After waking up, Steve doesn't know where he is. Heck, he doesn't know what he is. Despite his spotty memory, he's pretty sure he didn't used to be a floating ball of light.
He's also certain that he's not originally from this dangerous fantasy world...maybe. Okay, fairly certain.
To make things stranger, he seems to be involved in something big, something magical...a game.
Who was he before? Will his memories come back? Why does he have an assistant explaining the game's rules to him?
He can evolve? There's a countdown timer?
One thing Steve does know is that he needs to figure out what's going on fast, and if he is playing a game, even a deadly one, he plans to win.
My Opinion: 226 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The story existed on the Royal Road for years and has now been edited and published on Amazon. This is a Re:Monster story a kind of story where the main character (MC) is a monster and gets to evolve as part of their progression path. The MC wakes up as a ball of light with a companion Bonnie who is his guide. He has to learn about the new rules of his life which includes gathering energy from animals, kills, and other sources to purchase spells, and evolve into another monster.
The thing that separates this from other stories is the good world building. Early in the story the MC comes into contact with a human village has to decide how to deal with them and balance their greed to use him with his need for knowledge. There are threats to the village that the MC also has to deal with that not only adds action but expands the world building. The world building is really quite good with the author not only writing about the background for individual characters, but the history of the region, political situations between villages and the capital, social and cultural norms, and even information about how the culture goes about naming their family. The details really flesh out the world and make it more than just a setting for the story.
The RPG progression is really detailed. Lots of info on the evolutions and magic the MC learns from absorbing energy. Good stuff that is seen regularly through the story.
Overall, though I’ve read other types of stories like this, few do as well with the world building. I enjoyed it.
Score: 7.6 out of 10