Final Thoughts on the Completed Book

I want to make a summary, but I have so many thoughts and don't know where to begin.

Let's talk about the ending.

Roger's departure at the end was predetermined from the beginning.

The manner and circumstances of his departure are similar, and it slightly echoes the scene when he left Tongma Town.

From the moment Roger walked alone into the Great Wetland, he was destined to always bravely move forward alone.

The same is true of the tone of this book.

Although I tried to create some supporting characters during the writing process, they were all superficial, and very few supporting characters had a particularly large role, except for a certain plot device.

In yesterday's chapter discussion.

Some readers jokingly called this ending "the tool person defeated the partner," and I found it brilliant!

That is indeed its true nature.

For Roger...

He has a strong enough heart.

He might feel lonely.

They may need companionship.

But in practice...

He just needs a partner.

He is a microcosm of our experience playing single-player games—

We may have experienced an epic and magnificent storyline.

We may have defeated all sorts of monsters.

We may have witnessed the beautiful and enchanting scenery along the way.

But we were one person from beginning to end.

This kind of loneliness carries a lot of weight.

At least I personally enjoy this feeling.

When playing single-player games.

I can always get completely absorbed in it.

I will forget all the troubles and worries of the Real World.

At that moment, I was invincible.

The same goes for this novel.

In reality, I may be afraid of loneliness, or I may be sentimental, or I may be burdened by all sorts of mundane matters.

But when I became Roger.

I will become very pure.

Simply becoming stronger is enough to make me incredibly happy.

This is probably the initial source of my impulse to write this book.

After finishing the ending, I went back to read "The Mage".

I still slap my thigh narcissistically from time to time:

"It's fucking gorgeous!"

Especially the first one.

My favorite part is Roger's journey after he embarked on his Southern Journey.

Those were the most wonderful times.

Just like our youth.

The scenery was beautiful at that time, and the breeze was gentle.

Everything is just beginning.

Start.

This means infinite possibilities.

It contains a longing that stirs the heart and soul.

It makes people eagerly anticipate tomorrow.

Strangely enough.

When tomorrow actually arrives.

No matter how wonderful he is.

It also falls short of the expectations I had in my fantasies.

Laugh.

"The Mage" is a very good work.

I absolutely love it.

Despite his many shortcomings.

Moreover, the ending phase caused a very bad reading experience for everyone—I apologize again here. If I hadn't suffered a severe blow to my mind and body and almost couldn't hold on, I wouldn't have suddenly stopped updating when it was almost over—even so.

I still think this is a work that is quite well-made.

Everything that needed to be written has been written.

The pits that were dug were filled in gradually a long time ago.

Although many people felt it ended too quickly.

But this phenomenon is actually quite normal.

Because readers and authors don't share the same brain.

Often, from the reader's perspective, there is still much to imagine—this is precisely the charm of words as a vehicle for imagination—but from the author's perspective, there is really not much left to imagine.

Some experienced readers had already noticed the signs.

This game is themed around becoming stronger.

In fact, the signal for the finale was given quite some time ago.

Regarding Roger's change of mindset.

This will bring the signal to its climax.

He started as an unknown Adventurers, then discovered he possessed the power to influence both sides, and later abandoned his cautious nature and principle of self-preservation to frequently protect the other side, eventually becoming a frequent savior of the world...

There is a continuous process of reinforcement involved.

However, after reaching the peak...

I've included a bit of my own opinion here—that the Guardians cannot be eternal.

Just as the fallen gods of today were once heroes of the planet.

I have always believed that even the strongest will cannot withstand the cumulative Corrosion caused by standing still.

No matter who it is.

No matter what kind of hero.

Only by constantly moving forward can we maintain our vitality.

Otherwise, one will continue to decline.

This is an unchangeable law.

Therefore, Roger's departure follows this logic.

I used to read a lot of novels.

The protagonist becomes a creator god and lives happily ever after with the heroine in the same world—this kind of ending always confuses me.

Just as we don't know whether the married life of Prince Charming and Snow White will be filled with trivial matters—will those constant protagonists gradually become decadent and conservative after many years? Everyone may have their own opinion on this question.

I won't go on about this.

The above are just my own immature personal opinions.

I still prefer to keep moving forward.

Even if it never ends.

After sharing my subjective impressions, let's talk about the shortcomings.

Actually, "The Wizard" has quite a few flaws.

—The supporting characters are underdeveloped.

—The satisfying moments are highly repetitive.

—The extensive and detailed settings created great difficulties for the later stages of writing.

Such drawbacks could be listed in great detail.

But personally speaking...

My biggest mistake was insisting on the principle of "no detail is too small" in my narrative structure.

Regardless of what the protagonist did.

It feels like I have to write everything out bit by bit.

I only realized this when I reread the entire book during the hiatus.

Especially in the later stages.

I should have used a more balanced approach to writing to speed up the main storyline.

If I were to rewrite this book...

I will keep the word count under 2.4 million words.

Cut out unnecessary content.

This is to enhance the entertainment value.

This conclusion may contradict the ideas of many readers—this is the difference between the reader's perspective and the author's perspective.

Laugh.

In conclusion.

I have benefited greatly from the process of learning from the mage.

I personally prefer this fast-paced writing style.

This inevitably leads to a lack of effectiveness later on.

This problem is essentially unsolvable.

My current solution is to reduce the number of words!

Most online novels these days are two to three million words, or even four to five million words... to be honest, they're a bit too long.

Instead, we should increase the level of excitement and the density of the plot.

So I'll probably try to reduce the word count of my next book.

Two million four hundred thousand words would probably be a good length.

Of course, these are just some wild ideas.

How exactly it will be implemented depends on the subsequent creative process.

We've talked about so many random things without really getting to the point.

The thought that this book will truly be finished after I finish writing this farewell message makes me realize how precious it is.

I still feel a little disappointed.

Thank you all for your continued support and companionship.

I hope to see more familiar faces in the new book.

Best wishes.

Ten Years One Key

On 2022/07/13...