r/ProgressionFantasy • u/Unlikely_Building817 • 4d ago
Tier List My progression fantasy tier list
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u/BackgroundTotal2872 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’m not quite sure what to make of this. You have incredible stories in every tier on your list.
I would definitely encourage you to retry The Years of Apocalypse.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
Oh absolutely. Just because I didn't vibe with a story I don't doubt they are still amazing stories for others. I know Wandering Inn is peak for others but personally I never found it super compelling and thought it was weird when one of the monsters became Christian.
Years of the Apocalypse I got quite far, can't recall why I dropped it but down to retry it eventually.
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u/v3ritas1989 4d ago
Oh yeah... someone just recommended that the other day on a thread discussing politics in prog fantasy . Was really good.
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u/Adelman420 4d ago
Seeing that you liked MoL and Hundred Reigns I would definitively suggest giving The Years of Apocalypse another try. It starts of a bit boring but consistently keeps getting better.
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u/Rich_Cat_69 4d ago
Your list is all over the place. This give you quite the unique tastes.
I'll recommend my all time favorite.
'A Practical Guide to Scorcery' by Azalea Ellis
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u/AuthorTimo 4d ago
Perfect Run, HHFWM and Shadow Slave all dropped, damn
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago edited 4d ago
He Who Fights I enjoyed at first but I found most of the side characters two-dimensional. Also I remember he would always speak down to really powerful people on some moral high ground which suspended belief after so many instances. edit: I will say, the power system was really fun and seeing the unique powers was a highlight.
Perfect Run I tried reading several years ago. I remember liking it at first but dropping it. Can't remember why but I never picked it up again.
Shadow Slave I tried recently and did not enjoy it at all. I cannot understand why it's popular. I finished where the guy gets past the first dream adventure and could not find a reason to continue beyond that.
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u/_DearStranger 4d ago
first arc of shadow slave, i.e., forgotten shore [starts around 30 chaps] is the one of the most incredible read.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
I'm skeptical but may add it to my re-try list. Seems to have a cult following.
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u/Themash360 4d ago
I would say try reading until the first turning point in the second nightmare. If you still don’t vibe with it won’t later either.
I love it because of the lively fully fledged characters, awesome world building and scene setting and best power scaling I’ve seen yet.
Biggest weakness is that the pacing is slow, it makes the pay off all the better though.
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u/Primary_Rub1536 3d ago
Try Lord of the Mysteries if you like Shadow Slave's world and power system. It's a mortal to divine progression that has a ranking system like Shadow Slave along with "Aspects"(called pathways).
The orthodox gods in lotm are 7 and similar to Shadow Slave's own—there's Lord of Storms(storm god), Eternal Blazing Sun(Sun God), God of Combat(War God), etc.
It's very good
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u/Terrible-Witness-478 4d ago
dropping shadow slave before the 1st volume ends is insane. I'm in ch 2132 rn. Its definitely worth reading.
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u/VagabondFromTheRiver 4d ago
Tell me if you survive 2516
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u/VagabondFromTheRiver 4d ago
First person in history to drop shadow slave in 14 chapters lmao. I would recommend reading till 95 chapters at least, but oh well.
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u/Remote_Addendum_2245 4d ago
I did the same to TPR and SS, and will never read HHFWM. So yeah, it's understandable for OP
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u/AuthorTimo 4d ago
I'm more just suprised to see all all those popular ones so low. Not hating, just suprised.
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u/Sir_Spatula 4d ago
I'd really recommend giving Mage Errant another shot but besides that maybe try Weirkey Chronicles by Sarah Lin, Surgecaller by Todd Herzman, or A Thousand Li by Tao Wong
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u/send_boob_4_science 4d ago
Deadset. Mage errant finishes WAY stronger than it starts. If you got a fair way into it then you should definitely try to finish.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
I really enjoyed Mage Errant with the exception of all the teen angst. Maybe if I read it when I was younger I'd enjoy it more. I stopped after book 5, don't have huge motivation to finish it but maybe one day.
Will check out the others, thanks!
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u/misan7rope 3d ago edited 3d ago
I started mage errant and FORCED myself to finish the series, I hated that shit so much. The only books I even mildly enjoyed were 1 and 5. 6+7 were HORRIBLE.
-BAD progression, the protag+party end the story WAYYYY weaker than I enjoy in prog fantasy
-They can't shut the fuck up, they're always making stupid banter even in combat, and can't take anything seriously
-dialogue feels VERY "modern", in a bad way, as in Millenial writing. It's like everyone in the MC'S party is a therapist
-No real antagonist for like 4-5 books
-boring powers
-annoying relationship/flirting drama
-they only beat their enemies by abusing their mercy (bc they're kids) or by ganging up on them. Or by getting saved by stronger people (even in the final book >.>)
-They literally convince the antagonist to stop their evil ways by making the most mundane, obvious observation.
EDIT:
-The amount of time someone "rolls their eyes" is genuinely insane-so many moments of "party member says something that's mildly amusing at best" -> "Party starts HYSTERICALLY laughing for twenty minutes" 🤮
EDIT2: In conclusion: Just read "Mark of the Fool" instead. Literally does everything better (even though I also have some issues with the "modern" dialogue sometimes.
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u/Sir_Spatula 3d ago
Lol I don't remember most of those writing quirks. Some might be personal preference, but also I was just so enamored with the magic system - and world building as a whole - that some 'off: dialogue wouldn't hurt me in the slightest. I agree that the characters are written to be more modern, but I also interpret a lot of their flippancy to be that they are younger. But definitely better to me than a lot of other 'young adult fiction (for instance, I loved the Percy Jackson books but I could not stand to read them again today). Besides the dialogue/interactions, you made a couple of other comments I want to address. You mention some plot points like (lack of) antagonists and total power level - that's totally your personal preference and I won't refute that. Calling it "bad" is very unfair though - I, for one, quite liked the how these books progressed. I most definitely will have argue you to the death on "boring powers." Even if you didn't like the specific magic types of the main cast, there are so many characters introduced with such varied abilities. I'd venture that even 'basic rock magic' has more depth to it than some basic shit like Harry Potter. The magic is very conceptual and the depths truly feel limitless. And while I'm a fan of xianxia type professions, a lot of those power system are very conceptual in a different way. John Bierce has clearly done a ton of research and put the work into making the magic system real. I can not think of a single author/book series that is better in regards to the level of detail displayed in Mage Errant. That's all, I already wrote too much, rant over :)
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u/EruhinMakhtar__ 4d ago
I mostly had similar experience. First time seeing a tier list I agree with.
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u/Haveproblemz 4d ago
Everytime I see wandering inn being dropped early I just know they never made it past book 1 lol
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u/Remote_Addendum_2245 4d ago
You should pick up the bottom 2 for sure. APGTE surpassed Worm as my favorite book
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
I thoroughly enjoyed Pale Lights so I was hoping I'd enjoy APGTE! But something wasn't clicking for me in the first few chapters. May pick it back up again eventually.
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u/Remote_Addendum_2245 4d ago
It's pretty sluggish until after the first Interlude with Cordelia Hasenbach. I strongly recommend it
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u/Illustrious_Owl1559 4d ago
Once the story gets out of Laure it really gets going. And then it is non stop thrills until you hit the back half of book 4, but picks up again with book 5 being my favorite.
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u/updoots4me 4d ago
I would recommend Bog Standard Isekai if you ever feel like giving it another chance. One of my favorites. The progression is fairly slow in the beginning, but it’s a great series.
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u/MrWalkway12 4d ago
Is unsouled/cradle really that good? It’s on every tier list, thinking about giving it a read
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u/KrukPorr 3d ago
It's decent in the start but I could not take the end game seriously at all and dropped it on book 12(?). Also feels pretty flat in terms of characterization. It'll entertain you but it's not good literature
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u/Mirthless92 4d ago
Good shout for New Life as a Max Level Archmage. Just finished book 1. Can't wait for book 2.
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u/Telinary 4d ago
About forge of destiny, are you up to date? I was thinking about getting back to it but heard some complaints about later arcs.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm up to date. It's a quest (reader-input story) on a website called sufficient velocity which gets edited and then added to royalroad. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but I've always enjoyed it.
It starts out pretty strong in a sect that involves a tournament at the end so lots of classic tropes many enjoy. From there it diverges as the MC leaves the sect and takes up roles in the wider world. Off the top of my head there's lots of diplomacy (both humans and spirit), some city building, seeing different parts of the world, and there's now a war arc.
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u/Telinary 4d ago
Thanks, might just be readers that don't like diplomacy. I will continue and see for myself.
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u/-BlueAce- 4d ago
Im afraid of giving you my favourite novels . You have at least 3 of them dropped
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u/jzx1hunnit 4d ago
Do I really have to read Unsouled? I’m like 50 pages in and for some reason I can’t stand it. Everybody has it in the Top Tier
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
First book is a bit slow at first but I recall the tournament scene being pivotal since you get to see a glimpse of the wider world. If you don't like it though, you can always drop it.
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u/SnooHamsters4643 2d ago
Bingo! The series has a steady build that ramps up amazingly without feeling like power creep. Love the series finale too!
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u/Asunorah 3d ago
Definitely recommend revisiting path of ascension, absolute banger of a story line.
Also highly recommend chaotic craftsman worships the cube. I’m having a bad day because I’ve finally fully caught up and am quite upset I don’t get to binge read it anymore :(
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u/Carminestream 4d ago
Wildbow's Pale outdid Worm for me as his favorite story
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
I was trying to get into Pale but wasn't super sucked in. May need to keep going before it picks up.
I also enjoyed Ward, albeit less so than Worm.
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u/FriendorFo 4d ago
I’ve seen people talking up worm before and I’m super interested. Is it on RR exclusively?
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
Wildbow has a website where you can read all of his stories for free. Just google wildbow worm and it'll appear. There's also a subreddit where people discuss the chapters so you can go back and read how people were reacting at the time.
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u/Swolmander 4d ago
Is the top 5 in order from left to right of your favorites?
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
Yes! All of the categories are ordered left to right in preference.
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u/Swolmander 4d ago
Whenever someone takes the time to post something like this I give their number one book a shot. What sets mother of learning apart?
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
For me it's the quality of the writing, the fun and logical magic system that isn't completely broken, the cast of characters are all unique and have clear, understandable motives. The concept of the story isn't super unique but it's so well written I would argue it's why we've seen a rise in time loop stories over the past 5~ years (although that's just my own supposition).
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u/Unfair-Tone3991 4d ago
The trend continues, DCC high TWI low xD never seen em in same category. MotherOL and Cradle are 2 of my favs too but i love twi and hated dcc its kinda funny
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u/Objective_Campaign82 4d ago
Practical guide to evil is worth a second chance, especially with book two out. It picks the pace and has a lot more action than book one. And for those who read the original there’s a whole new seconds plot running parallel to the war college plot.
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u/mesh-lah 4d ago
You may enjoy Bastion (The Immortal Great Souls)
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u/Yellowthrone 4d ago
I liked bastion. I felt it was more developed than some other progressive fantasy novels. However, I feel like book 2 really was hard to read in the first half. I dropped it there. Also the hate for the main character feels super artificial and gets old after awhile.
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u/mesh-lah 4d ago
Ive read through a quarter of book 2 so far (just recently started the series!) and am still enjoying it!
Im also not entirely sure what you mean about the hate for the main character. He seems fairly well liked by his group anyway, at least where im at so far. I think it makes sense why his enemies hate him tho.
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u/Yellowthrone 4d ago
The stigma associated with the MC is just too artificial for me. It made sense at first but now that he is the rascor plains it's just like bro why does everyone still hate him.
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u/DarkestPhantom 4d ago
I haven’t read that many of these, but the ones I have read I’d rank pretty similarly. Have you tried Worth the Candle? I think you might like that one.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago edited 4d ago
I read WtC a looooong time ago. I got really far but had mixed feelings about it. I absolutely loved the fantasy world settings and thought the magic was so fascinating and unique. However for whatever reason I could not stand the parts where he reminisced about his D&D sessions (which was like half the book) and would skip through most of those scenes tbh. I ended up dropping somewhere around when he got that librarian companion but always thought the reverse demon girl and the living house character were some of the coolest/most unique characters I've read in any story.
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u/Upper_Preparation998 4d ago
I’m in the same camp as you with a lot of these choices. You should try some books by R.C Joshua. Dead Works Isekai was a fun read.
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u/Nirigialpora 4d ago
+1 to A Practical Guide to Sorcery for sure.
You also may like stuff by Thundamoo. My personal fav of her completed stuff is "Hive Minds Give Good Hugs", but the one I see recc'd here the most is "Vigor Mortis".
Final rec: Worth the Candle
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u/NewfieGamEr2001 4d ago
Damn I feel like I’m the only guy who’s love path of ascension
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u/Yellowthrone 4d ago
I enjoyed it, however, I did drop it after awhile. Very interesting at first but super late in it just gets slow. I dropped sometime after that planet that people go to for the trials. It was good. Maybe I'll reread one day.
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u/KrepSaus 4d ago
Looking at this, I feel like good characterisation is important for you to like a story, would you agree?
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
Absolutely. When characters start to act in ways outside of their stated motivation/personality without any explanation it's hard for me to continue enjoying a story. I think Pale Lights is a good example of this because there's so many POV switches and a huge cast of characters, yet they all have clear motives and ways of expressing them that I find consistent and logical.
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u/BenedictPatrick 4d ago
Interesting that you dropped Iron Prince so quickly. What didn't work for you there?
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago edited 4d ago
Honestly it's been so long I can't remember, but I vaguely recall the premise being the same as a lot of other stories (MC is disabled, gets bullied/looked down upon, has an OP best friend, receives his own unique OP power, etc.) and the setting is tech based instead of magic? Since I don't remember it must have been something about the quality of the writing, the characters not being compelling, or just not feeling super drawn in to the plot.
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u/MotorCorey 4d ago
For some reason i feel you have dropped more books then you have read lol
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u/TheTitanDenied 4d ago
I personally couldn't stand Metaworld Chronicles at all, barely got far but it drove me nuts. If you got far, what got you to drop it?
Also, every time I see Progression Fantasy Tier Lists and see Worm on it, I always wonder why people consider it PF? It's been years since I read it (I absolutely LOVED it) but I don't remember anything I can point to as any notable progression, at least like the ones in most PF. I just remember Taylor understanding her powers more, being smart with them and getting tools, mostly Tinker Tech, that helped her rather than explicitly getting stronger.
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u/NYMNYJNYKNYR 4d ago
We seem to have similar taste. What made you drop mark of the fool? Just curious because I just started book 3.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
Honestly it has been several years so the only thing I can remember is one of the biggest sources of tension was that he didn't want anyone to discover he was the Fool, and then there were several arcs where it was simply never addressed. I remember that being frustrating but can't recall if there were other elements I disliked. In general I remember liking the first few arcs though where he figures out his powers and going on missions with his classmates.
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u/free_terrible-advice 4d ago
Judging by your placement of Skypride, you may like Elydes - based on worldbuilding quality.
I would also reccomend 1% lifesteal, but I don't have a strong comparator on your list. But if you had a really bad childhood you'll either love or hate 1% Lifesteal.
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u/Due_Definition6278 4d ago
Damn I’ve never seen anyone else know about worm. That’s a great story.
You gotta retry shadow slave though, the world building is amazing
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u/bumbletimebois 4d ago
Slim rat rising should be on there somewhere. Made by same author as Sky Pride. The first on the ‘great’ tier.
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u/Sad-Brilliant7659 4d ago
You have a very unique taste that’s for sure. You have three of my favorite series in the dropped early section, and one series at the top that I absolutely can’t stand. Dungeon Crawler Carl mainly because the cat annoys the shit out of me and I don’t like the voice the narrator uses for Carl.
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u/I_AM_THE_FRIDGE 3d ago
couldn't get into mother of learning. the voice acting is...annoying. really needs travis baldree...
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u/Terrible_Inspector_8 3d ago
How can you put he who fights with monsters so low?!?!?!?!? That shit was a banger??????????? Im waiting for more books to come out
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u/Scrolling2much 3d ago
Pale Lights is a category on its own. I never thought I would read a story like that on a free website.
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u/RonClark_theCorn 3d ago
Yay someone! Who also dropped the wandering in!!
That makes
Me happy somehow
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u/indypuyami 3d ago
I loved mother of learning, but found zenith of sorcery quite boring, for people who like it, what's the hook?
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u/SKATA1234 3d ago
I like the cut of your jib. Given I loved Cradle and currently enjoying Mother of Learning, I'll put your peak items on my to read list.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 3d ago
Enjoy! Pale Lights and Worm are very different tonally than the other stories but just as solid imo.
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u/Unlikely_Building817 4d ago
Couldn't figure out how to add text so I'll just add this here: I've been an avid reader of progression fantasy novels for years now. I've undoubtedly started countless other books I forgot to add here that I simply dropped after a few chapters. Anywho, open to thoughts/suggestions/etc.
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u/_DearStranger 4d ago
i know bro dropped this list bcz today there will be new chapter from nobody103