Author's Update

Hello everyone,

I know I’ve been MIA for some time, but I’ve got an explanation for it. I said a while back that only an apocalyptic event would stop me from releasing two chapters in October---and I’m sorry to say there’ve been two apocalyptic events since that day.

For the first one: on the day I released Chapters 4 and 6, I mentioned being too tired to proofread the other half of Chapter 6 and said I’d release it the next day. I was going to do that, but then I saw some people (rightfully) pointing out pretty big issues they had with Chapter 4----which, personally, I thought was a fun read.

It took me a day to check Chapter 5-7 to see if they had any problems like that, but I didn’t find any. (Those on my Patreon know Chapter 5 as “We JJK, We Jump Ya!”) Then I looked over the first half of Chapter 6 and thought it was fine too. But once I got to the middle parts, I started feeling this big wave of dread. The middle part was still decent, but then we reached the section with Big Daddy Raga… and it was bad.

As an author, I liked it at first. It had a ton of foreshadowing, little author-only jokes, and stuff I personally found clever. But when I sent it to myself as an email and read it on my bed without editing powers, I realized---oh, screw it, I’ll just say it! It was ass. It didn’t pay proper homage to the God of Shikigami like it should’ve. It felt rushed, like the author just wanted to get Mahoraga’s stuff over with instead of giving it time to shine.

Then Chapter 7 started feeling like a yapping rehash of things we’d already seen, just from another POV. The secret surprise at the end---the one that reveals the big baddy of the series---felt like the only genuinely good part in the latter half of Chapter 6 and all of Chapter 7, aside from a few key plot points that still held up.

I honestly feel the need to apologize---both to you guys and to my laptop---for how badly I bungled that chapter. I always aim for JoGOAT quality, but this was straight-up Potential Man quality.

That’s why I’ve made the executive decision to rewrite the middle and latter parts of Chapter 6, and all of Chapter 7, into something that’s actually worthy of my readers. I also apologize to everyone who was excited to see Mahoraga in Chapter 6---he won’t be appearing there anymore, since that chapter’s now titled “Tiger-hime and the Shikigami.” (That title’s a reference to how Mourning Tiger and the Ten Shadows were created, so brush up on Heian-era Taira history---specifically the children of Taira no Masakado.)

He’ll now appear in Chapter 7, titled “Big Daddy Raga’s Home and Orarion Aunties are Gossiping About It.” This chapter will show the summoning of Mahoraga, the destruction he causes, and how the people of Orario react to Jin’s arrival---told through the POVs of Freya, Ottar, Shakti, Riveria, and Fels. And of course, it’ll end with a little secret big baddy reveal that sets up what’s coming next.

Now for the second apocalyptic, cataclysmic, ass-flattening event. It happened the day I apologized on QQ for being overly emotional and accidentally disrespectful to readers who were just sharing honest opinions about Chapter 4.

As most of you know, I’m currently in the process of transferring to a university abroad, so I’ve been running between government departments nonstop. Recently, my family found out that, due to some bungling by a nepotistic or young or just plain stupid employee at the agency we hired to make things easier, our paperwork got messed up---and the thousand-plus dollars we paid them was basically up in the air.

If we sued them, the time and money it’d take to get anything back would’ve made me miss my visa window, which means I’d have arrived late to university and possibly lost my scholarship. So instead, for the course of that weekend, I just sat with my head in my arms, hoping and praying we wouldn’t lose so much money before even spending a cent on my education, flight, or the amenities I’ll need to share with my family---like a VPN so I can keep writing and to connected online once I’m in China.

Thankfully, a senior employee at the agency eventually found our missing info and saved us from losing over a grand. But then I find out that that very same gentleman that the guy handling our case had made it sound like the forms needed for the visa process had to be submitted before I could get a visa would take a day at most to get and would not be needed very soon but in acutally they were needed by the end of the week---and could take up to a month unless we shelled out more money for express appointments.

So, I’ve basically been running in and out of government offices and constantly on the phone with friends and family, trying to find anyone who could help speed up the process without burning a hole in our wallets. Today I had to get in line at 5 AM (yes, AM), ready to spend the entire day at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Luckily, a friend of my uncle’s who works in that field helped us out. My dad---who’s been working from home for a while, juggling his job just to help me survive this bureaucratic hell---took the day off to stand in line since 9 o’clock. I’m currently at home waiting for a parcel that I’ll have to rush to him once it arrives.

I’m using every free minute I have to try and write, but my head’s been pounding nonstop. Hopefully, today’s the last day of bureaucratic hell, so the new version of Chapter 6 should be online by October 31st. I’ll try to make it up to you guys by releasing 3–4 chapters (aka Chapters 7-10) next month once my schedule clears up.

Thanks for listening to me vent, and I hope you all have a lovely day!