Feb 25, 2024
'Skill Master Levels Up' is a generic, game system levelling up storyline with an OP MC, who also travelled back in time after the world got dominated by monsters. Nothing special. As suggested by the title, this manhwa focuses on the MC levelling up and more notably, earning 'skills' that is a bit more special compared to manhwas - skills like attack nullification which nullifies the first damage they take, something more akin to perks in an actual video game rather than a more fantasy setting. The premise itself wasn't particularly exciting, and the actual story thus far is the same as well.
Plot-wise, nothing much
...
has happened, and although I've dropped this quite early, the premise itself does not suggest there will be much plot either. Our MC travels back in time after the world falls into ruin. He chooses to pick the hardest difficulty (Solo Mode) so that he can actually use his skills to defend humanity once more in the future. To do this, he has to relearn all his skills in the Labyrinth, getting the most power he can before he finishes going through all floors. This itself suggests that all that happens is he gets new skills and grows stronger, floor after floor in the Labyrinth. And since he chose Solo Mode, there is zero opportunity for actual interaction between other characters, discounting NPCs. There is never any tension because the story never lends doubt to the idea that the MC will fail, or suffer lasting consequences. He knows everything about the Labyrinth, which is a characteristic in most regression stories, but feels like a missed opportunity to introduce new elements since he chose a different mode this time. There is no actual conflict nor climax at any moment.
The characters are one of the weakest points in the manhwa. The blandness of the MC's personality can only be matched by his boring face. At the beginning, he appeared to be somewhat bitter against the rest of humanity for not learning skills like him, and that he ended up the only person who managed to fight off monsters competently. So when he goes back in time, he tries to advise other characters on how to learn skills and explore the dungeons fully, but doesn't seem bothered at all when they don't listen to him. He expresses zero emotion, has no motivation and his only identifiable trait is determination. He never gets angry, or even frustrated, and his face never even changes expression. His mascot companion exists only to provide useless commentary and to make the story a smidge less boring since it only follows one actual character. This doesn't work and every time he says something the panel becomes more unbearable.
Artstyle is similarly plain; the action is nothing noteworthy. There is some element of strategic planning when it comes to fights, but only when he's against tough opponents, which come once in a blue moon. Every other opponent he oneshots way too early in the story, especially when he's supposedly at the hardest difficulty.
All in all, it's virtually indistinguishable from the other levelling up stories, or probably even falls behind them with how boring everything is.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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