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The gods have set forth in motion five Calamities for the inhabitants of the Other World, and only by enduring them will mankind be allowed to live on.

The leaders of the Other World do not believe in the possibility of triumph against the will of the gods and instead squander their time indulging in their desires as the world rots away around them. Mankind’s only hope rests on the shoulders of a man they hate the most. A man who has taken every possible measure, both accepted and forbidden, to attain power. Sungchul Kim, the man who reached the pinnacle of strength, now stands alone against the Calamities. Not because he is a hero, but because of a promise.

Reaching the Demon King’s palace, Sungchul soon realizes his shortcomings. He failed to resolve the first Calamity due to his inability to wield Magic. He is forced to journey in secret, hiding his identity and strength to steal the knowledge of Magic from the very people who branded him as the Enemy of the World.

However, to do so, he must hide among the weakest group of people in the Other World: the newly arrived humans from his homeworld, Earth.

420 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 3, 2017

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Road Warrior

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5 stars
696 (46%)
4 stars
466 (31%)
3 stars
239 (15%)
2 stars
72 (4%)
1 star
26 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
Profile Image for Johnny.
1,624 reviews44 followers
July 8, 2021
Just not good.

I didn't finish this, made it to 34% before I gave up.
I didn't like anything about this book except that the editing was top notch.
The story itself was sub par. Nothing was done to try and make the MC s likeable character.
Dropped this series and honestly can't even see a glimpse of what others like about it.
Profile Image for Akemi Ashiuchi.
27 reviews3 followers
August 20, 2017
Okay, so I went into this book pretty cleanly with no real expectation (I was bored) and I got taken by surprise. Here is your everyday, overpowered, MC who suddenly finds himself unable to defeat his enemy without something new. Magic.
It's not the first time I've read about OPed MC, taking Darkness Rising for instance, or One Punch Man for the anime fans. Now having said this, there has always got to be something engaging about the MC if you expect us to feel anything for the powerful SOB. In this book, it's done pretty well.
While we don't actually see our MC struggle at, really, any point in the story, it's not the MC that's struggling. From the get go, we are introduced to a world that is not only odd, but somewhat falling apart, with a dark prophecy hanging over it's head. We have the problem. Our MC is the answer. It's a simple plot point to follow, but by no means is it less interesting. Finding out who our MC is through little clues and non-told stories is sort of thrilling. He's been through so much and that shows in his every action despite how effort-less it is. It was also refreshing to stay the hell away from Romance in these types of stories. I'm tired of love interests getting a bigger role in the play than the damn plot.

So this story is a near 5 starts for me. 4.5 maybe, but it was certainly worth the money and the time I spent reading it. I can't wait to see where he goes from there. Kim Hyung is going to be so much fun to follow.
75 reviews1 follower
May 23, 2020
What magic?

The title and premise is a complete sham. The MC learns one spell over 60% through the book. A basic spell at that. And that's it. He gets books for other ones to learn with much higher stats, or so it's implied. But the whole book is a false premise.
Profile Image for Soo.
2,598 reviews257 followers
March 3, 2022
Notes:

The audiobooks for #1 & 2 are on sale right now on Audible. I figured this was a good time to get these books and try them out. I read Oppa Translations' Master Hunter K on KU and the website. That one was great! It made me want to try out the other stories that OT have translated & worked to get on audio.

Overall, this was a decent intro to a new webserial. Curious to see how the story will develop and if the MC is actually the bad guy or a misunderstood hero in the dark. Fun twists on alchemy & learning magic.

Nick Podehl is a good narrator. However, his pronunciations for Korean names/words are very American. Ah the pain of accented other languages. Funny & cringe-worthy.
14 reviews
August 11, 2017
Is even He strong enough?

Truly an interesting and original story. I am looking forward to the next one. Balance is a good way to describe this book. One truly over balanced by his strength yet with tasks still eminently difficult. I was also interested in learning how the author and many others it takes to translate this book into English. Remarkable!
12 reviews2 followers
August 11, 2017
Main character was boring

The character never grew. Interesting world but never really delved into it. Pretty much a demi god doing what he wanted to get what he wanted and never at risk or thinking about how to change
Profile Image for Sylvia Rangel.
81 reviews19 followers
June 23, 2020
Good story but

It was like reading a cartoon at first. There was no heart. The sentence structure was very Asian, obviously translated. But because the story was interesting I will continue with this series.
1,336 reviews15 followers
August 22, 2021
Sungchul Kim was Summoned to a world on the brink of disaster. Apathetic and hostile gods have predicted a number of Calamities that will result in everything dying---but Sungchul has single-handedly nearly managed to clear one of them. There's just one little problem. The Demon King, knowing Sungchul's reputation for massive physical strength, has taken a form impervious to physical damage. Now Sungchul needs to acquire enough magic to somehow kill the strongest of demons . . .

I read this first as a web novel and liked it. The book version is basically the same, although the formatting has been cleaned up a lot, and it's nice to finally have this in my e-library.

Sungchul is an interesting main character. He's strong, but he can't get what he needs through his strength, so he has to walk the path of a weakling to try to trick his way into overcoming his enormous magical deficit. He's collected a lot of strength on his journey thus far, but an even longer list of curses (my favorite being the curse of erectile dysfunction---there was an enemy with hilariously petty motivations).

So the story follows Sungchul in his journey to learn to be a mage. And given his goals, ordinary magecraft isn't going to suit his purposes. He needs something at the pinnacle of magic. But the world is declining, and that's reflecting in every level of society. Even the magical school he joins later on has serious issues.

The first part of the story covers what happens with the initial Summoned, which is more of a death game. Fair warning---this is a very gory world. Torture happens several times, although most of the details stay off screen, a few women are raped (also offscreen, thankfully), and quite a lot of people get their heads exploded or their limbs ripped off. Despite the quantity, it never really felt out of place for me, as it's just as much a statement of the world Sungchul's stuck inside.

Overall this is absolutely a darker read, but it has its own charm. Sungchul is fighting what by all appearances seems to be a losing battle, but his willpower is enormous and he never once contemplates failure. If the ultra-violence isn't a problem, then I'd rate this book Recommended.

See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
83 reviews2 followers
July 8, 2021
This was not a good book. It honestly felt like it should have been two books instead of one. Halfway through, I was thinking "thank God it's almost over", but noooo.

It started as a fun concept (OPMC has to re-train different skills), but the writing style was almost nonexistent, and the MC was one-dimensional, never changing his self-serving position throughout the entire story. Can we see a little growth, please? Even when women are being raped by another character, he doesn't do anything, just waits because this other character might be "useful". Every bad guy in the book gets killed by the MC and at the end, they say something like "I chose the wrong side." How about, "you made your bed, now lay in it" or "you shouldn't have raped and killed those women"? But no, it's "I chose the wrong side." There is no character development in the story. Characters who regret they were caught, but not sorry for what they did, making everyone feel like a sociopath who sees everyone else as a means to an end. This includes the MC.

Typically when I listen to something read by Nick Podehl, I add one star. Because it's that amazing. In this case, I have added one star to my review. This one star is for Nick, who does a wonderful job, as always. However, even his peerless talent can't overcome the narrative, which is so flat I would recommend it as a cure for insomnia.
10 reviews1 follower
March 4, 2021
Amazing book MC reminds me of Sairam from one punch man

don't Judge me but I'm an audiobook guy and I just hope that book two comes out in that form so that I binge it.

I loved the MC and the storyline not to dark bun not to lite ether this author wasn't afraid of some death and I love that and just hate it when there is literally no worry you know, other books are predictable and boring because you know the MC not going anywhere and nether are the important side cuaracters while this book keeps you on your toes plus no annoying Damsel in distress character that leaches onto the MC until the author kills her off because he wants a berserk moment witch is great

So to sum up great book hope book two comes out in audiobook form soon
31 reviews
June 9, 2018
Who has a problem with too much power?

The main character falls a little flat as his interactions are just way two dimensional...but I have always liked overpowered themes so I give this one a thumbs up.
Profile Image for Christian Jeffress.
414 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2019
Very Enjoyable

I found this book to be a very enjoyable read with a great main character and awesome world building. I am very much looking forward to the second book in the series.
March 9, 2019
The Enemy Of The World was Amazing. At first you have that overwhelming guy who radiates an oppressive presence, but then you see all these restrictions limiting him. The story is awesome and I sure as hell want the a second part as soon as possible.
Profile Image for Danny Moody.
971 reviews5 followers
March 30, 2021
Super cool concept. I am all about an OP MCs but I like that this book still has strong elements of conflict. The story is really dark and well thought out. The game elements are really cool too.
September 5, 2021
TLDR: Absolute Dog-Shit.

OP MC Demigod goes off slaying some random armies and Deamon lords one-punch man style. Then after effortlessly slaying some armies and multiple deamon kings, cause fuck any hardships and challenges we be OP as fuck. MC meet some new Deamon king King who kills himself not to be bitchslapped and killed by MC. So now MC wanna kill the Deamons ghost(cause dig this MC was too retarded to learn magic cause he didn't like it). So Now MC pretends to be a basic noob ad a "mage college" to get some stats and learn his first spell(happens ~60% into the book) while rape/murder and other shit goes around him, which he ignores, Because he needs to be "stealthy" the fuk?!

Bad:
1. OP MC. Super OP. Literal God.
2. No Character progression whatsoever, no items, no loot etc...
3. Plotline is Boring, no clue wtf MC is doing or why...
4. Fells like we have skipped ~15 books of MC development from the noob to demigod, author
probably didn't wanted to get into all of that WTF
5. its just Shit go Read real LitRPG's
6. Terrible copy of one-punch-man just without the jokes but with rape..

Good:
1. Nick Poadell, great narrator shit book.
2. Maybe a game world and that this is not happening in IRL... but this is irrelevant with all the terrible points above
Profile Image for Russell Gray.
422 reviews56 followers
July 29, 2020
It was refreshing to hop back into a gamelit/litrpg story after a few weeks, but other than scratching many of the usual itches, the story didn't show me anything new. I think your enjoyment of this might be inversely related to how many other gamelit stories you've read as well as isekai anime you've seen. There was absolutely nothing new here, but it was what I was in the mood for and I don't feel like I wasted my time.

The translation and editing could use some work. The prose is functional, but far from efficient or stylish. It's definitely a few steps above the machine-translated stuff I've seen in other books, but still obviously a translation.

If you're like the average litrpg reader out there and desperate for anything gamelit/progression fantasy that even resembles a workable story, then you might find this an enjoyable story to sit down with while you keep looking for the next good one. Unfortunately, this one isn't that, but you can do worse. And we have. You know it. I know it. Yay.
Profile Image for William K. Moses Jr..
345 reviews23 followers
August 6, 2021
3.5 stars.

This was an alright book. The premise of an incredibly (physically) strong character blending in to become (magically) strong and raise his abilities was interesting. The unfortunate thing is that there isn't much characterization of the MC or of others, so you rarely end up caring about anyone. Not to mention that characters move in and out of the current line up (of the current arc or sub-arc) quickly.

However, every now and then you start to care about a character. Not that you're rooting for them to succeed, but you want to see them suffer and die. And when that happens, the book becomes a fun read and the time really starts to fly. Unfortunately, once they do die, it takes a while to start caring about the next big bad. But on the plus side, it seems like almost everyone (who matters) in this world is messed up, so there's always someone new to hate. Overall, it's a fun ride.
3 reviews
August 15, 2019
Very interesting read

At times, I was confused by how the rhythm of flow of words seemed to twist, but after I discovered that the author had it translated into English, it made more sense. The overall theme was interesting, although I will admit the idea of the protagonist being all powerful in every aspect except for magic initially was offputting.
However, once other characters started to interact, and the intrigue and plot weaving seemed to thicken, I found that the story became more enjoyable.
Four stars for the length, since many of the LITRPGs that I've read tend to be around 350 pages.
1,760 reviews20 followers
June 3, 2020
This one got complicated, the review not the book.

I was going to give this three stars at first. It was a good story but has some problems. An OP main character and numerous grammatical issues involving syntax that made it difficult to read. But as I continued to read I found the book becoming more intriguing and more compelling. By the time I finished I was hooked and then every issue I had was addressed by the author in the afterword. The author was aware of the issues and was dealing with it throughout the book. That to me is a five star book and one I want to read more of.
Profile Image for Matthew.
15 reviews
November 17, 2022
Interesting Overall Story

This book is a fun read. If you don't want to read about someone at godlike levels of physical strength, don't pick this up. I think the author does a good job of still creating an interesting story even with the main character being so overpowered. It's also noticeable that this book has been translated, not because of any problems with the English, the translation is excellent, but with some of the strange tropes etc. However overall if you go in with the expectations of a fun read and not literary genius, this book is definitely worth a read. I'll be carrying on to book two for sure
Profile Image for Kevin.
1,201 reviews19 followers
July 15, 2021
This was really fun. It's like reading an anti-villain One Punchman.

The protagonist is just stupidly strong and has to hide his strength from everyone. I will definitely read the next book.

P.S What struck me as strange was that it seems only Asians were transported to this world. I guess this is something that someone's nationality reflects.
In America media, everything from Aliens to Zeitgeist Demons want to destroy America alone.
In Japanese media, Japan is apparently the only country in the world also.

It's really funny looking in as an outsider with no stake.

3.5/5 Stars
Profile Image for Devan.
383 reviews10 followers
April 24, 2020
Loved it!

I really enjoyed this. The author understands how to write a book with an OP protagonist. He did so by setting him the limitation of not being able to use his powers!! Instead he has to solve most his problems with his brain.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well this was translated. After reading so many Russian GameLit translations I have come to expect subpar English versions. This had at most a couple errors. Really enjoyed this book!
Profile Image for Tony Hinde.
1,348 reviews28 followers
June 13, 2021
3.5 Stars

The series name says it all really. There's not a lot of subtlety or texture here, just a straight run at the objective.

Sungshul is a bit of an a**hole. Luckily he has a great excuse... he's focused on saving humanity. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing a little remorse on occasion. Also, I don't understand what's holding the Demon King back while the protagonist starts a new career, but it's not a big deal.
12 reviews
August 13, 2017
Good

I liked it that really is about all there is to say though i am going to do a little research, if it's written by someone born here in the states he uses a fair amount of Asian idioms and such, and if it's a translation...eh I've read worse. At least this one i am looking forward to the next installment.
207 reviews1 follower
April 29, 2018
A little different, but still a fun story

Not sure why, but the Korean version of xianxia stories are just a bit different. Not in a bad way, but noticeable. It might have been just me, but it messed with the immersion into the story. Still, I enjoyed the storyline and look forward to the next in the series.
57 reviews
July 22, 2019
Loved Enemy of the World

Even though Sungchul doesn’t speak that much he’s an endearing character. Many people do not like stories with overpowered characters but I liked the way the MC overcame most of his problems with cleverness and just by talking things through. There is a lot to like about the world built in this story and I would like to read more.
1 review
May 14, 2020
Great adventure

Great book that manages world building without excessive descriptions. An over powered main character that l look forward to reading more of. First time reading a Korean book converted to a western taste. Felt right to me. Only time I read something that seemed out of place was a single ‘Ara’. Which I think translates to ‘me-o-my’ or something like that.
135 reviews2 followers
May 20, 2020
Fairly Interesting

While some of the writing seemed to be a little stunted that could be due to differences in the original language style. The overall story was pretty good although I'd have liked to see a bit more depth to some of the side characters. All in all an enjoyable read
27 reviews1 follower
January 5, 2021
Interesting story but a tough read

So I gave this a four star because it's a Korean translation and I know how much work had to go into this. However it is a pretty hard read, so a lot of this is up to the reader but the story itself is interesting enough that I enjoyed it. Definitely won't be for everyone though.
2 reviews1 follower
September 13, 2021
Okay if you like anime

So this book is like if you took an anime and made it into a book. but just like with live action anime movies there's just something off about it. It might be more enjoyable if you're more into that than I am or just have more interest in the Korean culture that this seems to pivot around. There are very very light LitRPG elements to it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews

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