- #1
edit (as of chapter 160) : "This has become a kind of odd story, don't you think?" Yes, it has. Still reading and enjoying it, but I liked it better when it was about Lapis, Loren, their mysterious pasts and possible future. Hopefully the story will get back to that, if even the author is noticing the detour...Original (thru chapter 134) : 5 stars doesn't mean I think this is "Moby Dick". What it does mean is that I've enjoyed this so much that read 100 chapters in about 1 day, and am still anxious to see what comes next. Oh, and that I have laughed out loud (no, really) three or four times. I love dry wit, and some descriptions are as dry as a mouthful of cinnamon. I love the dynamic between the two leads. It reminds my a bit of Steed and Emma Peel of "The Avengers" TV series (yes, I'm that old).I jumped into the novel *after* the first dungeon. I had been following the manga adaptation, which was probably the best way through that initial, rather slow arc, because it's definitely the worst one. I found that it ended in chapter 24, so I've read from there. What made me keep bother looking for the novel was Lapis' personality, and the dynamic between the two leads... and I'm glad I did.Incidentally, I'm rather sad to see these characters so misunderstood in some of the reviews. The MMC is a low-rent Guts (from "Berserk!") if he had refused to be traumatized and decided not to seek revenge. He's not beta, he's just got a rather narrow view of life. He stands immovable for his principles, always ready to (rather casually) risk his life for them. Does that really sound beta? He just doesn't know or care about other things -- like pleasure, getting rich, or ranking up -- very much. FMC, on the other hand, is mostly along for the ride, but she does know how the world works, recognizes what a diamond-in-the-rough she's found in MMC, and had no intention of letting him get away. Not, to be honest, that he's trying very hard to escape...