After reading thirty chapters, I'm honestly still not sold on the whole setting that hunters are managed like entertainers.

I can see how some of them would have actual entertainment schedules due to their popularity or whatever or rather because someone who would have been a celebrity anyway happened to awaken magic power.

But the entire industry? I just don't see it. And the novel doesn't really explain a reason for it either. It's more along the lines of "there used to be guilds, but that's not necessary in these modern times".... more>> But I'd also question why there would be game-like guilds just because it's a fantasy setting, so whatever.

Anyway, the MC is the first person to return from a rift, and while he was spirited away, so to speak, he had a somewhat normal isekai experience, but mostly in a support capacity. He didn't become a flashy hero, but he's bringing back a bunch of otherworldly know-how that he teaches to specific people with talent, starting with the mage who listened to him and managed to close the rift where he disappeared in the first place.

And as such stories go, there's a good chance that they'll all be women who fall in love with him (it's not explicitly clear yet, but that seems to be the direction). Whether that's something you like or not is up to personal taste.

I think the description of the magic systems is somewhat decent, but some nuances make it hard to distinguish is there's a flaw in the original writing or if the translation isn't good. There are cases of wordings changing between different chapters, so either one wording is mistranslated, or there's no exact translation and it's a matter of interpretation, in which case it's harder to determine the originally intended meaning as a reader.

Regarding the translation I will say that the translator's notes at the end of the chapters seemed disruptive, but at least they're actually at the end and not the middle so you can just skip them if you want to read a story without someone giving their opinion on it all the time (and I see the irony of complaining about that in a review, but someone who reads a review means to read an opinion, someone who reads a novel does not).

But getting back on track, at least some of the characters are pretty funny, and although there are some adherences to common archetypes and tropes, I think they've managed to create some entertaining combinations among those. Since the MC seems to raise the S-classes one at a time (at least mostly, with them getting a story arc each and then perhaps training off-screen, so to speak), the number of characters is still pretty limited.

Rather, the number of unlikeable antagonist characters is significantly larger. Not to a comical degree or anything, but there are a lot of antagonists in various minor and major positions and professions, ranging from rude journalists to agency CEOs with ominous agendas (and even those may not be the actual fantasy story boss that I'm expecting to show up at some point once the S-class squad is fully trained and assembled).

I'm not 100% sure what to make of that, but if nothing else, there's some variety to them (also potentially variety in terms of distinguishing redeemable and irredeemable antagonists).

Overall it's a solid story that I found somewhat enjoyable, but it has its flaws. <<less