Hello everyone, this is SuperHippo.
First and foremost, I would very much like to express my apologies for the not-so-recent and sudden hiatus on this work and the lack of even a word of notice to all the readers of that time.
I am really truly sorry for not notifying anything and suddenly stop updating this work one day and left.
Although not meant to be said as an excuse, my sudden shifts in working condition and personal life at that time really took over a large portion of my time writing and before I knew it, a week of rest became two, and then a month went by, and on and on it goes of me procrastinating on what should've been a fun experience of writing out a story I'd want to read.
The more time passes with my hectic life, the harder it is for me to give any notice to the readers on the state of the novel, mostly because of me myself feeling awkward about it, I think...
Anyway, all the above reasons has combined and culminated into the current state of the novel being what it is presently.
.
The crazy thing is, even after more than a year of hiatus, I realize that every day, or at the very least every week, there would always be people adding this novel to their collections. There were even new readers who sometimes spends their power stones on this novel for a few consecutive days that following week.
Coupled with encouraging comments (be it on this novel or some other novels I've commented on from this site where others recognized me, that was wild), all this experience as a whole has been quite overwhelming to say the least. Knowing that this unfinished work of only some 70+ chapters still got some love from a few people even at the state it's currently at.
And because of that, one day, I started getting the thoughts of wanting to reread this unfinished work for myself, initially just to try and see what I'd been doing a bit more than a year ago.
I must say, rereading my own work after a long time is quite a peculiar experience in and of itself. All the cringe, questionable, and also the proud moments from within the novel came crashing in all at once, clearer than ever.
And the more I read, the more I see from a new perspective which part I thought was lacking, which part was too much, and which part deviates from how I originally intended the novel to be.
.
Anyway, without realizing it, I started to doze off more and more during my free time thinking on new ways to change the novel if I had the chance, of what I would take away and what I would keep, etc.
Before I knew it I started writing drafts on my phone late at night at 2:00 AM even though I didn't know what I'm going to do with all the stuff.
So, as some of you might have guessed where this is going after reading lines and lines of my 'diary' above that doesn't seem to be getting to the point anytime soon. I was thinking of rewriting [Martial Arts Battle Arena] from the ground up again.
That's basically what the announcement is about.
Before anything else, I want to say that I'm not writing all this to lure back the past readers to 'wait for me and follow me this time once again!' or anything like that. I feel that it would be too unfair of me to even ask that.
I am writing this announcement before the rewrite just to give anyone who still followed, paid attention to, or supported this work however little, the long overdue notice and update on this novel and where it's standing. Which is the fact that "I will not be continuing the current story any longer."
Once again, I am truly, very sorry for those who have been or still waiting on the update of the current story, and for the new readers who have just finished reading it up to chapter 70+ these past few days or weeks, but I truly feel that the settings of the current one might put some limitations of what I want for the novel in terms of future plot.
And for that, I can't apologize enough.
.
Now, for more context regarding the rewrite of [Martial Arts Battle Arena]:
<1> The title and world setting for the story will mostly stays the same, which is a sci-fi setting focusing on a martial arts team combat sport story.
<2> The overall feel of the novel will also be the same as the current one, which is once again a fictional sport novel with already veteran MC going through the phases of the sports again from school to eventually the pro league.
<3> One of the most important change is the sport itself. I will be streamlining and simplifying the Battle Arena sport rules in the rewrite, mainly on the parts that makes the current one feels clunky to write. The puzzle towers and zoning rules of it all will be removed and replaced in the rewrite.
<4> The other big change will be the MC origin. The rewrite will make the MC "turn younger" instead of "turn back time" to the past as per the current story.
I like the idea of a second chance novel and that still won't change in the rewrite. But what I find lacking in the current one with regards to MC is the fact that his character is somewhat bland with very little discerning traits throughout the story. Plus, the relationship dynamic between MC and the supposed female lead feels a bit forced as well.
I've been brainstorming ideas on how to adjust and bring out more of the MC unique personal characters in the rewrite and I believe this "turn younger" concept will work out better to that purpose. Plus, in my opinion, it's fresher than the "turn back time" to the past concept. Also, I don't like when things 'magically' happen with little to no reasoning or follow through, so in this one as well, there will be proper plot as to the 'how' of the "turn younger" concept.
<5> The final big change that I can say for now is the change on the power system from "gene" setting to the simpler-to-explore "inner force/internal energy" setting.
While writing the power system of the current novel and planning for future plot & characters, I started to feel the limitation of the gene setting, mainly from the variety and versatility standpoint. While I can just increase the variety of 'ability gene' types, I feel that with genes, a specific ability will still be limited in its usage variety when "growing stronger" or when characters acquire "new techniques".
Of course, in writing, there will always be a workaround for any self-given limitations, but all in all, I would rather change the setting entirely into what I feel comfortable with when planning for future plots. Plus, no matter the power system, in the end, the focus is in the sports and the characters' life and growth.
But to solve any future queries right now, no, the power system will not involve any kind of "cultivation" (at least not the meditative/enlightenment kind with breakthroughs and cultivation bottlenecks). The martial arts aspect of it all will be more akin to scientifically engineered exercises because of the sci-fi settings, and it will not be like those where anyone can learn and grow stronger as long as one has the book/scroll/manual for a skill.
That's all for the details I can give regarding the rewrite version's plots and settings, and as for the work itself,
<6> I will only release the rewrite AFTER I've accumulated roughly the same word count as the current one, and THEN release them all in batches. (This is more to keep myself on my toes and not just release 10 or so chapters and stop again.)
<7> Because I am still working around my apparently busy life schedule, I have only just completed the first 3 chapters of the rewrite recently, and can only say that the eventual release will inevitably be on Early 2022.
<8> Lastly, it will NOT be a new "book". I will release them here when I've accumulated enough and subsequently delete the current existing chapters of this now 'old' version.
Thank you for everyone's attention and bearing with this very long and winded announcement up to here. I'm truly sorry for all newer readers of this work who had just finished reading the novel recently, and of course, thank you for all the kind words and supports for this book up till now.
That's all from me for now, see you all soon and I wish you all an early Merry Christmas since I most likely will not be posting anything else until I release the rewrite.
m(_ _)m