Chapter 319: A Three-Thousand-Word Leave Request, Chatting About Volume Two

A Three-Thousand-Word Leave Request, Chatting About Volume Two

Today's update didn't go smoothly; I haven't achieved a satisfactory result yet, but I'm already exhausted. So after thinking it over, I've decided to take a day off to adjust.

Since I actually do have time to write, it's just that I'm unsatisfied with what I produce, so it seems I shouldn't just toss out a leave request and run away. After much thought, I'll just chat about this and that.

Of course, some readers might think, "Who wants to see you ramble here? I want to see story updates." In that case, you're right. I'm sorry. I will strive to make my updates more stable in the future to repay your expectations for the story. Please forgive me a few times. Thank you.

Hmm, what was I trying to say?

Let's talk about why many readers feel that Volume Two of this book "lacks the atmosphere of Volume One."

First, to state the obvious, the fact that "the atmosphere of Volume Two is different from Volume One" so far is not an illusion, but a reality. In fact, in creating Volume Two up to now, I have been proceeding with the attitude of "hoping to write the story atmosphere a bit more lightly than before."

The kind of story readers want to see, one with an atmosphere similar to Volume One, will mostly appear in the "third part" of Volume Two.

Speaking of the third part, we have to discuss the internal division of Volume Two.

During the planning phase, Volume Two initially didn't have this much content. At the very beginning, the content I had planned in my outline was actually only two parts: "Kingdom Observations" and "Main Plot." That is to say, the original content of Volume Two was actually just the Fang Ting City team going to the Kingdom for assessment, then briefly covering the assessment part, and cutting into the main plot just like in Volume One.

But ultimately, when planning Volume Two in detail, I chose to expand the content, turning the entire Volume Two into a "large volume." In fact, Volume Two might become the longest volume of this book.

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

Among them, the first part, P1, has a subtitle I privately came up with: the "Shadow of Claw Marks" arc. This is content added completely on top of the original draft of Volume Two.

The story content I wanted to complete in this part involves the warming relationship between Bai Jingxuan and Senior Cuique, the subtle shift in the relationship between Lin Xiaolu and Senior Cuique, the introduction of the key character Emerald, the return of Asano Yuuka, and the introduction of some related concepts of the "Claw Marks" organization.

Because the effect I originally wanted was for P1 of Volume Two to be light enough that readers wouldn't have to worry about "whether there are depressing plots here," allowing them to read this part of the story with ease. So regarding the setting of the villain, I chose to design the Claw Marks cadre "Red Kite" as a person with an indifferent moral sense, acting on whim, but without any clear evil thoughts. In fact, at the very beginning, I didn't even design a complete boss battle for Kite. I originally wanted her to attend the Fang Ting team's New Year's dinner, mooch a meal, then slap her butt and leave to fool her superiors.

It's just that later, I felt such a plot might be too loose and violate the setting of the Claw Marks organization. Although Kite, in terms of character design, should be such a character, designing it this way was too childish. So ultimately, I introduced Bai Lang early, and under her promotion, created a boss battle. This resulted in the legendary 2-vs-9 that many found a bit subtle, making Kite's combat power look perhaps too strong? However, this degree of deviation was within the plan and can be resolved by filling the plot holes later, so the final P1 became what everyone sees now.

Next is the P2 part, which I am currently creating. Its subtitle is concise: the "Kingdom Assessment Arc."

This is also a point I originally didn't intend to write in detail, because at the very beginning, I just wanted to use this excuse to send the protagonist team to the Kingdom to expand the story map. I even planned to gloss over the assessment process of the three juniors in a single stroke, only writing about Senior Cuique reuniting with Mo He in the Kingdom, and briefly covering the past story related to the Garden Defense Battle, and then this part could end.

But everyone reading this should have noticed that the P2 actually written so far is completely at odds with my "original idea."

The current P2 is a super hodgepodge composed of a massive collection of main and side plots: the relationship between Senior Cuique and the Magic Affairs Bureau, the past between Senior Cuique and Mo He, potential clashes between Senior Cuique and other Gem Scepters, the assessment process of the juniors, attacks by Claw Marks and Black Ash Dawn, Wang Ting's secrets, the ecology of Newcomer magic girls in the new era... and so on, an excessive amount of elements.

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

In my plan, P2 of Volume Two is no longer a simple expansion of the story map or a transitional part explaining the past between Senior Cuique and Mo He. My current expectation is for P2 to become a "background reference book" for the story of After-Work Demon.

I have added numerous settings in this part: the scenery and appearance of the Kingdom, the customs of the Kingdom, the ecology of the people, and its power structure... and more, the other magic girls active in this world. I hope that through this P2, readers will feel that the worldview has become broader and richer.

So I slowed down the pace and began to enrich the experiences of the Fang Ting City team during this trip to the Kingdom, hoping these observations will make the world of this story more detailed and make most settings have a basis.

The effect I strive for is that after readers finish P2, if they imagine the scene of "becoming a Newcomer magic girl and going to the Kingdom for assessment," they can envision a detailed and complete process.

This approach is actually quite willful, and I am aware of it, because the increase in settings will inevitably slow down the progress of the plot, making people feel it is "filler." Combined with my already not very optimistic update speed, this has become even more anxiety-inducing.

But even if I have to apologize to everyone, I will not change my mind. In fact, even though I am writing with great difficulty right now, I do not intend to change my thoughts. Because I believe this is a necessary thing, a preparation to make the story of After-Work Demon warmer and to make the subsequent stories more moving for you.

In the process of perfecting these detailed settings, I actually found myself very tired, far more tired than pushing the predetermined main plot according to the outline. It can be said to be completely thankless work. Including today's writer's block, it was also due to this line of thinking, causing me to keep thinking of new content while writing this plot.

However, 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 exceeded my expectations, causing me to expend far more mental energy on filling in the details than I imagined...

But even so, I believe that although during the update phase, the slow plot progress and the content of filling in a large amount of detail in the early stage of P2 will make people anxious while following, after I finish this project, the story experience later will be better.

So please give me a little trust. I also hope that when reading the P2 part, everyone can maintain a very relaxed and happy mood. If there is anywhere that makes you feel unhappy while reading, please scold me. I hope that after scolding me, your mood when reading this part of the story will be happier.

Regarding the content of the Kingdom Assessment Arc, I can also be open with everyone. The upcoming process will mostly revolve around the experiences of the three teams where the four members of the Fang Ting City team are located during the assessment. And a small amount of stories seen from the perspective of the Gem Scepters on the viewing platform, and from the perspective of other passerby magic girls. The first three items of the practical assessment are purely internal competition among the candidates and will not involve Claw Marks or Black Ash Dawn. So at this stage, you can completely adopt a mindset of "watching the juniors perform" to witness the stories of various incompetents. I will try my best to write about the growth of the juniors in this part of the story, using this as a starting point to gradually open the process of the handover between old and new members of the Fang Ting City team.

Oh, this doesn't mean Senior Cuique will be marginalized and no longer be the protagonist once the juniors grow up. After-Work Demon is, after all, primarily Senior Cuique's story. It's just that after the juniors gradually grow up, the relationship and status within the team might also undergo some changes? Of course, these plans are a bit distant, at least something for after Volume Three, so let's put that aside for now.

Speaking solely of P2 of Volume Two, everyone must be clear that as the saying goes, "without coincidence, there is no story." If there are no accidents, the story of the P2 assessment arc would be a bit too top-heavy. So at the end of the practical assessment, external forces will inevitably be introduced, officially starting the plot of the collision between Senior Cuique, the Kingdom, and Claw Marks. And the true truth of the Garden Defense Battle, the exact relationship between Mo He and Senior Cuique, Bai Lang's purpose, the schemes of the Gem Scepters... these are all contents that will be gradually revealed in the later stage of P2. Please look forward to it.

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

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

Regarding its specific content, I am not willing to reveal too much 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 Volume One of this book. Therefore, what P3 presents will again be a story with very heavy emotional color, carrying the salty taste of tears and the warm sweetness of comfort.

In short, because thinking about details is too tiring, I got writer's block today and am taking a day off!