There’s nothing especially important to say. I just wanted to explain a few things for those of you who don’t really get Ling.

First, let’s talk about Ling’s prototype... well, a lot of people probably guessed it already. It’s Yuuka Kazami.

But what I referenced was only Yuuka’s ability, and only the Magic Cannon part. As for close combat, Ling’s only good at kindergarten-level four-stage punching. Compared to Yuuka’s hand-to-hand combat, it’s a world of difference.

Emmmm... some people might wonder, “Wasn’t your Ling only based on a Magic Cannon? Then why, out of all the characters who use Magic Cannon, do you specifically say her prototype is Flower Mom?”

All I can say to that is: personal preference.

For me, Yuuka was the first character I ever came across who specialized in using Magic Cannon. In my heart, she’s basically the originator of Magic Cannon.

Of course, I’ve never actually looked into whether Yuuka was truly the first character to use Magic Cannon. But even if I did, it wouldn’t change Flower Mom’s place in my heart.

Now then, back to Ling. The origin of her Magic Cannon is covered, so next is the weapon issue.

At first, I was thinking about what kind of weapon I should give Ling.

A sword felt too ordinary.

An umbrella would be cool, sure, but it just didn’t feel like it matched Ling’s small build.

Then there were things like meteor hammers and heavy gauntlets, and those all got rejected too.

Really, maybe it’s because I didn’t have any reference images or anything, but I always felt like Ling would look weird if she had a weapon.

Of course, that’s not to say she’ll never use one. Didn’t the [Script] already get used as a weapon? I think that’s pretty interesting. If inspiration suddenly hits me later and I feel some weapon really suits Ling, I’ll add it in depending on the situation.

And then... let’s talk about Ling’s [Script].

This might sound a little funny, but the [Script] thing really only exists because when I started writing this novel, I suddenly got really interested in stuff like fate... world lines... and then, with zero warning, I decided my protagonist absolutely had to be able to glimpse fate too!

Yeah... that’s right. I wrote it down without any outline at all, without any planning at all, just because the idea popped into my head.

Still, whether you call it luck or my brain working fast, when I got further into the story, it somehow didn’t end up collapsing the whole plot.

Of course, personally, I think the bigger reason the plot didn’t completely fall apart is that the early part of this book was written very roughly. There wasn’t even a complete world setting or anything. That made it easier for me to patch things in later without getting too hung up on details.

But writing the early part badly does have consequences. At the very least, my terrible results speak for themselves. Anyone who managed to keep reading is probably very tolerant... I think that’s a fair way to put it.

I’ve talked about weapons and skills, so now I should talk about the protagonist’s general situation.

Ling’s magic power is the kind where usage efficiency is always lower than production efficiency. That’s only because nobody ever taught her anything, so the way she uses magic is way too rough. But even if it’s rough, Ling’s use of magic is still very strong.

To give an example, someone else might have a bucket of water, but their faucet is only so big, so only that much can flow out each time.

Ling’s amount of magic is an entire ocean, and the amount she can output is the size of a dam.

The size ratio between a faucet and a bucket is way bigger than the size ratio between a dam and an ocean. But Ling’s magic output is still far greater than everyone else’s, so even if she uses it roughly, she’s still strong.

...Emm, I don’t know if that metaphor makes sense to you. If it doesn’t, then forget it.

That’s how it is with magic, and Ling’s physical abilities are the same.

In the setting of my novel, Yokai are theoretically the apex of all things. Even gods are just one race, not omniscient or omnipotent beings.

Whether that feels reasonable or not depends on whether you can accept it personally. Isn’t there a saying like this? “Gods are people too. They’re only called gods because they do what people can’t...”

I really like that line. No special reason. I just like it.

Alright, back to Ling.

As for Ling, because she’s a Yokai, and the strongest Yokai at that, she can just crush the other side outright, no explanation needed...

Isn’t that a bit too strong?

I think so too. But the me who started writing this book didn’t think so, so there’s nothing I can do. I can’t change it, and I don’t want to nerf Ling either. For a lot of readers, that would be a really unpleasant thing. As a reader myself, I get that.

Because most people reading novels project themselves onto the protagonist. If the protagonist suddenly gets nerfed into the ground for no reason, then gets beaten up by someone else...

For you, the one projecting yourself onto the protagonist, it feels kind of like... something that belonged to you got taken away by someone else. It feels awful. Yeah, really awful. That’s basically it.

Emmm...

It feels like there’s not much to say about Ling’s physical abilities anymore. The way I set them up was really simple, so there honestly isn’t much to write.

Oh! Right.

I almost forgot one thing, and this part matters too. Circle it and take notes, this will be on the test!

I’ve mentioned before that Ling’s mental power is also very strong, but that does not mean Ling can’t be controlled!

In my eyes, mental power and resistance to mental attacks are two different things. I haven’t studied the exact details, but I don’t think those should be treated as the same thing.

Mental power, broadly speaking, can be understood as the soul.

If your mental power is strong, that means your soul-based attacks are strong.

But that does not mean you can casually use your soul to withstand someone else’s control!

Think about it. When you think of the concept of a human soul, don’t you instinctively feel that the soul is fragile? At least, that’s how I see it.

Using a fragile soul to resist someone else’s attack is no different from blocking a missile with a glass cup. You’d have to be an idiot to do that.

You can go look at Volume 2, Chapter 1. I wrote it very clearly there: “the soul has reached the level of immortality.” In other words, you can shatter this glass bottle of a soul, but I recover very quickly.

...Does saying it like that make it hard to understand?

To put it simply, if I were willing to learn, I could crush you all with mental power. At the same time, you could also attack me with mental power, and I’d get hit instantly too. I’d just recover in an instant.

In other words, I will get affected. But if your control lasts seven seconds, then at most I’d only be controlled for 0.1 seconds. That should make sense now, right?

Alright, there’s really nothing more to talk about. As for Ling’s personality, I’ll leave that for the next extra chapter. Assuming I’m in the mood to write it.