《Magriculture》A Note From The Author
Advertisement
Alright, so, some interesting feedback yesterday. I want you to know I do read these comments, and I do consider them.
There are some things, however, that I feel I need to clarify. When I said this is "at best a very rough draft" I wasn't kidding. A lot of this is me throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Someone said it felt like they MC was exploring the magic system at the same time as the Author. That's very true, this magic system isn't set in stone. In fact I've been considering if I need to change it. Should enchanting and Spells use the same runes? Should spells even use runes at all, should I instead move to 'patterns' in which mana has to flow? How the hell do I handle fire when everything so far has been in cubic feet? What about healing? These are all things I have to consider, and have been considering, I have some ideas, and now I need to see what works.
I very much so need to see an idea in action before I can say if it works or not, so some of this is me doing just that. The physical magics seem to work as they are, though I have to wonder, are they too powerful? Is he moving/making too much at once?
There was another comment about how it was like watching someone assemble an object from Ikea that didn't come with instructions and no one seemed to know how it should look. To be honest, that's kind of true. I don't have a set definite "this is how this will end". I have a general "this is where we're going" but getting there isn't yet set in stone.
Some things aren't going to work. Those parts will almost certainly have to be rewritten. Some things are going to look fine on the surface and then come back to bite me later, that will also mean some things will likely have to be rewritten. In the end, I expect that this entire story is going to have to be re-written to some degree or another. Will it look the same afterward, I'm not sure.
Advertisement
Now you're probably asking "why post this then?" and the answer to that is simple. I cannot develope in a vacuum, and my regular reader doesn't like VR stories. I need more than one perspective to help me see what works and what doesn't. I need people who say "This is a farming story in which he does precious little farming, you need to do more farming."
He has (as of the 23rd chapter) had 24 days of work (Might be 25, I think I missed a day). Should I be keeping such rigorous track of days? A lot has happened in that time, and not enough of it was farming. But I've felt like I needed to get him to a place where actual farming could happen. Perhaps I've taken too long to get there. That's another thing I need feedback on (See the 'do more farming' above).
There was some consternation that he stopped to build a house and barn. Should he have skipped those? Is him having animals a detriment to this story or a boon? Is him taking an hour to build a house a problem? Should he just go without one indefinitely? Where is he keeping his stuff? He's got a big inventory but it's slowly accumulating junk. If he had a normal inventory it'd be over full already. These are things I have to consider.
There's been a lot of discussion about the mana well(s), was that a poor choice? Could this story function without them if he had to purchase stones every few days to keep up? Should he use muscle power instead of magic power?
His farm hasn't been raided by jerks yet, is that realistic? Should he lose everything and be forced to start again? I tried writing that in several times, it didn't feel right, but that might be my own bias working against me. I want John to succeed and losing everything might just kill the story. Or maybe he'll somehow rise above it.
Advertisement
As I write this I realize I'm probably rambling a bit and losing the thread here so I'm going to stop after one last bit here.
This story is not a perfect, cohesive thing, which only needs minor edits and maybe some touch ups here and there. This is the messy, nitty gritty 'I'm writing the first draft and we're seeing where it takes us." That's not going to be for everyone. Hell that's probably not going to be for most people at all. But that's okay, if you're not enjoying it, if you're not in love with it, if you're finding yourself at odds with where it's going or how it's getting there, that's okay. But I need you to recognize this isn't a finished product, and it's not going to be for some time, if ever. I hope to write this to a conclusion. I hope to build a functional system that makes sense. I hope that farming happens and that John gets fat wads of cash. But we're on a journey folks, an adventure if you will. It's going to be rough, it's going to be tough, and there will absolutely be mistakes along the way.
If you're willing to accept all that, if you're ready to see growing pains and mistakes, triumphs and failures, things that work and things that don't. Then read on, and please, keep commenting. If you're not ready for that, that's okay too.
I'll post today's actual chapter later in the day. Fair warning, it's short. Fairer warning, the next three chapters (including this one) do not involve farming. In fact, two of them involve a dungeon crawl (which has to be the hardest thing I've written yet, it just doesn't feel right for the story).
And I realize I'm rambling agian, so I'm going to cut it off here. For those of you for whom this story isn't doing it. I'm sorry I didn't meet your expectations. For those of you who are going to continue reading anyway, thank you.
Advertisement
- In Serial10 Chapters
Why, Can’t You Eat?
The woman who would seduce and pounce on men every single night—Lilith Sera.
8 199 - In Serial12 Chapters
Booked
Keagan Murray wakes up in the dirt with no clue who he is. Someone has stolen his Skills and with them, his memories. What’s worse is he’s in Trash Heap, a tiny penal colony in the middle of the wilderness, with no way of returning to civilization. Now he must venture into the untamed forest and deal with disreputable characters just to survive. And perhaps some day he’ll even find a clue to his past.
8 159 - In Serial16 Chapters
Crimson Astral Cascade
Summary: A vampire-astronaut from a futuristic super-reality, is reborn into a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, and now must make a living for himself and his family as a summonable spirit of the void. The ‘chosen’ son of a vast, multiversal, empire is exiled for the sake of political expediency. Honestly, they might have been trying to execute him, rather than just sending him away, but as it turned out, he survived. He fell into the grand nebula, the sewage line, and the plumbing system for the cosmos. Then he was within the base layer of the collective of mostly-destroyed universes known as the core worlds of Tesson. Now for the sake of his new family and new life, he will have to do his best as a “heroic” Astral, traveling between the myriad fractal-worlds of Tesson that still reside outside of the nebula as means of making a living. TLDR: Who hasn’t played a gacha game by now. But have you ever wondered about what kind of life those characters you’re trying to win have lived and are living? Posted only Scribblehub and Royal Road Confirmation Sequence: 2, 4, 16, 32, 64, 128…Tasty Cool.
8 211 - In Serial38 Chapters
The Kidnapped Orphan
*THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN WHEN I WAS 12-13. PLEASE EXCUSE SOME OF THE BAD GRAMMAR AND SPELLING* It's not fun when you're kidnapped but it's terrifying when your kidnapper becomes a teacher at your school. Delilah Smith is just 12 and is an Orphan. She gets bullied and abused but finally defends herself and runs away. But what happens when night falls, the street lamps flicker on and the dangerous people come out to play?Part 2 of The Kidnapped Orphan (Adulthood); After a long and hard childhood, Daisy and James are now together and they both have a 12 year old daughter, named Alice. After 20 years, Joseph is free from prison and that's when hell starts again. On the day, Daisy and James marry, Alice disappears and everyone knows who to blame.
8 187 - In Serial69 Chapters
Re: Apocalypse Games (GAMELit)
Re: Apocalypse game now has a Webtoon adaptation!Aliens have invaded our world. A hundred metallic flying saucers covered the skies of the world’s largest cities, forcing 10 million humans each year to play their absurd VR ‘apocalyptic games’. [Entering game, round four...][Human vs. Bio Mutation][Main Mission: Survive for 7 days] Humanity was forced to survive a series of different apocalypse scenarios: Ice age, Nuclear Fallout, AI Meltdown, Apex predators, etc. all for one promise: [Defeat all rounds and we will leave your world in peace] Every year, the whole world would watch the games in terror as their loved ones suffered and died, with less than 1% managing to return. After 8 years, Alan D. Angello and his team, humanity’s greatest hope, were also defeated. When all hope was lost, Alan was reincarnated 3 years before he joined the games. Will Alan be able to make a difference this time? ##### This is my fifth Novel, hopefully, this one will show all my experience after writing for 2 years. Its VR + Squid games + Apocalypse moviesIf you like any of those you will like this oneCheck out the movie trailer to give a teaser of the novel. Click link below Re: Apocalypse Games Teaser Trailer
8 468 - In Serial37 Chapters
Ultradimension neptunia the only hope
Having to escape to the ultradimension, Neptune, the only male CPU in the hyperdimension, has to find a way to save his dimension from the tari ryo ryghts CPU by facing various enemies and revealing a dark past that haunts him.
8 73