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Now officially Dragon God Orsted's underling, Rudeus receives his first to make Princess Arielle the next king of Asura Kingdom! Mighty as the endeavor might seem, it's just the first of many steps he'll have to take if he's going to help Orsted bring down the Man God.

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2017

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Rifujin na Magonote

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5 stars
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654 (33%)
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271 (13%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
Profile Image for Mramorealskaya.
122 reviews13 followers
October 12, 2024
Та ну нарешті це не сюсі-мусі, а нормальне таке фентезі
Profile Image for Carol.
1,369 reviews
October 5, 2024
Our adventure continues! After the last two volumes this felt more homey, we’re in another transition book as Rudeus prepares everything to help Ariel get the throne, and that means keeping his family safe as well as getting much needed information. We spend some time home with all the gang, we see Eris adjusting to the new household and we also get to know more about Orsted and his new relationship with Rudeus as they help each other. I’m sensing this is setting the tone for the following books, so I can’t wait to continue.
Profile Image for Gloubs.
27 reviews2 followers
May 7, 2022
I really like how everything is been ramping up in this book. After the past couple books have been so impactful it has been nice to have a relaxing book, with the drinking adventures and the library demon king section. Right now as it stands I believe that the 3 apostles of the man god is Luke, Darius, and Geese. I believe geese is the 3rd unknown apostle because of how useful he is. First the man god can use him to get close to Rudeus and also to use geeses wide variety of skills. Also previously there have been times where it has seemed that he has know what todo like sending the letter to Rudeus and Elisalise while they were in sharia when he shouldn’t have known that. My ending thoughts are that I’m excited for the Asura arc and all the fights with it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Caleb Nischara.
77 reviews3 followers
September 1, 2024
Unlike the emotional rollercoaster of the previous volumes, *Mushoku Tensei* Volume 16 offers a more focused narrative, revolving around Orsted’s first mission for Rudeus: to help Princess Ariel become Queen of Asura. The subsequent story follows Rudeus’s efforts to uncover what makes a true king, so that Perugius might back Ariel’s claim to the throne. The way Rudeus navigates this is fascinating, as he needs to deploy different strategies and constantly struggles with how much of his knowledge to share and with whom. He knows that Derrick Redbat convinced Perugius to support Ariel but can’t reveal this directly, so he's forced to take a roundabout approach. First, he has Ariel recount the losses of her allies, then subtly nudges her toward thinking of Derrick. When that doesn’t work, he shifts focus to King Gaunis, a friend of Perugius, in hopes of finding something useful in the library. In the end, it’s Derrick’s journal after all that holds the key—though Ariel doesn’t give the exact answer Perugius was looking for, he still accepts it because she reminds him so much of Gaunis.

The plot doesn’t unfold in a straight line but branches out in various directions before eventually coming together to resolve the issue, which adds a sense of realism to the story. I also loved the library setting and found it incredibly creative how the Slime Demon King is depicted, communicating with Rudeus only through writing, and retrieving the journal simply because Rudeus is the first person to bring a book from the future and paradoxically continue its story. However, the escape sequence that follows felt a bit anticlimactic, especially since it comes right after an emotional moment between Ariel and Luke. The fight choreography was odd too—Eris, for instance, suddenly seems to disapear, while Ariel is left unprotected several times without any explanation as to why Eris wasn’t covering her. I can understand though that these events were important to keep Rudeus away from that location for the rest of the plot, and in that sense, the moment worked.

What truly struck me most in this volume is how Rudeus is now actively shaping his own story—through lies, manipulation, and deceit. Now, since the very first volume, Rudeus has always narrated events with a certain distance, almost as if he were roleplaying a character. But there was always a gap between his narration and the character in the story. He consistently portrayed the character of Rudeus Greyrat, and his thoughts, despite their manipulative tendencies, seemed like an elaborate representation of the mental processes that usually run automatically in our minds, guiding our reactions to specific events. Thus, he still came across as fundamentally honest in how he presented himself. However, this gap is now breaking down as he deliberately plays the role of a manipulator in the world around him—carefully selecting what knowledge to share. Orsted is the only one to whom he’s told everything, while he deliberately deceives and manipulates everyone else—starting with Ariel. He knows that Derrick is probably the key to Perugius’s answer, but he withholds this information and instead tries to subtly steer Ariel toward the topic. This wouldn’t be so noteworthy in isolation if he didn’t give every person involved in the conversation only a selective amount of information: Sylphie knows that Orsted gave him the mission, but not why Derrick is important; Luke doesn’t know about Orsted’s mission but knows that Rudeus is familiar with the Human God; and Ariel only knows that Rudeus wants to help her, without any background information whatsoever. This pattern extends to other parts of the story as well—for instance, when he lies to Cliff and Zanoba about needing his armor to fight Orsted again, or when he tells his wives varying amounts of information, depending on whose support he currently needs, leaving them mostly in the dark. The Man God’s influence somewhat explains this behavior, but it’s still a striking development that makes it seem as if Rudeus’s façade is slowly starting to crack.

What makes this part of the story particularly thrilling, though, is the uncertainty surrounding the Man God’s influence. The fact that the Man God can no longer speak directly to Rudeus or threaten him makes the atmosphere even more eerie, as he now lurks in the shadows, influencing events in ways that aren’t immediately visible and can only be inferred from characters’ actions. This creates a constant sense of unease, stemming from the fact that we can only understand events from Rudeus’s perspective—probably most strikingly in the moment when Luke, during an emotional scene, cries over Derrick’s journal, triggering the alarm mechanism, and Rudeus is left wondering whether Luke did it intentionally or not. And because Rudeus, as a character, doesn’t just brush aside such thoughts but often draws the same conclusions as the reader, his own uncertainty is shared by us effectively.

Yet, I did feel that the farewell at the end was a bit abrupt, which left the conclusion feeling somewhat anticlimactic. I understand that there were narrative reasons for this, but we’ve been following Ariel’s journey to Ranoa since Volume 5—how she fled there, became the student council president, dealt with the bullying issue involving Linia and Pursena, built up Fitz as her bodyguard, gathered support from Rudeus, various guilds, Nanahoshi, Perugius—and now, to leave the place so hastily without revisiting all the connections and everything she’s built over the years felt a bit unsatisfying. However, perhaps the next volume will build on this more. Those are my thoughts so far. Since this volume does a lot of setup for what will likely unfold in Volume 17, I’m really excited to see where the story goes and how Ariel’s long journey will finally conclude.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Pieter.
1,263 reviews20 followers
April 24, 2022
Orsted orders Rudeus to help princess Ariel to ascend to the throne. The first order of business is to convince Perugius to support Ariel while at the same time trying to ascertain the Man God's apostles. Orsted's curse do not help, leaving Rudeus in a pickle in his interactions with his family. What follows is a set-up for what is likely the next arc: getting Ariel on the throne. Some great character development, but little progress on the actual plot. I am also happy the author told that the Man God has a hard limit. I had some struggle with my sense of disbelieve in that somebody who can enter peoples' dreams and is instantly trusted could be defeated even if a handful is outside of his control. In other words, a nice slice-of-life before the storm.
Profile Image for Humaira Haider.
44 reviews
March 9, 2022
It was pretty fast paced.. which I really liked.. in this volume Rudeus team up with Orsted to make Ariel asura queen of asura kingdom.. while the whole volume was about them preparing it was quite fun to read.. the conversations between orsted and Rudeus were fairly intersting.. orsted is an amusing character, he is like a very high ranked character in the story which makes it fun to read about him even more because you get reactions from other characters... The motive of them making Ariel the queen was to have Hitogami/man-god not achieve his goal, because Hitogami is ENEMY. I would give this volume a fair 4 ⭐ because it was good :).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Haris Raza.
49 reviews2 followers
March 9, 2021
Alliances are finally made and now soon another big chapter is set to begin by the end
The etchi self fulfilment (man I do mention that a lot) was kept to a minimum
And that was refreshing
Actually the lack of interaction with his family members did drive home how busy rudi now was in his preparation and planning
Also it again comes back to sylphie but it was great seeing her demonstrate her agency and motivation outside of rudeus

So a good chapter in general

I do however am feeling the fatigue with reading this level of prose
But my immersion in the world keeps me coming back
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 9 books4,867 followers
May 29, 2024
Much like the previous light novel, it is a comfortable, relaxing look at home harem life while planning for an immense future battle against ungodly powers, but this one just pivoted its focus to another target.

What traveling is done, is made super easy and thankfully remains amusing. I mean, a library labyrinth with a demon god slime that copies out every written work ever? Like... YES, PLS, CAN I HAS IT?

Ahem. Still a fun series, no matter the light perversions it glorifies.
76 reviews
May 13, 2025
I found this to be a good read, but felt relativly uneventful compared to last few books. while featuring a far less explored slice of life factor which while still present wasnt as central as I would have liked it to be for one of the slower books in the series. Overall I though it was pretty good but not as good as the past few.
61 reviews
April 23, 2022
Thanks

This book was great. I got to see the growth of different characters. I also noticed that MC can’t seem to be at home for his children’s birth..As usual can’t wait for the next book.👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Profile Image for Karsun B.
99 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2022
Another great entry into the story and Eris as a wife is a great read well worth the wait from her first meeting Rudy beating the crap out of him to now where she beats the crap out of him but with love
Profile Image for Giaconia Nicolas.
25 reviews
April 5, 2023
Funny how whenever one of his wives is pregnant, Rudeus goes on a mission 😂😂

Nice volume, i like the dynamic with Orsted. Kinda surprised that Eris can beat Rudeus this easily, but I'm sure he'll surpass her with more clever work.
Profile Image for Akbar Febriansyah.
6 reviews
September 1, 2023
Bikin demon king marah di wilayah kekuasaannya, padahal sempet buat impresif dia.. tapi apa daya, satu kesalahan yg bikin semua 1 halaman ancur cukup untuk bikin seluruh penjaga terpanggil buat ngusir mereka
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Michael.
127 reviews
April 7, 2025
This is a book of transitions.



And in this volume, Rudeus prepares to assist Princess Arielle to become the next king of the Aura Kingdom.

The good writing is in the details. Thoroughly enjoyed this volume.
23 reviews
September 17, 2025
Great adventure and fascinating character dynamics.
The genedered nights are probably one of my favourite sections in the saga. Bloody love seeing everyone interact so wholesomely.
Nice build up, can´t wait to see what comes next!
71 reviews3 followers
February 15, 2022
Beste boekdeel tot nu toe, ongelooflijk goed! Spannend, grappig, slim, onderhoudend.
125 reviews3 followers
April 21, 2022
Great book

I can't wait for book seventeen to come out as the story keeps getting better. This is one of the better light novels out and I haven't been disappointed.
Profile Image for Nuniflex.
144 reviews3 followers
May 6, 2022
Nothing too highkey, just Rudy exploring his options, running errands for Orsted and enjoying his loving family :) I pray for more amazing fights and bombshell plot droppings in the next volume!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kron Wolf.
80 reviews
March 2, 2023
Estuvo bien, un poco raro y tranquilo, pero bien, la calma antes de la tormenta o después de la misma...
Profile Image for Justin.
700 reviews2 followers
March 13, 2023
Trying to find an answer and figuring out who your enemies are, is more of a challenge than you think.

p.s. also never annoy a giant slime,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nick Rizzo.
405 reviews7 followers
March 18, 2024
Nothing much happened in this one besides a slice of life and some knowledge being imparted. The plot also advanced a bit and are moving to the next phase of the plan
Profile Image for Miriam Ventura.
70 reviews
July 26, 2024
Creo que lo que más me gustó de este tomo fue conocerlos a todos borrachos 🙊 especialmente a Sylphie.
Lo que menos me gustó fue Roxy embarazada.
Profile Image for Ryan W..
Author 6 books1 follower
October 14, 2024
Volumen 16 ya y la historia no deja de ser apasionante.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews

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