The world building is interesting, the character designs and monsters are good, and there are three subplots of varying quality:
- The possible romance
- The former party falling apart
- Something unique about the MC's (main character's) constitution that no one is aware of.
The first is irritating, because it's just not written with any kind of progression at all. I want to see it develop, but the author wants to make it one-sided and unknown to the MC. Furthermore, if that one spoiler panel I saw means what I think it means, I'm calling a big ol' plot hole.
The second is... not bad, but not good. There's nuance to the former party, which is nice, but the author is on the precipice of throwing it all away. If chapter 22 has the wisened elf go with them, it'll all have been for naught. If she takes a stand and refuses, then it'll be possibly the best told former party falling apart story ever seen in these manga.
The third will transition into the main plot, and it's the best mystery this manga has.
The main plot is actually pretty good.
But the main character's personality is a struggle to read through. It's not bad, but it's difficult and sometimes goes too far. This might be because
the character arc will see the main character accept being a monsterous person who loves combat at the expense of not having friends
but honestly, if that happens, it'll suck the joy out of the story.
This, at it's best, is somewhere between a 7 and an 8. As it normally is, it's not quite a 6. If things go as they look like they might go, it'll be a 3 or 4 in the future. I could be wrong... I hope I'm wrong.