Some series I've read/things I'm looking for in a new series: Reverend Insanity - really liked the protag here, especially on how he is only for himself. Will ally with others but will go betray you fast if things go awry. Also like a strong willed protag. Warlock of magus world - strong willed protag too. Oh yeah, I also don't like harem. Iirc, Leylin got a harem but he doesn't even care about them/barely discussed. So harem is okay if not forced into story. Also no pussy mc who takes beatings from companions. (Bonus if recommend novel'd mc will/or will if in same scenario - like leylin who killed damsel in distress who wants to rope him in her problems). Also really loved alchemy part here. Dungeon Defense and ourouboros record - like some good politics novel. Hope your recommend won't be short or left untranslated that you have to resort to machine translates (pukes) Charm of soul pets - really like the intro but it just went downhill when he started caring for ALMOST EVERYONE. Arifureta - if whole novel will be like first vol and no cringe "papa" or harem. Also really loved game element/crafting. Overlord - something like this? Mainly looking for something with more serious tone tho. Comedy is still ok though. BL or straight are okay, no specific time period, or if eastern/western setting, nor be it political or crafting+merchant or fighting centric MC. Tldr: Strong willed protag Not a pushover Not a white knight (but will help if the price is good) Can kill children/women without batting an eyelid(or 2 chapters of monolouge) but won't start killing spree if the consequences are way too bad for him/her No harem (ok if he will freely leave them and not attached to them) Pragmatic Will always think about himself first Smart/not a total idiot Thanks!
The Dark King Ouroboros Record ~Circus of Oubeniel~ FFF-Class Trashero Death Notice Dreadful Radio Game
NU - Renegade Immortal though the MC starts out a bit naive at the start. But if you stick with it he's a ruthless SOB. And the series keeps getting better. RRL - Everyone Loves Large Chests - Best Evil MC around. And hilarious. Watching the MC develop from a idiotic murder hobo into a sly and manipulative force of mass destruction is a treat. Sorta has a harem in that MC collects female peons. But they're mostly just the MC's tools.
I definitely recommend this novel. Don't get mislead by the title. For me the title made it seem like one of those novels where MC has trash talent and gets kicked from the hero party (only to be "surprisingly" super OP and make a slave harem or w/e), but what FFF-class refers to is the MC's "personality" or "character". For example the novel starts with that the MC (Hero) killed his "companions" right before killing the Demon King. Another novel that's fairly similar in a lot of ways is https://www.novelupdates.com/series...-sokushi-mahou-to-skill-copy-no-choetsu-heal/ Except in this novel the MC's 'goal' is to take revenge on his hero party "companions". He kills the guys and brainwashes the girls into his slave harem. So you might not like it because there's a harem (and quite a lot of 18+ stuff), but on the "upside" the MC doesn't actually care about the girls in his harem beyond them being his "toys".
It is just that I hate it when MC goes stupid or willing to get pushed by the females. Or doing unnecessary arcs/sidequests for the harem. It's okay if he just treats them as tits/ass/objects/baby maker (hell I hate babies too maybe only if he have use for them - experiments or for kingdom/empire building). It is just weird or breaks character if a strong willed or determined MC gets derailed of his goal because of tits. Thanks btw for all suggestions, I'll check them. Too bad because reviews for evil/cold protags gets bombarded by unreliable white knight reviewers so I'm not sure if reviews are true or not.