Update Log 3 - Chapter Edits & Fixes (Patreon)

Note: This only matters for those of you who’ve read up to Chapter 77 before the creation of this post. If you haven't made it this far in the story, do not read any further. There are spoilers beyond the line breaks.

Hey everyone! It’s that time again. Took me a good bit longer to knock this batch out, but here it is.

This post is a quick overview of the bigger edits I’ve made to the story so far. I save these "large" edits up, gradually adding them to my to-do list as I go along, and knock them all out in one fell swoop. That's what this update is for!

As always, nothing about the plot itself has been altered, these are just things I felt were worth adjusting to make the world, characters, magic, and story in general feel a bit more solid and alive.

Please take a moment to skim over this, as some of the changes add or alter context.

Most of them are small things I missed the first time around, a few lines added or tweaked here and there. Some are more significant, but again, nothing that changes the story you’ve been reading.

If you’re curious or want to re-read the revised versions, feel free to use this as a guide =)

Note 2: The vast majority of these edits are final touch-ups on Book One as I work to finish it out. A few changes are made to later chapters at the end.

***

***

***

Chapter 3 - Update: Me

Added a couple of lines about how she’s confused that her Race evolved without advancing to Tier One first.

Changed the notice text about her race change from “Race changed from…” to “Race evolved from…”

Just to reinforce the whole “early racial evolution” bit that’s revealed in later chapters.

Chapter 4 - Wiggles

Added a few lines in the first half of the chapter that reinforces the idea that the System grants inherent knowledge with it’s Skills. Also an additional line about how she’ll still need to practice/train.

I wanted to make it more obvious that the System makes people instinctually know how to use their own skills, but not make them flawless masters instantly.

Chapter 14 - You Started It

Altered the Delver Guild scanner to show her race as Foxkin Hybrid instead of Faefox.

Added a couple lines about how she altered her tag to display as Foxkin Fighter, rather than Faefox anything.

Added some detail on how guild ranks work after Guildmaster Folly tells her that she could be B-rank.

Just some lore details that should have been a thing, but I hadn’t considered adding them there for some reason. (Ranks are based on skill and experience combined with level, not just a “your number isn’t high enough” thing.)

Chapter 22 - The Shape of Family

Emilia now checks over the injured when she’s at Tails and Temptations—just a quick scan.

It didn’t make sense that she didn’t do that before, when she spends so much time healing at the Church later on.

Chapter 26 - A Whisper of Confidence

Emilia takes the chance while meeting with Scruffy to ask him to watch over Tails and Temptations while she’s away.

Makes more sense that she’d worry, especially after Krissy’s reaction to her leaving.

Also very brief mention of how the order to arrest her has been lost in the chaos, but that he doesn’t intend on acting on it even once things settle down after what he’s discovered.

Chapter 28 - Cracked Plans

Minor thoughts added on difference in Emilia’s mana, ambient mana, and other peoples mana.

This was mentioned briefly in the past, how when other people use their mana, it appears in a red hue to Emilia’s sight, but was never really expanded on. I added some details about it here.

It’s fairly simple and not meant to be a major thing, as the different colors just signify if it’s not her mana. Ambient mana is light blue, hers is a lighter shade than even that, and other peoples mana is red.

Chapter 32 - Echoes of the Space Between

Tiny tone shift when her expedition members are discussing the risks of her Seeker’s Survival Skill putting off her fatigue. More concerned, less joking.

Evolution fatigue mentioned, as when people evolve they normally suffer severe exhaustion, if they don’t pass out outright. Didn’t state that outright, just a hint at the severity.

Chapter 33 - Soft Whispers

Emilia unlocked Total Suppression earlier and I just forgot to evolve & merge the Skills appropriately for dozens of chapters.

Sometimes I’m a forgetful dumb-dumb. Turns out I had her hit level 10 in Pain Tolerance twice (27 chapters apart), and someone pointed that out to me.

So… I went in and fixed that. For all the chapters. And my stat sheets (that I use to keep track of things per chapter as I write). And my excel sheets.

Chapter 34 - When Is It?

Added a brief mention that Emilia’s Starlight Bangle can only quick-swap clothes that she stored while wearing, and she hadn’t had the chance to do that with the majority of her new clothes just yet.

Added a brief mention of how the bangle’s weight limit isn’t reduced by her Bloodwind Resilience Skill, as it reduces her weight by 25%. (Reason is back-end details, but basically: Base weight vs. Modified weight. Enchantments work off Base stats almost exclusively when applicable.)

Just reinforcing how the bangle is able to swap items out and clarifying on its limitations.

Chapter 39 - Next Stop: Chaos

Removed Levels for General Skills (specifically the Dancing Skill in this instance) across the board, excluding only resistance and suppression Skills.

I’m making it so that the only Skills that have levels are Resistance Skills and other similar Skills (like Pain Tolerance).

Now the General Skills act similarly to how Stats do, where she can lean into the Skill to receive light guidance from it. Also helps speed up learning whatever the Skill is about.

Added a few more character beats and comments about Nyria, Krissy, and the girls at Tails & Temptations.

Altered the ending of the chapter to more fit the end of a book, as this is Book One’s final chapter.

Chapter 55 - Tested Reserve

This is a big added context drop.

Added a extra hint behind the scope of the Omen that Emilia traded for regarding the genocide of her people.

It felt like I wasn’t giving enough information to justify what Emilia learned as a proper Omen, so I ramped up the hints about what Emilia learned. I still want to keep the full reveal close to the chest until Emilia is ready to do something about it, but I also want it to be enticing.

The addition/change, quoted directly from the updated chapter:

———

Aurelian Vayl Etheron and Ilyne Vion Etheron, the Emporer and Empress. Their son, Kaelren. The Archduke and the Archduchess, who each rule over territories the size of entire kingdoms. All three of their armies Generals. Even the Archbishop of the Empire’s Church.

And dozens more.

And that's not even mentioning the little tid-bit about how they aren't who they actually say they are, but something else entirely. The best guess from the information the Archivist had available is that it's some form of necromancy pulling the strings, but even he wasn't certain.

Regardless of what it really is, it's clear that there's something else orchestrating all of the evil that the Empire is spreading throughout the world.

If there's some group—or worse, someone—capable of pulling the strings of an entire gods-damned nation...

How the fuck am I supposed to close that gap?

———

Chapter 74 - Half-Measured Spending

Added Emilia’s updated Status with her All For One maxed out with her mana restrictions. Included the original stats she would get from having All For One at 75% (its normal maximum + overcharge with Wisdom milestone) for comparison.

Overall change to multiple chapters:

1. The Skill “Mind, Body, Soul” had a text change due to the differing interpretations of the word “intact”.

To me, “intact” means “together or not destroyed,” while to others it could mean “not injured or damaged,” which is a huge disparity that only leads to confusion.

Text changed from:

As long as your soul is intact, your body will naturally regenerate over time.As long as your body is intact, your soul will naturally regenerate over time.

To…

As long as your soul is not destroyed, your body will naturally regenerate over time.As long as your body is not destroyed, your soul will naturally regenerate over time.

2. Chapters 48 and onward:

Changed how Emilia refers to Arabella to just Bella, as I’d intended when Arabella introduced herself as such in an effort to keep her identity secret.

I’m just terrible with names and forgot to have it visibly show that Emilia’s fondness for Arabella is growing enough for her to become comfortable with the nickname.

I'll likely also be changing her Racial Skills to be in their own category (Racial Skills, go figure), rather than lumping them with General Skills... but that's for later. This update is already pretty dense.