the donkey shoeing part actually goes on for way too long

still can't get over how he's literally just nailing metal into hooves for the first twenty chapters while everyone else is probably out there fighting steam-powered robots or whatever. Usually these transport stories get right to the fireballs and the epic stuff, but watching Laine obsess over that magical profession panel just to get a 'perfect' rating on a farm animal was oddly relatable, it's like when I spend three hours customizing a character's nose and then never finish the game. I really dig the whole vibe of the old gods waking up while the empire is falling apart, specifically that bit about the massive creatures showing up again after being dead for ages, it makes the world feel huge. My only real gripe is that the comedy hits a bit weird sometimes, like there's this one joke about his hammer that felt like it belonged in a different book entirely. Also I'm pretty sure he mentioned his sister back home twice, but then the author totally forgot she existed by the time he reached the federation city. It's a fun read if you like slow-burn stuff where the guy actually has to work for his levels, I just wish he'd stop talking to the donkeys like they can understand his stat sheets.