Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Vol. 2

ORV books are like crack, honestly. I’m kind of mad at myself for starting the series from the beginning of the physical Yen Press release (and sticking to it), since there is just SO MUCH that happens in these books!

I’m also glad though, since it prevents me from bingeing the series and staying up late at night to keep reading. If I had multiple volumes to read, I would probably be finishing 1 book a day. It wouldn’t even be that difficult, since each volume only contains roughly 50k words, which is on the shorter side for light novels.

After the events of the previous book, Dokja and company must now travel the subway and chase after Yu Junghyeok. Dokja intends to survive the trials to come by being on the same team as Junghyeok but that requires finding him first. 

They arrive at Chungmuro station, and are then immediately thrust into their next “Scenario”, or quest that they need to overcome. They have to survive hordes of enemies while fighting against humans who have their own motives, many of whom are willing to screw them over. Of course, this requires some violent actions when necessary.

There is also the introduction of a dungeon and dungeon boss with a very cool concept that involves movies, which I really liked. Dokja also has to go out of his way to save Junghyeok at one point, which leads to a very funny misunderstanding that causes people to believe that they’re a couple. Let the shipping begin! (I already had my shipper goggles on ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

It’s also great to see some development of the side characters, such as Junghyeok’s disciple. We also learn that Kim Dokja has been through some major trauma in his life, though he refuses to elaborate on what exactly that was. 

I’m sure we’ll end up learning more, but it’s clear that he really sees the “characters” in Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse as actual people, and he wonders how he will cope with some of the sins that he’s committed. Technically, everyone who has survived has had to kill somebody, so in some ways it’s just out of need. I’m glad this is addressed. 

The side characters such as Sangah, Hyeonseong, Gilyeong, and Huiwon have really grown on me, and it’s exciting to see their abilities continue to grow.

I’m reminded a lot of the Hunter x Hunter series, which had lots of “game” like scenarios and abilities that the characters had to overcome. This is such a fast paced series, and it even ended on a cliffhanger with another interesting “Scenario” quest to beat, this time in the form of capture the flag. Looks like Dokja will have to fight against some other scheming enemies, so I can’t wait to find out how he ends up curb-stomping them (hopefully).

Volume 3 is out in March, and it’ll be another long wait sigh. 

P.S:  Also, as an aside, since I’m reading the physical versions: I think the design with the cutout cover is really cool, but I also find it kind of annoying since I don’t want to touch the inside illustration through the hole. While the design of the physical books is great, that’s one unfortunate downside now that the novelty has worn off.