The Endless Legend of the Hermit

It's like a girl being taken advantage of by a thug and then completely surrendering herself to him; the male lead suddenly appears, and the female leads inexplicably fall in love. You could summarize it like this—the female leads rescue and help a callow boy. Then the author calls. The female leads: "Author, we've done a great job with the plot! We just rescued a kid and are planning to recruit him as our henchman!" Author: "What little boy? What recruiting henchman? That's the male lead! You two shouldn't even think about it; just honestly fall in love with him!" The female leads: "But we've only just met..." Author: "No, no, no, you've already fallen deeply in love with him at first sight! Still young? Wait until he grows up..."

In the comments section of "transformation" books, you always see things like, "Ah, it's not lesbian, ah, I can't stand it, I can't read it anymore," but in lesbian books, I've never seen anyone stop reading because it's not a "transformation" story. When will there be less prejudice against "transformation"? Just venting a little, I can accept both "transformation," "single," and "lesbian" stories, and I actually prefer "transformation" ones.

[First] This book does indeed feature a marriage theme. However, the marriage tag only appears on the web version, not on the mobile version. So, don't accuse the author of fraud; the problem lies with the system. [Second] This book is a pure love story disguised as a harem (the male lead only loves one woman and doesn't show any romantic feelings, flirtation, or heart-to-heart talks towards any female character other than the female lead). Later, a female supporting character calls out to the irrational male lead, who doesn't react at all. Then, the female supporting character calls the female lead's name, and the male lead immediately comes to his senses. There are also male supporting characters who like the female lead. Personally, I don't like harem stories, whether they're mainstream male-oriented or gender-bending, but...

It's a bit of a pity for me personally. This book is truly a rare gem among online novels, thanks to its epic main storyline and rich ensemble cast. Unfortunately, I just can't accept the male lead's character. Let me state upfront: I'm a staunch supporter of marrying the male lead, and my inability to accept him stems solely from his character design and the plot. First, his personality is too shonen, too much like a typical Japanese light novel male lead. To put it bluntly, he's obsessed with nothing but righteous ideals. But he's not the type to put his words into action; he's the kind who talks the talk but then expects others to walk the walk. Don't rush to argue; first consider whether he would be the same as I described if the author hadn't given him those overpowered abilities. Then there's the plot...

This book features a reverse marriage, a strong female lead and a weak male lead, and the female lead being embroiled in a harem. It's a niche, even extremely niche, fantasy (the idea of ​​a woman being dumped after giving herself to a man is a bit bizarre, isn't it?), And the plot is truly packed with buffs. Honestly, I feel like anyone who can understand this fantasy is a genius, or maybe they're projecting themselves onto the male lead? Why would a strong female lead be embroiled in a harem? I really think it would be better to write it as a male lead story. Actually, I've read some harem stories, but even that has to be believable. What's frustrating is that the female lead has far more screen time, and the male lead appears relatively late. It's like you've completely projected yourself onto the female lead, and then suddenly you're told she's just a minor woman in the male lead's harem...

(To avoid arguments, this review is unrelated to yuri/marriage themes; I'm omnivorous.) The last time I read this book, the update was at Qin Yi and Guinevere's wedding—a scene I really enjoyed. Thanks to the author's tireless writing, every character is vivid and well-developed. So even after many years, picking up the book again, that feeling of disgust still lingers. I disliked it so much that even when reading about the old world, I couldn't immediately recall his name—Vessaster. I specifically checked to make sure I didn't mistype. Guinevere is truly a wonderful protagonist; she was forced to stumble under the oppression of the world...

To be honest, the moment the male lead appeared, the female lead's intelligence seemed to plummet, forcing the plot forward. I came here for the "chosen one" story, but the female lead completely shattered her character—what is this? The handling of this plot is worse than most female-oriented novels. Even a cunning, naive young man would be better than this "chosen one," at least logically sound. The female lead is simply a heartbreaker, instantly smitten, her brain controlled by hormones—that's far better than having a mark on her body and then trying to explain it as saving someone.

My assessment is that the female lead in the early part of the book is portrayed as overly pitiful, yet possesses exceptional abilities and talent. Forced to have her life controlled immediately after being released from prison, she struggles to escape her fate. Readers would have preferred a male lead who is capable, decisive, doesn't care about the female lead's past, adventures together, shares deep feelings, is tolerant of her personality, and is equally talented. However, the male lead who fits these criteria isn't the one in the early part of the book, but rather the second female lead. Even during the Sunset War, when the male lead is forced to assimilate with the natives, causing a drastic change in his personality and abilities, and beginning to conform to popular expectations, isn't this just pandering to...?

If you only care about romance when reading novels, then there are plenty of those kinds of stories on this site. But personally, I feel it's a shame to dismiss an excellent work based on such a small thing. This book's plot is probably among the best on this site, and the character development is superb. Aside from the controversial romance, the plot is truly a masterpiece. For yuri, the special relationship between Portia and Gulnazar, and the love-hate relationship between Noria and Gulnazar, both have a sophisticated kind of romance that's rarely seen in ordinary stories. I even dropped it once because of the male lead's involvement, but later, when I had some free time, I read it again and found it to be incredibly good...

Before entering the school, the female protagonist was incredibly intelligent, repeatedly escaping danger and even death itself, making her seem like a character from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. However, the chosen one suddenly appeared on the Void Ship, causing her considerable distress. Initially, she seemed rather dim-witted (due to the fake ticket), and her explanation of the dead finding the captain made sense. Later, she dragged the female protagonist and her companion onto the ship (the reason mentioned is: feeling humiliated by the shipwreck, page 3 to 4). How did she manage to pull them on? She immediately said something like, "It's not just about considering one's own safety, but also whether it's right to do it" (same as above). Later, she'll be paid accordingly. Most incredibly, the necessity of this action is explained later: "Knowing the bomb..."