A Three-Thousand-Word Leave Request: Let's Talk About Volume Two

Today's update wasn't going smoothly, and I haven't gotten a satisfactory result yet. But I'm already tired, so I've decided to take a day off to rest.

It's not that I don't have time to write, but rather that I'm not satisfied with what I've written. So, I don't think I should just throw in a leave slip and run away. After thinking it over, I think I'll just chat about random things instead.

Of course, some readers might think, "Who wants to read your rambling? I want to see story updates!" Well, you're right. I'm sorry, I'll try my best to make my updates more consistent in the future to repay your expectations for the story. Please forgive me a few times, thank you!

Well, I was going to say something.

Let's talk about the second volume of this book. Why do many readers feel that it "lacks the atmosphere of the first volume"?

First and foremost, it's important to state that the atmosphere of Volume 2 so far is "different from Volume 1." This isn't an illusion, but a fact. In fact, throughout the creation of Volume 2, I've approached the writing process with the attitude of "hoping to make the atmosphere of the earlier stories a bit lighter."

The kind of story that readers want to see, "similar in atmosphere to the first volume," will likely appear in the "third part" of the second volume.

When discussing the third part, we must address the internal divisions of Volume Two.

During the planning stage, the second volume didn't actually have this much content at the beginning. In the very beginning, the outline I planned only included two parts: "Kingdom Encounters" and "Main Story". In other words, the original content of the second volume was actually just the Fangting City Squad going to the Kingdom for an assessment, and then briefly describing the assessment part, just like the first volume, which led into the main storyline.

But in the end, when planning the second volume in detail, I chose to expand the content, turning the entire second volume into a "large volume," and it might even become the longest volume in the book.

I've divided the entire volume into three parts, which I'll refer to as p1, p2, and p3.

The first part, p1, which I privately titled "The Shadow of the Claw Mark," is entirely additional content added on top of the first edition of Volume 2.

The story I want to complete in this part is about the warming relationship between Bai Jingxuan and Larkspur, the subtle change in the relationship between Lin Xiaolu and Larkspur, the addition of the key character Emerald, the return of Asō Madoka, and the introduction of some related concepts of the "Claw Mark" organization.

My original intention was to make page 1 of Volume 2 lighthearted enough so that readers wouldn't have to worry about any frustrating plot points and could easily enjoy the story. Therefore, regarding the antagonist, I designed the Claw Mark executive "Crimson Yuan" as someone with a weak sense of morality, acting on impulse, but without any clearly defined evil intentions. I didn't even initially plan a full boss battle for her; I originally intended for her to attend the Fangting Squad's New Year's dinner, freeload off them, and then leave to appease her superiors.

However, I later felt that such a plot was too sloppy and Claw Mark the established character of Claw Mark. Although Iori was supposed to be such a character, this design seemed too childish. So, I introduced White Wolf earlier and created a boss battle under her influence, which was the somewhat awkward "Legendary 2 vs. 9" scenario that made Iori's combat power seem too strong. However, this slight deviation was within the plan and could be resolved later. So, the final P1 turned out as we see it today.

Then, there's the part I'm currently working on, page 2, with the concise subtitle, "The Kingdom Assessment Chapter."

This is also a point I originally didn't plan to elaborate on, because at first I just wanted to use this as an excuse to let the main characters' team go to the Kingdom, thereby expanding the map of the plot. I even planned to gloss over the assessment process of the three juniors, just write about Larkspur's reunion with Ink Lotus in the Kingdom, and then explain the past story related to the Garden Defense War, and then this part could end.

However, as you've probably noticed, the actual version of page 2 is completely different from my "initial idea".

The current P2 is a super hodgepodge that brings together a large number of main and side stories, including the relationship between Larkspur and the Magic Affairs Institute, Larkspur and Ink Lotus's past, the possible collision between Larkspur and other Gem Scepter, the assessment process of the juniors, the attack of Claw Mark and Black Ash Dawn, the secrets of the Royal Court, the ecology of new magical girls in the new era, and so on.

The reason is that I have changed my understanding of the positioning of p2.

In my plan, page 2 of Volume 2 will no longer be a simple expansion of the story map or a transitional section explaining the past of Larkspur and Ink Lotus. My current expectation is that page 2 can become a "background reference book" for the story of "Off-Duty Magic".

I've added a lot of settings to this section: the scenery and landscapes of the Kingdom customs, the lives of their people, their power structures... and much more, the other magical girls active in this world. I hope that through this second part, readers will feel that their "worldview has become broader and richer."

So I slowed down and began to enrich the Fangting City Squad's experiences on this trip to the Kingdom, hoping that these observations would make the world of this story more detailed and make most of the settings more grounded in reality.

My goal is to create an effect where, after reading page 2, readers can envision a detailed and comprehensive process when they imagine themselves as a rookie magical girl going to the Kingdom for an assessment.

I know this approach is quite arbitrary, because adding more settings will inevitably slow down the plot's progression, making it feel like "padded." Combined with my already less-than-optimistic update speed, this makes things even more frustrating.

However, even though I have to apologize to everyone, I will not change my mind. Even though I am working very hard on this now, I do not intend to change my mind. Because I think it is necessary to make the story of "Off-Duty Magic" more heartwarming and to make the later stories more touching for you.

In refining these details, I actually found it very tiring, far more tiring than simply following the outline to advance the established main storyline. It was a thankless task. Even today's writer's block was caused by this mindset, which led me to constantly come up with new ideas while writing this part of the story.

However, I must clarify one point: the writer's block in this part wasn't because I didn't know how to write the plot, but because the amount of detail required exceeded my expectations, causing me to expend far more mental energy on filling in those details than I anticipated...

Even so, I believe that although the slow pace of the story and the large amount of filler details in the early stages of Part 2 might make it frustrating to keep up, the later story experience will be much better once I finish this project.

So please give me some trust. I also hope that you can read part 2 in a relaxed and enjoyable mood. If there is anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, please feel free to criticize me. I hope that after you criticize me, you will feel happier when you read this part of the story.

Regarding the Kingdom Assessment arc, I can give you a heads-up: the following narrative largely revolves around the experiences of the three teams comprised of the four from Fangting City during the examinations. There will also be some stories told from the perspectives of the Gem Scepter on the viewing platform and other magical girls. The first three practical examinations are purely internal competitions among the examinees and will not involve Claw Mark or Black Ash Dawn. Therefore, during this phase, you can approach it with a "let's see how the younger generation performs" mentality and witness the stories of these seemingly incompetent individuals. I will try my best to portray the growth of the younger generation in this part of the story, using this as Qidian to gradually begin the process of the handover between the old and new generations within the Fangting City Squad.

Oh, this doesn't mean that Larkspur will become marginalized and no longer be a main character as the younger generation grows up. After all, the story of the Off-Duty Magic is mainly about Larkspur. It's just that the relationships and status within the team might change as the younger generation grows up. Of course, these plans are a bit far off, at least until after the third volume, so we'll leave that aside for now.

Regarding Volume 2, page 2, as everyone knows, it's no coincidence that makes the story so compelling. Without any unexpected events, the assessment arc in page 2 would be somewhat unbalanced. Therefore, the final stage of the practical assessment will inevitably introduce external forces, officially beginning the three-way clash between Larkspur, the Kingdom, and Claw Mark. The true truth behind the Garden Defense War, the relationship between Ink Lotus and Larkspur, White Wolf's objectives, the schemes of the Gem Scepter... these are all topics that will be gradually revealed later in page 2. Please look forward to it.

As for page 3 of Volume 2, which is the original main storyline planned for this volume, I may have to keep that a secret for now.

My current plan is to complete all the content of the assessment chapter by August or September of this year, and then jump into page 3 of Volume 2 in September.

I'm not willing to reveal too much about the specifics for now, but I should do a summary after P2 is over and talk more about it.

I can only give a relatively vague promise: page 3 of Volume 2 will return to Fangting City and the style of Volume 1 of this book. Therefore, page 3 will present a story with a very strong emotional tone, a story with the salty taste of tears and the sweet taste of warmth.

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