"I'm tired, boss."
Well folks, we have finally reached the end of the second arc! We started back in chapter 50 and finished at 120—that is 70 freaking chapters!
Before sharing some statistics and future plans, I want to deeply thank all of you for your continued support, even with my infrequent update schedule.
So, thank you all! 😄👍
🏆 Milestones & Statistics
As promised, I need to celebrate some amazing milestones with you. We actually reached some of these a while ago, but I kept them a secret until today so it wouldn't disrupt the flow of the chapters:
• 3,000+ Collections: We officially hit this milestone today, June 21, 2026! Holy shit!
• 1 Million+ Views: We officially surpassed one million views!
• 1,110+ Power Stones (Votes of Confidence): Our weekly average is around 24 stones (and I always give away 3 of mine). This week was amazing, and we hit 30 stones for the first time in months! We are still below the Top 200 in the power ranking, but since the calculation resets weekly, that's completely understandable.
• 423 Comments: Your comments are my absolute biggest incentive. A special shout-out to Shadow_Ahjin and Icehero68, who comment on every single chapter. I read and try to reply to everyone!
• The Only Sad Note: Our ratings have been stuck at 14 since the first arc. Nobody has left a new review in months, which makes me a bit sad, but oh well!
• Word Count: Including author's notes and the introductory guide, we have 124 chapters total. Not counting this specific note, the story is currently at 296.32K words—practically 300k!
Speaking of word count, I've really noticed my growth as a writer. In the beginning, hitting 2,000 words felt overwhelming, and I felt so proud when I managed it. Nowadays, I don't know what happened, but it's hard for me to write a chapter with less than 4,000 words!
🔍 Arc 2 Review: Behind the Scenes
This second arc was incredibly difficult to write. Many of you probably noticed that things felt a bit directionless at times, and there is a reason for that: I didn't plan this arc at all; it was entirely improvised.
My original plan was a short 20-to-30-chapter arc showing the protagonist building connections, awakening new powers, and introducing Lili as the second romantic interest. But then, I messed up. While the characters were returning from the dungeon, I randomly thought: "Why not drop a teleportation trap right under their feet? Just because."
Because of that impulse, the protagonist spent three unnecessary months stuck in the dungeon. On the bright side, I used this to awaken his ultimate skill—something I only intended to introduce in Arc 4, but the conditions felt perfect to do it now.
⚡ Current Power Level & Status
Right now, the protagonist has three skills and one magic spell, remember, the ranking is just:
• Tireless Explorer: Gives effects equivalent to an A-rank Development Ability, he's practically a video game character, virtually tireless and recovering in seconds. He's not immortal like Ban, but losing a heart is no longer lethal.
• Maze Runner: A B-rank skill, this mainly grants the protagonist a gigantic spatial sense, creating a super-detailed real-time mini-map of everything within a 10-kilometer radius inside his head, and also causing those super strange hallucinations in true Baki style.
• The Third Skill: It didn't technically appear yet because I didn't include a final status update scene, but I will reveal it at the very start of Arc 3.
• Magic (Blink): This is a simple, instant, incantation-less movement spell. For those who missed it: whenever he teleports without dialogue, it's because he uses it instinctively. When he does call it out, his lips move without him even realizing it.
• Addressing the Haters: Some readers can't seem to accept that the protagonist is an elf who prefers throwing punches over casting a million damage-type spells. Personally, I think offensive magic is overrated. If you can buff your stats enough to become the "Saitama of Shopee," why waste a slot on raw damage instead of utility like healing?
Also, screw whoever is complaining about him still being Level 1. His raw attributes already allow him to face Level 4 adventurers head-on. Changing the number from 1 to 2 doesn't alter his actual strength. If I wanted to, I could just let his stats increase infinitely at Level 1, though I'd lose out on Development Abilities like Luck or Mystery.
Regardless, he will definitely level up to Level 2 in the next arc.
🔮 What to Expect in Arc 3 (The Future)
I accidentally created a major problem: I made the protagonist too strong.
With Tireless Explorer on steroids, he can basically go toe-to-toe with Ottar under the right conditions. Since he is allied with the Loki and Hephaestus Familias, Freya isn't a real threat anymore. Because of this, all life-or-death tension is gone.
As a result, the original plot I planned for Arc 3 is being thrown out the window, and I will be improvising from scratch again. Here is what we will focus on:
• Crafting & Economy: Developing potions, forging and creating magical artifacts using the Mystery ability to make some serious money.
• Familia Growth: Expanding and developing the Familia's influence.
• The Harem & Romance: I am currently looking at Eina, Tiona, Hephaestus, Asphi, and Haruhime. Speaking of Haruhime, a reader got into a massive argument with me months ago about adding her. Well, if you are reading this: you won. The hot, personality-less sweet fox girl is officially joining the harem.
• The Plot: There won't really be a major villain. Instead, it will be the protagonist steamrolling through dumb gods, weak Familias, and dealing with political and commercial disputes over his innovative products. We will take a break from heavy dungeon raiding, though it will still happen in the background.
💬 Over to You! (Q&A)
To keep things organized, please leave your thoughts in the specific sections below!
1. The Plot & Going Off-Canon
What do you all think of the story and plot so far? I know some people don't like the fact that I'm ignoring the original plot, while others heavily support my initiative. Honestly, I don't see the point in reading a fanfic where everything follows the exact same canon plot, just adding an OP protagonist so he can bypass the original struggles, get better opportunities, and steal all the girls. I want to do something different.
👉 [Leave your comments about the plot here]
2. The Romance & Harem List
At the end of Arc 2, we had our first somewhat mature scene, and we also introduced Lili to move the harem forward. To be honest, I don't feel confident writing full 18+ NSFW scenes on my own. Plus, AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT have strict content regulations, which is a shame! So, at most, we'll have those "fade-to-black" moments like before.
The current harem target list is: Hestia, Lili, Eina, Tiona, Asphi, Freya, Hephaestus, Loki, and now adding Haruhime, totaling 9 girls. In my opinion, that's already a lot! Keep in mind these are just targets on a list—nothing is guaranteed. Some will make the cut, others might not, depending entirely on how the story unfolds.
If you want to suggest someone else, you must provide a valid, natural justification for how they fit into the story. Just saying "Add X girl because she's a MILF" won't work. I won't lift a finger for that.
👉 [Leave your comments about the girls here]
3. Questions & Spoilers
Do you have any questions about the plot, something you didn't quite understand, or do you simply want a spoiler? I have absolutely no problem giving away spoilers! Even though I'm improvising a lot, any general questions are welcome.
👉 [Leave your comment here about what you think of the story and the work in general]
4. The Protagonist's Kit
What do you think of my protagonist's personality and powers? I bet most of you are more interested in the powers! I'm strictly following a grounded "adventurer" theme for him, so don't expect crazy, god-like spells. His kit revolves around high stamina, high mobility, simple melee combat, finishing moves with his new Zweihander (no rapid weapon-clashing like a generic swordsman), throwing things for ranged attacks, and utility support items/spells.
If you have any creative ideas that fit within these specific parameters, let me know! It might give me some inspiration, and more creativity is always welcome.
👉 [Leave your comments about the protagonist in general here]
5. Future Party Members (Recruitment)
Do you have any ideas for future party members? To be honest, I'm kind of tired of him running solo after more than a hundred chapters. It's time to add some variety.
I'm currently thinking about Welf Crozzo, Naaza, Ryuu, Lili, and Mikoto. But looking at that list... there are only two guys. I definitely need more balanced suggestions! Who should join the squad?
👉 [Leave your comments about new members here]
6. Anything Else?
If you want to leave any other feedback, theories, or random thoughts that don't fit into the categories above, drop them right here to keep the section clean.
👉 [Leave your miscellaneous comments here]
💖 Time to Beg for Your Support!
I almost never do this in regular chapters because I'm way too lazy to copy-paste a pre-determined text every single time. But since we just finished a major arc, I want to ask you to please leave your Power Stones on my work! Any stone helps a ton. Let's try to break into the Top 200 during this third arc!Also, please leave a review—preferably 5 stars—to help the platform recommend the story to new readers. And most importantly, keep commenting! I absolutely love replying to your comments; it is genuinely my biggest motivation to keep writing.
That said, once again, thank you all so much for your continued support. See you in Arc 3!