Forgotten Conqueror

Even though Re-incarnation concept is the same.. the way you developed the story till now is really unique.. MC is not  meek nor arrogant, whole being humble.  Even though MC is OP he doesn't show off, it's pace is also quite nice. and i am hoping you can release at lest a chapter daily (only hope though XD). and your story doesn't have grammatical mistakes and easily readable,and you wrote in a way that reader don't lose interest in the story so far. it's one of the best stories i have read.. Thanks for the story

This is my first review on this site and first book review probably since high school (I am in Grad school now). You can say that I just joined this site so I can write your a review :).

I am an avid book and a big fan of OP MC style.(i.e., MC doesn’t struggle much in the story, bad things happened prior to the beginning). Hence, I really enjoyed your style and must had reread portions of it like 10 times. It is currently in the top 5 on my reading list (which includes >200 Chinese LN).

So far I like the story. It is especially refreshing having read so many Chinese LN with following cliches (which I hope you won’t do in the future):

• Near-Infinite levels: every time when MC reaches the top, he finds himself to be the weakest again & having a long way to go (and repeat for each arc). Good example would be http://www.kanshu.com/artinfo/12881.html (one the most popular Chinese LN). Right now, you have 5 ranks for Mages (http://forgottenconqueror.com/the-world/). I am pretty certain there would be higher ranks, but try not to add so many. 
• Struggling in a lot of big fights (and almost every time something suddenly activates or MC realizes something, and MC becomes much stronger and owns the enemy).
• Stupid/irrational antagonists (so far, the enemy doesn’t know much about Kaidus ). I like how you explain the reason behind everything while keeping a nice flow.
• Black & white antagonists. Please don’t do this. Make it complicated, and present moral dilemma. An extreme example would be antagonists who apparently killed MC’s mom (but for good reason, which I believe to be the case in the manhua red storm)

Grammar:

Took half a point off for a couple of minor grammatical mistakes. I had no trouble understanding everything after the 3rd chapter.

Thanks for great work :).  I will donate to your Patreon.

To me, this is the best story that this website have. And that is because it contains all of the regular clichês that you will normally see in this website's novels but delivers it in a refreshing and original form.

First of all, the main concept: reincarnation. I don't like this idea. I think it is silly and unnecessary in most of the novels. This is a exception. What normally happens that pisses me off is the fact that the MC reincarnates and thus is born with some sort of advantages over other peoples of this world but his past life don't really matters. The life the MC had, the people he met and the things he has done don't affect the story.

But here, in Forgotten Conqueror, the past life of the MC plays a major role not just in who he is but in the setting of the world and the plot (since it becomes the MC's goal to discover his origins and discover the status of his past-life enimies).

Usually, the author redirect's the reader's attention of the motive of the reincarnation (or give a half-assed excuses for it to have happened) and starts a new chain of events that the MC has to face.

Not here: the MC seeks only to live his life with his beloved family while researching the history of the world, looking for the motive of his reincarnation and to finish the things he couldn't in his past life (a.k.a. facing an antagosnist that was not revealed, yet).  

Usually the MC is overpowered, but still manages to find struggles that requires him to unleash some kind of hidden power and then finish off his enemies. Most times, the description of the MC's powers don't matchs his action when he is in danger, because although he is DESCRIBED AS OVERPOWER he really isn't. And that is fine with me. I like MC's that aren't overpower. What I don't like is this discrepancy in the description and plot, that is usually fixed by the author giving some kind of excuse for his enemy being an exception to the beforehand mentioned power-above-all of the MC.

But not here. Kaidus is described as a higher-being and act as such. He is strong, smart and is always ready to finish off his opponents with his full power. His life is never at stake. When he finds some kind of struggle is just to keep his identity a secret. And that is because he IS OVERPOWER not just DESCRIBED AS OVERPOWER and then faced with even more powerful enemies.

Those things together with gorgeous world building made by the author made me fall deeply in love with this novel. The only thing I could suggest is for the author to give a little more depth to the supporting characters (a.k.a. his family and friends).

Regarding other reviews:

@Sylth: You've made a serious mistake regarding the plot of this series. Kaidus haven't lived 20 lives. What happened is that he was born 20 times and killed at his birth, exactly for the motive of him not being able to control his mana at birth and thus having white hair. That is why, when he finally gets to live, such a long time has already passed. Also, you say that he shouldn't obey other people because he is utterly powerful. That is simply not how things work in life. If you think life that you really should try to change that mindset, because if you get some kind of power in your life people will not like you. He has power but he don't have to show off this fact. Actually, as long that it doesn't hurt his family or friends, Kaidus tries to live a normal life, seeking only knowledge. If he started to act in his everyday like the higher-being that he is, he would not be able to live the ordinary and quiet life with his family (one that he likes). By acting normal in his college he gets to continue to live a normal life with his family AND is able to research for his past. He don't do things just because he is told to, he does them because they are good for him. And regarding his father, Troyle, the injury he suffered don't makes him useless. I don't know if you have ever had an injury, but the fact is that when you do, in most of the cases it doesn't make you like a disabled person. It just makes you worse than you were. The fact that Troyle was a top-tier mercenary enabled him to have some degree of skill even with a injured shoulder. I think that is all.

@boridu: Well... everyone has their tastes. But I don't think even if you don't like the novel you should say those things, because they simply are not true. If you really believe them you should read again and work hard you your interpretation skills.

I came to this site looking specifically for Original English Light Novels, but then I came to this fantasy masterpiece.

By now, I personally differentiate "light novel" and "YA novel" in the terms of their commercial-quality. A lot of light novels begin as web novels, and thus, allow for more exploration of the world, the mechanics of the magic system, and the characters without being limited by the need to make it presentable. Pardon me for mentioning this here, as I am still looking for light novel shape in the middle of the market today. Perhaps it's still not the right direction, and I'm looking forward to be corrected. :D 

Anyway, this is precisely what this story develops. More exploration, more details without worrying of getting cut since "it's not necessary to the main plot or character development". And I love this story for that. It's those fantasy stories that I grow up in and come to love, but with so much more freedom for the author that a lot of YA novel authors (I think) don't allow themselves to have.

I'm always an emotional reader, and thus Overall score is how I generally feel about a story. And thus I gave it 5 stars. 

But then here comes the nitpicky parts.

Style

This is probably what I love the most. So far, the handful count of stories I read here usually come off as "fanfictions". The titles I love beside this one is following either Moonlight Sculptor, or Mushoku Tensei. But this story is so comfortable in its clothes. Not particularly bowing to a light novel I have in mind, this is more like a nod YA Fantasy novel with so much liberty of exploration. Love it. 

The storytelling is also immersive. Not only it has an established, complicated, and rich premise, it also delivers the premise with mastery. Several tidbits of the past come naturally, and not only through the main character, but also from other characters. 

It might be contrary to what I mentioned above, but I just want to say that it also doesn't promise too much. They usually come as prophecies to be fulfilled, quests, or the cryptic message about "if the right people know, they will be rewarded accordingly". It just focuses on Kaidus' agenda, and his determination to protect his current life.

But I also love the Headmaster who tries to throw Kaidus off the balance a little, making him responsible for the other students, expanding his "current life" more than just his family. Making him live properly, I should say. So, nice subplot. 

Story

There still leaves so much for the story to tell. I assume this part focuses on the Plot rather than the style, so I have nothing much to say. The plot is threaded carefully and with no rush. 

Grammar

I'm not an English native speaker, so I don't really notice grammar mistakes inside the story. It's good enough to make the reader drown in the story itself, it's good enough for me. 

Character

Now how should I go with this? 

Since the beginning, Kaidus already has an established character. This is not a coming-of-age story. But, he also has his own demons, and the inner struggle is real. I love it.

Not only him, even his parents have the little character growth. I also love the take on Prim. I'd love to see more rivalry, but Kaidus is already too OP. It won't be fair to the people around him. But if he can't have rivalry about magic, there are still other ways to have rivalry about; his research, for example. A young character knowledgeable and also in the pursuit of knowledge just as passionate as he is would provide a good balance.

^ But I'm just thinking about it on a whim]

Anyway, everyone is well developed, but I'd also love to see more outside factors that will tip him off of balance besides polite, love for family, hatred for injustice, or pissed off by the headmaster. (LOL)

Worldbuilding

It's probably a 3.5 stars. 

There is a lack of in-reference to our world as to how your time terms might mean, or what significance it has in that world to be different. (Like, lunar calendar for farming, tree-months for hunter-gatherer culture, etc.) 

I love the magical system and the ranks, it is well explained and give adequate general idea. I haven't checked the glossary yet, but it's probably described even further there. 

The lack is actually for so wide a world that not even reborn 27 times will make Kaidus know everything, he still hasn't explored it other than reading the books. 

It still has rooms for growth, but I came here to enjoy the ride.

Thank you for writing this masterpiece. :D I'll definitely follow through until the end~

Style: Unlike many of the fan-fictions I've come across, this one is relatively professional and true to western story-telling. Many people have adopted the style of short descriptions and extra spacing, copying the great amount of light novels translated from Japanese or Korean style. That is all well and good but I, myself, prefer this style. At times there are certainly odd breaks in paragraphs; there are unusual word patters and junctions that cause the flow of voice to waver. However that is not something just anyone can master and is highly dependent not only on the author, but the reader.  If we leave out such specific details, we can see that Zaide's voice is efficient in pulling the reader along--so I give Style a 4.5.

Story: The story thus far is very interesting. I would say that it is quite unique in its own right. My issue is that the possibility for plot the author has provided is too limitless. Like LMS of other light novels, it has too much room for story. Now everyone must understand that this is probably  intentional, especially with a story like this that appraises a character's life . But what this means is that this story will definitely stretch, perhaps years or even tens if Zaide has the tenacity for it. If not, than readers, especially lovers of the story, might have to steel themselves for disappointment in this regard. Now I know I'm being quite negative, but I'm a realist, and when I read online stories I must always ready myself for this possibility as it always exists, especially in the ones I like. (4)

Grammar: On many other reviews, I see a lot of people giving lower scores, (4 to 2) because of very common mistakes like: using the wrong word, the wrong phrase, or the wrong spelling. That is a very, very, little part of grammar. I almost never see them assess the misuse of punctuation, syntax, and tense--to name a phew. There are sooo many mistakes writers make in longer pieces and it is entirely understandable because there are sooo many rules. I rarely see a published novel with perfect grammar, much less an online hobby. If i were to judge it like the other people who find the first list of mistakes, then everyone's grammar would fall under a 1. So i'll judge it based on readability: grammar is a 4.5.

Character: The most amazing detail about this story is most definitely the characters. The author has a charming way of introducing them, not just as they are but who they are. Their actions are so filled with emotion that you'd think Zaide was a social psychologist. That's how good it is. Sometimes he goes overboard--mostly with Kaidus--but then again, he is a mystery, we're not suppose to know his every intention. However the other characters are completely open to us and thus are easy to love and relate despite their supporting roles. You can really see the emotion that fuels their actions and makes them real. Bravo to Zaide for this. (5)

This series is the only series i re-read other than Harry Potter. It's just so plain amazing, and I re-read it even before the series over! Keep up the good job man!

I finaly registered on royal road, after blazing trough your ff in about 5 hours (from 1 am to 6 am in the morning) to thank you properly for the story and the wonderful time I had reading it.

As many have mentioned the world is very unique and hard to grasp at first, the story starts dark with many dead people, but so did humanity troughout it's early history! I like the  mature writing style,and the very human side of the charakters, with all their fear, jealousy, anxiety and anger.

Some have pointed out, that the reincarnation genre is already often used and nothing new, but so was the idea of a young gifted boy with magical abilitys attending school and many of us still liked Harry Potter! So it's not always about original ideas, but what you do with them and how you can captivate your readers in sharing the feelings of the characters, which in my humble opinion the author did very well.

Please keep up the good work and I hope you like the token of appreciation i left you via the new option !

(and please excuse my grammatical errors if I made any, for english is not my native tongue and I am writing this from my smartphone ^^)

its weird your ff not in best rated. Well your story is interesting one and the MC clearly has unique character. I hope you continue your story more!

I'm really enjoying reading this. The combination of your style and grammar make it easy and fun to read. The story is interesting, it's not going to fast or slow, just the right thing. Im hoping to see you uploading this story for a long time

Good story, story with an OP MC, in an interesting setting.  I'm thoroughly enjoying this one.

to answer a question asked above, I'm pretty sure this isn't on the top 50 yet because it's simply too new. not enough time has passed for this to get as many hits as the ones that have been around for a while. But it's still popular, top of the weekly charts, which is how I found it.

I

I like how you're being consistent with the MC, and how he doesn't seem to be a perfectly good or evil, but more of a middle road personality.

Overall, I'd recommend this story to anyone who is looking for a story in an interestingly diverse world where the MC wasn't some poor loser in his previous existence.