Author's Afterword (Patreon)

I just typed in the final words of the series. Bros… I can’t believe it’s over. Road to Mastery has been my project for the past two years, my continued obsession and companion. It not only pushed my skills to a new level, but also my life, financially and in a bunch of other fields.

Throughout these two years, despite the success and reader satisfaction that Road to Mastery received, I never allowed myself to experience it fully. It was incomplete. Anything could go wrong. That is no longer the case. The completion of Road to Mastery means I can finally stop obsessing over it, and it will always be there, never becoming worse no matter what. I cannot describe the relief that brings me. It also marks me as a true author, in my mind, in a more impactful way than anything so far. I feel so proud of what I have accomplished. So satisfied with myself. The positive feelings inside me are so many they fight to come out first.

That doesn’t mean I won’t miss Road to Mastery. I realize now, as I’m writing these words, that I will never write about Jack and Brock again. All the characters of this series are people I’ll leave behind, despite everything I’ve shared with them. It is almost grief. However, life is change, and embracing it is the secret to happiness. Good and bad. This is the good kind of loss, and I hope that, after sharing this adventure with me and Jack—as well as our excellent narrator, Jeremy Frazier, who has my heartfelt thanks—you will embrace the ending of this series as a maturing opportunity. I know I do.

I might be getting emotional now.

Anyway. The series might be over, but my journey as an author—my own Road to Mastery—is just beginning. I know different people have different tastes, but I hope each of you enjoys at least one of my future stories, so our paths can cross again. Let’s stay in touch—we’re bros now!

By the way, since the story is over, feel free to ask any leftover questions in the comments below. I might not reply immediately but I’ll see them all. You can ask about the Gods, the power system, the world-building, anything you’d like to know. If I have the answer—and that’s not always the case—I’ll tell you. To answer one question preemptively, yes, I might write another series in the same universe in the future—a cultivator in Jack’s Universe of the Body, or maybe someone in Edgar’s academy. No promises though.

Let’s talk about practical stuff. I will pause my Patreon page tomorrow, meaning you can all remain subscribed without paying anything. In that period, new members won’t be able to join, but I’ll use one of Patreon’s new functions to post the book file as a purchasable item for any late-comers. It will be at a lowered price for the first week, so the 3$ and 5$ tier people can get it cheaply. The 10$ and above people will naturally get it for free. I’ll keep posting chapters on RR until book completion, but I’ll deprecate and stop posting on the 3$ and 5$ tiers, so you should just buy the book file. To clarify for the 3$ and 5$ people, your tier will remain, you’ll just stop receiving benefits—and paying, since I’ll pause.

I’ll unpause the Patreon when I start posting my next series, Good Guy Necromancer—a story about a wholesome necromancer and his army of undead friends trying to save the world. It will be less xianxia-style than Road to Mastery, and a little more slice-of-death (hehe.) I’d suggest giving it a shot.

I’ll start posting it in around two months, give or take—in the meantime, I want to take a break, then read and edit my already considerable backlog of that story before I resume working on it. I’ll let you guys know.

That’s about all for now. Thank you very, very much for being part of this journey for the past two years. Your presence and comments meant the world to me. You gave me a bunch of great ideas and feedback, as well as motivation to keep going when things got rough—that goes especially for the people who messaged me about how my story helped them improve their lives, or gave them something to rely on during hard times. Writing is a tough gig, but you guys are the reason it’s worth it.

See you soon, bros.

To new words, to new worlds,
With love,
Valerios