Daybreak

Daybreak on Hyperion is a fantasy web novel written in light-novel-esque prose by Aorii

Story Synopsis

Born into noble prestige and gifted with extraordinary talent, Pascal was a promising officer cadet whose deeds caught even the King's gaze. At the mere age of twenty, he had everything a young, ambitious man could need.

Except his habitual arrogance had destroyed every opportunity of a close friendship outside his political marriage.

Seeking a companion who meets his protracted list of requirements, Pascal decided to craft the 'perfect spell' for the upcoming familiar ceremony. If those around him were not fit to accompany his genius, then he would summon a best friend through his own hands -- one that was mature, intelligent, knowledgeable, bright, and cute as well.

He received far more than he bargained for... and in turn, so did the shifting geopolitical power balance of his world.

  • Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Genderbender, Action, Military (Strategy), Politics, Romance (Slow)
  • Author: Aorii
  • Editors/Beta-Readers:  Kadi, Ahmsab, Ajhkhum, Skychan, Himeko, Phoenix (retired)
  • Special thanks to Terisxenite for the initial encouragement and as psychology advisor.

[Author's Blog] [Discord] [TVTropes] [TopWebFiction] [Englishlightnovels]

Status Update: this project is currently being resurrected (see Announcement). Chapters listed below are new versions. I post here in volume batches. Please see the author's blog if you'd like to see the most recent updates.

Information

Volume 1 - Daybreak on Hyperion [Full Text]

Volume 2 - Chaos Rising

Old Volume 2-4 Contents may be found on menu

Sister Story

Miscellaneous

623 thoughts on “Daybreak”

  1. Sonoda Yuki

    Some fridge logic after not touching either series in weeks. There's no chance that a young Pascal, under pressure to become like or surpass his father, pulled an Arkadi and Compelled himself, right?

    Because I sort of like to think his arrogant, somewhat irritating personality is no persona, but all natural.

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    1. Sonoda Yuki

      As an aside, I guess I'll reread both while I wait for V3. And while I'm really hoping that Pascal's out, it'd be kinda cool to see a character that pulled a Kadi.

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    2. Aorii

      Pascal has absolutely no reason to fake an arrogant personality =P
      Stop confusing story elements =P

      Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Doesn't seem look like it yet. Would also give this some time as I'm still putting minor fixes in every so while...

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      2. Armaell

        Hi, Armaell-desu~~

        I'm a new book-binder (yeah, sound great, something magical, no ?)
        Ready to do epub and pdf version of volume 2 (actually I'll do volume 1 in the same time for (the word for continuity of style, can't find it in english or my own language, ark))
        post-scriptum in the middle : no .mobi

        Just asking, is the volume 2 really closed ? Or are you still editing it ?
        In another phrasing : can I do volume 2 now ?

        Reply ↓
        1. Aorii

          I keep thinking I should ask you to wait a bit more... but who knows how long that'll last. I don't exactly 'close' volumes; like Krytyk and his TL, I still make edits to vol.1 every now and then. But I don't expect any major updating/revision for at least a while...
          So feel free to make the PDFs and share with other readers. It'll be much appreciated ^^

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          1. Bareus

            Actually krytyk's translation are also never 100% 'closed'. Sometimes he changes terminology or I'm doing another edit round (because of reasons), so most current ebook files are probably outdated (at least for OSO).

            Edit: ... sorry, for some reason I've read "unlike Krytyk and his TL, [...]" ...

          2. Aorii

            Whoa, you can edit... so you've got a login then? Official editor of the site now? o_o

          3. Sonoda Yuki

            He is the official editor. He just likes submitting his edits as suggestions in the comments for some reason.

          4. Bareus

            @Aorii: That's why I always ask you if it's ok to make light edits (typos, space error's etc.) ^_^ and I'm the official Editor here since... begin of the year?
            @Sonoda Yuki: It's not that I like it that way. Krytyk wants it so he's more control over my edits (reference here)

            Edit:@Sonoda Yuki yeah, best feature as comment editor: actually being able to edit his comments :D

          5. Aorii

            @Bareus: yeah I'm fine with you editing typos and space errors. Although please still post about them (1) in case it's intended and (2) so I can make corrections on my 'real copy' xD

          6. Sonoda Yuki

            It seems you forgot an equal sign between the 'href' attribute and the URL.

        1. krytyk Post author

          In theory it's gender neutral, though it's mostly given to girls these days.

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  3. nonamed

    Hi

    Are you still continuing work on this novel? I have been looking forward to reading more of this story and how it evolves.

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    1. Aorii

      On temporary "hiatus" while I deal with real-life issues and work on planning for next volume =P

      Reply ↓
      1. bunny

        ughhhh the wait will kill me :(

        o well i hope the next volume holds the same quality i have fallen in love with as the 1st and 2nd volume.

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  4. Vostok

    Quite good stuff I'd say, at first I didn't read the description properly so I thought this was a translation from Japanese LN haha. Good work, I hope you find an illustrator soon :D

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  5. nah

    first this is only my opinion.. MY OPINION.
    to me this story is not that great.. poor character dev. (focus only at kaede >:/ ofcourse its only vol2) but but.!
    the battle/action was boring to the point i skipped some of them.
    (it is Military (Strategy) genre; i understand that.,BUT it is better to balance that cause some readers like me :P will find in boring.) TOO MUCH IS NOT GOOD.
    (its better to highlight the action more to gain some momentum in making the climax more exciting).(Kaede shot arrow to save Ariadne in pinch then pascal was proud of it. Only that? really -_-')

    im really frustrated in kaede's attitude.. so gay.. so gay.. so gay.. hahaha i can understand if he/she's really a girl in former world xD. u dont understand male/men at all..
    in the battle kaede CAN DO MORE THAN THAT. that archer skills.. u can be more creative in that aspect.

    in all of the characters except kaede are great. It is better to focus more in the battle/action than strategy or something like that.
    The plot? its great.If kaede is really a girl in the former world it is acceptable however kaede's is not.CRYING(or to the point of crying) because he/she is WORRIED about pascal is dumb.

    p.s ( just finished the story in one go. and grammar? i dunno im sleepy... night )

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      You know for the longest time I wasn't sure if I wanted to approve this comment because your writing (the nonexistent grammar and all caps expressions) makes it really hard to take seriously. I strongly suggest you actually take the time to put it into proper words should you critique anything in the future.
      But all I can really say is that you seem to be reading the wrong genre =P While some action will make it into Daybreak, it is not a novel that strives to glory action on its own. Daybreak is a military series that seeks to define wars the way they actually are: where victories are determined by coordination, collaboration, and collective will, not by the macho heroics of lone individuals that better fit Rambo-like government propaganda posters.
      And Kaede is very much a character design to break the concept of traditional masculinity. Because no, not all men fits into the macho stereotype of society, as much as chauvinistic men often believe they should (and everyone who isn't 'macho' is therefore 'gay').

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      1. Dragon

        I think that Kaede´s feminine behaviour is actually pretty realistic.
        The reason? Our mind is influenced by our body, meaning that the mind itself is neutral.
        Do I have proof? Yes! If a man receives hormone treatment causing the balance to shift towards female hormones,
        the mental state changes as well into a more feminine version.
        In effect the man begins to think like a women.

        Hope you don´t mind if the explanation is to long, I didn't know how to shorten it :P

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        1. Aorii

          Compared to other explanations here, that's actually quite short =P
          I've actually known a male-to-female transgendered on hormone treatments. I must agree that what hormonal imbalance could do to one's emotional control is... shocking (and not all that pretty).

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          1. Sanngrior

            if you think the afterwards can show scary personality traits.

            imagine some1 who was like that before making the change... it does not get much better xD

            I personally have rather a terrible control, if I was changed all at once I'm sure that I would function like a normal person, but a step by step change would probably break me.

            the caps and random comments post I would ignore. he is a type AH reading a type S story and complaining that it isn't to his type AH tastes because it's not type A.

            I am a proud Type neutral personality who is not in the least human ^^ seems he would dislike me just because I can ignore gender barriers lol

  6. letir

    So cool.

    Serious business right here. War, strategy, politics and other stuff. Detailed and flawless.

    Good story so far. Too much "twists" for such short period of time, but still - perfect.

    Characters are great.
    Main hero(ine) a little bland and look like natural female, but it's fine - (s)he still have own progression, and have own role.
    Pascal is really astonishing... but failing miserably in some aspects, and still aren't adult. Not your typical Marty S, not even flawless "strategic genius".
    Others have their own weight, relationships, differencies and live (or death).

    World expanded very well, every side are thoroughly explained.

    Battles are detailed and look realistic.

    16/10 (-1 for failed GB attempt)

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    1. Sanngrior

      the GB was not a "failed attempt". it simply wasn't what you expect in a GB story. which may I point out, is a lot more diverse than you give it credit for.

      GB can be attributed to a story that has a main character who is a trap, futa, simply looks too much like the opposite gender that how they are treated is affected by it. et cetera.

      then there is the separate matter of whether the story use of GB is meant to be romance, psychological, philosophical et cetera.

      many stories focus too heavily on the GB when gender-flips occur. the stories often become insanely mundane focusing on trivial matters like how the person identifies themselves and what gender will they start getting attracted to. I am biologically male, mentally neutral and if I were to suffer a gender flip my biggest issue wouldn't be "omg there's nothing between my legs and there are things hanging from my chest", it would be closer to "...so how do I convince my friends and family I am who I say I am and what do I do next". in a world like Hyperion focusing on thing like human(or non-human in this case) rights and where I will go from there. would I still be able to do the things I could before the change? like if I was accomplished in parkour and a martial art, would I still be capable of performing what I know or do I have to retrain? how long before I get used to my new height or size, if you were 6foot and then after the change you are only 4foot I can guarantee your biggest problem being balancing and doing mundane everyday actions you took for granted.

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      1. Aorii

        Well "failed attempt" is still the way some see it. I tried to do something very different insofar as the genderbending goes and well -- some people felt it wasn't GB, while others thought it actually made GB tolerable. All a matter of tastes (shrug).
        I would say concepts like how a person identifies themselves isn't trivial though. A big part of Western Philosophy focuses on a person's individual state of being. I just never held much regard for existentialism. Far Eastern philosophy only defines a person by what he/she is capable of doing for family and society, which, in a society (Hyperion) with much less gender-bias, doesn't come out nearly as divergent.

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        1. krytyk Post author

          It all depends on people's expectations. However, author shouldn't be swayed and should continue to write the story he wants to write.

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  8. SinkingShip

    Really loving this story, sad to hear it's going on hiatus but so it goes.

    Just wanted to chime in with a 'thanks for all you do' to Aorii since I've really enjoyed reading / re-reading this a few times over the past couple months.

    Reply ↓
    1. krytyk Post author

      I'm too afraid to attempt making original art, otherwise I'd make something for Aorii :(.

      Reply ↓
  10. Reg

    Aorii, I‘m from Russia, but I‘m speak very bad in English and don‘t read your novel yet :(.

    Reply ↓
  11. Truth

    I just read through both volumes yesterday, im already looking here every hour for an update lol, gotta say, good job, quite enjoyable

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      As noted in the post, the next volume won't be for a little while. But thanks for the motivation o/

      Reply ↓
  12. Ashwin1234

    Hi Aorii, great LN, I really enjoyed reading it from start to finish. The characters were great, and the battles were really exciting. I would totally buy this if it was published.
    I was just wondering what cultural background Kaede is from because the references such as giant tofu and flying pasta god sound very American/Canadian/Englishy to me (or maybe i just read too many translated LNs).
    Can't wait to see the last chapter of Volume 2 and Volume 3. Keep up the great work!

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    1. Truth

      Didnt the story state she was Russian and Japanese, of course i don't think it mentioned where she grew up

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    2. Aorii

      Wait, tofu is American? what? xD
      Flying Spaghetti Monster is mostly found in US/Western Europe yeah, since it's a lashback against teaching intelligent design in schools. Asia doesn't have this issue; although someone who studies other cultures may still pick up on it =)
      Kaede is half-Japanese and half-Russian, only noted at the start (v1ch2) so far.

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      1. ashwin1234tn

        Oh, I just get the odd feeling that someone from Japan or Russia might call the tofu monster differently but then it makes sense that Kaede can pick up stuff like these :D. And yeah, my cultural background I sorta meant where she grew up, but nvm that makes sense.

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    3. VesperOz

      [Warning Spoilers] It mentioned where she grew up in Volume 2 Chapter 11;

      "As someone who grew up in Trans-Ural Siberia and later Japan, she adhered to the socially conservative Eastern philosophy far more than its liberal, Western counterpart. The freedom of choice might have a nice ring that appealed to the masses, but 'duty' should always take the highest spot of consideration when assessing that 'choice'. "

      Though off-topic, as far as I understand [ and correct me if I'm wrong ] but does it mean that Kaede believes that Japanese value 'duty' more then Russians?
      I slightly disagree with that statement, even if I can understand why this was used this way. As Russian, I grew up with strong believe of duty and respect to our country and countryman with high pride. In my opinion, freedom don't just drops down on your lap without sacrifice, it has also has to be earned. But this could be just the type of environment I've personally grew up in [ or my personal twisted type of thinking ], so I cannot speak for others.

      Either way, I've enjoyed Daybreak on Hyperion. Though I felt discouraged few time from the sheer amount of informational bombardment and details.
      It's not finished though, right? If it is, I'll cry. I will. I really will.

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      1. Aorii

        Let me spin that question around and ask: do you believe that Russia is purely a western country? It's certainly not considered a 'liberal' country by most standards. By 'west' I'm mostly referring to EU and the Americas. Russia is unique in that it stretches across the continents.
        Although if you raise it, I do agree that Japanese value 'duty' more. You actually have to experience far eastern culture to realize why -- over there it's not a matter of freedom requires duty and sacrifice, it's that freedom barely exists in the face of duty. For example, whether one wants to get married or have kids doesn't matter: that's simply their job as a human being and therefore it is expected for them to. For men to go work 12hr days in Japan's crazy office culture and for women to take care of the house because nobody could manage a home with that kind of work shift, etc. Anime doesn't really reflect this since it really represents the most liberal aspects of Japanese culture (Chinese and Korean cultures are very much similar).
        Interestingly enough, some of that information bombardment was brought in after reader demand, and some still think there's not enough info given on various things. I do try to keep a balance though.
        But alas, no, it's not finished. As my recent post notes, I'm currently planning for vol3.
        Thanks for your feedback and support o/

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        1. VesperOz

          True, I see your point. I also admit, I can't and should not compare the two different cultures and their beliefs because I haven't been in Japan. But I've never really had much conversation with people who shared their personal views about my country. So I haven't had experience about hearing what other people think and see our culture like. So that actually makes my vision a bit tunnel-like. Hmm.

          Still, times are changing. Some countries adapt certain popular views from others. Unfortinately it seems that it haven't been the same as it was 16 years ago, so my opinions are very out dated and old school.

          It's a personal question, but I was wondering about it from time I've started reading Daybreak. Have you lived or visited Russia and Japan before? It sounds like you might have, but I was just plainly curious if you had experienced it personally or just did some research.

          [Warning Spoilers] Moving on...

          I had to get trolled two times until I mentally gave up having any hopes up. When you introduced certain people in the story, I believed that they somehow will get involved with the main characters, and then my expectations got skyrocketed because it felt like an interesting twist. And then they died.... and then I went into this urge for table flipping extravaganza. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ ...And after all that, I died a little on the inside.

          I'm not complaining though. This is just how I felt. Like with Kaleva... and like with Torsten...
          I had hopes! And then they were got all crushed and ripped out from my heart! ( T - T ) .. jk.

          Anyways, while reading your novel, it made me feel like I was reading a very sophisticated book from a professional novel writer.
          I'll be patiently waiting for the new chapters so thank you for your hard work.

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          1. Aorii

            I have not lived in Russia and only visited Japan very briefly, although I'm a prolific reader on cultural materials and alternative viewpoints. My understanding of Russian culture is actually a bit basic for writing this so I need some periodic research, although I'm a big consumer of Russia humor. I do have Chinese background, which is very pro-Russian in modern world views (both powers which tries to challenge western hegemony over world affairs), and has strong similarities to Japanese culture despite the infamous racial hatred between the two that dates back several centuries.

            Nevertheless, if you're interested in discussing any of Kaede's "Russian" beliefs, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Unfortunately, my beta-reader team does not include a Russia advisor ^^'

            One of the points I tried to make during White Typhoon with the Skagen characters is that conflict is rarely a struggle between right and wrong, good and evil. Such black and white views are typically a biproduct of propaganda, which every nation uses regardless of its government form. Conflict typically arise due to differing interests and viewpoints, not moral standing. However, while they may not be 'evil' and should be respected for upholding duty to society and country, they are nevertheless 'the enemy'. It is idealistic fantasy to believe that enemies can simply shake hands and get over it. Wars are fought to kill, and it would be an insult to the bravery of soldiers if it was portrayed any less than that. This is what I strongly believe in.

            So I hope you could appreciate that aspect and not take it the rest too hard ^.~ Otherwise, I'm glad you enjoyed it o/

  13. Sonoda Yuki

    >>... held common ground, but that was just superficial.
    ... held common ground, but only superficially.

    *looks away and whistles innocently*

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  14. fra

    Thx 4 the chapters.
    BTW thi snovel and Kakute Yoake no Day Break are the same novel right?

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  15. Saqa

    When I read the Synopsis, I really wasn't the biggest fan of trying to pick up the story compared to others on this site until I eventually got to this as the last one and I pretty much regret not reading it since I haven't read any strategy driven stories in forever. I appreciate you creating this series and hope you really make more of this since I like the direction of the development of characters and plot.

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    1. Sanngrior

      thats my biggest problem with books and stories in general. often enough people miss out on the best of stories which perfectly match their reading interests.

      its all because a synopsis, or blurb, cannot tell the right thing about the story to grab your attention. i have put a series off for over half a year, just to finally read it and wish i got to it sooner.

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  16. bunny

    so any eta on chapter 16 of volume 2, as well as when volume 3 starts?? :D

    epic story

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      I hope to have last chapter done before end of month. Can't really say on a date because... the last chapter is turning out to be a real pain to write.
      After that, I'll probably need a 1-2 months break at least before starting vol3. Bunch of things to work on and do (storyboarding, worldbuilding, more character design*, start hunting for an artist, rework entire map, etc etc).
      (*yes, more characters D:, many more, since we're heading to a different country...)
      I hope to be posting some fun materials during the downtime though, like national or character profiles.

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      2. Sanngrior

        *hears mention of another country*

        ".... ROAD-TRIP!?!?! WOOOHOOO" lol xD

        is pascal whisking kaede and a few others away somewhere to get their minds off of what happened in the war??

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      3. Sonoda Yuki

        There's a national profile of Weischel somewhere in the deep dark depths of the interwebs :P

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  17. Gate

    Along with Alice Tale, wonder what the point of the genderbending is when the mc doesn't act like a guy at all.
    Other than "I'm a man" like uttered once or twice, they don't take actual action to show they were a guy in an old life. And the required "i get periods?!" chapter.

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    1. Aorii

      To make you remember there are more types of men than the 'macho' kind =P
      (I can't speak for Alice Tale. Me and Kadi calls it 'wish fulfillment' for a reason)
      Kaede's period will be a reoccurring event . I always found it funny how genderbenders love to brush the biggest downside of the female sex under the table...

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      1. Sonoda Yuki

        I thought it was the "Miracle of Life" without an Epi... is there a magical equivalent of an Epidural on Hyperion?

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          1. Sonoda Yuki

            "Epidural" here refers to a route for administering drugs fairly close to the spinal cord (as opposed to intravenous or intramuscular). It's typically used for administering analgesics (Opiates), local anesthetics (Cocaine analogues ending with "-caine") or, more often than not, a combination of the two, especially when used for reducing labor pains.

  19. Vibhav

    Aorii, can i get your email address. i am currently working on a novel of my own. I have planned for 3-4 volumes in total for the series. It wont be a light novel but will have more content. I planned the project a few years back, but started writing last year. Though i have the ideas and the plot, but i still have difficulty in proceeding. I can give u a brief overview of the project through email. I want to keep in touch and get advice from u SENPAI. Please mail me if u have time at
    I am a college student and love reading LNs, and manga.

    PS: @admin pass on my email id to aorii and remove it or just remove this post.

    Reply ↓
    1. krytyk Post author

      Removed your email from the comment. Aorii can see it without writing it out in the comment.

      Reply ↓
  20. Sonoda Yuki

    I just finished the first volume of Avalon, and I'm wondering it there's a chance you'll unretire it.
    I have a question for you: As a legend, an ideal, the planet, republic, and whatnot in your story, as well as the work itself, What does "Avalon" mean to you?

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Not a chance. I only have time to work on one story, and Avalon is even more complicated than Daybreak.

      I'm heavily influenced by Louis Cha's work (The Smiling, Proud Wanderer) which addresses an old belief of eastern religi-ethics: "perfection is a state of mind". Well, utopia (Avalon) is just another state of perfection.

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      1. pewpewnd

        I seem to remember reading somewhere that Avalon is also the name for Excalibur's sheath itself, at least in legend...

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  21. Sanngrior

    onto a topic i dont know if it has been asked yet or not, but searching the page didnt get me any hits so here it is.

    on finishing your second volume, what is your thought on doing a final check and edit to your 1st volume and making an ebook that could be sold on amazon or itunes for people to find and read? you have put in just as much effort and research as any fulltime author i know and with all that time spent developing the story why not spread it even further and get something in return?

    there would also be the added benefit that since it becomes published your copyright protection becomes quite ironclad :) who knows it might just be one of the next big hits :D

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    1. Aorii

      I'm planning to submit it to a few fantasy publishers first. If that doesn't work, I'll see about self-publishing. I've done all the 1st volume editing I can already and still pick out flaws by my own eyes. 2nd volume editing is already underway since I want the last chapter to come out around its finish. I know a number of readers who only plan to catch up when the volume completes so~

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      1. Sanngrior

        sounds cool. let us know if and when you get a deal :3 i want a cool looking physical copy of this at that time ;P and nothing says "old die hard fan" than a 1st edition xD

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  22. Baleyg

    Aorii, I love the novel keep it up, but one thing is bothering me and it may be a bit late to change it given it is about one of the main character's fighting style/weapon; I don't know how much research you have done about your weapons, but to my knowledge, (owning a tourist kukri with some explanation from locals on usage and general research on swords), says that a kukri is a hacking weapon designed to go through bone and relatively thin trees with ease. This makes them roughly equivalent to an axe in usage, (no not really to anyone who has real knowledge of weapons but for most people it's a good enough analogy), so I highly doubt chainmail would be sufficient to do much more than prevent loss of limbs.
    With respect to the mantis fighting style it seems to me that, while using kukris is feasible, slashing weapons would fit better due to the additional reach provided by generally longer, lighter swords and greater arm extension, for balance reasons in spins also that the swords are roughly straight with curvature back which is good for slashing, where as the kukri has an initial ~30 degree bend forwards which is better for hacking.
    If you want an exotic sword type then I recommend some middle eastern swords most of which are slashing, the shamshir is a good example as I doubt most people know what that is off the top of their heads other than it's a sword of some sort.

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    1. Sanngrior

      well ignoring the fact that its a world that has magic. having seen kukri used a few times i dont think theres really anything wrong by using them, they are assassins after all. and they do hold quite the slashing power depending on the variant of shape, material, and quality of the final weapon.

      for assassins trying to getup close and personal to kill the shamshir would be too long. they would be better suited to a wakizashi or tanto, or something of that range imo.

      for an interesting demo to some. /watch?v=bwS9bV5X488 makes a pretty interesting video on the gurkha kukri. the cutting of the 6" tatami, shows the same cutting power as a trained sword fighter with a katana (similar blades meant for sheer slashing/cutting power).

      basic weapons explanations would be along the lines of: blades are for slashing, swords are for piercing (the large ones more for crushing along an edge), axes are for hacking. specializations being exempt due to length, weight or dimensions altering their usage.

      the defensive power of chainmail being whatever it is. but in a world of magic the rules of what makes a piece of armor can be quite flexible at best

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    2. Aorii

      Thanks for the encouragement ^^
      I picked kukris because it is one of the most adaptive small weapons that is easy to sheath (fast draw/put away). It's long-edged (slashing), front-weighted (hacking), with good blade thickness (sturdiness). Aka great for a sudden attacker who needs it to meet multiple situations.
      I can bet you this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukri#mediaviewer/File:Gurkha_IOC_3.jpg) will not cut through the bone for most users, and certainly not armor. It's simply a matter of mass -- not heavy enough. Melee axes (battleaxes/waraxes) are heavier (more mass), longer (more torque), with a smaller edge for focused impact, and even they can't reliably pierce armor. Usually need piercing strikes or two-handed weapons for that. Can Gurkhas do it? maybe; but their reputation for ferocity exist for a reason.
      Lastly, dual-wielding: lighter hits.

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      1. Baleyg

        Ah, I see where some of this came from, all this magic and fancy fighting styles led me the wrong way. So you are using the long knife short sword sized kukri, I was thinking something closer to a metre in length which would have much better hacking power due to size and weight, but as I hear your reasons for using them I completely agree and respect your choice. Also that size of kukri weighs about 3/4 kg which would take it into the bone with any decent swing, maybe not through bone and flesh but a smallish cleaver isnt much heavier so it will go through bone if there is no/little flesh there.

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        1. Sanngrior

          i blame mangaka's :P they draw and write unreasonable scenarios with weapons and then people become unsure of how effective a particular weapon really is in reality. the best can make most weapons do as they need, but those without the talent/skill to get that far will see less desirable results :( (so much aim correction happening mid swing when there should be none et cetera)

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      2. Himeko Inaba

        Every since I read Stoker's Dracula, kukris have just made me laugh. It's automatic. lol.

        Anyway, one of the most common inaccuracies I see in fantasy media is that metal armor is too easily defeated. It's understandable why a narrator would want dramatic, dangerous fights, but ultimately that change can only remove complexity from the setting and conflicts.

        Metal is REALLY strong. Later European plate armor was just as hard as steel swords, so even with a full size sword you could not slash through it. You'd need to either stab through a weak point or hurt your opponent with blunt trauma. Many weapons like the crow's beak and the war hammer were developed specifically to overcome plate armor in ways that traditional piercing and slashing weapons couldn't. Obviously you wouldn't prefer those over a good spear or sword if your opponent was unarmored, but such was the defensive strength of steel plate.

        Chain mail is weaker, of course, but it's still not easily defeated with a one handed weapon. It's very difficult to make, but extremely popular because it offered a significant advantage over earlier armors. It's still in use...against sharks.

        http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/videos/sharks-vs-chainmail-suits/

        Reply ↓
  23. Sanngrior

    Aorri, is this the only website where you host/ allow hosting of your story?

    because i have found a copy of your story posted elsewhere and it doesn't so much as name you as the author, which i think is quite insulting.

    Reply ↓
    1. krytyk Post author

      Probably that wattpad guy huh... someone should just report him to wattpad.

      Reply ↓
      1. Sanngrior

        this guy i noticed because of a wuxia site i use for 3 of I Eat Tomatoes wuxia novels.

        has his own "website" for a blog but all the content was translated by other people, and some of the pdf's on his site are licensed books like play to live and game of thrones.

        its irritating because i found out due to him hosting a wuxia translation and didnt credit the person who did all the work translating it. then i saw some1 mention daybreak and since this came straight to mind i had to check it out.
        edit this out if needed but for aorri's sake in-case this is the link: lightnovelonline.blogspot.co.uk

        Reply ↓
        1. Aorii

          The only three sites I use to host are krytyk's, Baka-Tsuki, and vol1 on FictionPress. But yeah I noticed there's a copy on that site you pointed out and also another on Wattpad ( http://www.wattpad.com/story/27455493-daybreak-on-hyperion ). Don't really see what I can do about the blogspot site, especially as that person doesn't post authorship/TL information for any of the works they hosted on there. But I need to report the wattpad one at some point for them to get it taken down -- and upload a properly formatted one, probably. For the moment, most Daybreak links/talks go to B-T or here.

          Reply ↓
          1. Sanngrior

            im trying to send a message to him directly about it, no guarantee's he will read/respond /act upon it, but its worth trying.

          2. Sonoda Yuki

            What about that other site? The one that hosts Avalon?
            I'm going to go with my better judgement and avoid posting a link.

          3. Sonoda Yuki

            Actually taking a look at that work that I didn't mention, you... really like swordstaves, don't you?

          4. Sanngrior

            well if it gets to worst case you have the option of applying a DMCA Takedown request. this can be done via:
            http://www.dmca.com/FAQ/What-is-a-DMCA-Takedown

            your story is great and you deserve to have the control over where you want it posted :)

            on a brighter note, everyone is looking forward to seeing how volume2 will progress and conclude ^^ i even found a website that posted a review on your first volume and scored it pretty highly (their only upset was wanting some illustrations to go with the story like some LN have haha)

          5. Himeko Inaba

            That wattpad one is hilarious. They left the HTML code in. It's unreadable!

            Anyway, if you make something people want it is going to be pirated. This just means people want it. Go ahead and complain about the wattpad mess or even issue a legal complaint, but I wouldn't even bother with the blogspot one. There are hundreds of blogs linking to illicit downloads of every genre album ever. Not worth wasting a single moment on.

          6. Aorii

            That's actually what I thought. The wattpad one bothers me since it gives the "Daybreak on Hyperion" title a bad name with its unreadability. The blogspot one? As long as they don't claim it as their own (so far they've been equally unkind to all the novels posted there), I'll treat it as advertising lol. Because if the reader likes it, sooner or later they'll come across the real one.

            I believe I left a comment on that review ^^ if that's the one written by Cho

          7. Sanngrior

            and all is well with the world ^^

            "Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist."

            no time lost, though he should really remove the licensed books too, meh lawyers problems.

  24. Himeko Inaba

    About the Kaede and the genderbend:

    Aorii:
    Hey, someone agrees with you!

    [Sandy's post: http://krytykal.org/daybreak/volume-2/chapter-2/%5D

    I do admit that Kaede's past is very poorly developed. This is an ongoing issue that one of the beta-readers (Himeko) loves to bug me about. The problem is just -- trying to fit it in is really hard. The leap-to-new-world premise makes it harder to connect with the past in general. Combined with the rapid story development and Pascal's general insensitivity toward others' personal attributes this makes even harder to discuss what kind of person Kaede *was*. Furthermore, Kaede has far more of a 'narrator' role than a 'protagonist' role so... it's weird. I can only promise you that this will get better with time.

    Me:
    Kaede's normal high school past is probably really boring except for a few select moments, so I know why including it in the story, especially in volume 2, would be silly. It's likely her prior years are relevant only insofar as they explain her behavior in the current, more interesting situation. That's what is really lacking.

    People are really curious about what she is like and have little information, but as I've said before pretty much everyone is confused by her. Those who've asked about her fill in the blanks in very different ways. She's so phlegmatic that no one knows whether she is stressing about her gender change or enjoying it. Even little details like "she hates being weak" or "she loves playing with her hair" are extremely sparse. You say this is your writing style, but adding this type of detail would at give us more to guess on without spoiling any new developments. A taste of what's to come will only make the readers hungrier.

    Most readers assume that she wouldn't like being torn away from her old life and forced into a war, but she really is a servant at heart and needs to serve someone larger in order to truly enjoy her life. Now she has friends in high places and a war to fight AND MAGIC. She'd shudder to think of herself that way because of her own morality, but she's feeling stronger feelings and doing bigger things than she's ever dreamed of. That is how I see her. I mean she just read books when no one was giving her anything to do. Whether she prefers her old world to the new one, or even cares enough to have a preference, is up for debate. Same for the sex change: A reasonable fan might suppose she is not asking for the "he" pronoun just because she is afraid it will cause trouble, while another projects his curiosity about being someone else, and another thinks Kaede likes being extra moe.

    The way she's acting doesn't match Sandy's worldview very well, and even causes her cognitive dissonance while she suspends her disbelief, which knocks him right out of the story. That is more her problem than yours, but if you provided more details, maybe she could imagine Kaede differently! I never had that issue because I'm just as coolheaded as she is, and my ideas about gender are completely different. A person is one single electrochemical contraption, and a discrete gender makes only the same kind of sense as a discrete soul. Isn't it necessary that her temprament was transformed by the summoning spell? The idea that you could have the same personality in two different brains!

    For now, Kaede is being reasonably cautious and I'd predict that, when she considers her future, simply being a woman will look like an option to her. But I don't know, man. It's not in the book. You've created an extremely mysterious character who the readers are interested in by forcing upon her this fascinating issue and then having her ignore it and even say "it's not important, at least not right now." No one has been able to get over that since the first volume. lol. I don't know whether this was your strategy to grab their attention, but it sure worked out!

    Aorii:
    You made quite a few interesting points. The paragraph about her being a servant at heart being the most. While I realized that I was developing her characterization like that, I had never thought of it that way ('needs to serve someone larger in order to truly enjoy her life'). In retrospect though, that could be said for many people, perhaps even most. True leaders are quite rare, after all.

    'Even little details... are extremely sparse' -- this might be another thing from my writing style. I know I love to drop hints a lot but don't like to repeat information unless it's important; this usually assumes that the reader will piece it together on their own, which can go multiple ways. Well, it has its pros and cons.

    As for Kaede's gender issues? It actually is planned out. My main reasoning is that the deeper I delve into gender-psychology and gender-identity, the more I realize that the problem is a very complicated one that simply can't be answered without substantial personal experience. Well, Kaede needs that experience first. Despite how 'knowledgeable' she is about the ways of the world, she's remarkably immature about it because she only 'knows' about things, but has never felt it. Unfortunately, genderbender as a genre has a tendency to take the quick and easy approach -- so everyone is used to immediate answers and decisions.

    Himeko:
    Oh yeah dude, Kaede is as book-stupid as she is book-smart. If she had been a day-laborer, she would've at least been left to her own thoughts and experience. Her guilt about copying a strategy from a modern war was a nice touch there. I wonder if she will ever overcome her own way of thinking enough to realize the irony of trying to decide whether to call herself a man or a woman when she never became a strong man or learned how to please any of the JKs back on Earth. As for her gender, I just want more details about little things that could be considered gender expression. After all, Kaede is not willing to consciously think about it right now. I don't think anyone really wants you to hurry things along.

    BTW, none of your characters have had half the fan response of Kaede when she is just the narrator. This is practically the only question you get. Does that ever bother you? Good problem to have. ;)

    Reply ↓
    1. Sonoda Yuki

      If I were a picky person, I'd say it bugged me. For now, I'll just say that Kaede's characterization and backstory (rather, the lack thereof) does raise questions, but I don't have as much of a problem with it as some of the others seem to...

      I really should have avoided the alpha, but I have chronic "big-red-button-pushing" syndrome. *moans dramatically while holding hands to head* (T_T;)

      Reply ↓
    2. Aorii

      What's a 'JK', anyway?

      Anyhow, many of the questions I seem to get revolve around Kaede's gender issues and why they're not using guns. (sigh) Yeah it's kind of depressing...

      A question I always wanted to ask back is: why does a genderbender have to focus on the gender? Can't a genderbent story be focused on whom the character is and how they chose to live? Or are we so used to thinking that one's sex or sexual preferences defines them as a person? (shrug)

      Reply ↓
      1. Sonoda Yuki

        Joshi Kousei, or Female High School Student. Less common are JC and JS for female Middle and Elementary school students, respectively. The rarely used male equivalents are DK, DC, and DS.

        Reply ↓
        1. krytyk Post author

          Joshikousei is "Female Student" not "Female High School Student" which would be Joshikoukousei. Of course, same with the male version.

          Reply ↓
      2. Infernal_Translator

        I can answer the question of gender-bending; it is a traumatic experience, in the same matter of losing a limb or organ, because, well… they do. The reason that it cannot be brushed over so easily is for the same reason why the death of a parent or finding yourself alone on a planet isn't; the loss of a part of your identity shakes how one sees themselves in respect of the world.

        True, people have managed to ignore bigger elephants in the room, but rarely do those problems directly impact their daily lives. However, when it comes to gender-bending, you have to understand that it also changes the excretory system. No one likes being at a loss of what to do on the toilet. You may have experience of using a public bathroom and realizing that there was no toilet paper. Similar situation, but a magnitude more awkward.

        The sex or gender thing may have to do with sexual identity, and how they relate to others. Unless someone is gifted with a natural resistance to social influences (read autism or air-headedness), a person usually attributes ideas to gender based on societal values. This same reason is one of the main reasons why people feel shock at realizing that they may not be heterosexual like they thought, and experience a great deal of stress. Said stress is also what leads to so many unfortunate suicides in teenagers discovering their preferences. Sexual identity is not a preference, but rather a disposition, much like dominant hands. Along that same train of thought, it has a majorly unconscious influence until one directly thinks about it, or meets some sort of stressor directly because of it.

        A person can argue that my analogy is incorrect because people can train themselves to be ambidextrous, but I'd like to point out that people can also condition themselves to feel comfortable or uncomfortable being around the same or other gender. This is another reason why finding out that you might personally be homosexual or bisexual may make you feel anxious, as suddenly your preferences of company is questioned. Kaede as a male likely preferred the company of other guys, and did not consider it to have any relevance on his sexuality. Suddenly, he is thrust into a new social environment where guys are making sexual jests at him/her. To drive the point further, Kaede starts feeling attracted to males. Too much of Kaede's experiences in his/her previous world is being brought into question and reevaluation for her to feel comfortable in her situation.

        Aorii, you may be the writer of this great story, but readers often compare characters to themselves. Any points not explicitly stated are filled in with the readers' personal experiences and what they feel is "normal". Sure, Kaede could have been playboy-extraordinaire, so testosterone-charged that even straight men were throwing themselves at him, and even reciprocated their feelings of attraction, but the average reader is unlikely to assume that to be the case.

        I myself do not feel much impact of my own gender in my personal life, but that is because I have stunted view of social interaction. I might be asexual, but I do not interact with enough people and feel enough connections to people around me (for reasons, take your pick: eccentric, moody, highly intelligent, autistic et cetera et cetera…), but even I notice social expectations. Sure, I often do not care for them, but some instances, like being told a sibling is being paid for 'getting me laid' in my case, are too abrupt and direct to ignore. You may want to focus on characterization of Kaede besides just sexuality, but people ARE biologically disposed to desire to leave offspring. But you are right that too many people expect gender and sexuality to be key issues of every gender-bender story. Blame shallow story-plots in manga and anime that heavily use fan-service, like Kampfer. You are doing a great job avoiding that.

        That's pretty much it about the sexuality thing. As for guns, well, too many people believe that the use of contained explosions within arms-length to propel projectiles is safe, after over two hundred years of the contraptions blowing up and misfiring. People can be oddly comfortable with absurdly dangerous things if they are told that they are safer than they use to be, regardless of present-day statistics. But a gun, without taking magic into account, is better at long-to-mid range combat in general. A good example would be that scene from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indy just shoots the swordsman.

        Reply ↓
  25. Sonoda Yuki

    (After a lengthy scrying session through the web...)
    "This is the story of how two wills joined to altered [sic] a continent, and the third who supported their entire journey through."

    I see, is that how things were originally planned?

    Reply ↓
    1. Sonoda Yuki

      "Black as the dragon that protects us. Black as the soil that nourishes us. Black as the coal that warms us. Black is a good color indeed"

      I'm liking the Kingdom of Weischel more and more. Is this derived from a Prussian saying, or original?

      Reply ↓
      1. Aorii

        Stop reading materials that haven't been posted for public consumption =P
        (I created that saying)

        Reply ↓
        1. Sonoda Yuki

          But– but, it's so shiny and tempting...

          *Takes look at Alpha; Chills run down spine*
          K**de's not the only one he's scaring.... I'm out.

          Reply ↓
  26. RevolvingOcelot

    Really love the story Aorii!

    Though I do wonder about the whole gender bender part where Kaede has the mind of a young man when she is a girl, and even that part is more or less thrown waaay into the background when Kaede is acting like a girl, thinking like a girl, reacting like a girl, and is supposedly a man in spirit, when that man is attracted to the glorious rippling abs of men in the army. With all of this im just curious as to why the gender bender is there at all, I don't see what it's doing to enhance the story telling in any way at all, though maybe I'm just too blind to see it. Anyways im thinking that two things could explain this, either A) Kaede's actually gay, which doesn't make sense since he had a girl friend in his past life but hey, that's not super rare in the first place so w/e. or B) His wonderful maiden heart that goes "doki doki" at the site of his beloved is now taking over his mind and he is now entirely a girl, so what was the point of her having a boys mind in the first place?

    But w/e again lol. It's still a wonderful novel and I'm looking forward to future installments ^.^

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Several people have raised that question already. All I can say is that the genderbender aspect will steadily get answers as the story progresses, but I have a lot of genres/details to work through =P

      Reply ↓
  27. Gawd

    Aorii i gotta say this story probably has me more excited for its continuation than OSO. the characters are well fleshed, the setting and story is very different. its not the bland "Western" culture you normally see in asian web novels nor is it any kind of "Just another Japan" setting. on a side note, here is to hoping Kaede invents the indoor toilet, and gets sainted by the church. she could be "Saint John"

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Having actually lived both in Asia and the West has its benefits =3
      "hoping Kaede invents the indoor toilet" -- she certainly has the incentive to actually make this happen XD
      Thanks for the encouragement o/

      Reply ↓
  28. Shiori

    I think I found some illustrations at pixiv for this LN, but I forgot who the artist ( '-')

    Reply ↓
    2. Shiori

      Eh, seems I was wrong. The illustration I saw was for Daybreaker of Daybreak. I think I confused the tittle ( '~')

      Reply ↓
  29. Sanngrior

    umm. miracle xmas release maybe? xD i can dream lol. so desperate for good stories and yours is sooo addictive

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Thanks for the hopes but... I wish ;_; next chapter isn't even ready for beta yet. I've been slow... x_x

      Reply ↓
      1. Sanngrior

        ohwell lol. looking forward to the next one none-the-less. if you need someone to beta-read just drop me a message ^^ (assuming you can see my email already that is) i wont be great for grammar, but spelling,flow and awkwardness ec i can do :) (grammar because my own is part UK and US, and i constantlymix the 2 up haha)

        Reply ↓
  30. Doom0117

    Hey Aorii got a question for you. In your opinion why is it that in series like this where you have a person from our world teleported to a world with magic most people don't use that characters scientific knowledge to create new things? For example in your story you touched on the idea of creating firearms and why it wouldn't work... But what about something like a rail gun? At it's base it's actually a fairly simple concept and the biggest reason it's taken this long to use them is because we didn't have an efficient enough energy source (size wise). But if you have magic...?

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      This is simpler than you think:
      (1) What's there to gain for said tech? Take railguns for an example -- the reason it hasn't been used isn't because we don't have an effective power source; electromagnetic acceleration is used in all modern motors. But for the longest time EM kinetic weapons require too much power input for not enough power output. What's the point of getting fancy when chemical explosives deliver just as good a kick with simplicity and therefore greater reliability? Hyperion has explosive spells of multiple varieties already; what's a railgun to offer them? other than complicating logistics with the need for mechanical maintenance, spare parts, etc...
      (2) Do you know the recipe for gunpowder offhand without referencing a chemistry book/website? About how making a basic electrical motor by hand? Do you think most people would memorize that kind of thing nowadays? Characters in this kind of stories usually didn't bring an encyclopedia back with them. Most modern technology requires a "base tech" that was invented decades if not centuries ago, one we often overlook because it's accepted as commonplace now. Railgun? Try building capacitors out of a box of scraps first and you'll see how hard it is =P
      (3) Even if a technology can be made available and IS more effective, the third question is: can sufficiently large numbers be produced to make a difference? The famous WW2 example of King Tigers vs Shermans/T-34s still stand. It doesn't matter if yours is 200% better if the other side, using simpler tech, and outproduce you 10-to-1.

      Reply ↓
      1. Dooom0117

        Yes if we were talking about supplying for a massive army it would be next to impossible, but what about a small elite group or even just for the MC? Especially if said MC can't use magic except under certain specific conditions. In Kaede's case a railgun would be a godsend compared to a bow... Not that I'm complaining! And I'm sure that there would be a lot of people that would complain about a railgun making the MC to OP... but let's be honest a single person with one won't make much of a difference in a war unless your main target is huge... like flying whales... anyways! Back on track! I'm not saying that MC has to make said technologies strictly our way but rather use a mixture of science and magic. Once more going back to the RG because it's an easy example :P You gave Keade a metal item (can't remember the name for the life of me) that can take any shape, so just have her keep it in pistol/rifle form depending on circumstances and have Pascal enchant the barrel to magnetize it and then give her a spell to fire it. Of course that's a simplified version of what would need to be done but the point is if you mix our science with their magic you will end up with a lot of possibilities. Which is why I'm really confused as to why most authors of this genre either mostly or completely ignore this. Once again I'm not saying that the MC of whatever story would be trying to supply entire armies but only for him/herself and the people important to them, like Hajime from Arifureta.
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun
        Just for a little more information on them. BTW the U.S. is planning to equip all of our newest destroyers with them...

        Wow! I did not mean for it to go on for this long! :P

        Reply ↓
        1. Mumbles

          This is in response for my love of science, history, and tech development.

          Firearms could in fact survive in this world for a number of reasons. The first one is the fact even the earliest forms of firearms were not just for war but for hunting as well. The setting already established that there are entire cultures of people living without the use of magic in this world, it is hard to think that they would not develop better ranged weaponry to tackle foes that could amount to dragons and massive sky whales without the use of magic. Skill with melee or mid range aside, people hunt with bows for the surprise factor and guaranteeing a kill, something that can't happen with a mere sword or javelin throw. Outside of warfare firearms could be developed more for hunting game. However that isn't to say that it would survive the use in war in regards to magic as the fear of explosion from fire can be too great. Every tactic to use such firearms up until the american civil war can't be used.

          The reason why I say up until american civil war tactics is because of a new tech finally being utilized in this war called "rifling." If you don't know rifling is what makes modern day weapons so accurate by spinning the bullet similar to how the fletching in an arrow forces it to spin in the air and become accurate. All of a sudden you could hit a target well outside the notice and range of a mage making it more of a surprise assassination due the speed, distance and the fact that no mana is emanated to detect as well as with power that makes armor useless. Incidentally Rifling was developed first for hunting creating a lead in for the tech even if it wasn't used for war. But i digress as I only state some possibilities and use conjecture for the setting.

          A second reason is the training to use firearms, or more importantly the required amount. You use far less resources to train and maintain a fighting force of a hundred that uses firearms than a single knight in full armor while each of those in the hundred can kill in one shot. This effect is non-negligible and the reason firearms were used over say longbows that had longer range, accuracy, and firing rate but took years to develop just the arm strength, something that can't be rushed. The training requirements went down from years into weeks for the average soldier. I find the argument that carrying gunpowder into battle to be suicidal against mages actually holds little merit. Can a single mage take down hundreds of people who can shoot at range? Is the pocket dimension vulnerable to fire? Is the actual effect of an exploding bullet in barrel lethal? The answer to that last one is can be but usually not.

          It bugs me though that technological development went only this far in ranged combat especially considering the fact that not everyone can utilize ranged magic even in war. It feels that if you take modern day ranger training and apply it to only mages in this world that you can have a force of 100 just decimate most of an opposing army that doesn't have pure mages, not in confrontation but in guerrilla warfare. One reason I say this is there is no established effective range of magic making kill shots from over 1.4 km possible on a VIP (1.4 km being i think the furthest recorded sniper kill distance). Even if just propelling a kinetic shot the size of a bullet would be feasible through magic, if not just using the quickest magic shot possible would work. I could go into bombardment and artillery but the setting has already used them in a spectacular fashion.

          Interestingly enough, trying to build enough firearms for armies helped spur the industrial revolution, another lacking piece in this setting. I'm not saying that assembly line production or machined interchangeable parts are required by the setting as it has been established that there are some mass produced goods in this world, its the effects from those mass produced goods that is lacking i feel, especially for the lower class. While we have a good viewpoint on nobility in this world I can't make a conjecture on the average non mage citizen in this world, and I hope you can reveal more info in regards to this. I would like to know if there is a reason for large cities or is most of the populace still farming and producing food? Lack of education leads me to believe the latter so there must be some restriction that magic can't be used for agricultural purposes. This theory holds little in that there are already convenient ways of transporting water and breaking ground using magic. If there is magic in agriculture then what are most people doing/producing? I'm not really clear on how rare a mage is in this world, but there seems to be enough to make a difference, especially considering the fact that whole educational facilities exist and armies are able to field them in significant numbers.

          I love the fact that you realize most technological development comes from a more basic form, but gunpowder exists as a mining tool. It does seems to already be used in warfare,but its potential not realized. "God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal," is a quote that comes to mind when I think about how warfare in this world uses mages and the average man can do almost nothing against them, because they don't have that equalizer.

          These are my current thoughts but I will take back anything I say if I feel it has been explained more thoroughly in the future.

          Reply ↓
          1. Shiina Kochiya

            It's possible that the magical upper class/ruling elite has purposefully supressed technological and societal development in these fields in order to secure their position in the political hierarchy. Sure, the nobles *could* have more productive land if they utilized their magical prowess to enhance agricultural output and make it more efficient, but do they really want all the peasants sitting around leisurely designing technology that would unravel the status quo?

            And that could be related to all the hysteria surrounding the Samarans as well. Perhaps the nobility of the other nations saw what happened during the Samaran industrial revolution and quarantined them and their ideas to prevent them from taking root in Weichsel/Inner Sea/Cataliya/Rhin-Lotharingie society and eliminating the advantages the current upper class has over the peasantry.

          2. Aorii

            The first thing I'd like to point out here that you're thinking too far ahead. The question of gunpowder vs tension projectile weapons wasn't originally an argument of rifles vs bows or even musket vs bows. It was one of arquebus vs bows. Had the arquebus not reached widespread adaptation, society would never refined and innovated upon "guns" enough to progress it to the current level in the first place. Perhaps infantry might be equipped with rocketry-based weapons that advanced based on the fire lance. Who knows. But all branches of technology has a "base form" that must be first accepted before more advanced forms can be innovated -- and that "base form" must be accepted long enough (i.e. steam engines were quickly phased out by internal combustion engines which prevented the development of more efficient forms of steam power which may have changed the way the world is). You can see this in many forms throughout history. For example, why did knights in plate armor never catch on in the east like it did in the west? the early and widespread prevalence of armor-penetrating crossbows and the emphasis on mobile warfare due to Goturk/Mongol influences made "heavy knights" a laughable concept in far eastern military. But the same disregard for heavy armor also slowed the adaptation of guns in the east, because that was one of the biggest pros of the initial arguebus vs bows debate (the Chinese and Koreans loved rockets though, as the terrifyingly effective Hwacha demonstrated).

            The decision to not use "guns" on large scale was not an easy one, but it was based on the simple fact I don't see how more rudimentary guns could be effectively adapted on a large enough scale for the "base tech" to become accepted and refined. There's simply too many ways of ruining a pre-modern gunpowder army even without magic; with magic in everything from weather manipulation to elemental creation, it's just child's play. Napoleon had a famous quote: "amateurs discuss tactics; professionals study logistics" (this is actually ironic since Napoleon lost because he failed logistics class in Russia). The destruction of a gunpowder army by magic lay not on the battlefield, but through the logistical requirements to support that army in the field. It doesn't matter if the soldiers' exploding powder pouches don't kill them if that leaves them without ammunition. Rifle butts and bayonets are no replacement for proper swords in a melee fight (as the Swedish Carolean Army exemplified).

            (As for why mages aren't just sniping VIPs out with spells? There's a reason why Hyperion war magic is so heavily defense-oriented with its layered defensive wards, with 'penetration' achievable only through successive, coordinated volleys of antimagic/magic or overwhelming quantity. In this setting, asking a commoner to take on a mage is the equivalent of asking an infantrymen to take on a tank -- it's possible, but you wouldn't do it in a 'fair fight'. But just as tanks could benefit from infantry support, nobles could use more eyes/swords to back them up.)

            (By the way, the concept of hunting with pre-rifling firearms doesn't work well either. Arquebus and early muskets were so inaccurate soldiers were simply trained to shoot in a general direction rather than aim at anything specific.)

            The other reason is, as Shiina Kochiya pointed out: do they really want that technology? Remember that any technological acceptance required sponsorship, and when the upper, rich/ruling class feels threatened or usurped by that technology, would they really promote its use? Especially when that technology seems questionably effective (above argument) in the first place?

            Society wise -- I'll hopefully get to it in due time. I can tell you that the foundation for setting-building I'm using is based on late renaissance/early industrial age, and therefore the population is already congregating into major production centers.

            At any rate, thanks for the comment. If nothing else, it raises the question of how much all this should be discussed in-writing rather than simply in the comments gallery x)

          3. Mumbles

            Thanks for responding to my comment, and yes I have been thinking too far ahead. I do have a few more thoughts about this though but you can answer in story rather than here if you wish.

            Is there no physical/kinetic ranged combat? Bows have been stated as out of favor (for good reason) by military standards and with the absence of firearms, the only way to strike at a distance is with magic. Without being able to strike at range anyone without magic is at an incredible disadvantage. You stated earlier that pitting a human versus a mage is equivalent to a single infantry against a tank, but it raises an alarm. Of course you would never fight on equal ground with that logic but that just means there is a huge power disparity between those with and those without. Tanks have many weaknesses to exploit, such as logistics, terrain, and line of sight but mages pack that power in the same form as normal people. I don't readily see a weakness other than a lack of number, that isn't so lacking that they compose of most of the force in the military. Doesn't that mean the populace is in an almost constant state of fear or treated somewhat as cattle? I speculate that religion and the need for labor evens this out but I fear that this helplessness needs to be addressed eventually. I really hope this concern isn't washed away by good intentions.

            For the life of me I don't understand how anyone could have any morale when standing side by side with a mage. The standard soldier could easily see himself as magic cannon fodder whose life is used to protect something he or she could never achieve to be. This could be explained through magic or religion but that means this setting is more of a dystopia than I thought. Magical big brother is always watching.

            ...anyway,
            I currently love this story and hope you don't misunderstand my intentions. I wouldn't be so passionate about this if I did not like what I have been reading. Please continue the good work.

          4. Aorii

            Don't worry I found your comment quite welcoming to think about. In fact I can tell you it already altered some plans of mine =P (no spoilers).
            As I mentioned in story, Weichsel uses crossbows (fancy ones too). There are also multiple factions that uses bows; it's the mages (and only certain nations') who don't care for them. The following is an excerpt from my design notes on the Weichsel Repeating Arbalest mentioned during v2ch7-8.
            "The arbalest repeater, which is in fact a compound repeating crossbow, using a pulley system to reduce the draw strength, a grip trigger similar to a gun, and a long stock to brace against the shoulders. The bow is twisted at a 60 degrees angle when shooting so the right arm may efficiently pull the lever. The bolts also have a thin, rotary fletching which spins the projectiles as they let loose."

            The real reason I compared mages to tanks is because all their wards is effectively armor (with reliance on certain spells to penetrate said armor), while their attack spells have far more firepower than commoner troops. The average infantryman on Earth is there for alertness, presence, and fodder (whatever the military claims, it's true; we're just smarter now at preventing casualties compared to say, Verdun). It's the heavy weapons that always inflict the disproportional amount of casualties. You're right that mages lack certain weaknesses, but the military comparison here isn't typically a pure mage vs commoner fight so much as a commoner units who benefit from wards/magic support because of mage officers.

            The thing is, historically, most contempt for the lower class gather because the upper classes loses touch with them. Corruption and decadence results from nobles sending others off to die for them instead of experiencing the dying themselves (hence before industrialized warfare when you can kill people by igniting a fuse, military life tend to create the most 'chivalrous' nobles). The power difference has always been present -- it takes dozens of levies to stand up to a full-plated knight even in Earth history, assuming the serfs somehow managed to hold their ground. One of the points here is that magic forces the upper class to contribute more, either in the industry or on the battlefield.

        2. Aorii

          Having actually taken Electromagnetics as a course in college, I can tell you that you're greatly simplifying the difficulties involved in generating enough power output for an effective railgun =P
          Anyway, technology is a concept I will explore more once we get more time. A well known concept in military has always been that quantity NOW beats quality LATER.

          Reply ↓
          1. Advenedizo

            It was clearly stated that the main character is more of a humanistic-type than a cientific type. If she tryies to make railgun it will be so out of place... and like it was said, impractical in a world with magic. If we are talking about our world warefare runemagic is the one who can make a closest aprouch like shown in the last chapters. Flamwthrowers, bombs... its claerly that magical warfare is very different in each country, and we will clearly see more innovatives use of magic if we wait till the world continues reveling itself in the novels.

            Returning to the railgun op thingy... i think is way more interesting a main character who is instructing this other world in the way of our world warefare instead of the technology. Its a really interesting and unique aprouch, and for me the appeal in this webnovel relies in the political and military strategy/tactical aspect more than in the mainchar being a god-mode shonen hero.

            Well this comment was mainly an excuse to say that im loving this webnovel and cant wait for more. Keet it up *-*!

  31. MangoLion

    I'm really glad that I found your novel, it had me glued in for a whole day!
    I am not going to nudge you to write faster, please take your time :)
    I am a fairly experienced software writer that can automatize many things (including hw :P) If you have any problems with real life that can be automatized, I would gladly help.
    I an also working on an advance opensource text based rpg framework and may I ask permission to use your story as an example? you will be properly credited^^

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      I'm glad you enjoyed it~
      I'll keep your offer in mind lol, but the professional/grad classes I take aren't something easily automate-able.
      Sure you can use it as an example. If you want to discuss any details just ask here and I'll fire an email over to the address you posted with.

      Reply ↓
      1. MangoLion

        You'll be surprised at the possibilities of my ability, I am actually also working on a software that can generate random-cohesive plots for creative writing (don't tell my prof >.<)
        If possible, i'll also work on an IDE that allow programmers to write English essays with code and structure suggestions

        Reply ↓
        1. Aorii

          Wow. I'm impressed. That's beyond my knowledge in terms of automation already... kind of curious already.
          Sentence grammar problems can be picked out with good regex use but... essay structure? =o

          Reply ↓
  33. Morale Support

    After reading for ~20 hours straight, I can honestly say that this is the best story(anime, manga, movie, light novel, etc) I had experienced in many years. I especially enjoyed the first volume, which I thought had amazing character development and a very engaging plot. Admittingly, I wasn't able to follow a significant portion of the battles that occurred in the second volume, though I enjoyed it plenty nonetheless. I think that this may be because I don't read much literature outside light novels, so I don't have much experience reading very detailed prose.

    As for the gender-bender aspect, I absolutely loved its inclusion in the story for reasons I don't I understand. I hope that this aspect of the story doesn't take a back seat to other stuff as the series continues.

    I am really looking to the next chapters and I really REALLY hope this project doesn't get dropped.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Volume 2 is just badly planned in pacing and has a few too many battles than should have ^^' more details on that in the author's notes.
      Don't worry I have no plans to drop this project. It just often takes a backseat to more real-world concerns since I'm not a career writer...

      Reply ↓
  34. Lam

    Just finished all chapters in 2 days. The story and character development are so good and addicted :D, the battles details are also easy to understand. I Can't wait for the next chapter.

    btw, some people may feel gross but i'm rooting for Kaede x Pascal :D (wife or mistress doesn't matter), hope there are more romantic moments between them.

    Reply ↓
  35. Haha

    Im waiting for the illustration before i actually start reading it... the synopsis looks interesting, but i thought i would enjoy it more with some bits of illustration along the read. Some exceptionally professional artwork could make the situation more intenese! (Jaw drop?) So guess ill play the waiting game in the mean time.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      I'm not really planning on commissioning anything more than character portraits ^^'
      and even that might take a while...

      Reply ↓
  38. Toast

    Can anyone link me any gender benders like this? I love the story, but I need something to pass the time or I'll go insane lol.

    Reply ↓
    1. DedWards

      I can't link you to any at the moment, but I feel I should warn you. Although I enjoy genderswap stories, most don't last long and / or aren't that great stories. Very few use genderswap for anything other than comedy.

      Reply ↓
    2. Aorii

      Well, for the high school/college character age anyway. There's a decent number of good slice-of-life x coming-of-age genderbenders. I currently follow Shishunki Bitter Change. But those stories mostly focus on the puberty (middle school) era.
      I don't think I've read a HS/college era one which took the genderbend seriously and lasted more than 1 volume.
      Then there's Boku wa Mari no Naka, which takes the topic so seriously it's disturbing... intense psychology if you're into that though.

      Reply ↓
      1. Boowells

        Reversible!, although not containing literal sex changes, was fairly interesting. It's a bit heavy on the trap fanservice, though. I was weirded out at first, but once I got past the initial weirdness, I enjoyed it a lot. Technically, it takes place in high school, but it is a little bit of the coming-of-age sort of thing. It's a bit sad that it only had 15 chapters, but I think it ended on a decent note.

        Reply ↓
  39. david

    hello, my name is david.
    i have a question.

    that give me tips for writing a light novel?
    I'm learning English,
    that translators can use to write a novel
    Light in English?

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      My only suggestions are:
      Read more, with some emphasis on quality literature. I can often tell when a writer reads too much manga/LNs because their descriptive writing skills notably degrade. What you read always affects how/what you write.
      Don't just write. Edit. Over and over and over. This is easily the most boring part of writing but the most important when it comes to improving your own writing skill/producing quality work.
      Peer edit with an open mind. Praises are less helpful in boosting writing skills than good criticism.
      Other than that, there are plenty of sites out there with actual professional authors talking about how to develop writing skills =P

      Reply ↓
    2. Himeko Inaba

      Aoriii's suggestion to read quality books is very important. If you don't, you'll essentially be inventing literature by yourself, and you'll be struggling to solve problems that the masters have solved hundreds or thousands of years ago.

      I recommend starting with these, which will show you a very wide variety of storytelling techniques masterfully executed:

      -Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces: The Western Tradition, Vol. 1 - you can get this for $4 shipped on Amazon US. There should be similar compilations if you live in a different area.
      --The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
      -Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Frederich Nietzsche

      If you need help with prose specifically, I suggest turning to the hard-boiled American mysteries of the 1930s and the more significant science fiction novels of the 80s and 90s. I don't recommend studying translations into English for style, unless it's one of those older translations of major works like the King James Bible or the Odyssey, which were very formative for our current English even if they're now outdated.

      Reply ↓
  40. kanel

    by the way guys we need a new -ness word for this new series..

    we have darkness...we have cuteness..we have flufiness...

    i suggest EPICNESS:p

    no serious now any ideas?(mine still stands by the way)

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Pretty sure Justice is not a -ness, so not limited to such either~
      Though... I feel as though you're being brainwashed by Kadi's propaganda XD
      (not that I mind a slogan if you create one)

      Reply ↓
      1. Sonoda Yuki

        As far as Daybreak goes, I thought Kadi coined "dawn".
        It's fitting, I think. What are your thoughts on the matter?

        Reply ↓
        1. Kadi

          I mostly picked dawn because in the context where I used it, it made a nice contrast to "darkness". I think it's a bit too close to the title, "daybreak", though, and says too little about the content. I'm sure there's better.

          Reply ↓
          1. Sonoda Yuki

            It brings to mind that phrase, "Dawn of a new Era/Age". It's something that Kaede's presence has already brought about, considering Kaede saved the life of a noble betrothed to the princess of an empire, both of which soon after were involved in the shaping of a military campaign. The repercussions of that alone on history would be amazing. Kaede's insight also seems to have brought about the creation of a Company, too, one not previously seen. It might not be as showy, but it's certainly going to be an interesting development.

  41. mark

    I don't know what Kyoukaisen is as I can't find info on it. But Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon works best when you watch it first It's among the best recommendations to watch out there

    Reply ↓
    1. Kadi

      Kyoukaisen... Kyoukai Sen-jou no Horizon... lalala... By the way, I call it just "Horizon".

      Reply ↓
  42. DedWards

    Thoroughly enjoyed what you've written so far and really want to read more right now. But I'll wait, don't want to rush you out of fear that rushed work will come out bad.

    I do want to ask, is there anything similar to this that I can read while waiting for the next chapter? Specifically looking for the fantasy war theme here.

    I'd also like to comment on all this genderswap stuff being said. Genderswap is a good genre, if used correctly. Not saying it isn't good for a laugh, I probably enjoy that humour more than I should, but when it's used solely for humour in a non comedy story, it gets to be a bit much.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Well it's easy to use it for humor. When going beyond that we get some... opinion splitting, as shown by comments here xD
      To be honest, I don't read enough fantasy stories due to their tendency to stay Tolkien-style and the microcosm scale many fantasies treat magic. Last fantasy/war story I really enjoyed is Kyoukaisen, although that series is convoluted as heck. Comments also dropped 'Madan no ou to vanadis' around from this season, but I haven't tried that and so far only heard questionable impressions from friends. ^^'

      Reply ↓
      1. DedWards

        Thanks for the suggestions. I came across Madan no Ou to Vanadis shortly after making my post, but so far the only English translation I've found of it is on Baka-Stuki, and it's currently labeled as "Preview" (probably meaning it needs someone to check the spelling, grammar, etc. [I've not checked yet]). The synopsis does sound interesting, interesting enough for me to give it a shot.

        As for Kyoukaisen, when I Google the name I get "Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon",is this the correct one? It's synopsis does mention something about war...

        Reply ↓
        1. Aorii

          Yes that's the one. But beware, you will be confused until late season, if you can understand it at all. It's that convoluted and requires epic skills in 'suspension of disbelief' (like Student Councils holding all the political power), lol. A good understanding of the Sengoku period and Thirty-Years War helps, though.

          Reply ↓
          1. Kadi

            ...in its ridiculous (aka AWESOME) ways, it's consistent, though... usually, it's either logical or so ridiculous you don't try applying logic in the first place. At least I don't remember having any issue with suspension of disbelief... The bigger issue is information density. Everything you need to understand it is there, somewhere, but it requires attention and maybe some mental puzzling. Still easily one of the best shows of all time~~

      2. Sonoda Yuki

        Kyoukaisen? Aorii, I don't understand. What exactly is the appeal of reading a dictionary?

        In all seriousness though, I keep telling myself that I'll get to it, but that thing scares me.

        Reply ↓
        1. DedWards

          I skimmed through the first volume last night.
          Soooooooooooo much information -_-
          Still going to give it a shot though.

          Reply ↓
  43. Vae

    This is an amazing book. Can't wait for the rest to become available.

    I just want to say, great job to the TL/editors. Most Light Novels have crappy writing which really makes the story less enjoyable. With them, I can't tell is the source material is shit or the editors need to take some English classes. However, Daybreak was done extremely well. Once I started, I just couldn't stop reading. Good job! Also, thanks for all your hard work.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Since I did do TL before, I can partially answer this. Part of the blame lays with editing, sure. Because editing is a very time-consuming process that requires reading the same thing over and over, and then struggling to come up with the best way to say something -- either reformatting entire sentences or trying to pick that spot-on adjective/metaphor. Fan editors will only do so much of it without being paid to =P

      The other part: oriental languages (both Chinese and Japanese; LNs are typically translated from one of these) are poorly translated into English. Almost all descriptive CN/JP sentences, when directly translated, will result in long, compound-complex, confusing, run-on sentences. This can be dealt with by restructuring the sentence, but as I said: many TL/editors often see it as too time-consuming for an unpaid job.

      Light Novels also have the weird style where they will spam lines without a frame of reference. Like a long series of quotations without listing which line belonged to whom, or internal thoughts that aren't marked any differently from external narration, or incomplete sentences describing a subject/object in the previous paragraph. This drives my English-major friends nuts; it's a big, unacceptable No in English writing.

      I could go on listing other problems lol. But in general, it's simply a different style of writing. Because it targets an audience that accepts the vices of "shorthand writing" in exchange for more action/charadev/chuunibyou/wishfulfillment/whatever, many light novelists can get away with it.

      Reply ↓
      1. Kadi

        I've noticed most of the issues you mentioned somewhere or other. The long sequences of pure dialogue without indicating who says what. Putting the "who says it" into a new paragraph, but in a sentence that doesn't work on its own. That's pretty frequent. I remember the non-indicated thought making trouble in HakoMari. I suppose it's also an issue in Alice Tale where I'm fighting with the tenses (and losing, good style-wise). But those issues can be fixed with enough effort and experience. So in the end it comes down translator/editor effort and skill. And let's face it, some translations are just bad. Some source materials are bad, too, if possibly in a different sense. ANYWAY.

        Reply ↓
      2. krytyk Post author

        Woah, perfect description of what do we have to deal with when we translate LN's!

        Basically, what we're doing is to make our translations understandable and readable... and cope with what Aorii has pointed out.

        What I would highlight in there, is that in series like antimagic, whereas the narrator is theoretically a third person, he is usually limited to using MC's thoughts and senses to view the world, yet sometimes he goes beyond that. There are times where without any warning the narrator changes to first person... or a different character whatsoever. While usually narrator is speaking in past tense about what has already happened (narrator speaks about what happened just a moment earlier, and has no insight into the future)... yet sometimes he suddenly starts using present continuous...

        It's all over the place :|.

        What you didn't mention is that Japanese - especially in LN's leave a lot to imagination, and sometimes give a limited amount of information where in English - there would be a detailed explanation. The reader has to figure out what is the hidden meaning in there... it's just like were you're led to an answer but it's never said - and that makes perfect sense in Japanese, majority of Japanese readers figure out that hidden meaning immediately, it does seem obvious for them.

        While a proper translator can do that as well, it's much harder for English-speaking readers - even if 100% correctly relayed to english, it still results with comments like "what does this mean?! Make it more clear!" - hell no, use your brain.

        Reply ↓
        1. DedWards

          Not to mention stuff that can not be translated properly. The meaning of some stuff just doesn't have an equivalent in English, thus making translation that much more difficult. The word "nakama" comes to mind, though I'm sure there's a lot of others.

          Reply ↓
        2. Sonoda Yuki

          It's almost as if the entire Japanese language is made to be vague,ambiguous, and heavily context-based as a way of allowing for subtle euphemisms and doublespeak polite, inoffensive speech.

          Reply ↓
          1. Aorii

            Honestly, Japanese is an obsolete language. It is far too complicated for its own good. Rather than being overhauled to modernize like most other languages, it simply kept tacking on more mechanics and "alphabets". Linguistics usually seek to simplify and streamline over time to increase literacy... JP decides to go the other way around <_< Its advantages lay in its expressiveness and many forms of address. But in a globalized society, that only increases cultural barriers (which Xenophobic Japan is fine with). Chinese is also absurdly heavy context-driven, but it has one benefit to result from it: CN doesn't care about grammar. You can write a sentence however you like and as long as it makes sense, it works. I used to have a ton of issues with Japanese grammar until I realized that JP's grammar is very similar to ancient Chinese grammar -- as though they never updated itself over the course of a few thousand years.

          2. krytyk Post author

            But it's a pleasure to read Japanese. More so than the two other languages I know. That is of course, for literature.

  44. Arte

    I thought i was going to go to sleep.....then i found this and got hooked reading volume 1. Now i'm starting volume 2, but so far i'm impressed. Looking forward to reading more.

    Reply ↓
  45. Doom0117

    Well I'm hooked! This is easily one of my favorite series now which is saying a lot as I'm starting to have a hard time keeping track of all the different ones I read :P Anyways keep up the good work!

    Reply ↓
  46. crash

    Great story! I think you definitely have a talent for writing and you obviously know your war stuff very well too.
    Do you have a rough idea on how many volumes you have planned?
    Also I know this is roughly like ZnT so when I imagine characters I can't help but imagine Pascal as him :
    http://myanimelist.net/character/1285/Guiche_de_Gramont

    I'm interested to see how the artist will draw them. (whenever you find one)

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      *think Pascal as Guiche*... ackkk! I think you've scarred me lol. Pascal has the arrogance sure, but he doesn't posture/fake the superiority; he'll prove it through actual skill =P
      Volumes? uh, I only planned (aka have any idea of the details) for like 5vols. But that doesn't bring the story to a conclusion. Honestly, things can easily run for 10vols assuming I keep it up that long. (shrug)

      Reply ↓
      1. crash

        I meant purely looks-wise when I imagine the characters not really their personalities. I haven't watched ZnT in years so I can't really remember what his personality was other than some arrogant guy who chases women.
        I also wanted to say good job on the gender bender mix for this series I do enjoy the genre very much. Even if it plays a smallish role it still makes me laugh whenever one of those situations comes up. Keep up the good work! :)

        Reply ↓
  47. Jacek

    Im liking it so far though Kaede's confusion with her sexuality can be a little off putting at times and the large amount of mobbish side characters makes me feel like I need to take notes or risk getting them confused.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Well genderbender is a flavor; not everyone will enjoy sweet&sour. I might be able to nudge things around a bit if you note more details~
      As for the cast size, I try to keep things under control. But writing the affairs of nations isn't something I can cram down to just a dozen heads =(

      Reply ↓
      1. Jacek

        I understand the need for so many characters considering that its a war being fought by many different, countries, factions, and religious groups. Likely its just me. ADHD and I refuse to take my limpy pills. I think my irritation with Kaede's confusion mostly stems from her/his seeming complete disinterest in women as a sexual being. Kinda makes the idea of her even being confused seem odd. For the most part it feels like he/she appreciates feminine beauty with the detachment of a cynical art critic.

        Reply ↓
        1. Aorii

          No it's not just you. This becomes an issue whenever story cast runs high. Anyhow I'll do what I can control it; a thing to note is that most characters don't matter much unless (1) they've appeared for a repeat scene and/or (2) Kaede/narration gave them a full introduction paragraph xD

          For Kaede: huh, I haven't considered it like that. To be fair, what I know of sociology/physiology points towards hormones for most immediate forms of sexual attraction. Aesthetics and thoughts like "she's cute/gorgeous" might be ingrained from society, but thoughts of "she's so my type" is totally a hormonal-induced mental reaction. Being physically a teen, Kaede is still flooded with hormones of her present gender.

          Reply ↓
          1. Jacek

            I wont pretend to know anything about sociology or physiology. I just cant imagine myself flipping sexual orientations so easily in a matter of weeks. I would have been moving in on the dhampire girl or that assassin/maid in Kaede's position. Cant say I would have been very willing to stick around in such a religiously strict country either.... That is just my personality though. I know everyone is different.

          2. Aorii

            If her orientation changed, she wouldn't be confused at all =P Since the confusion is a direct result of her body reacting in a way that her mind doesn't agree with.
            "Moving in on a girl" wouldn't be in-character for Kaede anyways, if you got far enough into vol2 to see the discussion about past dating experience.

          3. Jacek

            Im keeping up to date with it. I am enjoying the story as I said. I just couldnt completely identify with Kaede. My Personality is closer to that of Jarl Asgeirr Vintersvend.

  48. elairz

    finished reading vol 1 just now. my impression, except for the 2 last ch of vol 1, the rest was..very wordy. lots of descriptive paragraph and dialogue unnecessary long. the 2 final chapter feel easier to read. other than that maybe you could include some glossary for uncommon word/term.

    Reply ↓
    1. Reverie

      I think being wordy is fine, what I think would be nice is a side encyclopedia section to know how things work.

      Reply ↓
    2. Aorii

      Mmmmh, honestly, that's a stylistic choice than anything else. I tend to read fiction that's more detail-oriented myself so...
      Glossary/encyclo... maybe? The concept of this is actually pretty alien to most forms of book writing, as the way I learned is to fill the audience in. For a fantasy novel, I pretty much kept myself from inventing any terms.

      Reply ↓
  49. david

    This website is wonderful. I like many stories in particular: only sense, daybreak and alice.

    Please go ahead with their projects;
    I visit the site every day to see publications
    are in the best light novels I've read.

    thanks to those who made it possible for these stories can be viewed by readers; It is a pleasure
    read each chapter.

    Regarding daybreak, the Aorii author has a wonderful gift. I think this story has the potential to become comic, anime series and movies.

    -----
    by the way, get to know this website for the recommendation I found on a list of light novels:
    https://bato.to/forums/topic/19625-where-can-i-find-recommendations/

    Reply ↓
  50. Bro

    I made an epub and mobi of vol 1 if anyone's interested.
    Just let me know where/how to share them.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Could you upload them onto mediafire or a firesharing site and post the link here? I'll add it to the page. Thanks ^^
      Ideally I'd like to wait after vol2 is done for some edits that involves vol1. But that's a while away =x

      Reply ↓
  51. slowmoe

    Great story and characters. Love the way you throw historical references to enhance the plot. Keep up the good work.

    Reply ↓
  52. qwertyLOVER

    Great work Aorii, it's only been a few weeks since I started reading Light novels(mostly cause of a friends recommendation - Elysion) and got absolute hooked with it. Ever since I finished reading Elysion, OSO, Antimagic academy and Alice Tale, I got curious about this new title at krytyk - "Daybreak" and had started reading it. It really got me reading all day(until 2:30 am the next day). I was also shocked to learn that that was an "original" novel created by you Aorii(which is the cause of why I had to give a feedback) and you had really earned my deepest respect in creating this wonderful story. I'll be patiently waiting or the rest of you works in the near future

    Reply ↓
  53. Sanngrior

    need moar chapters :S

    urk, how long is typical wait again? i'll just re-read the whole story again as i wait patiently

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      uh, I suggest waiting xD
      ~3 weeks, give-n-take, is my average for finishing a chapter. Although next is a little delayed since a lot of time was spent setting up Daybreak here. The second half of vol2 (after ch5) is also in bad need of a general edit, which is scheduled for when I finish vol2.

      Reply ↓
  54. Tenmosu

    I fell in love with your writhing, I am right now far far in the north of earth with a population of less then a thousand we have 3 feet of snow and I have to work 14 hours a day 7 day a week for the next month, meaning I don't have much time for myself but I have found DAYBREAK so great that I forgot to sleep for 2 day to take the time to read the most wonderful story I have seen in years. Daybreak touch every subject that I love gender bending, different world, psychological challenge, magic, slow and almost not present romance for the main character.

    You gave the right meaning for gender bending with a real perspective on life, not everything has to be funny to be good. And the fact that Kaede lost everything except who he is made it have meaning beyond word, one of lost on a extremely high psychological level. This is what made me want to read without sleep and feel at lost, now that I have to wait for more. Reading about Kaede every challenge is a cliffhanger in itself because you want to know more and more.

    DAYBREAK is a must read on every update now that I know of it existence it make me want to live the story not just read it but LIVE IT.

    Thank for giving me another reason to wait in anticipation for tomorrow and long live the imagination and desire that you have for you own story.

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Ah, please exercise moderation. As much as I appreciate it, I also hope for the readers' continued health =P
      Do you work within the polar regions? Because 14x7 is... quite a workweek D:

      Reply ↓
      1. Sonoda Yuki

        Uh... unless he's a researcher @ the south pole, it'd be polar night, not midnight sun.

        Reply ↓
  55. boomstick3000

    Love this story so far. Read all of it in one go, starting on my second run later today.

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  56. GGFBank

    Much better than expected, a more serious version of Familliar of Zero, with a nice twist that make it different enough.

    Reply ↓
  57. Sonoda Yuki

    This is an aside, but for your third race, you're certain you want to call them the "<abbr title="1. (adj) fated to die; doomed 2. (n) Fay; Fae; Fairy">Fey-touched" and not the "<abbr title="1. (n) Fae; Fairy; Fey 2. (v) To join; to unite 3. (v) To cleanse.">Fay-touched"?

    Certainly as far as the meaning of "fairy" goes, they are about the same, but the connotations are a bit different. From the looks of things, the former became conflated with the latter because they both shared the variant, "Fae".

    Reply ↓
    1. Sonoda Yuki

      Please ignore the above comment and read this one with the same content but better formatting

      This is an aside, but for your third race, you're certain you want to call them the "Fey-touched" and not the "Fay-touched"?

      Certainly as far as the meaning of "fairy" goes, they are about the same, but the connotations are a bit different. From the looks of things, the former became conflated with the latter because they both shared the variant, "Fae".

      Reply ↓
      1. Aorii

        Huh, did you see that on B-T forums? Don't remember actually writing about it in novel...
        I haven't really settled on names yet since I don't plan on using them immediately; but I'll keep that in mind =)
        Worldbuilding has been a stage-by-stage process in Daybreak since I don't want to overdo it at once and start infodumping xD

        Reply ↓
        1. Sonoda Yuki

          Indeed it was from the forums that I saw them, but that thing's login system hates me with a passion so I didn't bother to make a post.

          Reply ↓
        2. Sonoda Yuki

          Fair enough, but could you say whether there's an analogue for Oceania? Because as everyone knows, the first step in global domination is conquering Australia.

          Reply ↓
          1. Coma

            actualy... in a low level technology world... being able to conquer a land that host many among the most poisonous and deadly creatures in the world... would be quite a remarkable first step... at least it will make you build quite the confidence on you survival capabilities ^^'

  58. kerinh

    ooo another interesting LN. so glad i found krytyk's blog after antimagic disappeared on BT

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      Taking graduate classes while working full time is a pain =\
      Thought I've been still making semi-regular updates though ^^"

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      1. Zwamiel

        Good day to you, Aorii. Pleased to meet you here. To be frank, I just recently find about this website ever since I was in ephemeral great-shock to see some of my favorite Light Novels like Antimagic Academy & ELYSION virtual region (including yours as well since I did find out about this original LN from baka-tsuki)
        Just want to say that it was exceptionally fine story, for an indie Light Novel. Not to mention, gender-bender and war are my 2 favorite cup of teas... xD Well I can understand not all folks here are into gender-bend thingy, but for my case, I took an interest in it. Anyways, I hope everything is well to you since knowing as a grown person and a student, I know how busy you are at the moment. I hope to see new chapters from this story of yours.
        ( P.S: Just curious, what's your nationality/ethnicity? It's okay if you don't feel like to answer it ^^)

        Reply ↓
        1. Aorii

          I'm Chinese (used to do CN-ENG LN Translation) half-raised in the US. That's how I realized the importance of bridging cultural divides in everything from personal interaction to national affairs.
          Unfortunately, the reputation of genderbenders often hurt it as a genre. As a premise it offers tremendous opportunity for humor and character exploration, but most stories only take advantage of the former.

          Reply ↓
          1. Zwamiel

            Ah, so I see. I'm an Asian too (of Bidayuh ethnic) from the isle of Borneo, Sarawak which is the state I inhabit (just besides Peninsular Malaysia).
            That's a praiseworthy thing to do, I concur. Being bilingual or multilingual has its benefits. I couldn't agree more on your statement, since English is of course an international language, to be fluently speaking this language can solve the language barrier issue.
            It's not surprising when it being one of the minor genre, should I say still in gray area...
            For me to say that, as an individual with universal state (I admit I'm a sucker when it comes to liking and watching/reading cliche/generic series) I wholeheartedly acknowledge gender-bend to be a genre in part of entertainment (in terms of anime, manga, LN and VN)
            I first got exposed to this kind of genre when I watched "Ranma 1/2", then I moved on to another anime called "Kampfer". That's about few of the shows or sources which I took an interest in. "Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu" is the newest series featuring a male MC that transforms into female twintail Mahou Shoujo.. Haven't watch it yet but it sure gets hyped like it's viral.
            While I do tolerate this genre, it's also important for a series with that genre to have steady and impactful plot or storyline too, unless the purpose of its existence is to be like a sitcom or daily gag series.

          2. Coma

            the problem I see with genderbender is that it is often used as a tool to make characterization easy... and the same goes for tsundere characters... those are archetype that are quite easy to imagine/overused in many other work, thanks to this even if the author doesn't actualy give the character particular dept and don't give the reader detailed description of how they act the reader himself can fill the gap tapping into his own knowledge... for me it just sound like a lazy trick... having the reader do the work of the writer.

            obviously this doesn't apply to EVERY genderbender or tsundere character... there are quite a few example of those that still have exemplary characterization attached to themself (Yub from OSO is quite the good example of an heavy characterized protagonist that don't rely on its genderbent circumstance as a way to enforce his peronslity or justify his action)... in this specific circumstance I feel that the characterization given to Kaede is quite good... especialy in the second volume with the confrontation with the cruelty of war... and should be noted that in those characterization point the matter of the genderbent is slightly (if ever) touched... and I think that this also help in defining her as an individual rather than an archtype.

          3. Aorii

            Amusingly, I don't actually read OSO as a genderbender. Yun denies it so completely, and since he doesn't suffer any real-life effects, that it feels just like a reoccurring gag; which is fine since it's not the focus anyway and Yun is a solid character even without it. But you're right, lazy genderbender is just like lazy tsundere or any other archetype. It's important to define the character outside the genderbending impacts.
            A lot of readers have asked me why Kaede just 'deals' with the getting genderswapped. Well, getting genderswapped hasn't really changed most of her daily habits or life interests/goals, which is meant to make an expression on the person vs gender role argument.

  61. Lu Pu

    I have a feeling that you have played Crusader Kings 2, aorii...

    Anyways, awesome story~

    Reply ↓
    2. Aorii

      Funny, someone asked me both of those things before.
      Yes, I do play Paradox games. CK2 taught me more about politics than I ever wanted to know...
      No I'm not Swedish. There are a lot of foreign language terms in this~ ^^

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  64. Chilliam

    So yeah, there seems to be an issue with the dropdown link ordering here... Its ordered 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 2, 3, etc...

    Reply ↓
    1. Aorii

      You're not Cho are you? XD (Guessing not by name only)
      I haven't actually started. Finishing vol2 is first priority~~
      After that I tackle the backlog: find an artist, do some character redesigning, work on next stage of worldbuilding, finish Ducal-level Hyperion map, brush up on politicking skills again, etc.
      Recommendations are always welcomed though =P

      Reply ↓
      1. CuriousCabbitBlue

        nah not Cho xD I'm Jon lol.

        ah okay o3o I'll keep an eye out I know a few artist but all seem to busy anymore xD I'll see if I can't get my one friend to answer though they been swamped by work for months

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  66. Irina_Akashira

    I've just read in Baka-tsuki. Nice history

    Sorry for my previous mistake

    Pd. Just a quick opinion. A mixture of "Zero no Tsukaima" and "Log Horizon"

    Reply ↓
    1. nckeo

      I too got the vibe of Zero no Tsukaima except characters aren't as childish. The background are more edgier.

      Reply ↓
  67. kanel

    updates are coming.first chapter is here by the time i write tis..well i have time today..might as well reread the series and give some feedback (thought its gonna be mostly positive:)

    also i suggest to change the name of the site to gender-benderforall.org.....it does the site justise and maybe google will be finaly able to locate(BECAUSE IT STILL CANT!)

    Reply ↓
    1. Kadi

      Google (and most other nice search engines) not finding the blog is intentional. And while "the place with the traps" is good for a laugh, I wonder if I would want to be associated with such a site... krytykal is gud.

      Reply ↓
      1. kanel

        well it was a joke:)
        but come on ...it would be very catchy name and you know it:P

        and yeah now that you mentione it i can think of a few reasons why thats intencional...it sound logical when you say it like that

        now why i didnt think of that....

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  68. pesta

    I also like krytyk's site.... it has the feature to adapt the content to small screens, so it's easy to read on my phone! GJ

    Reply ↓
  69. Coma

    and with this... we can officialy say it... KrytykAL translation is a GROUP centered around genderbender....

    ok ok It was a joke... don't get mad Krytyk :P

    I've yet to read this but seing as Krytyk choice until now has been really good (both for his own project as well as the choice of hosting kadi's translation of alice ) I'm sure it will turn out to be quite interesting... also the tags are all into my reading zone (well I've never been a gender bender fan until I met yun... but latelely I can't remeber what it was that hold be far from that genere ^^') ... I'm waiting for the material to be hosted and will be sure to leave a more informed comment later on ^^

    Reply ↓
    1. Sonoda Yuki

      Krytyk(et)al :P

      Well, in all seriousness, I wouldn't consider it to be a group unless there was collaboration. Like say, if Krytyk did hosting and Kadi did edi– yeah, Krytykal is a group in all most but name. As for whether the group site's focus is on trap characters, intentional or not: I can't say anything about Omae wo or Elysion, not having yet read them, I'm certain there was but a single instance where the MC donned the wear of the other gender. (which compared to the other examples, is rather tame).

      Reply ↓
      1. Kadi

        Except I never really got into editing OSO. I think I did the prologue for vol 1 and then stuff get coming up, then Alice. So: No group! Just a bunch of individuals spreading the truths of this world. Justice, Fluffiness, Darkness! Although we'll have to come up with a word for Daybreak...

        Reply ↓
        1. Sonoda Yuki

          As the darkness is softened by fluffiness, the might of true justice is tempered with mercy.

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        2. Sonoda Yuki

          Dawn, you say? I like it!

          Considering the premise, it's fitting that Kaede's summoning marks the dawn of a new era.

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  70. kanel

    YES YES YES

    this deserves to be promoted GJ kadi!

    and while i have read all the chapters already i am still excited seeing it here

    To Aorii

    i love your work and i consider it one of the best war related books i have read in a loooong long while...and i read A LOT of them both in normal books and in light novels...thought i dont like gender bender very much in this case its the same as with oso....the story make up for it soooooo much that it no longer matters.

    keep up the good work...cant wait for the attack on the wales:)

    Reply ↓
    2. kanel

      P.S. I MEANT

      GJ KRYTYK...sry about that:P

      also -This is the story of how three wills joined and forever altered a continent.-

      is this part right?i think its 2 wills or do we expect a third one?

      Reply ↓
    3. Aorii

      Haha thanks ^^
      I do read a lot of war books myself (mostly nonfiction though =P), so might have had some things to do with it~
      The genderbender in Daybreak is meant half for humor, and half for exploration. Kaede has a background that can cross cultural and era/technological boundaries when it comes to exploring Hyperion's geocultural evolution. The only thing missing was being able to see from both sides of the gender fence. Well guess what... ^o^
      'three wills' - if it's not obvious, it will be soon!

      Reply ↓
  71. Aorii

    Wow I knew this site was active, but not quite this fast of a discovery =o
    As mentioned, this is from Baka-Tsuki. I've been looking for a medium of primary hosting with easier comment entry for feedback (because B-T's are a pain). Will be filled in and announced as soon as I get enough time ^^"

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  72. Chilliam

    yes, Its a hosted publication as stated above, Aorii's work, its quite good, I recommend reading it, and am glad I will soon get it on nice dark krytykal.org backgrounds that are easier on my eyes than baka-tsuki's white.

    Reply ↓
  73. Irina_Akashira

    Just to be sure

    Is the same novel translated in Baka-_Tsuki?

    "http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Daybreak_on_Hyperion"

    Reply ↓
    1. CuriousCabbitBlue

      its the same one, I read all those chapters already, think they are putting it here so it gets more well know

      I definitely recommend this story an yes its a yummy gender gender~! who cares if she use to be a guy <3

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    2. Sonoda Yuki

      Ah, from the looks of things, it's not a TL, but a hosted publication of Aorii's

      Reply ↓
      1. Sonoda Yuki

        Yeah, only realised later. To be honest here, I'm against calliing it a Light novel on the basis that it was never published in a print medium, let alone as an LN. Webnovel would be more accurate.

        Reply ↓

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