Afterword - Book 2 - Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Chapter 9: Unbreakable Days

(Original Chapter Title: The Price of Fourteen Words)

AKA the chapter where I snuck in the moment of the book's cover. I enjoy doing that—probably in large part thanks to growing up in an era where the cover of books (and most comics) could be filled with nothing but lies. It's important to me that the cover shows a real moment in the journey!

...Ignore the fact that I'm half breaking that rule for the third book's cover. (That I may or may not have sent Nozomi the details of the commission for it yesterday.)

The passage of time is challenging in Progression Fantasy/LitRPGs. Characters grow stronger over time, but straddling the line between keeping the prose interesting and making that growth feel earned is hard. I failed in the OG draft—I just did a timeskip and then Ranthia was stronger. Since then I've come to hate that approach, after seeing it in other series. Chapters 6 through 10 were all the same chapter in the OG draft, and I hope I managed to hit a better balance here. Part of me still fears that this arc drags a bit, but this is the best solution I found at my current level as a writer.

No doubt someday I'll cringe about it.

One of my goals for the chapter was to show just how Ranthia and the troll's clashes escalated. The troll fought at his best efforts to match her level, but as her level climbed the brutality of their engagements grew more and more destructive. The System's enhancements go far, but they're already at a tier that reshapes the terrain around them.

And neither is even level 1024 yet.

As time passes, some days are better than others. There's moments of genuine joy and camaraderie amidst the horrors of war. I wanted—needed—to show just how important her people truly became to her as they struggled to survive together.

Because, in my opinion, the moments that show her connections are just as important as the exciting bits.