The First Order

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

This is a brand new story.

Survive the darkness, see the light

There is no right or wrong, it just depends on which side you are standing on.

To be a god, or to be a man.

To be good, or to be evil.

Just what is…the highest order of weapon that humanity has?

——————

After a great catastrophe struck, the world was set back many years and humanity started living in anarchy.

With time, society started building up again and people were now living in walled strongholds and fringe towns across the land.

Humans have also become distrustful and ruthless in an unforgiving society where the strong survive and the weak are eliminated.

Growing up in such an era, Ren Xiaosu had to fend for himself.

After an incident, he gained supernatural powers…

Associated Names
One entry per line
Di Yi Xu Lie
Diyi Xulie
Di Yi Xulie
The First Sequence
第一序列
Related Series
Spare Me, Great Lord! (Same Franchise)
Night’s Nomenclature (Sequel)
Recommendations
Night’s Nomenclature (2)
Spare Me, Great Lord! (1)
This Game Is Too Realistic (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Longer Novellas
  2. Novels i Have Read
  3. Novels that I have read 2
  4. Familiar Fantasy
  5. Novels I Enjoyed (No BL)

Latest Release

Date Group Release
11/27/19 Webnovel c44
11/27/19 Webnovel c43
11/26/19 Webnovel c42
11/26/19 Webnovel c41
11/25/19 Webnovel c40
11/25/19 Webnovel c39
11/24/19 Webnovel c38
11/24/19 Webnovel c37
11/23/19 Webnovel c36
11/23/19 Webnovel c35
11/22/19 Webnovel c34
11/22/19 Webnovel c33
11/21/19 Webnovel c32
11/21/19 Webnovel c31
11/20/19 Webnovel c30
Go to Page...
Go to Page...
Review
56 Reviews


pjrc8899
pjrc8899
Nov 16, 2019
Status: c45
Sometimes hilarious novel with a wretched, cynical and even some times delusional MC from the author of 'Spare Me, Great Lord!' (SMGL).

Some pros:

  • The rhythm is not too slow.
  • Despite all the ludicrous situations (normal in comedy) there seems to be some good plot waiting and possibly a sound world building.
  • The secondary characters have distinct personalities. Although it is too soon to see if they will develop, the author made a reasonable job at it in SMGL.
Many parallels can be made between this story and SMGL. The biggest one is putting... more>> the same guy in two opposite situations. In SMGL he had to get the bad feelings from people, in this one he has to do good actions.

I will give this story a temporary 5. Let us wait and hope that we have a gem here.

Edit: Paywaaaal already? I am a little frustrated and tempted to deduce one or two stars for it, but it doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the story : ( <<less
19 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
CaptainButtshark
CaptainButts
Nov 11, 2020
Status: c602
Happened to find this one while trawling NU recommendation lists. I honestly can't believe I hadn't heard of this one before. It's absolutely amazing, with great worldbuilding, solid characterisation and in a surprising twist for a CN novel, a decent romantic subplot.

While still not as good as the top of the top, like Reverend Insanity or Lord of the Mysteries, it's still in that tier and more than a cut above the types you'd find normally

Overview
So we start the story in these Strongholds, which are all that remain of... more>> Earth after the destruction of civilisation. With a background full of radiation and the nominal ruler being large business groups (consortiums) which own the strongholds, humanity is pretty much limited to that small area.

Further, the radiation is improving all the fauna and flora of the wild, making it even harder for humanity. It's also the same radiation that causes the rise of superhumans, which the consortiums are desperately trying to control and understand.

Our main character is Ren Xiaosu, a refugee living in the outskirts of a stronghold with his (not by blood) younger brother. With a system/mental palace that allows himt to increase his physical attributes (only Strength and Dexterity) or to a limited extent copy other abilities, he has to survive with his increasing family in the threat of the wild, increasing military tension between the consortiums and other superhumans.

Another thing to note is that we gradually learn about the world along with Ren Xiaosu, he's not brought forward in time nor does he have any memories of the past. So there's a decent sense of mystery going on which I'm trying not to spoil while writing this.

Also we're not in the bronze age here, humans have retained a lot of technology. But it's concentrated in the hands of a very few people. So don't go assuming superhumans would instantly btfo any tech they see, its very much the opposite.

What vibed with me
Spoiler

Detailed and Consistent World building
Pretty much what it says. MC does become way more powerful but the early 'bosses' (irradiated animals / plants) don't suddenly become weaker. Author maintains a decent sense of mystery throughout even if we know it's probably WW3.

Believable Characters (for the most part)
Characters have their own motivations/personalities apart from either being with MC or against MC. This is more prominent in enemies because the MC has practically 0 conflict of interests with his allies, despite a couple of them being on opposing sides. Either they happen to work with MC or the MC with them but we never see any strain on these relations no matter what.

Conflicts don't boil down to Good vs Evil
Author seems to understand that most people have their own motives and that true Righteousness isn't a thing that exists anymore. From the refugees at the lowest tier to the Consortium owners at the top of the food chain, everyone has their own motivations and conflict is to be expected. It's honestly refreshing that the author doesn't need to dedicate an entire chapter before a fight to vilify the enemy by talking shit, it's often a matter of survival: Either I die or you do.

Limited Involvement of the System
Despite being a part of the story, unlike other 'system gag' novels, this one only functions in the background. There aren't too many quests, the attributes that it shows are just Strength and Dexterity (associated with muscle fiber amount and density respectively).

[collapse]

What didn't vibe with me
Spoiler

Short Chapters
1500 words per chapter is way too little for a story as good as this one. There's still around 600 translated so that's a neat 900k+ words to read. There's no useless descriptions though so it's basically equivalent to 2 million words of Xianxia.

Mild Sexism
It's not that female characters can't do anything. But they're more often than not shown to be doing other stuff like working in factories instead of a more active combat or leadership role. I'm still a bit conflicted whether I can even call this sexism, given that this has been true for most of history.

[collapse]

Other Stuff
Spoiler

Racism/ Nationalism tags
As of chapter 602, I have seen none of either yet. The story has been mainly focused within the borders of China (or what remains of it) and even then mostly in the western part. People outside the borders have been just said to occasionally fight at a particular stronghold but no further details. Eventually I'd expect some nationalism in the form of MC not wanting to lose to external enemies but the author has been smart enough about conflict so far that I"m doubtful it'll turn to the 'China Numba Wan' type of nationalism. No clue about the Racism tag though.

[collapse]
<<less
16 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
VeryNiceNice
VeryNiceNice
Sep 24, 2020
Status: c730
Edit: I've read some more of the novel and will wait some more for it.

First of all, I want to thank the translator Legge for sticking in with this story and providing high quality translations. Sure, I may have noticed that the plot isn't structured very well, with it jumping all over the place. But for me, I don't care about how well structured the plot is or how well thought out it is.

It's the characters for me. I love them extremely so. So vibrant and so fresh.... more>> Love the interactions, love every individual's personality and their personal beliefs. Love love love the main character who is street smart, open-minded and chill. this is frankly a simple story with overqualified characters. <<less
12 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
BillionJellyfish
BillionJelly
Dec 25, 2019
Status: c92
This is a super fascinating post-apocalyptic novel!

Summary:

After the "end of civilization", mankind reverts back to the primitive lifestyle of hunting and farming with a select few living in luxury. Organizations, paramilitaries, and private troops have taken over the world and created "strongholds" against evolving animals and plants. People have begun to materialize supernatural abilities and organizations have started their human experiments on ability users and search for experimental labs from before the apocalypse.

... more>> MC:

A 17 year-old refugee living in the outer town of a stronghold with his younger brother. After a hunt gone wrong and chased by a pack of wolfs, the MC faints to wake up with a supernatural ability. The ability is like a system that issues tasks allowing the MC to physically grow stronger and magically acquire new skills. As a refugee, the MC is ruthless and rational, a master at wilderness survival.

Younger Bro:

A 14 year-old refugee that lives with his older brother, the MC. The lil bro has a special ability of luck. Whatever wish the lil bro makes comes true at the cost of a side effect. For ex. Wishing for a better hunt for the MC may result in a fever. The bigger the wish, the more severe the side effect will be.

Overall:

The story essentially revolves around the MC's journey to the outside world, exploring the wilderness and gaining more knowledge on the organizations that control the world. Currently the MC is on a solo adventure with occasional companions that only work together for mutual benefits. As the MC receives benefits from his ability/system, the MC also begins to unravel the truth behind ability users, evolution, and the cause of the "apocalypse". I'm really enjoying this novel right now and wish more chapters were out! <<less
11 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
avidnovelreader95
avidnovelrea
Dec 18, 2020
Status: c373
okay this is just a early review cause I only read about 100 ch but I literally can't stand it. this novel is already driving me off tilt. first of all I love the setting but like 9/10 novels I read the author is literally ret*rded. I don't understand why its so hard for the authors to write a main character that has half a brain.

... more>>
Spoiler

so for some context the MC is a refugee who is forced to be a guide for a scouting mission. turns out the mission is some secret sh*t to discover some ruins by the vips behind the city. oh and just so people know even the MC said that the mission was fishy before it all began. its just he was forced to go. now as they proceed to the location their crew dies off leaving MC, leading solider guy whos a superpower guy, assassin girl, celebrity girl, and shitty rich kid. now they eventually pull up on the ruins where they see the vip army digging up and securing the spot. and they all basically decide to split because they can't trust each other and that some of them were just straight up burdens. here's where I question the authors intelligence why didn't the MC just kill the celebrity girl and rich kid? so why is this important, so we gotta go a bit further later on. rich kid and celebrity girl gets captured and interrogated and basically spills the beans on the info and shit. I don't get it why not just kill them so they can't just give free info? also I know people who read further will say but celebrity girl secretly has shadow powers, but the point is if he decided to kill her earlier she would have had to expose her powers earlier basically giving up her identity. also even more s*upid was if he did that he could have just used his coping ability to copy her ability instead of the shadow clone ability, her shadow ability would have been a way better escape tool than that shitty shadow clone thing. all in all the MC was just doing irrational shit, literally 40 chs before that the author was spewing crap about how ruthless the MC was and I see this crap.

[collapse]

honestly I don't see much issues about the humor or whatever other complaints i've see from other reviews but the one thing I won't tolerate in these types of novels is a s*upid MC, i've said and implied many times in my reviews. idc if the MC is weak and pathetic I can accept that, but he can't be s*upid. because a dumb MC is literally the f*cking biggest plot hole you could have in these survival type novels. dumb people just don't live long in these scenarios.

edit- alright I take back the part I said about the comedy. the author has no idea how to use comedy. the jokes aren't that bad its just that its always at the wrong time like in the middle of a gun fight or just randomly people getting mauled to death by mutants. honestly the jokes wouldn't be that bad if they were during the down time where nothing crazy was happening but the jokes just ruin the whole atmosphere of the novel, your writing a post apocalyptic novel in a dystopian world the atmosphere shouldn't be light hearted and funny especially not during major conflict points. also as i've read further the plot just gets more annoying why is the MC so s*upid like every time he decides to travel with the refugee group when he could just go into the wild, he also proclaims to be a survival expert so..... why doesn't he use his knowledge.

probably the single biggest issue of this novel, aside from dumb ass main character. the f*cking system just feels so out of place here in this novel like why didn't the author just make the MC himself a supernatural user like that would have made so much more sense than whatever the crap is going on.

edit2- okay this sh*t just keeps getting worse and worse, the characters don't even behave properly in this its like the author never even bothered to think how people would act before writing it. bandits pull up on a refugee camp trying to force them to fight for them but they refuse because they are scared and blah blah blah, but magically when the MC mention protection their children and sh*t they suddenly think differently. how does that even make sense, keep in mind these people are refugees who have zero education and were born and raised in the wilderness do you really think they would be magically compelled to protect their children they probably see people die everyday. also the only reason people think protecting your loved ones and such is due to morals and philosophy these people don't have any education how the f*ck do they just magically learn all this. this sh*t makes no sense, the authors writing like the f*cking apocalypse happened yesterday when it literally stated that its been centuries since then. like maybe try to think that your writing about people in a whole new era they probably will have different views and interactions just like how modern day we see and view thinks a lot different compared to say the medieval era.

oh yeah dropping the rating to 1 star 2 stars is way too high for this. the only redeeming quality of this novel is the setting. everything else is tr*sh, MC, side characters, conflicts, even the f*cking enemies react weirdly.

edit 3 - okay last one I'm dropping this novel I just finished volume 3 there's still like 300 more translated ch but I'm not going to read it. this novel is so terrible that idk what to say. it can basically be summed up as a naïve boy struggling with internal conflicts of being a morally good person vs personal survival. honestly idc if the MC is a good or a bad person all I want is a character where his/her brain is not a potato. that aside this is a post apocalyptic novel I would have much rather the plot been driven by for example reasons the disaster occurred, more survival skills shown, rather than running all over the place trying to answer the moral question of good in humanity. <<less
10 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
simora
simora
Sep 29, 2021
Status: Completed
Plus - subtle humour, moderate pacing, decent side character development, pretty good story so far

Minuses - lousiest system settings, power level and fighting method inconsistencies, almost every situation is a result of sudden thousands coincidences, repeatition

It would've been 4 stars easily if not for the last wizard ark (1star, this particular section was really bad) and the lack of afterstory (1star, I've particular dislike towards those novels which are finished with MC winning war. We read the novels for 1000s of chapters and invested so much time, so it is... more>> reasonable to know what happens afterwards and how the characters are in their desired world). <<less
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
kkgoh
kkgoh
May 23, 2020
Status: c50
Another low-brow humor novel from Speaking Pork Trotter. It's the same System-Trolling genre that's been popular the last couple of years but faded really quickly.

Picked it up since I saw the high ratings on Qidian, but struggled to read both the CN raws and translated portions. Seems catered entirely for grade-school kids (i.e. Shounen) with really low-level puns and boring slapstick jokes that aren't funny.

Am with @LoneDK. The story suffers from terrible pacing and is pretty boring, nothing really happens in the first 50 chapters. Since the jokes can't even... more>> carry the story, I kept dropping it every 10-15 chapters, revisited it again a few months later, before I finally gave up.

MC is full of contradictions. He starts out as a ruthless youth before the System forces him in the first 10 chapters to become a straight-man/deadpan comedian who pointlessly trolls people, which is just pretty ret*rded. Author likely realized none of the audience cared for edgy protagonists anymore and thus made the pivot.
MC's immediate companions are useless and uninteresting too. Just damsels-in-distress that exist for MC to help them out.

Unless you're a huge fan of other middle-school, low-level comedy like "Cultivation Chat Group", "Spare Me Great Lord", it's hard to get interested in this. The "mature" rating is entirely inaccurate, since any allusions to prostitution, violence, poverty are completely simplified. Since MC isn't particularly educated, his trolling behavior is basically along the level of "Your-Momma" jokes. <<less
9 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
edvy69
edvy69
Mar 01, 2021
Status: c500
i stuck in there for a while, at the start it was really good for a solid 100 chapters but then the author couldn't keep it together and characters just started being out of character not acting in a normal 'human' way and all I could think was that the author was compromising the characters behavior just to setup some jokes later in the chapter.
... more>>
Spoiler

next is the tags after around chapter 100 they don't matter.
cautious he is not, tells people who have tried to kill him important information and allows them to black mail him over nothing, like the blackmail wouldn't work because they would have to turn themselves in too lol.
clever he is not, he doesn't use his abilities much and when given a chance to use them to advance himself he just lets that chance go. Most of the other tags don't show up till WAY later and most of them are barely in it like system sure he has powers but he barely uses them. All characters that will be future somethings* like future friend or love interest get a pass on all logic and character of the main MC, like the MC is very un trusting its a good character trait but he will trust random women and its like oh I bet 100% she will be a love interest later and she won't die, it ruins it completely

[collapse]
tl;dr don't waste your time on this the premise is a nice idea but it is poorly written by an author that barely wrote a rough draft of what he thought would be cool. <<less
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Neomycini
Neomycini
Jul 18, 2020
Status: c400
Technically serious book, but lame humour kills the vibe.

MC cant learn to ride the bike for some gigs and on the run from enemies thinks of copying someone's bike riding skill....i mean when MC kills people like its nothing and scenarios are kinda grim and u have random "funny" sh*t like dat, it kills the vibe, id give 4/5 if not for lame humor and jokes.
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Sir R. Hellbringer
Sir R. Hellb
May 22, 2020
Status: c982
This novel was great, I definitely recommend this, it gets so much better in the later chapters. It is one of the most popular in China and there is a reason behind that. Also, this has one of the greatest character development I've ever seen (read and watched quite a bit of stuff), it's not the junk food type web novel.

Spoiler

I never cried so much for a news reporter

[collapse]
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Bassel
Bassel
Apr 20, 2020
Status: c297
This is one of those gems that don't see the top of ranking lists. A nigh-masterpiece that I hope gets the attention it deserves.

Characters actually get some development and it isn't your typical Xianxia MC that always shows up in the different genres of Chinese fiction. The comedy is intentionally shallow but solid, and the drama hits hard when it wants to. Human connection is one of the great boons of this story as it is what makes our characters matter, and they do, hell they do.

I don't have much... more>> time to write a longer review, but I absolutely recommend it, and if you feel its start is slow, just give it some time.

The author talking about his inspirations for the novel and its characters. <<less
8 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
wookiesmuggler1
wookiesmuggl
Oct 21, 2020
Status: c547
dam its good. I feel like most of the flak comes from the first 200 chapters, where-yes I get it-the female lead was really cold to him, a weird and wacky system, and a bunch of other things, but after that things really start ramping up.

From there, it truly becomes a masterpiece, with incredibly emotional (actually cried on two separate occasions-you know which ones if youve read it) with good romance

its good is what im saying
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
azha_
azha_
May 31, 2020
Status: c972
This is litterally amazinggg. The beginning is a little shallow, and you might feel like the characters are as flat as a piece of paper, but that's LITERALLY THE POINT. It shows the progression of the characters, the mindset, and how our MC changed in his views of the world. Many of the characters that I felt to be annoying or even s*upid at times grew to become human beings who have emotions. The novel developed the plot and the characters in a way that makes you feel for them.... more>> They're cowards, thieves, and hypocrites at times, but that's so REAL. Despite our situations being worlds apart (lol not in an apocalyptic setting), I can relate. I'm scared of trying new things, I'm lazy, I don't like interacting with people all that much, I lie, I brag, I am a lot of things that aren't that great. I just feel so much for the MC. My heart ached so much for him when close friends and family of his died, and he couldn't even get a proper cry. When my own dad died, I couldn't stop crying. We weren't even close, but I felt like crying was the only thing I could do. Anyways... I just want to say that you should totally read this novel and don't give up in the beginning (volume 1) because it is absolutely worth it. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
fireutsie
fireutsie
Apr 04, 2020
Status: c1009
I've read the raws and can say that the novel is good. This novel has a bit of everything, survival, basebuilding, militairy, (solo) assasination, adventuring, comedy, highschool romcom, romance, system, being a doctor ect. And while it might seem to go all over the place, it's great. We follow the MC on his wonderful adventure.

The story in itself is enjoyable, from worldbuilding to character background and progression. Schemes that are running in the background are also much deeper than what appears at first glance. There are also many chapters... more>> dedicated to the side cast and other things happening in the background. Mysteries also get unraveled overtime and makes you anticipate what is going to happen next.

It's a post-apocalyptic novel where the MC just tries to survive. It's the circumstances that push him to do things, not the other way around. Which really give you a feeling of helplessness. You can't save everyone, you can only try your best to protect the ones you care about, even innocent people will have to suffer if you want to protect your own people. In this novel, don't expect things to always go along the wishes of the MC. Yes, he is powerful, but he also isn't omnipotent like mc's in other novels and therefore he will lose. This is the harsh reality of a post apocalyptic novel. It's also what makes the novel great.

Also about the romance, it's great, slow but great. The main love interest is well written in my opinion and complements the MC well. <<less
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Hikicarl
Hikicarl
Nov 17, 2019
Status: c471
The novel is one of the best... good mixture of tragedy and comedy.

You might get pissed on some certain parts but please bear with it as it has an acceptable reason for it to happen at least for the chapters I've read.

The system is not the main plot as it mostly focus on philosophy.

I strongly recommend for this novel to be read. The mtl is mostly readable so please try it if you're impatient like me.
7 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Valixiant
Valixiant
May 31, 2022
Status: c587
Honestly, I can't even be bothered to write a full review for this.

The first 400 chapters are great, I'd give the novel a 4/5. However, the problem lies in the fact that this novel becames both tedious and annoying to read. You can skip chapters 500 - 600 with a few minor spoilers, since nothing even remotely interesting happens. All that happens is a bunch of cheap tricks to make the novel last longer. It's all filler.

Novel goes from main character fighting thousands of well-trained troops to being a bodyguard... more>> of some random woman, fighting low level thug, and constantly being insulted. As stated previously, it's downright annoying to read. This novel spends WAY too much time focusing on random filler that I can guarantee you no one cares about.

EDIT 1: I guess I didn't really make it clear how bad the filler is. They author will spend entire 3 chapters talking about something that most novels would do in a paragraph or two. It is so needless that the further you get in the novel, the more you will read around 30 words before pressing the next chapter button.

EDIT 2: I've continued reading this, just because I want to finish it, but even with my last edit I can't clearly state how bad this filler is. Main character is searching for people close to him, and there is constant f*cking filler in between. Literally the entire assassin arc and beyond is filler, I have barely seen any important information. Not to mention every single character randomly had their IQ drop after around chapter 400, jesus christ.

EDIT 3: I feel like I'm just ranting at this point, but the whole thing with finding Yang Xiaojin is so f*cking annoying. I genuinely feel at this point that the main character has so little IQ it's a miracle he survived in the wilderness. One of my least favorite tropes is where two characters that are searching for each other consistently miss each other even when they are close by. This novel takes this trope and dials it ten thousand. It's so annoying and frustrating to read. <<less
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Asphyxia778
Asphyxia778
Oct 27, 2021
Status: --
Is good at first but goes downhill quickly. The most annoying aspect is the MC's system as it has no proper defined rules and the author uses it as he wants and that makes me so mad.

Honestly could have been way better as the settings were awesome and I actually liked the MC at first.

Dropped due to inconsistent system.
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
AmethystCherry
AmethystCher
Mar 28, 2020
Status: c196
This novel is so enjoyable to read.

Pros:

The characters all have their personalities and the way they all behave is mostly very logically reasonable. Our MC isn't what you'd expect from what most Chinese novels portray their MC to be like, here he's

  • Smart
  • Cautious
  • Confident
  • Wary
  • Humble
  • Very funny
  • And handsome!! (。ŏ﹏ŏ)
His little cute brother is a fresh take on all the novels that all only use little sisters or literal useless damsels in distress that only bring misfortune. Here his brother is very important, because to the MC he's number 1 top priority even before... more>> himself. The brother tried his best to be helpful to his brother the MC in turn.

Side characters all have their eccentricities and funny moments. The story is serious but it could also make you laugh out of a sudden at times you wouldn't expect, it doesn't come off as obnoxious at all.

Female lead is okay. She can handle herself and isn't entitled.

Cons:

Before reading this novel know that there a few things that may tick people off, well people like me. Those things are:

  • Sexism
  • Male expendability
the assigned roles of s*x object to women and violence-object to males is extremely pronounced here. Women are always the pitiable, delicate, caring, right and better at household stuff.

While males (excluding the sidekicks of MC) are mostly violent, underhanded, cowards, rapists if they want to survive the same as women.

Example:

  • Woman trying to survive steals the scarf of a man who's freezing and trying to survive, well so what she need it?
  • Man trying to survive steals the scarf of a woman who's freezing and trying to survive.. BOOM! How dare he do such a despicable thing! Isn't he a coward taking the scarf of a delicate woman? Scum of earth, let's beat him up.
Of course I don't support the action but it's an example for you to understand. Something like this sort of happened.

Whenever there's someone to be saved it is a woman in distress, always to where I last reached in chapters.

Basically whatever a woman does here for survival is more inclined to be forgiven and get pity for than a man.

Now on to the MC, all his amazing qualities above (except for handsome!) goes down the drain when he's with the female lead. They are strangers at first ofc but throughout from the moment he saw her he's always been careless with her unlike how his personality should be. It felt really forced that it distorted his personality. Anyways it's a crush I understand. I don't like romance that much anyways so I may be biased.

Do I recommend this? Yes 100%! Read it you'll like it, most probably. So far no harem at all (we're saved) which is good for some and bad for some. <<less
6 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
minitiative
minitiative
Feb 05, 2022
Status: c640
This is definitely something of a unique gem that I didn't expect. The first warning I'd give to people and it's clearly reflected in some of the reviews is not to expect this to be a system-heavy litrpg style action novel. If you go in expecting that, it's a straight loss. What you get instead is an almost slice-of-lifelike tale of several characters and their orbiting casts, including our MC, making their way in a post-apocalyptic world where superhumans (think X-Men's mutants) are slowly being revealed and becoming more prominent... more>> in the world. Some points to draw reference from.

  • The story is consistently comedic in an under-toned fashion since the world itself is gritty and post-apocalyptic. Whereas something like Fallout is much more in your face with the silliness, this one is reflected in our MC and his incredible ability to generate schadenfreude by his presence and actions. This is wonderfully consistent in the story and builds throughout it.
  • The MC himself is well-shaped as a character and consistent within the narrative as a growing personality. He's wholly uneducated, a ruthless survivor, tries very hard to fill the tough guy with a heart of gold trope, justifiably greedy and selfish because of experiences of surviving in a harsh world, and as his power grows so does his desire to carve out a good life for himself and so does the cast of people he comes to refer as family. He also discovers as that his power grows, so does the violence and conflict it invites which is directly antithetical to his core goal.
  • The side characters and female LI/MC are highly developed by webnovel standards. Many are easily identifiable by their means of speaking and their connections to the MC or the other side characters are well-developed and maintained. It cannot be understated how much of a strength this is for the novel as a whole. The friends, family, acquaintances and adversaries who do stick around all share common goals - carve out a good life in a harsh world with changing circumstances, but there can be much difference in how this goal is approached.
  • The world building itself is also better than average, and you get a fair sense of scope that simultaneously succeeds in being both small and big at the same time while not exploding in scale like some stories do. Strongholds have identities, regions have identities, much travel is done between them and geopolitics is a frequent discussion, but it never does approach the level of feeling like continent vs continent or world vs world, etc. It's more like cities or city states vying for power in certain ways.
  • Special mention has to be made to the female love interest. There is no harem, harem is never teased, the FMC is introduced early and their romance develops throughout the course of hundreds of chapters and even at the 640 mark never feels forced in any way. The FMC is different enough in voice to have a core identity but contains many traits that make her friendship and then romance with the MC fully acceptable and developed naturally.
It's been a nice surprise. <<less
5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
iamsololeveling
iamsololevel
Aug 10, 2021
Status: c854
How can you give a review for this novel in a word:

[unnecessary]

Everything feels fake in this novel, philosphical sh*t blaa blaa

If you are desperate in wasting your time and want to read something boring go ahead this one is right up your alley

5 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
1 2 3
Leave a Review (Guidelines)
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.