Afterword

Thank you so much for purchasing this book. This is the afterword. I was told that I can write about absolutely anything I want, so I’m thinking of sharing how I, Hamuo, decided to start uploading to the website Shosetsuka ni Naro.

I was an office worker three years ago who found himself with a ton of free time after getting home from work. Using that time, I consumed a very substantial number of manga on online platforms each month. I enjoyed a very wide variety of content, but this was around the time that the genres of reincarnation and otherworlds—colloquially referred to as “isekai series”—were really taking the digital publishing industry by storm. I got addicted to the genre and devoured every work using those themes that I could find.

In the middle of that phase of my life, I suddenly came across Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling, a work written by Necoco-sensei published by Earth Star Novel. I confess that I was drawn to the front cover and title and bought it thinking it was a manga. When I cracked it open and all the words inside leaped up at me, my first thought was, “Ack, I bought the wrong thing!” However, I did spend good money on it, mistake or no, so I decided to give it a read.

At the time, it had been a while since I’d read my last light novel. Specifically, it had been more than twenty years, if I remember correctly. And I was absolutely captivated from the very first page. It just completely blew me away. I remember losing myself and finishing the first volume in three hours, even though it was a pretty long book.

Then I bought and read the second volume, then the third. But then I came to a realization: There was no volume four.

Had it not been published? Did it get released with another publisher? Was it a physical-only release? I turned to the internet for information. And my search led me to Shosetsuka ni Naro. This was the first time I ever visited the site. And I read that fourth volume there.

After that, I could no longer return to waiting for e-book releases. Shosetsuka ni Naro was practically where I lived for the next year and a half. I spent hours and hours reading works on the site every single day. But eventually, I started struggling to find new series that suited my tastes.

I thought long and hard about what to do about it. The conclusion that I arrived at was to write my own series. Shosetsuka ni Naro was, at the end of the day, a place for amateur writers to publish whatever they wanted. I had read hundreds of works by that point. With the thoughts, “Maybe I can write one too?” and “Maybe I can make it too?” rattling around in my head, I finally started uploading my own work in spring 2019.

Since then, with much trial and error, I’ve uploaded two isekai series on Shosetsuka ni Naro. The second one was this book that you are now reading: Hell Mode. And this is the story of how I began writing light novels.

The only reason why I took part in the Earth Star Award contest was because it was hosted by Earth Star Novel, the publisher that led me to start writing on Shosetsuka ni Naro. This publisher means a lot to me.

I want to end this afterword by expressing my heartfelt thanks for everyone who was involved with making this book happen. Thank you, Earth Star Novel, for even going so far as to make TV commercials promoting my book. Many thanks also to my editor, I-sama, who graciously took me through the process of publishing my very first book; Mo-sama, the illustrator who designed the look of the characters in the story; and Tamura Mutsumi-sama, the voice actress who breathed life into Allen by giving him a voice. My thanks knows no bounds.

Of course, I am also extremely grateful to my understanding and supportive colleagues at work, as well as to my parents, who gave birth to and raised me. Thank you so, so much.

I do hope to continue writing more stories in the future. Please continue supporting me!