Disciple of the Holy Sword

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This action fantasy manhwa follows a swordsman chosen as the hero by a holy sword, who must now endure intense new training.

Story: 8/10
The zero-to-hero premise is well executed, with a good balance of training sections and plot progression. The story stands out in the excellent power scaling.

Art: 9/10
The art is fantastic, especially the detailed and impactful fight scenes. Character designs are distinct and environments are immersive.

Characters: 8/10
The hardworking MC is easy to root for. Supporting characters like his rival and teacher are nuanced. Even side villains have potential for depth.
...
Enjoyment: 8/10
The engaging training sections and fights make this an entertaining read. Seeing the MC's growth is rewarding. I'm invested to see what comes next.

This is a must-try manhwa for fantasy action fans. The story keeps typical tropes feeling fresh. I highly recommend sticking through the early training - the payoff is worth it.

I saw a preview of this Manhwa of Karen on FB and randomly gave it a shot.
A week of casual reading later, I read the entire title.

As a seasoned Manga/Manhwa/Manhua reader, this title is on my list of top series.
It's not Isekai, that's the first point, then we got a perfect story.
What may seem like a regular bro in the boonies getting chosen by a "sword" is backed by a beautifully fluid story.

The combat mechanics are very realistic as the "sword" teaches the MC mechanics from the bottom in complete depth. Vision, Observation, Foot work, every aspect is explained and integrated in high levels of ... clarity. Sure, "Karen" may be one of the most attractive Female Leads in the world of Manhwa, but she is just an addition.

The MC is the epitome of "effort," who is more than worthy to become a hero.

6.6/10

Minor plot spoilers.

Yet another day, another typical manwha that has a premise of the mc being solo and power creeping his way to the top. Though, I will say that this doesn’t conform to the normal conventions of a “solo” protagonist where he’s a lone wolf with every other character being filler or bad guys; instead, this takes the approach of having such hollow characters with no other purpose than relief that the story can’t help but be defined as “solo.”

The world building of this manga is done in a direct and somewhat boring way, but there still is world building, so that’s something. ... As for the plot, there’s tons, and I mean tons, of wasted potential that the plot did and did not do in order for the reading experience to be heightened further.

For example, once the other Leon (Antagonist? I dunno) was “out of the story,” since his arc was over, he and all of the other characters that were essential to the plot/mc’s progression were virtually forgotten about, since they weren’t mentioned ever again.

For simple comedic relief, there could have also been tons of opportunities where the mc is questioned or laughed at for “talking to himself,” but this was the one thing the cliche characters did not do, which was a massive disappointment.

As noted before the characters are all shallow — meaning, they are only there for the mc to progress or to act as dumb gag relief humor, which doesn’t make the story any more enjoyable. There was not one character, perhaps minus the mc, where they go through a significant amount of development and PERSONALLY have a large impact on the story besides for just affecting the mc.

Instead of being something better, this is just an ok to good manwha about the mc’s “rigorous” journey to strength that gets deus ex machina’d by the power-ups plot provides. For me, who has seen enough of these type of stories, this isn’t that interesting, since the plot isn’t unique by any means because of the lack of interest in the world’s issues or the appearance of life-changing or profound antagonists. If there was one good point, then it would be the balance and slow progression of the mc’s prowess, but it doesn’t do wonders for the already somewhat boring story.


You guys know this is just my opinion, right?

Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired + A Huang-Teizan Original)
10 - God’s penmanship
9 - Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 - Instant bookmark
7 - Entertaining
6 - Good to pass time
5 - Why are you reading this?
4 - Bad.
3 - Typical garbage.
2 - My head hurts.
1 - Retirement is a thought.
0 - “Did they even give you a story?!”