Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles Book 1)

The decision to start a new life is never an easy one, but for Joe the transition was far from figurative. Becoming a permanent addition to a game world, it doesn't take long to learn that people with his abilities are actively hunted. In fact, if the wrong people gained knowledge of what he was capable of, assassins would appear in droves.

In his pursuit of power, Joe fights alongside his team, completes quests, and delves into the mysteries of his class, which he quickly discovers can only be practiced in secret. Ultimately, his goal is to complete every mission, master every ability, and learn all of the world's secrets. All he has to do is survive long enough to make that happen.

 

My Opinion: 323 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited

I liked this novel so much, I was already like 10% into it before I remembered I was supposed to be taking notes for the review. Lol.

This is mostly a slice of life story that puts an injured field medic in a fantasy VRMMORPG. He’s in the game by the 8% mark, taking virtual tests to see what classes he’ll be eligible for during character creation. During testing he gets an opportunity to get a rare class with some unique benefits. In the game, he’s pretty squishy and uses this restriction to research and develop different ways to advance. And think that’s what I like most about the story. That the main character (MC) doesn’t become this overpowered murder machine, wiping out monsters left and right. Instead, because of his class, he has the possibility to become very powerful late game, but early game he’s pretty weak. He has low strength, low constitution, and low dexterity. Making even running for an extended period a real challenge.

Instead, the MC relies lots of research and experimentation to figure out how to even use his class powers. Then more time, to figure out how to use that information to expand his spell repertoire. It’s fun to follow the research.

There’s still questing, monster killing, and other XP grinds. But even then, the MC can’t hunt alone so he has to find a group and eventually a guild to work with. That brings in PvP, and even Guild versus Guild conflict into the story.

There are hints of a larger plot line for the series but this one is mostly slice of life, until at least the 73% mark when it shifts to dealing with the exclusive mages guild.

Overall, I had a good time reading the story.

Score: 7.9 out of 10.

Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles Book 1)

http://amzn.to/2FGDWF5