Discussion Golden Fingers

I just didn't want to straight up put cheats in the title, but that is what I mean.
We all know those reincarnation/transmigration novels and fanfictions, where the main character for some reason has a cheat. Be it an item, a skill or a unique ability, that sets them apart from the plebs and allows them to quickly surpass their peers.

While most of this kind of novel are trash, I only want to know what cheats you think are great in a story. Could be funny, could be smart, whatever. You don't have to know a story with the cheat you name.

Although slightly overdone, I liked the way WMW used the A.I.-Chip, cause it fit really well with the world.
Some other cheats I like are a personal space that either includes time dilation, some other specialty, or a space to store things in, when such a thing is just very rare, not like in those xianxia novels where everyone has a spatial storage ring or whatever.

What are cheats you like to read about?

 

Something that is neither almighty or all-resourceful and discounts the need of effort, comprehension and experience to progress one's cultivation. Something that meshes in well with the cultivation world(no exchange system that allows access to modern tech, pls). No systems with forced missions or abilities to summon people/objects from other worlds.

Interference from any golden finger should be limited; I def. don't wish for a CN where the 'cheat' feels more like the 'real hero' than the protag himself.

P.S. I liked 'Grandpa Doehring' from Coiling Dragon. Also, the 'cheats' from Desolate Era and Lord Xue Ying(or more like the lack of any overarching cheats in this one) were to my tastes.

 

The title bring to mind Monster Paradise, where Golden Fingers are symbiotic existences, which in the MC’s case has been assigned to him after he’s been randomly picked to be transmigrated. I guess I liked it, because it thought through the aspect of Golden fingers.
It’s been a long time since I read the beginning, so I’m erring on the side of caution even though the details aren’t that much of a spoiler

Spoiler

His golden finger, is a card based one where he can basically accumulate proficiency for stuff by practicing(which accumulates ‘card fragments’) and basically translates to improved learning, the ability to randomly gain cards of monsters he kills as summons he can use (he has a limited number of monsters he can summon) and he can sacrifice monster cards to randomly pick useful special effect cards.

 

Probably from either mystical journey or law of the devil.
Where it assist its user but there still limitation for it to be use

Not like the one where it allow MC to abuse the cheat as much as he/she want. (Like upgrade what just learn to max)

 

I liked the concept of Nightmare’s Call ‘cheat’, which is really a composite of multiple factors. And this will spoil the first part of the story when he’s pretty much just starting out:

Spoiler

1)He can consume soul fragments.
2)He can access a dream space where there’s loads of dead Spectors to kill and absorb
3)He can summon nightmare spirits through such soul fragments
4)He learns ‘holy light’ that deals with soul and emotions, allowing him to cleanse stabilise his own soul

 

Most of mine aren't really cultivation novels, interesting nonetheless.

Top Management. MC's random revelations fron the future is quite fun. He has no control over it, but it shows up in the most crucial of moments.

Sefirah Castle from Lord of the Mysteries. Loved how he utilized it in multiple ways, making the most out of it.

Cultivation Chat Group. Senior White.

In Grasping Evil, MC had a dual cultivation technique (or was it constitution) that made him stronger the more he did what he had to do, the stronger the partner, the better.

The Great Demon King. MC cultivates in a Knights and Magic world.

 

this cat prefer how to use da cheat on story
on jp story which this cat forget it title MC cheat only a weapon to kill God~ a sword which have ability to kill god with plenty of restriction that on normal state you better pick a stick to fight enemy~ on that story MC party have member who can keep fighting as long as he never admit or think he lose no matter how severe injure he have or something like that~

that aside this cat wanna see cheat about prediction? no hmm fortune telling? nah prophecy? hmmm see future or something~ but with a catch~ no matter what the user cannot use it to see it own future, any other future that have user on it will be censored to da user~ example user peek calico cat that show someone accidentally step on it tail which make calico cat muda muda muda da culprit~ turn out da offender is da user that only realize it after hospitalized over 2 month with various cat paw mark on its face~

 

I read a lot of historical transmigration stories and these tend to not have any magic or special powers, but they still feature the best golden finger of all: knowledge. One thing that these books emphasize is that people in the past were every bit as intelligent and talented as people in the modern world. The difference though is that they didn't know as much. And this is where a modern person can make a real splash in a historical setting. It can be as simple as just know a few useful techniques like double entry accounting or knowing how printing presses work all the way to knowing precise events that are about to happen like when a foreign invasion is going to happen, who is planning a rebellion, or which company is going to be a very good investment.

There's just so many ideas that can be brought to life with this writing mechanic and they tend to be right in my wheelhouse of the kinds of stories I like to read about. It's just too bad that so little of this gets translated.

 

I generally like golden fingers that aid the MC, but don't do all the work for them. For example one where they can go to a special place where they can train for a long period of time with only a short period of time passing in reality, or one where they can do repeated experiments such as learning alchemy without actually wasting materials.