Dungeon Odyssey

I’m not sure how many Manwha I’ve actually rated on this site but this one is 9+/10.

Why not 10/10? Purely because I try to avoid 10/10 since I have not read everything in existence. For me, this is the best Manwha I’ve read, so far.

So, what’s great about it? Simply put, this Manwha has very interesting side characters and subplots. The main storyline (MC) is what you’d expect; OP MC winning against insane odds then power scales like crazy – think Nano Machine, Solo Levelling, Naruto, Bleach. Honestly, that’s not strictly true because he doesn’t start off as “weak” or “average” then finds some scroll/elixir/divine artefact that suddenly makes him strong.

He isn’t a regressor, reincarnator or gifted genius. He doesn’t have an “inner demon” that just conveniently wins him fights he is about to lose. He doesn’t have an artefact or any pre-existing knowledge of the world. This isn’t some XP/Levelling/System Manwha where he just “lucks” into some special skill that is conveniently the most broken ability. No, the MC starts off strong due to his harsh starting conditions. He is closest to the story of “Jungle Book” – a child born in a harsh climate learning the skills to survive. There’s obviously a bit more to his backstory, but everything I’ve said is condensed to CH.1/CH.2 without giving any spoilers. Of course, he does start to power scale like crazy to meet the demands of later threats – again, not really a spoiler because he’s still a “human” fighting against monsters.

While the MC storyline is interesting, where this Manwha becomes absolute peak is the sidestories. While other Manwha do have sidestories and side characters, these subplots tend to be an offshoot that are irrelevant or divorced from the main storyline. However, really sets this Manwha apart is how all of these subplots directly tie back to the Main plot and seem like a core part of the storyline. They’re done so well that it’s hard to even imagine how the story makes sense without them.

Take for example, the horned rats. This is a subplot that is, apparently, the brain child of the Manwha author and does not exist in the novel. As the Manwha progresses, and this storyline builds, it begins to delve into bigger societal issues (of the horned rats) of injustice, inferiority, revenge, devotion and more that feel very relatable; I wouldn’t be shocked if the Author was drawing parallels or inspiration from the real world.

There are, obviously, side stories involving the Humans (MC is human, after all, so it ties into his origins), the Nagas (the snake labyrinth we’re introduce to from CH.1) and a whole host of side characters plus their stories (Not named to avoid spoilers). In many instances, you will go lengths of chapters without ever seeing the MC, but will still be on the edge of your seat completely compelled by the side characters.

Personally, my current favourite sidestory is the story of Naga “Gloomy”; there is absolutely 0 reason this side story needs to exist let alone be this good and I am absolutely looking forward to see how the author keeps cooking. Horned Rats and Humans easily fight for second place.

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tl;dr; This is a recommended read.

Review as of CH.170