"Are the reviews really that good? Let me have a look."
Setting aside her position as the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, her role as the chief editor of Yae Publishing House was also Yae Miko's legitimate occupation. With hundreds of years of experience and a mischievous love for novelty, her keen and discerning eye was second to none in all of Inazuma.
Even so, after reading for quite a while, she had to admit, "This is brilliant... If nothing unexpected happens, this year's 'This Novel Is Amazing!' Grand Prize champion will definitely be born from one of these three books. Among all the light novels I've read, these three could easily make it into the top ten—maybe even the top five."
"So, that means our agreement is fulfilled, right?" Victor Wang asked.
There was no longer a need for Kokomi to call her 'Sister Yae,' and the matter of the 'rumor' could be laid to rest. The price was merely writing three novels—a task surprisingly effortless for him.
To his surprise, Yae Miko shook her head. "Not yet~"
"Huh?!"
"Don't be impatient. With these three books, the agreement is already ninety-nine percent complete. What's left are the finishing touches—illustrations, publication, and release. You only need to cooperate a little longer."
"Just the illustrations…"
Seeing the playful smile on Yae Miko's face, Victor Wang couldn't shake the feeling that she was up to something again.
An editor suddenly realized, "Right! I knew something felt missing while I was reading—it's the illustrations! Beautiful, eye-catching illustrations quickly draw readers' attention and leave a strong first impression. The right artwork also helps readers better understand the story's atmosphere. For light novels, they're absolutely essential!"
"Then let's get them added. Should I find an illustrator myself?"
"No need. Since Yae Publishing House will handle the publication, we'll take care of the illustrators as well." Yae Miko turned to her staff and instructed, "Raise the priority for these three books to the highest level. Check which artists are currently available, and have them come over this afternoon—no, right away."
Once she was done giving orders, she looked back at Victor Wang. "You'll need to come this afternoon too. You'll be working with the illustrators to plan the artwork and help define the characters' appearances."
Victor grew wary. "I already have some ideas for the illustration scenes. I can describe them in detail now, maybe even sketch out some simple drafts. That should help the artists a lot."
"Perfect~" Yae Miko nodded with a bright smile. "Then I'll be counting on you."
That afternoon, the Yae Publishing House was livelier than before—there were quite a few new faces. To Victor's surprise, they truly were illustrators.
"Mr. Dust, I noticed the illustrations for Chronicles of Shenzhou's Broken Sword were done by Calx. Are you close with them?"
"We're friends."
"Whew… I see. Knowing that we get to illustrate your new novels is a lot of pressure…"
"Don't worry. I've prepared detailed descriptions for each scene, and also—"
"Wow! Every character's color palette, costume, pose, expression, even their position in the frame—it's all written out so clearly! If we don't have to imagine all of this ourselves, we can probably finish really quickly! But, uh… what are these colored pages filled with rough sketches?"
Among the artists was a familiar face—Seto Eri, a stylish girl whose imaginative yet elegant fashion sense made one wonder if she used to be a fashion designer before becoming an illustrator. Her question immediately cornered Victor.
"These are… the line drafts. Though a little rough—and yes, already colored," one of the artists murmured, studying the sheets.
They were, in truth, Victor's attempts to recreate from memory the original finished illustrations.
"Ahem," Victor tried to salvage the situation, pointing at one of the sketches. "If you look closely, doesn't this resemble a person?"
"This… is a person?"
"Actually, yeah, kind of!"
"Oh—wait, these two dark blobs… they're, uh… a girl's breasts, right? They're huge! I thought they were two black slimes!"
Several female artists blushed.
Victor's expression darkened.
He had drawn a chest—but they thought it was a slime. Ironically, the character's breasts in that scene were slimes in disguise…
"Let's drop this topic. Anyway, just focus on drawing. If anything looks off, I'll let you know."
Half a day passed. Then another half day. Then yet another.
Under Victor Wang's guidance—relying on his vivid memories of the final artwork—the dozen illustrators completed all the illustrations for the three novels in just a day and a half.
Before wrapping up, Yae Miko personally came by with pearl milk tea for everyone.
"The publishing preparations are complete, and now the illustrations are too. Printing starts tonight, and the books will hit the shelves tomorrow."
"In that case," Victor asked, "the agreement is finally fulfilled, right?"
"Let's say… ninety-nine point nine percent done. Tomorrow at noon, we'll hold a launch talk event. Once that's over, the promise will be officially complete."
"A launch talk event? What do I have to do?"
"Normally, you'd thank the editors, the publisher, and the illustrators, maybe invite some well-known authors or readers to praise the books. Then you'd share your creative process, the challenges you faced, and a few thoughts on your next work. Finally, you'd do a short Q&A with the fans. Since your situation's special, some parts can be skipped. Don't worry—it's just a typical promotional event~"
...
"Dear readers, welcome! Today marks not only the release of Dust's first collaboration with Yae Publishing House, but also his debut as a novelist in Inazuma! Some of you might be wondering—'Who is Dust?'"
"Well, actually, Dust is already a highly acclaimed author outside Inazuma! Due to the lockdown, you know how it is! But that's not what matters. A true writer lets their work speak for itself!"
"Please welcome Dust's three new light novels—That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, The Eminence in Shadow, and The Master of Calamity!"
"Woo—!!"
The host's introduction was flowery, and the crowd's cheers were enthusiastic. But when Victor Wang glanced across the seats from the stage, he realized—there weren't any readers down there. The front rows were packed with authors, most from Yae Publishing House, a few unfamiliar ones too—all holding notebooks, practically wearing signs that said, 'I'm an author.'
"And now, we're honored to have Dust himself here! Let's skip the boring parts and jump straight into the most exciting segment—the Q&A!"
"Woo—!!"
"Yae Miko…"
Victor let out a deep sigh.
"Mr. Dust, may I ask how you view 'filler chapters'? If we don't add them, the story feels too short and dry, but if we do, readers complain about padding!"
"…Actually, everyone here probably already knows this: For a novel to have highs, it must also have lows. If everything's a climax, then nothing is—and the reader will just get exhausted."
"You need foreshadowing so that the protagonist's breakthroughs don't feel abrupt; emotional buildup, so climactic moments resonate; descriptive scenes to help readers immerse; and transitions between those peaks."
"So, what's the difference between filler and a slow-paced stretch of story?
"You've probably heard similar things before, but let me put it another way—from a reader's perspective: filler is unavoidable. The key is whether it feels natural, reasonable, and ideally, interesting. Achieve those three, and no reader will call it padding."
The authors below quickly scribbled notes.
"Mr. Dust! What should we do when we hit a writer's block?"
The room fell silent.
Someone played a dramatic audio track, and the entire hall descended into a dark, oppressive atmosphere.
A solemn voice echoed: "The Demon King known as Writer's Block—an unpredictable foe that appears on every author's path. It brings despair so deep one might burn drafts, tear up outlines, sacrifice sleep, or even sell one's soul to defeat it… It spares neither novices nor veterans! Every story, every writer! Sooner or later… they will face it!!!"
When the narration ended, murmurs spread among the authors.
"There was once a writer who battled Writer's Block for three days and nights—his life and sleep shattered. He wrote over a hundred thousand words, only to burn them all at dawn. Later, he traveled across every mountain in Inazuma to 'clear his mind,' but when he returned home… Writer's Block was still there."
"Another legend tells of a man who ran naked through Inazuma City wearing only a mask, trying to 'find inspiration in nature.' He ended up in a Tenryou Commission jail, and during ten days behind bars, he discussed with fellow inmates how to defeat Writer's Block. When he got out… he broke again. Then he switched genres—to crime novels."
Victor Wang had never actually written a novel himself, but having read so many, he managed to speak with confidence:
"When you hit Writer's Block, the most common fix is to add something new—a new character, a new setting, a new location—to push the plot forward with fresh content."
"You can also switch perspectives, shifting away from the main character temporarily to show side stories that help move the plot along."
"But the best solution is still to read more, write more, and ask more questions. Read related works, jot down ideas when inspiration strikes, and don't hesitate to ask peers or editors for advice. In the end, it all comes down to accumulation. The more you have, the easier it gets to break through."
"And if all else fails… you can always plagiarize book reviews. You'd be shocked how creative readers can be."
"Plagiarize… book reviews?"
"Write that down! Write that down!"
"Mr. Dust, could you share some story formulas with us?"
"Light novel formulas, huh… There are too many. Even just the invincible protagonist archetype can be split into countless variations—whether the protagonist knows they're invincible, whether their allies or enemies know, and so on. Combine that with a comedic or serious world tone, and the possibilities multiply. But I won't go too deep into it here."
"Come on, tell us! We love hearing this stuff!"
"Yeah, we've got all the time in the world!"
"Well then, let me give you some examples…"
…
"And finally, Mr. Dust, do you have any last words for everyone here?"
Watching the sun dip below the horizon, Victor Wang fell silent for a moment.
"Then I'll say just one thing."
Damn Yae Miko, his throat burned—she hadn't even offered him a glass of water!
No, that wasn't what he meant to say.
"Creativity… is finite."
The audience froze for two seconds before reacting—some whispered, some pondered, others stared at him in confusion.
"You might find it surprising, but listen—if you haven't realized this yet, that's actually a good thing. It means you're still far from reaching the boundary."
"When novels first began to flourish, countless ideas, tropes, and genres sprouted up like mushrooms after rain. But once everything that could be imagined was written down, something became clear: no matter how hard you think, there's a good chance someone's already done it. That's what people mean when they say a trope is overused."
"And this situation will never improve—it'll only get worse."
"We have to admit: imagination has limits."
"Humans can't conceive of things beyond their own understanding. Just like a newborn can't tell the difference between a slime and a dragon—if they were to dream, their dream would be empty."
"We come into the world knowing nothing. We learn by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. We reshape and reassemble what we've learned, add abstract concepts from reality, and thus build worlds of imagination. These imagined worlds may be larger than the real one—but they're still finite."
"The day someone takes a step beyond the edge of that imaginative world—when everything else has been done—that person will be called a genius."
"The fortunate thing is, all of you are still far from that edge. So, step forward freely. Open your minds. Expand your thoughts. And keep going."
More and more authors fell into silence.
After Victor Wang left the stage, a voice finally rose from the crowd: "We'll reach the edge of imagination—and then expand it!"
Backstage, Yae Miko handed him a cup of pearl milk tea. Victor took a sip—it was lukewarm now, though he wasn't sure if it had been bought that way or had simply cooled over time.
"You really dared to say that, huh."
"It's one of the few things I actually wanted to say."
…
["Master!"] When he returned to the inn, Little Wen seemed to have been moved by the talk as well. ["I always thought humans had limitless imagination!"]
"How could that be? Even when humans try to imagine the most terrifying creature possible—say, one covered in eyes, teeth, and arms, with no skin and exposed muscles and veins, large enough to juggle the sun and moon, even capable of manipulating life, death, time, and space—it's still made up of things we already know."
["So, to expand the world of imagination, we must first expand the real world, right?"]
"Exactly. Every expansion in the real world reflects back—magnified—in the world of imagination."