Hello, dear readers.
This is Tremendous.
After a long and longer time, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation has come to an end.
Truly...
I feel both light and strangely wistful deep in my chest.
While writing this, I think I had fun.
Of course, if someone told me, "You enjoyed it so much, go back and write it all over again!"
I feel like my mental state would just collapse on the spot.
Anyway...
If I had to write it again, it would be hard, but it really was a story I found joyful and fulfilling.
Especially the self-actualization.
There were so many scenes I thought, "I absolutely have to write this," and...
I was so happy to be able to put those scenes into words.
The thematic core of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation, which I also mentioned in the setting notes I gave to the webtoon artist, is...
"Gratitude for life."
Not a single thing we enjoy...
Not a ray of sunlight, not a breath of air, not even a single grain of sand, is actually something we're guaranteed to have.
Honestly, the very fact that the planet hasn't been wiped out by a meteor, or that a solar storm hasn't obliterated Earth is itself a miracle.
Each and every detail of us being alive at all is a coincidence and a miracle...
So, I wanted to express gratitude toward this world.
A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation is something created while searching for reasons to be grateful for life.
You can think of the main theme as pondering why we should be grateful for life.
Under the question, "Why must we be grateful to this thing called life?" I kept throwing questions at Seo Eun-hyun again and again.
And the answer to that is...
Because there are so many precious chances.
Because time that has passed will never return.
Because even though there are bad connections, good connections undeniably exist as well.
Because the very act of rejoicing, raging, grieving, enjoying, loving, hating, and desiring within life is itself something to be deeply grateful for.
Because there is someone or something we can blame.
And even when there is no such target of blame, the simple act of us incomplete people searching for answers together is itself happiness.
Because life is a miracle.
And maybe, simply...
Just because we can be grateful.
"Because this world is a miracle, everything in it is also a miracle" is what I wanted to discuss together with you, the readers, through A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
And I think I was happy just to be able to pull so many scenes that discuss "life is a miracle" into reality and offer them to you all.
Seo Eun-hyun beheading Makli Hyeon.
Seo Eun-hyun defeating Makli Wangshin and giving his disciples a chance.
Seo Eun-hyun offering thanks beneath the giant tree.
Seo Eun-hyun climbing to Ultimate Pinnacle, breaking through the Heavenly Rejection phenomenon, and reflecting again on the preciousness of connections.
Seo Eun-hyun cutting through the Heavenly Tribulation and rising beneath the heavens alongside the Formless Sword.
Seo Eun-hyun, together with Buk Hyang-hwa, realizing that life is a miracle and letting her go...
And beyond that, Jeon Myeong-hoon, shouting his fury as he witnesses the fall of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
The elders of Black Ghost Valley sacrificing themselves to protect the Black Ghost Valley that is heading toward ruin because of Kang Min-hee.
Azure Tiger Saint exploding and showing what it means to become a star.
The Mad Lord's Entering Heavens Beyond the Path, Heart of Love.
(Heart of Yeon (然/Nature), Heart of Yeon (緣/Fate), Heart of Yeon (戀/Yearning) all combined into Heart of Yeon (戀/Love)—this is a line I've been dying to write since the early days of the work.)
The scene where Yeon Wei and Hon Won forgive each other, reconcile, and reunite inside a burning mansion.
Seo Hweol's final moments—Goodbye, Daoist Seo...
And also, the Star Genesis Supreme Deity's advancement!
I wanted to write the Star Genesis Supreme Deity's advancement and the Owner of Myriad Stars so badly that every time it felt like A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation itself was speaking to me to the point I wanted to scream...
I remember wanting to write it so intensely I thought I'd lose my mind.
"Star Genesis Supreme Deity, Star Genesis Supreme Deity has to be written.
"Even if the process gets wrecked, at least Star Genesis Supreme Deity no matter what!"
With that kind of madness, I ran all the way here.
It was also fun setting up the villains.
Yuan Li, as the boss that closes out the very first main episode, was a bit difficult.
But wrapping up characters like the Mad Lord, Seo Hweol, and the Great Mountain Supreme Deity was genuinely fun.
Same with Hong Fan.
In a way, the villains are where I projected myself.
So I think I've always ended up rooting for the villains more than Seo Eun-hyun, projecting myself into them, and having them stand against Seo Eun-hyun.
The Mad Lord with his grotesque appearance (the author looks kind of funny too), and Seo Hweol, who controls information so the opponent can never see what's really going on.
Hong Fan, who is still just a young child and soft on the inside...
All the villains who carried A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
They were all me.
Truly...
It's been a long journey.
At the end of it all, I feel like I managed to land the ending well...so a lot of different emotions are hitting me.
I feel proud, a little sad, wistful...
Also refreshed.
Of course...
To be honest, if I'm going to spill some TMI about the ending and everything around it:
In the early stages, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation did not have its settings and details, its ending, or its final boss so clearly defined like they are now.
The setting and ending for A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation were set around the 4th or 5th cycle...
You could say I locked them in while writing around Chapter 25. (*Of course, not the core theme. The core theme was there from the moment this became an infinite-regression story...)
And if you ask, "Then what did you mean when you said you prepared it four years ago?"...
What I had back then was the worldbuilding that would form the skeleton of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
Various other settings.
The idea of a protagonist who wields a transparent sword.
The narrative of a protagonist who never gives up and, with a kind of madness, reaches a single goal.
But that protagonist was not 'Seo Eun-hyun'.
I think the first time the world of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation and the protagonist Seo Eun-hyun really got decided as cores of the worldbuilding that would unfold those ideas was...when he beheaded Makli Hyun.
And it was probably when he awakened through his disciples and showed you Endless Mountains Beyond Mountains that the worldbuilding was finally confirmed for good.
"Ah, this is going to work, I can tell. If it's this story, if it's this guy as the protagonist, he can reach the end. In worldbuilding this, I should pour in all the settings I've created, the cast, the growth route I planned for the protagonist...everything."
And what was completed was the world of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
The original worldbuilding I'd made wasn't something created for any one specific story.
Some of the settings were even things I'd intended to use in a completely different work.
But once I finally had a protagonist who looked like he would never break all the way to the end...
I realized Seo Eun-hyun could shoulder all of these settings and stories.
So I started taking the settings I'd meant to use in other stories and grafting them into the existing world, sticking them on, building the logic to make it all hold together...
And that's why I went on hiatus a lot in the early days.
Early readers will know this: before the series went paid, my release schedule was a total wreck, and I went on week-long breaks, then just dumped chapters on weekends...it was a mess.
Even now, if you look back at the early Munpia release schedule, you can see how chaotic it was.
Part of it is that I'm an avoidant type of person, and I used to be lazy before I got into the groove.
But the reason the schedule was that disastrous was because, at that time, I was doing a massive amount of worldbuilding readjustment and creating the internal story logic.
*Of course, the April 1st break wasn't an April Fools' joke. My father really did drag me off to Gangwon Province to dig up potatoes, and dragged me all the way out to a potato field at the far end of Gangwon, so I had no choice.
Maybe that's why I ended up writing those scenes where, instead of just leaving potatoes as a small symbol of kindness, I forcibly stuffed them down Hong Fan's throat...maybe that was my grudge showing.
Honestly, because of that potato-digging trip, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation could have been discontinued right there.
Thinking about it again, even I find it ridiculous...
Potatoes are delicious, but that memory is dizzying.
I'd taken the whole week off to align the settings and finish the big plot structure, planning to do a release spree on the weekend—then got hauled off to dig potatoes on that very weekend.
If, at that time, the readers had gotten angry and dropped the series, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation would really have ended right there...
I can only be deeply grateful to those who didn't get angry and didn't remove it from their favorites during the potato-digging incident.
In any case, after that, the lesson "Right now. This very moment. I don't need some vague hope that might or might not come in the future" really got carved [to the bone] into my heart.
If you drag your feet, you'll be too late.
In the future, you never know when you'll get dragged off to a potato field, or dragged off somewhere else.
I learned very clearly that going on hiatus while making excuses like "I'll do a release spree later" can be unbelievably dangerous, and that let me build a supporting theme that completes the main core them.
Anyway, one way or another...
It's true that the early stages of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation had settings that were very different from now, and much to be completed taking those early breaks.
Of course, the idea that the final boss would be related to a black snake, and that this black snake would follow the protagonist from the beginning and finally awaken as the final boss in the end—that narrative itself has been there ever since the fairy tale's appearance.
You could say the major plot of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation was almost entirely planned out by around the 6th cycle.
The core theme was there from the very start as well (I'm the type who believes a full-length novel absolutely needs a central theme...though if it's not that long, I do think the story itself can be enough on its own).
The worldbuilding was all settled around chapter 25,
And the plot was more than 80 percent finished before chapter 50 (before the 6th cycle).
But when it comes to character arcs...
Things really, really changed a lot along the way.
Most notably, Salt Sea was changed in the 17th cycle to be the same person as Cheongmun Ryeong.
And the Great Mountain Supreme Deity and Silver Basket were originally the same person.
Silver Basket, who was the Creator God of another world, couldn't stand watching the self-torturing acts of the final boss of the world A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation and that suffocating behavior of trying to run away from the answer, so he was going to invade the world, take the Seat of the Mountain, give advice to Seo Eun-hyun, then pass the seat of the mountain on to Seo Eun-hyun...
I think he was loosely set up as a character that was basically Salt Sea + Great Mountain + Silver Basket mashed into one.
But I thought the Great Mountain Supreme Deity should have an impact as big as his name sounds, so to give him that impact, I went with a development where he completely wipes out the protagonist's party and twisted it into a narrative of conflict between senior brother and junior brother.
So originally, the latter half of the True Immortal Realm wasn't going to be separated from the Audience Chamber arc, and Heuk Sa was supposed to show up as the final boss.
But I ended up splitting it off from the Audience Chamber arc and made the Great Mountain Supreme Deity the final boss of the True Immortal Realm arc.
Also, Heuk Sa was originally actually the same person as the Heavenly Punishment Supreme Deity,
He was also planned to have far less presence than he does now.
The ending I had in mind was that he'd drag himself along in a pathetic, ugly way like Yuan Li, and then be defeated by the protagonist's group.
But after the 6th cycle, I just didn't want to write a final boss who was only pitiful and ugly.
And just as I'd given several character endings that, even to me, felt beautiful...
I worried the story's ending would become too crude, so I borrowed the strength of many characters and completely revised the finale.
If I'd gone with the original idea, then probably...
The ending of the story would have turned out far more vulgar.
Even thinking back on it now, the current ending is much better.
Really...
I think it was a good story.
Calling it a 'dragon's head and a dragon's tail' feels a bit too much, even to me...
It feels more like the head of an imoogi, the body of a snake, and only at the very end did it finally grow a dragon's tail.
Something like mangdu-sache-yongmi (蟒頭蛇體龍尾/python's head, snake's body, dragon's tail) is probably exactly the level A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation sits at.
But well...
In the end, isn't the ending what matters most in a work?
It's a bit awkward to say this with my own mouth, but.
Even I think that for the ending...at least for the ending, I poured my heart and blood into it.
Staying up countless nights, feeling my lifespan get shaved away by coffee and iced americanos with extra shots, unable to even eat three meals a day like a proper human, losing any sense of day or night and just going "uhhh, ughhh" while writing in a daze.
Even I think...
It was hard to run all the way here.
And I managed to bring the ending out just the way I'd first envisioned it.
As for the foreshadowing I laid out, I only scattered what I could handle, so I think I picked up almost everything that needed picking up.
If there are any foreshadowing that still haven't been resolved, they'll either be dealt with in the afterword stories, or, if they never get resolved, you can think of them as "there's a setting like this too"—details that were just there to explain the world.
You can think of them as not even being MacGuffins, not even proper foreshadowing.
Oh, of course, there are real MacGuffins like Old Man Eom of Cheongnan Library, but well...
[TL/N: Eomcheongnan means Tremendous.]
What work in this world doesn't have a MacGuffin anyway?
But taking all of that into account,
Even I think!
The ending of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation turned out well!
Huaaaaaaaah!!!
And!!!
I also know very well that none of this was achieved by my strength alone.
Even if I was the one who observed the story,
It was Munpia who helped me tell the world what I observed!
And Raon E&M, who signed a contract with me!
I want to thank Seong-in Hyung, who gave me the very first contact in the form of an ultra-long, incredibly sincere message, and who kept persistently leaving comments on that contact post so that the contract offer notification would keep popping up for me.
You may be at Munpia now, but the title of 'my first ever editor in charge' is yours, Hyung.
In my heart, you'll always be my number one editor.
And CEO Lee Jae-hwan, who has now founded the company Storywave, gave me so many pieces of advice back when he was a division director at Raon E&M—words that were truly like gold and jade.
I think the reason so many people were able to come to A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation through Series might well be thanks to the advice he gave me about the cover.
And on the webtoon side as well, the CEO really ran all over the place and did so many things behind the scenes that I think that's why the webtoon could turn out this well.
In my opinion, when it comes to webnovels, the person with the best eye for them is probably the CEO.
I am truly grateful.
I also want to offer very deep thanks to Director Kwak Seong-yong, who became the second editor in charge of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation. I can only feel sorry for all the times I delayed turning in the manuscript because I was trying to increase the length.
Thank you for staying with me over that long year and a half, accompanying me all the way to the ending of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation, for handling the webtoon adaptation so well, and for teaching me so many of the things I was curious about.
I'll of course greet the three of you properly in person, but I'd like to bow my head once more here in advance.
Thank you so much for everything up to now.
And I'd also like to send words of support to Artist Kim Moo-hyun of Haksan Publishing, who is now beginning the webtoon serialization. Once again, thank you for preparing such a wonderful webtoon for nearly two years...and then finally setting it off with a bang.
Every time you drew an episode of the first cycle, you always sent the draft to Raon for checking—that loving care you showed makes me at a loss for how to even express my thanks.
All I can say is that I did my utmost with the original story so that, even if only a few parts are adapted, you can still reach a satisfying conclusion, and I hope that can return at least a small part of my gratitude.
And besides them,
PD Kim Ki-hyun of Munpia.
Back when A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation first got contacted, you were one of the final two competitors along with Seong-in Hyung, so I want to say thank you for always loving A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation that much.
Also, the person who bought me meals the most (including all management, across the board) was PD Kim Ki-hyun, so whenever I think of Munpia now, PD Kim's image is the first thing that comes to mind.
Going forward as well, I'll be in your care for the next work.
In addition to them, Raon E&M's CEO, Author Song Hyun-woo, and many other editors and staff.
Munpia CEO Son Je-ho, the Munpia martial arts-fantasy team lead and division head, and even the part lead who handed me a business card at the neighboring seat yesterday—thank you all so much.
And to the person in charge of uploading to Series, though we've never met even once, my thanks to you as well.
To all the many people who had a hard time because of me every time, I offer my deepest thanks.
To illustrator mucuzi, who drew the first cover and illustrations.
To illustrator Seril (세릴), who drew the second and third covers and illustrations.
To illustrator failose, who drew the character illustrations.
To all of you, I bow my head in gratitude.
The illustrators helped immensely in conveying the images of the characters of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation to the readers.
And lastly, illustrator failose (실패배), really...
I want to thank you for gifting me with an unbelievable quantity of absolutely incredible fanart.
True to your nickname, you're the Taenghwa Heavenly Venerable.
Thank you.
Beyond those illustrators, countless other illustrators drew fanart of the characters of A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation.
I can only be so, so, so thankful that you chose to display such golden-handed skill here, on this work...
I have nothing I can dare offer all of you except the words: Thank you so much."
No matter how much a writer is the one who observes the story and brings the tale into reality...
The number one reason A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation was able to come this far is because the readers were there.
I was able to serialize it because there was a platform.
I was able to monetize it because of the management.
And I think it became known because of the illustrators and the golden hands of so many people.
Thank you, and thank you again.
Thanks to everyone, A Regressor's Tale of Cultivation was able to come into the world.
Thank you.
And with the 25-year commemorative Tremendous author-avatar comic drawn by illustrator failose, I'll offer my thanks and bring this to a close.
Someday, a few epilogues and side stories will go up.
And we'll meet again—also someday, perhaps—in the next work that might come.
I love you.