- #1
Heres a summary of my full review on my blog-So, the main criticism people have against this novel is that its not unique. And rightfully so, because there is actually not much else to point out as a flaw. In fact I'd argue even that point isn't actually much of a flaw. Why reinvent the wheel? Why change what's already working? This novel does not have a unique setting or premise, its almost too generic. Except what it focuses on is the execution of that premise and succeeds extremely well.The protagonist remarks he's surrounded by geniuses, one of them being that grey-haired girl who's a genius at everything with the gunslinger class. Except if you think about it for a moment the protagonist himself is the most talented guy in the room. He doesn't just know mage skills which is his core class, he excels at gunslinger, close-combat, assassin tactics, support, esoteric magic, everything.The action scenes are described quite well. The character interactions too. While they usually lack moral ambiguity and most if everyone is either solidly on the good side or just straight up evil, they undoubtedly have a bit of depth. Characters have their own quirks and goals, plus the romance is a really slow burn almost to the limit that you doubt its even there at all. Till one of the girls questions the MC and he remarks that he's very selfish, so he wants it all. And its mostly after that point that the romance elements kick in.And that's it. This is an academy novel set in a game world and absolutely plays to its strengths. It's a 9 out of 10. On the lower side of 9 but a 9 nonetheless, not because it does anything new but what it does is done really well.Edit: addition- the protagonist is support in the sense that disruption and crowd control are support skills. He's infact peak support because he's all about fight disruption and positioning control, he has good damage but his core abilities are all about controlling the very battlefield itself. Thats why he calls himself support. Not for the heals/ buffs/ debuffs. In a game-wise logic this makes perfect sense but it doesnt neatly fit into the 'healer' category that the average fantasy novel has so I guess it might not seem familiar to the average reader.
