Extras: Author Notes

Hi Everyone,

I want to sincerely thank all of you who gave this novel a read, and a special thank you to those who stuck with it till the end. I think it was always the same seven readers... Or maybe more? Haha.

When I started, my plan was to quickly introduce Kaito, Natasha, and the 'virtual' world they were living in, before moving on to the main story. But somehow, things stretched out, mostly diving into Natasha's childhood and the interactions between her and Kaito. Looking back, I realize it made me lose focus on the main idea of the story.

If I were to do this again, I’d try to jump straight into the 'real world' where Kaito wakes up, trains, and begins exploring the outside terrain. I had so many ideas for that part, monsters resembling goblin-like humans, Kaito’s interactions with his new teammates, and even him searching for his mother. (I can’t believe I forgot about her! Given that everyone is sleeping deeply in those pods, you can only imagine her possible status. She could be out there alive!)

And then there’s Natasha’s body in the pod, and it’s not in the Albion Dome, that much I can tell you. But which dome is it in? Honestly, I don’t know either! Haha. I had so many ideas, but the deadline is tomorrow, and here we are.

It’s partly my fault for not pacing things better. Still, this journey has been both fun and frustrating at times. To those regular readers who stuck with me, you gave me the motivation to bring this story to the finish line. Thank you for that.

As for the future, this might be my last entry in the yearly competition. I’m still bummed about missing the 2022 participation badge! But life happens, and sometimes, you start feeling detached from certain things. Even anime and manga feel like a bit of a burnout these days. That said, you can always add me on MAL (MyAnimeList). Please don’t judge my taste haha, though, I’ve been reading random stuff lately. But for the record, I love mystery, supernatural stories, and those reincarnated-into-a-game/otome genres (they might just replace generic standard isekai!).

Once again, thank you all very much.

Kind regards,

SS-Sensei

Radhe Radhe