Chapter 53: First Completion (1)
The Genius Mage of the Slums series.
As my first long-running serialized work, this series had gained a great deal of popularity over time and had also served as the backdrop for all sorts of incidents related to the slum reforms and the Academy.
It had been fun to write, and it was a work from which I had gained many benefits through the act of writing, but...
“To confess now, there were actually some parts that were a little harder than the other works I’d written before.”
“Oh? Is that so? You never showed it, so I didn’t notice at all...
I’m sorry. I should have been helping you by your side.”
“No, no. It wasn’t on the level of ‘This is so hard I want to throw it all away!’ so you don’t need to worry that much.
Mm, it was just that there were some difficulties here and there?”
To Aria, who had started worrying about me as if it were her own problem, I gave an awkward smile and explained in a little more detail.
“After all, this series was my first long-running serialization.
There were a lot of things I had to pay attention to that were different from a single-volume work.”
That absolutely did not mean a long-running series was harder to make than a single-volume work.
Because I knew very well that neatly finishing one story in a single volume while preserving its quality could, in fact, be even harder.
“Still, setting literary quality aside, there were quite a few difficult points when it came to maintaining a long-running serialization.”
The fact that the volume of writing had increased severalfold went without saying; that was the most basic issue.
And unlike a single-volume work, which could be polished perfectly to the very end before being released,
a long-running series had release gaps between each volume, so it was impossible to polish everything perfectly, and that meant various mistakes occurred.
I had to divide events and foreshadowing across each volume, squeeze out ideas to provide climaxes, and keep my brain running at full power.
It was also difficult to control the inevitably growing cast of characters and the rising threshold of readers’ expectations.
There were even times after a volume had already been released when I thought of better content and let out a scream of regret, going, “Ah, I should’ve done it like this!”
“This experience really taught me that people don’t call long-running serialization a battle of stamina and persistence for nothing.”
“Ah. Certainly, if you want the contents of several volumes to connect, there would naturally be more things to consider.
It’s not as though you can gather everything together and organize it all at once.”
“On top of that, I had to pay attention to other works in between, like games and newspaper serializations, didn’t I?
Juggling those with the serialization of The Genius Mage of the Slums was fairly hard too.”
If this was a side effect of long-running serialization, then it was definitely a side effect.
Well, since the fundamental issue was that I got greedy and started several things at once, I had brought it on myself.
But it’s not like I could resist making games or comics, right?
Even if you brought in some other reincarnator instead of me, they wouldn’t be able to resist either.
Mm, that was 100 percent certain.
“Then wouldn’t it have been all right to pause the serialization of The Genius Mage of the Slums series for a while instead?
It’s not as if you release books slowly. Honestly, you’re quite fast, so you could have allowed yourself that much leeway...”
“Hmm. It’s not as though I never considered that option.”
Aria’s concern that I could have taken a short break from serialization did, in fact, have a certain validity to it.
Honestly, by this world’s standards, the speed at which I released books was fairly fast.
I had been steadily writing one volume every few months until now, after all.
It wasn’t as though there was a set deadline for when the next volume absolutely had to be released.
So while wrapping up other works, I could have taken a brief break, but...
“Still, stopping a work that was in the middle of serialization and focusing only on other works felt a little... disloyal, I suppose?”
If there had been an important or unavoidable reason, that would be one thing.
But if I neglected an existing serialization because I was focusing on other works that I had started out of my own greed, then I would be an indefensible abandoner.
A man has his loyalty.
I couldn’t show such a disloyal side, like promising to come back for someone and then forgetting and leaving them alone for over twenty years, could I?
“And if I announced news like that, I’d be worried about what the readers might do. Haha.”
“Ah. Hehe. That certainly is a little frightening.”
Even now, while the serialization was proceeding normally, I had heard that demonstrations were taking place in front of the Publishing Guild every single day.
Telling them to release my books or newspaper serializations faster, that is.
Apparently the Publishing Guild had become so used to it that the employees and the demonstrators even exchanged greetings now?
But if I officially declared here, “The next volume is on hiatus!!!”?
Wasn’t it obvious that the demonstrations, which had remained relatively in WWE territory, would instantly turn into UFC?
The Publishing Guild might literally go up in flames that very day, you know?
I saved them...
The Publishing Guild, from the hands of the enraged readers!
Anyway, for roughly those reasons,
I somehow managed to involve myself in other works while also serializing The Genius Mage of the Slums series at the same time.
The fact that I had carried both sides along without any major problems was enough to make even me proud of myself.
“Thanks to that, I can finally write the last volume now.”
And because I hadn’t stopped the serialization while working alongside other projects,
the time had come for me to write the final volume that would safely bring it to a close like this.
Otherwise, it probably would only have been possible after this year had passed.
“Uuugh. What a shame. To think The Genius Mage of the Slums series is finally ending...
I knew it would end someday, but it feels like the shock of losing a scene from everyday life that had always seemed natural.
It has been a very long time since I felt this way.”
When Aria heard me say that The Genius Mage of the Slums series was now coming to an end, she became extremely dejected and regretful.
It was to the point that I had never seen her look this dispirited before.
And when she said that even by the standards of an elf, who was bound to grow numb to minor changes after living for hundreds of years, the completion of my work was something especially regrettable, the corners of my mouth rose slightly.
After all, being regarded as something special even amid hundreds of years of time could be considered half a rave review.
It meant I could slap on some patriotic hype tagline like, “Praised and clung to by an elf,” or something along those lines.
“I understand how you feel, Miss Aria.”
“Really? Have you had a similar experience too, sir?”
“Yes. When a work you’ve been enjoying comes to an end, it’s truly regrettable.”
Of course, even for me, who wasn’t an F, Aria’s regret was something I could fully empathize with.
That bittersweet feeling when a serialized work you’ve been following comes to an end is something anyone who has experienced it can understand, isn’t it?
There are even readers who hate that sense of regret so much that they can’t bring themselves to read all the way to the final episode, and stop with a few episodes left unread.
“Still, you’ll have to get used to it now.
Because you’ll be experiencing similar things many times from now on!”
But that didn’t mean I had any intention of stopping here.
Even if it was bittersweet, shouldn’t it leave properly when it was time to go?
Bringing the conclusion to a firm close is manners toward both the readers and the work!
Of course, there were ways to extend its lifespan by changing or expanding the story I had originally planned.
And I knew there were readers who wished for that as well.
‘But changing course now isn’t really my style, and with my ability, it’s a bit too late to make large-scale changes to the content at this point anyway.’
It wasn’t as though I could just change and stretch it however I pleased.
If I did that, it wouldn’t merely become a story with a magnificent beginning and a pathetic end; it would turn into an earthworm’s tail altogether.
So rather than pointlessly ruining a work I had done well with until now, it would be the author’s duty to let it remain as a clean, good memory.
Should I say it takes courage to leave while they’re still applauding?
More than anything, since I intended to spread other cultures in this world as well,
I had no intention of being tied forever to the single work The Genius Mage of the Slums.
For the sake of new challenges too.
I would leave the regret behind and repay them with an amazing ending instead. That was what I meant!
***
People, by nature, often fail to imagine that once they grow accustomed to something, it might disappear or be lost.
Like drifting apart in less than a year from a friend you thought would be with you forever.
Like failing to notice that the container full of ssamjang had run out, and ending up grilling meat without ssamjang.
Like never imagining that a coin hitting back-to-back limit-up highs would be delisted overnight.
Looking at it from that perspective, this incident too could be said to have arisen from a similar human tendency.
—New volume of The Genius Mage of the Slums series released!—
As always, it began with a newspaper article announcing that a new volume of The Genius Mage of the Slums, written by Wade, had been released.
“Oh! A new volume is out? Then I have to go buy it right away.”
“At the end of the last volume, the state of all forces other than the protagonist’s group was quite poor.
I’m curious to see how they’ll overcome it.”
“Author Wei really is diligent, isn’t he?
Even while releasing all sorts of other works, he still faithfully serializes The Genius Mage of the Slums like this.”
“That’s why he’s called the Apostle of Culture.”
The people who saw that newspaper article immediately headed to bookstores to buy the new volume.
As if it were only natural.
As if it were an everyday routine that would never change.
But this time, a change had come to that everyday routine.
“What?! The Genius Mage of the Slums series ends with this volume?
What kind of bullshit is that?! It’s selling this well, so why the hell are they ending it?”
“End? It’s ending?
Hahaha. What are you talking about? The Genius Mage of the Slums is scheduled to continue as a long-running serialization from now on too.
IjusttalkedtoAuthorWeiinside,myheadanddecidedthatsohurryupandgetridofthatabsurdliewon’tyou?”
“This is all because the Publishing Guild lacks virtue!
They couldn’t even squeeze Author Wei dry... no, I mean, support him, and they’re ending it like this?!
Fine! Let’s burn everything first and start from there!”
“Aaaaaagh! Don’t go!
Don’t leave us behind like this!”
The readers, who had learned that a work they had never thought would end was now coming to an end,
went half-mad and began to run wild.