Recommendations Non-loner MC

Discussion in 'I'm Looking For...' started by jacobpaige, Dec 7, 2022.

  1. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I'm just looking for a series where the main character isn't 1) utterly opposed to working with others, or 2) so much stronger/better than everyone else that his "friends" are just cheerleaders, cannon fodder, and/or potential romantic interests in relationships with a decidedly lopsided power dynamic. It feels like 90%+ of the protagonists in stories here and on RR only have one character in them and I'm more than a little tired of it.

    It would be even better if it was a second chance story, since I have never seen a single story in this genre that made a legitimate attempt at this, but it doesn't need to be. I don't care what gender the MC is, but would prefer to avoid harems. It doesn't matter if its primarily action, comedy, drama, slice of life, etc., so long as its well written.

    No yaoi, horror, mystery (unless the story is complete and the mysteries properly resolved), or a**hole MCs please.
     
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  2. noblesse.wilde

    noblesse.wilde [√To read or not to read] [Aspiring Author]

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  3. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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  4. noblesse.wilde

    noblesse.wilde [√To read or not to read] [Aspiring Author]

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    Nope it has been fully translated by Legion ... I have a pdf with 1200 chapters from novel-ebook.com ... If you want to read it online you can find it on wuxiaworld
     
  5. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I'll look into it then. Thanks :)
     
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  6. Contradiction

    Contradiction Well-Known Member

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    The Iron Teeth: A Goblins Tale. RR story. Monster MC. Not A-hole MC, but uh... his priorities are definitely... different XD.

    The Humble Life of a Skill Trainer. Completed RR story, litrpg. Dude definitely isn't overpowered in this setting, though he does have an edge. Helps that his job is helping others develop skills and get stronger.

    Prehistoric Barbarian on RR might fit what you're looking for. Less power trip and more comedy, though it does have some serious moments.

    I might be off the mark on this one, and its abandoned partway theough book 2, so no real resolution, but Dungeon Games on RR has a sugary sweet MC if I remember correctly. Been way too many years since I read it though.

    I haven't found a second chance novel that isn't a power trip, and I had to abandon Amber Sword XD. That nuke moment was so left field lol.

    Perhaps try pokemon self inserts. They're basically second chance into a different world, and the nature of pokemon forces team building, so it's less likely to be 1 godlike MC, though people try to force it anyways.

    Poke fanfics I think you'd like based on what you've said.
    Pokemon animus
    Wandered Off
    There's other good ones, but they all have 'championship' squads, so gotta nix em.

    A xianxia (I think. I mean, what's the actual difference between xianxia, xuanhuan, wuxia etc) that might fit the bill is Martial Arts Master, but I haven't finished it so I'm not sure. There is power creep, but the focus is split between a sweet love story and martial arts as a sport.

    Hope something here helps!
     
  7. Lurking

    Lurking Do the dead suffer, or is it a sweet release?

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    Maid To Kill RRL although theres a recent hiatus...
     
  8. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    Iron Teeth is on hiatus. I don't want to start a story that isn't completed or still being written, and more often than not, Hiatus=Droppped.

    I dropped Skill Trainer. I'm not sure why, but it just couldn't hold my interest anymore after a while.

    Prehistoric Barbarian is also on Hiatus.

    Not really interested in Dungeon Games if its already abandoned.

    I tend not to like pokemon fanfics. It feels a bit too much like slavery if the pokemon have personalities, and if they don't, then they're little different from any other weapon an OP MC might use, and the MC's in them are basically always loner MCs outside of their personal menagerie.

    Thanks for all the suggestions :)
    I'm not really interested in series that aren't completed or still being written/translated, but thank you for the suggestion.
     
  9. Contradiction

    Contradiction Well-Known Member

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    Ah well, completed web novels is a big ask in itself, yet alone the rest. Best of luck in your search
     
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  10. luoxinle

    luoxinle Book Club Founder

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    Rebirth on the Doors to the Civil Affairs Bureau - she has good friends
    Please Confess to Me - she has a good friend
    A Slight Smile is Very Charming - she has good friends (but they are kind of cheerleading-y)
    A Mistaken Marriage Match: Record of Washed Grievances - she has a good friend
    A Mistaken Marriage Match: A Generation of Military Counselor - she has a good friend (I recommend reading these two stories at the same time, since they are both solving the same crime concurrently. You can skip the third novel, though. That one's super tragic and not needed to read these two).

    Wow, it really is hard to find a female MC with friends. I have some more BL, though.
     
  11. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    It doesn't need to be completed, just not abandoned.
    Already read Slight Smile, and I'm pretty sure I've read Civil Affairs and Military Counselor. I'll check them all out though. Thanks :)
     
  12. Kamuizin

    Kamuizin Well-Known Member

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    I’m confused now … but, if last statement prevail over first, i suggest Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash.

    Story is awesome, which is surprising when you know it’s an isekai story. It’s realist to the extreme, MC couldn’t be more mediocre, but still carries on, with his survival.

    Side characters sometimes are more indepth expressed than the MC itself, death happens (it isn’t a happy power up story) and when it does, the way things are described make you feel the impact of the death.

    Novel writing quality isn’t top notch, but the world and details of Grimgar are. There’s an anime made in 2016 for the first 2 books, and i give it easily and without a doubt 10/10.

    Obs: to the main request, non loner, Grimgar fits perfectly. MC is inside a party, the world has a D&D class system, but don’t go game like with levels, character screen or fixed numbers as far as i know. Reality structure is similar to real world, apart of magic being a thing.
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2022
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  13. Contradiction

    Contradiction Well-Known Member

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    Loved the anime, second grimgar here!
     
  14. jacobpaige

    jacobpaige Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure why that's confusing. Both sentences you quoted say the same exact thing, but with different words.

    Do you mean https://www.novelupdates.com/series/grimgal-of-ashes-and-illusion/? If so, it doesn't look like there are any chapters available.
     
  15. Kamuizin

    Kamuizin Well-Known Member

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    It’s on book 17 atm, the novel was a success and became an official work sold in amazon as kindle book:

    https://www.amazon.com/Grimgar-Fantasy-Ash-Light-Novel-ebook/dp/B08D1YVT1Z

    You can get it with hard cover too, but it’s way more expensive (as an example, Drizzt’s do Urden official D&D novels where a lot cheaper when i imported them, compared to the amazon prices of Grimgar).

    The official conversion from free/patreon work to official product happened in book 4 to 5, so you may find easily the four first books still avaliable in random sites.

    Of course, the complete work can also be downloaded in PDF, on internet, but i believe to be against the NU rules to point or post shady sources of novels.
     
  16. Lurking

    Lurking Do the dead suffer, or is it a sweet release?

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  17. YueLiin

    YueLiin Kore

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    WAH maybe Crossing to the future is good? It's second chance Sci fi 1k yrs later with mecha and spiritual like powers :> there's some 1.5k chapters although it's on hiatus for long time quq
    There is some romance but only layer in the story and it's not entirely centered around romance, mostly action and drama!
    Regarding friend group, mc is stronger than them bit not by too much and they have their own roles (strategist, attack, unique skills etc) it's also military based :D
     
  18. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

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    Is this kind of book really that uncommon? Of all the good books I read, almost all of them will have protagonists with tons of friends, allies, and confidants. In some books there are a lot of subordinates among this group, but most of the time the relationships are more even. And this happens in just about every genre I read, although they're probably most common in historical and war novels. The only genre I read where protagonists don't have much in the way of close friends are Romance novels, but that's mostly because these books tend to dislike female characters. Now, this is a bit different when it comes to the bad books I read, but why would anyone expect anything out of bad books?
     
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  19. NoLongerTheSame

    NoLongerTheSame Well-Known Member

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    Try these:
    *Non-regression*
    Hai to Gensou no Grimgal
    Isaac (Oh sh*t, this MC is a suicidal a**hole)
    Goblin Slayer
    Cultivation Chat Group
    The Amber Sword
    Mushroom Brave (No EN TL of the novel so far, only webtoon)
    I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game
    Pivot of the Sky
    A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality

    *Regression*
    The Great Storyteller
    Re:Survival
    A Returner's Magic Should Be Special
    Possessing Nothing

    (In the latter half of the story, some of these had their MCs become what you weren't looking for though. At least, they tried. XD)
     
  20. why.

    why. ✪WHY SUPREMACY✪|❄ [orangeLover]❄

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