Whilst i wouldn't say it's a bland story. It's very cliche in it's opening execution. For anyone wondering, these first 5 chapters are about as cliche as you can make it, and unfortunately, the pacing of whats there and caricature of some of the characters does not lend it to being particularly well done. I'm reading cause I'm waiting for the eventual divergence these stories all have, where they start to build upon itself instead of relying on some premise, but don't jump in expecting anything particularly noteworthy.