Chapter Summaries

Lin Mo’s group returned from the Serene Forest, reported their mission, and divided the rewards before preparing for the Hunting Competition. After buying rings as gifts for the girls, Lin Mo considered using [Co-Cultivation] to help Laina gain magic power.

• Lin Mo gained proficiency from killing the Frostwing Tiger and Unicorn Black Armored Beetle, leveled up [Magic Light Piercing Kill] and [Spear of Mad Lightning], and chose an evolution that strengthened paralysis.
• Lin Mo’s group traveled back to the Royal Capital, where he practiced Knight skills against monsters and reflected on the possible Secret Realm and the upcoming Hunting Competition.
• Lin Mo submitted mission C43349 at the Adventurer’s Guild and divided the mission proceeds and monster-material earnings among the team, including 500 Gold Coins for Eve.
• Nolun learned that Lin Mo had returned and heard Xilias assess his strength before deciding they would attend the coming event in Fagard City.
• Lin Mo bought rings for Ally, Phini, Shefiliya, and Laina, and considered using [Co-Cultivation] to help Laina acquire magic power.

Lin Mo and the girls dined at the Royal Palace Restaurant, where a meal made from a rare Monster raised his Constitution and prompted him to tell Flora about a possible Secret Realm in the Serene Forest. Back at the dormitory, Ally arranged for Lin Mo and Laina to be alone together, and he embraced the shy cat girl.

• Lin Mo took the girls shopping and then invited Flora to join them for dinner with Laina.
• At the Royal Palace Restaurant, Lin Mo gave the chef Unicorn Black Armored Beetle meat to prepare and discussed its appearance in the Serene Forest with Flora.
• Flora recalled that Eve had once found a Secret Realm in the Serene Forest and said the Hunting Competition would proceed with additional instructors supervising.
• Lin Mo and the others ate the Monster dishes, and Lin Mo gained one point of Constitution before paying 2,300 Gold Coins for the meal.
• After they returned to the dormitory, Lin Mo found Laina waiting in Ally's room in a ribbon outfit, realized Ally had arranged a surprise for him, and embraced Laina.

Lin Mo helped Laina awaken her Magic Power, then sparred with Eve’s mentor Masella and learned from her swordsmanship. As the Hunting Competition approached, his companions grew stronger, and the academy prepared to teleport them to Fagard City.

• Lin Mo noticed that [Co-Cultivation] improved Laina’s Magic Power and Spirit, and Laina discovered she could sense Magic Power for the first time.
• Flora left for class exhausted and unsettled after seeing Lin Mo enter Laina’s room the previous night.
• Masella challenged Lin Mo to test why Eve had been humbled, but Lin Mo’s strength and rapid learning overwhelmed her; she apologized after realizing he was a Magic Academy student.
• Lin Mo’s practice with Masella raised [Unyielding Body] to Level 2 and [Eagle Eye] to Level 5, and Masella invited her colleagues to spar with him.
• Over the next two days, Lin Mo’s companions improved their levels, and Shefiliya, Phini, Ally, and Laina agreed to work together more efficiently.
• Flora told Lin Mo that the academy would teleport the Hunting Competition participants and supervising mentors to Fagard City the next morning.

Satter received a reassuring letter from Duke Ster Morin as the Hunting Competition began, while Lin Mo and the other contestants entered the Serene Forest to hunt magical beasts. Bainlo Preston learned that Ster had further plans for him and hesitated to carry out his plot against Satter.

• Satter read Duke Ster Morin's letter and became confident that his father had another plan to secure the Morin Family's interests.
• Lin Mo and his companions traveled to Fagard City, where 12,000 contestants gathered for the ten-day Hunting Competition.
• The City Lord announced the competition rules, including team scoring and permitted conflicts, then declared the event underway.
• Lin Mo told Eve and her companions he would not steal their points, then set off for the Serene Forest to hunt magical beasts and improve his skills.
• Bainlo Preston read Ster Morin's instructions to help Satter earn points and reconsidered his plan to kill him after sensing that Ster had further arrangements in mind.

Lin Mo led his group to Route 5 of the Serene Forest to raise his Knight level and skill proficiency by hunting Goblins. After leveling up and evolving his shield skill, he reached the Goblin main base and unleashed a fusion of Frost Storm and Phantom Sword Dance against its gathered forces.

• Lin Mo brought Ally and the others to Route 5, where they fought Goblin patrols and learned how the competition awarded points.
• Ally used skills learned from Lin Mo to defeat Goblins, while Lin Mo used Provocation and Multi-Whirlwind to wipe out patrols and raise his proficiency.
• Multi-Whirlwind reached its maximum level and evolved into Heavy Shield Spiral, which Lin Mo used to cut through a force of more than a hundred Goblins.
• Lin Mo's Knight Profession advanced from level 7 to level 8, and his score reached 298 as he continued toward the Goblin main base.
• Lin Mo reached the Goblin camp, waited for hundreds of Goblins to gather, and combined Frost Storm with Phantom Sword Dance to cast Sword Shadow Storm.

Lin Mo used a combined skill to devastate a Goblin village, then gained enough proficiency to improve his skills and advance to Warrior level 12. Outside the forest, academy representatives compared the kingdoms’ contestants, and Elvis held onto hope that Doria Kingdom could still prove itself.

• Lin Mo unleashed a combined [Phantom Sword Dance] and [Frost Storm], killing most of the Goblins and tearing apart their fleeing Silver Rank leader with a finishing ice sword.
• Ally and Shefiliya cleaned up the remaining Goblins while Lin Mo gained proficiency, chose new Evolution Paths for both skills, and reached Warrior level 12.
• Doria Kingdom’s nobles and officials worried that contestants from other kingdoms dominated the Hunting Competition rankings, but pointed to Eve as a possible source of success.
• Reed learned that Eve had reached level 10, while a representative from Lonia Kingdom said his academy had brought three students who were not even central to its Academy Competition team.
• Elvis briefly clenched his fist at the gap between the kingdoms, then reminded himself that Doria Kingdom’s prospects might have changed.

Elvis and the other kingdom representatives watched the Hunting Competition rankings, where Eve placed second before Lin Mo surged from 29th to first after killing a Level 9 magical beast. Lin Mo’s team rested and planned to head to Area 13, while Eve set out again with renewed competitive spirit.

• Doria Kingdom contestants appeared across the rankings, with Milan placing 17th and Satter placing eighth.
• Eve reached second place with 4,365 points, while a Donis Kingdom contestant held first with more than 5,000 points.
• Lin Mo’s score suddenly rose from 909 to 7,934, propelling him from 29th place to first.
• Representatives from other kingdoms speculated that Lin Mo had risked injury by fighting a Level 9 magical beast, while Elvis understood that Lin Mo had deliberately gone after a major target.
• Eve’s team resumed its hunt, and Lin Mo’s team relaxed after leaving the Goblin village before planning to travel to Area 13.

Lin Mo continued hunting in the Serene Forest, improving his skills and reaching Knight Level 10 while maintaining the top ranking. After three days, the competition tightened as other contestants closed the points gap, and some began to suspect Lin Mo was running out of strength and supplies.

• Lin Mo and his team defeated and harvested Vine Treants in Area 13, while Lin Mo considered recruiting more members for the Silver Radiance Team.
• Eve urged her team to keep hunting despite the pressure from stronger contestants, while Satter angrily ordered his exhausted lackeys to continue fighting for rank.
• Lin Mo killed a level 10 monster, raised his points to 23,732, and remained far ahead of the rankings as he worried Duke Morin might rig the competition for Satter.
• Over the next three days, Lin Mo practiced Knight and Priest skills, reached Knight Level 10, and moved closer to advancing his Priest Profession.
• Lin Mo's points rose to 49,507, but second place reached 44,426 and Eve reached 44,203, leading some contestants to believe Lin Mo was running out of steam.

Duke Ster Morin gave Cress the stolen key to a portal to the Royal Capital, setting his plan in motion as Benlo suspected the Morin Family was preparing to flee with help from necromancers. On the fifth day of the Hunting Competition, Lin Mo prepared to hunt the powerful Lava Fire Lion as Eve closed in on his lead.

• Duke Ster Morin revealed the key that Doria Kingdom had lost seventeen years earlier and handed it to Cress, who planned to use it for Rich XVI's scheme.
• After Cress disappeared with the key, Ster Morin messaged an ally that the plan was in motion.
• Benlo considered whether Ster Morin might be planning to escape Doria Kingdom with the family’s assets and suspected the duke was still colluding with necromancers.
• Lin Mo raised Earthshatter Strike's proficiency to 290/300 and saw that Eve had moved into second place, nearing his competition lead.
• Lin Mo decided to head toward Area 33's core to hunt its powerful Lava Fire Lion, while Satter continued hunting and waited for his father to act.

Lin Mo let Ally and Shefiliya fight a Lava Fire Lion under the party’s buffs and healing, then killed it when it charged at him. The encounter let him learn Drawing Slash and reach level 10 as an Assassin.

• The party found the Lava Fire Lion’s territory in the Serene Forest and prepared for its arrival with buffs.
• Phini opened the fight with Light Bullet, and Shefiliya wounded the lion while Ally joined the attack.
• Ally and Shefiliya fought the lion while Lin Mo and Phini healed them, gradually wearing the monster down.
• The Lava Fire Lion charged at Lin Mo and Phini, but Lin Mo killed it with a swift, frost-infused sword slash.
• Lin Mo learned Drawing Slash, raised its proficiency and evolution paths, and reached 100 base Agility.
• Lin Mo advanced from Assassin level 9 to Assassin level 10.

Lin Mo’s points surged nearly twenty thousand, restoring a commanding lead in the Hunting Competition and silencing doubts about his ability. Back at camp, Shefiliya reviewed Ally and Phini’s battle, then helped Phini sneak into Lin Mo’s tent while Ally had to wait her turn.

• Lin Mo promoted his Assassin and Ranger classes to level 10, while his Attribute Growth proficiency neared its evolution.
• Lin Mo’s points jumped to 93,488, putting him nearly twenty thousand ahead of Eve and shocking the academy representatives.
• Shefiliya led Ally and Phini through a strict review of their previous battle before Lin Mo called them to eat.
• Shefiliya encouraged Phini to visit Lin Mo’s tent, and Phini rushed ahead of Ally to enter it first.
• Ally accepted that she would have to wait another day and returned to sleep before her night watch.

On the sixth day of the Hunting Competition, Lin Mo killed a level 11 giant mantis and left the area after Ally sensed decay deeper in the forest. In Area 31, Benlo Preston learned that Duke Morin wanted him to kill Satter and take his points, while Benlo concealed his suspicions about Cress and the duke’s escape plans.

• Fewer than seven thousand contestants remained in the Hunting Competition as the competition entered its more dangerous final phase.
• Lin Mo blocked a giant mantis’s attack with Frost Guard, then killed it with an upgraded Thunderous Descent.
• Ally sensed the smell of decay deep within the Serene Forest, and Lin Mo decided to leave the area.
• Cress told Benlo Preston that Duke Morin wanted him to kill Satter Morin and take his points because the duke suspected Satter was not his biological son.
• Benlo celebrated the news while hiding his doubts about Cress and how Duke Morin planned to leave the Doria Kingdom.

Lin Mo and his companions escaped the undead warlock’s Black Mist barrier, but Cress ambushed them and revealed that Lin Mo was the main target of his teacher, Rich XVI. Lin Mo separated from the others to draw away six powerful skeletons and sought a place to hide before reinforcements arrived.

• Ally sensed many undead creatures, and Lin Mo discovered the Black Mist blocked their wristband signals and trapped them inside a magic array.
• Lin Mo used [Flash] to bypass the barrier, contacted Instructor Sirido, and reported the undead threat.
• Cress appeared, identified himself as the warlock behind the Silver Creek City incident, and invited Lin Mo to become a masterpiece for Rich XVI.
• Cress summoned six powerful armored skeletons and left as they attacked Lin Mo and Sirido.
• Lin Mo told Sirido, Ally, Phini, and Shefiliya to escape, then used [Concealment] and [Shadow Split] to evade the skeletons temporarily.
• Lin Mo realized Cress could track him and worried that reinforcements might not know what was happening, so he planned to find a place to hide.

Lin Mo discovered that the wristband was helping the Skeleton Warrior Generals track him, killed one Level 16 General, and entered the Secret Realm. Meanwhile, Satter exploited his wristband’s tracking authorization to steal points, and Benlo approached him with Cress.

• Elvis and the other officials discussed the Hunting Competition rankings while the lord of Fagard City concealed his communications with Doria Kingdom National Academy.
• Lin Mo removed his wristband and stored it in the Ring of Space, weakening the Skeleton Warrior Generals’ ability to track him.
• Lin Mo used his clone to lure out and kill a Level 16 Skeleton Warrior General with [Sword Shadow Storm].
• Lin Mo found the Secret Realm entrance and switched places with his clone to enter it.
• Satter used authorization from his father to locate contestants and steal their points, climbing to seventh place.
• Benlo approached Satter with Cress beside him.

Benlo killed Satter with Cress’s help, then realized Duke Morin’s people were controlling the wristbands and hurried to warn those outside the Serene Forest. Lin Mo explored a vast, three-dimensional maze Secret Realm and encountered Eve in its forest stage.

• Benlo stabbed Satter and fought him, claiming Duke Morin had ordered the killing and revealing that Satter might not be the duke’s biological son.
• Cress used a black-mist claw to kill Satter and his lackeys, then vanished after completing his task.
• Benlo noticed his points had surged and received a warning to leave the Serene Forest, so he ran to deliver what he had learned without using the controlled wristband.
• Lin Mo explored the maze Secret Realm with a Shadow Split clone, then chose paths himself after discovering the clone could not scout effectively or switch places with him.
• Lin Mo reached a forest stage, heard a fight, and found Eve there after she had finished battling.

Lin Mo reunited with Eve in the Secret Realm, healed her, and found a rest room containing valuable rewards and food protected by strange ancient magic. After they returned to the maze, Eve revealed that she had spent three days navigating its branching dead ends, while Lin Mo had unknowingly kept choosing the forward path.

• Lin Mo encountered Eve in the maze, learned that undead attacks had driven her into the Secret Realm, and healed her injuries with Great Healing Spell.
• Lin Mo and Eve entered a blue door and found a furnished rest room with a chest containing high-grade food, a Demon-Breaking Slash skill scroll, a blue key, and a sword ring.
• Lin Mo gave Eve the skill scroll and ring, then sensed a strange ancient magic on the food that made him suspect it was connected to Time Magic before the food turned to ash.
• Lin Mo and Eve left the rest room and continued through the maze, where Lin Mo chose paths by instinct and easily defeated the monsters along the way.
• Eve explained that the maze had only one path forward and that she had spent three days backtracking from dead ends before reaching the forest where they met.

Lin Mo and Eve crossed the desert stage, fought powerful monsters, and Lin Mo developed a new sword technique. Outside the Serene Forest, Benlo exposed the city lord’s concealment of attacks on the contestants, prompting the representatives to rush inside; Lin Mo and Eve reached the desert exit after defeating its guardians.

• Lin Mo and Eve entered the nineteenth stage’s vast desert, where Lin Mo protected them from the heat and sand with an Ice Element barrier.
• Eve killed a Black Armored Centipede after Lin Mo weakened it, and Lin Mo harvested its heart and valuable meat.
• Lin Mo froze a fiery red scorpion as he and Eve continued across the desert toward its exit.
• Benlo arrived at the forest entrance and accused the Lord of Fagard City of blocking messages about Undead Warlocks hunting contestants; the Lonia representative froze the city lord, and Elvis and the others hurried into the forest with Benlo.
• Lin Mo and Eve found the desert exit, where Lin Mo used his newly developed Blazing Flame Sword Dance to kill a group of monsters, including a Red Armored Rock Scorpion.

Lin Mo and Eve rested after clearing the twentieth stage of the Secret Realm, shared a meal, and opened the next reward chest. Lin Mo learned Space Slash and chose to increase its power before they prepared to continue exploring.

• Lin Mo collected monster materials and entered a larger rest room with Eve after clearing the twentieth stage.
• Lin Mo cooked monster meat in a hot pot, and Eve tried it and ate more than he did.
• Lin Mo opened the chest and gave Eve a Swiftness Gem, which she embedded in her sword.
• Lin Mo studied the Space Slash scroll and learned the spell, while Eve watched and then felt embarrassed when he said he had already mastered it.
• Lin Mo chose the Space Cleave I evolution path to increase Space Slash's power and checked the gains from the monsters he had killed.

After gaining extensive skill upgrades and reaching Mage Level 14 and Warrior Level 13, Lin Mo continued through the Secret Realm with Eve. Lin Mo’s new thunder spell effortlessly defeated a Level 11 Lord creature, and the pair pressed onward toward the remaining stages.

• Lin Mo evolved several Warrior and Mage skills, including Flash, whose new Epic form could teleport him up to 200 meters and offered a cooldown-reduction evolution path.
• Lin Mo’s accumulated gains raised his Mage profession to Level 14 and his Warrior profession to Level 13, giving him confidence to clear all thirty Secret Realm stages.
• After Eve woke from her rest, Lin Mo and Eve entered a maze passage and encountered a Level 11 Mid-level Lord creature.
• Eve fought the creature with her rapier, but her attacks caused only superficial wounds, and the creature turned to attack Lin Mo.
• Lin Mo caught the creature’s claw and unleashed Dragon of Thunder Devour, which electrocuted it into ash.
• Lin Mo and Eve continued through the Secret Realm, where Lin Mo easily defeated increasingly powerful creatures as Eve’s admiration for him grew.

As undead overran the Serene Forest, Shefiliya, Ally, and Phini fought their way toward the forest’s edge while Lin Mo remained missing. When Phini collapsed and a skeleton captain cornered them, Nolun appeared, killed it, and gave Phini a potion.

• Flora rescued injured contestants while Amy fought a powerful armored undead and protected students.
• Shefiliya carried the exhausted Phini toward the forest’s edge, and Ally’s awakening bloodline increased her strength and speed.
• A skeleton captain and a fast undead attacked the group, and Shefiliya and Ally killed the fast one through coordinated attacks.
• Phini lost consciousness from exhaustion as the skeleton captain joined the fight and Ally prepared to fight to the death.
• Nolun appeared, killed the skeleton captain, identified Shefiliya as too weak to protect her master, and gave Phini a potion.