Hey there! First off, it's not necessary to read any of this before starting the book, so you can skip right ahead, but it will explain: Update schedules, important links, the general idea and the like; so reading this is kinda recommended!
Arc 1 sort of serves as an introductory arc to the characters, the world and setting everything up and so Arc 2 will delve much deeper to push the story. Hence, Arc 3, 4 and forward can do the same as Arc 2. A review after Arc 2 would be greatly appreciated and any support forward helps me put out more chapters and continue this story that I love writing.
The underscores(_), the apostrophes(') and the quotation marks(")?
Underscores are to indicate the change in scene or a skip in time. So when there's a _ in the chapter, it's another scene, time, location etc.
Webnovel has recently implemented italics and bold on the site. (Author from the future here. 20/11/2023) I plan to edit every chapter to implement italics and bold into my writing soon; however, there are over 300 chapters and it'll take some time. So, as to not get confused:
Apostrophes used to be my substitute for italics on this website. When words are in between them, 'Example', it can mean two things. One, they're used in a sarcastic, mocking tone or putting emphasis on something. This is the obvious one. But two, It's also used to show the protagonist's (Jotou's) thoughts. For instance, the very first sentence of the book uses this. 'Where am I...?'
Quotation marks are used for speech. "Hello!" But also to indicate sound. "CRASH!" (I will use bold for sound now that I can)
My update schedule?
At time of editing this auxiliary chapter (20/11/2023), I've tried to stick to the schedule of one every other day. Sometimes I miss several days due to personal reasons. However, rest assured, I plan to finish this story and IÂ will upload chapters.
If I take a break or there's a delay, I'll most likely announce it or notify beforehand or during. (Check if there's an announcement on the book, if not, check the RIWBAW discord.) This story will continued till its end, unless I'm quite literally dead.
Updating or writing too much may lead to burnout and while I am working on a better schedule, this is simply how it is for now. I want a good story that people can enjoy to be out there and that takes effort. Too much mental strain and all there's going to be is new garbage. I tend to take a slower pace for a more fulfilling story with the characters I love.
Discord Invite?
Join the RIWBAW discord and interact to make up a community! Read the rules and verify, then have fun. I'll announce chapter updates, any delays and leaves I take etc. There's also character profiles I intend to expand, a proper list of spells, a q&a section for any questions and you can even give me feedback! I may also create polls and such to determine certain aspects of the story going forward. So, join now!
https://discord.gg/NPxPJZKamz
Word Count?
I try to keep it around 2k per chapter, especially now that I'm further in and delving into Arc 5 soon. My current average out of all the chapters come about to an average of 1.98k words per chapter. But there are definitely chapters exceeding 2000 words and rarely 3000 words.
The cyphers?
There are cyphers in most chapters in Arc 1 and 2. I thought it would just be a fun little thing to add (Yes, very much inspired by Gravity Falls, if you know that show.) Decoding them will give tiny little clues to add to the mystery of the arcs but there's no real need. The story will progress and make sense completely normal as if they weren't there.
As I said, just something fun to do while people waited for the next chapter. I probably won't be doing cyphers going into Arc 3, 4 and so forth. Maybe every now and again but I like the idea of adding little bits of info about the world, something like Attack on Titan maybe? That'll be WIP thought.
(WIP thought became true): There are Spell Facts! at the bottom of some chapters in Arc 4; there's also a couple of Affinity Facts. I'll continue rolling with these Arc 5 and onwards.
Why is this in male lead?
It's the premise of the book itself. The synopsis should cover the reason. Yes, the protagonist is reincarnated as a woman, but the memories and experiences are still that of a guy's. The story takes on a lot more topics, mysteries, adventures than the title alone.
Images in comments?
Those are simply images I make on a website called Picrew using one of the hundreds of templates from one of the hundreds of talented artists. It is not official art and I do not own the copyright to them at all and definitely do not be expecting them.
I'm just entertaining the idea what they'd look like with those templates and try to make them as close as I can make them to the character in my head and described in the book, so they're not gonna look the same as they're supposed to nor is there any commercial purpose. It's just something I do for fun and share and the sources for said art/template by the artist can be found in the Creators' Thoughts section for any comment I made in a chapter.
I commissioned mierydavily on Fiverr for the cover art of the book.
The map of the world can be found in the last paragraph of the first chapter (Arc 1, Chapter 1). It can also be found in the synopsis where it'll take you to Imgur for the full map. Yes, I drew it myself be nice, I'm not a great artist. Any image that is not credited, such as the map of the world, is drawn by me. Again, I'm not the most refined artist but they are concept art and sketches.
Anything else to add?
Should be good to go and jump into the book! But, I also think I want to add what I already said in my own self-review of the book, just as an addition:
The words and phrasings used, or things that happen are most likely not mistakes. One of the tags of this book is mystery, so there are most likely no 'accidental' words or sentences; those are intentional. Same goes for 'plot holes'; things that aren't discussed or don't come into play will probably be explored in later chapters/arcs.
Also, I'm only human. So, errors can occur but I've triple checked from chapters 1-100 and everything should be fine (SHOULD!). The errors would come from me updating daily or generally being tired, so I'll probably fix them at a later date when I catch them but obviously I will try not to make them in the first place.
_
Character decisions aren't mistakes. This is what a character would say or do in a said situation. What you think might happen may very well differ from what I have in mind. It can mean the characters did or said something wrong, or didn't do the best possible thing; that's the point. They're built with flaws, goals, dreams, traits and their own experiences. Boo me, not my precious, precious characters.
_
The pacing I have for this story I think fits perfectly with the story I want to tell. There are reasons for slow moments and reasons for fast ones. It does have actions scenes in it but this is not a fast-paced action novel. It's about the characters, their own developments, mysteries and their journey.
_
If on the off chance you find any spelling errors or anything, comment on it, I'll fix it asap. (And when I fix it, or edit any paragraph it will delete your comment automatically without my control. So thank you in advance.)