Mage Manual
Chapter 656 - 2 volumes summary and request for leave

Chapter 656: 2 volumes summary and request for leave

Although it’s called a summary, it’s difficult to encapsulate the content of the second volume in just a few hundred words, given that the second volume was quite lengthy and merged too many of my thoughts; I can only briefly trace the sources of my inspiration.

The ’Weaving List’ from the Kingdom of Gospel naturally draws from the once-popular trend of ranking lists (which is no longer hot). In a normally progressing storyline, it suddenly throws in a list that can disclose all personal information, thus sparking a major social upheaval. I liked reading these kinds of novels back then, and it occurred to me, what if a society had a ranking system from the start? What would that look like?

As for the ’Gospel’ which answers any question at any time, it probably came from a joke I saw online—it roughly means that while God won’t always respond to you, the devil is always at your beck and call. So, who really cares more about you? Then, I decided to write about a god who responds to everyone’s prayers.

The Void Realm War in the Time Continent was naturally based on Heroes of Might and Magic. The war among the six nations was still unresolved, but it wasn’t Ash and the others who revealed the truth of this war.

In the Weaving Festival, the plot actually describes only four out of the ten lists: the ’Art List’ that ignited conflicts, Harvey’s showcase in the ’Family List’, Igula’s highlight in the ’Deceit List’, and the ’Gospel List’ featuring Ash and Liss.

When I said there were ten lists, I was actually just writing off the cuff; however, after finishing the first three, I realized they were too lengthy, so I accelerated the plot afterward.

Regarding the different city systems of the Kingdom of Gospel, I mainly described Azura, Vatican Mura, Mongfera, and Nabistin. While Azura is a stereotypical ’future city’, Vatican Mura’s white mist dreamscape, Mongfera’s culture of enjoying first and working later, and the concept of work trusteeship in Nabistin brought fresh ideas (I think they are somewhat interesting?).

Theoretically, other first-tier cities would be even more bizarre, but due to limited space and insufficient creativity on my part, I didn’t elaborate. However, the theme is the same—if there were an all-knowing and all-powerful big data system, how many forms could society take?

When describing the worldview, I have an important principle: I must be able to accept living in it myself.

Thus, I think the atomized society of the Kingdom of Blood Moon is a good answer. I also like how clearly planned Azura’s little joys of life are arranged, how Vatican Mura’s white mist dreamscape offers a decent escape, being Belladett’s dog in Mongfera isn’t too bad, and living as a floater in Nabistin is even better—if Gospel could write new drafts for me in the blink of an eye, that would be too cool.

*

The second volume is much longer than the first, but that was an unavoidable move. The first volume had a smaller map, only featuring Kaimon City and Shattered Lake Prison, with events limited to the Blood Moon Judgement, jailbreak, and escape.

In contrast, the second volume has four maps, four major lists which are four major events, along with various other incidents, the Void Realm War, and the romantic developments of Hanna, Diya, and Ash, and even Igula’s romantic storyline. The workload was more than double, yet upon review, it doesn’t seem that much.

Among the main new characters described, Banjee’s character design was influenced by ’Hayate the Combat Butler’s’ Saki, and by Toukiden Water Moon for his visual image. His integration into Miracle was referenced from Hellsing’s butler and Death God’s captain Toshiro Hitsugaya’s Bankai—a cute and gentle all-powerful young butler, who transforms into a handsome young man, a mature adult, an aged senior, and finally back to a baby all to protect the mistress.

And for Hanna... I recalled her setting in the storyline:

Her mother controlled vast resources as an Upper;

She fled Vatican Mura with Banjee as a child;

She became a Mage in her teens, helping Sirimoro from the Sea Demon Department secure the position among the top ten Sea Witches;

Participated in the ’Magic Blood Battle’ in the underground city of Nabistin, and became friends with Cleos, a future Holy Sanctuary Mage;

Traveled with the heir of the Belladett family, even became Yvalin’s only close girlfriend;

Reorganized the Funeral Service Office, making it one of the top ten offices in Azura with Banjee;

Easily destroyed the evil Four Pillars God Sect;

Her goal was to overturn society and reform order;

Hosted a bloodline curse (the sins of the Empress’s ancestors);

Awakened her bloodline’s power (able to predict the list outcome);

Her lover was also someone she picked up;

Her lover was originally planning to sulkily runaway;

...Wait, what? This is a script for a youth adventure protagonist.

*

Theoretically, this book should have six volumes, at most eight.

However, the following volumes won’t be as long as the second volume; I hope the entire works won’t exceed the "Small World".

For the next volume, I already have some preliminary ideas and several characters I’m eager to write about, but the world view still needs some consideration. Since once I start writing, there are no takebacks, I need some time to think; plus, I’ve been continuously updating for thirty days... Not even a grinding donkey works this hard...

And these past few days, I’ve been getting less than six hours of sleep again... I haven’t even locked in "The Big Lock"...

The next volume will naturally be titled ’Distant Realm.’ As for the method of smuggling, I’ve already thought it through, inspired by an exorcism expert’s peculiar narrative.

To celebrate the smooth completion of the second volume, I’m also soliciting some monthly tickets, votes!

Rest _ days, then I’ll be back.