The manhwa medium is undoubtedly very popular for its typically over-the-top tropes, where superhuman strength and epic battles often steal the spotlight. But it can't be said that there's something undeniably captivating about protagonists who rely on strategy and wit rather than brute force to achieve their goals.
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These characters rely more on their intellectual abilities, wit, and careful planning to defeat their opponents, proving that brains do indeed trump brawn. In this piece, we'll highlight the best manhwa titles that fall into this category, exploring how the central character emphasizes their intellect and skills and their detailed plot twists. That's why the best manhwa with protagonists who prefer brains to brats are below.
10 The Kings Avatar
Alternative titles: Full-time expert
- Creative: Butterfly Blue, Chang Pan Yongzhe, D. Ian Cang Lan
- Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sports
- Number of chapters: 169 (in progress)
E-Sports is taking center stage Kings Avatar series, following the protagonist Ye Xiu, an unbeatable expert in the multiplayer online game Glory. Through Ye Xiu, the series explores professional gaming from a somewhat exaggerated perspective, detailing what professional gaming really looks like.
After being forcefully expelled from his professional team, Ye Xiu finds a job as a manager at an internet cafe. However, as a seasoned player with ten years of experience in Glory, the urge to jump back into the game after releasing his tenth server is irresistible. With memories of the past and a goal to get back to the top, Ye Xiu begins his journey back to professional gaming.
9 Secret Academy Professor
Alternative Names: N/A
- Creative: Tana, Sayren, Wag
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural
- Number of chapters: 93 (in progress)
Secret Academy Professor represents the many lives of the central character. This young man is reincarnated into the magical world after he died suddenly due to his disbelief in his mother's teachings about religion. Now in this new life he is Professor Ludger Chelysia or is that really the case? Or is it the dreaded Machiavelli or the infamous Gerrard?
Professor Ludger Chelysie, who assumes many identities in order to continue his quest, is just another of the many identities needed for his goal. When the real Ludger dies aboard a train, he assumes the professor's identity, unaware that the owner of his new identity is involved with a deep and dark secret. Now, as Professor Ludger, he must ensure that his cover is exposed.
8 Exaggeratedly
Alternative Names: N/A
- Creative: Saenal, Monohumbug
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- Number of chapters: 255 (in progress)
The Exaggeratedly the series takes VR gaming to the next level and follows the life of Shin Youngwoo, the protagonist. There is no in-between time for people like Youngwoo in the online game 'Satisfy'. You are either among the best or among the lowest.
Youngwoo finds himself part of the unfortunate lows until he accidentally discovers a legendary class item called Pagma's Successor, which transforms him into the game's most skilled blacksmith. Now, Youngwoo is able to produce the best gaming equipment and gear and is on his way to legendary fame and fortune, all by creating and selling gear.
7 The Queen's Kingdom
Alternative Names: N/A
- Creative: Bitor, Chira
- Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Historical
- Number of chapters: 124
The Queen's Kingdom it is exactly what its name sounds like: a kingdom ruled and governed by a queen. The series is based in the kingdom of Blenheim, where the national ruler is a woman, but the nation is created for men.
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However, since the highest authority of the nation belongs to the woman, and the nation is a nation where women are also limited in what they can do or be equal to, it is only a matter of time before women's ambition takes over the hearts of the people. The series follows four girls from the Kingdom of Blenheim who set the crown as their ultimate goal and are hell-bent on changing the kingdom.
6 Legendary Moonlight Sculptor
Alternative Names: N/A
- Creative: Lee Do-Gyeong, Nam Heesung. Kim Tae-Hyung
- Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
- Number of chapters: 169 (in progress)
Legendary Moonlight Sculptor it details an extensive story about the essence of being able to work within means, albeit obsessively, through the lens of virtual reality gaming. The central character of the story, Hyun Lee, lives in poverty with his grandmother and works part-time.
To earn money, Hyun Lee is no stranger to tasks until he enters the virtual reality game Royal Road. By accepting a side job to become a sculptor, Hyun Lee realizes that he can make money through acting. However, with very low sculpting fees, Hyun decides to build a figure skilled enough to save his family from poverty.
5 How to use Returner
Alternative names: Regressor Instructions for Use
- Creative: Home, wooden spoon, midnight studio
- Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
- Number of chapters: 116 (in progress)
Being suddenly summoned to a separate world crawling with monsters that have nothing but the ability to see the skills of others sounds like a truly terrifying experience, and Giyoung Lee couldn't agree more. How to use Returner series. Giyoung finds his life changed forever one random night after he is suddenly summoned to another world where survival is a game of life and death.
Summoned alongside the other players and with nothing but a single skill that allows him to see the skills of others, Giyoung quickly learns that monsters are the least of his worries. Giyoung finds an opportunity when she meets another character, Hyunsung, who she discovers is a regressor of this new world. With her cunning wit, Giyoung finds Hyunsung the perfect shield to ensure his survival and eventual return to his old life.
Alternative Names: N/A
- Creative: Jee Gab Song, Carrotoon
- Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
- Number of chapters: 105 (in progress)
Novel supplement zooms in on the reality of the protagonist's creation, following the central character Kim Hajin as he suddenly wakes up in the world of his own web novel. As if it couldn't get worse, Kim was only reincarnated as an extra in the book and this was nothing short of a nightmare for him.
Kim Hajin, who has no choice but to look into the whole story, is lucky because he knows everything in this world, including everything that is about to happen. However, Kim Hajin becomes certain of what he knows when the story begins to deviate from his original designs.
3 The largest real estate developer
Alternative Names: N/A
- Creative: BK_Moon, Lee Hyun-Min
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- Number of chapters: 167 (in progress)
The largest real estate developer subverts the overpowered MC trope that usually follows a series of reincarnations through its protagonist Suho Kim. The story begins with the central character, Suho Kim, after he falls asleep while reading a web novel. He mysteriously wakes up to find that he has been reincarnated into a novel he was reading as the character Lloyd Frontera of the declining Frontera noble family.
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Even worse, his family is on the verge of drowning in debt. With a new life and no way to go back to his old self, Suho, Lloyd decides to prevent his family from going bankrupt. Relying on his engineering knowledge from his previous life, Lloyd begins designing inventions with the hopes of raising enough to change his family's fate.
2 The dregs of the earl family
Alternate titles: Lout of The Count's Family
- Creative: Elegant Yoo Ryeo Han
- Genre: Action, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure
- Number of chapters: 134 (in progress)
The dregs of the earl family presents a special story alongside a special central character in this exciting reincarnation series. The story begins with the central character Kim Roksu, an ordinary young man who finds himself reincarnated into his favorite novel. Not only was he reincarnated, but he was reincarnated as Cale Henituse, the eldest son of Count Henituse and a minor villain in the novel's original story.
Even worse, Cale is the first villain to die at the hands of Choi Han, the original hero of the story. Kim Roksu, now Cale Henituse, knows his destiny and is determined to avert this very future and is willing to do anything. However, Cale's actions inadvertently affect the original timeline of the story.
1 The charm of a returnee should be special
Alternate Names: Returner's Special Magic
- Creative: Sun-Wook Jeon, So-Nan Yoo
- Genre: Action, Comedy, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Supernatural, Slice of Life
- Number of chapters: 269 (in progress)
The charm of a returnee should be special is a magnificent mix of regression and fantasy, the premise of which is the destruction, or supposed destruction, of all humanity. The series revolves around the central character Desire Hermann, humanity's last hope, along with five other heroes against the Shadow World.
The six heroes are on the brink of destruction in a final battle to defeat their enemies, until Desir mysteriously awakens thirteen years in the past, just before the entrance exams for the Hebrion Wizarding Academy. With a golden second chance to prevent the world from being destroyed, Desir is determined to put his life on the line again.
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