Hello everyone:
I thought it might be around time for me to do a new review of my story as it has developed far more and become so much more than I ever originally thought/imagined. (Especially being constantly in the top 100-150 was not something I ever imagined)
Let's start with a, not sure what to call it. You will realize that my first few chapters have quite a few cliches or tropes. I will admit I relied on them to get started, slowly I moved away and now I harshly look at cliches and will really debate if I wish to add any or not.
If I do decide to do so, I will always attempt to do it in a way that will fit naturally in the world and story.
On that topic, this story is not a quick one diving into a plot and having the main character have a strong goal right from the start. Eldrian is just a person who was interested in this new type of game, and naturally he is our MC because he has some natural unknown talents.
(You wouldn't want to follow an average joe, or would you?)
He is not OP, he is not weak. Rather, he is. He grows with time and he learns with time. He forgets often and he does stupid and brilliant things almost at the same time. He is human, and I do my best to reflect that he is.
I do my best to reflect this with all my characters, even the non-humans.
Next, the story idea. It started as a more realistic game world, and become an 'alternate' world instead. It is most certainly still a game story and the world is indeed virtual and a game, but I do not focus on game elements. They are there, there are stats, there are weapons, spells, and item descriptions.
In the heat of combat, they are not brought onto the page. However, I do not neglect them.
I always run my spreadsheets and do calculations to determine what effects what spell/attack will have. The stats are important, but I feel pushing them into a fight is distracting. So I almost never do, barring a few unique enemies who do not possess normal vitals.
This brings me to my magic system, I get that many feel it is similar to Mages are too OP. However, I started my story before reading that one, and I was at around chapter 30 when MTOP(?) reached chapter 100; when I started reading it.
I won't mention it more than this, but I want to make it clear that while it might feel(read) the same, mine is nowhere close. You should realize this after (not sure) chapter 50 maybe, chapter 100 for sure.
Magic is hard, and it stays that way constantly. It is a constant pursuit of new and difficult knowledge and skills. Nothing comes easy, everything takes time and effort.
On that note, much of my writing dives into these topics in detail. I do not glance at details, but I also do my best to never repeat details. One spell might take one, two, maybe even three or more chapters to learn, but the next spell won't take more than a paragraph unless it is very different.
With this said, I also want to mention that the IRL world is constantly intertwined with the story. It is not forgotten, and it is part of the lore and background. After all, ANW was created with a very specific aim, and that aim is one a company in the real world has.
Next, a few things I see are often asked/questioned.
Romance: Some, but not really. I have introduced a romance early on, but I never really developed it as I am a stranger to the topic of romance.
(NTR, Harem): No on both
Rewriting earlier chapters: I simply do not have the time nor will that really work, I have however gone through and fixed the obvious spelling and grammar mistakes.
Pacing: It is slow, I won't lie. As I said earlier, I go into details and things are constantly happening. There is almost no time skips. By chapter 500 only 6 months have passed, Eldrian is around level 30 (won't give precise level) and Tier 4.
However, levels do work differently in this game compared to normal worlds. The death penalty you will also find is really harsh, and my story is not one where the MC somehow never dies. (never made much sense to me, especially since dying in a game is normal for everyone)
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Side note: I dive deeply into topics such as the emotional impact of events, philosophy, and realism. My aim with my magic system is and has always been to bridge reality and fantasy in a 'fantastical' way.
You will come to find with time the approach I took for this, I hope you come to love it as I do. If not, I understand.
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I think this is a long enough overview (almost a chapter's length), hopefully, it can help people decide if they want to give it a try or not.
