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Will of the Immortals #1
Steel Foundations
Steel Foundations asks the question: What if a 16th-century German knight were to be thrust into a world of magic, gods, and monsters, forced to navigate the unknown while mourning the loss of everything he once knew?
Leon Jäger, a stoic and unyielding knight, lives by a simple code: repay kindness with a river of ambrosia, and slights with total destruction. But when an unexplainable force pulls him into a foreign world where magic flows and monsters roam, his creed will be tested like never before
Struggling to comprehend powers beyond his imagining, Leon must master the mystical art of Qi cultivation while hiding his abilities from those who might exploit them. As he maneuvers through this strange land of gods, magic, and Cultivation, Leon must not only survive but carve out his place—without losing himself in the process
Steel Foundations blends the epic drama of western fantasy with the intricate philosophy of Chinese cultivation, wrapped in the fast-paced thrills of LitRPG.
Swords, sorcery, and mystical forces converge in this unique isekai adventure, where eastern tradition meets a knight’s resolve.
Leon Jäger, a stoic and unyielding knight, lives by a simple code: repay kindness with a river of ambrosia, and slights with total destruction. But when an unexplainable force pulls him into a foreign world where magic flows and monsters roam, his creed will be tested like never before
Struggling to comprehend powers beyond his imagining, Leon must master the mystical art of Qi cultivation while hiding his abilities from those who might exploit them. As he maneuvers through this strange land of gods, magic, and Cultivation, Leon must not only survive but carve out his place—without losing himself in the process
Steel Foundations blends the epic drama of western fantasy with the intricate philosophy of Chinese cultivation, wrapped in the fast-paced thrills of LitRPG.
Swords, sorcery, and mystical forces converge in this unique isekai adventure, where eastern tradition meets a knight’s resolve.
508 pages, ebook
Published September 19, 2024
1332 people are currently reading
467 people want to read
About the author
Jay Krauss
15 books52 followersJay is an animal lover, software developer, traditional blacksmith, modern woodworker, terrible mechanic, avid reader, and author.
A master of no trades, perhaps, but a consummate dabbler.
Writing in both Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres.
A master of no trades, perhaps, but a consummate dabbler.
Writing in both Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
December 5, 2024
Awful book. Here are few examples why:
- The MC starts not just overpowered but has permanent buff that allows him to advance at ridiculous speed - from Foundation Building Early to Foundation Building Peak in 2 days.
- The MC generally don't talk, so there is pretty much social interaction. Why are we reading the book, again?
- The MC makes absolutely unreasonable decisions. Like:
1) The first time he meets a someone in the new world he automatically decides that he will help them without asking any details nor ensuring that he has chance to help them - considering that he is at the lowest cultivation stage at that point and the 'help' is to kill entire bandit band of 20+ people.
2) Once he helped them, he leaves immediately. Why? We don't know! The only explanation given is "It was time to move on, to see this world, and to get some answers". WHY didn't you ask the grateful family that you just saved for these answers???
- The MC starts not just overpowered but has permanent buff that allows him to advance at ridiculous speed - from Foundation Building Early to Foundation Building Peak in 2 days.
- The MC generally don't talk, so there is pretty much social interaction. Why are we reading the book, again?
- The MC makes absolutely unreasonable decisions. Like:
1) The first time he meets a someone in the new world he automatically decides that he will help them without asking any details nor ensuring that he has chance to help them - considering that he is at the lowest cultivation stage at that point and the 'help' is to kill entire bandit band of 20+ people.
2) Once he helped them, he leaves immediately. Why? We don't know! The only explanation given is "It was time to move on, to see this world, and to get some answers". WHY didn't you ask the grateful family that you just saved for these answers???
December 15, 2024
Started good but went full anime
Started ok but went full anime around 50% with Hannah and hidden masters plus bad guys with depth that makes Garry from pokemkn seem deep.
Started ok but went full anime around 50% with Hannah and hidden masters plus bad guys with depth that makes Garry from pokemkn seem deep.
February 3, 2025
And then there was Hannah (DNF)
I really liked the concept of a knight being dropped into a Cultivator story. This was the first cultivator book for me so I didn’t mind if he was over powered or not, because what do I know?
Sigh. And then there was Hannah.
We first meet her when Leon rescues her (at the beginning of his time on the new world) and returns her to her family. She is passed out the entire time so does not know what he looks like.
The next time we meet her is at the Adventurer’s Guild and she a bit snarly to him and demands he keeps his hands off her even though he was attempting to keep her from going heels over ears off the stairs.
The third time is when she learned who he was and comes running after him so she, face down on the ground, can dedicate her life to him in payment for saving her (at the behest of her goddess). She has to beg him to accept her and once he does…then the story took a turn that I knew was the beginning of the end for me. She goes from a bit of a prickly character to a girly child.
I hate (absolutely hate) when a key female character behaves like a child. She is sticking her tongue out at him, giving him “strange looks” as to why he did something, rolling her eyes at his explanation, arguing with him, etc. I decided it wasn’t worth continuing when she started to huffily complain about things he was doing. I expected her to stamp her feet and pout next. The way she spoke and behaved was so off putting to me. Especially since she was supposed to have dedicated her life to him. It made no sense to me as to why this character was written this way after showing some spunk earlier.
I realize this is a me issue and not the author’s issue. They can write their book any way they want. But I just can’t enjoy that type of character unless they are writing about a bratty 10 year old. I like my female characters to be complex, strong, intelligent, open minded and capable of adult conversation and reasoning.
I really liked the concept of a knight being dropped into a Cultivator story. This was the first cultivator book for me so I didn’t mind if he was over powered or not, because what do I know?
Sigh. And then there was Hannah.
We first meet her when Leon rescues her (at the beginning of his time on the new world) and returns her to her family. She is passed out the entire time so does not know what he looks like.
The next time we meet her is at the Adventurer’s Guild and she a bit snarly to him and demands he keeps his hands off her even though he was attempting to keep her from going heels over ears off the stairs.
The third time is when she learned who he was and comes running after him so she, face down on the ground, can dedicate her life to him in payment for saving her (at the behest of her goddess). She has to beg him to accept her and once he does…then the story took a turn that I knew was the beginning of the end for me. She goes from a bit of a prickly character to a girly child.
I hate (absolutely hate) when a key female character behaves like a child. She is sticking her tongue out at him, giving him “strange looks” as to why he did something, rolling her eyes at his explanation, arguing with him, etc. I decided it wasn’t worth continuing when she started to huffily complain about things he was doing. I expected her to stamp her feet and pout next. The way she spoke and behaved was so off putting to me. Especially since she was supposed to have dedicated her life to him. It made no sense to me as to why this character was written this way after showing some spunk earlier.
I realize this is a me issue and not the author’s issue. They can write their book any way they want. But I just can’t enjoy that type of character unless they are writing about a bratty 10 year old. I like my female characters to be complex, strong, intelligent, open minded and capable of adult conversation and reasoning.
December 9, 2024
good story with terrible pacing
Pretty much the title. The premise of the story is good, but the way it is told could be so much better. The idea of a 16th century Knight was cool, but you wouldn’t know he was from 16th Century Germany with the way he acts and talks. He seems more like a Millennial from Georgia.
Spoilers:
Also the pacing. From when he enters the world to when the book ends, something like a week passes. In that time literally every supporting character treats him like their long lost son/brother/romantic interest. He trusts anyone that is nice to him with his secrets, finds world altering resources in his first dungeon, has the first inn keeper treat him like her long lost nephew, his first encounter with people ends up being an adoptive sister. First person in the adventurers guild falls in love (even though you can’t see the MC and he says almost nothing), first quest ends up being secret master, second quest ends up being his secret nemesis. Like build the relationship and plot bit. Maybe move through a few towns/cities. Act like a Knight/low noble from 16th century Germany. Ex: Retainers are good and not sisters.
As an aside, not sure how the one “noble” we briefly see in the book thinks he is a peasant when the MC is 6+ feet tall covered in plate. Also, why is Ty any good enough to purchase things in the alchemist shop? How do they do business?
Pretty much the title. The premise of the story is good, but the way it is told could be so much better. The idea of a 16th century Knight was cool, but you wouldn’t know he was from 16th Century Germany with the way he acts and talks. He seems more like a Millennial from Georgia.
Spoilers:
Also the pacing. From when he enters the world to when the book ends, something like a week passes. In that time literally every supporting character treats him like their long lost son/brother/romantic interest. He trusts anyone that is nice to him with his secrets, finds world altering resources in his first dungeon, has the first inn keeper treat him like her long lost nephew, his first encounter with people ends up being an adoptive sister. First person in the adventurers guild falls in love (even though you can’t see the MC and he says almost nothing), first quest ends up being secret master, second quest ends up being his secret nemesis. Like build the relationship and plot bit. Maybe move through a few towns/cities. Act like a Knight/low noble from 16th century Germany. Ex: Retainers are good and not sisters.
As an aside, not sure how the one “noble” we briefly see in the book thinks he is a peasant when the MC is 6+ feet tall covered in plate. Also, why is Ty any good enough to purchase things in the alchemist shop? How do they do business?
February 9, 2025
Involuntarily hilarious litrpg on cheat mode
DNF at 65%
The protagonist is an unbelievable gary stu. Despite having only just finished his knight training on Earth, he is supposed to be a master in his skills and constantly defeats more experienced and way stronger enemies.
Leon acts like an undead. He never takes off his plate armor or helmet, seemingly unperturbed by sweat,blood, itches, small insects and even his own vomit inside his closed helmet. Astoundingly, he never seems to feel the need to relieve himself either..
The scene where he played -successfully- stealth ninja in a forest while wearing heavy plate armor wearing his full helmet - which would leave him mostly deaf and blind-was pure comedy gold and reminded me of Monty Python!
The story is written overly modern. Leon and other characters are very defiant to authorities, especially the church, which neither fits to a medieval nor a Wuxia society. Hanna talks and acts like an uncommonly extroverted Western gamer girl which neither fits to her origins nor the society she lives in..
Unfortunately, the incessant trivial banter proved to much for me and i wasn't invested enough to continue to suffer through..
Criticism and comments
The names used are not German.
By the 16th century knights had gotten mostly redundant in Western Europe militarily.
The idea that L never took his helmet off in one year in public is very mysterious but impropable and socially unacceptable.
The fight against the wolves was absolutely preposterous. Even a demigod would have struggled using only a knife..
The idea that partsof some castle are supposed to weigh millions of tonsmade me laugh..hardly any castle is taller than 20 metres and they are mostly hollow.
in comparison, the, mostly massive, pyramid of gizah weighs about 5,7 million tons while being 137 metres high..
The author seems to have a problem about understanding weight. Walking around longer times and even jumping while wearing plate armor only happens in juvenile movies and games.. Furthermore, while safe and cool looking, wearing a full helmet would give the user at most a vision radius of 60% which is only recommendable on horse back or having your back covered by companions..
The idea of moons orbiting a planet in opposite directions is lovely but physically impossible.
Stealth while using a plate armor with steel shod boots? #rofl#
"The lack of expression on his steel helmet".
European knights didn't fight in a column..
DNF at 65%
The protagonist is an unbelievable gary stu. Despite having only just finished his knight training on Earth, he is supposed to be a master in his skills and constantly defeats more experienced and way stronger enemies.
Leon acts like an undead. He never takes off his plate armor or helmet, seemingly unperturbed by sweat,blood, itches, small insects and even his own vomit inside his closed helmet. Astoundingly, he never seems to feel the need to relieve himself either..
The scene where he played -successfully- stealth ninja in a forest while wearing heavy plate armor wearing his full helmet - which would leave him mostly deaf and blind-was pure comedy gold and reminded me of Monty Python!
The story is written overly modern. Leon and other characters are very defiant to authorities, especially the church, which neither fits to a medieval nor a Wuxia society. Hanna talks and acts like an uncommonly extroverted Western gamer girl which neither fits to her origins nor the society she lives in..
Unfortunately, the incessant trivial banter proved to much for me and i wasn't invested enough to continue to suffer through..
Criticism and comments
The names used are not German.
By the 16th century knights had gotten mostly redundant in Western Europe militarily.
The idea that L never took his helmet off in one year in public is very mysterious but impropable and socially unacceptable.
The fight against the wolves was absolutely preposterous. Even a demigod would have struggled using only a knife..
The idea that partsof some castle are supposed to weigh millions of tonsmade me laugh..hardly any castle is taller than 20 metres and they are mostly hollow.
in comparison, the, mostly massive, pyramid of gizah weighs about 5,7 million tons while being 137 metres high..
The author seems to have a problem about understanding weight. Walking around longer times and even jumping while wearing plate armor only happens in juvenile movies and games.. Furthermore, while safe and cool looking, wearing a full helmet would give the user at most a vision radius of 60% which is only recommendable on horse back or having your back covered by companions..
The idea of moons orbiting a planet in opposite directions is lovely but physically impossible.
Stealth while using a plate armor with steel shod boots? #rofl#
"The lack of expression on his steel helmet".
European knights didn't fight in a column..
December 20, 2024
Very fun but...
Absolutely zero progression. Hilariously so.
Take the most exciting moments of your favorite progression LitRPG stories and mash 'em together with exactly zero character work and effort in the telling and you will have this book.
That said, the writing is enjoyably descriptive and it's fun to read. It's just that the MC is a god-like OP luck character from the very beginning and there is no challenge or effort to the story.
On a positive note: It's not filled with gross misogyny and incel sexism like too many of this genre seem to be.
It feels as if the author created this as a bedtime fairytale (where exciting events must happen often and are highly exaggerated) and it snowballed into this over-the-top story of legendary scenes.
Either way, I had fun reading the ridiculousness, but probably won't continue.
May you enjoy it more than I!
Absolutely zero progression. Hilariously so.
Take the most exciting moments of your favorite progression LitRPG stories and mash 'em together with exactly zero character work and effort in the telling and you will have this book.
That said, the writing is enjoyably descriptive and it's fun to read. It's just that the MC is a god-like OP luck character from the very beginning and there is no challenge or effort to the story.
On a positive note: It's not filled with gross misogyny and incel sexism like too many of this genre seem to be.
It feels as if the author created this as a bedtime fairytale (where exciting events must happen often and are highly exaggerated) and it snowballed into this over-the-top story of legendary scenes.
Either way, I had fun reading the ridiculousness, but probably won't continue.
May you enjoy it more than I!
November 28, 2024
Sloppy, but interesting.
The author has decided to write a story about a 16th century German blacksmith/knight being isekai’d.
He’s apparently decided to do this without an ounce of research into Germany or 16th century knights. Bravo.
He did do some research into armor pieces and names, as well as into into black smithing, so there’s that.
Shoehorned into the entire Isekai novel is cheesy qi channeling, weird Chinese tropes, and a plucky sidekick who uses 20th century Americanisms learned while living in the weird amalgamation of European/Chinese historical society.
The book has some promise. But the author needs to learn to better pace his emotional and social plot lines.
The author has decided to write a story about a 16th century German blacksmith/knight being isekai’d.
He’s apparently decided to do this without an ounce of research into Germany or 16th century knights. Bravo.
He did do some research into armor pieces and names, as well as into into black smithing, so there’s that.
Shoehorned into the entire Isekai novel is cheesy qi channeling, weird Chinese tropes, and a plucky sidekick who uses 20th century Americanisms learned while living in the weird amalgamation of European/Chinese historical society.
The book has some promise. But the author needs to learn to better pace his emotional and social plot lines.
September 25, 2024
Great book
Great book I can't wait to read the next book in the series I would recommend this author to anyone
Great book I can't wait to read the next book in the series I would recommend this author to anyone
February 21, 2025
I just can't recommend it sadly, it had so much potential! I'll start with the grammar and prose, grammar wise it's...alright, I've caught a couple of mistakes or sentences that made no sense but other than that it's fine, prose wise i'd compare it to a decently skilled teenager writing fantasy I suppose-my biggest problem is that some stuff gets repeated CONSTANTLY, ok we understand that women blush everytime the MC walks in or whatever, but also using the same phrases over and over again to describe it just gets annoying, NOT TO MENTION the MC's partner(not romantic) also keeps doing that throughout the book and this is my biggest gripe with it, god I swear I would like her so much more if she wasn't so obnoxious, everything the MC does she repeats how insanely LUCKY he is or that this never happens in the hundreds of years of history of the world, and the way they talk to each other too it's just....uncanny sometimes. The MC does not struggle AT ALL, everything is handed to him on a silver platter, powers, money, skills, loot. Wow look at that he just got another mythical leendary extra duper weapon or whatever....and of course his partner has to say it EVERY TIME. Also the pacing is kind of weird, the ending is just.... there. There is a lot of cool stuff but it gets overshadowed by the not so cool stuff sadly, the world is shallow, everything goes on perfectly for the MC-there really is no real struggle... I wish I could rate it higher but I give it a 2/5
October 6, 2024
Need more now
Great story. It's similar to Gary Spechko's hero of the valley series, which is high praise in and of itself.
The MCs are good. The action is well done and the litrpg and cultivation aspects are interesting and well executed.
All the characters have personality and are fleshed out. I binged this book and can't wait for the rest of the series.
Great story. It's similar to Gary Spechko's hero of the valley series, which is high praise in and of itself.
The MCs are good. The action is well done and the litrpg and cultivation aspects are interesting and well executed.
All the characters have personality and are fleshed out. I binged this book and can't wait for the rest of the series.
October 25, 2024
Great
Really enjoyed the book. Wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked it out but was pleasantly surprised and truly enjoyed. The pacing and action overall is good and the character grows enough to be realistic. Recommend for anyone who likes this genre.
Really enjoyed the book. Wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked it out but was pleasantly surprised and truly enjoyed. The pacing and action overall is good and the character grows enough to be realistic. Recommend for anyone who likes this genre.
November 5, 2024
Great read
Loved the whole idea of the story from the start ,great game mechanics but not in your face good all round world building and the fight and battle scenes are well written ,loved it from start to finish !
Loved the whole idea of the story from the start ,great game mechanics but not in your face good all round world building and the fight and battle scenes are well written ,loved it from start to finish !
September 27, 2024
Excellent
What a fantastic read this was, when I first came across the book I wasn't quite sure about it but after reading a couple of reviews I decided to give it a go. The story had me hooked within the first couple of pages and one of the best books I have read in a very long while.
What a fantastic read this was, when I first came across the book I wasn't quite sure about it but after reading a couple of reviews I decided to give it a go. The story had me hooked within the first couple of pages and one of the best books I have read in a very long while.
October 7, 2024
Good book
An enjoyable progression story with an
OP MC that regularly gains power while challenging tougher opponents throughout the story. Looking forward to the sequel.
An enjoyable progression story with an
OP MC that regularly gains power while challenging tougher opponents throughout the story. Looking forward to the sequel.
October 27, 2024
Outstanding read
I really liked the premise and characters. The blending of lit-rpg, cultivation, and Knight chivalry is truly unique and fantastic. A must read.
I really liked the premise and characters. The blending of lit-rpg, cultivation, and Knight chivalry is truly unique and fantastic. A must read.
October 31, 2024
great new series
I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read we a likeable Main Character and plenty of power leveling. Will definitely get the next book.
I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read we a likeable Main Character and plenty of power leveling. Will definitely get the next book.
December 6, 2024
Loved it!
A really excellent story for the start of the series. Of course I want to read the next book as soon as possible lol.
A really excellent story for the start of the series. Of course I want to read the next book as soon as possible lol.
September 23, 2024
Fanfreakingtastic!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! I can not wait for the next book to come out!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! I can not wait for the next book to come out!
February 10, 2025
Not bad
Decent but fairly predictable plot. So far the protagonist has had everything handed to him on a silver platter so is very OP. Strangely the author has invested a lot of time researching the correct names for weapons and terms for blacksmithing but makes several simple and frustrating mistakes in other areas that make it hard to truly enjoy. For example, characters from other worlds using contemporary American colloquialisms and euphemisms, and a supposedly medieval ‘Germanic’ knight referencing the states of Germany and Austria. Some of the essential world building mechanics have been ignored as well.
Decent but fairly predictable plot. So far the protagonist has had everything handed to him on a silver platter so is very OP. Strangely the author has invested a lot of time researching the correct names for weapons and terms for blacksmithing but makes several simple and frustrating mistakes in other areas that make it hard to truly enjoy. For example, characters from other worlds using contemporary American colloquialisms and euphemisms, and a supposedly medieval ‘Germanic’ knight referencing the states of Germany and Austria. Some of the essential world building mechanics have been ignored as well.
October 8, 2025
An impressive first entry to a new series!. I love just about everything about it except for the context errors. I would love to give this five stars, and would if there’s only an occasional context error, but there are so many and it’s such a pet peeve of mine that I have to count off for it.
The elements of the setup are interesting. I like how we aren’t sure what the situation is when we start, what world we are on, what the rules are, if there’s magic, and how it unfolds as Isekai but in a unique manner. The MC, Leon, is a knight of common stock living in 16th century HRE, of German ethnicity. Acts of courage and sacrifice lead to his death but with the system’s intervention to allow him to be reborn on another world, though they use that term respawn may be more appropriate as he’s not reborn a babe. He carries into this new magical world, a litany of magical rewards for his past life and marches into the unknown.
The story is quite good in the way the narrative is constructed. Instead of went there and did that, he basically just stumbles into situations, and the actions he chooses based on his character (traits), evolve into the rest of the story. This is organic storytelling, and the best way to do it in this genre, in my opinion.
Magic in this new world is kind of a weird blend between D&D lore (spells and deities and whatnot) and system-style with Xianxia elements like Qi, cultivation, thresholds, meditation, and dantians but with a system interface and skills that level. I don’t have a problem with this at all. The system really serves to bridge the gap of explaining things to the reader. One issue with this is that hit points are mentioned multiple times, but it’s never stated what his are.
The dungeon delves were a lot of fun. Kinda bummed each room doesn’t grant a chest, but they get loot from the environments and enemies to compensate for that.
The characters are fairly good, though I do wish some of the side characters were more ambiguous than either simps for Leon or powerful people with pure intentions. Antagonists don’t last long so can’t really count them as side characters.
Leon has some trauma around his facial scarring to cause him to not reveal his face to others, but there is some character growth in that aspect as he opens himself up to his sworn companion Hannah which she handles so well he feels confident opening up to others he’s come to respect, trust, and admire.
This Hannah aspect is where I have one concern. I feel like the revelation of his secrets to Hannah was way underdeveloped. Leon went from wanting to be a loner too shy to even show his face much less seek to make friends to having a sworn companion forced on him to trusting this companion enough to spill his deepest secrets in one single day. I don’t feel like that is logically consistent with the established character traits of Leon.
Some of my other logical consistency issues:
1. There seems to be a rule of law in the town, so how is it that some noble brat can presume order his guards to attack Leon and kidnap Hannah (for you know what) but also assault the alchemists guild, presumably a large and powerful organization? If his family is that powerful, which the alchemist guildmaster states but then brushes off as a concern, why is such a noble in this little town?
2. I was confused about why his new body was exactly the same as his old one, even with the facial disfigurement. It wasn’t made clear this was the case until halfway through the book. Could be fixed with a sentence during the administrator chapter or perhaps if Leon simply checks his fave when he arrives at the new world.
3. How does other people knowing he’s an outworlder put him or others who know about it “in danger”? That’s never established, and I reread the administrator interaction and he’s never warned about revealing anything.
4. The abilities of gods seem to be contradictory. On earth they don’t even realize a deep dweller has been sent to their world, on the new planet they can follow conversations of people? It seems MCs natural paranoia would have kept him from revealing his secrets to Hannah because the goddess she follows would learn this too. But it was implied earlier that she already knew when she visited Hannah and told her to swear herself to Leon. So this means the gods have some way of seeing things appearing on their world? This makes the entire secrecy need pointless as any god on this world could conceivably tell their followers about Leon.
The next list of issues are context errors, the first is an error if direct context that MC shouldn’t know within the story. All the others are anachronisms being either English phrases that shouldn’t make sense with the fact that the tongue on the new world is another language called Common and that MC speaks some form of German, and the others are concepts and terms that didn’t exist in the 16th century or shouldn’t have been available to Leon in his duchy or whatever somewhere in the HRE.
- “Anywho”
- “Butterfly effect”
- Germany wouldn’t have been a term used to identify one’s homeland in MC’s period, they would have referred to their duchy or kingdom. German would have been used to refer to ethnicity/culture however.
- “Cool Beans”
- “Cowboy”
- “Clockwise”
- Weapons a 16th century knight wouldn’t be aware of such as macuahuitl. I understand this wasn’t spoken by any characters, but still the narrative is told from MC’s perspective.
- There are no geckos in Northern Europe, how does MC recognize one before identifying it?
- “Wingman”
- “Aye-aye”
- “Bro”
- How does MC know monkeys throw feces?
- “You should see the other guy.”
- “It isn’t like the System to give us extra information for free, much less warn us to be careful.” How does MC have the experience and context to know this? He’s been on this world a week and this is his first dungeon.
As you can see there are A LOT of context errors and a few logical inconsistencies which means as much as I love the potential of this series from this first book, it’s still sloppy. I’d compare it to the first book of A Soldier’s Life. That books didn’t have the context issues but had others that made it sloppy enough to warrant a four star from me, but the growth of that author was clear in the next installments and I have most of them at five stars and have it rated as one of my top three series.
So all that said, I think this series has potential to be one of my favorites. Can’t wait to find out!
The elements of the setup are interesting. I like how we aren’t sure what the situation is when we start, what world we are on, what the rules are, if there’s magic, and how it unfolds as Isekai but in a unique manner. The MC, Leon, is a knight of common stock living in 16th century HRE, of German ethnicity. Acts of courage and sacrifice lead to his death but with the system’s intervention to allow him to be reborn on another world, though they use that term respawn may be more appropriate as he’s not reborn a babe. He carries into this new magical world, a litany of magical rewards for his past life and marches into the unknown.
The story is quite good in the way the narrative is constructed. Instead of went there and did that, he basically just stumbles into situations, and the actions he chooses based on his character (traits), evolve into the rest of the story. This is organic storytelling, and the best way to do it in this genre, in my opinion.
Magic in this new world is kind of a weird blend between D&D lore (spells and deities and whatnot) and system-style with Xianxia elements like Qi, cultivation, thresholds, meditation, and dantians but with a system interface and skills that level. I don’t have a problem with this at all. The system really serves to bridge the gap of explaining things to the reader. One issue with this is that hit points are mentioned multiple times, but it’s never stated what his are.
The dungeon delves were a lot of fun. Kinda bummed each room doesn’t grant a chest, but they get loot from the environments and enemies to compensate for that.
The characters are fairly good, though I do wish some of the side characters were more ambiguous than either simps for Leon or powerful people with pure intentions. Antagonists don’t last long so can’t really count them as side characters.
Leon has some trauma around his facial scarring to cause him to not reveal his face to others, but there is some character growth in that aspect as he opens himself up to his sworn companion Hannah which she handles so well he feels confident opening up to others he’s come to respect, trust, and admire.
This Hannah aspect is where I have one concern. I feel like the revelation of his secrets to Hannah was way underdeveloped. Leon went from wanting to be a loner too shy to even show his face much less seek to make friends to having a sworn companion forced on him to trusting this companion enough to spill his deepest secrets in one single day. I don’t feel like that is logically consistent with the established character traits of Leon.
Some of my other logical consistency issues:
1. There seems to be a rule of law in the town, so how is it that some noble brat can presume order his guards to attack Leon and kidnap Hannah (for you know what) but also assault the alchemists guild, presumably a large and powerful organization? If his family is that powerful, which the alchemist guildmaster states but then brushes off as a concern, why is such a noble in this little town?
2. I was confused about why his new body was exactly the same as his old one, even with the facial disfigurement. It wasn’t made clear this was the case until halfway through the book. Could be fixed with a sentence during the administrator chapter or perhaps if Leon simply checks his fave when he arrives at the new world.
3. How does other people knowing he’s an outworlder put him or others who know about it “in danger”? That’s never established, and I reread the administrator interaction and he’s never warned about revealing anything.
4. The abilities of gods seem to be contradictory. On earth they don’t even realize a deep dweller has been sent to their world, on the new planet they can follow conversations of people? It seems MCs natural paranoia would have kept him from revealing his secrets to Hannah because the goddess she follows would learn this too. But it was implied earlier that she already knew when she visited Hannah and told her to swear herself to Leon. So this means the gods have some way of seeing things appearing on their world? This makes the entire secrecy need pointless as any god on this world could conceivably tell their followers about Leon.
The next list of issues are context errors, the first is an error if direct context that MC shouldn’t know within the story. All the others are anachronisms being either English phrases that shouldn’t make sense with the fact that the tongue on the new world is another language called Common and that MC speaks some form of German, and the others are concepts and terms that didn’t exist in the 16th century or shouldn’t have been available to Leon in his duchy or whatever somewhere in the HRE.
- “Anywho”
- “Butterfly effect”
- Germany wouldn’t have been a term used to identify one’s homeland in MC’s period, they would have referred to their duchy or kingdom. German would have been used to refer to ethnicity/culture however.
- “Cool Beans”
- “Cowboy”
- “Clockwise”
- Weapons a 16th century knight wouldn’t be aware of such as macuahuitl. I understand this wasn’t spoken by any characters, but still the narrative is told from MC’s perspective.
- There are no geckos in Northern Europe, how does MC recognize one before identifying it?
- “Wingman”
- “Aye-aye”
- “Bro”
- How does MC know monkeys throw feces?
- “You should see the other guy.”
- “It isn’t like the System to give us extra information for free, much less warn us to be careful.” How does MC have the experience and context to know this? He’s been on this world a week and this is his first dungeon.
As you can see there are A LOT of context errors and a few logical inconsistencies which means as much as I love the potential of this series from this first book, it’s still sloppy. I’d compare it to the first book of A Soldier’s Life. That books didn’t have the context issues but had others that made it sloppy enough to warrant a four star from me, but the growth of that author was clear in the next installments and I have most of them at five stars and have it rated as one of my top three series.
So all that said, I think this series has potential to be one of my favorites. Can’t wait to find out!
January 5, 2025
Full on anime isekai storyline. Only difference is the MC was originally a knight from Germany in the middle ages.
If your looking for a light, cozy, low-stakes adventure, this is for you. Do not expect any type of logic from almost anyone in this story, or any challenges at all really. MC casually takes care of every challenge as if its nothing & overpowers anything and everything, even when he is dying? Which is odd.
Not a huge fan of how the author wrote some of the female characters starting mid book. They all start falling at MC’s feet and starting at him lovingly, the man is covered in armor, he never talks, move on to someone with an actual personality. Please.
Otherwise pretty decent.
If your looking for a light, cozy, low-stakes adventure, this is for you. Do not expect any type of logic from almost anyone in this story, or any challenges at all really. MC casually takes care of every challenge as if its nothing & overpowers anything and everything, even when he is dying? Which is odd.
Not a huge fan of how the author wrote some of the female characters starting mid book. They all start falling at MC’s feet and starting at him lovingly, the man is covered in armor, he never talks, move on to someone with an actual personality. Please.
Otherwise pretty decent.
December 26, 2024
Not bad. But not great
An interesting spin on the concept of getting dragged to a new world, but part way through the characters and their development seems to take a weird turn. The pacing is strange and for no good reason every female character (except 1) all fall in love with the mc for zero good or even stated reasons. All the other characters either hate him or want him as family. It feels unnatural and lazily done
An interesting spin on the concept of getting dragged to a new world, but part way through the characters and their development seems to take a weird turn. The pacing is strange and for no good reason every female character (except 1) all fall in love with the mc for zero good or even stated reasons. All the other characters either hate him or want him as family. It feels unnatural and lazily done
January 2, 2025
A German Knight?
The stoic knight transported to another world to become the most powerful soul ever. I could have handled that had he not transformed into a person without trauma into a bantering goof like every other character in this book. What is the point of the start?
The stoic knight transported to another world to become the most powerful soul ever. I could have handled that had he not transformed into a person without trauma into a bantering goof like every other character in this book. What is the point of the start?
December 2, 2024
If you are looking to start a new adventure and series, look no further! Jay Krauss has created a beautiful world and characters.
March 5, 2025
The failure of cultivation
I don't know what the hell is going on with this novel or who this author is but he does not understand cultivation too many things are wrong right from the start of this novel after this review I am going to get rid of it it is just too stupid and ridiculous first of all the fight in the barn is beyond ridiculous the combined weight of the two involving the MC and that other large man would have the combined weight of At most 700 lb maybe a little more it depends on how large they both are first of all he rode the body to the ground that would end the conflict right there but in the same breath the author states that the crash was so massive that it shook the whole bar knocked objects from the wall started some sort of light show that makes absolutely no sense he is saying that there was a crater created by the crash what crash there was no crash physics would determine the impossibility of what happened here there was no power use no abilities other than the weight of the two hitting the ground that's it the fact that the whole Barn was shaking and nearly crashed belongs in the trash bin and the other thing is while he was cultivating which is fine but the way it happened is so far out Of reach of actual cultivation that it buggers the imagination again we have the light show why would cultivation attack the very ground around the one doing the cultivation for a distance of 10 ft it's stupid and unrealistic because cultivation does one thing and one thing only it purifies the body it excretes the impurities within your body through the pores of your skin that's it in no way would it attack the ground why would it do that is wasteful to get to the next stage of cultivation it requires every ounce of qiy from one's surroundings this novel is a failure for for me at least because every fight is going to involve some level of ridiculousness
I don't know what the hell is going on with this novel or who this author is but he does not understand cultivation too many things are wrong right from the start of this novel after this review I am going to get rid of it it is just too stupid and ridiculous first of all the fight in the barn is beyond ridiculous the combined weight of the two involving the MC and that other large man would have the combined weight of At most 700 lb maybe a little more it depends on how large they both are first of all he rode the body to the ground that would end the conflict right there but in the same breath the author states that the crash was so massive that it shook the whole bar knocked objects from the wall started some sort of light show that makes absolutely no sense he is saying that there was a crater created by the crash what crash there was no crash physics would determine the impossibility of what happened here there was no power use no abilities other than the weight of the two hitting the ground that's it the fact that the whole Barn was shaking and nearly crashed belongs in the trash bin and the other thing is while he was cultivating which is fine but the way it happened is so far out Of reach of actual cultivation that it buggers the imagination again we have the light show why would cultivation attack the very ground around the one doing the cultivation for a distance of 10 ft it's stupid and unrealistic because cultivation does one thing and one thing only it purifies the body it excretes the impurities within your body through the pores of your skin that's it in no way would it attack the ground why would it do that is wasteful to get to the next stage of cultivation it requires every ounce of qiy from one's surroundings this novel is a failure for for me at least because every fight is going to involve some level of ridiculousness
December 24, 2024
A good, fun story for lovers of cultivation, progression & portal Fantasy that is reminiscent of Cradle.
I was initially intrigued by the idea of a 16th century Knight being transported to a new world instead of a modern day person, but I found this to be less impactful than I hoped. While Leon is an interesting character with well-defined morals and shows continual growth, I felt he was too immediately familiar with concepts that should be totally foreign to him. I can attribute this to the system simply giving him that familiarity, but I would have liked to see it be more relevant to the story. For example, a 16th century person would have no conception of a screen, interface, etc., but Leon pretty readily uses it. He also immediately understands how stats work, the idea of "looting," etc. It feels like another modern character that just happens to already know how to use a sword and forge. Overall, this becomes less of a concern as the story progresses and the reader also becomes more familiar with the world. Leon's background as a Knight is still very relevant to his character growth and the story, so it isn't as big of an issue as this paragraph may make it seem.
I also found the jump in Leon's power throughout the story to be a little on the nose, but I am hoping the later entries in the series will explain that. The story already hints that Gods are intervening, which would be a fine explanation if fleshed out well.
The novel is well-written and well-edited. I would give it 5 stars if the introduction was improved to better represent Leon's origin as a 16th century Knight and the difficulties he should experience in adapting to the new world. I look forward to book 2, "Runic Ocean."
I was initially intrigued by the idea of a 16th century Knight being transported to a new world instead of a modern day person, but I found this to be less impactful than I hoped. While Leon is an interesting character with well-defined morals and shows continual growth, I felt he was too immediately familiar with concepts that should be totally foreign to him. I can attribute this to the system simply giving him that familiarity, but I would have liked to see it be more relevant to the story. For example, a 16th century person would have no conception of a screen, interface, etc., but Leon pretty readily uses it. He also immediately understands how stats work, the idea of "looting," etc. It feels like another modern character that just happens to already know how to use a sword and forge. Overall, this becomes less of a concern as the story progresses and the reader also becomes more familiar with the world. Leon's background as a Knight is still very relevant to his character growth and the story, so it isn't as big of an issue as this paragraph may make it seem.
I also found the jump in Leon's power throughout the story to be a little on the nose, but I am hoping the later entries in the series will explain that. The story already hints that Gods are intervening, which would be a fine explanation if fleshed out well.
The novel is well-written and well-edited. I would give it 5 stars if the introduction was improved to better represent Leon's origin as a 16th century Knight and the difficulties he should experience in adapting to the new world. I look forward to book 2, "Runic Ocean."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2025
not bad, falls victim to common tropes
As much as I enjoy the setting of the book and the world the author built, the quiet warrior/inexplicable chick magnet/Gary Stu MC is kind of exhausting.
The world into which the MC has been transported is chock full of smokin hot babes (apparently) and like one other competent man. Needless to say, the MC is fully oblivious to the fact that he's surrounded by angelic beauties who, for some reason, are hopelessly smitten by him. Like, the dude is covered head to toe with armor and has the personality of a wall but, i can only assume, the world is largely populated by whiny, petulant, or incompetent men, so the MC by comparison is hugely attractive?? Maybe? It's clearly a self-insert but man is it grating.
The only challenge the MC faces in the entire book is when he fights 3 troglodytes, which were the first enemies in a dungeon he's forced to take on. The rest of the enemies just fall over in the face of his girthy plot armor. I think his karmic debt should have been explained a bit more during his reincarnation experience. That would, to some degree, help explain why he's so lucky. It just gets boring to read.
The WORST thing the author can do from this point on is continue dedicating so many words to the women around the MC being obsessed with him. If he must be with a woman, just pick one. Don't go the harem route, regardless of how much you want your self insert to be fawned over by blushing women.
Otherwise, the author has a good vocabulary and the book was edited very well for the genre.
As much as I enjoy the setting of the book and the world the author built, the quiet warrior/inexplicable chick magnet/Gary Stu MC is kind of exhausting.
The world into which the MC has been transported is chock full of smokin hot babes (apparently) and like one other competent man. Needless to say, the MC is fully oblivious to the fact that he's surrounded by angelic beauties who, for some reason, are hopelessly smitten by him. Like, the dude is covered head to toe with armor and has the personality of a wall but, i can only assume, the world is largely populated by whiny, petulant, or incompetent men, so the MC by comparison is hugely attractive?? Maybe? It's clearly a self-insert but man is it grating.
The only challenge the MC faces in the entire book is when he fights 3 troglodytes, which were the first enemies in a dungeon he's forced to take on. The rest of the enemies just fall over in the face of his girthy plot armor. I think his karmic debt should have been explained a bit more during his reincarnation experience. That would, to some degree, help explain why he's so lucky. It just gets boring to read.
The WORST thing the author can do from this point on is continue dedicating so many words to the women around the MC being obsessed with him. If he must be with a woman, just pick one. Don't go the harem route, regardless of how much you want your self insert to be fawned over by blushing women.
Otherwise, the author has a good vocabulary and the book was edited very well for the genre.
July 1, 2025
Immersive start, but modern slang breaks the spell
I was really drawn in by the strong opening - great prose, compelling setting, and fascinating premise. The world building felt authentic and immersive. However, once the second MC (MC2) was introduced, I completely lost immersion.
Terms such as cool beans, snarky, bummer, bombs, ammunition, punt gun (where firearms are not used), and referring to the main MC as big guy, plus MC2's interactions with MC1. The constant use of modern vernacular with him understanding it save for the first time "Cool beans, bro" is not logical. The author floats back and forth in his dialogue choices where MC2 fits in and then turns into a modern-day influencer.
I completely understand wanting to add levity or personality, but I think constraining to a consistent dialogue would enrich the story as well as keep immersion. If MC2 was a Traveler, the word choices would make sense. From their interactions, MC2 is not then why speak like that?
Overall, the foundation is solid, and I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and most interactions. But if your main MC is a German medieval knight, he will not understand half the things MC2 says. I am currently debating reading the second, but I did finish the first.
Would I recommend it? Sure. Try it out. If you can get past the prose choices, it has very good world building, an interesting mix of cultivation and RPG elements, and a great explanation for the why of the MC.
I was really drawn in by the strong opening - great prose, compelling setting, and fascinating premise. The world building felt authentic and immersive. However, once the second MC (MC2) was introduced, I completely lost immersion.
Terms such as cool beans, snarky, bummer, bombs, ammunition, punt gun (where firearms are not used), and referring to the main MC as big guy, plus MC2's interactions with MC1. The constant use of modern vernacular with him understanding it save for the first time "Cool beans, bro" is not logical. The author floats back and forth in his dialogue choices where MC2 fits in and then turns into a modern-day influencer.
I completely understand wanting to add levity or personality, but I think constraining to a consistent dialogue would enrich the story as well as keep immersion. If MC2 was a Traveler, the word choices would make sense. From their interactions, MC2 is not then why speak like that?
Overall, the foundation is solid, and I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and most interactions. But if your main MC is a German medieval knight, he will not understand half the things MC2 says. I am currently debating reading the second, but I did finish the first.
Would I recommend it? Sure. Try it out. If you can get past the prose choices, it has very good world building, an interesting mix of cultivation and RPG elements, and a great explanation for the why of the MC.
January 17, 2025
Blurb: "What if a 16th-century German knight were to be thrust into a world of magic, gods, and monsters..."
Take a wild guess at what are three things the book doesn't care about: the protagonist being from the 16-century, the protagonist being German, and the protagonist being a knight. To be fair it turns out he isn't really a knight but more a blacksmith but the book doesn't go into blacksmithing either. Here's the blacksmithing: you get a magic hammer and magic metal and voila magic blacksmithing happens.
The book gives him an obligatory female companion except she is not into him sexually. What is the only possible reason a 2-star book would give for a female to not be interested in the protagonist? That's right, it is because she is a lesbian. Despite that she still gets the hots for him at one point, just not to the point of boinking him. She also spends a lot of time during the dungeon delve ... crying ... for some reason??? And she also speaks using 21st century Earth expressions just to make sure the audience does not believe that this fantasy world has any verity to it. Yes, in an isekai adventure the person from Earth does not speak in pop slang but instead a person from the fantasy world does.
Take a wild guess at what are three things the book doesn't care about: the protagonist being from the 16-century, the protagonist being German, and the protagonist being a knight. To be fair it turns out he isn't really a knight but more a blacksmith but the book doesn't go into blacksmithing either. Here's the blacksmithing: you get a magic hammer and magic metal and voila magic blacksmithing happens.
The book gives him an obligatory female companion except she is not into him sexually. What is the only possible reason a 2-star book would give for a female to not be interested in the protagonist? That's right, it is because she is a lesbian. Despite that she still gets the hots for him at one point, just not to the point of boinking him. She also spends a lot of time during the dungeon delve ... crying ... for some reason??? And she also speaks using 21st century Earth expressions just to make sure the audience does not believe that this fantasy world has any verity to it. Yes, in an isekai adventure the person from Earth does not speak in pop slang but instead a person from the fantasy world does.
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