Guiltythree/Author's Notes

I feel like I need to issue a bit of a warning. In the world of the novel, Flaws are a very serious matter. They are often grave and never pleasant, acting as a counterweight to the powers of the Awakened. As someone with extraordinary power, Sunny will have to receive a correspondingly devious Flaw. He will have to suffer for a couple of chapters to learn how to deal with this new situation. Don't worry, though! In the end, the additional challenge will only make his exploits even more thrilling.

Yesterday marked exactly one month since I've started writing Shadow Slave. In that time, thirty-one chapters were released. Readers even seem to like most of them! So, I've decided that it would be a good time to say a few words. Firstly, I wish to say a big thank you to everyone who has been reading, voting, and especially commenting. Your votes and comments are a great delight and source of motivation! Knowing that there are people waiting for me to post an update really boosts my mood and helps me stick to the schedule. Secondly, I'm glad to say that Shadow Slave has been contracted by Webnovel. Hopefully, this will lead to a longer, brighter future for this story. I would really love to see how far it is going to take Sunny and other characters if given enough time. Hope you'll stick with me and we'll find out together! Lastly, I have to announce that, at some point in the near future, the novel will go premium. It will most likely happen in a few weeks, a month at most. Thank you for your time!

Starting with this chapter, the novel will be going premium. I hope you will stick with it! On my side, I will try to keep up the quality and stability of updates as best as I can. Because of how WN works, at the moment of going premium, the last two published chapters will be locked behind "Privilege" (which costs one coin to access). To offset that, I prepared two additional chapters in advance, so that there's no pause in daily uploads. However, the timing of the whole thing is a bit tricky. If premium comes online when I'm away from the computer, there might be a delay in access to the latest chapters. If that happens, know that it's just temporary. I'll resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your time and support!

Hey, it’s my birthday! Yeah, I’ve been born on April Fool’s Day. Being born a fool is a big responsibility, if you ask me. One might even say that it’s a calling ;) Coincidentally, the first volume of Shadow Slave is about to be finished. I’d say it will come to conclusion in around a week, provided everything goes well. Since there’s such an occasion, I’ve decided to say a few things. First of all, I would like to thank all my readers for following the story and supporting it with their time, attention and comments. Thank you, guys! Knowing that there are people waiting for me to continue really helps my motivation. I’ve been pushing myself hard to post a chapter every day for these past two months, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see your response. Reading the comments and interacting with readers is genuinely the best part of my day. Secondly, I want to announce a couple of things about the novel’s future. Due to the intricacies of Webnovel’s ranking and feature system, the next two months will be extremely important for its overall standing. It’s the “make it or break it” moment. As the author, I naturally really want to see Shadow Slave succeed and prosper, staying alive for a really long time. To make sure that I’ve done everything in my power to make it happen, I’ve decided to increase my output and commit to posting two chapters every day, at least in April. This decision was not an easy one, since as far as authors go, I’m really slow, writing with the speed of a dying turtle. That poor creature… uh, where was I? Oh, right — despite that, I believe that I can write more without sacrificing quality. Whatever happens, I will sleep easy knowing that I gave it my all. If you also want to support the novel, there are a few things that can help it a lot. For those readers who have the opportunity to spend coins, please consider becoming a participant in the “Win-Win Mission” by purchasing privilege. Currently, it only costs one coin and gives you access to two additional chapters in advance. Depending on how many of such chapters will be unlocked by the end of the month, Shadow Slave might be featured by Webnovel and receive more attention. For those readers who don’t have such an opportunity — your time, votes, comments and reviews are more than enough! Thank you for sticking with Sunny on his tumultuous journey and enjoying the twists and turns of the story with me. I hope you’re having a wonderful time :) That’s all. Happy April Fool’s Day!

Thus concludes the first volume of Shadow Slave. Ah, what a journey it has been! I hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Over these past few months, Shadow Slave has taken the center stage in my life. When I sat down to write the first chapter, I really didn't know where this adventure was going to take me. Who would have thought that it was going to become the bane of my existence? Wait, no... uh... my greatest source of joy! My greatest source of joy, that was what I meant to say. ...Who would have thought that it was going to become my greatest source of joy? Today, a whole volume later, I feel very satisfied with the result. From the First Nightmare to the desolate hell of the Forgotten Shore, Sunny had to go through a lot, learn a lot, and grow a lot. However, this is just the beginning. I hope you'll stick around to find out what happens next in Volume Two! As for now, I only have one more thing to tell you, guys: [You have finished a first volume, Child of Shadows.] [Your shadow grows stronger :]

Wow! Would you look at that, we've reached two hundred chapters. No really, it's two whole hundred! This number might not seem huge to others, but to me, it was. Anyway, to celebrate this milestone, I've decided to do something extra. And is there a better way to celebrate two hundred chapters... than more chapters? So, expect a bonus one in a few hours ;]

Wow. Phew. Honestly, I wanted to say something profound about the end of the second volume of Shadow Slave... but I am too exhausted after writing this finale to think of anything. In a sense, this is very fitting, since the whole story of the Forgotten Shore was incredibly long and exhausting itself. Still, I hope that you have enjoyed it ;] To recharge a little, I will take a day off and return with the first chapters of volume three a day after tomorrow. That's all. Thank you and take care! :]

My, oh my! It's chapter 500. What a milestone! I really can't believe it, but here we are. Thank you guys so much for supporting the novel and making it possible for this day to come. Here's for 500 more chapters! :] Oh, and by the way, there will be a small celebration happening on Saturday in the Shadow Slave Discord Server, the Guilty Guild. Come join the fun if you wish!

Well, well, well. It's Chapter #600, and on top of that, the end of a volume. What an auspicious day! Thank you all for following Sunny on his misadventures up to this point. The story will continue the day after tomorrow, after I have rested for a bit. Hope to see you soon! In the meantime, you can share your thoughts on the volume, and make predictions about the next one, in the comments :]

Good day, dear readers :]
…And what a day it is!
Today, Shadow Slave turns one year old. Exactly a year ago, I posted the first chapter of it, titled “Nightmare Begins”... and it hasn’t stopped ever since ;]
At the start of it, I didn’t really know what I was doing. This was my first attempt at writing a proper web novel, and while I was confident that I could write a good story, I was also certain that it would be a niche one. To my surprise and delight, people responded to it much better than I had ever expected. Thank you all very much! Back then, I wasn’t sure that I will be able to keep up with writing one whole chapter every day for a week, let alone a month.
...And here we are, 365 days of writing, 668 chapters, and three volumes later! Thank you all for joining me — and Sunny — on this perilous journey :]
To celebrate this occasion, I decided to share some interesting numbers with you all :] Currently, Shadow Slave is:
- 1 year old
- 668 chapters long
- 822,000 words
- 13,100 Chapter Comments
- ~65,000 Paragraph Comments
- 307,000 Power Stones
- 6,200,000 views
By volumes, the numbers are:
Volume I: Child of Shadows — 95 chapters, 135,000 words
Volume II: Demon of Change — 255 chapters, 300,000 words
Volume III: Chained Isles — 250 chapters, 300,000 words
Also, here are some fun statistics! :]
- Shadow Slave is currently one of the Top 5 novels on Webnovel
- It is also the #1 pirated web novel (welp)
- Sunny was 16 in Chapter #1, he is 19 in Chapter #668
- Sunny’s current kill count is ~1886 (without counting Dreamscape wins)
- Guilty Guild, the novel's Discord server, is 3700 members strong!
- Shadow Slave Fandom Wiki has 908 pages, 211 articles, and 10,805 edits
- The exact number of “Damnations!” said by Sunny is… who knows? I surely don’t ;] - At least 16,700 people were hurt in dire cliffhanger accidents (totally not my fault...) That's it. I hope you have enjoyed this year of Shadow Slave, and here's to a few more years to come! \[T]/
P.S.
...Oh, I almost forgot! There is also one last thing. As some of you may know, I am not very fond of the idea of official novel illustrations, since they can intrude upon the personal imagination of readers. However… well… here’s the first official Shadow Slave illustration, anyway, “Sunless” drawn by fantastic artist AdamaSto. I'll post it in the comments of this chapter. Just keep in mind that it is an interpretation of how a character might look, not the definitive canon :]

Good day, dear readers :]
And what a day it is! Today, I have three whole occasions to celebrate. Firstly and most importantly, Shadow Slave has reached an incredible milestone. One million words... it is hard to believe that we have been following Sunny and his friends for so long, let alone that this million words was written by none other than me. How odd. I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them! Secondly, Shadow Slave is officially #1 novel across all of Webnovel for the month of March. This is even odder! I have never, not even once, expected it to reach these heights. And while I am not one to chase ratings, it warms my heart to know that so many readers appreciate Shadow Slave. Thank you all very much! The oddest part of it all, though, is that by pure coincidence, it is also my birthday. These two presents certainly made it the most memorable one yet :] Happy April 1st, everyone!

Today, I published the 1000th chapter of Shadow Slave. It has been a long journey, and I am delighted to know that so many people enjoyed making it with me. The joy and pride I feel when looking at that beautiful number… can only be compared to the dread I feel knowing that there is a couple thousand more chapters I still have to write ;D In honor of this milestone, the Shadow Slave community will be having a small celebration on July 10th. If you wish join us, visit the Guilty Guild — our Discord server :]

Hope you're having a fantastic day Cheers!

The long night is over! And so is Volume Five of Shadow Slave. I hope that you enjoyed this cold, dark adventure. As for me, I surely had a blast writing it. I'll take a day off and return with the first chapters of Volume Six the day after tomorrow. Thank you and have a great day! :]

Wait a minute... wasn't it the end of Volume Five just yesterday? Huh, I guess not! In any case, welcome to the end of the sixth volume of Shadow Slave. We are closing in on 1,500,000 words, can you believe it? As usual, I will take a day off and return with the first chapters of Volume Seven the day after tomorrow. Have a great day!

Oh, wow! It’s the end of Volume VII, the longest one yet. In a sense, it is also the end of the first part of Shadow Slave. What joy! We are halfway there ;] I hope that you have enjoyed the dreadful journey across the currents of the Great River, and maybe even experienced a thrill or two from all its twists and turns. As usual, I’ll take a day off and return with the first chapters of Volume Eight the day after tomorrow. Cheers!

Oh, wow. The volume is over! I really had a blast writing this one :] There was so much ground to cover, and so many exciting scenes to write. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed them! I will take a day off and return with the first chapters of Volume Nine the day after tomorrow. Cheers!

My, oh my! It came to my attention that I had completely forgotten to celebrate the third anniversary of Shadow Slave here, of all places. So, please pretend that I left this note a weak before ;] Here it goes!

Today, Shadow Slave turns 3 years old. What an auspicious day! This year, Shadow Slave crossed two thousand chapters, 2 million words, and remained in the #1 position on Webnovel for another 365 days (366, actually, considering that 2024 was a leap year).

It was also adapted into the audio format, received a special award during the Shanghai Online Literature Week, took a big step toward a webtoon adaptation, and is about to be released in Korean. The Shadow Slave fan community has also grown tremendously, and many exciting community events happened thanks to our valiant moderation team. Big thank you to the Dream Team for making it all possible! In honor of this day, I’ll continue the tradition and update you guys on some numbers.