Afterword

Hey, kentusrpg here. Thanks for sticking around with this Extra Novel, I really wanted to do that, as it serves as a constructive break and will make things easier starting with volume 7. As I have written parts of volume 6 parallel to this, I've decided to not make too many direct references between the two of them. Well, Rine will at least start her wizard-training in volume 6.

My plan was to write much less here, but the story about the superfriends just got bloated and bloated, and I've decided to make it more concrete and firm, to make stuff bigger on the scale, as it also serves the rest of the story around them and the general setting. However, after writing down this monster, I've decided to not repeat the same mistake.

Now to the chapters themselves:

Superfriends: They're surprisingly popular and important to the story, but while I had many notes, I needed to flesh them out, and I needed to revise some passages multiple times to get the right tone with the characters, without spoiling too much of what to come. Their story is about growth, similar to the story concerning Kenta's family, in this particular piece, it's about overcoming sadness and the feeling of inadequacy, something everyone needs to get through regularly.

Like I said, this story became bloated. It was supposed to be shorter, but I had important characters to treat, and I wanted to do them justice, and not just put there, how awesome Masahiko can be.

True Heroes: Lent and Star (formerly known as Yoshimura and Hoshibashi) are interesting characters in their own right, as they can be really powerful, but still lack the means to showcase their true strength. In Aroahenn, they were pretty messed up before their powerboost, here neither their tactics nor their gear could stand the Undead Army, though they'll fight in-between volumes against it to get stronger and stronger.

I like the ooaks, the orc-like people. They're a fun bunch, they just love roughhousing and are such an enjoyable bunch, if you're their friend. If not, they can be quite vicious.

Teachers: Ah, this one... good thing that I've written volume 5's Extra before finishing the story, as I could continue it there. I really hope, that I haven't become an adult like those teachers, because they're quite pathetic in their own rights, but maybe they'll redeem themselves sooner or later. Taniguchi got hold on the wrong end of the stick while talking with the king, Heinrich von Stolzherz is a different kind of adult and ruler than people may suspect. Well, he is Rine's father, so I wanted to make them strangely similar, but actually quite different at the same time.

Have anyone figured out what Saegusa-sensei might have realized? Just curious.

A new poll, this time we're looking for the best husband. Be it for yourself, a friend, a sibling or the like. Who do you think would make the best husband?

How to support the story

If you like to support the story, there are several ways.

The easy ones (no to little effort put into it and you remain anonymous):

1.) Vote on TWF. It's easy, just a few clicks, no account needed, and you've got a vote, which will last one week. The higher the story is on the list, the more likely it is that more people will take a look.

2.) Become a Follower/Favorite. If you aren’t following the story via the Follower-option, consider doing so. Just go to the fiction page and choose “Add to your Bookshelf” on the right side. This not only boosts my confidence, but the number of Followers and Favorites is also visible for everyone on RRL.

3.) Rate this story. If you have a RRL-Account, you can rate this story on the fiction page. The higher the rating is, the higher it is ranked, therefore making it easier for the search function to be found. There is also WLN, where you can rate this story, even without an account.

4.) Upvote and downvote reviews. You can do that on the fiction page as well, and yes, you need an RRL account. The more a review is upvoted, the higher it is on the list. The more it's downvoted, the lower it is placed. So if you like to help, upvote the positive reviews, downvote the bad ones, and give visitors to the fiction page a more positive outlook to the story.

With the new version of RRL, up-/downvoting became a bit of a hassle (because the page reloads every time), but I'd appreciate it if you do it nonetheless.

Some effort involved (and you'll lose your anonymity):

1.) Write a comment. I really like to read your comments, I'm easily pleased by praise, I'll think about actual critique which is usable, and I like to converse with my readers in general. Even if you spot a typo, everything is fine. As long as you don't write stuff like "I hate your guts," "your story is full of shit," and "I don't like your MC," this is not really helpful. I can deal with critique, but I need reasons, I need personal outlooks, I need examples why something feels wrong.

2.) Write a review. Another way to increase the rank are reviews, also made on the fiction page. They have more "weight" when determining the rank of the story. Of course, advanced reviews have more weight. To put it into perspective a half star rating without review made me fall 10 ranks, a 2-star advanced review made me once fall about 80 ranks. So there is a lot of control here, how this story does on RRL.

3.) I also use Social Media... sometimes. Here is my FB-page, here is my Twitter. You can like the former and follow me on the latter. You can also ask questions, make comments, all the nice stuff.

Go the extra-mile

1.) Advertise the story. Be it on social media (there are also share-buttons at the end of each chapter), on other forums or fiction pages, blogs or by talking to friends, there are several ways to make this story known.

2.) Leave a review on WFG. If you have an account there, you can also make a review there. Of course, a positive one would help there.

5.) Donate on PayPal and/or Patreon. I'm still trying to figure out a satisfying resolution for my Patreon

Another way than to hit the PayPal-button for a direct donation is my kofi-page, just hit the button below. It's a bit nicer there and you can leave a message as well.

The donations will only be used for the improvement of the story.

5.) Make fanart. I'm always more than happy to receive anything art-related, be it pictures, be it shorts, no matter. I'll make sure to post them on my blog as well while giving you all the credit. It's just pleasing to see how people care about my story and go that far to appreciate it.

The next volume will bring us into new lands, and we'll say hello to an old acquaintance. As the Crusaders are in Ohlbrücken, Kenta and his family will need to look for another way to cross the river, if they want to get to Zethtrin.

It will be out in a month or so. Have finally a PR again and hope it's fully ready for a weekly release schedule.

Until then, have a good time