Lev narrowly survived a disaster. It was merely the first of many.
The Final Cavern deepened Lev's suspicions about his gift of reincarnation. And just like him, the Exalted have also realized his inevitable fate. Instead of wallowing in despair, both of them prepare to fight his destiny.
On his journey, Lev meets an unlikely mentor. Unconvinced about his potential, the man probes Lev's class and talents, only to be left dumbfounded. Lev's power rises sharply with every improvement—meteorically so when he challenges Windkeep's dungeons.
But threats lurk in every corner, even the well-lit ones. Darkness tails his every step, and the world refuses to leave him alone. Yet his desire to test himself against his generation's best burns bright, and a tournament approaches to allow just that.
Armed with a ridiculous class, he journeys to humanity's greatest bastion. There, he discovers truths that could shake the foundations of the world, as well as people he might be able to call friends one day. And maybe, just maybe, his past as an Earthling isn't as insignificant as it seems.
Very focused, with the MC operating solo for most of the book. He’s still progressing rapidly, and he still gets unusual events (stronger waves, enhanced dungeon creatures, etc).
The book could use a round of copy-editing. The size and spacing of the letters/words changed in unexpected spots, likely an artifact of whatever word processor was used. It was all still readable, just odd.
There is sooo much glazing of the MC. I get it, he has a lot of potential. But there was never any guarantee he'd achieve his potential; so much of his potential was just theories - theories based on weaklings that barely have explored 10% of the safest continent in Monarch. Weaklings that barely understand Mana, Chaos, or Fate. Yet they're treating the MC like he's the Chosen One when all he has are a few advantages that they're *hoping* to snowball into him becoming the strongest human. But their theories and predictions could be wrong. Yet the way he's treating is subtly obnoxious because it permeates every interaction.
I also love/hate his relationship with the Exhalted. The overly familiar relationship with Orianna is sweet and understandable given her personality. I like his relationship with Alec and Sherron too. But his obsequiousness towards Dakyr or whatever his name is while he's getting disrespected and railroaded by him is disgusting. "Anyone would jump at the opportunity to be trained by an Exhalted" b*tch, please, the MCs 3 best friends are Exhalted, so why would he be so star-struck to let one treat him like dirt? He has a similar relationship with Hakim, but with a different flavor. It ends ups developing into something acceptable by the end, but d*mn was it hard to read at the beginning.
Also, getting chastised for not showing a Master the proper respect? That was cringe-worthy. He wasn't even particularly disrespectful, so expecting a civilian to prostrate themselves in front of a soldier is ridiculous. And enforcing showing respect to someone just because they're strong is just encouraging the strong to bully the weak or abuse their position. But to be fair, it was also cringe-worthy when the MC tried to name-drop an Exhalted.
I find the MCs development of his class strange. For starters, he evolves into a pure mage class, constantly gripes that he has no talent in Melee combat, but still trains and uses up precious skill slots on melee skills. I thought he was going to embrace being a pure mage? Also, for enchantments, he learns carving instead of painting or the one where you form the runes by directly shaping the mana - which is the best one for combat. But then he able to just whip up runes on his barriers even though he didn't practice the combat oriented enchanting?
My reviews are my own. If you enjoyed this book, I'm glad you did. If not, I respect your opinion, so please respect mine. This is simply my perspective, so let's keep the discussion courteous. My review is honest and voluntary. As a reader, I read to escape the world and its issues, and my reviews reflect that.
Boo! What a letdown. Maybe I was just expecting more?
The LitRPG elements are still strong, but I felt like the MC had a complete personality transplant. For example, I didn’t like how angry he got when he couldn’t manage the shadow mana. I know he’s OP, but this is the first time he seems genuinely bothered by the fact that he isn’t more powerful than someone else, which feels out of character compared to the first book. The bet too, so childish. Who cares about what other think? You do you!
One thing I appreciated about him in the first book was that, despite being OP, he wasn’t cocky. In this book, though, he comes across as big-headed and immature. And while he is 14 in the story, we have to remember that he was 19 in his previous life, which makes some of his behavior even more frustrating.
I didn’t enjoy the tournament either. I mean, the world is falling apart because of monsters, and they’re spending their time measuring who is more powerful? It feels completely at odds with the direction the first book seemed to be heading in.
I’m not sure I’ll continue with the series, definitely not pre-ordering book 3.
Onward and forward to my next adventure. Happy reading!
Ceaseless Horizons is the second book in this series, and it's a pretty good continuation of the story. We see the main character gain plenty of levels, see some of the world as he travels, and even find out something about the moons. The competition in this one is brutal, but I don't think it's a spoiler to say he survives, only a bit shook, wondering why things don't affect him as he'd expect them to. At the very end of the book, he's getting ready for a swarm of monsters, so I suppose the next book will start with that. Sounds like a whole lot of fun, looking forward to it.
Decently written with characters that were easy to like. Most of the book was the MC just training to get stronger fighting monsters. Like most books in the genre, the fights are over dramatize with the MC always being massively injured because he is fighting monsters way above his level. He is the MC, so there is really never any tension because he can't die or the book would end. The overreaching plot is not moved forward and we don't learn much more about the world or why the MC has been put in his situation.
I really liked the first book and this one is even better. Great story, great world and even better characters. The writing is so top tier and very well edited.
This book was really great! I loved the continuation and expansion on the first book. This world isbecoming more robust and creative. Exactly the type of book I like to read. Start with book 1and author. Please keep publishing. I want to read more!