AFTERWORD: A Note from the Author
Hello, this is the author. Following my previous completion note for Academy Villainess Makeover, here I am giving another wrap-up greeting. It's all thanks to you readers who stuck with me until the very end and enjoyed it. First off, let me offer my sincerest thanks.
I have a habit of jotting down ideas whenever they pop into my head, and this novel was one of those memos from when I was serializing my previous work. "Someone thought to be a villain but is actually a good person, tough-guy act, the thrill of that perception gap narrowing until the true identity is revealed..." and so on. Honestly, even I thought it sounded fun. Of course, that's always under the caveat of "if I write it well."
As I settled on that idea and started plotting, one dilemma arose: Should I go with a hero story or a magical girl one? No matter the direction, the core storyline didn't seem to differ much. My initial thought was magical girl. I'd read a really fun novel on Novelpia that fused magical girl vibes with Kamen Rider elements—something from my early days on the platform that I reread a couple of times because it was that good. I figured blending those memories with elements from my previous work (e.g., magical girl Baek Seoyeon, magical girl Yeon Minha) might make for something entertaining. I was pretty tempted for a while...
But in the end, as you saw, I started serializing it as a hero story. I thought that direction might be easier to develop... but it wasn't long before I realized that was a huge miscalculation. Thinking back, I'd barely—actually, never—read hero webnovels. Even Novelpia's GOAT, I'd only heard the name and skimmed the early chapters. Digging into other media, I vaguely remembered Marvel's heyday and watched some famous movies like Batman, Superman, Joker, etc., but I never dove deep. With my tastes heavily skewed toward fantasy, it was inevitable... Anyway.
I painfully learned just how reckless it was to start serializing on a whim without any real understanding of the genre, given my skill level. Honestly, it squeezed my brain harder than my previous work. Setting the enemies' strength, villains' and heroes' powers, backgrounds, storylines, and everything else... each one felt like an insurmountable mountain... ugh.
Because of my inexperience, I still regret not fully capturing that unique hero-story rush—the thrill, the exhilaration. But I gave it my absolute best, so I have no further regrets! The scenes I envisioned all turned out decently, so I'm pretty satisfied there, and writing a hero story was a fresh, enjoyable experience in its own way.
Thanks to you readers who found it fun, I was able to reach completion safely once more. Let me thank you again.
My next work should come around year-end, or early next year at the latest. I'm still mulling over what to write. I was thinking of revisiting my favorite genre, harem stories, since the dopamine hit from novels lately has been lacking... I craved something more stimulating. But the meta seems to have shifted a lot. Even during Academy Villainess Makeover, harem stories weren't that common, and now it's a total drought—you can barely count them on one hand... Have all the fans vanished...? Sob sob.
For various reasons, I need to think more about the concept. Whatever it ends up being, I'll work hard to return with an even more entertaining story.
With that, I'll sign off, looking forward to seeing you again someday. Stay healthy, everyone!