About "Ultimate Current"

Once again, it’s time for Tingyue’s customary monologue at the end of a volume. To tell the truth, when I first started planning this arc, it was supposed to be a brief transition, nothing more. But somehow, I stretched it out to seventy or eighty thousand words—what a crime! And then, out of nowhere, a whole slew of new characters appeared, surprising even me, the author. And so, the introduction of the Flame Enchantress and the Wind Maiden ended up feeling rather abrupt. As for the Ice Goddess who shows up later, she was added at the last minute because I felt that Franney’s Silver Flash squad was woefully understaffed and needed a bit more presence.

Back to the plot: since this was meant to be a short arc that I forcibly extended, it inevitably contains a fair amount of filler. The early chapters introduce Ten and Miyuki, among others. If you enjoy anime, you might notice that the character designs for Ten, Miyuki, and Shuichi Uehara are directly inspired by Mikoto Misaka and Touma Kamijou. That’s why I didn’t write too much about their stories; I just included them as Easter eggs and as a nod of respect to the original creators.

Later, Xie Liu enters the Hokkaido branch. Since he naturally attracts enmity wherever he goes, trouble is bound to follow. So, I devised an incident where the powerless are attacked. Of course, there needs to be a reason for the attack—it can’t just happen for no reason. If it were simply powerless people resenting the espers, it would be unconvincing. So I had to make it more extreme, which led to the scene where espers expel powerless residents from the headquarters of Illusion City.

This provided a solid motive for the powerless to resist, and as their resistance escalates, it’s clear they must have backing from the Special Alliance. Otherwise, a disorganized group of powerless people couldn’t possibly cause so much chaos. This naturally led to the Special Alliance’s invasion—a far more sophisticated development than if the Alliance had simply shown up to cause trouble out of the blue. Ha! Sometimes I think I’m a genius…

And yet…

I couldn’t actually write it out! The ideas sounded so good in my head, but what ended up on the page felt like a blanket that’s too short in winter—cover your head, and your feet are cold. The plot felt muddled, the characters too numerous, the setup overly complex, and I kept losing track of what to write, slipping and sliding from scene to scene like someone trying to moonwalk on a watermelon rind.

Honestly, it might have been easier to just let the Special Alliance show up and let those fools run amok, sparing my poor brain from overexertion.

Why even bother using my brain to write a novel? Maybe I should just let my hands write whatever they want while I squat in the corner drawing circles and cursing under my breath.

So, the original plot was simple: fight the giant metal man. Everyone rushes in and brawls; at the last moment, Ten and Chiba arrive, a bolt of lightning finishes the enemy in one strike, and everyone’s eyes fill with stars as they exclaim, “Wow, amazing!”

How easy would that have been! (Tingyue smashes the keyboard.)

But I can’t write it that way.

It’s not out of some lofty sense of responsibility to you, dear reader—I’m not that noble. Nor is it about being responsible to myself; my own affairs don’t require such gravity.

It’s because I believe the characters who live under my pen should live as themselves.

Villains shouldn’t exist just to hand out experience and loot. The protagonist isn’t some mindless cheat-code machine. Teammates aren’t there just to shout “awesome!” And the heroines aren’t there just to throw themselves at the lead. Each character has their own story.

As I sit at my computer, typing out these words, and you, perhaps curled up under the covers, scroll through this rant with your thumb, countless stories and people are passing us by, untold.

I’m reminded of a line I really like:

There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live.

With each day we spend, countless unlived days slip past us, unnoticed.

The world is vast, and everyone is living—brilliantly or not, rightly or wrongly—but that doesn’t matter. As long as each person can live their life as themselves, that is the most beautiful story.

Wendy, bold and carefree, has never been lost in her heart.

Ace, powerful as she is, still seeks greater strength.

Angela, a bit silly at times, possesses a soul clear as a mirror.

Xie Liu, ever playful, never compromises his principles.

Serpent Fang, scarred all over, holds fast to his beliefs—unyielding, unregretful.

Every one of them lives as themselves. This is their story, not mine. It just so happens that I’m the one writing it, so what you get is this imperfect version.

That’s all for this round of rambling. By the way, I’ve run out of drafts. The next volume, “Glory’s Pinnacle,” will let you fully experience the despair of endless hiatuses.