Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

This is second in an isekai LitRPG series you'll want to read in order. Or not because it's a trap! See below for details.

I've been worried that Eryk would do a runner or something else to abandon his troop. I've grown to like them and their various personalities, including his Mage commander. I'm not entirely sure why they don't abandon him, though.

Frankly, I don't get Eryk's motivations throughout this story. He's an otherworlder and completely afraid to take anyone into his confidence. So he's sneaking magic resources and practice and hiding his abilities and acts like a complete paranoid nutter, even about some basic things. This irks me because his commander is going out of her way to show him trust and give him training and help him in ways that she knows would only help him abandon them in the future should he choose. So it's honest and appears non-self-interested. And yet Eryk never, not even a little, extends any trust himself.

At the same time, he's the biggest idiot about doing and saying things that risk outing him as an otherworlder. He's almost recklessly casual about idioms and phrases and even when people are all "what's that mean?" he's all like, shrugging it off and not even trying to restrain himself.

It's the weirdest dichotomy and makes me hate him just a little bit. You see, I like his friends and cohort. I could almost join him in a tightly clenched paranoia if he wants to see it that way because the stakes couldn't be higher. But he, himself, is not taking those stakes seriously. He's both acting like he's in the biggest danger imaginable and acting like he's surrounded by morons who can't add two and two to get four.

Still, the story was fun, the pace is good, and I liked both the new friends he finds and the continuing relationship with his current friends. Oh. Except for Konstantin. Eryk's almost casually dismissive of the trainer who actually likes and trusts him and I don't get that at all.

Anyway, I'm going to go with four stars even if the trap makes me want to tank the rating just so others aren't fooled. It's a trap! Go back now! Still, I had fun reading it even if I refuse to fall into the trap and read the rest.

A note about Steamy: Eryk is an idiot but eventually falls to temptation with a willing woman. There's not much steam at all, but there's enough that I'm flipping the tag. I also don't like his treatment of her on the trust/don't trust front as, again, he's completely unreasoned about it with her as well. Do or don't but pick one, please.

It's a trap!!!: So it turns out that this is a four-book (so far) series with the author ramping up the price by a dollar with each book. What's that you say? It's on Kindle Unlimited so you don't care? Not so fast my binge-reading friend! Only the first two books are in Kindle Unlimited. The third is a hefty $7 and the fourth is $8. You might want to take this into account if you decide to start this series.