SolBalmung wrote:Author: JYUMONJI Ao
Illustrator: BUNBUN
Publisher: Kadokawa Shoten
Summary:
Maria Rose is burdened with debt after a strange event, and her sword, "Fake Consuming Inferno" is confiscated. At that time, Katari, a member of her clan, got a hold of some profitable information, but to obtain it, they have to go to an "Underground Raid", but things aren't as easy as it seems...
I know it's not much of a Summary, the only one I found btw so I'll try explaining bit (as I've read the manga that is the adaptation of the LN); The story take place in world of heroic phantasy where people called "crackers" (much like adventurers and treasure hunters) form guilds and go explore underground labyrinths that reeks of danger and treasure. Now the story revolves around the main protagonist Maria Rose,(wich gender is still a mystery for me as he/she have girlish traits and aspects yet proclaim to be a guy) and the guild it belongs too.
Light Novel Cover:
Light Novel Illustrations:
No offense, but her sword was never confiscated...
Maria's gender is still hidden, but there are indications that show that it is probably a she...
Personally, its a rather good novel, but I don't recommend reading it. It is a novel that is of the dark side seriously... Rape, murder, robbery, arson, betrayal, insanity... You name it, they have it.
Maria is a beautiful person(gender yet to be revealed up to where I read), and Maria seems to have been a slave. His/her beauty captivated his/her owner, causing his/her owner to be over-possessive of him/her. Unlike other slaves, Maria was treated differently, and was all alone. (Whenever someone gets close to Maria, the owner would cause the eventual death of that person, as Maria is that special to him. Maria picked up his/her alchemy skills from the owner, but is simply a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.)
Maria's weapon is a fake of the "Consuming Inferno", and with the group they are in, upon hearing that the real deal is actually located under the labyrinth under the city, they decided to have a go at it.
Members of the group Maria is in...(You definitely need some normal people in there, seriously), also some other side characters(Cant recall the names at such short notice, sorry):
Maria, gender unknown, no special qualities other than exceptional looks, some alchemy skills. Eventually became acting leader of the guild, because Maria has the clearest mind, and his/her lack of abilities and quick reflexes places him/her at a good position to oversee everything. Maria is pestered by a guy, leader of another guild, bearing an insanely strong weapon and is almost capable to fight against Tomato-kun? They have yet to truly go all out, so I can't say for sure who will win yet.
Tomato-kun, real name unknown, was known as Melon-kun last time. Leader of the guild/group. Does not seem to care about details. Appears to have lived for perhaps centuries. Was well-known in a period of time? His armor allows him to change into a form even mightier than he normally is, and is almost as strong as a demi-god?
The cleric you see in the illustration is like an elder sister in the guild. Her relationship is closest to the monk in the guild, yet at the same time you can consider it as the most distant. Despite her cheerful attitude, she packs a punch, as she was trained by the monk. It was revealed that she isn't who she really is. I am not sure which to consider her as... Once, Tomato-kun and the monk passed by the streets and saw a pair of sisters, dead. I think it was the elder sister, who got killed physically, but her brain was still usable, and the younger sister had her brain killed. The monk suddenly had a "stroke of genius and curiosity", what happens if I resurrect these two girls? She was the result. The monk feels extreme guilt towards her, thus teaching her the martial arts that she requested. Monk believes that she hates him, and there are indications that goes both ways.
Behind the cleric in the illustration, the left most is a pale looking girl. Born upon a star of misfortune, she brought misery to all around her. Despite that, her fate also made her into one of the most talented mages around. She was expelled by her master if I recall, and despite her master telling her to go in a certain direction(forgot which direction), she looked into her own fate/destiny(fortune telling), and saw that if she could find someone in blazing armor(Tomato-kun fits the description), she could change her fate. Fell in love with Tomato-kun, making her really shy towards him. P.S. The one beside her in the illustration is Tomato-kun.
The one beside the red-haired Maria is Mr. Fish. I can't recall his name, but because of his looks, he is always referred to as being a Merman/Fish. Maria makes fun of this trait of his a lot. Wields dual axes, and is the weakest in the group, being only stronger than Maria. Is of average standards(The rest of the guild are all a little extraordinary). Specialty is dying(and getting revived. With monks, and equipment, and paying a hefty sum, one can get a revival).
Tomato-kun has a slave that rarely talks. This slave obeys Tomato-kun to the extent that if Tomato-kun tells him to go and die, he would jump and kill himself willingly and happily. This slave was an ex-assassin, brainwashed and manipulated for maximum effect. He had someone he loved, only to eventually find out that everything she has said to him were all pre-made, just so he would fall in love with her, make love with her, and cannot leave her so he can be manipulated by their master. Eventually left, and met Tomato-kun. Wields twin daggers, one for slicing, the other for ripping, thus allowing him to perform any type of kills. Very swift and strong.
Monk, one of the rare and talented. While a resurrection would require about 10 monks, he could project himself into multiple images and conduct the revival ceremony alone. Due to having broken some rules, he was expelled from his temple, and he happily joins Tomato-kun and his gang.
There is a hunter girl that is occasionally with the group, but not all too often. Has a partner wolf by her side that only listens and obeys her. Loves Tomato-kun ever since she was young. This also implies that Tomato-kun does not seem to show any signs of aging, but she does not care. Archer type.
There is also a friend of the group, a rather old man with a maid. Seems to know some parts of Tomato-kun's past, but not much revealed. Joined them in one arc of the story.
Side character:
There is a mage wielding an oversized sword, a girl that brings Maria trouble all the time. Very ignorant and stupid, yet tries hard to do her best, but gets into more trouble. She once saved a man, who eventually became her guardian, and hates Maria, showing perhaps signs of jealousy? or simply due to Maria's bad attitude to this mage. Later in the story it was revealed that the mage is actually about to die. Master mages sometimes see children bearing magical gift and would steal these babies from their parents. This mage is one example. Upon the master's experiments, her brain is pretty much fried, and she had to live on "supplements" by her teacher. Having met one of her seniors that ran away from the master, the senior revealed that those supplements were one of the reasons why she got her brain fried, yet if she stops taking it, she would die even sooner. Even so, she refuses to believe it. This drove her guardian quite mad, but could do nothing about it. The reason she wield such a big sword is because that was a gift from her master, and the senior revealed that it was an indication that she has lost the magical abilities she was born with, and could not be a mage, thus the master giving her a sword instead. Fails with magic often, but her guardian(due to her mistake, his body can take in some magic to boost his powers) tries to help her as far as possible.
Well, Baria no Maria has its moments of comedy, like Azian's attempts to confess to Maria... although that was in the manga. True, there might be some... unsavory parts, but it's interesting.