cheats. But actually it's far closer in tone and execution to Warlock of the Magus World. If you liked that, you'll probably like this.

... If you can get past the not-great slow beginning, which I think has made all the difference in the ratings. <<less

i'll be honest, this is a story to fill time. An action-driven plot that becomes slice-of-life due to a power progression ramping too fast.

the MC allies and friends are there to idolize him, with no "benefit" for him other than looking at him sponge-feeding them with resources to powerlevel, and failing to be of any other use than wallpapers or cardboard for him to interact with.

the enemies are either too dumb to understand how to plot, or too arrogant to do so. All of them get destroyed becasue, as it... more>> happens, the MC found just the thing that counters them, and on their body is the thing to counter more enemies in the future.

now, the MC. I'm generally not against a weak-turn-strong person, if done well, but in this case he gets very powerful for no reason at all, other than plot reasons (a very "Gary Stu" MC).

in turn, the MC is so dumb that a brain-dead monkey would be able to avoid the problems that make him stumble (he's too powerful to outright fail). MC thought process: "this enemy got greedy because I revealed x? Me smart, me hide this x thingy." Then he proceeds to reveal an even bigger or more valuable thing, generating more greed in enemies more powerful than the previous ones. Defeat them-powerlevel-find more precious thing- rinse and repeat.

he hides his power and/or identity to avoid trouble, then creates even more troubles in his new identity, so big that if he ever reassumes his original face his importance to his enemies would plummet to the ground.

TLDR: 2, 5 star (rounded to 3 due to novelupdates system). Good for filling times between your main reads, not so good as a main read <<less

This novel has a good cheat and a good background setting for the MC. Unfortunately, the poor translation and poor editing screwed up the entire novel. Our MC has the Horadric cube with him through his transmigration and he uses it to get stronger quickly by making potions and finding extra functions to it. His journey to getting stronger is slightly interesting, but the author pulled out stuff from thin air to explain how the MC has so much knowledge from his past life. He just happens to be a... more>> body builder, just happens to know Tai Chi Fist, just happens to know how to forge weapons from reading in his past life etc. Furthermore, the author makes the MC a master of whatever trade he touches so it basically turns into a wish fulfillment novel.

All this I can stomach because I'm used to this from reading so many Chinese novels. But what I can't handle is the bad grammar that kicks me out from immersing myself into the novel. Here's a brief example of what you'll be getting: "Ken, come seat inside. It's outside was way too hot."

There's also times when you get guys with girl's names and girls with guy's name. If that isn't an example of shoddy translations, I dunno what else will suffice. A positive for this novel is that the releases are fast and the novel hasn't been dropped out of the blue. Come to think of it, that's a kind of sad positive. <<less

"Having read a few scientific catalogs himself, it wasn’t hard for Abel to understand the theory behind such forging methods. By repeatedly hammering the base, it essentially eliminated the amount of carbon inside. This meant that the more it was treated, the purer the resulting metal would be."

The author has no idea what he is writing about. That statement above is a good example, how can you not know that steel is better then iron, because it contains carbon. Same story with knight's characteristics wildly inaccurate.

The novel is very generic but the premise is actually great. The start of the novel is also interesting, but it goes downhill very quickly. World building and the logic of things, like the action of the MC is mostly shit. Translation also makes reading this novel harder, for example a royalty and a noble is two completely different title. But the translator said a knight (which is a lower noble) is called a royalty. This makes immersing to the story even harder. And the most annoying thing till now... more>> is how the MC doesn't have any challenges at all, and every action he takes is prodigious. At the age of 13 he can already stand as one of the best blacksmiths in the whole continent. And this is after a few months of training. In conclusion I would say it is a good story if you could ignore shitty translation and plot.

[also I want to give it 1star but I don't know how to edit it so..] <<less

Very bad novel. Usually these kinds of novels hook you in the first hundred chapters and then get worse. Instead I had to Force myself to keep reading from the beginning. MC is an as*hole and will humiliate even his closest family by constantly acting as if his super op powers arent a big Deal. There are so many inconsistencies right from the start. MC was a Bodybuilder in his previous life which the author wont forget to remind you of every single chapter and he is somehow able to... more>> build a sewage system, a compound bow and a super luxurious horse carriage simply because he saw them exist on earth. He also somehow becomes better than the top blacksmiths in the whole World in one month by using his non existent Black smithing knowledge from earth.

As for the diablo 2 cube gimmik I havent played it but I am pretty sure you arent supposed to throw in 3x the same item of any kind and improve it no matter what you put in. <<less

I just finished this novel... wow, it is so weird to finish something you have followed for so long... It was a wonderful journey. Thank you Author, Translator, Editor.

So far, pretty good. While the MC is totally a cheat character he still has hardships and nothing is handed to him on a plate. MC has to work for everything, and there is no system that instantly makes him a god or some shit. He is very talented and can also get the resources needed to nurture his talent. He almost dies multiple times and he knows when his confidence is turning into arrogance.
Cons:

translation is not good, just a little bit better than edited mtl

multiple plot holes, and some times author just says things that are complete bs,

Less of a fanfic of Diablo 2 and more of a novel loosely based on it, author sometimes has no idea what they're talking about when it comes to Diablo 2 lore (you do not need to play Diablo 2/ read the lore in order to read this though)

Sometimes MC just has things (items, techniques, etc) with no real reason

but even after all of these cons Abe the Wizard is still a pretty solid novel, 3.5/5 overall

Edit: after reading another 200 or so chapters, I dropped the novel. With the problems mentioned above happening more and more often, world building being non existent, and multiple other reasons I dropped it. It gets incredibly boring after chapter 600. Rating dropped to a 2.5

Warning after 600 chapter, the story goes down hill. It sound like author run of idea and even after 700 there no real progress make and it make you question the morality of the story

suggestion: god of fishing

during the few the chapter the story went down hill but it don't last long and it come back to the story I suggest you read god of fishing if you giving up this novel like me

edit: actually at the start of these novel (Abe wizard and God of fishing) were great... more>> but their quality went down hill and return to quality at some point but I can't read through 20 chapter just to get satisfied by 1 chapter in 20 chapter. I never finish the two novel so I can't never made a good review but I did finish The wizard world which I can give full 5 star review, even thought I never feel that it satisfying ending it still was better than most novel I read. I feel salty because I believe that they can be more but it never made me question the story nor the character in the story so I will say 5 star because of how it trigger my emotion. <<less

Anyone know if the ending on this novel changed? I believe I read this before but the ending went differently.

... more>>

Spoiler

Moon goddess betrayal, higher Gods enter the world and explore Abel's past to judge his actions. His secrets are exposed, artifacts are taken away from him, and professions stripped forcing him to go the God path in the Dark World after relearning all the professions. His summons dying or being forced to release contract. His dragon summon became a holy dragon. The dwarf Barney was killed out of anger. Outer demons invade and go after his family. The countess is killed for not handing over resources. Inhabitants migrate to the dark world.

[collapse]

<<less

As a diablo 2 fan, I had some hopes for this novel.

My expectation for web novels is normally never very high and I usually allow them to get away with a lot of things as long as parts of it are interesting enough, but maybe I had too many expectations for this because of my fandomship of diablo.

The idea of having access to the world of sanctuary is interesting, unfortunately the author doesn't know his diablo lore.

For example, in diablo 2, the countess bathed in the blood of 100 virg*ns... more>> (before her corruption) in order to rejuvenate herself. She was an evil character long before the forces of evil entered sanctuary. So him saving the countess and her ending up becoming a companion doesn't make sense.

Another lost oppertunity is that other than the countess, everything else is but a husk of their former selves. The bosses (Andariel, etc) are underwhelming because of it.

In the novel, the forces of heaven abandoned sanctuary and the forces of evil also 'left' leaving behind this weird form of santuary.

The main antagonist later on in the novel, which I won't spoil, has many issues surrounding it considering the lore and also makes no sense.

There are many missed oppertunities and too many inconsistencies with the actual diablo lore.

The 'real world' he is in has little going on for it. The power progression isn't the worst I've seen and because it has some familiarity with diablo 2 makes it easy enough to follow for those familiar with the game, but there are some limits that he puts on his abilities that don't make much sense.

Overall, too much missed potential coupled with the fact that the part of it I had most hopes for was executed badly means I give it a 2 star review. <<less

This is an okay novel for those who like Gary Stu protagonists. Abe in his past life was a bodybuilder who played video games, knows blacksmithing techniques, hiked, hunted with traps, and has other knowledge. He also acts recklessly with his money with no repercussions.

On the positive side, the cultivation system and noble hierarchy is not bad. Where I dropped the novel, wizards have not been introduced to the novel yet, so I don't know where they fit in.

I like it.

Although the world building aspects are lacking. But it is good generic fantasy isekai story.

It has some quirks that some people might not like, but I like, is that it talks somewhat in depth about some skills and how they are done, which is very original in some areas.

If you are interested in what I said, you may also like it too.

Overall an enjoyable read.

Pacing is slow. This is a cookie cutter feel good novel, it is quite linear, novel is simple and straightforward, very little intrigues, romance is simple.

Magic, skills, etc are very simple. Protagonist is very lucky, abit OP, almost everything goes his way.

... more>> In my opinion, the author tried to make the protagonist become too many things, profession-wise and character-wise.

Protagonist is pro-himself and his family and loved-ones, he is diplomatic and friendly, he is ruthless towards his enemies and doesn't mind collateral damages.

His main objective is to get strong, to not fear anyone, protect his loved-ones, and have only dead enemies. He has low priorities for wealth, ambition, kingdom, etc.

Towards the later half of the novel, the author repeats alot. <<less

Genuinely surprised I read so much of this novel. It's really bad. It's half a tier higher than fanfics of popular shounen, but thats about it. Theres so many problems with this novel it's not even funny.

First of all the power progression. The main character does not fit in any of the conceivable power dynamics in this novel. He suddenly goes from weak, to powerful, to the point where he becomes so overpowered the author begins forgetting he is overpowered and randomly decides the main character is weak. Furthermore, in... more>> the main world, there is literally zero worldbuilding, the only hint of someone being more powerful than the main character is the MC's magic teacher saying "the world is bigger than you think". Thats it.

The action is even worse. Later on in the novel, the main character goes to another dimension to fight. By far, I have never been so bored in my life. When the main character started fighting in the new dimension it became very clear the author didn't care about explaining the main character's power compared to people in the normal dimension. In fact, the main character's power is so unexplained I can't even say things like "the main character shouldn't get hurt by that" solely because the author never expands on the MC's powers. It's incredibly irritating.

Expanding on this, the normal dimension is clearly put on the backburner to the point where it feels blatantly neglected, just so the author can start writing a really bad diablo 2 fanfic. There is so little world-building in the past 367 chapters it's almost impressive.

The romance is somehow even worse. The main character saves a young elf from being auctioned off to s*avery. They become friends. At some point, the main character develops feelings for the young elf. Now, the thing about this is they never actually say when he does. The MC talks to her parents and suddenly implies he likes her and will get married with her, yada yada. It's incredibly abrupt. Right after author decides the main character has feelings for her, they throw her away for twenty years. Really? That is easily the most autistic handling of romance I've seen in a novel.

Last point that pretty much seals the novel in a coffin is the translation. It's straight up google translate with a really bad spellchecker.

Overall, this novel is very bad. Premise was okay but with the multitude of problems this novel has theres no way I can give it anything higher than a one star. <<less

I liked this novel a lot. It has way more original ideas that you would expect from a novel based on a game.

At the same time if you want a Diablo fanfic, this isn't that either. It is much more loosly based on the game. The author took some liberties.

You have a protagonist that is proactive in attacking when threatened but not actually that blood thirsty and is willing to let things slide if his enemies can no longer hurt him.

The way he handles conflict is one of the more... more>> interesting aspects of the novel.

No such thing as pure villans, or permanent enemies, if they live long enough... <<less