A Word From the Author

What's going on, it won't post.

It turns out a chapter needs at least 100 characters to be published, so it looks like I can't pull any fancy tricks. (Dog-head emoji for self-preservation)

While a three-character launch announcement would be quite dashing, there is still so much I want to say to everyone; three characters simply wouldn't cover it.

First of all, I am truly grateful for everyone's support! Those of you who have read this far are already my brothers and sisters from different parents!

This is my second book, and yes, it is indeed the second book written by this human. I have never used a pseudonym, and I have never experienced a situation where I deleted a book after only a few thousand or ten thousand words. I am the type of person who won't publish unless I pass an internal review; I value being steady above all else.

My previous book could be described as very green. Looking back now, there are many places where I think, "How could I have written it like that?" or "Oh my, isn't writing it this way just asking to be scolded?" At the time, I hadn't even solidified my own style, making the tone and plot feel exceptionally incongruous.

When I first started writing, I was still in that confused phase of thinking, "I'm actually pretty good." Later, I gradually realized that it was written quite poorly, and even though the exposure was maxed out, the real problem was with me.

After accepting reality, I reflected painfully, carefully scanned the rankings, studied and analyzed the works of the big shots, revised repeatedly, and started writing this second book.

I didn't have any expectations for this book at the start; I only hoped it would be an improvement over the last one and that I could accumulate experience by writing over a million words. As it turns out, this book now has nearly forty thousand follows. I wouldn't have dared to dream of this before—really, even dreaming requires a sense of steadiness; you can't make such a huge leap all at once.

However, please rest assured that good results won't go to my head. I am far too steady; I don't even dare to open up bounties for fear of not being able to finish them, and I don't dare to make reckless promises. Poor results wouldn't affect my mindset either; my last book had five hundred initial subscriptions and ended with over a hundred loyal readers, yet I still finished it honestly.

In truth, I am very afraid that I won't be able to write exciting plots in the future and will fail to live up to everyone's expectations. When it comes to "pulling tricks," there will always be creative bottlenecks. I can only try my best to think more every day, find more inspiration, and revise more, striving to be worthy of everyone's support. I just want to pull more tricks and hand out more sweets. There is no way I'm stepping on the gas in the main story; I've already turned over a new leaf (self-preservation).

Counting the 700,000 words from my old book and the 100,000-plus words of this one, I have only written about 800,000 words so far, so I am still severely lacking in experience in many areas. My prose, phrasing, and sentence structure all need improvement.

The area that needs the most improvement is pacing. I can feel this problem myself, and the gap between me and the big shots is obviously significant. I am not yet able to control the pacing with that kind of effortless flow; one could even say my pacing has a rather "fate-driven" feel. This problem cannot be changed overnight; it is partly due to a lack of experience and partly because I haven't had that moment of enlightenment yet. I will reflect on it repeatedly and study while I write to bring everyone a better reading experience.

This book is still a work of my youth, and I need everyone to witness my progress!

Everyone's opinions and suggestions are extremely valuable to me. Although I cannot change the story based on the thoughts of a single reader in many cases, I will carefully analyze and consider every suggestion. I often find inspiration from them, so every one of your suggestions is never a waste of your time or mine; they all generate value and have a positive impact on this book.

If you have any suggestions or opinions on the new chapters, please feel free to share them. Although it is difficult to correct problems immediately, it lets me know where the issues lie and the direction in which I need to improve. I received many valuable suggestions for my last book, which ultimately helped me determine my style.

I have been reading the comments section the whole time, lurking in the background with high intensity; one of my greatest daily joys is reading the comments in the backend.

I am very grateful to Nan Xi. When I started this new book, she was always helping me look over the drafts. Even though she is very busy, she always replies quickly whenever I reach out to her. Even though I don't know if she will see this, I must shout it out once more: Nan Xi is forever the GOAT!

Special thanks to PORO Studio, my author friend, who has given me a lot of guidance from the very beginning until now. Many problems I wasn't even aware of were pointed out by him. We are truly brothers in arms, supporting each other. If he hadn't helped me review the text, this book would likely have been scolded in many places; many logic bugs, stiff plots, and unreasonable parts were all pointed out by him.

PS, feedback from yesterday's small survey:

Regarding the distribution ratio between the Campus Arc and the Shadow World Arc, there are many readers who support 1:2, 1.5:1, or 1:1.

First, let me explain that the ratio of the plot will not be fixed like a chemical formula; ultimately, it will be flexibly adjusted according to the actual development of the story.

I analyzed the reasons why readers who prefer 1:2 and 1.5:1 made those choices.

Friends who support "more Shadow World" want to see more of the protagonist's "underworld" operations. So, without significantly increasing the length of the Shadow World arc, one feasible optimization plan is to make the protagonist's operations in the real world more "underworld" as well. Although the protagonist will have a bottom line in the real world, there are some enemies against whom one doesn't need to consider a bottom line. Additionally, there will be characters who are targets of persecution, and as the map expands, there will always be a few reckless fools who don't know what's good for them.

Those who support "more campus plot" might prefer a more relaxed and cheerful story, and they also need the real-world arc to set off the "underworld" nature of the Shadow World. Another feasible optimization plan is to increase character interaction within the Shadow World. The first dungeon seemed too much like a single-player game because the number of challengers participating was small, and the protagonist's companions didn't appear.

So, here are a few ideas I have currently:

① The Campus Arc will focus more on card crafting and (underworld) battle plots.

② The Shadow World Arc will optimize character interaction, avoiding the feeling of a single-player game in terms of plot, making it closer to the real world.

③ Optimize the alternation frequency of the two arcs to make the combination more natural.

④ More waifu cards!

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback via comments or reviews!

Since the book goes live tomorrow, the update time will be around 11:00 AM, and it will return to 7:00 AM thereafter.

Thank you all for your continued support, I am truly very grateful! Wishing everyone a good mood every day~

If you can't find the book by its title, you can try searching for the author; perhaps it just had a name change!