Title: 역대급 올마스터의 회귀
Plot Summary:
The protagonist, betrayed by his comrades just before death, is sent back in time by an unknown force. Back in the past, he grows stronger to finish the game and take revenge on those who betrayed him.
Novel Description:
The first-ever virtual reality game, New World.
<The time has come.>
<Synchronization starts.>
That marked the beginning of the catastrophe.
As the game became reality, the Earth began to crumble.
However, there was hope.
All-Master Jeong-hoon, who had survived until the very end, was just one step away from finishing the game.
“Gah!”
But ended up being betrayed by his comrades.
“Should I say, from the moment you said you wanted to end this game?”
The reason for their betrayal was simple, if the game ended, their power would disappear.
The moment they thought it was all over.
[An unknown mysterious force is protecting you.]
[An unknown mysterious force dissipates.]Thanks to that unknown force, he returned to the past.
Personal Review:
Generic Template
This is a typical “munchkin,” fantasy, game, regression, Allmaster, and revenge story. Such stories are often used as time-killers, with predictable and sensational plots. However, this novel isn’t particularly enjoyable. The protagonist’s actions feel like a one-pattern storyline, ending with him stealing the hidden pieces that his past comrades obtained. The story heavily depends on the author’s writing ability, and it falls short in several aspects, such as the protagonist’s revenge motive, setting errors, lack of character appeal, and inconsistent logic. There is nothing that truly captivates the reader.
Author’s Lack of Knowledge About Games
The novel doesn’t make sense in a game-world context. It claims that in the first-ever virtual reality game, which was played by 2 billion people worldwide, no player has ever discovered the hidden pieces. However, the protagonist, a latecomer, manages to find these pieces. This is contradictory because players have different approaches to the game, and the novel depicts everyone following the same攻略, or walkthrough. The hidden pieces are obtained through tasks like completing all the quests in the starting village, achieving 10 consecutive wins, or discovering hidden dungeons—yet the protagonist’s acquisition of these pieces feels completely unbelievable.
Entry Barriers
The novel has several entry barriers, such as scenes where the management team watches the protagonist’s actions, characters who throw punches at first meetings and ask to become disciples, and one-dimensional character portrayals. This makes the novel hard to engage with and raises questions about whether it’s worth enduring these barriers just to read the story. At times, I seriously considered dropping it.
Evaluation:
Originality: ★★☆☆☆
While the concept of a virtual reality game merging with reality is somewhat fresh, it lacks originality due to the many similar works in the genre.
Engagement: ★☆☆☆☆
There are many implausible elements, such as the unexplained method of obtaining hidden pieces, the lack of persuasion for the protagonist’s revenge, and the overall logical inconsistencies. These make it difficult to get immersed in the story.
Popularity: ★★★★☆
Since it’s a genre that has a broad following, it does have potential to attract a large audience, especially fans of time-killer novels.
Writing Skill: ★☆☆☆☆
The writing lacks depth and suffers from logical errors, one-dimensional character depictions, and repetitive content to stretch the length. The protagonist’s actions, such as taking hidden pieces from his former comrades, don’t offer much in terms of excitement or growth.
Consistency: ★★★★★
Aside from a brief hiatus due to the author contracting COVID, the novel follows a consistent publishing schedule.
Overall Assessment:
The protagonist’s revenge doesn’t resonate because there is no convincing moment where he successfully persuades his former comrades that they should end the game. The motivation for revenge feels forced. The process of obtaining hidden pieces, instead of being a tedious grind, should have had much higher difficulty, making it impossible to acquire them in such a simple way. Lastly, the narrative pacing should have been sped up to align with the protagonist’s revenge goal rather than dragging on with filler content.
This is a generic novel with no unique advantages. The lack of logic, the hollow process of obtaining hidden pieces, one-dimensional characters, and entry barriers make it hard to recommend. Similar novels exist, and this one leaves you questioning why you should even bother reading it.
It’s the kind of story you read when you don’t want to use your brain, but even as a time-killer, it’s not sufficient. There are plenty of other, more enjoyable generic novels out there. This one is not worth recommending.
Average Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2.6 stars)
Just asking, but admin, are you the one making all of the reviews here?
Yes, You can find the novel at daotranslate dot com, but it is machine-translated.