Afterword

Hello, this is Kawahara Reki. Thank you very much for reading ‘Sword Art Online 11 Alicization Turning’. The subtitle literally means a turning point, but whether this volume could be considered a turning point for the Alicization arc in terms of quantity or not… I’m sorry, I still can’t say for sure right now…! It’s just that the book ends with Kirito and Eugeo, who were living their somewhat contented school lives, encountering a big turning point while the story shifts towards a new stage. And the secret behind the Underworld’s creation was finally articulated by a person Kirito met there, possessing a name familiar to him… I certainly can’t say drawing attention towards the next volume like that is very honorable, but I’ll try my best to deliver volume 12 as fast as I can, so I hope for your support in accompanying these two on their adventures from now on as well.

 
This is the sixth book to be released this year, so it seems I’ve yet again maintained my six-books-a-year pace since my debut in 2009. 2012 was an extremely momentous year when with both of my series, Sword Art Online and Accel World, receiving anime adaptions, allowing me to meet many people and gaining a peek into a world new to me, so I believe that had quite an influence on my mindset regarding my work. I do not have all the space needed to write all of that down here, but to summarize it, I believe it would be to «work on my creations seriously, yet while enjoying it». Writing novels is a one-man operation, so I always end up melancholic upon entering my inner space, but I keep it up because I enjoy it; I think that is the basis or principle behind the motivation for literary works, so I wish to return to my roots around here and enjoy writing volume after volume from next year onwards too. I want to maintain my six-books-a-year pace for as long as I can too! Of course, it’s not like I’m writing to see the number of my published works increase, but I have a sort of rotten belief that I will never be able to return to my original pace once I slack off with my personality, so I hope to continue my bimonthly releases until the two series, SAO and Accel World, end at least… and here I am, chasing myself into a corner with what I write here (haha).

 
The new series, ‘Progressive’, started this year, so SAO ended up with four volumes. I am truly thankful that the illustrator, abec, was able to draw so many wonderful illustrations for the book despite already having an extensive list of work related to the anime. I’m sorry to the editors-in-charge, Miki-shi and Tsuchiya-shi, for being late for all that, all the time. Even this afterword’s thirty minutes late!

And please allow me to express my gratitude once again, to everyone who have accompanied me here. I hope for your support in the coming year as well!