Reviews Amateur / Webnovel appreciation and recommendation Thread

Ascheroth · Jul 26, 2020

I'll second Mother of Learning. I've binged the entire thing in like 2 weeks or something. It really is an incredibly satisfying read.

Ascheroth · Jul 27, 2020

Alright, let's do this!

[UWSL]Release That Witch[/UWSL]

Official Blurb:

Chen Yan travels between worlds, ending up becoming an honorable prince in a medieval fantasy world. Yet this world was not quite as simple as he thought. Witches with magical powers abound, and fearsome wars between churches and kingdoms rage throughout the land.
Roland, a prince regarded as hopeless by his own father and assigned to the worst fief, spends his time developing a poor and backward town into a strong and modern city, while fighting against his siblings for the throne and absolute control over the kingdom. Join Roland as he befriends and allies with witches and, through fighting and even farming, pushes back invaders from the realm of evil.

Author: Er Mu
Genre: Kingdom-building Isekai
Length: 1498 chapters / 2.23 million words
Website: Release That Witch

One of my favorite webnovels. Release That Witch, corny name aside, is a chinese Isekai focused on kingdom building. The main character, a chinese engineer, suddenly finds himself in a different world after he died - in the body of Roland Wimbledon, a useless prince who got sent into far away border region to keep him away from the important political stuff.
The world he finds himself in is similar to a medieval Europe with fantasy elements: There are monsters and there is also magic, but only women can use it and are hunted and killed by the church.
Roland doesn't have any special powers, so he only has two things to give him an advantage in this new world:
His knowledge from our world and his acceptance of witches. He researches magic and combines it with his modern-day knowledge to aid in the growth of his domain. And as he learns more about the world and its history, it becomes clear that the "medieval Europe" is only the surface and this world has many more weird, fantastical and dangerous things in store for him and his allies...

Basically the MC plays Civilization and brings his domain into the industrial revolution while everyone else is stuck in the middle ages and it's satisfying.
Incredible worldbuilding, fascinating magic and fantastical elements, cute romance and lots of well fleshed-out side characters make this a highly recommended read.

Ascheroth · Jul 27, 2020

Kyougar said:
RTW is the go-to Webnovel I recommend for people asking about Chinese Webnovels. It is the most accessible for a western audience, which is good, but it is mostly NOT like traditional Chinese Webnovels which is kinda bad, when people search for Novels like RTW and find 90% Wuxia and Xianxia Novels in all forms.
It has more in common with Japanese Isekai Novels and shames 98% of them.

Lol same. I've recently binged most of Lord of the Mysteries, which is amazing and also extremely easy to reccomend - because it's also not a "typical" genre for chinese webnovels

. It's also isekai, but lovecraftian/occult themed. It was just finished like 2 months ago and is almost completely translated. I was thinking of waiting until the last volume is translated as well before writing a rec about it, but I might as well just go for it right now. It's easily become one of my all time favorites.

Ascheroth · Jul 27, 2020

[UWSL][UWSL]Lord of the Mysteries[/UWSL][/UWSL]

Official Blurb:

With the rising tide of steam power and machinery, who can come close to being a Beyonder? Shrouded in the fog of history and darkness, who or what is the lurking evil that murmurs into our ears?
Waking up to be faced with a string of mysteries, Zhou Mingrui finds himself reincarnated as Klein Moretti in an alternate Victorian era world where he sees a world filled with machinery, cannons, dreadnoughts, airships, difference machines, as well as Potions, Divination, Hexes, Tarot Cards, Sealed Artifacts…
The Light continues to shine but mystery has never gone far. Follow Klein as he finds himself entangled with the Churches of the world—both orthodox and unorthodox—while he slowly develops newfound powers thanks to the Beyonder potions.
Like the corresponding tarot card, The Fool, which is numbered 0—a number of unlimited potential—this is the legend of “The Fool”.

Author: Cuttlefish That Loves Diving
Official Website: Lord of the Mysteries
Genre: Lovecraftian Steampunk Fantasy "Isekai"
Length: 1394 chapters (presumably also around ~2 million words).

Just all around amazing. Our reincarnator Klein Moretti finds himself entangled with the supernatural underside of this alternate world due to the bizarre nature of his reincarnation. He also learns that he was not the first reincarnator - someone else arrived before him and brought some of modern culture and technology into this alternate world.
The worldbuilding and lore is incredibly rich. There are multiple fleshed out historical eras with tons of organizations, important characters and secrets - and lots of it ties back into the current state of the world and the ongoing plot.
The main character is very smart, scheming and cautious. But so are all the other characters in this novel. The "action" is not so much focused on pure combat with fantastical abilities - though there is also a good amount of that - but battles of wits and scheming. And boy do some of those schemes run deep. There's also plenty of important three-dimensional side characters and different perspectives - after all the MC starts very early to secretly create his own secret society where he (succesfully) pretends to be a god

.
The author is also very very good at foreshadowing and build up. This is clearly a story that was completely envisioned from the very beginning, where nothing is unimportant and no "filler" exists.

Like I mentioned before, it's easily become one of my all-time favorite stories - beyond just webnovels. It's that good.

Ascheroth · Jul 27, 2020

Kyougar said:
You had to wait 4 more minutes to get the post to not merge :> (1 hour lock)

Argh, I thought it was 30 minutes <.<

Kyougar said:
Any site where I can read it without doing daily quests for a year to unlock all chapters?

Hidden content

lashman · Jul 27, 2020

Kyougar said:
You had to wait 4 more minutes to get the post to not merge :> (1 hour lock)

... or have someone else post something

haha

Ascheroth · Jul 28, 2020

[UWSL]Renegade Immortal[/UWSL]

Official Blurb:

Wang Lin is a very smart boy with loving parents. Although he and his parents are shunned by the rest of their relatives, his parents always held high hopes that he will one day become someone great. One day, Wang Lin suddenly gained the chance to walk the path of an immortal, but found that he only had mediocre talent at best. Watch Wang Lin as he breaks through his lack of talent and walks the path towards becoming a real immortal!

Author: Er Gen
Official Site: Renegade Immortal
Genre: Xianxia
Length: 2088 chapters (should be somewhere between 3 and 4 million words)

Alright first things first: Yes, the blurb is incredibly generic and tells you absolutely nothing, we'll fix this in a bit.
Renegade Immortal is one of the earlier works of famous Xianxia author Er Gen, and from the ones I've read likely my favorite. Maybe my favorite Xianxia in general.
What is a Xianxia, you ask? Well literally it means "Immortal Heroes" and is a genre of chinese webnovels, in which people "cultivate" to become immortal, by contemplating the "Dao" and gaining enlightenment. And the scale usually quickly gets big. Cultivators can live thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or millions of years, fly through space and destroy entire planets. There are all sorts of wondrous magical abilities, treasures and creatures.
Due to the enormous escalation in power levels and age, this genre usually focuses mainly on the Main Character who does something in a certain region, gets stronger, leaves the region and all characters behind to get to the next one, repeat. There usually aren't many sidecharacters that stick along for the entire journey.

Now what makes Renegade Immortal stick out in this genre are imo a few things: first of all, you get fleshed out side characters who stay relevant throughout the novel, and the "beginner village" areas aren't forgotten either.
When you read a bunch of webnovels you usually start noticing that they have their own tropes that are common in most works, and unfortunately some of them are pretty tasteless. Renegade Immortal does a good jobing avoiding most, if not all, of those tropes.

Wan Ling, the main character, is a regular human boy who gets picked up by a sect of immortals and starts walking the path of a cultivator. However, he quickly has to learn that this world is not a rosy one... In order to survive he has to become cautious, scheming and ruthless.
This is another novel where the main character is actually smart, but so are all other characters. One of the main antagonists especially is just brilliantly written. There is romance as well.

I have some critic as well though. There are certain parts here and there in the first few hundred chapters that can feel rather aimless and a bit exhausting to read. The novel drastically improves after this bumpy stretch though. I really recommend sticking with it, it's an incredible ride overall.

Ascheroth · Jul 29, 2020

[UWSL]Way of Choices[/UWSL]

Official Blurb:

To pick is to choose. This is a story about choices. Three thousand worlds full of gods and demons, with a daoist scroll in your hand, you are able to control the entire universe…

At the beginning of time, a mystical meteor came crashing down from outer space and scattered all over the world. A piece of it landed in the Eastern Continent, with mysterious totems carved upon it. Through the observation of these totems, humankind comprehended the Dao and established the Orthodoxy.

Several thousand years later, the fourteen years old orphan Chen Changsheng left his master to cure his illness and change his fate. He brought a piece of marriage vow with him to the capital, thus began the journey of a rising hero.

Author: Mao Ni
Official Site: Way of Choices
Genre: Eastern Fantasy
Length: 1184 chapters (probably ~2 million words)

Way of Choices is one of my favorite eastern fantasy webnovels. It has it all, lots of memorable side characters, great character development, romance, political intrigue, morally grey antagonists, an unusual main character, interesting fights, etc.
It also doesn't entirely revolve around constantly getting stronger, training, fighting, etc. It takes over a hundred chapters until the main character even gets some powers.
Most of all though, I absolutely adore the prose. Mao Ni has a very flowery and unique style that I really enjoy.

The one negative is that the ending is kind of lackluster. All the main story threads are actually tied up very well, but the author starts expanding the world at the end only to tease it a bit and then leave it open.

Some sample writing I've saved (entirely unrelated scenes):

With a boom, the stream water was jolted several hundred zhang into the air and then fell back down like rain. The cliffs of the mountain path and the grass fiercely shook, with muffled booms ringing out nonstop. The yellow, lantern-like persimmons on the trees fell one by one. Whether ripe or unripe, they all fell to the ground and were pulped into paste. Just like the corpses and flesh by the stream bank.

After some time, Luo Bu turned to Chen Changsheng and asked, "Do you also have a girl that you like?"

Chen Changsheng nodded and said, "I do, but I haven't met her in a while."

Luo Bu appeared very interested, asking, "She likes you?"

Chen Changsheng felt rather embarrassed as he softly grunted in affirmation.

Luo Bu slightly arched his brow and asked, "If you have a lover, why aren't you seeing her?"

It was clear that he did not approve of Chen Changsheng's way of doing things.

To him, the most difficult part was developing affection, but since they were already lovers, they had to always stay together. It was not allowed for them to separate.

Chen Changsheng thought this question over, then said, "It's not convenient to meet, and also…she has a few rather important things to do."

Luo Bu said no more. Taking a large gulp from the wine pot held in his fingers, he muttered, "Mutual affection…just what sort of feeling is that?"

Chen Changsheng did not hear this clearly and asked, "What?"

"Nothing, just drunken ramblings."

Luo Bu gazed towards the plains at the end of the stream, seemingly seeing that peak which was shrouded in clouds throughout the year, and a faint sadness tinged his face.

From his first glance upon waking, the Luo Bu in Chen Changsheng's eyes had always been elegant and yet indifferent, downtrodden but not unruly. However, he had never once seen Luo Bu like this.

This was a very faint sadness, yet his lush beard was unable to conceal it. Why did his young face appear so ravaged by time?

He truly wished to know Luo Bu's story, to know just what he had experienced.

"I'm a person without a story." Luo Bu very quickly broke out of this mood and offered the wine pot to Chen Changsheng as he indifferently continued, "Because I've lived too smooth a life. Other than a small trouble when I was small, I received everything that I wished for."

Chen Changsheng thought inwardly, then why are you so sad?

"But there are many things in this world that have no relation to your own efforts, like the love between man and woman, or great matters that decide life or death. No matter how much you struggle or grow, you can never be sure of victory, as these two relationships require a response."

Luo Bu pointed at the numberless stars above and said, "You can say to the starry sky that you don't want to go back, but the starry sky won't answer you. You will grow old, and then die. You can say to a girl 'I love you', but even if you're the best of the best, she just doesn't like you, but what can you do?"

The starry sky and girls would only quietly look back at the viewer, perhaps with pity or sympathy, but when would they ever change their mind?

A starry sky that could randomly change its hue, shape, and rules only existed in the oil paintings of Xuelao City.

Those girls who would implore or strive to be the girl that one loved might also be good girls, but regretfully, they were not the girl that he loved.

'But what can you do?'

This flatly-said question filled Chen Changsheng with a deep anguish.

Perhaps it was because he had once prayed to those infinite stars above to pardon his life.

He somewhat clumsily patted Luo Bu on the shoulder. He wanted to comfort him, but didn't know what to say.

The countless stars twinkled above.

The girl was in the distant south.

Thankfully, he said nothing.

Ascheroth · Jul 30, 2020

[UWSL]Nine Star Hegemon Body Art[/UWSL]

Official Blurb:

Is he the reincarnation of a Pill Sovereign? Or is he a fusion of spirits? A youth whose Spirit Root, Spirit Blood, and Spirit Bone were all stolen - Long Chen must rely on his memories of divine pill refining arts and a mysterious cultivation technique, the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, in order to part the layers of misleading fog and solve a heaven-shaking riddle.
Heaven and earth are within his grasp as he steps through the cosmos, meets all kinds of beautiful women, and suppresses devils, demons, and gods.
Legend has it that when Long Chen arrives, the lands roar and heaven screams, ghosts sob and gods weep.

Translator Blurb:

Long Chen, a crippled youth who cannot cultivate, is constantly targeted and bullied by his fellow noble heirs. After a particularly vicious beating, he wakes up and realizes a Pill Sovereign's soul has somehow merged with him, giving him some additional memories. Within those memories is the mysterious Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, a cultivation technique that even he can train in, but whose secrets and origin are still a mystery to him. Relying on his improved instincts as he finally begins to cultivate, he realizes a huge conspiracy is underfoot within the Phoenix Cry Empire; a conspiracy involving his father, members of the imperial family, and even the Emperor himself.
In order to solve the mysteries around him, he must rely on his new alchemy techniques and the powerful but baffling Nine Star Hegemon Body Art. Countless enemies block him as he attempts to climb to the peak of the cultivation world.
Fate destined him to be only a chess piece, but he would not bow to the will of the Heavens.

Author: Ordinary Magician
Official Site: Nine Star Hegemon Body Art
Genre: Easter Fantasy, Comedy, Harem
Length: 3800+ chapters (~4-5 million+ words I guess)
Status: Ongoing, 1400 chapters translated, 2 chapters a day

This one's a bit of a guilty pleasure. Make no mistake, it's an unapologetic power fantasy to the extreme, but an incredibly entertaining one if I dare say so.
It's somewhat formulaic and full of tropes and (ab)uses all the tropes to the extreme - ...which weirdly enough makes things somewhat fresh and unique.

The MC is always the underdog wherever he goes and attracts trouble whatever he does. He wants to eat at a restaurant? Someone will come find trouble for him. He resolves the trouble? Turns out whoever made trouble has much stronger companions, family or a powerful faction behind him, who then want to get revenge, repeat.
This is literally MC against the entire world. Everyone wants to kill him or exploit him. Evil factions? Straight up want to murder him. "Good" factions? Want to stab him in the back and get him killed too. The world/nature itself? Also wants to kill him (I'm really not joking).
So what does he do?
His says "screw it" and creates his own faction to go against the entire world. He gets various "cheat" abilities that make it possible for him to constantly improve his allies so that they can keep up with him. That's one thing that in my opinion puts this above lots of other similar power fantasies. The are lots of fun side characters that accompany the MC, and the banter between them is hilarious. Even the harem aspect is handled decently.
The author is a master at infurating you because everything and everyone is "unfair", but you know MC and gang will eventually prevail and kick ass in the most badass, or hilarious way and it will be great.
Don't expect anything super deep, but what it is is immensely entertaining still.

Ascheroth · Jul 30, 2020

Now for something a bit different:

[UWSL][UWSL][UWSL]My House of Horrors[/UWSL][/UWSL][/UWSL]

Official Blurb:

The hearse with the weird odor slowed to a stop before the entrance. The sound of pebbles could be heard bouncing on the ceiling. There were footsteps coming from the corridor, and there seemed to be someone sawing next door. The door knob to the room rattled slightly, and the faucet in the bathroom kept dripping even though it had been screwed shut. There was a rubber ball that rolled on its own underneath the bed. Wet footsteps started to surface one after another on the floor.
At 3 am, Chen Ge held a cleaver in his hand as he hid beside the room heater. The call he was trying to make was finally answered. “Landlord, is this what you meant by ‘the house can be a little crowded at night’‽”

Author: I Fix Air-Conditioner
Official Site: My House of Horrors
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 1100+ chapters (probably around 2 million+ words)
Status: Ongoing

I've read about 500 chapters so far, it's very different from your usual chinese webnovel genres.
The main character, Chen Ge, runs his family's haunted hause in a theme park after his parents mysteriously disappeared one day. Eventually he finds a weird phone they left behind, and there is one app on it: A "game" about managing a haunted house - and it's his haunted house this game seems to manage.
In order to find the reason behind the disappearence of his parents and turn his haunted house into the best there is, Chen Ge decides to expand his haunted house with the help of the mysterious phone. He will have to investigate and survive dangerous haunted spots and come into contact with the supernatural side of the world. And hire actual ghosts as employees, to give his customers the best and most authentic experience.

Chen Ge is a fun main character, because he absolutely has a few screws loose and his interactions with ghosts and monsters are quite non-standard.
The book also actually focuses on his haunted house quite a lot, every time he gets a new attraction there are a few (dozen) chapters about some visitors exploring it and getting terrified, for example. It's pretty great.
The ghost stories, creatures and haunted locations are usually pretty creepy as well.

Ascheroth · Jul 31, 2020

Monarch of Evernight

Official blurb:

He rose from hardship, but was felled by betrayal. From then on, one man, one gun; treads the path between Evernight and Daybreak to become a legend. No matter what was destined to be his fate, he intends to become the ruler who dictates.
Follow Qianye as he traverse the wide, wild and bloody world of Daybreak and Evernight.

Translator description:

Monarch of Evernight is a steampunk fantasy novel with Western fantasy elements like vampires, werewolves, arachnids, and a sniper protagonist. The story is mature, dark, and involves deep intricate plots centered around large-scale wars and politics. It's largely different from traditional wuxia in that it has a faster pace, frequent action, and little to no fillers.

Author: Misty Rain of the South
Genre: Steampunk/Dark/Eastern Fantasy
Official Site: https://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/monarch-of-evernight
Length: 1500 chapters
Status: Completed, but still being translated (currently at ~1100 chapters)

I've read around 800 chapters and I really like it (waiting until the next volume is translated before starting another binge).
I think the translater description covers it pretty well. It has a really cool main character and many equally interesting side characters and once again characters are actually smart (I know I keep highlighting this, but it's because in so many chinese webnovels most characters, especially antagonists, are dumb as bricks).
World(building) is pretty cool - flying contents with travel between them happening with airships - and there are many factions and lots of politics.
Warning: there is one pretty disgusting scene very early on:

At the beginning the main character gets sent into an "assassin training institue" for children. The training is pretty brutal and also involves raping (almost) everyone once (while they are still underage children). The explanation is to get them used to sex, so that it won't effect them in case it happens on a mission. It's very uuuuuuuuugh. Thankfully this is the only instance in the entire novel as far as I can recall, there is sex but it's otherwise all consensual and between adults (I hope I don't misrember

)

Edit: Unfortunately I can no longer recommend this.

I had to drop it around chapter 1000, the story went really into a really weird and off-putting direction and the main character has been making lots of stupid and out-of-character choices.

Pommes · Aug 2, 2020

Great thread

As someone who has not read any webnovels I have some technical question:

On which device(s) do you read the webnovels? Probably on the phone?
Is there an easy way to keep track of the current reading position? Are there any apps that can be used?

Pommes · Aug 2, 2020

Kyougar said:
I either read on PC or Mobile (when I am out of the house waiting for something or on public transport)

Royalroad and Webnovel.com have a last-chapter-read feature. With normal websites, I just leave the tab open on PC or Mobile.

Thank you for the information. Now on to pick a webnovel to start

Ascheroth · Aug 2, 2020

Pommes said:
Great thread
As someone who has not read any webnovels I have some technical question:

On which device(s) do you read the webnovels? Probably on the phone?

Is there an easy way to keep track of the current reading position? Are there any apps that can be used?

I read on the phone usually.

Wuxiaworld keeps track of your latest read chapters as well.
For other chinese/korean/japanese webnovels I keep track of them via https://www.novelupdates.com/

Ascheroth · Aug 3, 2020

Azarinth Healer sounds completely up my alley! Any ideas how "far along" it is? Is there an end in sight?

Ascheroth · Aug 3, 2020

Kyougar said:
I only read until chapter 458 (that was where I caught up with it) and want to wait for 100 new chapters to be released to continue, but up to chapter 458, there was no end in sight. At that point, a major arc was just finished and our protagonist was R&R'ing a little.
Theoretically, you could finish it up in an arc or two, but the plot just opened up immensely. there is an overarching plot right now but that could go anywhere. Especially because with what we learned about the world, the current overarching "crisis" is of little relevance in the overall worldbuilding. (for my understanding, the protagonist may see it otherwise :> )

It's a living, breathing World and Adventure. I like it when there are shifting priorities, instances of relative slice of life, and the normal world-ending spectacle.

Sounds cool. Might follow you in reading up to the end of that major arc and letting more chapters pile up. I'm definitely intrigued (I like protagonists who have a few screws loose

)

Ascheroth · Jun 28, 2021

I should get off my lazy ass and post some more things, I do have quite a bunch.

Ascheroth · Jun 28, 2021

Cultivation Chat Group

Official Blurb:

One day, Song Shuhang was suddenly added to a chat group with many seniors that suffered from chuuni disease. The people inside the group would call each other ‘Fellow Daoist’ and had all different kinds of titles: Palace Master, Cave Lord, True Monarch, Immortal Master, etc. Even the pet of the founder of the group that had run away from home was called ‘monster dog’. They would talk all day about pill refining, exploring ancient ruins, or share their experience on techniques.
However, after lurking inside the group for a while, he discovered that not all was what it seemed...

Author: Legend of the Paladin
Official Site: Cultivation Chat Group
Genre: Cultivation, Comedy, Slice-of-Life, Action, Tractor-Racing, etc
Length: 3165 chapters (around 1600 translated at the time of writing)
Status: Completed, Translation ongoing

Basically a regular student gets involved with a bunch of cultivators that have integrated themselves into the modern world. Hilarious hijinks ensue.
This is a very light read. Action and conflict aren't the focus and generally resolved in comedic ways, as are the cultivation technicques, treasures and "cheats" the main character acquires along the way.
This is primarily a slice-of-life comedy with a huge cast of colorful personalities where you have arcs about tractor racing competitions, movie shootings alongside things like travelling to different worlds and it's just a barrel of fun.
There is a main story as well, which is gradually being developed and is actually quite interesting.

I binged around 1500 chapters without taking a break and didn't grow tired of it. Currently waiting for a couple more hundred chapters to be translated before continuing the binge.

Ascheroth · Jun 30, 2021

Overgeared

Official Blurb:

Shin Youngwoo has had an unfortunate life and is now stuck carrying bricks on construction sites. He even had to do labor in the VR game, Satisfy!
However, luck would soon enter his hapless life. His character, ‘Grid’, would discover the Northern End Cave for a quest, and in that place, he would find ‘Pagma’s Rare Book’ and become a legendary class player…

Overview from the translator:

Brief overview that I translated from a Korean site:

The basis of this novel is a virtual reality game called Satisfy, developed by the world’s top genius scientist Lim Cheolho and world-class scientists.

The main character is timid, flaky, selfish, cares about money and easily feels jealous of others. Because the author set up the character in this way, the story was difficult for the readers to read.

But as the main character encounters various people and geniuses, he internally matures and his personality changes. If the main character is described as cancerous early on, at present he can be called a mature adult. However, those who don’t read beyond the early parts of the 5th volume (~ chapter 90) find it hard to believe.

The basic settings and story line are similar to other VR novels, but the praiseworthy thing is the content development. The early parts aren’t much different from rival novels, but the novel rating has exceeded the market average in recent years due to the writer’s growth.

Like other novels, it contains a munchkin element, but it is different from typical munchkins. In the early stages, the game progresses with the main character using his class of a legendary blacksmith. The main character expands the game content and the level of the existing users dramatically increase. Hidden talents, new players in the official rankings, classes that could break the balance, all of this makes the main character’s one-man show impossible. The main character grows internally and externally while competing with others.

In fact, if you compare the simple and ignorant battle method in the beginning to his abilities in the present time, it is possible to feel such a sense of distance that he doesn’t seem like the same character.

As for the evaluation of the work, the criticism was severe in the beginning, but the popularity increased rapidly after that. As described above, the improvement in the author’s writing and the growth of the main character led to rapid changes in the comments. However, the main character’s selfish and frustrating behaviour caused many readers to stop reading in the beginning. For the readers who have gone beyond the beginning, it is a tragedy that seems really pitiful.

(This reads a bit wooden, I would like to clarify that the actual translation of the story is better

I assume "munchkin element" refers to an underdog-type story)

Author: Park Saenal
Official Site: Overgeared
Genre: VRMMORPG, E-Sports, Kingdom Building, Comedy, Romance (a bit Harem-y), Action, Adventure
Length: 1450 chapters at the time of writing (I've read up to around 1000)
Status: Ongoing

The above overview pretty much tells the most important things aready.
Beginning isn't that great because Grid, the main character is just plain unlikeable. Things dramatically increase when he starts trying to become a better person and the story focuses a lot on his character development.
This is one of the crafting-type stories, where the main character becomes a Legendary Blacksmith and his path to success is making overpowered equipment for him and his allies.
The growth is satisfying to read and while he's definitely sort of overpowered there are plenty other overpowered players in the game, as well as monsters and NPCs, which keeps things exciting. In general there's lots of interesting classes and skills and equipments and game functions. A thousand chapters in things have not gotten stale.
It is also one of those VR stories where the NPCs in the game might as well be real people in a real world and it functionally could be an Isekai - if there weren't regular real world parts. These are of not of the fantastical type, but more about how Grid's personal growth effects his real-world self, meet-ups with other players, e-sports competitions and the like.

A very entertaining read if you can get past the initial hurdle.

Ascheroth · Dec 28, 2021

Divine Throne of Primordial Blood

Official Blurb:

Su Chen lost his sight in an unfortunate, unanticipated encounter. He was unwilling to give up despite suffering one of the most tragic fates possible in the human realm and fought on. Su Chen wants to use his own efforts to create a completely new destiny, both for himself and for mankind!

Author: Zero Fate [缘分0]
Official Site: Divine Throne of Primordial Blood
Genre: Xuanhuan
Length: 1158 chapters
Status: Completed (and completely translated)

I already read this a while ago but think it's good enough to recommend. It's essentially a cultivation story with a "mad scientist" type as the main character. In a world where bloodlines limit your potential, Su Chen wants to create an entirely new path for mankind.
He is smart, driven and of dubious morality (he likes to say he has a bottom line he doesn't want to cross, but that bottom line is very low

).
The world building is pretty good and the way the power system is explored and bult upon based on research and in-universe cohesive "magic-science" is quite fascinating.
Different arcs can also have wildly different feels to them. Going from a tournament arc (the main character doesn't participate in cause it's a bother, lol) to a crime thriller to a spy story and much more keeps things fresh.
Good cast of side characters and smart antagonists as well.
Solid ending as well.

Ascheroth · Dec 28, 2021

The Legendary Mechanic

Official Blurb:

What do you do when you wake up and find yourself inside the very game that you love?
What do you do when you realize you that you have not only become an NPC - you have even been thrown back in time to before the game even launched!
What will happen when our protagonist's two realities coincide?
Han Xiao was a professional power leveler before his transmigration. Using his past life's knowledge, Han Xiao sweeps through the universe as he prepares for the arrival of the players. This is definitely not your typical transmigration novel.

Author: Qi Peijia
Official Site: The Legendary Mechanic
Genre: Isekai, Video Game, Sci-Fi
Length: 1463 chapters
Status: Completed (and completely translated)

Another one I read a while ago.
Consistently entertaining from beginning to end. The premise is a bit of a "let's throw everything and the kitchen sink into this" hodge-podge but it comes together seamlessly.
Han Xiao finds himself as an NPC in the VRMMORPG he played - and not only that, he appears to have travelled back in time to 1 year before the game officially starts as well. As the name might imply, "Galaxy" is a sci-fi setting with a massive universe full of planets, races, organisations, powerful beings and all that stuff. The book does a good job at actually making this world feel sprawling and alive and you follow the main character move up in the world with time and make a name for himself.
The main character is fun and as a mechanic his powerset is pretty novel I would say. Solid side-cast as well. In particular the way he uses his status as an "NPC" and knowledge of the game to interact with the "players" is pretty unique.
And surprisingly enough all the isekai/video game/time travel aspects actually get a satisfying and coherent in-universe explanation by the end.

If there's one small gripe I have with this book it's that some side-plots kind of fizzle out, but it's not many and considering the length of the story some missteps are understandable - the overall plotting is remarkably consitent all things considered though.

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