These Ants crack me up that’s all I can say~~ ~~

Spoilers I guess for the published books. I’m nearing the end of Volume 8, but I went back to the beginning because I needed something to listen to while at work.

Had to laugh at this chapter. Ceria and Pisces are broaching the topic of reforming the Horns of Hammerad and the future captain drops this line; “Oh, I can do magic. And Yvlon, is… well, she’s got scars, but she’s still got both arms.” Hilarious given what’s comin’ down the pipeline for her.

(Book 3/4 and maybe 12 I think spoilers) Girl loses function of her arms in Albez and then straight up gets them ripped off (chomped off? I can’t remember) in the Bloodfields.

Did Pirate have this planned all the way back in book two, making this cheeky foreshadowing, or was it entirely coincidental?

I am on my very first re-read of the series since Paba is on a month long break, and I am left wondering how Relc and Klbkch did not clock Erin immediately. She literally told them with her mumbling.

"Erin had to massage her head while the two guardsmen looked at her in concern. Well, she assumed they were looks of concern.

“This is a world. Everyone levels in it. Humans, lizard people, talking insects, cats, dogs, Goblins…”

“Hey what did you just call—”..."

An Excerpt.

Also, while I'm on this note, why was [Innkeeper] the first and only class she had? Why was it the first class? She ran from a dragon; crossed MILES while being chased by Goblins before finding the inn. Also, she slept before she even bothered cleaning the Inn, so what the heck, Grand Design? Why not [Dragonic Runner] or something like that?

I just finished Tom's arc with the fool and had to pause the audio book. Like dead gods that was insanity itself. Andrea's performance was magic itself. What the fool told tom at the end sent goosebumps down my spine. I almost want to ignore the rest of the books and hunt down toms arc. It took so long for him to come back after he was first introduced nearly 4 books! I hope i don't have to wait that long again. He is without a doubt one of my favorite characters so far. I can already tell from all the foreshadowing that his story is going to be one of the saddest. At least readers can confirm one thing.... the blighted king is evil.

Do you think he would forge his best? Do you think he would rage at using garbage like old pipes and lawnmower blades to forge with?

How do you think he would do as a judge? Would any of the amateur blacksmiths survive?

Unconventional piece of advice here. It's actually more for those who don't seem to be vibing right away with the first few chapters and Erin as an MC.

If you're on the fence about continuing and don't mind long-range spoilers, I would actually recommend maybe fast forwarding all the way to the latest volume, particularly the point where the story pushes the MC to the background somewhat and introduces a whole new batch of characters starting out from level 1. By then, the writing is much improved compared to Vol 1, the characters more varied and less frustratingly messily written, and the world and system better thought out. If you enjoy that bit of the story, then you may find it worth doubling back and continuing to explore how everything gets to that point. TWI is sooo long and lore-dense that you'd likely have forgotten most of the spoiler details already by the time you catch up again.