A girl suddenly vanishes from her world and finds herself drifting in and out of consciousness in a world of pure darkness. The only insight into her precarious situation is a prompt opening before her eyes indicating that the system failed to delete her.
The doggedly optimistic and naive teenager, Naomi, is reborn as a monster into a fantastical world governed by the rigid rules of a suspiciously game-like system; a world full of magic and danger where the familiar mingles with the inexplicable. She finds herself deep in the bizzarre, savage forests of the unclaimed lands where deadly monsters prowl in the shadows just out of sight.
After a close brush with death, any hope that this could be a lighthearted adventure evaporates as she feels real pain for the first time. The realization sinks in as Naomi comes to terms with this not being just a game; it’s her reality now.
As if coming to grips with the life or death survival situation she finds herself in isn’t enough, the description of one of her skills seems to be speaking to her...
My Opinion: 366 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This story shifts around a bit and feels like an online serial story that was collected, edited, and published. Like many serial stories, there’s not necessarily an evident plot from the get go, and the story may shift focus as it goes on, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t good story telling.
This starts as a Re: Monster story with the main character (MC) reincarnated as a salamander and her exploring her little slice of a magical RPG fantasy world, eating, trying not to get eaten, gaining XP to level. Then after some evolutions, it shifts as the MC once again becomes humanoid and it explodes into this much larger story with action, magical training, community and light town building, time travel, and small adventures. It was genuinely fun to read it all and see where each chapter led.
Game mechanics - This is totally LitRPG from the start. Lots of stats, character sheets, abilities and skills that grow with use or applied skill points. There’s also good magical training and minor town building elements. Fun stuff with lots of shown numbers.
Overall, this was just a fun story. A bit slice of life with the serial format and there are several plotlines that pop up and get resolved as you follow the story, but it's a fun read the whole time and I finished it all in just about a single sitting.
Score: 7.8 out of 10