The Seorak Outbreak story arc which I've been writing and planning for literally months may have been the worst idea I’ve ever had. The episode count went 4 episodes longer than I expected, the amount of art was considerably more than I’d planned, and I burned through a few weekends writing and rewriting some of the scenes. Not episodes, mind you. Scenes.
I definitely worked on the art for this story arc a lot and, to be honest, I doubt I’ll be able to devote as much time to future seasons as I have this one. I may have lost sight of my goals and schedules here because I ended up storyboarding a lot of the story as I was writing it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled with how it all turned out but the time investment was insane.
This arc took on a number of changes over the past months with the addition of scenes like the one with Cyrus and his grandfather Grisham as well as more substantial changes like the location and the boss monster at the end.
The original draft took place in a mountainous region in the south of Korea known as Yeosu. I vacationed there a year back and spent a day exploring a buddhist temple built into a seaside mountain. I ended up changing it to Seorak Mountain (also a real place) because the mountains there are taller and overall better known (to some at least).
The boss monster was originally a different mythic creature, but I changed it further and further until I settled on a dragon. I’ll be recycling a lot of the elements into a future arc that involves another dungeon with more fire and a tiger creature. Once I settled on a dragon, everything else sort of fit together and we ended up with the final story that we have here.
The goal of the Seorak Outbreak was to (a) settle Jinyoung into the modern day and (b) establish what he can and cannot do as a beginner player. A lot of you have noticed and commented that Jinyoung isn’t really the main damage dealer or play an active role in a lot of the battles. That’s literally because he doesn’t have the skills, stats or experience for it. It’s going to be a while before he’s able to do much on his own, but I look forward to taking you all on that journey.
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The next story arc starts delving (as you might have guessed) a bit more into Hana and the things she's left out from her stories to Jinyoung. I hope you're all looking forward to reading it as much as I am to posting it.
But, on a slightly lighter note... I finally got to introduce Han Dae!! I have been working on this character for the past year and he's worked his way into and out of other stories. I'm really excited to finally introduce him and get to use some of the concept art I have of it.
image [https://i.imgur.com/YsZa6zr.jpeg]
He is one of the first generation players and an early "hero" of the South Korea region. He's a pure Fighter class, partly because it suits his character but also because later classes were only discovered after he'd increased his own level and invested his stat points.
Before I go, I wanted to leave you with a bit more on Mr. Han. He has his own story that'll be working its way into this current story arc, but here's a bit more about him.
image [https://i.imgur.com/TXR10jp.jpeg]
Given Name: Dae
Family Name: Han
Class: Fighter
Level: 73
Family: Joo Han (brother, deceased)
Former Occupation: Boxer, Soldier
Current affiliations: None
Clan: formerly of the Closed Fist Clan (disbanded)
Titles:
- Master of the Fist, Righteous Defender (removed), Light of the Storm (removed), Arena Champion, Guardian of Law (removed), Duelist, Heroic Victor (removed), Slayer, Last One Standing, Player Killer