Here we are yet again at the end of another Volume. Thinking back to it, a lot has happened since the last time I could talk to you, the reader, like this. A lot of things have popped up that basically allowed me to further better Trancontinental, such as AI art helping me get a lot better covers with little to no hassle, the recent Writathon that’s forcing me to stop out of my comfort zone and write daily, and so much more…

If I recall correctly, I’ve also hit 10k views, as well as skyrocketed in followers during the period of writing Volume 6, and for that I am eternally grateful. It’s funny, you know? Back when I started the story, I had high hopes for it, much like any other aspiring author would think highly about their own work, but I never expected to get this far.

I sort of considered this Volume to be the “Meat of things”, since after this a lot of cogs start turning, and a lot of moving pieces get put in place. Everything before was sort of like a really elaborate prologue, and I think that can be seen in the story itself. To tell you the truth, not much has changed about Volume 6 as it did with the others. Only small minute details like the order of how things went and just better motivations for why the people in the story are doing what they’re doing. The only thing that comes to mind is that Meil was originally supposed to be “A genius that wants to be an artist”, but I scrapped that idea and turned the artist side of him into his adoptive father, Joseph.

This way things wouldn’t get too confusing for readers, and he could still have some room to grow from here on out. The introduction of him as a deuteragonist was something I always had planned though, and I gave some hints about his existence even as far back as Volume 2. Heh, I dare anyone who’s reading this to try and find where I first mentioned him…!

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Oh, and to keep with tradition, here's the World Map. I've stopped updating it with each and every new place they visited, but I think I should probably get around to updating that as well. It's just too much of a hassle right now, but if anyone wants me to, please tell me and I'll be right on it!

[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/7d670ef3-6cdd-41a3-a154-27167590e72f/dfcrw3h-2157ddca-c376-4f85-8b42-dce61ab9956a.jpg/v1/fill/w_1032,h_774,q_70,strp/new_mapgrrrr2_by_kitanokata_dfcrw3h-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTYwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvN2Q2NzBlZjMtNmNkZC00MWEzLWExNTQtMjcxNjc1OTBlNzJmXC9kZmNydzNoLTIxNTdkZGNhLWMzNzYtNGY4NS04YjQyLWRjZTYxYWI5OTU2YS5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19._cAanHp6u88HxGtP3-HsMg4MvN7pCjDxsJURL2gsxkg]

That being the case, I guess that’s enough from me for now. Next Volume will focus more on the Grimhearts as they make their way through the warzone that is Sulfury. If you recall, Sulfury was always mentioned with an “Ugh, that place…” sort of tone, indicating it really isn’t the most pleasant of places to be found in. Will the Grimhearts find safety in their perilous journey? Will they finally be able to all come back home together one day? Will Lune and Cecily ever work past their issues? Find out for yourself in the next installment of the TraCon series!

-Mikan Akai