BEWARE of SPOILER
In his previous life, the MC was constantly in competition with his younger brother—the original protagonist (ogMC). When ogMC chose to study Pharmacy, MC did the same. But unlike ogMC, who had a natural gift for creating new formulas, MC had no original talent in that field. What he did have was a super-genius-level Math brain. So, he quietly took ogMC’s formulas and recalculated them to be ten times more effective. In short, ogMC was the writer, and MC was the editor—an essential role, but one no one ever truly valued.
When he died, MC finally realized his place in the narrative: he had been the villain all along, while ogMC was the “son of heaven.”
After being reborn, MC made a conscious decision to avoid ogMC and everyone associated with him—especially ogML. This time, instead of studying Pharmacy, he pursued what he had always loved in his past life: Mecha engineering. With his math skills, MC soared above his peers in the Mecha department.
Still, he tried to tone down his brilliance. In his past life, people accused him of showing off, and that criticism had left a scar. But as he found new friends, mentors, and eventually ML, he began to learn that people who truly care about you will celebrate your success, not condemn it. Slowly, his self-esteem grew.
Meanwhile, ogMC sensed something missing. He couldn’t figure it out at first, but eventually realized that while he could invent countless formulas, he lacked someone from the Math Department who could fine-tune them. In high school, that person was MC. Desperate to get MC back to Pharmacy, ogMC tried various manipulative tactics. Once a white lotus in his previous life, ogMC gradually morphed into a full-blown green tea b*tch in this one.
The first half of the novel focuses on MC’s growth and innovation in Mecha design. The second half shifts to the war between humans and Zergs. The story had promising elements, but some were introduced and then… never really used. For example, the pirate legion was mentioned but completely ignored during the war arc. ogMC also disappeared abruptly after ogML warned him to stay away from MC. Toward the end, a new Marshal was supposed to be chosen, with ML’s older brother and ogML as the final candidates—but the story just ended without resolving that plot point.
Despite those shortcomings, it was a good read overall. The novel isn’t fully translated yet, so I MTL’d the rest using Google Translate. Honestly? I never found MC to be overpowered. I’m not sure why some readers keep saying that. He had talent, sure—but he also worked hard, made mistakes, grew as a person, and had to fight for his place.