I avoided web novels for ages because I knew this would happen to me, but then a friend recommended Shadow Slave to me last weekend and god damn it my life is over.
You read a chapter, around a thousand words. It ends on a light cliffhanger. You swipe to the next chapter. Repeat ad infinitum. Sometimes it takes me a long time to get through a longer book – I've been reading Don Juan for, like, a month now – but this? 300 chapters in a week. Around 300k words. Like nothing.
I have over 700 chapters to go before I catch up, but then what? I can hardly imagine a world where I stop at just one series, even though it has a new chapter every goddamn day. Maybe I check out the sources for other manwha and light novels I've read. Maybe I dive into that one where Florida Man is selling bath salts in another world. There are too many options. How many years of my life will disappear into reading mediocre but addicting progression fantasy a few hundred words at a time?
TL;DR I have a problem but at least I'm not on Reddit.
Happened to me with wildbow‘s worm — super long, but just stays so addictive.
I was waiting until they published an ebook version. On the FAQ they say it is coming, but I think that message has been there for years now.
However, I just realized that I could use Pocket to read it on my Kobo! So now Worm is finally om my TBR.
There are links out there for a concise epub version. I know that people say it's frowned upon to use those links. But, like you said, it's been years. Don't think it's gonna happen. The full epub is great.
Wtf. You can't stop. Forcing myself.