Volume Two: Reflections and Summary

This update concludes here. The next update will be in two days. Once again, there were no dice rolls this time.

And so, we arrive at the volume summary—or, as I like to call it, the rambling nonsense section.

Truth be told, writing this volume was a struggle. The issue lay in failing to effectively integrate the slice-of-life segments with the main plot, and I became overwhelmed as soon as too many characters appeared on stage. I had a clear vision for the progression while outlining, but once I started writing, the pacing simply didn’t hold up. Too much daily life and foreshadowing made for a dull read, while constant action from the start would have left no room to breathe.

In the first half, I had several ideas for comedic daily life moments, but executing them wasn't as simple as I’d imagined. Should I push the main plot during these daily segments? If not, it feels like filler; if I do, it’s hard to keep things lighthearted. At my original pace, it would have taken twenty to thirty chapters just to reach the intended conflict—by which time, let alone the readers, I would have collapsed myself.

Consequently, I had to engage in frantic, massive revisions. I rewrote the volume outline three times, and many characters ended up unrecognizable compared to the initial plan.

The contrast in style between the beginning and the end is quite stark; I’m sure you can tell the outline was modified. Let me share a few original concepts that never saw the light of day.

—The original plan involved Qiluo and Ace, alongside split-off versions of Xingli and Caldecis, creating two separate storylines that would eventually collide. The idea was to portray the idol from two perspectives, explore themes of ideal versus reality, and resolve the "toxic music" crisis with a city-wide concert.
In reality, the five-person club wasn't even fully fleshed out, so introducing new characters was impossible—or rather, theoretically possible, but beyond my current writing ability. Besides, when I really thought about it, who wants to read a debate about ideals and reality?
Thus, the entire Xingli arc was cut. You two shall merge into one (alas).

—The original plan included a long stretch of school life, featuring classes, pranks, laboratory scenes, club activities, and so on.
But since Shiyu’s romance arc had already begun, it felt strange to ignore that in favor of classroom scenes! Plus, I wanted to write the date episode more! So, farewell to the university lecture halls.

There were many other cut storylines. Realizing I couldn't handle such chaotic plots while pushing the main narrative, I decided to go all-in on the date episode. At the very least, I had to preserve Shiyu’s romance arc; other things could be discarded, but not that. Thankfully, his romance concluded as smoothly as expected. The volume’s major mission is complete (sigh).

Regarding the characters:

—Dustblast was originally intended to be a recurring "punching bag" who constantly challenged Ace, only to be defeated and left crying, before returning after training for another round—a classic inspirational girl trope. But that would have inflated our side’s power level too much, making it impossible to write the antagonists, so... Dustblast ended up on the other side.

—Skullhead was originally a gangster boss with the appearance of an elementary schooler hiding inside a large mech, with the same abilities as now. But having such a character be tortured by Shiyu’s "Curse Scale" felt... wrong. So, he was changed to a masked man with a skull face.

—Miles was originally a tomboy in a baseball cap. The concentration of female characters felt too high, so he became an actual boy.

—Dr. Cecil was originally the boss of this volume, meant to serve as a stepping stone for Mingke before the final showdown. Since the entire laboratory plotline said goodbye along with Xingli, you’ll have to wait until next time, Doctor.

—Mingke was originally supposed to spend some time eating, drinking, and having fun in the City of the Firmament, while providing little bits of trivia about Imperial martial arts. But since I was already struggling to keep up with the main cast, that section was omitted.

There were many more changes, but I won't list them all. Roughly a quarter of this volume was rewritten—it’s truly enough to make one want to cry.

I’ve learned many lessons.
Stop trying to have it both ways. Keep daily life as daily life and the main plot as the main plot! Without the skill to handle both simultaneously, you won't find any joy in it.
Characters need a balance of detail and brevity. My desire for every character to have a meaningful role and arc is fine, but within a short format, my current ability isn't up to the task. I’ll focus on resolving the primary conflicts first and worry about the rest later.
I am reflecting deeply and will try my best to apply this to the next volume (sigh). Even if it means taking a few extra days off, I must fully flesh out the next outline before I start writing.

Regarding the combat: I feel it was better than the last volume, at least avoiding the awkwardness of the "Bad Beast" battle. The Skullhead fight was a showcase of the three characters' abilities combined with a bit of strategy. The Dustblast fight relied a bit on *deus ex machina* (using runes), but after discovering the mechanism of her ability, using white matter to create soundproofing wasn't impossible, so please forgive me. The Mingke battle dragged on for several chapters, but I couldn't help it—I was having too much fun! Even so, I didn't write all the planned scenes; I originally intended to draw it out for another chapter or two... but considering the reading rhythm, I decided against it.

The mastermind behind this volume only appeared at the very end, only to be outsmarted and suffer immediately. That is because he is not the boss of this volume; Mingke is. Even after cutting many scenes, I didn't tone down the sections related to him. From a villain's perspective, he is a different type from Shiyu Ling of the previous volume. Unlike the struggling and self-obsessed Shiyu Ling, this reckless man lives quite happily; he doesn't ponder complex questions, his only standpoint is "himself," and he doesn't rank others by status.
The world in Mingke’s eyes must be full of fun. Writing his dialogue was also enjoyable because I could completely relax. In contrast, Ace lives a more tiring life. His anomalies were shown in the finale of the first volume and briefly touched upon at the end of this one. Deep excavation will wait until his training... though it won't be the traditional "hot-blooded" training, as the "Way of Impermanence" is purely subjective.
As for the someone who appeared at the very end, their story will have to wait for later.

Finally, the plan for future plotlines:
This volume was labeled as slice-of-life, but I didn't write enough truly relaxing content. Therefore, I will start a "Volume 2.5" spanning a few chapters, consisting purely of relaxing, lighthearted daily life episodes to satisfy myself.
(If you have any ideas you'd like to see, mention them in the comments, and I will consider them.)
After the short daily life episodes, we will enter Volume 3. Staying in one place gets dull; it’s about time to go out and see the world, isn't it?
Thus, for the next volume, I want to try writing a travel-themed episodic series.

Lastly, thank you very much to everyone for subscribing to this book, and many thanks to all the readers for your tips, votes, and comments!
I will take two days off to adjust the outline. I’ll post the settings for this volume over the next two days, and the main text will resume on Saturday night.