Zombies, politics, and trauma… oh my!
Creative Staff
Author: Ceez
Artist: Dashio Tsukimi
Translated by: Leighann Harvey
What They Say
When Cayna reaches the fishing village where the rumor of a temple in the ocean originated, she’s shocked to find the place in ruins, surrounded by a strange fog and inhabited by undead. Now, she must protect the village’s sole survivor, a young girl named Luka, while facing off against the cause of the fog—a ghost ship and its pirate captain!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Cayna continues to try to live an inconspicuous lifestyle while still enjoying the benefits of her abilities. To that end, she finds her lifestyle of living from inn to inn becoming a bit of a hassle. So she returns to the village that she upgraded, only to find out that her upgrades have become a point of interest for those from neighboring nations. No matter where she goes she draws attention, but this time that attention is from a pair of cat-eared siblings. One of which hates Cayna on sight.
In a serious case of bitch-eating-crackers, that catgirl challenges Cayna to a duel. We knew how that was going to end from the moment it was suggested and Cayna smacks the girl down. The brother finally pulls Cayna aside to admit that they were sent by the ruler of the neighboring kingdom. It turns out that the system the game had in place to mentor others resulted in yet another relative that Cayna didn’t know she had. More royalty.
That’s not the only game element coming back to bite the former players in the ass. When arriving at a seaside town in her journey to the next wizard tower, Cayna finds herself smack in the middle of a zombie invasion. This had been a quest event when Leadale was still a game. Not so anymore, now it is a life or death struggle for the former NPCs. Saving a village is one thing when it’s a game, but an orphan girl in the game made real causes Cayna to pick up yet another family member. I tend to forget that Cayna lost her parents in a particularly traumatic way so it’s easy to see why she would reach out a hand to another orphan.
The rescue has Cayna meeting two other gamers who became denizens of Leadale. One is stuck in the body of his alt (alternate character, for those who never played an MMO, is a second character you don’t consider your main.) The other has found themselves in a body of the opposite presenting gender than their real gender. I feel for the translator who had to figure out what gendered speech sounds like in English to make that obvious.
The players are able to mop up the invasion easily but had any normal citizen of the world tried to combat that it would not have gone well.
The various rulers and higher-ups in the world are currently concerned about a sealed-off capital from before the event which saw the world departing from its game origins. The barrier around it is cracking and monsters are starting to escape. Nobody wants to get Cayna involved, but none of them say why. A few NPC citizens realize there are other folks almost as powerful as her wandering around but relying on any of them is like playing with nuclear weapons. While Cayna doesn’t want any political power that doesn’t mean others would feel the same.
Now I wonder what Cayna will do with her new charge while she is still on her self-imposed quest to visit the other towers.
In Summary
It took six volumes but the plot is finally beginning to ramp up in the Land of Leadale. Cayna runs into a few more players who have become trapped in the game made real life. She also finds herself collecting and rediscovering even more members to add to her steadily growing family. Not to mention finally deciding to make a cozy home to return to now that she knows that she’ll be in this for the long haul. Whatever happened in the past after the gamers signed off and Leadale became real has led to a looming calamity that only those who have the experience of true adventurers can tackle. So why is everyone hiding that from Cayna?
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A –
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: November 19, 2024
MSRP: $13.00 US / $17.00 CAN
