Zealous Badger

If you're a fan of the genre, then there is no reason not to read this one! There are more powerups than normal for this genre, owed to the litrpg influence. The story is simple so far. Our hero is from a wealthy family that doesn't have significant cultivators. He's moving up the ranks in both power and social connections. The story has already setup at least one reoccuring villain, though said villain hasn't accomplished enough to truly earn that title. All in all, this is not a grand fantasy epic that redefines the genre, but I'm thoroughly entertained and hopeful to see how the story develops! 

A mortal hero in a system-cultivation hybrid world slowly grows in power on his quest to get to the top. I'm enjoying the premise so far, and it is an enjoyable, allbeit short read at the moment. Reviewing it at 5 starts because I believe in the potential! Come join the ride. 

I love this series, and I highly recommend buying the books so that you can catchup with what's posted on RR. 

This is a progression fantasy, so don't expect a tale of Frodo going on an epic adventure or the like. Instead, you get to watch our guy go from Tier 1 to Tier 50 (not yet, but give it time) and possibly even beyond. As he does so, he grows his team, gets new skills, and gets more and more involved in the political machinations of his civilization and its rivals. Don't worry, he's not the type to sit at a boardroom, he pulls out a big sword and shoots big fireballs! 

In many ways, I consider this a Western Xianxia and the story description shows you how it improves on the formula. The only thing really lost is the mysticism of having the different ranks have cool names, but the progression system still does more than enough to keep me interested. I especially like how our hero and his party don't feel generic. Don't get me wrong, our MC doesn't have the most standout personality ever, but he and his party feel like actual people, and I appreciate that. 

I'm a fan of the subgenre, where the hero has experienced the future already, and then through some mechanism he ends up back at the beginning. He then has to figure out how to use his knowledge to make things better, constantly fighting against the butterfly effect that threatens to render his knowledge worthless. 

That is what this story is. The slightly different flavoring is that our hero has been through the loop many, many times offscreen. We pick things up after he gets his first permanent powerup, which promises to make this loop different. It is still early, but I think there is a lot of potential here. Give it a try! 

The story keeps you interested. Several characters have been setup in addition to our protaganist, hinting at the possibility of many interesting stories with reocurring characters ahead. 

As for our main character, he gets into plenty of fights. Honestly, a bit too many for my taste, but I'm confident that many fans of the genre won't be bothered by that at all. I'm curious to see if he has already achieved the final form of his personality, or if he will grow/heal into something else. The title points the obvious, but that doesn't mean that this story won't end up with our hero no longer being the 'Jester of the Apocalypse'!

The story starts off being fairly unremarkable - other than the quality writing. The first few chapters may be a bit annoying, as our hero can't speak the language! But do not worry, he picks things up pretty rapidly, and the story is much more interesting when our hero is capable of communication.

Pet peeve - I have always hated it when characters make Earth references over and over again, this happens here a bit, but nowhere near as much as HWFWMs. So yeah, our hero is so much better than that one. 

Beyond that, this is an interesting world with multiple continents, guilds (not just Adventurer's), and empires. Our hero eventually decides he needs to make his own thing, and for me that is where the story really picks up. Well worth the read! 

I have been honestly surprised by how much fun it is to see the cultivation world through the eyes of an experienced mage. Will our hero find a way to travel from world to world? Will he become the most powerful cultivator in his newfound world? I hope we get to find out! 

I'm 37 chapters in, which I binged in one session. A likeable main character, an interesting powerup system, and plenty of mystery to unfold. What's the story with our MC's mother? His father? Will the one and only Wish Master play an important part? Come read to find out, I know I am. 

Your typical system apocalypse type story, but it is nice to see it done at this level of quality. I recommend for those who can't get enough system apocalypse! The protagonist is some sort of chosen one, how that will play out should be entertaining. So far, I don't see any evidence of our hero having any companions other than his growining-in-power cat. 

I think a good many of us will find the few ten or so chapters to be a little slow and lacking in tension, but if you stick around the story becomes worthwhile. I'm curious to see how our two heroes grow, not only in power, but as people.