So this novel gives me the serious creeps, but I'm, like, totally obsessed. To start, our dear protagonist Sa-yoon finds himself in a world where,... more>> surprise! The apocalypse hits. And because why not, system notifications pop up, selecting heroes. How fun, right? I bet you've seen this plotline a million times. But, my friends, Sa-yoon is NOT a lucky guy. His system? It's basically forcing him to become a ruthless, vile villain. After years of fighting it, Sa-yoon's thrown in the towel and fully embraced his destiny. He doesn't even flinch at killing innocents anymore. That is, until he meets his last ray of sunshine, his last hope (or maybe not so last, but spoilers, ya know?), the innocent-yet-not-so-innocent Han Geon-joo. (Trigger warning: this one gets dark. Like, extremely explicit depictions of su*cide, self-harm, and general depression-adjacent stuff.) <<less

Alright, buckle up, buttercups, because this ain't your grandma's bedtime story. If you can't handle a little (or a lot) of suffering, steer clear. Not that our MC suffers, mind you. I read this a while back, so bear with me while I try to remember the madness. Basically, our protagonist is a full-blown villain whose life goal is to make the original protagonists' lives a living hell. And boy, does he deliver, in the most delightfully twisted ways. The couple dynamic? It's our villain MC versus the original protagonist, so think love-hate relationship cranked up to eleven.... more>>

Now, the first arc has a love triangle, but don't panic! It's a one-arc wonder, and spoiler alert: the original protagonists are actually the same soul, just split in two. You won't regret diving into this one. I personally wasn't a fan of the first arc, but the others? Mind-blowing. Especially the fourth arc, which is my absolute fave (spoiler: our MC gets a little amnesia). And get this, this isn't your typical quick transmigration gig. Our MC has a real purpose, and each arc is vital to the whole lore. Each life isn't just a random pit stop; our protagonist goes through some serious character development, with a drastic shift in thoughts, goals, and everything in between. Oh, and another spoiler: in every life, the ML is the same dude, but he's got the memory of a goldfish. Talk about star-crossed lovers with amnesia.

Just kidding! It's not actually amnesia. Everything has its purpose and reason, and this story is all about souls, so you'll just have to read it to find out. <<less

Here's a little line I pulled from the novel that pretty much sums it up:... more>>

...

"...What do you want from me?"

Eui-hyun asked. What was he so afraid of?

"Your love." It was a cruel statement.

...

Man, Jae-I, you asked for the one thing Eui-hyun just can't do, not for you, not for anyone...

_

Okay, so this novel isn't exactly a bloodbath compared to some others, but here's the lowdown: the world's all about hunters, monster portals, dungeons, the usual apocalypse-lite stuff. Our protagonist, Eui-hyun, is the bottom, while Jae-I is the seme and ML. They're both absolute tsunderes, with Jae-I throwing in a dash of yandere for good measure. Jae-I's three years younger and falls first, while Eui-hyun is basically a human ice cube. He couldn't care less if people live, die, the world ends, or whatever. The only thing that gets his emotional circuits firing (and usually in a bad way) is Jae-I.

Now, about the plot: Eui-hyun gets an adopted brother, Z (Jae-I), but he's about as interested as a rock. From day one, Z gets ab*sed by Eui-hyun's dad, and Eui-hyun, being the (probably) sociopath he is, couldn't care less. He's just focused on becoming the strongest hunter, which isn't hard, and not even something he's super passionate about. It's just a life goal Dad set, and Eui-hyun's too emotionally detached to argue. Things go smoothly for Eui-hyun, who gradually loses contact with his two family members. Then, the world starts going kablooey, and Eui-hyun, being a hunter, tries to fight the monsters. Lo and behold, he runs into a familiar humanoid figure: Z. Z (and yes, that's how he's described) is a god who's finally powered up and ready for some payback. Eui-hyun peacefully accepts his death; he's kinda bored with life anyway. But wait, why's he back to the day his dad adopted Z? Stuck in a time loop, Eui-hyun tries to kill Z because, seriously, can't he even die in peace? Spoiler alert: Jae-I isn't adopted in the 'next' life, so they're not brothers. Eui-hyun doesn't get the warm fuzzies for Jae-I until way later because the plot focuses on them being enemies or Jae-I being a kid. Plus, Eui-hyun's busy exploring the world, which he ignored the first time around, so Jae-I's MIA for a while. <<less