A Record of a Main Character's Journey to Delirium

A Record of a Main Character's Journey to Delirium
This list contains novels where the Main Character starts out normal or seemingly normal to a deranged or twisted or distorted person in terms of personality, ideals, morality, actions. 

Some where the MC's normal desires such as "protecting family" is distorted and warped in to the extremes.

Some where the MC starts out already as a bit outside a normal person and gets more and more distorted through the progress of the novel.

Some where the MC starts out as a normal person and ends up completely twisted and warped.

MC's can end up as either righteous, evil, antihero, etc but the character distortion is where this list focuses on.

If there is no english translation, I'll add a link in the comments. Btw this list is made from the novels I have read and I have not read everything, so if you have a novel that I have not read please comment it.

NOTE: Please note that the order has no meaning and is simply the order in which I added them to the list.
15 9617 19
54 Followers
AbsoluteNothingness
Created: Aug 17th, 2020, Updated: Aug 20th, 2021
Created Aug 17th, 2020
Updated Aug 20th, 2021
CN (3.5)
85 Chapters Every 103.8 Day(s) 698 Readers 22 Reviews 01-28-2020
A reincarnated person gets the ability to explore strange worlds in his dream. As he gets stronger and stronger his values become distorted, losing sympathy... more>>
CN (4.1)
34 Chapters Every 115.7 Day(s) 2130 Readers 30 Reviews 10-16-2020
A commonplace person gets scammed by a sentient system and dies. A resulting ghost or remnant spirit from the body is the MC and he... more>>
CN (3.2)
38 Chapters Every 99.3 Day(s) 126 Readers 0 Reviews 03-27-2020
A seemingly normal but mad MC reincarnates into a world of Martial Arts, with his unique and weird form of "unkillable" he tries to live... more>>
JP (4.5)
100 Chapters Every 13.1 Day(s) 8438 Readers 57 Reviews 04-22-2024
A normal everyday person dies and is reincarnated. The experience of death instils fear into him, and to attain immortality and escape death, he ventures... more>>
CN (3.7)
47 Chapters Every 164.7 Day(s) 8174 Readers 103 Reviews 08-08-2017
A normal but clever person transmigrates into another world where he realises the power and ecstasy he gets from his cultivation. With his system he... more>>
CN (3.4)
159 Chapters Every 105.7 Day(s) 1102 Readers 19 Reviews 03-06-2020
(Note: The novel is being translated on "Webnovel" by the name of "I Don't Want To Defy The Heavens" so find your way using this.)... more>>
JP (4.4)
206 Chapters Every 116.3 Day(s) 22939 Readers 209 Reviews 11-28-2022
A young man with a goal of becoming a "power in the shadows" is reincarnated into a fantasy world. Here he finds that he might... more>>
CN (4.2)
571 Chapters Every 12.3 Day(s) 4563 Readers 65 Reviews 10-30-2023
A young boy raised in the wilderness by a bunch of strange old grannies and grandpas, who at first is cold and ruthless. Humans are... more>>
CN (3.9)
104 Chapters Every 157.5 Day(s) 4016 Readers 68 Reviews 11-25-2017
A young salaryman transmigrates into a strange and ghostly world, with a system in hand he wants to grab hold of power to protect himself... more>>
KR (4)
373 Chapters Every 85.2 Day(s) 18468 Readers 164 Reviews 01-17-2021
A reckless pro-gamer trapped in a hellish world due to his own wrong choice in his drunken stupor. He is determined to overcome the hardest... more>>
CN (4.1)
10 Chapters Every 204.8 Day(s) 1357 Readers 24 Reviews 09-29-2018
A middle-age man with some visible problems from ennuis of life. And so he selects promising tenants to his apartment and peeps on their lives.... more>>
CN (3)
39 Chapters Every 96.1 Day(s) 391 Readers 5 Reviews 05-15-2020
A innocent young man who transmigrated and got a special ability of being Immortal and undying. Any injury? Just kill yourself and it will heal.... more>>
KR (4.2)
205 Chapters Every 144.9 Day(s) 11667 Readers 110 Reviews 06-07-2018
Inborn killing nature and a oath sworn to his mother never to kill. When society collapses, so does his promises. A cold and ruthless MC... more>>
CN (4.1)
583 Chapters Every 138.5 Day(s) 7649 Readers 83 Reviews 10-24-2020
A callous youth waking up to a new era. Surviving in this new age is much harder than he could have thought, constant betrayals and... more>>
CN (4.6)
101 Chapters Every 410.3 Day(s) 6095 Readers 131 Reviews 09-29-2023
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss,... more>>
CN (4.7)
113 Chapters Every 531.4 Day(s) 13426 Readers 357 Reviews 02-06-2019
Opening his eyes to a whole new world, a new family, and a new life; the young man finds himself lost and isolated. He quickly... more>>
CN (4.3)
927 Chapters Every 3.8 Day(s) 2232 Readers 19 Reviews 04-24-2024
A cheap extra actor who aspires to be a comedy actor and bring joys and laughs to people. Bogged down in failure, he encounters a... more>>
JP (4.4)
764 Chapters Every 78.1 Day(s) 27230 Readers 210 Reviews 01-30-2022
Waking up as a spider in a foreign world, the MC is curious and cautious to explore it. Mysteries are slowed unravelled, revealing mysteries behind... more>>
CN (3.9)
465 Chapters Every 54.3 Day(s) 6113 Readers 60 Reviews 02-18-2022
A curious young man steps into a mysterious shop, eventually becoming its new host and keeper. Has he sold his soul to the devil? Or... more>>
Comments (15)
Post Reply Cancel
  1. Dragonil20
    Dragonil20· Oct 12, 2020 09:52 PM
    Ok first of all the dark king should be the go to guide In how to twist a mans mind into insanity. I’m not joking! It’s a reason why it’s called dark king and it’s gets crazier with each 100 chapter mark. This is the only novel where I can genuinely say the author hates his own creations as he deliberately tortures the main character for himself and us the readers. At the same time shows us the true nature of humans in a apocalyptic fantasy. I’m not talking about just bad guys being bad, no I’m talking about the levels of character development/depravity a character will go through for their own/someone’s purposes and the end result. Believe me for any weak hearted person, don’t bother reading this novel because it has everything (mu*der, r*pe, gore) and you end up hating the author around chapter 400-600 as you see what the main character goes through and what he do as, everything he tries to do: initially works out but then......Baaaam ....author strikes again. Best way to describe this would be ‘ A virtues idea or thought is nonexistent, as humanity is a depraved species’  something along those lines.

    Sorry for my bad English, it’s my 3rd language 


    Reply · 4 Likes · ·
    • AbsoluteNothingness
      AbsoluteNothingness· Author · Oct 15, 2020 05:10 AM

      Yep Dark King as the title suggests is very dark and its one of my more favourite novels. That's why I'm immensely sad at when its translation got dropped.

      it seems the TL has been picked up again and I'm happy with it

      Reply · 1 Like · ·
  2. SassyCanoeWizard
    SassyCanoeWizard· Aug 29, 2020 02:14 PM

    A solid list. I guess I also have an interest towards novels with twisted characters XD

    Came here from Negary page. Got interested in call and bloodcore.

    Apartment for rent is one of novels on nu which left me with the strongest impression. Tutorial is good though I got bored at some point of time. Loved arc about drinking Paramal.

    I have seen circus long ago but taking into account amount of translated chapters as well as translation speed interest towards it starts to wane. I have a hunch it’s one of those stories you would rather read whole than reading a chapter after a month of waiting time.

    Tales of herding gods starts off amazing though it loses its extraordinarity midway. Point is despite it being correct your description doesn’t waft off allure. Maybe you should consider changing it, making stress on the premise of the world, pointing out about great ruins, what night comes with and shadows of the past

    Reply · 3 Likes · ·
    • AbsoluteNothingness
      AbsoluteNothingness· Author · Aug 31, 2020 03:07 AM
      I agree with most of your points especially regarding herding gods, it does indeed lose its momentum by about 500 though it is still pretty good imo. It goes to exploring the world and its mysteries. I've made a few amends in the summary, but my summaries are mostly just to vaguely describe the novel, so I didn't give it much thoughts.
      Reply · 1 Like · ·
  3. Dragonil20
    Dragonil20· Oct 12, 2020 10:00 PM

    Read immortal sword master by get lost

    Great novel as well 

    Altough translation has stopped you can read it in mtl novel

    Reply · 1 Like · ·
  4. B2j
    B2j· Aug 30, 2020 08:32 AM
    Have you heard of Akugyaku no Black Maria? The mc, who’s just a normal boy, got isekaied and got twisted because of being adopted by an assassin who trained him to become one.
    Reply · 1 Like · ·
    • AbsoluteNothingness
      AbsoluteNothingness· Author · Aug 31, 2020 03:02 AM
      I don't normally read harem novels and tend to avoid novels with such tags unless I've heard its quite good. So I'll give it a try and thanks for the recommendation.
      Reply · 1 Like · ·
  5. MR.Klein
    MR.Klein· Aug 26, 2020 12:47 PM
    Although it's not shown in Reverend Insanity it's hinted that he used to be naive and kind at the beginning
    Reply · 1 Like · ·
    • AbsoluteNothingness
      AbsoluteNothingness· Author · Aug 31, 2020 02:59 AM
      Yes, Reverend Insanity is one of my favourite novels, but FY starts off already changed, so I decided not to include it.
      Reply · 3 Likes · ·
  6. The-Lonely-Daoist
    The-Lonely-Daoist· Jun 23, 2021 01:33 PM

    I recommend Sss-class su*cide hunter. The first few chapters personally shocked me in how the MC would do anything just to reach his own goals.

    Plauge Doctor is also good too. 

    Reply · ·
  7. RedPlays
    RedPlays· Apr 18, 2021 02:08 PM

    Astral pet store

    The mc at chapter one was sane

    After chapter 1 he becomes kinda insane, he still has reason in him

    About 200 or 300 chapters in he becomes full-blown crazy and starts mu*dering anyone that goes against him even if he is in the wrong while making poor and unreasonable excuses

    Spoiler:

    There was a guy that wanted to kill him after the banquet(it is banquet that was made for their profession, pet store or carer or something). He was pointed out why the mc is wearing casual clothes and that the mc is being disrespectful. The mc becomes even more disrespectful which made the leader of the banquet angry. The leader wanted him out and the mc responds by killing the guy, who wanted to kill him. This enrages the leader who orders guards against the mc, which the mc slaughters. The mc makes up an excuse as to why he did this; The mc started killing because they were being disrespectful to him, even though they only did that because the mc was very disrespectful.

    Reply · ·
    • AbsoluteNothingness
      AbsoluteNothingness· Author · Apr 26, 2021 09:53 AM
      Sounds like a senseless self-insert power fantasy lol.
      Reply · ·
  8. AbsoluteNothingness
    AbsoluteNothingness· Author · Mar 1, 2021 07:47 AM

    Novels not on NU:

    Chapter of the Olden Days (lnmtl)/旧日篇章

    This novel follows the Main Character Lu Li as someone whose bodily condition has been mutated due to an "accident" and comes to be able to wield his body and emotions in near-complete control. He is suddenly taken into a bizarre "game" where he learns secrets beyond worlds and power, earnest to seek out more thrill and interesting aspects of the universe, he journeys in this "game", slowly changing beyond boundaries of what he thought he was and what he had considered himself to be. (Novel by the author of Soul of Negary.) Relevant Tags: Infinity style, World Hopping, Cthulhu Mythos, Lovecraftian.

    Worm by Wildbow

    It is an English web serial following Taylor, a young girl who awakened superpowers due to being bullied by her classmates. What's the superpower?—The power to control bugs! Though she could use her powers against her bullies, she does not want to stoop to their level, instead, she aspires to be a superhero as a form of escape. On her first night out in costume, she is mistaken as a supervillain by a superhero and through a series of events, ends up joining a supervillain team. Her morals are challenged, and her principles are attacked as she slowly sinks into the world of villainy. Relevant Tags: Superheroes, Psychological, Trauma, Alternate Reality, Young Adult.

    The Perfect Run by Void Herald

    This novel follows Ryan "Quicksave" Romano, a man who has the ability to create save points and time travel to that point in the event of his death. Jaded through centuries of life by living the same moments again and again, Ryan only cares about passing through each arc of his life as perfect as possible, achieving his "Perfect Run". Relevant Tags: Superheroes, Post-Apocalypse, Time Travel, Romance.

    Reply · ·
  9. Bruce008
    Bruce008· Oct 15, 2020 08:16 PM
    Where is Against The Gods ? Yun Che stomps this list imo. Literally from someone who wants to protect the people he love to become someone who will stoop to any level to fulfill his objective
    Reply · ·
    • FIEND
      FIEND· Jan 2, 2021 02:22 PM
      isnt taht straight harem tho
      Reply · ·