Nero Walker (A Slow-Burn Litrpg)

Following the outer form of a classic isekai tale of the body snatcher variant this story attempts to humorously twist those old much abused tropes into giving milk one more time with a surprising amount of success. The world, or at least the kingdoms filter for the world, having Self-Improvement/Self-actualization genre books in its magical DNA wouldn't be a unique Hook if it wasn't so close to actually feeling like you got sucked into a fantasy world spawned from those books. I had a mother with a library full of Self-Improvement books as well as guru and new age borderline magic books and it felt so much like me and the characters were living through lines I had read when flipping through her books I kept expecting to find dear old mum reincarnated there as one of the characters (I think she would have loved it there. Miss ya Ma. Hope you're teaching the angels how to realize their full potential and get in touch with those good vibes!). 

As it is, you DO feel like the story is ridiculously (the good kind for a comedic tale) close to that, and for me that tips the Hook over into unique to me which is by no means necessary for me to enjoy a tale well crafted but it helps. 

Seen through this filter many character archetypes you've all known before take on new life as they all attempt to be their best selves which they do while still feeling realistic despite also still staying within their archetypes. I would have been happy if they just seemed to be their isekai character archetypes and then diverged as reality demanded but the Hook is being used in such a way that they actually naturally stay loosely within the bounds of their pattern without seeming unrealistic. So far. 

The MC appears on the surface to be of a type we've seen a lot of lately but some effort has been made as to why he was that way on Earth and why his interaction with this fantasy world and its strange underlying metaphysics cause him to double down on some of his more out-there character traits and eventually more or less have to do it on purpose (which is fine cause he is down for it to the bottom of his soul). 

In short, this story is another attempt to make a realistic (and funny) logical world out of the magic, fantasy, and archetypes of one of the more common isekai story types out there where from the metaphysical underpinnings up it makes sense why they do what they do. And in a lot of ways it is succeeding so far. There are some nitpicks where I am not always so sure the world would work that way in all details but for those nitpicks you can read my comments under the chapters as the are too long and not really that important to your enjoyment of the piece. 

I don't normally do many reviews because you pretty much have to give five stars or you are just damaging the author's chances of their piece being seen due to the way this site works but since I happily binged through all the chapters till the most enjoyable and excellently executed fight scene right before the current end of the content (feels wise, I'm not a fighting expert!) with popcorn rapidly going in and sometimes flying back out of my mouth in joy I don't feel too bad slapping an extra half star on this one to help it find some more popcorn enthusiasts. (it's a slow burn talky slice of life story so you have to wait through a lot of lesser "fights" and drama but I found it very worth the wait) 

Lastly, it is a slow burn slice of life (in a world where life and death politics are a regular part of their version of "slice of life") story of personal growth. If you need combat and adrenaline every so many chapters this is not for that. But it's good at what it is for. 

I actually reviewed something which I find annoying so you better read it! O.O

My overall opinion of the story is the overall score. I'm using this section to vent my own personal gripes and provide constructive criticism. 

I've gotten near the end of a story that's over 500,000 words yet it feels like a story of half the length. Not due to how much of a page turner it is but more due to how little has actually happened in that span. 

The main reason i feel this way is because the author is fleshing out and developing way too many characters all at once. I feel like 95% of the story is just either internal dialogue or actual dialogue much of which is infodumping on either finance or politics, neither of which is actually relevant to the day to day of the protagonist. 

For a character with such an antisocial and abrasive personality he's constantly with a cast of people around him. The only time he's really alone is when he's either pooping or sleeping. This is one of those stories that desperately needs an arc where he gets isolated and has to survive on his own. 

Tldr: pacing issues and way too many characters.

Nero Walker is an isekai comedy story. We all know isekai. Most only use their world as a background. This one does not. In fact, the worldbuilding itself is layered in the jokes.

These people are rational to a fault. They are capable of emotions, but they put everything into boxes and laws. They are capable of decisions that are entirely foreign to our society where lots of things are done for implicit purposes. Most of everything is "explicit" in this isekai world. You can have noble wars and the common citizen doesn't really care because they're protected by law not to be affected by these wars. Another example: state secrets, conspiracies? What are those, am I right?

In there comes Nero Walker, a regular human, and a troll, with a lot of laziness and clever wiles to make sure he lives a comfy rich life with the least amount of efforts. His reactions to the world around him, his nonchalance, and his decisions that surprise the inhabitants of the world are the core of the comedy. This story knows how to juggle between tones as well. While powers that be act as proxy readers, peeping on Nero's life like a reality TV show, and while Nero might dump every problem he encounters on his friends' shoulders, there really are things at stake. It's a balance of comedy and action, and moments of life that are very well balanced. And the world is also full of magic and technology.

So yeah, I like it. Give it a try!

MC is a bit of a brat, but it's just because he won't accept others manipulations and is able to see things from a more logical viewpoint of what interactions should be when both parties can come out winning.

Very humourous and well written, I can see why it has such a great rating and expecting author to gain a lot more followers during this writathon.

The synopsis the author wrote is spot on, and though it's a different take on the isekai'd genre I find it incredibly compelling... Only at chap 14 so far but loving it.

Well it'll been almost 200 chapters, and this story has just gotten better and better.

Are people reading this fiction?! People should be reading this! It is very entertaining. What this story really needs......is more people reading it. Good job author! Generally I just rate a story, I don't actually write a review. Can you tell by reading this? I'm always surprised by the tripe that gets on the Rising Star list, and the stories that don't make the cut. There must be some shenanigans involved. Last time I found a story I liked this much which had no fanfare was Digital Marines, and eventually through word of mouth (forums here and on reddit) it became quite popular. I expect this will be the same. Especially if the author can keep up the pace of chapters.

Freaking awesome storey with multiple in depth POV perspectives from bad ass characters without making you get frustrated about wanting to get back to the MC already. Lots of good humour and very unique levelling system that gets you thinking and interested - I love the random throw backs of the character to modern day earth society social norms and really makes you wonder why we do the stuff we do. You won’t regret reading this - can’t wait for more of the story. 

The Author has made this story into some sort of comedic joke.

No progression. Over 110 chapters in and the MC is at Lvl 12. In a story with tiers and that tier 2 begins at Lvl 100 that isn’t a slow burn litrpg that the title says it’s frozen and static progression. 5000 chapters would be necessary and by the fact it’s not even cracked 400 in 3 yrs or so what is that point ? 

I just double checked and the story is at320 chapters and the MC is at Level 27 LOOOOOOOL 

 And you’d think that since progression is non existent the other parts of the story will pick up the slack but apart from decent world building to start off and a new take on the much walked magic systems the author barely goes in depth into it. Just teases it. Instead what we get is forced plots and drawn out conclusions that ultimately lead to nothing as far as the story goes. Honestly this story has so much potential but the direction is non existent. Things just happen and the MC which I see others don’t like I don’t mind but he doesn’t show any initiative. Guy jokes around 80% time.

I think the author has a lot of potential to make a much better story shame it’s not this one.

This is a slice of life and not a particularly good one.

I really like this story, the MC and the writing style!

The story has a way to let you read and forget the time, while the MC and the Mages are there to break up the more serious topics with situational humor. 

The biggest point for this story is the writing style: Although I did find a few gramma errors (and sugessted edits) the whole story flows smothe. At no point did i need to read a passage again cause there was some obtuse struckturing or something like that and i really like that. Granted, that may just be cause im more familiar whith this writing style, but i think its the mark of a really good author that nothing interrupts the immersion.

TLDR: Its good, read it!

Small Disclaimer: Any story that gives me enjoyment and makes me want to read beyond what's posted gets a 5 stars from me, ratings systems are too brutal, review is completely honest, rating system on rr is meaningless I just wanna help author.

If it's for magic and adventure, Nero Walker will do anything, including hop dimensions and get reincarnated so that magic isn't just a made-up thing anymore, and so he can (someday) meet a dragon, and probably cast fireballs a few million times on the way there(practice is important or something, he doesn't know).

Grammar: Nothing to fear here, grammar rules followed, no glaring typos.

Style: Occasionally odd dialogue(I think some would say awkward but the author can definitely write good dialogue). Comedy is consistent and entertaining, although the story only really picks it up a few chapters in.

System: Litrpg stories should have this when the system is a big part of the story, and while there haven't been boxes for it I'll include the spell system as well. The system is unique and interesting, like most elements of the story there's probably a lot left to uncover and everything so far has made me excited for that.

Story: Definitely not in a rush, we definitely don't know all the basics yet, because Nero does not learn things in order, or even want to. That said, there isn't anything motivating Nero except a fervent desire to have a good time and be free, and he acts on that excellently, and the world does not heed his whims, which leads to interesting plot. The world is supposed to be vast, we haven't seen it yet, but I am sure we will.

Characters: Besides Nero, a little flat, but they're not the focus of things. Nero, our titular main character, is all spunk and fun unless shit's really serious, which only lasts as long as it takes for him to blow his problems up. That said, he is a bit of a Gary Stu in some random and weird ways, where things turn out his way and we don't see him putting in the effort to make it happen except indirectly, either in foreshadowing or retroactively, and then a bunch of side characters complement him for it. Nero being immediately better than the people around him at 'the game' isn't really well justified, but not completely unbelievable, and it's still early days, so we might see more on why, and maybe see Nero mess up on something he knew about in advance, rather than only things he could have had no way of dealing with preemptively, that he takes care of after finding out about whatever problem has come up. One thing that has been well said in the story is that Nero has gotten lucky several times, and I think it is much better when a story acknowledges that because at the end of the day, main characters do need to get at least a little lucky at the beginning, and I wouldn't rate Nero's Gary Stu-ness as more than 'a little'.

Nero has me cracking up with every other chapter - always coming out from left field with the out of place comments throwing everyone on the back foot. Great stuff. Witty writing that it unique on this app. I’m only about 40 chapters in but thank god these things come out regularly because I can already tell this will be a core read.