I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist

Quite a simple novel with no grandiose ideas but what it means to be a hero. There were several moments and scenes that have emotional impact. Side characters had a little depth but quite sadly they did not have impact towards fights until almost ending of novel where they showed how capable they are. I recommend reading this novel because it is not long and has it's own charms.

The rating definitely deserves to be higher. This novel takes readers on an emotional journey, particularly during the arc in the North, which I believe everyone should experience before forming an opinion. It’s been a while since a story left me with such a lingering void. Elroy is, without a doubt, one of my favorite protagonists. He stands out as a refreshingly unique character, especially when compared to the typical cold-hearted, psychopathic protagonists often found in similar novels. Elroy embodies qualities of selflessness, sacrifice, kindness, duty, and responsibility. What initially seemed like a cliché story quickly unfolded into something much deeper, and I found myself emotionally invested in his choices. The pacing of the novel is perfect, seamlessly blending action with plot development. All the characters feel genuine and fully fleshed out, each with distinct personalities. One of the most intriguing aspects is the duality between the Hero our protagonist, Elroy, and the Mercenary, the original "protagonist" of the story. This dynamic explores the contrast between two approaches to heroism, with Elroy, who carries the burden of the world on his shoulders and sacrifices himself selflessly, and the Mercenary, who chooses to prioritize his own world, acting out of pragmatism and self-interest. Elroy truly represents what it means to be a hero. He bears the weight of the world without seeking recognition, fighting to protect the world yet never wishing to place himself above it. To be honest, I was hesitant to read the novel due to comments about the Mercenary and the Saintess, but I found that even the moments that might have been frustrating were reflections of my own biases. In the end, there is no clear "right" or "wrong" in the decisions these characters make. The Mercenary’s choices, which stem from a desire to protect his own life and those closest to him, are relatable and represent what most ordinary people might choose. . . to put themselves first, to avoid dying for a stranger. In contrast, Elroy stands as the embodiment of a true hero, willing to sacrifice himself even for the smile of a stranger. . . And that is really sad to observe our Hero who gives everything for the salvations of others without ever getting his own happiness. I'm sure that type of protagonist is not the most popular and some could just thought of it as frustrating to be that that selfless, even for me, 3 years ago i'm sure I would have judged Elroy as foolish like the mercenary. But I'm sure even in our world there are people capable of that level of selflessness and compassion. The story’s ending is ultimately bittersweet, perfectly reflecting the nature of Elroy’s character, reminding us of the quiet strength in selflessness, even if it comes at great personal cost. That novel is a masterpiece (from my own pov and subjectively from my own enjoyment), The story is neither short or long, sure some aspects could have been better and more developed, but all the characters feel real and have good development. If you are ready to be heartbroken with our sacrificial Elroy go ahead. To finish, dont be bothered by the "Harem" or the cliche of the title. While there may be romantic elements, they are not the focal point of the narrative. Instead, the story is rich with emotional stakes and moral dilemmas, making for a genuinely engaging read, and I can assure all of you, the story is free from most cliches of KR webnovels.

Short and concise story. No repetitive scenarios and could have perhaps extended the plotline by a couple hundred chapters. There is not much development of side characters. Anyhow, the story is quite good.

This is one of the best novels i’ve ever read definitely a 10/10. It goes over topics of self sacrifice, true kindness, heroism philosphy. It executes amazing character interactions and makes you really appreciate the main character. Elroy is a amazing character and I want to kiss the authors *ss for making him.

Story is interesting, only really suffers from a bit of weak translation or author makes mistakes here and there concerning POV changes during conversations, makes for a bit of confusion in the early chapters until you get used to it. The MC can be seen as boring by some as he embodies traits of the ideal Hero which is honestly kinda one-dimensional, none of that 'finessing the system to get stronger' rampant in other isekai tagged stories, yet this is acceptable as his whole character symbolizes hope with selfless intentions which results in things naturally coming his way rather than through plot convenience. Now as for my 3 star rating, that stems from 2 main gripes, that being the side characters and the world building. The side characters aren't bad, they just annoy me with how weak their reason for character growth seems. George is a prime example of this, he's the 'dad vibes' character in the group who gets worried over others and lifts spirits during times of celebration/relaxation, he went from stubborn and stern to becoming relaxed through being proven wrong, this was his only real change. Daphne was similar considering we got a flashback and resolution to her trauma within like 4 chapters of her introduction, then she becomes the same as any hero admirer infatuated with him. Marianne, iris and Arjen seemed like the most interesting ones given the girls have Andrei to give context and insight into their growth sprinkled/insinuated throughout the story alongside the MCs POV while MC does the same for Arjen via comparing him to his novel counterpart. The reasoning frustrates me (and seemingly others as well) as they all have the same issue being they are stubborn in their ways simply because they have power in one form or another, then MC who isn't as powerful (whatever form it may concern) comes and humbles them through leading virtues which causes more frustration since they justify themselves with useless excuses after that which feel either fake AF or like a child learning there are consequences to rash decision making. Like seriously? it took a Chad to stop by and call u out on your BS to realize u might be doing something wrong? SMH MY HEAD. Then the worldbuilding, this is simple as there really isn't much expanded upon, it's as basic as it gets, not much is taken advantage of to garner more interest in the world this takes place in. The 4 cities that exist on the continent are described as 'holy city', 'capital city', 'harbor town', and 'northern forest/fortress city'. . . that's it. With quick descriptions like that without going into more details, the canvas remains basic. The major figures of the world can be categorized the same, Queen, Pope, Arch Duke, simple placeholders who were loosely expanded upon aside for the Queen who i guess becomes a love interest later? (i dropped when she starts getting touchy feely with MC since it felt weirdly predatory). Arch Duke was constantly praised by MC and even introduced his fam but they didn't go too into detail other than "HE'S HONERABLE, OMG HE SO STRONG AND DIED FOR OUR SINZ LIKE A REAL HERO" like ok bro is a chad, and is protective of family/friends, what else? his interests? Hobbies? See what i mean. All in all, my wall of text was made in a drunken fuge so excuse my rambling, but this is my opinion on this story which i think would be better as a fairy tale recounting type approach rather than an isekai adventure.

Great novel. Lured me in with it's title and synopsis then kept me reading with a decent story. Only reason my rating wasn't higher is because of where my head was at. Couldn't fully appreciate it.

It's been a while since I read a story where the main character isn't an anti-hero , or a "realist" who understands the "truths" of the world, to be honest, it's a breath of fresh air

An excellent story. It takes the most classical story of a hero defeating demons and monster to protect. But it shines through the fact that it doesn't stay superficial. It goes deep in what a hero is, their mentality and duty. And in the end you can't help but admit that this MC is one the pure definition of Hero. Very enjoyable. Nice writing and translation.

it's been a wild week binging (idk how it took me a week to binge this) but it's been nice i really like the Elroy and the others character they're well written same with the story, it's not an op transmigrator (if that's how you spell it) novel. . . the only cliche thing is the academy even then the twist at the end wasn't cliche for the review: Story: 8 could be better but its great Characters: 10 they have their own personalities and isn't overwhelming Writing: 9 it's almost perfect Translation: 9 the translator really did a good job Overall: 9/10 would probably read again

This story is certainly worth a read--it isn't unnecessarily bloated or overly derivative. However, it desperately needs an editor. Not that the translation is bad: the translation is actually fine. There are just far too many jumps into different first-person perspectives and too many inconsistent moments of narrative time, and overall more pages should be spent on characterization. The characters all have a lot of potential, but they feel flat all too often due to insufficient time spent to flesh them out. I'd love to see the author revisit this story, make substantial revisions, and publish it as a standalone novel.