Review
Finally reached the end of this long journey.
Honestly, I still can’t believe I’ve completed this novel.
I just feel a surge of emotions, and it’s a bit dizzying.
Well, pulling an all-nighter to finish it could explain that.
But do you feel it?
This novel was obviously a clear reverse situation destined for discontinuation.
Yet, I really crawled my way to the finish line.
Fck, that’s the taste of being in a losing streak.
Though I can’t say it’s beautiful, even if I tried to use nice words,
crawling on the ugly ground suits me just fine.
As long as I stand out from the bottom.
I’ll be the king of the bottom…
But it’s true, my physical condition isn’t great right now.
My head still hurts, so I’m not sure I’m even writing properly.
I apologize in advance if this becomes an incoherent mess.
Still, I’d prefer to tidy things up as best as I can.
So, here are some questions I’ve organized.
Q. What was your motivation for writing this novel?
Honestly, just two reasons.
“Plagiarism”, which refers to the commentary on the full volume.
And the trashy elf-themed “Gald Cup”.
Sounds fake, but it’s true.
I never really thought much about the plot itself.
I realized the issues later on and plotted things out a bit…
Before I knew it, everyone had completely wrecked the initial concept…
Later I discovered that the seriously serious problem was beyond that wrecked concept…
I thought I messed up after writing it, yet
somehow, it came to a conclusion.
Thank goodness….
Q. Why did you use the theme of regression?
It’s a bit ambiguous; if we must argue about it, it’s a kind of rebellious psychology.
Most web novel protagonists begin with a regression theme.
Honestly, I’ve enjoyed reading such novels and still do.
A special protagonist, very fast pacing, and a clear advantage over others.
For both the readers and the writers, regression is truly attractive.
But something just felt off.
I wanted to see a novel born from someone without regression.
Even if it’s a little frustrating, I hoped the story would continue that way.
Maybe because of that, when I came to my senses, this novel was already born.
So, the protagonist gained a counter ability against regression.
But it turns out I didn’t use it that much in practice.
This was practically treated the same as regression.
Even though it was seen as an omnipotent ability, it obviously wasn’t.
In fact, there were times where opponents nullified it or turned it against the protagonist.
And moments where the protagonist, relying too much on it, got severely countered.
Honestly, I even considered not giving it at all.
But personally, in the final fight, I wanted to showcase a moment that didn’t falter after experiencing numerous regressions.
I ended up writing the conclusion part that I was debating whether to toss out or keep, just because I wanted to.
I have no idea how you received it, but if you thought that chapter was okay, I’m really grateful.
Q. Did you have a different story in mind initially?
Initially, this novel was meant to take a pretty serious direction.
Everyone regresses, but there are things that can’t be resolved by that.
And as the protagonist realizes this, he shares the truth with everyone.
But I decided to toss in some jokes, scrapped it all, and just went with comedy.
Without even thinking about what I’d write next,
just boozing around.
Sigh…
Q. What were your thoughts on the story development?
Although I’m an engineer, usually detached from writing,
the classic, traditional novels, and web novels I read for fun really helped me more than I thought.
Of course, if you ask whether the development was correct, I’d have nothing to say…
Basically, a drunken self would rashly develop the story,
and then later, a hungover self would try to fix it all.
And that’s how we got hunters, animal enthusiasts, perverts, incest dwellers, and the beastman kingdom…
Sigh, fck…*
Q. Have you ever received a warning?
I definitely remember getting a direct warning when going to Plus.
The PD who contacted me during the Plus review told me.
The trashy elf is a Nobelpia work, so they’d let that slide, but
please don’t touch outside Nobelpia’s works like “Plagiarism”, they said.
So I wrote cautiously thereafter.
But right after going Plus, Disney came up in the first episode…
……Looking back now, I really wonder how I survived from that point on.
It was also a time when public sentiment was rough due to the contest…
I’m sorry and thank you, Nobelpia-chan…
Q. Do you have plans for your next work?
Not at the moment. Actually, it’s impossible.
First, I need to focus on rehabilitating my right hand and arm.
After all, writing with just my left hand has its limits.
Of course, I have material. No, I should say I ‘had’ material.
Originally, I was thinking of a harem with a martial arts background featuring a protagonist aged 48.3.
The protagonist has talent but is outmatched by older beings and,
I had even vaguely imagined heroines with unique traits that would benefit from having nothing at all.
Older beings suffering from dementia, breaking out of their stagnation, etc.
But I can’t use this material now.
Another writer working on a non-Nobelpia platform, No-Back-Man, is publishing an excellent piece.
While it’s not a total copy of what I was thinking, it’s quite similar in many aspects.
And they executed it way more thoroughly and neatly than I had imagined.
There’s a risk of plagiarism, so regrettably, I’ll have to bury this material.
A comedy-themed next work will take a long time to develop.
Q. So do you have any other plans for your next work?
If we must argue, I have two or three in mind, but calling them long-form would be a stretch.
One is traditional martial arts, and the other is fantasy. I don’t have many chapters planned for either.
Moreover, these aren’t comedic novels like the current one but rather calm and slightly despairing stories.
They’re far from the trends in Nobelpia. No, they’re pretty much far from the trends in web novels overall.
Still, if I get the chance someday, I want to try writing them.
There should at least be one such novel in the web novel stage, right?
I just need to make sure that I write it fully before sharing it,
or else the serialization frequency might go haywire like the current work.
Of course, my rehabilitation for the right arm and hand needs to finish quickly as well.
Q. Is the serialization location the same, or are you moving?
I don’t know.
As I mentioned, it’s somewhat distant from the web novel trends.
There’s no guarantee of success anywhere.
Well, for me, just finishing is already a success.
As for the comedy next work, I’m cautious about even discussing, since I haven’t even planned that yet.
But if I do serialize it on Nobelpia, I hope you’ll support me then too.
Q. What about the money you received from settlements?
It might sound a bit gloomy, so I hesitated to bring it up…
But to put it briefly, I didn’t spend a single penny on myself.
All went towards hospital bills for additional surgeries, and for illustrations and emoticons outsourced.
I don’t have much left, but I’d like to use this opportunity to say I have no regrets whatsoever.
Once again, I thank all the readers.
Thank you.
Truly, thank you.
Thank you for saving me.
Q. What about the money received from sponsorship?
I’ve never withdrawn sponsorship even once.
Honestly, you can call it stubbornness; I wouldn’t disagree.
But I vowed not to do so until I finished the story.
You all supported me with your precious money, encouraging me to carry on, and I didn’t want to withdraw it.
I felt I had no right to receive it without finishing first.
Q. Have you gained any income from the emoticons?
I don’t know.
I haven’t checked the sales records since I registered them.
It’d be great if they sell a lot, but I really don’t care that much.
I just made them because I wanted to.
Especially the Mystical Caressy series, I’m glad I created it.
I was sad there were no mystical characters in Nobelpia’s history,
so I thought, why not just create one myself, and impulsively made it.
In the end, it turned out very useful for various situations, and I really like it.
It might be hard to say I left behind tiger skin, but
I quietly think it has at least become fox skin.
Indeed, the greatest saintess character in Nobelpia history is Caressy.
Q. How do you feel about the metrics you gained from the novel?
Here, I’ll be a bit more honest.
It might be embarrassing, but I believe it’s necessary to reveal this.
Honestly, I haven’t cared about metrics like views at all.
Except during the early phase when I seriously considered discontinuation.
In the beginning, I recklessly joined Plus to earn hospital bills.
Somehow I managed to secure the funds for the first hospital bill through sheer luck.
With just a wee bit of debt left, I was reading novels when I found myself having the audacity to think I shouldn’t.
Wouldn’t it be okay to remake it, polish it, and write it all again?
With that arrogant thought stirring in my mind, while reading through the latest chapter I’d written,
I was shocked to see the view count for the last episode.
It showed that 87 readers had seen it as evidence of their readership.
That number can be seen as either a lot or a little depending on perspective…
Upon seeing that, my self-hatred intensified,
and I ended up doing nothing and crying all day.
Suddenly, I thought,
Even if I remake this and grow into overwhelming metrics,
or if I abandon this novel and write something else to achieve great success,
even if I reach that so-called position of a great author recognized by others,
I’d still be unable to look up to those 87 readers who once took a glance at my work.
Since then, I’ve stopped caring about view counts at all.
No, metrics like that became utterly meaningless.
I just wanted to write and see it through to the end.
If I want to remake it, fck, I can just modify the writing.
What sort of arrogance allows someone to think they can easily take the accomplishments of other authors?
Without any knowledge, I shouldn’t have been messing around with this nonsense at all.
Chewing myself out, I made the messy jumbles of text into something better.
Rather than Nobelpia’s spell checker, I used the spell checker from a job recruiting site
and somehow managed to string sentences together with a brain that knows nothing about writing.
Thanks to that, I managed to revise everything somehow.
Of course, looking back, I’m still far from perfect writing.
Plus, sacrificing three days of sleep for this made me feel like I was dying.
As a consequence, I didn’t eat properly for two days and collapsed.
Yet ultimately, I’m truly glad it didn’t turn out completely bad.
While it never actually happened,
from the moment I realized it, I still feel inadequate.
Thus, whenever I become lazy, I will reflect on the number 87.
I’m sorry, and thank you.
Q. Are you satisfied with the novel you’ve written?
I’m satisfied to the extent that it isn’t completely a bad piece of writing.
And among the readers, some of you might have noticed.
You probably felt this near the end…
That somewhere along the line, the writing became a bit easier to read.
Maybe that’s what everyone calls writing style.
Honestly, I don’t even know what writing style is.
Just, as a writer,
I still honestly feel a sense of regret.
If only I had polished it a little more, it would have been better.
This part could be omitted and something additional could be added instead.
Those thoughts flood my mind continuously.
I didn’t not put in the effort.
I’ve done copy work of every novel that’s praised for its writing style.
Whenever I found a great sentence, I’ve shamelessly tried to mirror it.
I guess this is why I severely developed Tunnel Syndrome.
However, the drastic changes I anticipated from my efforts didn’t happen, leaving me troubled.
And simultaneously, I felt envy and bitterness towards other authors.
Having various talents in writing style, material, development, character popularity, etc.,
I felt so miserable about not sharing such talents.
In short, I can say I’m still full of regret and longing.
Yet on the contrary, I’m glad I still feel that way.
If I were satisfied, it would mean I couldn’t grow anymore.
Remaining potential for growth is a proof of that, right?
Though my target is vividly set rather high.
Next time, I’ll prepare to write far better than this time.
I’ll do more copywork and refine my style, correcting my sentences.
Then someday, maybe I’ll even break through the ceiling.
The ceiling… I’ll break through…
Q. Lastly, what would you like to say?
In fact, some readers might have caught on by now.
That until this moment, when I refer to myself,
I never used the word “author”.
Why the fuss about it now? You might think I’m just being stubborn.
But personally, the term “author” is really burdensome.
It feels too heavy.
When you think about it, I’m quite far from being a proper author.
My serialization schedule is all over the place, and I’ve stopped the ongoing series without notice.
While I could blame life getting busy,
in the end, I broke many promises by failing to post on time. I’m really sorry.
So I couldn’t call myself an author.
It’s just a two-character word, but
actually using it terrifies me.
Even clumsily, writing this review, it’s still scary.
Well, that aside.
I somehow managed to finish a piece.
Calling myself “the writer” seems acceptable, right?
I’ll stick with the author title when I can genuinely be someone worthy of it.
Until I reach that point, I’ll keep the author title aside.
Finally, someone mentioned that this novel is a B-grade story.
Admittedly, it’s slightly disappointing that it’s not an A-grade story.
But being a B-grade story isn’t necessarily bad.
It’s just a given.
A B-grade is what you get right after an A-grade.
In this PC era, you also can’t touch B-grade.
When learning martial arts, you need to have a B-grade as a basis.
When you say, “Hey, I’m putting in honey,” ‘honey’ is still Bee!
Truly, as that reader said.
Yes.
Readers.
I am B-grade.
And this B-grade that stands here
wants to say my final goodbyes to all of you.
Thank you so much for everything!
Bye.
– Written by the seemingly mentally deranged author –
