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Quest Academy #4
Legacies
The first semester is over. It’s time to return to Silver Sanctuary!
After killing an Obsidian Hulker in the Tower, Sal has been named as the top ranked Savior in his year at Quest Academy. He’s been granted a special invitation from the President of the Hunter Bureau to attend an exclusive Gala during the break. It’s an opportunity for Sal to meet the greatest Heroes and a number of people he’s only ever heard of.
At home, Sal needs to convince his parents that he is ready to start his own Trainee Guild. They’ve reworked the Argento Auction House to give Sal his own specialist workshop, but insist that he needs to relax and enjoy the break. That becomes impossible when Sal learns that his parents are being cheated by one of the top Guilds.
Determined to stop his family from being pushed around by the Guilds when he goes back to Quest Academy, Sal embarks on his greatest crafting challenge yet. Unlikely alliances will need to be forged. Secrets will be revealed, and unexpected mentors will need convincing to join his cause.
Sal isn’t going to be getting much rest...
After killing an Obsidian Hulker in the Tower, Sal has been named as the top ranked Savior in his year at Quest Academy. He’s been granted a special invitation from the President of the Hunter Bureau to attend an exclusive Gala during the break. It’s an opportunity for Sal to meet the greatest Heroes and a number of people he’s only ever heard of.
At home, Sal needs to convince his parents that he is ready to start his own Trainee Guild. They’ve reworked the Argento Auction House to give Sal his own specialist workshop, but insist that he needs to relax and enjoy the break. That becomes impossible when Sal learns that his parents are being cheated by one of the top Guilds.
Determined to stop his family from being pushed around by the Guilds when he goes back to Quest Academy, Sal embarks on his greatest crafting challenge yet. Unlikely alliances will need to be forged. Secrets will be revealed, and unexpected mentors will need convincing to join his cause.
Sal isn’t going to be getting much rest...
524 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 23, 2025
414 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
May 27, 2025
Stretched Out Filler
I like this series, but this book was frustrating. It's like the author forgot that books should have plots with conflict, rising action and a climax. It's just a lot of sitting around, with a few minor excursions.
You know how the Harry Potter books spend a few chapters with him home before the school year starts? Imagine if that two months was stretched out for a whole 800 page novel, with no real villain or major conflict, just Harry chatting with his friends occasionally, but mostly sitting in his room working on his spells. That's what this book is.
I like this series, but this book was frustrating. It's like the author forgot that books should have plots with conflict, rising action and a climax. It's just a lot of sitting around, with a few minor excursions.
You know how the Harry Potter books spend a few chapters with him home before the school year starts? Imagine if that two months was stretched out for a whole 800 page novel, with no real villain or major conflict, just Harry chatting with his friends occasionally, but mostly sitting in his room working on his spells. That's what this book is.
May 28, 2025
Could’ve been an email
I feel like this entire book could’ve been condensed to an email if you removed all the useless fluff. This book was obviously filler with some extra stuff thrown in for flavor.
Everything with Sal feels like it’s one step forward and 3 steps back. He makes progress personally and then turns into a whiney kid over the stuff with his parents. They lied to him for his entire life, then instead of getting mad like most people, he sulks and whines about it for a bit and is super passive aggressive.
The whole this with Fabi feels very forced, especially with the admission from Divinity. Honestly this entire book felt forced and WAYYYY too long for what it accomplished. Definitely the worst of the series so far.
I feel like this entire book could’ve been condensed to an email if you removed all the useless fluff. This book was obviously filler with some extra stuff thrown in for flavor.
Everything with Sal feels like it’s one step forward and 3 steps back. He makes progress personally and then turns into a whiney kid over the stuff with his parents. They lied to him for his entire life, then instead of getting mad like most people, he sulks and whines about it for a bit and is super passive aggressive.
The whole this with Fabi feels very forced, especially with the admission from Divinity. Honestly this entire book felt forced and WAYYYY too long for what it accomplished. Definitely the worst of the series so far.
June 20, 2025
Very Disappointing
850 pages, and 350 are Sal showcasing his character flaws in excessive and repetitive detail. The other 500 are two months of stuff between semesters of magic college.
Pros:
The parents are excellent. Their characters, relationships, banter, and teachings are all good.
Fabi is much more likeable than I anticipated.
The factions and politics introduced are realistic, leaving room for additional fringe factions.
Very good proofreading.
Cons:
Sal is an annoying Mary Sue. He gets all the shortcuts for his growth, is extremely wealthy, amassed a large fortune, and is so insecure that he needs two entire chapters of being told how special he is.
The crafting is dull and weightless. All the work is imaginary, so the many pages of descriptions and bad analogies are intellectual masturbation. The results are weightless because we were never provided a meaningful baseline for the equipment grading system. My interest in those sections is inversely proportional to their length.
Sal's many flaws disappear when they would interfere with larger plot. His social awkwardness and shyness retreat at social functions. His squeamishness vanishes when he has to fight for his life. His ignorance is papered over when he needs to impress a powerful figure. His crippling insecurity never prevents him from stepping up in time to impress important people. The character never has a meaningful failure because his flaws never manifest when they would make him fail.
I am dropping this series.
850 pages, and 350 are Sal showcasing his character flaws in excessive and repetitive detail. The other 500 are two months of stuff between semesters of magic college.
Pros:
The parents are excellent. Their characters, relationships, banter, and teachings are all good.
Fabi is much more likeable than I anticipated.
The factions and politics introduced are realistic, leaving room for additional fringe factions.
Very good proofreading.
Cons:
Sal is an annoying Mary Sue. He gets all the shortcuts for his growth, is extremely wealthy, amassed a large fortune, and is so insecure that he needs two entire chapters of being told how special he is.
The crafting is dull and weightless. All the work is imaginary, so the many pages of descriptions and bad analogies are intellectual masturbation. The results are weightless because we were never provided a meaningful baseline for the equipment grading system. My interest in those sections is inversely proportional to their length.
Sal's many flaws disappear when they would interfere with larger plot. His social awkwardness and shyness retreat at social functions. His squeamishness vanishes when he has to fight for his life. His ignorance is papered over when he needs to impress a powerful figure. His crippling insecurity never prevents him from stepping up in time to impress important people. The character never has a meaningful failure because his flaws never manifest when they would make him fail.
I am dropping this series.
June 19, 2025
So bloody good!
Everything in this book was perfect.
The gala, meeting Fabi, fixing Fabi’s weaves, the massive secret from Sal’s parents… just EVERYTHING! Still loving it.
Everything in this book was perfect.
The gala, meeting Fabi, fixing Fabi’s weaves, the massive secret from Sal’s parents… just EVERYTHING! Still loving it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2025
Book four?
I might be incorrect on the number of the book in the series.
I enjoyed this this was a lot of fun. Took me a little over 24 hours to read over 800 pages. I was disappointed when I ran out of book to read I look forward to more. If I had any complaints It's that he's drinking whiskey like a grown man but at times he acts like a child so I get a confused by his Reactions at times. It's probably because I'm generation X. And we weren't raised like that.
If I had Any other complaints it would be that of course his parents turned out to be super soldiers from the other coast. They're hiding As auctioneers from their family. I just I don't know about that part I found it very odd. And of course his father was a trainer For the family. So of course he's able to train his son in special combat techniques.
9/10 I'm disappointed that I now have to wait for the next book.
I might be incorrect on the number of the book in the series.
I enjoyed this this was a lot of fun. Took me a little over 24 hours to read over 800 pages. I was disappointed when I ran out of book to read I look forward to more. If I had any complaints It's that he's drinking whiskey like a grown man but at times he acts like a child so I get a confused by his Reactions at times. It's probably because I'm generation X. And we weren't raised like that.
If I had Any other complaints it would be that of course his parents turned out to be super soldiers from the other coast. They're hiding As auctioneers from their family. I just I don't know about that part I found it very odd. And of course his father was a trainer For the family. So of course he's able to train his son in special combat techniques.
9/10 I'm disappointed that I now have to wait for the next book.
May 27, 2025
one of my favourite series!
Okay, so Sal went back to his roots, crafting focus, but he’s only gotten better! More experience, more crafting, more personal development, and as for Fabi? Yeah.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
Okay, so Sal went back to his roots, crafting focus, but he’s only gotten better! More experience, more crafting, more personal development, and as for Fabi? Yeah.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
May 23, 2025
It’s Grrrrrrrreat!
My favorite aspect of the Quest Academy series is the relationships between the characters. They feel like real people and this addition to the story is fantastic for it. We get to learn a lot more about Sal’s parents and the world outside of Quest Academy. I love that his parents are A.) fascinating people in their own right and *slight spoiler* B.) not dead immediately after saying some profound advice.
It’s a great read, love this series, and I can’t wait for more!
The Saga of Sal continues and I am here for it!
My favorite aspect of the Quest Academy series is the relationships between the characters. They feel like real people and this addition to the story is fantastic for it. We get to learn a lot more about Sal’s parents and the world outside of Quest Academy. I love that his parents are A.) fascinating people in their own right and *slight spoiler* B.) not dead immediately after saying some profound advice.
It’s a great read, love this series, and I can’t wait for more!
The Saga of Sal continues and I am here for it!
May 31, 2025
More of a series of short stories than a novel
So love this series but the quality of the books has never been consistent.
This book was lengthy so props for that but it was more a series of short stories than one cohesive hole and the biggest love this whole series is that we've had four books that cover one semester out of six and one summer. We've covered 2/9 of the series with four books That means we have 18 books before the protagonist even graduates the academy which is just not good pacing lol.
I love attention to detail but sometimes you need the montage sometimes you need to say it was a few days later when...
The major issue like I said is that this is not a cohesive hole The story is all over the place and in that aspect It is a failure.
So love this series but the quality of the books has never been consistent.
This book was lengthy so props for that but it was more a series of short stories than one cohesive hole and the biggest love this whole series is that we've had four books that cover one semester out of six and one summer. We've covered 2/9 of the series with four books That means we have 18 books before the protagonist even graduates the academy which is just not good pacing lol.
I love attention to detail but sometimes you need the montage sometimes you need to say it was a few days later when...
The major issue like I said is that this is not a cohesive hole The story is all over the place and in that aspect It is a failure.
June 15, 2025
snoozefest
This book was about four times longer than it needed to be and had essentially nothing exciting happen. For a book mostly about a guy who crafts things, he doesn’t do any interesting crafting and instead spends the book setting up a way to skip crafting in upcoming books. You can skip this one and miss nothing in terms of progression or adventure.
This book was about four times longer than it needed to be and had essentially nothing exciting happen. For a book mostly about a guy who crafts things, he doesn’t do any interesting crafting and instead spends the book setting up a way to skip crafting in upcoming books. You can skip this one and miss nothing in terms of progression or adventure.
May 24, 2025
Another Academy Success
Sal is finding out there is more than just demons and crafting as we get a chance to go beyond the Academy and see how well this universe has been written. Also get to see a lot more heroes and their skills as Sal begins the Guild building process.
An easy 5 stars all the way for Norden and this series has quickly rose to the top of my must have list.
Sal is finding out there is more than just demons and crafting as we get a chance to go beyond the Academy and see how well this universe has been written. Also get to see a lot more heroes and their skills as Sal begins the Guild building process.
An easy 5 stars all the way for Norden and this series has quickly rose to the top of my must have list.
June 3, 2025
Beautiful
Brian is a brilliant writer and the story just keeps wrapping me in.... There were even a few years shed... He does characters beautiful and weaving emotions with depth
Highly recommend
JD Glasscock
Author of the Series Blood Brothers, Nocturne and Warborn
Brian is a brilliant writer and the story just keeps wrapping me in.... There were even a few years shed... He does characters beautiful and weaving emotions with depth
Highly recommend
JD Glasscock
Author of the Series Blood Brothers, Nocturne and Warborn
November 7, 2025
3.5⭐️
October 4, 2025
This one was definitely better than the third.
June 6, 2025
It's... kind of OK? I can see how some readers see this as a filler book.
It bothered me a bit that Salvatore is "writing programming code" without understanding anything he's writing. This book rather pointed out, inadvertently, that Salvatore has no actual skills. He just kind of wishes for things, and his magic ability does the actual work, both design and implementation.
For a few pages it seemed like Sal would go through the effort of learning how programming actually works, but that got dropped and it was back to him wishing stuff into existence.
His crafting seems particularly low-effort when everything is described as taking "just hours" to craft. Even when it's items that later sell for millions of dollars. It's hard to take his financial issues seriously when he can make millions of dollars a day if he'd just sit down and crank out items.
I didn't much like that when he made his super-fantastic item near the end of the book, he had no idea what it actually *did*. He was surprised by what it could do because he didn't really design it, he just wished for a neat item.
Oh, and a minor peeve, everyone is constantly shocked in this book. Over and over, there's some reveal, and the other person "stared at him in shock" or "his jaw dropped open in shock." I swear this happens 30+ times. It got pretty repetitive.
It's not exactly a boring book, but arguably nothing really happens other than Sal making stuff and getting richer. Aside from things like the sparring sessions, it was a moderately enjoyable way to pass the time.
It bothered me a bit that Salvatore is "writing programming code" without understanding anything he's writing. This book rather pointed out, inadvertently, that Salvatore has no actual skills. He just kind of wishes for things, and his magic ability does the actual work, both design and implementation.
For a few pages it seemed like Sal would go through the effort of learning how programming actually works, but that got dropped and it was back to him wishing stuff into existence.
His crafting seems particularly low-effort when everything is described as taking "just hours" to craft. Even when it's items that later sell for millions of dollars. It's hard to take his financial issues seriously when he can make millions of dollars a day if he'd just sit down and crank out items.
I didn't much like that when he made his super-fantastic item near the end of the book, he had no idea what it actually *did*. He was surprised by what it could do because he didn't really design it, he just wished for a neat item.
Oh, and a minor peeve, everyone is constantly shocked in this book. Over and over, there's some reveal, and the other person "stared at him in shock" or "his jaw dropped open in shock." I swear this happens 30+ times. It got pretty repetitive.
It's not exactly a boring book, but arguably nothing really happens other than Sal making stuff and getting richer. Aside from things like the sparring sessions, it was a moderately enjoyable way to pass the time.
July 17, 2025
Boring. I did not enjoy the mc trying to solve his essence gate problem in as poorly thought out a manner as possible. This book went out of its way to show the mc struggle with thinking any time his romantic interest was involved. That romantic interest is flawless and has as much potential crafting as the mc, but even more talent with essence, despite not being able to use it till they met the mc. Awesome character.
October 3, 2025
I honestly really liked the series up to this book but this one was just a whole lot of content that wasn't for me. I'd equate it to those beach episodes in anime that bring nothing to the story other than some fan service and will annoy anyone who didn't start it for contrived romance. Thinking back on the story now i don't feel like it had enough actual content to be half as long as it was as my mind just ignores the useless details in the name of 'world building'. Oh, and i'm really getting tired of how EVERY litrpg type book anymore has to obsess with coffee. We get it, lots of people are addicted to coffee but that doesn't mean you need to talk about it constantly and annoy the rest of us who don't have that problem. I'm already planning to drop Heretical Fishing which i really liked if i even finish book 4 with it's endless talk of coffee that makes up whole chapters of it, don't go overboard in this series too and make me drop it as well.
The crafting and combat are things i really enjoyed with the others but this one is basically just him taking a vacation that isn't a vacation. The auction stuff was kind of fun but the crafting part was mostly just a letdown or carried on so long i forgot half of what was made and why. Like he makes one machine that was kind of cool then depends on others to get it to actually work cause he was in over his head again since, you know, he's had barely one year of school with that ability. Then instead of using it in the way he intended he just tells it to do random things to i guess test it out which amounts to and easy way for the author to give him extreme materials he shouldn't have access to for the plot. The only cool piece of gear he made wasn't until the end so besides the one scene where he uses it we have to wait till the next book for any more of that.
Then of course there's the elephant in the room and probably the whole reason he made this book in the first place, the forced romance plot. It was bad enough to go with that trope in the beginning when he starts to date one or two women i don't even remember the names of, but when they broke up i finally thought we could, you know, focus on the story for a change instead of making every book require the romantic subplot because MC is too op to resist. Instead we get basically the whole book about teasing him for 'knowing' who his future wife is until he finally tells her only to find out she was already told by one of his 'friends' with the classic can't-keep-a-secret disease. Then of course he tells Divinity he told her and she's all shocked and whatnot cause apparently she lied about it because woman feelings at the time, or whatever you call lying out of embarrassment or w/e it was over. But it doesn't matter cause it was basically love at first sight with them being alike and ofc she is the girl next door he never remembered. The only part of that i'm looking forward to is when she leaves school after this next year and we hopefully get back to the building and fighting.
Honestly with this book i don't even know how he can still even trust anyone or have any kind of social life at this point with not only how his 'friends' treat him half the time but then his parents lying for literally his whole life like he was home-schooled, which i guess it accurate, and never picked up a book about the real world. Instead he's shocked that his whole life was a lie up to this point and while he 'gets angry' at his parents he never really gets angry beyond what i would call slight annoyance. It just slips into a please tell me more about myself that i didn't know kind of thing until he catches them in another lie. And another. By the time he finally blows up at his father i was expecting more from it but instead they just hug it out and act like normal. If i were him i'd have straight up told them i could never trust them again and would be looking out for every possible lie each time they opened their mouths like normal people would do with repeat offenders. Instead he's constantly trying to gift things to people and help them out while constantly refusing anything from others cause it makes him uncomfortable. Great work parents. Oh, and where they literally talk about keeping his abilities a secret only to have him outed as Myth by someone else, then being told to keep his weave abilities a bigger secret, only to have someone else out him on that like 5 minutes later. At this point the only thing they don't know about him is he can copy powers like his mother, though how everyone can't guess that given how big a deal they apparently are is kind of dumb.
All in all it would have been better and felt like a real relationship if at least half of the Fabi content was cut and replaced with family stuff while massively slowing down their relationship development instead of heading to basically being married already levels after a couple months. He should have had real reactions to his parents, the people literally closest and most important to him for his whole life, lying about every part of their past and abilities instead of the quite minor reactions we do get. We don't get any periods where he refuses to talk to them or really hates them, just 'oh ima go craft for a while, you know, and then give you more gifts' over and over like some coping mechanism. His crafting periods should have been focused on him building up on what he had already learned without needing to rush instead of making the most op automated crafter then go right to an even more op piece of gear at the end that should really have taken much longer to get to given how big a deal it's supposed to be. Instead he learns a little but most of it is just 'oh my op skill made it all work somehow i guess' which kind of takes away a lot of the achievement when as stated in the story itself he only understood 20% or so of the programming he did without his drug induced state. It was basically just take magic amphetamines and profit. If i had to go through it again i'd probably just settle for reading a summary of what the story is then cover him making and testing his gear at the end, which would amount to maybe 10-20% of the book. Then again he might give him a heart attack due to caffeine in the first chapter of the 5th book from how much coffee he drinks and we can end it there.
The crafting and combat are things i really enjoyed with the others but this one is basically just him taking a vacation that isn't a vacation. The auction stuff was kind of fun but the crafting part was mostly just a letdown or carried on so long i forgot half of what was made and why. Like he makes one machine that was kind of cool then depends on others to get it to actually work cause he was in over his head again since, you know, he's had barely one year of school with that ability. Then instead of using it in the way he intended he just tells it to do random things to i guess test it out which amounts to and easy way for the author to give him extreme materials he shouldn't have access to for the plot. The only cool piece of gear he made wasn't until the end so besides the one scene where he uses it we have to wait till the next book for any more of that.
Then of course there's the elephant in the room and probably the whole reason he made this book in the first place, the forced romance plot. It was bad enough to go with that trope in the beginning when he starts to date one or two women i don't even remember the names of, but when they broke up i finally thought we could, you know, focus on the story for a change instead of making every book require the romantic subplot because MC is too op to resist. Instead we get basically the whole book about teasing him for 'knowing' who his future wife is until he finally tells her only to find out she was already told by one of his 'friends' with the classic can't-keep-a-secret disease. Then of course he tells Divinity he told her and she's all shocked and whatnot cause apparently she lied about it because woman feelings at the time, or whatever you call lying out of embarrassment or w/e it was over. But it doesn't matter cause it was basically love at first sight with them being alike and ofc she is the girl next door he never remembered. The only part of that i'm looking forward to is when she leaves school after this next year and we hopefully get back to the building and fighting.
Honestly with this book i don't even know how he can still even trust anyone or have any kind of social life at this point with not only how his 'friends' treat him half the time but then his parents lying for literally his whole life like he was home-schooled, which i guess it accurate, and never picked up a book about the real world. Instead he's shocked that his whole life was a lie up to this point and while he 'gets angry' at his parents he never really gets angry beyond what i would call slight annoyance. It just slips into a please tell me more about myself that i didn't know kind of thing until he catches them in another lie. And another. By the time he finally blows up at his father i was expecting more from it but instead they just hug it out and act like normal. If i were him i'd have straight up told them i could never trust them again and would be looking out for every possible lie each time they opened their mouths like normal people would do with repeat offenders. Instead he's constantly trying to gift things to people and help them out while constantly refusing anything from others cause it makes him uncomfortable. Great work parents. Oh, and where they literally talk about keeping his abilities a secret only to have him outed as Myth by someone else, then being told to keep his weave abilities a bigger secret, only to have someone else out him on that like 5 minutes later. At this point the only thing they don't know about him is he can copy powers like his mother, though how everyone can't guess that given how big a deal they apparently are is kind of dumb.
All in all it would have been better and felt like a real relationship if at least half of the Fabi content was cut and replaced with family stuff while massively slowing down their relationship development instead of heading to basically being married already levels after a couple months. He should have had real reactions to his parents, the people literally closest and most important to him for his whole life, lying about every part of their past and abilities instead of the quite minor reactions we do get. We don't get any periods where he refuses to talk to them or really hates them, just 'oh ima go craft for a while, you know, and then give you more gifts' over and over like some coping mechanism. His crafting periods should have been focused on him building up on what he had already learned without needing to rush instead of making the most op automated crafter then go right to an even more op piece of gear at the end that should really have taken much longer to get to given how big a deal it's supposed to be. Instead he learns a little but most of it is just 'oh my op skill made it all work somehow i guess' which kind of takes away a lot of the achievement when as stated in the story itself he only understood 20% or so of the programming he did without his drug induced state. It was basically just take magic amphetamines and profit. If i had to go through it again i'd probably just settle for reading a summary of what the story is then cover him making and testing his gear at the end, which would amount to maybe 10-20% of the book. Then again he might give him a heart attack due to caffeine in the first chapter of the 5th book from how much coffee he drinks and we can end it there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2025
4.5 stars. Did bog down slightly with crafting stuff, but it was managed a lot better than some other books of the type. Interesting family revelations and character dev for the MC. In other books I'd suspect a burgeoning harem, but this one suggests a low-pressure love triangle, if anything. Bigger things are starting to move as the MC's world expands.
October 5, 2025
This is easily the most frustrating book in the series to review. This is because half of it is amongst the most enjoyable this series has been and was easily 5-star worthy, but the other half was so awful it was tempting me to drop the star rating right down to 2-stars, if not lower.
The first half of this book was exactly what this story needed. It was a step back from the moral complexities and high stakes of the Academy, and a chance to enjoy a slice-of-life style breather to let this story relax a little. It gave Sal time just to enjoy the progress he has made while fleshing out his relationship with his parents a little better and set up a new path towards progressing his goals going forward (advancing his crafting, earning money and setting up a guild). I wore a massive smile on my face through all of these early scenes, and loved every minute.
However, about halfway through the book, the story takes a nasty turn. The issue is one that I will call story inflation .
Good stories always need a sense of progression and growth to maintain interest and keep them from going stale. However, this has led to the mistaken belief that each book in a series must be bigger and bolder than what has come before. This is story inflation, constantly trying to one-up what has come before by continually adding to it to achieve these goals. Story stakes grow exponentially, magic systems become overly complex, world building becomes unwieldy, the cast of characters becomes unmanageable, and the quality of the story suffers because now there is too much bloat and not enough quality storytelling to make any of it work properly.
Quality growth in a story should be achieved through the process of refinement and evolution . Take the story you have already set up, close off the story elements that have run their course, trim off any rough edges, then double down on what works to refine what already exists. Then, evolve those refined story elements that remain to the next level.
This creates natural growth within a series that expands only on what is interesting and working for the story while jettisoning what is not. It allows stories to grow to incredible sizes, but remain lean and in fighting shape, rather than flabby and overly inflated.
Examples of bloat in the second half of this book include:
1- A new relationship character that, while mentioned often in previous books, didn't have anywhere near the development needed to become such an enormous part of the story and the main character's life. It felt rushed, pushed out existing relationship characters that worked well in this series in favour of a character that honestly felt like a bit too much a bit too fast.
2 - The introduction of multiple new factions within society that are all in conflict with one another. We already had the demon war and the Bastion angle to deal with, not to mention the conflict between the academy, the guilds and the Hunters Association, but now there are yet more complexities being added before any of the previous ones have been adequately explored, let alone resolved.
3 - The backstory of major characters was retconned to add a lot of unneeded complexity to the Argento family's backstory. It not only felt unnecessary as much of what this retcon adds to the story could have been achieved by alternate methods at the Academy, it also partially ruins/cheapens one of the core relationships/story angles in this series that has been a highlight for me in this series.
4 - Sal's abilities are inflating rather than growing naturally. The author continues to add to his already impressive list of abilities instead of building upon what has already been established. Also, the ways in which his existing abilities work and the things he can make with them are getting overly complex by constantly adding new elements/angles to how his power works that feel unnecessary.
The book is saved somewhat by the final 10% or so, as I think the core of that part of the story is a direct evolution of the story that had been set up to this point. However, it wasn't enough to earn back more than 1 star for this book. There is a massive chunk of this story that isn't just tedious to read, but might actually impact my enjoyment of this series as a whole.
This isn't like my dislike of how the Erika situation was handled, as that is something that only impacted its active storyline and can be ignored when she isn't in focus. These changes cast major ripples throughout the rest of the series, and I can only hope that the next book can do some much needed refinement to calm the waters.
The first half of this book was exactly what this story needed. It was a step back from the moral complexities and high stakes of the Academy, and a chance to enjoy a slice-of-life style breather to let this story relax a little. It gave Sal time just to enjoy the progress he has made while fleshing out his relationship with his parents a little better and set up a new path towards progressing his goals going forward (advancing his crafting, earning money and setting up a guild). I wore a massive smile on my face through all of these early scenes, and loved every minute.
However, about halfway through the book, the story takes a nasty turn. The issue is one that I will call story inflation .
Good stories always need a sense of progression and growth to maintain interest and keep them from going stale. However, this has led to the mistaken belief that each book in a series must be bigger and bolder than what has come before. This is story inflation, constantly trying to one-up what has come before by continually adding to it to achieve these goals. Story stakes grow exponentially, magic systems become overly complex, world building becomes unwieldy, the cast of characters becomes unmanageable, and the quality of the story suffers because now there is too much bloat and not enough quality storytelling to make any of it work properly.
Quality growth in a story should be achieved through the process of refinement and evolution . Take the story you have already set up, close off the story elements that have run their course, trim off any rough edges, then double down on what works to refine what already exists. Then, evolve those refined story elements that remain to the next level.
This creates natural growth within a series that expands only on what is interesting and working for the story while jettisoning what is not. It allows stories to grow to incredible sizes, but remain lean and in fighting shape, rather than flabby and overly inflated.
Examples of bloat in the second half of this book include:
1- A new relationship character that, while mentioned often in previous books, didn't have anywhere near the development needed to become such an enormous part of the story and the main character's life. It felt rushed, pushed out existing relationship characters that worked well in this series in favour of a character that honestly felt like a bit too much a bit too fast.
2 - The introduction of multiple new factions within society that are all in conflict with one another. We already had the demon war and the Bastion angle to deal with, not to mention the conflict between the academy, the guilds and the Hunters Association, but now there are yet more complexities being added before any of the previous ones have been adequately explored, let alone resolved.
3 - The backstory of major characters was retconned to add a lot of unneeded complexity to the Argento family's backstory. It not only felt unnecessary as much of what this retcon adds to the story could have been achieved by alternate methods at the Academy, it also partially ruins/cheapens one of the core relationships/story angles in this series that has been a highlight for me in this series.
4 - Sal's abilities are inflating rather than growing naturally. The author continues to add to his already impressive list of abilities instead of building upon what has already been established. Also, the ways in which his existing abilities work and the things he can make with them are getting overly complex by constantly adding new elements/angles to how his power works that feel unnecessary.
The book is saved somewhat by the final 10% or so, as I think the core of that part of the story is a direct evolution of the story that had been set up to this point. However, it wasn't enough to earn back more than 1 star for this book. There is a massive chunk of this story that isn't just tedious to read, but might actually impact my enjoyment of this series as a whole.
This isn't like my dislike of how the Erika situation was handled, as that is something that only impacted its active storyline and can be ignored when she isn't in focus. These changes cast major ripples throughout the rest of the series, and I can only hope that the next book can do some much needed refinement to calm the waters.
October 17, 2025
Rating 4.0 stars
A good addition to the series. The 4 stars rating is because of my mixed feelings. The crafting part is 5 stars. Some of the other parts are 4 stars. The first half of the book was great. It got back to the fundamentals of what I thought this series should be about. The second half of the book reverted back to the MC trying to become a hero, even though he kept saying he just wanted to be a support class.
Overall I am still happy with the series, it justy had so much potential to be a 5 star book and just fell a little short.
A good addition to the series. The 4 stars rating is because of my mixed feelings. The crafting part is 5 stars. Some of the other parts are 4 stars. The first half of the book was great. It got back to the fundamentals of what I thought this series should be about. The second half of the book reverted back to the MC trying to become a hero, even though he kept saying he just wanted to be a support class.
Overall I am still happy with the series, it justy had so much potential to be a 5 star book and just fell a little short.
August 8, 2025
It's happened again; this series started out great w/ very likeable characters...
Salvatore is our young hero and main MC who quickly shows us how fast he can scope out other people & his environment, intuit a bad situation & even worse outcome, and immediately react by "thinking outside the box". Sal distinguishes himself as a sometimes awkward, well mannered, and cautiously helpful eighteen-year-old whose skills are in appraisal and repair. As one of the nicer first-year students beginning their journey at Quest Academy, Sal finds himself noticed, sought out, then either pursued for what he offers or disdained for his being identified as among the support class in ranking. In Sal's particular world and society, as well as the academy he now attends, those who possess skills or abilities that are strong in offense, defense and mind or aura control are respected; healers hold power due to their necessary life-saving function; and all others who provide a service or create, build, and repair fall under the Support class. The world that Salvatore and his cohorts live in isn't primitive per se, but there are primitive, wildly dysfunctional, and supernatural scenarios occurring that add chaos, cause deaths, and a great deal of devastation.that bizarrely contradicts wealthy and lavish lifestyles and the inbetween life of comfort Salvatore and his family are used to.
I did start out enjoying this storyline despite the dangers and brutality facing the students,.and.apart from the magical elements that seemed to corrupt more than a few of Sal's peers and higher grades levels of students, I quite liked the subplots. What hugely turned me off in this book was the casual lack of manners, disrespect of "lesser" ranked students along with people's personal privacy that Upgrade, Hannah (in early books), and Ericka displayed toward Sal and others in certain.situations. I found Ericka to be a dispicable and dangerous person, while Upgrade was just rude, ill mannered, and clueless when she pushed and bulldozed her way over and through Sal. He needed to set boundaries, which was so frustrating. Apologies - to me, it was obvious that a male wrote this installment when it hadn't bothered me before. Upgrade and Fabi just pushing their way into.his bedroom was all kinds of rude and classless behavior. I still loved Sal though 💞💞Two point five stars.
Salvatore is our young hero and main MC who quickly shows us how fast he can scope out other people & his environment, intuit a bad situation & even worse outcome, and immediately react by "thinking outside the box". Sal distinguishes himself as a sometimes awkward, well mannered, and cautiously helpful eighteen-year-old whose skills are in appraisal and repair. As one of the nicer first-year students beginning their journey at Quest Academy, Sal finds himself noticed, sought out, then either pursued for what he offers or disdained for his being identified as among the support class in ranking. In Sal's particular world and society, as well as the academy he now attends, those who possess skills or abilities that are strong in offense, defense and mind or aura control are respected; healers hold power due to their necessary life-saving function; and all others who provide a service or create, build, and repair fall under the Support class. The world that Salvatore and his cohorts live in isn't primitive per se, but there are primitive, wildly dysfunctional, and supernatural scenarios occurring that add chaos, cause deaths, and a great deal of devastation.that bizarrely contradicts wealthy and lavish lifestyles and the inbetween life of comfort Salvatore and his family are used to.
I did start out enjoying this storyline despite the dangers and brutality facing the students,.and.apart from the magical elements that seemed to corrupt more than a few of Sal's peers and higher grades levels of students, I quite liked the subplots. What hugely turned me off in this book was the casual lack of manners, disrespect of "lesser" ranked students along with people's personal privacy that Upgrade, Hannah (in early books), and Ericka displayed toward Sal and others in certain.situations. I found Ericka to be a dispicable and dangerous person, while Upgrade was just rude, ill mannered, and clueless when she pushed and bulldozed her way over and through Sal. He needed to set boundaries, which was so frustrating. Apologies - to me, it was obvious that a male wrote this installment when it hadn't bothered me before. Upgrade and Fabi just pushing their way into.his bedroom was all kinds of rude and classless behavior. I still loved Sal though 💞💞Two point five stars.
December 11, 2025
A spectacular joy ride through out Quest Academy: Legsvies
I spent may enjoyable hours reading all these books in succession!
It was like I was there enjoying it like in person through out it all !
Very good characters and dialogue through out this series !
This volume was the reveal of Saul’s parents that even he did not know about ! Was revealing how Saul grew up the way he did ! And his outlook on life was the result of the situation his parents had to deal with to protect their son from people who would do most anything to step on people to obtain power!
A unique story that is well built in a society similar to our own with a fantasy of crafting powers and things that eventual take on a life of their own with time !
Many have such an assortment of special powers to do incredible things, while some try to bully the weaker !
Saul must learn to make close friends to !
Flying cars and wars against demon like life forms - that are totally physical and can be killed - but with great risk of life. And finding better ways to win the war is of great concern for some !
Unless you know someone who can learn to craft with unusual abilities that were discovered by accident by one person !
Now they have a target on their back because most everyone one wants what Saul makes for themselves ! Kidnaping or worse is a possibility through out it all ! A man who must gather allies if possible !
And some of these people are very skilled in their deceptions to gain increasing power over most people !
A very Intricate web of players attempting control of one persons abilities to increase their on plans to control ever one else to their own will !
Always the unexpected in this series they keeps it fresh and moving forward !
Recommend totally - for it entertains through out this series !
I spent may enjoyable hours reading all these books in succession!
It was like I was there enjoying it like in person through out it all !
Very good characters and dialogue through out this series !
This volume was the reveal of Saul’s parents that even he did not know about ! Was revealing how Saul grew up the way he did ! And his outlook on life was the result of the situation his parents had to deal with to protect their son from people who would do most anything to step on people to obtain power!
A unique story that is well built in a society similar to our own with a fantasy of crafting powers and things that eventual take on a life of their own with time !
Many have such an assortment of special powers to do incredible things, while some try to bully the weaker !
Saul must learn to make close friends to !
Flying cars and wars against demon like life forms - that are totally physical and can be killed - but with great risk of life. And finding better ways to win the war is of great concern for some !
Unless you know someone who can learn to craft with unusual abilities that were discovered by accident by one person !
Now they have a target on their back because most everyone one wants what Saul makes for themselves ! Kidnaping or worse is a possibility through out it all ! A man who must gather allies if possible !
And some of these people are very skilled in their deceptions to gain increasing power over most people !
A very Intricate web of players attempting control of one persons abilities to increase their on plans to control ever one else to their own will !
Always the unexpected in this series they keeps it fresh and moving forward !
Recommend totally - for it entertains through out this series !
June 7, 2025
Much weaker than previous books
Overall it’s ok.
The author doesn’t understand computers. Doesn’t really seem to understand machining either. It’s a little bit frustrating, and there’s so much god in the machine that I think the pages were chanting Catholic liturgy.
If the author is going to write out Divinity and Upgrade, which is what it feels like he’s doing, then I’m going to be disappointed. Those two plus Blaithnaid(apologies for spelling) are best girls. Rochelle wasn’t really mentioned either
Fabi is an interesting introduction, but honestly feels too much like manic pixie dream girl. She’s everything that Sal is, just hot.
The twist with Sal’s parents is sort of interesting, but there was no foreshadowing, so it just leapt out and was overly convoluted.
Author seems to not have a clue where he is going for the end game, and the plot development reads as sloppy.
Overall it’s ok.
The author doesn’t understand computers. Doesn’t really seem to understand machining either. It’s a little bit frustrating, and there’s so much god in the machine that I think the pages were chanting Catholic liturgy.
If the author is going to write out Divinity and Upgrade, which is what it feels like he’s doing, then I’m going to be disappointed. Those two plus Blaithnaid(apologies for spelling) are best girls. Rochelle wasn’t really mentioned either
Fabi is an interesting introduction, but honestly feels too much like manic pixie dream girl. She’s everything that Sal is, just hot.
The twist with Sal’s parents is sort of interesting, but there was no foreshadowing, so it just leapt out and was overly convoluted.
Author seems to not have a clue where he is going for the end game, and the plot development reads as sloppy.
May 25, 2025
One of my favorite ongoing series and this was another great addition. Right from the start, I enjoyed how Sal applied all he had learned so far to craft even more impressive items. What I didn't expect was the role of his parents - perhaps I missed the clues from the earlier books, but I wasn't prepared for this subplot :D
And of course, after all the build up, getting to finally meet Fabi was great! So much so that I wish she had a more active role in the events that unfolded at the end of the book - but that's okay, there's plenty to come in future books.
Getting to know some details of the Hunter bureau, guilds and other organizations helped to get a better understanding of what's going outside the academy. I just hope that the events will stay relatively lighthearted instead of pivoting to a more gritty tone to match the realities of their situation.
And of course, after all the build up, getting to finally meet Fabi was great! So much so that I wish she had a more active role in the events that unfolded at the end of the book - but that's okay, there's plenty to come in future books.
Getting to know some details of the Hunter bureau, guilds and other organizations helped to get a better understanding of what's going outside the academy. I just hope that the events will stay relatively lighthearted instead of pivoting to a more gritty tone to match the realities of their situation.
July 21, 2025
i like Fabi and would give the book an extra star if not so looong. Sal's parents have a past which for some reason the way it was written was just unbelievable and flat to me. i get that the author was trying to expand the world by adding in extra factions and plot elements. but the fact that Sal hd no idea for his entire life, then his family history is dumped on him, then his parents are like sorry we understand that you're confused and mad. let us make it up to you by teaching you super secret martial arts and introducing you to our best military buddies you never heard of,BTW you're dad used to be a drill sergeant. but hey you can throat punch powlers now ! ( thanks to the perfect skill letting you condense boot camp into a week . ) I lost interest in the series because this whole plot just seems forced
May 25, 2025
A-
S: After the finishing the first semester at QA, Sal leaves and returns home to "rest".
R: Nothing really happens that matters all that much in this book. Pretty much everything that happens in this book are all set up for future books. The machine was cool but since it's going to be at it's worst in this book and evolve in later books, it left a feeling of wanting more. And the party was alright, I enjoyed seeing Sal's friends and the meeting with Fabi but it also felt so inconsequential since what happened there are meaningless in this book.
If the characters weren't so great, then this book would be a D.
S: After the finishing the first semester at QA, Sal leaves and returns home to "rest".
R: Nothing really happens that matters all that much in this book. Pretty much everything that happens in this book are all set up for future books. The machine was cool but since it's going to be at it's worst in this book and evolve in later books, it left a feeling of wanting more. And the party was alright, I enjoyed seeing Sal's friends and the meeting with Fabi but it also felt so inconsequential since what happened there are meaningless in this book.
If the characters weren't so great, then this book would be a D.
May 31, 2025
Better than the last one.
I heavily criticized the last book for being to boring and repetitive.
Eventhough this one is prolly more of a filler it was still a fun ride.
My only critic is that the relationship between Sal and his parents is a mit weird and the attitude of the three seems to be random at times to help reach the goals the author set for this book.
The last critic point is that the words smile and laughing are used on every single page. Not everything is funny, please use different aadjectives. Same with phrases like "jaw dropping"
Rest was good, will be reading the next one
I heavily criticized the last book for being to boring and repetitive.
Eventhough this one is prolly more of a filler it was still a fun ride.
My only critic is that the relationship between Sal and his parents is a mit weird and the attitude of the three seems to be random at times to help reach the goals the author set for this book.
The last critic point is that the words smile and laughing are used on every single page. Not everything is funny, please use different aadjectives. Same with phrases like "jaw dropping"
Rest was good, will be reading the next one
June 4, 2025
A great start to the second arc
This book is packed with new and interesting characters, threats, and inventions. Expanding on the lengthy school break to dive deeper into Sal's home was a great choice.
The reveal of the mysterious Fabi Maccles was great. I'm not a huge fan of the family drama with Sal's parents, but it is well written and will likely be quite interesting going forward. The vending machine looked like it would be bad, but struck a decent balance between cool capabilities and annoying machine.
Overall, it's very well done and I'm curious to see where the series is going in the next semester.
This book is packed with new and interesting characters, threats, and inventions. Expanding on the lengthy school break to dive deeper into Sal's home was a great choice.
The reveal of the mysterious Fabi Maccles was great. I'm not a huge fan of the family drama with Sal's parents, but it is well written and will likely be quite interesting going forward. The vending machine looked like it would be bad, but struck a decent balance between cool capabilities and annoying machine.
Overall, it's very well done and I'm curious to see where the series is going in the next semester.
July 7, 2025
Six Stars - A whole new level
Wow, just wow. I just raced through book 4 of this series. I have to say i always enjoyed the series and it had been in my top 5 since book 1, but this Isa whole new level. I don't know where to start other than I'm really really sad that i now have to wait for book 5.
There is so much going on in this book which mostly covers Sal's time at home during the semester break. There might not be as many fifths as in other books but the crafting, crafting system, character development and storyline just draws me in.
Enough.... Go and read book 1 and get started in one of the best LitRPG series out there.
Wow, just wow. I just raced through book 4 of this series. I have to say i always enjoyed the series and it had been in my top 5 since book 1, but this Isa whole new level. I don't know where to start other than I'm really really sad that i now have to wait for book 5.
There is so much going on in this book which mostly covers Sal's time at home during the semester break. There might not be as many fifths as in other books but the crafting, crafting system, character development and storyline just draws me in.
Enough.... Go and read book 1 and get started in one of the best LitRPG series out there.
October 6, 2025
The entire series has been amazing, but this installment is even better. Although it has a slower pace, when it comes to anticipation for what will happen next, I don't see this as a bad critique, just stating it as a perceived opinion; however, I for one didn't really worry about the slower pace due to how well it was written and delivered. The character development and backstory are truly exceptional. Along with the interactions between the main character and his parents are particularly well written, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. They couldn't have been crafted better. I can't wait for the next book to come out!
October 7, 2025
God, I really like this series, and this book would have been the best of the series if it wasn't for the MC. Sal is so whiny! He is a coward 40% of the time, and whines literally all the time. In this book he was the absolute worse. Honestly, he has every right to be upset with his parents, particularly with the fact they made him create a lot of self hatred about his power in his childhood, but they sacrificed everything for him every step of the way and him wanting things to go back to the way they were (all while he is destroying the status quo every day) makes me think he needs to grow up. Still think the dad in this book is the best character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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