Long time. This update probably wouldn't be out today if not for a certain Australian bird.

First things first. Why I haven't been posting. The short story, board exams are coming, which is a rather important turning point in my life. The long story? The Zone is something I cherish and aren't ready to let go, but it loses importance with all the problems I'm facing. One, for instance, is that I don't want to go to college. It's not that I don't want to learn more, but that I think college isn't the way to do it. The school has been a major waste of my time since day 1. I could rant more and more about this, but I won't.

And now my future is uncertain. Certain people disagree with my opinions on college, and that makes my life infinitely harder. I'm still firm on my beliefs, however.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Another thing is that I can't exactly get the quality I want if the time I spend typing is time after school where I'll be drained. Originally, this post was supposed to be a chapter, but once I started reading past chapters (I forgot stuff) I felt like erasing every last trace of my writings and never looking back. Ahem. Don't be worried, I won't do that. It would eat away at me until all that was left was an empty husk.

So what will I do? Edit, I guess. Fix prior chapters first. I don't really want to write a new chapter when the last few make me shudder. To think I was past that...

But of course, I took the pledge. Which means I have to post a new chapter every month. Which gives me a month's time to write the next chapter. That's fine. Don't expect anything big. Not until Feb, anyways.

At this point, very few of you guys still read The Zone. Thus if you do, know that your patience will be paid back tenfold in the future. Till next time.