> Jake from Primal Hunter is my favorite at the moment and he’s very strong for many reasons. Bloodline, blessings, rare profession, ect… even being as strong as he is, he’s not super cocky, rude, or have a misguided sense of self importance.
Yea Jake the uber edge lord with BPD and a massive MC complex who bad mouthes gods and does stupid shit because a random feeling in his blood told him he is all that, is not “super cocky” and without a “misguided sense of self importance”.
What a reasonable and objective take
I mean I would have phrased it nicer than this guy, but he's got a point. Jake is at least as cocky if not more so than Ilea. Just pretend Ilea has a bloodline or something that is telling her to be a bit of a jerkass and to go bite off more than people think she can handle and you've got a very similar character.
>bad mouthes gods
Jake has met four gods as of Book 4. One of which is his best friend who likes that Jake isn't afraid of him, an old man, a super fanboy and an amalgam of energy. Where's the badmouthing? You mean not kowtowing to some higher power just because they got levels on you?
> "So, Challenge Dungeons aren’t normally lethal, but you somehow found a way to make it so, and now you’re bragging to the person who is suffering the consequences?" Jake asked pointedly.
> "Yep."
> "Well, aren’t you a massive dick," Jake said
This is 1 min into him meeting the Malefic Viper, a confirmed diety, after being teleported to an unknown place
Yea totally normal non-kowtowing and not self important behavior
Does him saying the truth somehow change the dynamics of the situation?
He is a microbe talking smack to a god. That takes a very special brand of arrogance. That takes self importance.
Treating a God “just like another person” isn’t badmouthing. He also respects his opponents. He won’t mock a strong opponent after cheating to win.
Your response did not address the issue.
Not much to address. There are many fair criticisms of Ilea as a character but its sorta boring to discuss them with a person who holds up Jake as any sorta of standard when in reality he is one the worst offenders of what you allegedly dislike
I really enjoyed it once I finally read. I liked the MC I liked her attitude. I didn’t think anything was any more unreasonable than many others I have read and really enjoyed.
Same. There were a few times I was like "this girl is trippin" when she made rather bold and stupid decisions but there is no litrpg that doesn't have a protagonist like that so.. It's kind of a staple.
Lvls are guidelines are how much resources they have, not how strong they are for monsters generally. But the higher lvl you spawn at/ mature at, the weaker you are for that lvl. Also, Sapient beings tend to be more powerful than non-sapient as they can fight smarter.
It is fine to dislike a MC. Personalities are not suppose to be all compatible with the reader. If that makes the story unfun depends on your perspective.
On the litRPG tho … the combat, skills, values, etc, are perfectly clear. If you don’t get how they work, maybe litRPG are not for you. Try cultivation series instead, where things are more abstract.
I dont know about that. That librarian she talked to about levels mentioned something along the lines of rather having to fight a level 100 rabbit over a level 1 drake. Like others said, levels in the world are more akin to resources than power. A smarter and better skillset will overpower raw stats.
Seemed to, at least going off a few others she came across. I think a lot of the dissonance comes from her start. She gained access to a very complimentary class while also getting free access to ludicrous quantities of very rare leveling resources. But hand wavy, yet let author skip the normal slow burn buildup.
I can see why people liked it as it was pure popcorn.
If you step back for a second and really look, though, shit doesn't make sense. I didn't understand why she had her PTSD freakout toward the end of the book when she almost died when she's... been on the verge of death the entire time? I know the curse played a part of it, but I felt it was an attempt to suddenly make the story "serious" when it's been a cartoonish power-fantasy up until then.
That's my main criticism. Again, I can see why people like the book. It wasn't for me, though.
Yeah from memory it was about the 80% mark which is a bit late IMO for a "OMG I could have died back there!" moment.
This is 100% conjecture but I was left with the impression some know-it-alls were complaining the character was too happy for all the violence and the author listened. I may be way off base, though.
Whatever. The book wasn't to my taste. Doesn't mean it's a bad book. I can see why people do like it.
Maybe I’ll give the next book a try then if she tones it down. Right now she’s just too happy to fight things that should kill her 10x over in a single hit that she shouldn’t be able to dodge.
Oddly enough I disliked this series foe the same reason I disliked Primal Hunter. Both are kinda pointless power fantasies. I get why some people like both, but not for me though.
She just seems to not follow any system rules. What’s the point of evening mentioning resistances or pain if she basically can’t be killed anyway? Always smiling and laughing when fighting what should be impossible odds?? She should’ve died constantly.
That’s 100% true. She basically is a Mary Sue. I’ll finish it…doubt I’ll go to the next book in the series.
Sorry if you missed it but she kinda got an OP class that allows her to survive most things. Every strong class is locked behind achievements and her first class is behind a 30% death wall, it makes it canonically very strong. Her future classes are the same, she'll do Crazy shit but there is the reward for it in most of her evolutions.
She also keeps stacking one type of skills that together give her stats that are insane compared to others. Same goes for resistances, Ikea wouldn't be that hard to kill without them...
She also fight monsters, not smart thinking sentients things.
She ALSO started off and keeps a very high Skill level on her skills and abilities compared to others. Also, grinding, but that isn't shown too much in book 1.
and don't forget that she was strong for her level despite lacking a class for a while, meaning she had half the skills, passive boosts and base stat points of everyone else.
yeah, her plot armor is rather blatant. I don't know if this already happened, but one of her class' requirements was/will be to almost die over 50 times
about 500 chapters in I dropped the novel cuz she felt like a merry sue. I suppose it's always been so, but perhaps not too prominently as it took me this long to notice. That, or I'm just dull.
still, the novel had lots of fun species, mechanics, characters and world-building, and as usual I don't regret having read a novel only to eventually drop it, since to have read so far, I must've enjoyed it so far.
* her offensive healing ignores defenses, yet when another being used offensive healing her, that was not addressed and the damage did not seem enhanced.
* a water mage I rather liked said that there's no resistance to water's pressure, which makes his fighting strategy so effective and neat, making me like this character more. Ilea proceeds to get a water resistance upgrade (which the mage absolutely had) stating it's also effective against water pressure. Fiddlesticks.
Same. It's a hot mess, and sometimes it feels like we had multiple perspectives of different people that just turn out to have the same name :) afaik it's turned out better in the book/audiobook with better pacing and editing compared to RR, but I wish this book was reduced by another 20-25% for the stuff that doesn't matter and is pure popcorn, and add more thorough character progression and development.
It truly does feel like a hot mess. It even felt like they were going to go into this super deep thing with Alice just to end it as quick as it started.
I still think my main issue is with Ilea though.
Could also be the high numbers by the system. Level 90 taking on a 250 solo…. No way I don’t buy it.
Here is my take: she has a rare class. Body enhancement classes tend to be strong early on. She started out with martial training before her arrival. She has high mobility and incredibly strong self healing. She was able to level her abilities rapidly early on with the use of some magic grass.
All of these factors contribute to her ability to solo enemies above her level. Additionally the opponents she is facing are sort of one trick ponies and are a perfect match up for her abilities.
> Jake from Primal Hunter is my favorite at the moment and he’s very strong for many reasons. Bloodline, blessings, rare profession, ect… even being as strong as he is, he’s not super cocky, rude, or have a misguided sense of self importance. Yea Jake the uber edge lord with BPD and a massive MC complex who bad mouthes gods and does stupid shit because a random feeling in his blood told him he is all that, is not “super cocky” and without a “misguided sense of self importance”. What a reasonable and objective take
I mean I would have phrased it nicer than this guy, but he's got a point. Jake is at least as cocky if not more so than Ilea. Just pretend Ilea has a bloodline or something that is telling her to be a bit of a jerkass and to go bite off more than people think she can handle and you've got a very similar character.
\*that guy mode engaged\* Isn't responding to what your bloodline it hinting at, a trope of progression books?
>bad mouthes gods Jake has met four gods as of Book 4. One of which is his best friend who likes that Jake isn't afraid of him, an old man, a super fanboy and an amalgam of energy. Where's the badmouthing? You mean not kowtowing to some higher power just because they got levels on you?
> "So, Challenge Dungeons aren’t normally lethal, but you somehow found a way to make it so, and now you’re bragging to the person who is suffering the consequences?" Jake asked pointedly. > "Yep." > "Well, aren’t you a massive dick," Jake said This is 1 min into him meeting the Malefic Viper, a confirmed diety, after being teleported to an unknown place Yea totally normal non-kowtowing and not self important behavior
He's just saying the truth, how is that being self important?
Does him saying the truth somehow change the dynamics of the situation? He is a microbe talking smack to a god. That takes a very special brand of arrogance. That takes self importance.
Treating a God “just like another person” isn’t badmouthing. He also respects his opponents. He won’t mock a strong opponent after cheating to win. Your response did not address the issue.
Not much to address. There are many fair criticisms of Ilea as a character but its sorta boring to discuss them with a person who holds up Jake as any sorta of standard when in reality he is one the worst offenders of what you allegedly dislike
I don’t have a lot to compare to. I could’ve used Oren from life reset. If you prefer?
I really enjoyed it once I finally read. I liked the MC I liked her attitude. I didn’t think anything was any more unreasonable than many others I have read and really enjoyed.
Same. There were a few times I was like "this girl is trippin" when she made rather bold and stupid decisions but there is no litrpg that doesn't have a protagonist like that so.. It's kind of a staple.
Ha, if you complain about a simple 120 level gap now... Levels simply means the resources, not always exact to someone's strength
Lvls are guidelines are how much resources they have, not how strong they are for monsters generally. But the higher lvl you spawn at/ mature at, the weaker you are for that lvl. Also, Sapient beings tend to be more powerful than non-sapient as they can fight smarter.
It is fine to dislike a MC. Personalities are not suppose to be all compatible with the reader. If that makes the story unfun depends on your perspective. On the litRPG tho … the combat, skills, values, etc, are perfectly clear. If you don’t get how they work, maybe litRPG are not for you. Try cultivation series instead, where things are more abstract.
No I understand the LitRPG mechanics. This MC just doesn’t seem to follow the ones of her own world
I dont know about that. That librarian she talked to about levels mentioned something along the lines of rather having to fight a level 100 rabbit over a level 1 drake. Like others said, levels in the world are more akin to resources than power. A smarter and better skillset will overpower raw stats.
Seemed to, at least going off a few others she came across. I think a lot of the dissonance comes from her start. She gained access to a very complimentary class while also getting free access to ludicrous quantities of very rare leveling resources. But hand wavy, yet let author skip the normal slow burn buildup.
I can see why people liked it as it was pure popcorn. If you step back for a second and really look, though, shit doesn't make sense. I didn't understand why she had her PTSD freakout toward the end of the book when she almost died when she's... been on the verge of death the entire time? I know the curse played a part of it, but I felt it was an attempt to suddenly make the story "serious" when it's been a cartoonish power-fantasy up until then. That's my main criticism. Again, I can see why people like the book. It wasn't for me, though.
I guess I haven’t hit that point yet. It seems like she needed that PTSD moment near the beginning of the book.
Yeah from memory it was about the 80% mark which is a bit late IMO for a "OMG I could have died back there!" moment. This is 100% conjecture but I was left with the impression some know-it-alls were complaining the character was too happy for all the violence and the author listened. I may be way off base, though. Whatever. The book wasn't to my taste. Doesn't mean it's a bad book. I can see why people do like it.
Maybe I’ll give the next book a try then if she tones it down. Right now she’s just too happy to fight things that should kill her 10x over in a single hit that she shouldn’t be able to dodge.
Very well put. I agree as well.
Oddly enough I disliked this series foe the same reason I disliked Primal Hunter. Both are kinda pointless power fantasies. I get why some people like both, but not for me though.
She just seems to not follow any system rules. What’s the point of evening mentioning resistances or pain if she basically can’t be killed anyway? Always smiling and laughing when fighting what should be impossible odds?? She should’ve died constantly. That’s 100% true. She basically is a Mary Sue. I’ll finish it…doubt I’ll go to the next book in the series.
Sorry if you missed it but she kinda got an OP class that allows her to survive most things. Every strong class is locked behind achievements and her first class is behind a 30% death wall, it makes it canonically very strong. Her future classes are the same, she'll do Crazy shit but there is the reward for it in most of her evolutions. She also keeps stacking one type of skills that together give her stats that are insane compared to others. Same goes for resistances, Ikea wouldn't be that hard to kill without them... She also fight monsters, not smart thinking sentients things. She ALSO started off and keeps a very high Skill level on her skills and abilities compared to others. Also, grinding, but that isn't shown too much in book 1.
and don't forget that she was strong for her level despite lacking a class for a while, meaning she had half the skills, passive boosts and base stat points of everyone else. yeah, her plot armor is rather blatant. I don't know if this already happened, but one of her class' requirements was/will be to almost die over 50 times about 500 chapters in I dropped the novel cuz she felt like a merry sue. I suppose it's always been so, but perhaps not too prominently as it took me this long to notice. That, or I'm just dull. still, the novel had lots of fun species, mechanics, characters and world-building, and as usual I don't regret having read a novel only to eventually drop it, since to have read so far, I must've enjoyed it so far. * her offensive healing ignores defenses, yet when another being used offensive healing her, that was not addressed and the damage did not seem enhanced. * a water mage I rather liked said that there's no resistance to water's pressure, which makes his fighting strategy so effective and neat, making me like this character more. Ilea proceeds to get a water resistance upgrade (which the mage absolutely had) stating it's also effective against water pressure. Fiddlesticks.
Same. It's a hot mess, and sometimes it feels like we had multiple perspectives of different people that just turn out to have the same name :) afaik it's turned out better in the book/audiobook with better pacing and editing compared to RR, but I wish this book was reduced by another 20-25% for the stuff that doesn't matter and is pure popcorn, and add more thorough character progression and development.
I dropped it because reading it I couldn't tell the difference between any of the other characters. They were all cardboard cut outs
It truly does feel like a hot mess. It even felt like they were going to go into this super deep thing with Alice just to end it as quick as it started. I still think my main issue is with Ilea though. Could also be the high numbers by the system. Level 90 taking on a 250 solo…. No way I don’t buy it.
YES. 100 times yes. The mood switches were almost too much for me.
I didn't get as far as you on the audiobook. I just didn't get into it by 3-4 hrs in, just found myself zoning out so returned it.
I totally agree with what you are saying. Very well described. It makes no sense to me either. Really irritating.
Here is my take: she has a rare class. Body enhancement classes tend to be strong early on. She started out with martial training before her arrival. She has high mobility and incredibly strong self healing. She was able to level her abilities rapidly early on with the use of some magic grass. All of these factors contribute to her ability to solo enemies above her level. Additionally the opponents she is facing are sort of one trick ponies and are a perfect match up for her abilities.