- #1
The first chapter was kind of "meh" because we're pretty much thrown into the story without any prior knowledge. The MC reaches the final boss, who he needs to take down to prevent the end of the world, but soon realizes he is unable to kill him with purely brute strength. He needs magic, something he neglected in exchange for power.The MC pretty much leaves in search of a way to gain magic and become a magician. I found his nonchalance kind of odd (why did he come all this way to kill the last boss, only to go, "Oh okay, I need magic then I guess"?) Personally, I'd be beyond pissed and annoyed. And while it's understandable (I guess) that the MC merely focused on strength, he would have at least accounted for the chance that the boss was immune to brute force.Despite the somewhat bland beginning, things start to really build up after that. It turns out that the MC is actually quite notorious, and something really terrible had happened to him for him to become this jaded and cold. We aren't told what, but we are given hints as the story continues to develop. So readers who prefer to have things explained at the beginning might find themselves disappointed.The story is quite dark and grim, as its world pretty much emphasizes the rule of "survival of the fittest." Betrayal is everywhere and self-gain/profit is the goal. No one is safe from death (except the MC, haha) and the fighting scenes are quite gruesome. The MC himself is ruthless in destroying anyone that gets in his way or poses as an obstacle. It's implied that his jadedness comes from what occurred in the past with his previous "companions."I do like the MC's personality, and as the story continues, we learn a lot about him. He isn't just some overpowered brute. He works hard, is quite the overachiever, and still takes joy in learning. Plus, he likes cooking!One of the few niggles I have about this story is the MC's lack of caution. Yes, he doesn't blatantly reveal his strength, yet he does a really terrible job of also hiding it sometimes. For someone who is notoriously known, you'd think he'd change his name or something. Spoiler
It turns out that the MC has a lot of money because he stole it from the Merchants Guild. He spends the money like water but doesn't consider/realize the consequences of that. (Imagine robbing a bank and then using the money... The serial numbers are recorded, you know?)
[collapse]The story still is quite interesting, and the translation is very good, so I'll be keeping an eye on this story.