Archwizard K’s Journey In The Cultivation World

Afterword.

Hi, this is D, formally known as Kalliel.

If you are reading this, whether on ScribbleHub, Royal Road, or Patreon, I just want to express my deepest gratitude to you, who have made it all the way to the end of this story.

[Archwizard K's Journey In The Cultivation World] was a project I had not thought of very deeply when I decided to start it. I say that, but neither Local Elf nor MOTEF did, anyway.

But K's conception was pretty much on a whim. I decided I wanted to dabble in cultivation stories after being inspired by [The Eldest Martial Sister Gave Up Treatment]—didn't expect this one, did you? They're not remotely similar, after all, but seriously, go give it a try—and I wanted to make something new.

I knew I wasn't going to write a conventional cultivation story since I didn't know nearly enough about the deep culture behind the concept, so I settled on what I knew best—mana and magic. So that was the birth of the novel, and I pretty much ran with it blindly for almost a year.

The story was first posted on my Patreon on December 17th, 2023. Can you believe it?

But... yeah. Perhaps because I didn't pay the amount of attention needed to the plot, I realized around case 90 that I had maybe written myself into a corner. There was simply no option but to let it step into its last stage, or I'd stretch it out for nothing. Of course, there were also external factors like school, other stories, or burnout that contributed to my decision to end it earlier than I had promised. Please go easy on me for that.

Another result of this lack of planning is perhaps the most controversial character of the story and maybe the only big hiccup I have made—August von Lilienthal.

You know what's funny? In my head, all of my stories before they were written out would take on a much, much lighter tone than what I have published. Local Elf would just be about Sylvia dating pretty girls and playing with guns, MOTEF would just be about an owl girl playing with horror entities, and K's would just be about a snarky wizard learning cultivation—with a slightly yandere ex who chases her.

Like my main characters, especially Kierra, I suffer from overthinking. I try to make everything too logical sometimes, and I make things more complicated while also forgetting things often. If I could go back in time, I would perhaps make Kierra not take August's desperate offer in case 63 and get the Sword Empress to keep pursuing Kierra without any advantages this time.

Now, the developments after that wouldn't change much, and we would still arrive at the same ending regardless, but whether you take this as a real revision is up to you.

So... after 124 chapters, we have finally concluded this story of Kierra Scarlett Aspenova. Hiccups aside, it was immensely enjoyable to write someone like Kierra, who's undoubtedly overpowered and arrogant but clearly has the heart of a human. Somehow, even though I never intended it, she even had a character development(?). That was a bit strange, but hey, people like character development, I guess.

The scene I had the most fun with was definitely Cosmos's first entrance in cases 43-44, by the way.

Anyway, as K's is the first story I have ever finished, I am very pleased that it was able to conclude with a happy ending. But just because it's over doesn't mean that we won't be meeting Kierra ever again.

What, do you think I'm too attached to my characters? Of course I am.

She'll be featured in some across-the-multiverses chapters that I'll write in the future, or maybe a cameo in one of my other stories, maybe alongside her lovers, too.

Oh, talk about other stories. There are three easter eggs I've placed in this novel. One is obvious, but the other two are not. I'm sure some of you have already noticed, but Vel—AEN-35.5, Kierra's maid inside her home dimension, is a variant of AEN-35 from MOTEF, and the 'unusual orange cat with a stall' in case 38 is an employee of the Orange Kitty company, which had also appeared in MOTEF at some point. It's a reference to a certain... orange cat from another story of mine. I'll just say that.

Phew... that was a lot, wasn't it?

I didn't expect to write this much either, but there was simply too much to say. Though, let me close this piece by saying that the story will still have some occasional chapters here and there if I feel like it, and it's probably too early, but I do have another idea for an ancient Chinese/murim story that may or may not get written one or two years later, so... uh... tune in after one or two years if you like to read that, I guess.

Once again, thank you for following Kierra on her long but fruitful journey in the Central Divine Realm until this moment. I hope you at least have a little smile after reading this story of mine and that you have enjoyed it even for a bit.

For now, let us say a brief goodbye to our favorite archwizard, and let's hope for her those peaceful, lazy days with lovers that she has always wanted.

This is D.

''...You sure talk a lot, huh, despite not paying that much attention to my story compared to the others. Well? Why are you still here now? Get this over with.''