- #1
In this world that is pointedly not Earth (so no other continents/Earth countries, a handy solution to avoiding nationalism plotlines), humans have developed various abilities such as gravity manipulation, molecular bond combustion, mass manipulation, mental contract enforcement, etc. These abilities rely on bloodline/lineage, mental computational power as well as on algorithms through which functions controlling these powers are interpreted. They form the basis of power of the various aristocratic families ruling the world, the latter's positions maintained through application of these powers in industry, commerce, politics, the military and society in general, strengthening their descendants through cerebral development to enhance their mental computational abilities, as well as ensuring that such techniques and technology remain known only to their own. Oh, and there exist in this world various creatures hostile to humanity, such as ghosts, devils and demons.
Our MC, Cheng Jinyang, is a youth suffering from inescapable nightmares within which he is attacked and repeatedly killed by monsters, where death merely leads to revival inside the dream. His parents, both deceased, belonged to two different noble families and had married despite opposition from the noble Cheng family (for rather mysterious political reasons) (not much information on the mother's noble family). Thus, Cheng Jinyang, having been rejected by these two noble families, has lived the life of a commoner without the support or education a noble would typically receive, with seemingly meagre/non-existent mental powers and few ambitions.
Enter Xing Yuanzhi, a capable noble lady of considerable potential wielding the mass manipulation powers of the Xing Family who is also his fiancé, once arranged for him in brighter times when Jinyang's parents had been alive. She asks for the engagement to be annulled, unwilling to tie herself to someone without potential or status, and offers to provide him with a stipend as compensation (Marriages for aristocratic children are typically arranged by their families' leaders to enhance their own lineage, so youth normally have little say in it). Jinyang accepts peacefully, but before the decision is formalized, involuntarily and to the surprise of both they realize that Jinyang is capable of both entering the dreams of others (may not be an accurate depiction of what happened), as well as dragging others into his own nightmares. And together in the world of monsters, they find that killing these creatures leads to rapid enhancements in their bloodline power, many times faster than any other aristocratic child. As such, the two resolve to continue the engagement with an eye towards marriage, and hopefully one day develop true feelings of affection for each other...
[collapse]Standout points:-Characters are pragmatic and intelligent. The MC's fiancé decides to pursue the engagement after finding out that killing monsters in his dreams can enhance both of their powers, and uses her own abilities and connections to conceal this secret and help the protagonist. Though the decision was based on benefits, both her and the MC acknowledge and accept this, and will attempt to develop authentic feelings for each other for the purpose of increasing mutual trust and ensuring stability and safety in their relationship. The MC himself will bear no ill feelings towards her, acknowledging that her reasoning for initially wanting to dissolve the engagement was valid, and also seeks a better relationship with Xing Yuanzhi as a break in relations could lead to their secret being known by others and himself being captured for human experimentation. Other characters will initially have various negative feelings towards the protagonist, but quickly shift gears after considering the future and realizing the capabilities of the protagonist. Though initially dismissive of the protagonist, the Cheng Family leaders Spoilerquickly decide to accept him into their ranks and even promote him upon realizing his prowess, though are quick to attempt to impose a binding mental imprint on him to prevent him from purposefully harming the interests of the family (due to various considerations as well as worry he might purposefully seek to damage their family due to their bad history together). Even then, they keep the antagonism at a very moderate level, and appear to be generally reasonable but selfish actors.
[collapse]-Though the novel is indeed quite focused on the relationship between the MC and his fiancé, and promises more on future harem additions, due to the how characters are written here romance will proceed in a rather unsentimental fashion. Other girls will appear and develop interest in the protagonist, but expect everyone to have multifaceted outlooks and considerations at first, and only later developing genuine feelings and trust.-The setting is based on a scientifically modern world with modern cities, facilities and institutions like laboratories, hospitals, universities and global commerce/transportation supply chains (likelier higher tech level than us), and powers are used to enhance and aid industry, the military and society in general. Great work by the author, it feels realistic and logical, and you could indeed imagine the world being shaped like this given the additional elements of super powers and monsters. Also fresh ideas, given that many similar stories occur in a school/academy setting (does not happen here), or in a low tech/high fantasy world.-The prospective romantic interests will all have at least one mental peculiarity (Xing Yuanzhi is a clean-freak), but for now all appear to be highly intelligent and reasonable people, albeit somewhat selfish. Thus expect them to be quirky, but rational enough to recognize their failings and willing to compromise/discuss affairs. Also rather unusual, as typically in harem/romance novels many of the girls of interest have stubborn/unbending personalities, and often seem to suffer from intellectual deficiencies or unreasonable degrees of infatuation towards the protagonist. Romance is slow however, so maybe there will be yanderes in the future or somesuch, who knows there's only one girl in a confirmed romantic relationship with the protagonist for now.-The MC for now is a bit bland. Not particularly a genius, he does seem however to have excellent strength of will, trained through years of traumatic death from his nightmares. Generally a pleasant and accommodating person who can read the ambience and social cues, and isn't particularly stubborn/vengeful. Expect him also to be willing to look past offenses depending on the context. Appears for now a tad prone to teasing others and proud, but overall very reasonable.Honestly, I find this a fascinating novel where all relevant characters appear intelligent and reasonable, and where conflict will rarely be due to emotional excess. I'm eager to learn more about the sci-fi setting, as well as uncover more about the demons and other monsters antagonizing humanity.