Status Updates From The Boutan Caliphate (A Sol...

Looks like the author has toned down the hubris of the MC a little bit, making the story slightly more bearable. The problem is that there is a strange lull in the progress of the story that is disconcerting. We're retreading the same paths. I'm... bored.

I've stopped this book for now.
My annoyance at the MC's obnoxious nature and the support cast's inexplicable pliancy has totally overshadowed the plot.

I'm really struggling now. Everything about the MC's interaction with other characters is annoying. He is obnoxious and pretentious, and this infuriating pattern of people somehow answering every question he has while he answers none is pissing me off to the point of distraction.
I'm going to give it a few more chapters, but this does not bode well.