Lose yourself in a new world of ghoulish adventure in this fantasy gaming tale! (And don't miss the manga adaptation, also from Seven Seas!)
Tsukishiro Kotone doesn't consider herself much of a gamer. That is, until she's introduced to the virtual reality game "Free Life Fantasy Online," also known as FLFO, by her game-savvy sister. In FLFO, Kotone decides to become a Zombie, one of the game's inhuman races–a race that's said to be quite difficult to master, even for experienced players. Why not, right? When Kotone embarks on her first quest in the darkness of the catacombs, controlling a fascinating undead body, little does she know that this game is about to become a huge part of her real life. Join the virtual adventure in this gaming tale about an online world like no other!
Free Life Fantasy Online is very much a slice-of-life gaming story and while the game feels like an actual game* that does mean there is a certain lack of tension and in this volume no real plot. As the author mentions in the after word, there is a bit of a set up (and with it some world building), but not much to be honest. The characters are enjoyable, if shallow and besides the MC kind of blend into one faceless blob. Finally, the writing style is somewhat awkward, and I am not entirely sure it is the translation or the author. At a few spots hit points are called stamina, and a power that involves six attacks in a second is called "regenerate", neither of which makes sense in the context, and considering the author suggest they know games I suspect it is on the translator, but I don't know for sure.
So, in the end, I enjoyed the volume reasonably well, it did drag a bit and it left me a bit disappointed.
* There are a few things you will not find in a game, but the author mentioned these in an afterword as something they would like to be in one even if it is somewhat unrealistic from a game developer's perspective.
TLDR: a light read that can be enjoyable if you like the sample chapters
I really enjoy this series, mostly for the take it easy approach MC has while somehow advancing the plot, which this book reveals a lot of compared to the previous ones.
Don't pick this up if you want something like huge powerscaling, frequent macguffins, well detailed training arcs, etc. This is mostly just take it at your own pace, plays a lot like mmorpg humor as well if you were to play with friends. It's a good light read that you shouldn't put too much thought into.
Another laid back installment of a cute zombie princess journey in a VRMMO. So many interesting additions to the world inside the game are being teased and I'm excited.