HARDCORE LEVELING WARRIOR has followed the titular HLW through a plethora of trials and tribulations. It can be difficult for even the most capable individuals to start over from zero. This is particularly astringent when the afore mentioned individuals stood at the apex of their strength before their fall. HARDCORE LEVELING WARRIOR has been a long road since then, and though the series only has fifty two chapters - or episodes if you prefer the original Korean linguistic - quite a bit has happened. Kim Se-hun, manhwa author and artist, has proven himself to be an exceedingly rare find in a world full of SWORD ART ONLINE clones. His unique take on MMORPGs, VRMMORPGs, and gaming in general have proven to be engaging, and colourful in ways that many series are almost afraid to be. There is a freedom to Se-hun's work that adds a comical twist to all of his work, while still possessing enough grit and sharpness to make a serious tone when necessary. Of the current ongoing manhwas, HARDCORE LEVELING WARRIOR is decidedly engrossing and should be read by everyone on either side of the equator.
CH.50 ended on a weird note because many readers assumed that the gift received for HLW's success in the Subjugation Round would be something significant. It was disappointing to learn that the gift for placing first was a plastic model factory with workers included. A strange gift, but one assumed to have incredible latent power. The problem here is that there is no way to easily evaluate how effective a plastic toy will be in a game world where everyone seems to be throwing around lasers, and ranged sword attacks. Enter: Heart Heater. I've long been a big fan of Heart Heater. He's a character with a very vintage character design who has frequently passed along helpful bits of information to HLW and his companions. There are quite a few mysteries surrounding him as well, but whether those are derivative of his character design or actual events within the plot are yet to be exposed. Through his information network Heart Heater disseminates some vital information to HLW's team, a conversation that includes classified news about the next phase of the tournament. Heart Heater's description of this next stage really draws attention to Se-hun's ingenuity as a content creator. For anyone familiar with contemporary, popular, and mobile games, there is a wealth of similarity between these and Se-hun's concept. What makes Se-hun's stand out is the diverse mix of elements housed in his games design. There is a strong connection to games like StarCraft, League of Legends, and the World of Warcraft readily evident in how Heart Heater outlines the stage to come. In this way, Combat God's tournament aims to test not only individual and team based combat aptitudes, but strategy and planning as well. With the upcoming events handily laid out in this manner, Dark returns focus to HLW and his earlier escapades during the Subjugation stage of the tournament. In particular, he calls attention to HLW's use of a Nightmare skill that has attracted the attention of Giga's Lucas Han. Their exchange is decidedly heated with HLW countering Dark's initial observations by stating that their team would have failed had he not used his skill. This conflict between teammates drives HLW out of Heart Heater's home, and onto the streets. There is a strangeness to this interaction that Heart Heater touches on by claiming that HLW must have experienced difficult times in the past. This is then further expanded upon as HLW runs into Master Swordsman, but refuses to interact with him because of their shared history. From this point readers are transported two years into the past where a young HLW challenges Master Swordsman to a duel. At the time of this duel, HLW is ranked significantly lower than Master Swordsman and is easily bested by the superior swordsman. It is revealed in this sequence that Master Swordsman presumably taught or lost his "Moonlight Slash" ability to HLW at a later point in the future. Additionally, this young HLW is much more immature and blatantly inexperienced when compared to the character that readers have gradually become familiar with over the course of this story. Having lost to Master Swordsman, HLW is pressed by the aged swordsman to join his guild. Although able to force his hand, Master Swordsman refrains from using his status as victor to make HLW join his guild. Instead, he requests a single gold piece for having defeated HLW, and gives HLW details about his guilds location. This is a particularly telling moment as Master Swordsman's relationship with HLW up to this point has been largely incongruous with HLW's personality. It is with the beginning of this relationship that begins HLW's journey as a member of Zara Guild. Segueing into CH.52, while struggling to locate Zara Guild, HLW meets a child-like character named Constance who claims to be a fan of our central protagonist. At the start of CH.52, it seems as if HLW has truly come into his own under the guidance of Zara Guild. In addition to Master Swordsman and Constance, readers are introduced to the Guild Master of Zara, Armes, who proves herself to be a valuable comrade-in-arms. Surprisingly, it is revealed that HLW has also challenged and failed to defeat Master Swordsman one hundred and twelve times up to this point in the story. The build up of combat experience derived from battling the third highest ranked played in Lucid Adventure serves as a minor explanation as to how HLW would eventually come to rise take the top position. There is a nostalgic quality infused into Se-hun's writing of this particular chapter. A portion of this familiarity is certainly derived from the memory aspect of this part of the story, however, it is the foresight afforded to the readers that makes this flashback all the more invigorating. Even before having reached the end of this chapter there is an overwhelming sense of dread building in the back of the readers mind. Already, Se-hun has readers morning the unknown losses that HLW is bound to experience without having fully concluded this segment of the story. Though the conclusion in question may be dreadful, readers can rest assured that they will gain a greater understanding of HLW and his motivations despite the tragedies to come. Written By: ALAN "VIENNA" SINGH
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