Chapter 319: A 3,000-Character Leave Request, Let

A 3,000-character leave request, let’s chat about Volume Two.

Today’s update didn't go very smoothly; I haven't managed to edit it to a satisfactory state yet, and I’m already exhausted. After some thought, I’ve decided to take a day off to recharge.

It’s not that I don’t have the time to write, but rather that I’m not satisfied with what I’ve written. I feel like I shouldn't just toss out a leave request and run off, so after mulling it over, I figured I’d chat about this and that instead.

Of course, some readers might think, "Who wants to watch you ramble here? I want to read the story update." You’re actually right, and I’m sorry. I will strive to make my updates more consistent in the future to reward your expectations for the story. Please forgive me a few times; thank you.

Hmm, what was I going to say?

Let’s talk about Volume Two of this book and why many readers feel it lacks the "atmosphere of the first volume."

First, to be clear: the fact that the atmosphere of Volume Two is different from the first is not an illusion, but a reality. In fact, while creating Volume Two, I have been operating with the attitude of "hoping to write a story with a more relaxed atmosphere than before."

The kind of story readers want to see—one "similar in atmosphere to the first volume"—will generally appear in the "third part" of Volume Two.

Speaking of the third part, I have to discuss the internal structure of Volume Two.

During the planning stage, Volume Two didn't actually have this much content. At the very beginning, my outline only planned for two parts: "Observations in the Kingdom" and the "Main Plot." In other words, the original content of Volume Two was just for the Fang Ting squad to go to the Kingdom for their assessment, and after briefly covering the assessment, it would cut to the main plot just like in the first volume.

But ultimately, when planning Volume Two in detail, I chose to expand the content, turning the entire volume into a "major volume." It might even end up being the longest volume of this book.

I have divided the entire volume into three parts, which I personally refer to as P1, P2, and P3.

The first part, P1, for which I privately gave the subtitle "Shadow of the Claw Mark," is content added entirely on top of the original version of Volume Two.

The story content I wanted to complete in this part was the warming of the relationship between Bai Jing and Cuique, the subtle shift in the relationship between Lin Xiaolu and Cuique, the addition of the key character Emerald, the return of Asou Maruka, and the introduction of some concepts related to the organization "Claw Mark."

Because the effect I originally wanted was for P1 of Volume Two to be relaxed enough that readers wouldn't have to worry about "depressing plot points" and could read it with ease. Regarding the villain, I chose to design the Claw Mark executive "Red Kite" as someone with apathetic morals and a whimsical nature, but without any clearly evil intentions. At first, I didn't even give Kite a full boss fight; I wanted her to attend the Fang Ting squad's New Year's dinner, mooch a meal, and then leave to fool her superiors.

But later, I felt that such a plot might be too sloppy and violate the setting of the Claw Mark organization. Although Kite is the type of character who would do that, such a design would be too much of a farce. So, in the end, I introduced Bai Lang early, and under her instigation, a boss fight was created—the "Legendary 2 vs. 9" that many felt was a bit subtle, which made Kite's combat power seem too high? However, this degree of deviation was within the plan and can be resolved later, so P1 ended up as you all saw.

And then, there is the part I am currently writing, P2, with a concise and clear subtitle: "Kingdom Assessment Arc."

This was also a point I didn't originally intend to write in detail, because I only wanted to use it as an excuse for the protagonist's squad to visit the Kingdom and expand the plot map. I even planned to gloss over the assessment process of the three juniors, just write about Cuique reuniting with Mohe in the Kingdom, and incidentally mention the past story related to the Garden Defense Battle, and then this part would be over.

But as everyone reading this has likely noticed, the P2 currently being written is, to put it mildly, the polar opposite of my "initial thoughts."

The current P2 is a super hodgepodge of a massive amount of main and side plots: the relationship between Cuique and the Magic Affairs Institute, the past between Cuique and Mohe, the potential clashes between Cuique and other Gem Scepters, the juniors' assessment process, the attacks by Claw Mark and Black Ash Dawn, the secrets of the Royal Court, the ecology of new-era rookie magical girls... and so on, an overwhelming number of elements.

The reason for this is that my positioning for P2 has changed.

In my plan, P2 of Volume Two is no longer just a transitional part to expand the map and explain the past of Cuique and Mohe. My current expectation is for P2 to become the "background reference book" for the story of *Off-Duty Magical Girl*.

I have added many settings in this part: the scenery and style of the Kingdom, its customs, the ecology of the people, its power structure... and even more magical girls active in this world. I hope that through this P2, readers will feel that the "world-building has become broader and richer."

So I slowed down my pace and began to enrich the experiences of the Fang Ting squad during this trip to the Kingdom, hoping these observations would make the world of this story more detailed and give most of the settings a solid foundation.

The effect I strive for is that after reading P2, if a reader imagines the scene of "becoming a rookie magical girl and going to the Kingdom for an assessment," they can envision a detailed and complete process.

I am aware that this approach is actually quite self-indulgent, because the increase in settings will inevitably slow down the plot progression, which makes people feel it is "filler." Combined with my already less-than-optimistic update speed, this makes people even more anxious.

However, even if I have to apologize to everyone, I will not change my mind. Even though I am writing very hard right now, I don't intend to change my mind. Because I believe this is necessary; it is preparation to make the story of *Off-Duty Magical Girl* warmer and to make the later story more touching for you.

In the process of perfecting these detailed settings, I am actually very tired, far more tired than pushing the established main plot according to the outline. It can be said that it is completely thankless. Including today's writer's block, it is because of this line of thinking that I have to think of new content every time I write this part of the plot.

But I must clarify one point: the writer's block in this part is not because I don't know how to write the plot, but because the amount of detail that needs to be filled in this part exceeds my expectations, causing me to spend far more mental energy on filling in details than I imagined...

But even so, I believe that although the slow plot progress and the large amount of detailed filling in the early stages of P2 will make people anxious while following, once I finish this project, the experience of the later story will be better.

So please give me some trust. I also hope that when you read the P2 part, you can hold a relaxed and happy mood. If there is any place that makes you feel unhappy, please scold me. I hope that after scolding me, you will feel happier when reading this part of the story.

As for the content of the Kingdom Assessment Arc, I can give you a bottom line: the following process will generally revolve around the experiences of the three squads where the four members of Fang Ting are located. And a small amount of stories seen from the perspective of the Gem Scepters on the viewing platform, as well as the perspectives of other bystander magical girls. The first three items of the practical assessment are purely internal competition among candidates and will not involve Claw Mark or Black Ash Dawn. So at this stage, you can completely hold the mentality of "watching the juniors perform" and witness the stories of various greenhorns. I will try my best to write about the growth of the juniors in this part of the story, and use this as a starting point to gradually start the process of the old handing over to the new in the Fang Ting squad.

Oh, this doesn't mean that Cuique will be marginalized and no longer the protagonist once the juniors grow up. After all, *Off-Duty Magical Girl* is mainly Cuique's story, but as the juniors gradually grow up, there may be some changes in the relationship and status within the team? Of course, these plans are a bit distant, at least after the third volume, so we won't mention them for now.

Regarding P2 of Volume Two alone, everyone must be very clear that there are no coincidences in a story. If there are no accidents, the story of the P2 assessment arc would be too top-heavy. Therefore, at the end of the practical assessment, external forces will inevitably be introduced, and the plot of the three-way collision between Cuique, the Kingdom, and Claw Mark will officially begin. As for the true truth of the Garden Defense Battle, what is the relationship between Mohe and Cuique, the purpose of Bai Lang, the schemes of the Gem Scepters... these are all contents that will be gradually revealed in the later stages of P2, so please look forward to it.

As for P3 of Volume Two, which is the true main line originally planned for this volume, I might still have to keep you in suspense.

My current plan is to complete all the content of the assessment arc before August or September of this year, and then enter P3 of Volume Two in September.

I don't want to reveal too much about its specific content for now, but after P2 ends, I should also open a summary and talk a bit more.

I can only give a relatively vague promise: P3 of Volume Two will return to Fang Ting City and will also return to the style of the first volume of this book. Therefore, what P3 presents will again be a story with very heavy emotional colors, carrying the salty taste of tears and the warm sweetness of home.

In short, because thinking about details is too hard, I have writer's block today, so I'm taking a day off!