The history of our world tends to move along a shallow spiral—when completing a turn, you end up mighty close to where you started. The history of Second World, in contrast, seems to have simplified its path to a ring from which there is no apparent way out. An unforeseen invasion lays waste to whole provinces, prompting the game’s most powerful clans to ally with the emperor’s guard to stop the monstrous hordes in their tracks. A war erupts that nobody saw coming, shattering the tedium of peaceful life. All the while the world’s most elusive character—once a lowly miner, now a powerful mage—finds himself in an impossible situation, and sorely in need of allies of his own as he searches for a way out.
My Opinion: 405 pages, $5.92, Not Available on Kindle Unlimited
This novel is just fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. A fun grinding adventure with lots of conversations about leveling theory and expressed game mechanics. There’s crafting galore. There’s also alot of technical game talk in the story. Not just detailed skill, level, spell, or item descriptions but full on conversations about leveling theory and video game development concepts. That might be a turnoff for some people but I liked it.
The novel starts you right out in the action with Ros, the main character (MC) killing mobs in a dungeon with his newly acquired centipede pet. Helping Digits try to level up. Run down of the MCs magic, skills, and unique OP chaos abilities.
3-10% Game company searches for Ros, but he’s elusive in the extreme. Ros has achieved several worldwide achievements. MC has unique skills that lets him edit the information other see on him. Also, a recap of previous book 1 story and how what the MC is doing is so notable and how it may affect the larger MMO world.
20% Ros, disguised as a woman, is kidnapped by the J_P Guild. A.I. initiates a new global event to give MC chance to escape. MC can’t kill himself, use magic or his abilities. Released from the cage by mobs that freed him and attacked the guild. He watches the fight and gets some soul crystals but eventually uses the character editor to change his appearance again.
At 30% is where the Slave in the Lost Land quest starts. The setup for the quest is similar to the Way of the Shaman book 1. The MC and other players captured by Orc invaders as slaves. Set to mining. All items, gear, and weapons were taken until cleared scenario. He can’t kill the mobs in the mine alone so he can’t mine what he needs to get food. The MC uses all types of crafting to buff himself and group up enough to handle the more difficult mobs and eventually to try to complete the scenario that’s trapped them.
Overall, this is a fun novel that pokes fun at established LitRPG stories. It’s really game detailed and while that may be a turnoff for some people, I enjoy it. I always enjoy a novel that makes crafting useful. If you like book 1, you’ll enjoy book 2.
Score: 7 out of 10.
A Slave in the Locked Lands (LitRPG The Weirdest Noob Book 2)