Author's Afterword: Rebirth Arc
When I started this novel, I didn't expect it to gather as many readers as I did. I wrote similar novels when I was a teenager back in the early 2000s but none of it gained the traction that this one has. On this site and others I've posted this web novel to.
I've read a lot of light novels these past few years and read most of their manga adaptations. A lot of them follow the same tropes, some of them completely subverted them to horrifying degrees. And then there's Konosuba. I wanted to find a comfortable medium between them. Not trying to swing one way towards Rom-Com harem or the other end that's just crippling depression from the MC being hit with the Tragedy Train too many times.
Of course there's fun to be had with those extremes. When they're done right. I wanted to hit that sweet spot in the middle. A little bit of both column A and B. I also wanted to add a few more themes into the mix.
The Watchers is one example. Strange eldritch beings that mix H. P. Lovecraft, the Chaos Gods from Warhammer and a bit of Ridley Scott's Aliens for good measure. There are other ideas in the works that I won't elaborate just yet since just knowing them would be spoilers but it's also concepts from other works that I don't think I've seen appear in isekais in general.
Writing this web novel has given me plenty of insight on the writing process. I have the whole story planned out from beginning to end. I know how many arcs I need to make along with the supporting characters for each of them. But from writing these past few weeks, the story has changed dramatically from my original vision. Hell, Arlan was originally suppose to win the battle with the Centaurion on his own but I made it way too strong! But now that I've had the chance to think about it, I'm glad it ended the way I've written it. It made the setup for the Watchers flow much easier into the story. And it made me realize what kind of struggles I want Arlan to have.
Most isekais start off with a stupidly powerful protagonist. Arlan is too. But I still want him to fight for it. I said that one of my inspirations was Sword Reincarnation. Master the Sword is a complete cheat too but he channels his power through Fran, the deuteragonist. She becomes OP as hell but she still struggles because of how much powerful shit that gets thrown her way. I wrote Arlan the same way. Stupidly powerful, or in his case the potential to be, but continues to find himself in situations that would absolutely kill or break anyone else.
Does that feel like I want my cake and be able to eat it too? For a lead to be overpowered but still be in life or death situations? That appeals to me more than just facerolling through everything with cheat powers while the antagonists go "Whaa? Impossible!" in fear of them. The anticipation of a MC's growth is much more alluring for me.
And there will be more of it. Arlan isn't done getting smacked around just yet. And as much as I hyped up the Watchers, they aren't the only ones lurking in the dark. There are other things just as dangerous waiting for their moment. Antagonists fighting other antagonists is one trope I absolutely love and we'll be seeing more of it in the future.
So what's next? I'll be starting the next arc with a short prologue. I'll also be revising chapters 1 and 2 to match my current writing style along with adding a bit more substance to them sometime next week. They've been bothering me since I didn't really write those chapters as seriously as I do now and as the first thing new readers read, I want to give them a better impression so that they'll give the rest of the chapters a chance. I'll be marking them as revised in the chapter title when I do so I hope you'll give them a quick re-read again to see what's changed.
This next arc is two mini stories that will probably be half the size of the last one together with a focus on world building a bit more. We'll be finding out some of the goings on within the Glav Empire along with what happened to the Demon Lord. Of course they'll also be more combat involved too. As much as I like to abuse Arlan, they'll be some schadenfreude too. You can't have an isekai without a bit of curb stomping.
So I hope you'll join me as we continue on this journey in writing. We'll be climbing mountains and saving a puppy next week! Thank you all once again for reading my web novel.
-Zen Grenadier
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