This was a pretty decent LitRPG. Not the absolute best of the genre, but far from the worst. I still give it 5 stars because I definitely enjoyed it, though I am willing to admit that I just really the whole LitRPG genre. This book was light on the precise quantification of everything like stats, focusing more on the story, including the relationships and interactions that form that story. There is still growth and discovery, though instead of just focusing on the protagonist’s growth, the author focuses on the growth of the protagonist’s companions as he helps them explore their potential. The last major selling point in my opinion is that from the very beginning, the protagonist has a discrete goal that he is working toward, and even the reader knows that this series is a trilogy, so there is hope for an actual conclusion instead of just an unsatisfying open ending (caveat: I have just purchased the next 2 books, but have not listened to them yet, so I can’t make any promises). The narration was acceptable given the enjoyable story, but it lacked significant emotion or expression. More importantly the audio editing left a huge range of volume, making it difficult to listen to while doing anything with any background noise; I often either couldn’t hear parts properly or was discomforted by the loudness of other parts.