Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Light Novel) Vol. 7

無職転生: 異世界行ったら本気だす [Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu] #7

by Rifujin na Magonote, Shirotaka (Illustrator)

THE MOTHER OF ALL ADVENTURESAlone and forlorn, Rudeus arrives at the city of Rosenburg to search for his mother, Zenith. Despite his attempts to focus on the task at hand, Eris' absence weighs heavy on his heart, and so Rudeus gambles on a dangerous new venture to distract himself from his newfound loneliness--accepting an A-rank job all by himself.

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Fiction, Manga, Adventure, Japanese Literature, Audiobook

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2015

Reviews

[Jon Ureña · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the least "Mushoku Tensei"-ish volumes so far. The previous one finished that whole arc about getting teleported to the other end of the world, and then figuring out how to return home. I had expected that our protagonist (a forty seven years old guy who got reincarnated from Earth into a fantasy world while retaining all his memories, and who is now thirteen) would have travelled around with his love interest Eris (a redheaded stepchild), but Eris seduced him into losing her virginity (and obliterating his), and then she decided that she might as well disappear.

From Rudeus' (our protagonist) perspective, Eris fucked him, she thought he wasn't worthy of her time, and fucked off. He ends up depressed, lonely and with terrible self-esteem. He decides to travel north into some much colder lands in which many people have trouble getting by. His plan is to work as a freelancer for many adventuring parties and make himself famous in the process, hoping that his name would reach his missing mother's ears. He has to put on a mask of cordiality and general friendliness, because he won't get anywhere if he relies on his current feeling that everything he's done so far is meaningless, and that there's little point in continuing.

He gets tangled in the affairs of your average adventuring party: a tough frontliner, a kind and diplomatic mage and a feisty archer. The archer is a fifteen years old girl who hates Rudeus because he looks like a noble, and nobles failed to save the archer's (her name is Sara) family when some monsters attacked her village. Rudeus proves himself very useful with his advanced magical aptitudes. However, during an intense run in a dungeon, they almost get wiped out. Rudeus sticks around to shoot down as many enemies as possible, but Sara, knowing that Rudeus will get overwhelmed, returns and saves him. Later on, this adventuring party returns from a mission without one of the guys (confirmed dead) and Sara, who they haven't seen dying. Rudeus decides that he will repay her for having saved his life, so he ventures into a blizzard to save her in turn. Rudeus has weather modification magical abilities, so the main obstacle gets dispelled immediately. In any case, after some fighting, he ends up finding Sara quite battered, but both return alive.

From then on Sara becomes understandably more kind towards the protagonist, as well as intimately interested in him, or at least that seems to be the case. In the middle of all this, the protagonist was trying to avoid a bigshot local adventurer called Soldat, the leader of a hardcore party, who everytime he saw Rudeus he berated the protagonist for being a phony. Soldat could read that Rudeus was acting a role, and Soldat being a cynic that didn't want any part of Rudeus' "good-hearted, selfless freelancer" act, gave him shit constantly. In any case, Sara pushes hard for her and Rudeus to go up to his room and have sex. However, Rudeus can't get it up. He's come to associate now having sex with the betrayal he suffered at Eris' hands. The sexual encounter is a complete disaster, and as Sara leaves, she makes a point of insisting that she didn't really care for Rudeus that much, that this was her just trying to repay a debt.

Rudeus is broken. He knows he won't be able to take running into Sara again, which means no more adventuring with her party. As Rudeus drowns his sorrow with alcohol, Soldat comes in and berates Rudeus harder. The protagonist snaps, and his sixteen years old or something self attempts to beat Soldat up. The guy, however, doesn't fight back. He comes to feel that the protagonist wasn't a slimy phony, but someone who was trying to get through a very dark period of his life without ruining his relationships with everyone around him, as well as trying to find his missing mother in the process. Soldat learns that Rudeus' dick don't work no more, and accompanies him to visit a prostitute. The prostitute is a kind and dedicated woman, but Rudeus fails to get it up either.

As they leave the red district, both him and Soldat drunk nearly out of their minds, Sara and her party leader, both of who had been searching for Rudeus in case something terrible had happened to him, hear him say that Sara is a kid and that she can't compare with a real woman, or something to that effect. Sara slaps him, tells him to never contact her again. Rudeus also loses the respect of Sara's party's leader, someone who had been kind and who cared for him.

Rudeus has had enough, and nearly kills himself right then and there. Soldat offers him the alternative of simply leaving the city with him and adventuring with his party as something of an attached freelancer. Rudeus is eager to sever ties and go monk regarding any personal relationships of any kind, and he goes along with Soldat's offer without telling anybody.

Sara and her team come to the conclusion that something was up with Rudeus, and they convince an angry Sara to at least talk to him and figure out what mental state the protagonist was in. However, Sara learns that Rudeus has skipped town and that she will likely never see him again.

Rudeus spends around a year adventuring with Soldat's party. He doesn't feel any connection to them nor to the tasks he's performing: he's merely working for a paycheck. He hasn't gotten any closer to rescuing his mother. However, this volume ends with Elinalise, a horny elf that we know from the last volume was trying to locate Rudeus to tell him his mom's location, catching wind of where Rudeus has spent time recently.

Until this volume, Rudeus was a lighthearted, casually perverted kid who diligently worked to figure things out about his circumstances to make sure that he could keep the people he cared about safe. In this arc, Rudeus has no one, and he can't find in himself the interest to care about anyone. After his recent disappointments, he doesn't want to open himself up to any further pain.

I suppose that soon enough he'll try to enroll into the Ranoa university of magic, where likely his beloved childhood friend Sylphiette is studying, and that'll be a breath of fresh air for him.

By this point of the series, you are already invested in the characters. But it's a big fantasy world, and more often than not many characters we care about are busy not being in the same area as our protagonist, something that other isekai fantasies have done their best to avoid. In many ways, "Mushoku Tensei" is the oddest of the bunch.

[Isbat Bin Hossain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read this volume on my first reading of the series. This is essentially a filler volume which explores the event during a timeskip after Eris leaves him.

Is this a necessary book for the overall plot? No, by definition filler is not an essential part of a story. But is this volume worth reading? Yes, absolutely. It explores Rudeus's character nicely and does good work to fill in blanks of the timeskip.

[Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having finished seven of these books by now I'm surprised how the quality of this series never drops, if anything this is the best volume so far.

[Mylove4book · Rating 5 out of 5]

嗚嗚第二季動畫大概無望 只好看小說了
魯迪烏斯居然哭哭了一整集XDD 不過我本來就不喜歡艾莉絲所以...
總覺得兩個人還是比較像姊弟吧. 雖然艾莉絲是喜歡他沒錯, 但魯迪烏斯對她的情感就很微妙. 但以男性角度來說這樣也許就四捨五入算是愛情了? (作者應該是男的吧??)
下一本應該是學園了吧, 唉實在不喜歡學園題材, 希望不要連續太多本都耗在學園裡面啊~

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gotta give it to this author, his character developments are amazing. We’ve reached a point in the story with Rudeus at his worst. He’s just down, heartbroken, no will to do anything. Up until last book he was all powerful, the leader of a party, very confident and cheeky and life has given him a blow so now he has to pick himself up and keep going. I love that we have these moments, since they will make him stronger on the long run but will also help him to be more mature. I love how this story is going. I have also reached a point where there is little to say without going into spoiler territory, but if you’ve been watching the anime, this book covers his adventures with Counter Arrow and a little with Soldat, just before he goes to the Ranoa school of Magic.

[Zebulon Griggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character is a terrible person, but this reads as a redemption story. You get to go on a journey with a weird creepy dude that is starting his life over and trying (sometimes failing) to stop from slipping into his old habits. The story is set in a world with magic and skills. There is plenty of sexual references and terrible internalized monologuing, but the actions of the MC are his attempt at redemption and thank goodness there are no actually graphically detailed scenes in the audio. Guessing by this having been released as a manga/graphic novel or whatever the correct word is for this type of asian comic book, I will absolutely not be interested in the visual imagery.

[Luca Mandolini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incuriosito dalla versione animata ho deciso di buttarmi sul mondo delle light novel. Si tratta di una lettura tutto sommato piacevole, però purtroppo certi aspetti sono trattati in maniera troppo superficiale.

[Jonathan Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. I loved the designs of the characters and their personalities throughout, and even though it takes place In a fantasy setting, the characters feel like real imperfect people who are flawed in many ways. The way in which the author creates and describes the situations in an almost excessive amount of detail is one of the things I like most about this series on top of its ability to make seemingly inhuman characters feel more human than those featured in autobiographies. In terms of objective things about it that make it a cut above the rest, aside from the characters it really just excels in all manner of things that you would associate with an A+ tier story. The pacing is phenomenally well done with the first 3 or so books taking place within the mind of the main character as a baby, while still feeling as though it progresses at a reasonable pace. Another major objectively good quality about this story is the way it handles the main character, who by any reasonable standard, is a bad person. The main theme throughout is one of change and self-growth, which is best seen by the way the main character begins to hate the person he used to be as that is a big sign of having changed substantially. The rate at which he changes also does not feel forced as there are the occasional moments that remind you of where he's coming from and that he's still not perfect even with all the development that he has been given. All in all, 10/10 story imo.

[Caleb Nischara · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s finally time to talk about *Mushoku Tensei* Volume 7—though, honestly, it’s not the easiest to discuss. This is one of those volumes that leaves such a strong impact that I’m afraid of over-analyzing it and losing some of its magic in the process. The setting this time is Rosenburg, a town that, like the locations in previous volumes, serves as the backdrop for the unfolding story. We also get a new cast of characters that define the place, especially the members of Counter Arrow and Stepped Leader, as well as smaller roles that highlight the relationships within the town. One key example is the relationship between Elise and her younger sister, where a seemingly minor act by Rudeus—healing the sister—later becomes pivotal in explaining why Elise is so devoted to him and determined to help him.

Like the rain in Doldia Village, the heavy snowfall in Rosenburg is used both as a narrative obstacle—trapping Rudeus in place—and as part of the world-building, making the town feel real and alive. In many ways, this volume acts as a bridge between the current story arc and the one before it. On the one hand, we see how much Rudeus is still tied to his memories, especially of Eris, whose rejection continues to weigh on him. It stirs up deep fears we first saw in his argument with Paul in Volume 5. He also reflects on Ruijerd, often thinking back to their time together. These memories aren’t just nostalgic for the journey they shared, but painful, as both Eris and Ruijerd are now gone, leaving him to face the world alone. The long journey they went on together holds emotional weight, and it made me, as a reader, truly feel how much time has passed and how those experiences shaped Rudeus’ growth. There’s a real sense of melancholy that comes from being with people you care about, only to find yourself suddenly alone again.

At the same time, this volume shows Rudeus gradually trying to cope with his loss and move forward. What makes this process feel so believable is that it’s not linear. As part of moving on, Rudeus starts reflecting on memories from before his journey with Eris—particularly his time with Roxy and the huge impact she had on his life. He doesn’t just look back fondly; he almost deifies Roxy, associating her with all the good feelings he’s holding onto. This is symbolized by the panties he carries as a sort of keepsake, like a talisman. Whenever he feels himself slipping into despair, clutching them reminds him of everything he’s achieved. And it’s quite a lot: back in the day, he couldn’t even leave his room due to trauma and fear. But Roxy, through a simple act of riding out of the village with him, helped him overcome that fear. Now, after the adventure with Eris and Ruijerd, Roxy represents all the positive emotions he felt during that journey, because she was the one who gave him the courage to start exploring the world. Narratively, that’s not entirely accurate—Rudeus was initially forced out of Fittoa and later compelled to travel due to the Displacement Incident—but what matters is how Rudeus constructs his own story. For him, Roxy is the source of all the happiness he’s ever experienced.

It’s hard to describe just how deeply human and psychologically real Rudeus’ idolization of Roxy feels. It really captures the way we construct our own realities. But this isn’t the only moment where we see how complex his grieving process is. For instance, while his time with Sara and Counter Arrow allows him to momentarily forget the pain of Eris, the events of their night together and what happens outside the brothel quickly pull him back into the same despair. The volume shows just how layered and unpredictable grief can be. In fact, by the end, two of his worst experiences with Eris come to a head: the moment she left him in Volume 6, and the earlier moment in Volume 2 when he pressured her, causing him such shame and self-hatred that he wanted to leave his life behind completely.

What’s really striking is that Soldat, a character Rudeus initially despised, is the one who ends up saving him from suicide and offering him a new perspective on life. This dynamic is reminiscent of the relationship between Antonio and Torquato in Goethe’s *Torquato Tasso*. In that play, Torquato and Antonio start as complete opposites, with a lot of tension between them. But by the end, after losing everything, Torquato clings to Antonio, who becomes his anchor. Rudeus and Soldat are similar: Soldat embodies everything Rudeus hates (drinking, loud outbursts, impulsiveness, violence), and Soldat dislikes Rudeus in return. But when Rudeus finally lets his guard down, showing his true self, Soldat is able to do the same, leading to a moment of mutual recognition. Both of their outer facades are wildly different from who they are inside. While Soldat seems crude and reckless, deep down he’s a compassionate leader who cares for those around him. Meanwhile, beneath Rudeus’ politeness and confidence lies a deeply insecure man who crumbles when his facade breaks, as we see outside the brothel and in the bar. When they both drop their masks, they’re finally able to understand each other, which explains why Rudeus clings to Soldat the way Torquato clings to Antonio.

Another subtle but significant detail that highlights how this volume acts as a transition between arcs is Rudeus’ new nickname. In the previous arc, he deliberately sought fame as “Rudeus the Kennel Master” to improve the reputation of the Superds. Now, he gains new fame with the name “Rudeus the Quagmire,” but this time with a different goal—finding his mother. Both nicknames reflect a larger purpose behind his actions, and while the search for Zenith may fade into the background in the upcoming volumes, it won’t be resolved immediately, much like Ruijerd’s mission was left hanging until the end of Volume 6.

All these elements make Volume 7 an incredibly effective bridge, closing out the previous arc while setting the stage for the next. It’s one of the best, if not *the* best, volumes in the series so far. Before I get lost in over-analyzing every detail, I’ll leave it there. Expect my thoughts on Volume 8 later today or tomorrow—so I can finally dive into Volume 9!

[Taufiq Candra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Di volume kali ini diceritakan setelah ditinggalkan Eris, Rudeus kembali melanjutkan perjalanannya ke Utara Kerajaan Asura untuk mencari keberadaan ibunya. Dalam perjalanan ini, Rudeus akhirnya mendapatkan julukan Quagmire oleh para petualang karena kepandaiannya mengendalikan sihir tanah dalam membuat lumpur. Selain itu, nama Rudeus kian terkenal setelah ia berhasil melumpuhkan naga merah dengan seorang diri.

Dalam volume ini juga, Rudeus bertemu dengan Elinalise yang datang menemuinya untuk memberikan kabar mengenai keberadaan ibunya yang terdapat di benua begaritt. Di titik ini juga, Rudeus juga mendapatkan undangan oleh Akademi Sihir Ranoa untuk menjadi siswa khusus di akademi tersebut. Berkat saran Hitogami, Rudeus akhirnya memutuskan untuk menerima tawaran untuk melanjutkan pendidikan di Akademi Sihir Ranoa.

Ditemani oleh Elinalise, mereka berdua pergi untuk bersekolah di Akademi Sihir Ranoa. Ketika di Akademi, Rudeus bertemu dengan seorang senior bernama Fit-senpai. Di akademi juga, Rudeus juga bertemu dengan miko bernama Zanoba yang sempat membantunya ketika berada di Kerajaan Shirone. Kemudian di volume ini juga menceritakan kehidupan sekolah Rudeus selama di Akademi Ranoa dan kesehariannya dalam mencari info mengenai bencana teleportasi yang sempat dialaminya.

Jujur, volume kali ini cukup singkat jika dibandingkan dengan volume-volume sebelumnya. Namun, cukup menyenangkan akhirnya Rudeus bisa memasuki sekolah lagi. Dan aku percaya pasti akan banyak misteri yang terungkap selama Rudeus di sekolah, terutama mengenai siapa sebenarnya Fit-senpai. Aku juga menantikan di volume-volume selanjutnya dapat menceritakan perkembangan kemampuan Rudeus lagi.

[Sera Nova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series!!! After finishing the anime(just one season right now) I had to keep going with the series!

Getting to have more behind Rudeus’s mind and personal struggles was a nice touched to picking the light novel vs manga. We get to see a big turning point in Rudeus and his life as a growing teenager. Loss of first love, struggles with intimacy, and being confused of who you are and what your purpose is is what makes this series stand out in its genre.

A lot of people have issue with this series for seeming like pedo fuel, but it honestly hands coming of age and teens experiencing sex and love really well without coming off as porn. *flares are Where the Crawdads Sing* nothing is wrong with tackling the subject, it’s when it’s handled wrong when it’s an issue, and I feel like the author takes it very seriously on how they handle it.

[Frank Bertino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Rudeus is broken hearted over the disappearance of Eris. He throws himself into dangerous adventure guild jobs, but ends up working with other parties as temporary help. He builds a name for himself in hopes of his mother hearing about him. Sara is a young archer who takes an instant dislike to him. However, she softens when he rescues her after she is left for dead. Unfortunately, as their relationship becomes more intimate, erectile disfunction rears it's head to cause mutual misunderstandings that disrupt their budding romance. I like the action, humor, and tentative romance. I look forward to the next book.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad, ED Rudeus arc.

Oddly, I rather enjoyed seeing him suffer a bit, make a few new mistakes, be lonely and depressed. It really establishes him apart from that good ole Gary Stu complex. But then, he really DOES have a lot of faults and goes through a bit more than a lot of shit, so I guess I can't really call him that.

It's just so EASY to come to that conclusion with all the genius OP bits.

I can't wait to see him finally go to school! It's about damn time.

[Hiep Pham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first light novel I have to look for because I can't wait for what will happen after the third season of anime (which is already amazing). It stands true to the spirit of Isekai. It describes the thoughts and sufferings of the main character so true that I can also relate. Definitely recommend!

[William Yip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sad read; I could sympathize with Rudeus's tough year with nothing working out and feeling alienated from other people. It's a shame that ignorance of physical matters and poor communication destroyed a budding relationship. Initially very abrasive, Soldat turned out to be a nice guy who stopped Rudeus's suicide attempt and invited him to accompany the former's party to a new area.

[Timothy M. Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saddest moment

This is by far the saddest moment for our little hero. Unlike how it shows what can happen when little misunderstandings explode into big deals and how it can affect people differently.

[Jesus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

I really did enjoyed this vol. I like how the author is developing Rudy through the series. The o KY thing I don't understand is the red district part. How fast Soldat character and Rudy became quickly acquaintances.

[Kron Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia interesante, un poco más tranquila que el resto, pero que da una visión muy realista de las consecuencias del abandono y como estas pueden no solo mermar, si no que afectar directamente el actuar de un hombre.

[Dustin Szabo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent addition to the series.

This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. Mainly focusing on one town and group of characters. Season 2 of the anime glazed over a lot of detail in this volume adapting the entire book in just Episode 1-3.

[Sir Bealor · Rating 4 out of 5]

finished it like 4 months ago it was the first volume of mushoku tensei i read cuz i read it after the anime it was calm and interesting nothing crazy but i liked the recession im giving it 3 and a half stars🌞

[Chandandhrana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like I am reading name of the wind all over again

[EnDashVee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rudeus's pain is so clearly seen throughout the book. The trauma left behind by Eris, so clearly haunts him.. It kinda brought tears to my eyes.

[Radit · Rating 5 out of 5]

GG

[Carlos Vallejo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it, but isn’t the best at the moment, this volume was 3/4 boredom, the best come at the end.

[Rexcaeli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro de relleno

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Half of this book is just seeing a deeply emasculated man being miserable and oh boy am I here for it

[Tara Manoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read them all

Read this asap it is so good. Hope I enjoy the anime just as much. I love how the main character is so normal and not a saint or an OP type

[Alex Buchkovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

[Shivam Goel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doesn't like the fact the red hair leave him

[AB · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5