Since I was passed out at the time, I will begin this next scene with a monologue, since I assure you that I dream in monologue, as all proper writers do.

When writing characters in a story, authors have many approaches available to them. Since this aims to be a comprehensive, one-sided ‘discussion’ with no evidence to back up my claims, I’ll start by broadly claiming that there are two fundamental approaches:

Writing characters based on the author’s own experience.

Writing characters based on tropes.

Starting with the second point, it is my firm belief that any author who seems to be capable of writing a true-to-life depiction of something they cannot comprehend is, in fact, actually just incredibly good at lying. By utilizing tropes and bending them with a little bit of artistic and logical interpretation, authors are able to fill the pages with characters that have no real-world basis. This is especially prevalent in creating nonhuman characters, such as elves, dwarves, sentient robots, or whatever. In reality, a human cannot perfectly comprehend what it means to live as a robot or any of these other ‘races’ that do not exist. We can only guess. Those guesses are not always made by educated people who understand how the world works, yet they are accepted and used to create frameworks through which archetypes are built, which further devolve into tropes that the average human is capable of comprehending.

Characters based on tropes make up the majority of background and secondary characters and are sometimes introduced in the main cast as well. When writing a book, there is a limited amount of space in each chapter and it allows us authors to spend more time describing mechanics, setting, awesome fight sequences, or whatever else may be important if we spend less time describing secondary information. This is why tropes are useful.

As for the other type? They are characters written based on the author’s own experience. When done in an extreme form, these characters are often called ‘author-inserts’ and usually incorporate a huge degree of the author’s personality, interests, goals, etc.

When a character is created using a subset of that information, they become a character ‘based on the author’s own experience’. These characters are useful for a variety of reasons, but one of the easiest to understand is this:

These characters usually feel more genuine.

I utilized both types of characters when writing my story. Most of the background characters that got any attention were based on tropes, but I incorporated subsets of my own thoughts, feeling, dreams, experiences, and personality into the characters I wanted to breathe life into.

One of those characters was Thaddeus. He was supposed to get some of my jaded cynicism that I was so proud of, but Gramma already mitigated that.

Another of those characters was Prince August, though it's a bit of a spoiler what side of myself I put into him, so I reserve the right to remain silent on that for now.

If you asked me if I ever regretted writing any of my characters, I would say ‘no’. I would say that writing is a journey and that writing these characters was a way for me to battle my internal demons. I would say that I learned a lot and that I have no regrets.

And if I said that, I would be lying.

There was one character I regretted creating with all of my heart. I couldn’t bear to see her on the page when she wasn’t there with me in real life.

“No…” I whispered. “I’m over you. I got better. Please, don’t come back…”

Despite my pleas for mercy, her face filled my dreams. That worried expression on her face before I passed out…

She was always so cute when she was worried about me.

“No…”

The way her eyebrows pushed together and she bit her lip when she was nervous.

“No…!”

She would sit next to me and hug me. She would tell me everything would be okay.

“NO!”

I shoved her away and ran as fast as I could. My vision was blurry, so I couldn’t see anything around me, but I didn’t care. I would take any place, any pain. I would go anywhere other than back there.

Light filtered through my watery eyes and I blinked blearily. My muscles suddenly felt stiff and I tripped, tumbling forward until…

I sat up. Blinking a few times while staring forward in a daze, something warm touched my wrist.

“Are you okay?”

‘No…’

I stiffened, recoiling away from the gentle touch like her hand was a venomous snake.

“I’m sorry…” she apologized softly, a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

‘No…’

“I saw you collapse and decided to help out. I have a skill that lets me use healing magic.”

‘No…! No no no no no!’

I tried to stand up, but my legs were shaking too much. Falling to one knee, I grunted at the impact. It didn’t hurt, but it was unexpected.

“Y’know, it’s fine if you don’t want to thank me, but if you’re going to be that mean, couldn’t you at least pretend to be okay? If you don’t say anything, I’m going to call for help.”

Slowly, painfully, my neck creaked as I turned like a stiff robot. Distinctly angling my vision down to reduce the shock as much as possible, the first thing I noticed were her shoes.

She was wearing an old pair of worn-down sneakers. From the brand, the color, and the way she tied the laces backward, they were exactly the same shoes she wore from time to time.

Tears streamed from my eyes like a river breaking through a dam.

Her feet moved and I panicked as I realized what she was about to do.

“N…” I stuttered, but the word died in my throat.

She kneeled in front of me, her face near mine, forcing me to look her in the eye. Her soft brown eyes were like sweet, melted chocolate.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“J…Jessica…”

She raised an eyebrow. “...Have we met before? I don’t recognize you.”

Ouch… I clutched a hand over my heart and grimaced.

“Anyway, you can obviously speak. You’re acting a little strange, but I’m confident in my healing skill. You should stop by the infirmary just in case, though.”

Rising to her feet, she dusted her pants off and moved as if to leave.

“Wait…” I whispered.

She paused.

We sat in silence long enough that I felt my heart thunder in my chest a dozen times.

‘What should I say?’

I knew the answer. I shouldn’t say anything. This was my imaginary world. She wasn’t the real Jessica, no matter how similar she seemed. It took me a year, but I moved on. I couldn’t go back.

“Never… mind.”

She sighed. “I… really…”

With a huff, she whirled around and kneeled down next to me. Putting an arm around my shoulder, she said, “Alright, let’s go.”

At her touch, my body was paralyzed. She gave a cute little grunt as she tried to pull me to my feet, though she didn’t get me very far without my cooperation.

“You’re kinda heavy, so I need you to help out,” she informed me.

Obeying her words like a reflex, I straightened my legs and rose to my feet.

She took a step back and studied me critically for a few seconds before nodding to herself. “Good. It’s a little creepy how you keep staring at me in silence, but I’ll take it as a compliment for my own sanity. Now that you’re back on your feet, you can handle the rest yourself, right?”

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I nodded hesitantly and she beamed.

“Awesome. What’s your name?”

“...”

She shrugged. “If you don’t want to say, then fine.”

She turned as if to leave again.

“Brick.”

She paused and looked back.

“My name is Brick,” I repeated.

She smiled. “I’ll see you around, Brick.”

With a cute little wave, she left.

I stared after her retreating form until several minutes after she left my field of view. My heart ached with once-buried longing. From her radiant smile, her stern, yet caring eyes, and the way she just couldn’t look away when someone needed help…

Slowly, I turned away from her, instead casting my gaze toward the heavens. The late-afternoon sun dimmed as it hid behind clouds in the western sky. The world seemed just a little brighter than before, though that might have been my imagination. Dabbing my eyes with the dusty sleeve of my cadet uniform, I forced myself to smile.

“Even though she isn’t real…” I muttered.

This world is one that I imagined.

“If it redeems me just the slightest amount…”

I never figured out why she left, but it was probably my fault.

“This time, I will make it to the end.”

When she left me, I was already facing serious writer’s block. Like me, Jessica never saw the end of the story.

‘I will take her there. I will take every piece of me from this world and bring it to the ending.’

‘If I could do that,’

Then maybe…

‘Maybe I can finally find a bit of peace.’

Affirming my silent resolve, I snatched up my silver magic staff from where it was lying on the ground nearby and gathered my mana.

The violent storm heeded my call and surged to my fingertips, amplified by the silver staff in my other hand.

‘I don’t have time to do this properly. I’ll have to take a shortcut…’

Once again leaving behind a small trail of explosions as I moved my hand like a conductor leading a symphony, I let the mana flow freely, following its destructive whims and urges to the end.

Before I realized it, the world was on fire. My entire body burned in blissful release, a temporary freedom from my heart’s aching desire. The sky filled with color, taking on the hues of an aurora, and loud explosions pocketed the panoramic view, absorbing the dense coloration to create flowery fireworks.

‘This is my tribute…!’

My silent shout reached the heavens, which failed to heed the command of their creator.

A soft breeze answered my call and the ashes of my cadet uniform faded away like embers on the wind. Staggering forward with my now bare feet, I raised a trembling hand and attempted to rein in the rampaging power just enough to give it direction.

The horrendous pain amplified for a moment, but it was nothing. Bloody tears trickled from my eyes and drew red furrows on my face. My skin was cherry red and blistering, but it was not an issue. This was not enough to atone.

A fiery torrent gathered at the edge of my palm, the inferno within demanding immediate release, but I refused. I demanded absolute obedience, and the fire cowered under my oppressive will. The corners of my lips turned up, which in hindsight probably made me look deranged. In my defense, it was just one of those moments.

“Gramma, if you’re watching this…” I muttered under my breath as I took aim with my shaking arm.

“This is my resolve!”

I drew my arm back like a baseball pitcher and, with a shout, released the energy, throwing it forward with the force of all my frustrations. In the blink of an eye, the ball of energy traveled halfway across the field and struck the ground.

The world turned white.

An enormous wave of force struck me like a runaway truck hellbent on sending its target to another world. My body flew through the air and slammed into the gate at the entrance to the training field. As I flew, my eyes never left the beautiful explosion in front of me. The image seared my eyes and branded itself onto my mind.

You have learned the Magic Spell: Explosion.

‘Wow…’

When the heat finally dissipated and the fiery light died down, I was greeted by a desolate field. In the place my spell struck, there was a massive crater, not unlike the one I created in my exam yesterday.

There were two key differences:

This time, I did it on purpose.

This time, I survived.

All strength left my body and I fell to my knees, barely managing to keep myself upright.

“Hah…”

A dumbfounded laugh left my lips.

“Hahaha…”

Several windows appeared in front of me.

=Explosion=

-Magic Spell-

A high-rank spell of the ‘explosion’ type. This spell is considered by some to be the ultimate destructive magic. The damage of this spell is modified by the magic power stat.

*Mana Property: Explosive increases the base potency of this spell by 50%.*

=============

=Status Up!=

Your magic control stat has increased from 1 -> 3.

Your magic power stat has increased from 1 -> 2.

Your stamina stat has increased from 1 -> 2.

==========

=Debuff Alert=

Due to extreme external and internal injuries, your charm stat will temporarily be decreased to the minimum.

*Rule of Cool interferes. Any who witnessed the cause of your current state will instead perceive you as having an effective charm of 5.*

==========

===Status===

Name: Brick Layer

Level: 1

=Dynamic Stats=

Strength: 1

Agility: 1

Dexterity: 1

Stamina: 2

Magic Control: 3

Magic Power: 2

=Static Stats=

Intelligence: 2.5

Charm: 3 (0)

Machine Resonance: 1

Psychic Resonance: 1

→Class: Author

→Abilities:

→Skills: Retcon, Rule of Cool, Ability Creation Ticket

→Traits: Magic Bomber

→Weapon Arts: None

→Spells: Explosion

===========

I was only able to read a little of the information on the windows before I collapsed. The last thing I remembered was laughter.

Yes, I was laughing.

***

Now, I wasn’t conscious for this next bit, but I was able to extrapolate it from the events that follow, so I’m going to tell it to you now as if I was watching the whole thing, and since I was the creator of the character involved, I will be liberal with expressing his thoughts and intentions.

You see, there was at least one witness to my awesome explosion.

Thaddeus couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He passed by some average girl on his way to Training Field 9 when the sky changed colors. Realizing from the flow of mana that the source was inside the training field, he rushed there in time to see Brick Layer obliterate the entire field, sending himself flying in the process.

“What…?” he muttered aloud.

Brick first fell to his knees and started laughing before he passed out, faceplanting in the dirt. His left arm was bent at an odd angle—it was obviously broken—and his entire body was burnt and covered in horrible bleeding blisters. He could see that because, for some reason, Brick wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Despite Brick’s horrendous condition, Thaddeus stared at his unconscious form with awe.

‘That spell…’

It was comparable to the strength of his World Severing Blade used with Infinite Sword Energy.

‘Who is this guy?’

A few mumbling sounds and the pattering of running feet nearby shook Thaddeus out of his dazed thoughts. He saw several other cadets and a few teachers rapidly approaching.

Glancing back at Brick, he realized that his classmate’s chest wasn’t moving—in other words, he wasn’t breathing.

He rushed forward and dropped down next to Brick Layer, flipping him over on his back and feeling for a pulse. At a glance, there was more blood than visible skin, and dirt from the field was mixed into the blisters layering his body. There was no pulse. He grabbed the glasses melted to Brick’s face and pried them away, tearing flesh away with them. Gathering a small amount of mana around his palm, he slapped Brick’s chest and activated the spell Cleanse, followed by the spell Extreme Recovery.

The blood, dirt, sweat, and other grime covering his body faded away while the recovery spell took effect. The blisters closed, replaced by smooth, unburnt skin. His complexion returned to normal and his broken arm snapped back into its proper form and place. His hair regrew to its original length.

He used Cleanse on the glasses to remove the blood and skin grafted to the frames before using Repair to return them to their original state. Opening his Dimensional Storage, he exchanged Brick’s magic staff for a bathrobe, which he quickly wrapped around his fellow cadet. In the last few seconds, he scanned the field and retrieved Brick’s phone and cadet license, storing them away just before the teachers and other cadets arrived

“What happened?” one of the teachers asked.

“My friend here had a little accident, but it’s alright. I healed him up and took care of any risks of infection,” Thaddeus replied.

He lifted Brick up with one arm and draped him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

“I’ll take him to the infirmary to get him checked by a professional, just in case.”

“But…” another teacher tried to interject, but Thaddeus glared at him.

The teacher immediately shut up as an oppressive force dominated him.

Thaddeus took a step forward and the crowd parted before him.

Moving between the students and teachers watching with confused and scared expressions, his mind recreated the magnificent explosion under an artificial aurora.

‘Who is he?’ he wondered.

Carrying his classmate who had unusual knowledge, absurd magical talent, and a drive to improve himself physically, Thaddeus headed for Professor Lincoln's office, since he agreed to meet with him after class. While he walked, his thoughts were focused on redrawing his plans for the future.

A smile tugged on the edge of his lips.

If I were awake at the time, I would have seen this notification (though I did see it later):

You have gained the interest of the main character, Thaddeus.

+100 SRP.