Chapter 296: The Only Conversation with the “Creator God”

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“Alright, this is your chance. I pulled some strings since you’re taking over as the new project lead. I’ll be here, and the boss is watching, too. Make a good impression.”

“Don’t be nervous. He’s raked in tons of IP fees. Ask whatever you need to. Anything too sensitive won’t get released anyway.”

“But honestly, the main thing is figuring out how our changes can make this IP money. Not sure if we’ll break even this year.”

……

“Whoa, Will-bro! Are you really meeting Teacher ▇▇▇▇?! Is this… is this what you call a conversation with the Creator God?! Can you ask him some questions we’re curious about?”

“Yeah, yeah! The player communities and fanfiction sites have some interesting stuff!”

“Teacher ▇▇▇▇ barely talks about his work. His posts are all about his life, not the story. We’re so curious!”

“Come on, Will-bro, this isn’t personal! You know I love the ‘legal loli’ archetype—no, no! Look, the main gacha pool unit—isn’t she supposed to be the main damage dealer?!”

“Hey, since it’s an unreleased interview, is it okay to ask about the ending? We’re dying to know how their relationship progresses!”

……

Q: As the adorable former teammates who didn’t end up with the protagonist, will they appear again after their defeat? Many people still love them! Especially the little witch. It seems there hasn’t been any mention of her since her exit?

A: Do you like them because they were defeated in a fun way? Ah, yes, they are all very cute. Anyway, please look forward to Treya’s performance as the protagonist of the princess’s revenge story. She is on the cover of the next volume.

—On the surface, he says everyone is cute. Then immediately promotes the next volume, completely ignoring the specific characters mentioned. Maybe he planned to just use and discard characters from the start.

Q: Speaking of the next volume, it’s rumored to have a shocking plot twist. What is it? Please ignore this question if you’re afraid of spoilers.

A: The manuscript is complete and submitted to the editor. The promotional materials should already be released, so it’s fine to talk about it! It’s the story that reveals the most important underlying setting! It will thoroughly explain the origins of the various monsters in the dungeon. Why exactly do they have thoughts? Where do their memories come from? Everything will be answered.

—Claims to reveal crucial underlying settings. But the setting documents provided were only three pages, containing information already in the previous text. Maybe the next volume’s content was just added to expand on the existing story.

Q: As the original author, which character is your favorite?

A: It’s truly difficult for an author to discuss their favorite character. I created them all, so I should love them all. If I had to choose, it would definitely be Empress Liviana. She’s always been first in the popularity polls. Well, yes, no one could dislike the domineering and powerful Liviana. Please also look forward to her relationship with Shu later on!

—A very reasonable answer, given without hesitation. He chose the safest character, the undisputed female lead, and kept steering the conversation back to the original work. It seems he doesn’t know that Liviana probably won’t be a suitable character to pull from the gacha for another six months, to avoid conflicting with the story he hasn’t fully written yet.

Q: Do you have any expectations for the game?

A: After discussing with the staff, I found it’s a derivative game that’s very faithful to the original work! I played the earliest beta version. It’s incredible how they managed to implement the original dungeon settings in the game! I hope everyone will give it a try after it launches!

—He was only given a beta account with thirty minutes of playtime. He probably didn’t even finish the first chapter, let alone read the story carefully. But he’s a very professional commercial author, recommending the game to the original work’s fans even in an interview.

Q: We heard that the story of “After Leaving the Party, I Was Adopted by the Dungeon Empress” had many different versions. Could you tell us about them?

A: I’m surprised someone is interested in that. In the beginning, it was a very traditional story about a strong hero gathering teammates and his beloved to defeat the demon king and gradually uncover the truth of the world. But the editors said such an old-fashioned story wouldn’t interest anyone anymore. It went through many revisions before becoming the current story. But it seems even the current story is becoming cliché (laughs). When will the next evolution of the story be?

—Unexpected… Although laced with sarcasm, he shared a lot of “information” about this question. What kind of story would it be, defeating the demon king together?

(Crossed out) Q: So, as a personal request, is it possible for you to write the game’s scenario?

(Crossed out) A: I’m sorry, I’m really too busy with work. There’s no need for that. The future producer seems very enthusiastic. However, there’s no need to invest so much energy. Just keep it simple like other adaptations. Ah, maybe don’t release this question? Wouldn’t it be better for promotion to let readers anticipate me writing the scenario in the future?

……

Q: Then, the last question. Stories always come to an end. So, what will the ending of the story be? Will Shu, this closed-off character, finally resolve his issues and end up with Liviana and everyone in the dungeon?

A: That’s quite a direct spoiler question (laughs). This book has a very, very long story waiting to unfold! In other words, there’s still a long, long time until it ends. Discussing the ending of the story now would be a bit premature. I haven’t even designed the endings for many characters yet.

—He didn’t answer directly. No, he deliberately avoided answering.

—On the surface, his answer was seamless. In reality… it seems he hasn’t thought about the ending at all, and doesn’t want to end it—of course, as an author who finally got a book popular after writing for several years, he would definitely want to maximize the work’s potential and earn a bit more money.

Q: Then we’ll stop here for today. I also look forward to seeing how the whole story ends.

A: Of course. Everyone, rest assured, I will give them a rich life. Please also support the game and continue to support the new volume.

……

“Regarding this meeting, it’s not over yet. Teacher ▇▇▇▇ said this interview is enough for now. If you want to promote it further, you’ll need to pay extra.”

“Of course… of course, it’s not that you’re not doing well. It’s just that, generally speaking, isn’t it better to market licensed works and the original work somewhat separately?”

“Simply put, it’s enough to make players and readers feel like ‘they’re basically two different works’.”

“You guys… can understand that, right?”