- #1
If you're debating reading this, then you're just like me. It sounds interesting, maybe enough to put in a list, but not enough to actually start. At least, that's what I thought. I started this because I'd either finished or hit the end of what was translated for the other light novels I was reading. I figured I'd read a few chapters of this thing I'd bookmarked forever ago, skim through the gaming jargon and then be dragged elsewhere by my whims... Boy, was I wrong.To be clear, I do not seriously game, especially multiplayer style. I stick with first-person storylines like Mass Effect, or Fallout 4. I care little for gaming fights and have zero knowledge of how all that works even after watching my brother playing that stuff for hours. My only takeaways were "Oh, you killed that guy." or "That was a tough shot." or "You totally died." And that game held little similarities to League of Legends (which the game in this story is modeled after) other than it being an online multiplayer team-up style (I have no idea what his game is even called).With that in mind, you know you can trust me when I say that this is a good read. Is there gaming jargon? Yes. But the author and translators do an insanely excellent job of making it understandable for anyone. And by the time I'm sick of it and want to skim ahead, they're done explaining and the plots moving forward. Do I understand everything? No. But it's not their fault. I don't care about gaming so only the key takeaways and important bits stick in my brain. The rest gets forgotten, leading to a hint of regret later when they bring up some jargon I forgot, but then they show you what they mean through the gaming so it doesn't matter if I forgot anyway.On another note, the world-building is intentional and superb. That means a lot of names to remember, but thankfully everyone has a distinct personality that makes you go, "Oh, I remember you, " after a few sentences. The game characters are also well fleshed out. They have pros and cons and the author is obviously a gamer (who should totally get a job creating game character for League of Legends from the sound of it).While the main character is a bit OP, there's a valid explanation and it isn't face-slapping all the way. The wins have a logical cause and effect, as do the losses. While they can be predictable, they aren't clearly inevitable. It's something you have to think through in terms of storytelling to predict.The romance is slow. It lurks in the background before abruptly coming to the surface, only to slink back again. The further you get, the more pronounced it becomes.The Male Lead (ML) is professional but pure and the Main Character (MC) is laidback but completely clueless when it comes to what's considered "normal" and "acceptable" in this world where he's a pseudo-woman. The author does a good job of making comparisons to show that while MC thinks marking is just a good way to deal with his problems, to ML, it's a completely insane suggestion and for good reason.Spoiler
Marking would be equivalent to the intimate act getting each other off in this world. Intimacy-wise, not literally.
[collapse]Honestly, it's an all-round good story that'll get you binging all night if you give it the chance (trust me, I did). So if you're debating, go ahead and read.There is one downside though; It's not completely translated. With something that has so many characters and jargon and such, it's a pain to jump back in after a week or more without an update. And at the moment, updates seem to be slow. So, if you can't wait and want to jump in, be happy knowing that 140 chapters are translated so far and at least the first two translators who worked on this (haven't checked out the third yet because I haven't gotten that far) are absolutely amazing and putting in the effort to pull out all the stops and give a phenomenal final product.