- #1
I ended up MTL'ing this one and I kind of have a like-hate relationship with it.I like the dynamic between the MC and the ML. It's refreshing to have a villainous love interest where the author doesn't do the cowardly thing authors always do where they're inevitably like "oh he wasn't REALLY bad, just misunderstood." No, the ML is a bad guy. So is the MC. That's another thing I like. Just because they're enemies, doesn't mean one side is good and one side is bad. They're both jerks. They're toxic a**holes, they know that they're toxic a**holes, and the MC is really self-aware about the fact that part of the reason they like each other is BECAUSE they, uh, hate each other. Which creates some actually interesting tension for a will-they-won't-they relationship in a genre where the answer is always, yes, they will.So that's what I like about this series. On the other hand...Literally everything else. It's all bad, which is forgivable, but much of it is boring, which is worse. The exam arc is probably my favorite out of any of them, just because it's 1) unique and 2) says something sinister about the real world (our real world, not the MC's fictional real world). Which is a lot closer to real horror than the vast majority of "horror" web novels get. But most of the arc's potential is squandered and the ending isn't satisfying in the least. So.Also, I have to complain about the barrage. I am so sick of authors writing boring barrages into their stories. I'm actually a big fan of barrage/twitter/weibo commentary in stories when it's DONE WELL, because it gives an additional layer of complexity to a plot when thousands or millions of other people are watching and judging a situation, and those judgements end up having an impact on the characters. However, so many authors just use it as a way to show off how much everyone in the whooooole world loves the protagonist and hates the antagonist and it's so so so boring.The barrage in this story is even worse. I honestly started not even reading it. It doesn't contribute anything whatsoever to the story, and it's never made clear who it even is. Like... WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Where are they watching from?? Why are they watching??? I don't get it at all. They never interact with the characters so they may as well not exist. They have zero impact on the story. And they never say anything interesting. A lot of the time, literally all they do is just repeat sh*t that the author has JUST explained through exposition or dialogue. The boring plots aren't that complicated. I didn't need you to explain it to me once, let alone a second time, but with the unnecessary addition of "The MC is SOOOOOO smart and handsome." Ugh.Anyway, I thought the MC and ML's relationship was fun, at least for a while, but even that kind of loses its draw after a certain point, especially when I have to wade through so much garbage to get to it. And the reason I even like unlimited flow horror stories is because I like reading horror stories, so it's just an all around disappointment, tbh. Overall, it's not really worth it.
