Main Character Hides His Strength Chapter 71 Discussion

The title of this novel may lead you to think that the story will be cliche and the quality may be low -- that would be wrong. This is a dark and violent twist on the "summoned to another world" genre... And it's done so well.

PLOT:

Kim Sangchul, former summoned hero, the strongest man alive, now the Enemy of the World, uses his inhuman physical strength to slaughter his way through the Other World to the fortress of the demon lord. He easily destroys its body, but lacks the magical ability to obliterate its soul.

In order to gain the stats and training needed to master magic, he sneaks into the bloody Summoning Palace and pretends to be one of the thousands of new humans summoned from Earth. Hiding his strength, the Enemy of the World learns magic from scratch.

REVIEW:

The Other World in this novel is very unique compared to other stories -- this is a dark, bloody world facing multiple calamities. Thousands of people are summoned and forced to fight monsters and death matches in order to weed out the weak.

The main character is also unique in that he's much older than most main characters, and battle-hardened. He has already survived the massacre in the Summoning Palace and lived in the Other World for decades. He's a loner with few words and single-minded determination. He doesn't trust people and doesn't make friends. However, despite his coldness and inhuman strength, I found him to be a realistic and intriguing lead.

While the genre of this novel falls firmly in Fantasy rather than Horror, this novel is still pretty brutal and gory in a horrifying and realistic way. People don't die "pretty" deaths here, and the Other World is on its way to ruin. Strength rules, betrayals abound, and nice people don't survive.

TRANSLATION:

The translation quality for this novel is some of the best I've ever seen. You can really tell that the translators care a lot about making sure the terminology, language, names, etc are consistent and thoughtful. Such a high-quality translation makes this novel one of the easiest to read, despite the complex content.

RECOMMENDATION:

In order to enjoy this novel, you have to enjoy (or at least be ok with) :

• • Solitary, serious main characters

• • Grim and realistic fantasy

• • Brutality

• • Game mechanics and leveling

• • No romance

Also, be warned that you sort of need to be in a "bloodthirsty" sort of mood to really get into this. Personally, I found it to be a welcome change from the usual whimsical "reborn/summoned to another world" cliches.