Ichor Cell by An Actual Kiwi

Idk if it just me. Feels like im reading output from chatgpt

Honestly, this novel has great potential.

The fights are awesome, the characters' banter is enjoyable, and the power system is cool.

However the scaling, especially with respect to Alex is WAY off. I mean seriously,

Also, some plots just take a backseat for dozens of chapters??? and they're the important ones too??? No addressing of how or why they take a backseat they just DO. and some ideas feel downright abandoned.

Like,

The whole novel feels entirely downgraded after a while it's so annoying. It did seem to get better near the end but not nearly enough. There's no weight to it anymore.

Especially as Alex seemingly forgot about raising his power for some reason. I mean come on where's the training mate he just rests and fights with little to no progress

As someone else said as well, the characters also feel empty.

Still have hope it becomes more awesome though, those first chapters of promise are not a lie.

I mean, it's literally a great novel. Good hook at the beginning, proper villain intro as a result of his actions which i really liked and him having to come to the realisation of what he's done. I don't like how little he dwells on it but i don't know if i can make any more complaints really. If that's the author's vision that's his vision.

I only hate because I like it, hell i loved it. So when there's a bump it's agitating.

Awesome read, 7-8/10

Since it is free on royal road, gonna read there

At several dozen or so chapters in, I find the setting, plot line, and power system of this novel to be masterfully written. Each scene flows into the next, plot progression is neither abrupt nor jarring(save for how easily the mc accepts his transmigration and becomes a murderer, but few transmigration novels are able to handle that properly), and combat is violent, bloody and satisfying. I almost wholly enjoy reading this novel, however the most jarring, and really only, issue keeping this read from being any more than a 7/10(maybe 6.5) is the characters. The main character is cynical, witty, argumentative and loves to weave trendy language as he progresses through the story. This would be fine in itself, if not for the fact that every other character seems to have inherited this cadence. Dialogue is the same argumentative discourse over and over again, woven with cynicism, trendy language and constant rebuttals. No one takes an answer to a question at face value without the same, repetitive, argumentative vetting process and to be frank they don’t seem to show any difference in the same self-interested values the main character shows besides regret when it’s convenient to the dialogue. Oh, and underlings are polite and fearful when speaking to a superior with significantly more power than themselves. To be frank, the only thing dragging this story down are the one dimensional characters(of the same dimension) that give you the feeling that nothing is ever really going to change. I don't know what template the author is using for this(maybe themselves), but if they simply diversified the characters this would be a 10 for me.

Good job Kiwi. 4/5 for me so far, a good snack

Daoist Inkdrunk’s Review of Ichor Cell
—written after three cups of celestial liquor and one accidental soul-refinement

First, a bow to Mr. Meruem, the wandering cultivator who tossed this novel into my lap like a heavenly peach. Were it not for his efforts, I would've remained ignorant....like a blind sect elder preaching swordsmanship without ever touching a blade.

Now onto Ichor Cell, a story so strange, so rich, so cleverly monstrous that even this Daoist had to stop mid-sip and mutter, “...ah, so this is what quality tastes like.”

On the Protagonist — Alex, That Beautiful Disaster
Alex is not your sanitized, protagonist-tier cabbage sold in the mortal market.
He is a creature with teeth, wit, and just enough self-awareness to make you laugh while he devours something morally questionable.

He’s not an edgelord.
He’s not a saint.
He’s that rare breed of MC who thinks, schemes, jokes, survives, and suffers ...all with a charisma that sneaks under your skin like a slow-acting poison.

Some say they want more emotional depth.
This Daoist says: “Be grateful he has emotions at all. He was born a monster, not a therapist.”

On the World — A Colossal Funeral Poem
The world of Ichor Cell feels like the author carved it from the corpse of a fallen titan.
-Vast
-Hostile
-Beautiful
-Lore-fermented like ancient wine sealed under a mountain

The ecosystems breathe.
The factions feel ancient.
The lore isn’t dumped.... it seeps, like blood from a well-hidden wound.

Even the power system feels handcrafted, not imported from the Great Recycling Bin of Cultivation Tropes.

On Character Progression — Earned With Blood and Bad Decisions
This is not a “wake up and accidentally gain godhood” story.

Alex climbs by:
thinking
bleeding
panicking
improvising
.....occasionally committing war crimes by accident

Each step feels earned.
Each victory feels paid for.
Each setback feels like the author whispering:
“Struggle harder, child.”

On Writing — Polished Like a Sword That’s Actually Been Used
The prose flows.
The pacing rarely stumbles.
Dialogue snaps like cold bamboo.
A few stylistic oddities show up now and then, but nothing that breaks immersion....more like the author saying, “I write how I want, fight me.”

Updates arrive at a mortal-friendly pace. Consistent enough that we worry for the author’s health but read anyway.

Tone — Dark, Bloody, and Yet… Somehow Funny
The story is dark enough to make certain xianxia authors nod respectfully.
But instead of wallowing, it laughs.
A clever laugh.
That dangerous kind where you don’t know if the MC is joking, planning murder, or both.

If Edward Cullen had real fangs and actual existential dread instead of glitter, this is the version we would’ve gotten.

Final Verdict From a Drunken Daoist
Ichor Cell is top-shelf webfiction ....the kind you sip slowly and still end up intoxicated.

✔ A monstrous, clever MC
✔ A world deeper than many novels dare attempt
✔ A progression system that respects logic
✔ Real stakes
✔ Real brutality
✔ Real humor
✔ Real craftsmanship

If you're tired of mass-produced cultivation sludge and want something with flavor, sharpness, and genuine bite…

Read Ichor Cell.
Then thank Mr. Meruem again for passing the bottle.

—Daoist Inkdrunkwanderer,
Secluded Reviewer of the Ninth Peak of Bad Decisions

Royal road novel with few chapters, hmmm let this pole up more

Growing allies? A skill geared towards being alone, hm, I don't know about that.