Recaps

Ian discovered that processing potion ingredients raised his Minor Hemostatic Potion proficiency and became determined to enter the Potions Department. After his strong advancement ranking drew attention, Chris increased his support to eight Magic Stones, while Ian collected his monthly reward and headed back to the department.

• Ian realized that preparing potion ingredients raised his Minor Hemostatic Potion proficiency, and Victor noticed the materials improving as Ian processed them.
• Ian decided that he needed to enter the Potions Department after seeing how much its potion work could help him develop his skills.
• Chris summoned Ian and raised her family's support for him to eight Magic Stones, and Ian signed the revised contract and stayed for dinner.
• Ian collected 23 Magic Stones from the Library, along with ten days of Training Ground access instead of Wizardry.
• After Ian left, Mickey sensed a faint Wind Blade Spell aura from him and decided to keep watching.

Ian improved his potion brewing through repeated practice and discovered that fighting in the Training Ground greatly accelerated his Wizardry proficiency. After his potion output rose steadily over four days, Victor recognized that Ian was an extraordinary kind of genius.

• Ian processed materials expertly, then failed his first potion-brewing attempt, so Victor let him use enough materials for ten portions a day if he produced at least three finished potions.
• Ian brewed only two potions that afternoon, paid half a Magic Stone for the shortfall, and gained 40 proficiency points.
• Ian used a sparring session at the Training Ground and found that casting Wizardry in combat improved his proficiency three to four times faster.
• Ian returned to the Potions Department and brewed three potions the next day, then four the day after.
• On the fourth day, Ian brewed five potions, leaving Victor stunned as he concluded that Ian kept improving in an unprecedented way.

After completing his potion training with Victor, Ian advanced his Wind Blade Spell to Master Level and demonstrated its power at the sparring ground. He invested in Minor Energy Potions to improve his mental power as the fifth assessment approached.

• Ian reached Expert rank in Hemostatic Potion brewing, and Victor told him he had completed the potion task and no longer needed to come to the laboratory.
• Victor advised Ian to focus his Magic Stones on improving his mental power if he wanted to join the Potions Department, and Ian agreed.
• Ian advanced Wind Blade Spell to Master Level, raising his Talent to 173 and bringing the spell's Energy Intensity to four.
• Ian's sparring partner fled from his powerful Wind Blade, which cracked the protective gear that saved him from injury.
• Ian returned the Mutual Aid Society members' Magic Stones and bought Minor Energy Potions, using them to support his meditation before the fifth assessment arrived.

Ian placed well in the Fifth Assessment but refused Charles’s offer to join the Combat Department despite the war beginning and the promise of greater resources. As Wizards across the School reconsidered their choices, Ian continued preparing through meditation and spell practice, while Levi began preparing to join the Combat Department.

• Ian condensed his sixth Mental Power Rune, narrowly lost the combat test to Levi, and took first place in Basic Potion Studies.
• Charles told Ian that fighting had broken out ahead of the School and urged him to join the Combat Department, but Ian chose the Potions Department because he valued safety.
• Charles revealed that Levi was preparing to join the Combat Department, leaving another potential slot open.
• As talk of war as an opportunity spread and the Combat Department expanded its core squads, many Wizards—including members of the Mutual Aid Society—began leaning toward combat.
• Ian reduced his outings and spent his days meditating, studying zero-ring Wizardry, and repeatedly practicing cantrips to build his talent.

Ian received a powerful feather from Mickey after Mickey noticed he had condensed runes, then pushed his wizardry forward as the final assessment approached. He condensed his eighth Mental Power Rune the day before the assessment, qualifying for a higher rank.

• Mickey noticed the Wind Blade Spell runes Ian had condensed and gave him a feather that could unleash a Second-class Apprentice Witch's full-force strike.
• Another apprentice witch tried to earn a feather from Mickey, but Mickey took seven Magic Stones and went back to sleep without giving him one.
• Ian reflected on the cold in Veridian Forest, resolved to grow stronger, and hoped powerful Wizards might someday let him return home.
• Ian raised Elemental Barrier to Master Level, gained Talent Points, and focused on reaching eight Mental Power Runes to qualify for a higher assessment rank.
• Six months into advanced study, Ian condensed his eighth Mental Power Rune the day before the final assessment.

Ian excelled in the final assessment, earning an A in Wizardry and A+ grades in Combat and Potions. When the rankings were posted, he placed fifth overall.

• Joran explained that the Wizardry assessment graded apprentices by how many Mental Power Runes they had imprinted, and the testing began.
• Lucy earned eleven runes, while Levi and Beck each earned ten; Ian earned eight and received an A, the first A of the assessment.
• Ian impressed Vivian with his skill preparing a potion, and she awarded him an A+ in the practical exam.
• Three days later, the rankings were posted, placing Ian fifth behind Lucy, Levi, Beck, and Roger.

Ian ranked fifth and applied to the Potions Department, while Halman’s return to the Academy coincided with Ross’s plan to target Ian to secure Halman’s admission. The chapter left Ross preparing to act against Ian, whom he suspected of hiding a secret.

• Ian placed fifth overall, drawing attention from his classmates, while Roger grew furious that others focused on Ian instead of him.
• Ian applied to the Potions Department, listing Alchemy and a Combat Department as backups, and awaited the departments’ decisions.
• Ross returned injured from a battle with the Blackstone School, his Mental Power temporarily reduced to that of a first-class apprentice.
• Halman told Ross he ranked tenth and claimed only three applicants ahead of him wanted the Potions Department.
• Halman urged Ross to target Ian, citing Ian’s reported fifth-class talent at enrollment and his unusual progress.
• Ross agreed to move against Ian, deciding that the commoner wizard was a safer target than Roger or applicants with Second-class Talent.

Ian accepted a lower-paying contract from Chris Silver Moon Lake that carried fewer obligations, then survived an assassination attempt by Ross. After killing Ross with an instantly cast Wind Blade Spell, Ian left the alley as a patrol arrived, determined to keep his strength hidden.

• Chris Silver Moon Lake offered Ian two sponsorship contracts, and Ian chose the one with fewer Magic Stones and less responsibility.
• Ian noticed signs that someone had entered his house, but Ross trapped him in a soundproof zone and attacked.
• Ross broke Ian’s arms, dragged him into an alley, and demanded to know the secret behind Ian’s rapid growth.
• Ian pretended to reveal that a wizard’s book had improved his talent, luring Ross close enough to strike.
• Ian instantly cast a powerful Wind Blade Spell and beheaded Ross, then struggled toward the arriving patrol.

Ian Green was interrogated after killing Ross, a Second-class Wizard, but kept his instant-cast sorcery secret as the interrogators questioned his explanation and unusual record. Wizard Vivian arrived and took Ian to the Potions Department, leaving the interrogators to send over the evidence recovered from Ross.

• Ian told the interrogators that he had killed Ross with a Sorcery Feather after Ross attacked him, and he denied knowing Ross was a Second-class Wizard.
• The interrogator revealed that Ross was Halman's older brother, and Halman accused Ian of killing Ross to conceal a secret.
• The interrogators examined Ian's record and challenged his account after learning how quickly he had advanced despite his fifth-grade talent.
• Wizard Vivian arrived with Victor, declared that Ian belonged to the Potions Department, and took him from the interrogation room.
• Vivian ordered the interrogators to send everything found on Ross to the Potions Department, and they agreed because they could not afford to offend it.

Ian joined the Potions Department after Vivian rescued him from the patrol, and Victor treated his broken arm. The next day, Ian learned that Ross had been a Blackstone School spy and received some of Ross’s remaining possessions before returning with Victor.

• Victor congratulated Ian on joining the Potions Department, treated his fractured arm, and explained the department’s housing, resources, and privileges.
• Vivian told Ian to return to the Potions Department after the assignments were finished in three days.
• Layton Hines reported that Ross had been a Blackstone School spy who funded Halman and murdered apprentices, and that Halman would be sent to the battlefield as a slave.
• Layton gave Ian Ross’s remaining possessions and tokens of gratitude from the patrol after Vivian approved.
• Ian returned with Victor and opened the bag to check what he had gained.

Ian examined the spoils from Ross, gaining spells, materials, the next section of the Lionheart Knight Method, and a Stealth Ring that concealed his mental power. After spending three days learning to use his new gains, he went to the Academy’s department assignment, determined to keep a low profile.

• Ian found twenty Magic Stones, three excellent-grade spells and their casting materials, the Great Knight Section of the Lionheart Knight Method, and a Stealth Ring in the bag.
• Ian learned that the Stealth Ring could conceal mental power and create a Silence Domain, then decided to avoid unnecessary conflicts and quietly grow stronger.
• Ian spent three days studying the ring and spells, and the ring concealed his mental power while using very little of it.
• Ian went to the Teaching Area for department assignments and learned that Logan had chosen the Combat Department, Emily had chosen Logistics, and most of the Mutual Aid Society members had chosen Combat.
• Joran arrived with several people and announced that department assignments would begin.

Ian joined the Potions Department and learned that its deputy directors, Vivian and Doug, disagreed over how it should be run. Doug assigned Ian to the laboratory of Hal, a supporter whose grandson Ian had displaced, leaving Ian to face a week of rest before beginning repetitive potion work.

• Ian observed his cohort's department choices: Roger and Beck joined the Potions Department, while Emily chose Alchemy and several Mutual Aid Society members chose Combat.
• Victor led Ian to the Castle to receive his Potions Department badge, then brought him to a larger room on Emerald Avenue.
• Ian and Victor arrived at the Potions Department, where Roger and Beck arrived with another Wizard and exchanged tense looks with Ian.
• Vivian explained that she and Doug jointly managed the department and that Doug had assigned Ian to Hal's laboratory instead of Victor's.
• Vivian told Ian that Hal supported Doug and that Hal's grandson had missed a place in the department after Ian's assessment results pushed him out.
• Vivian warned Ian that Hal's laboratory would likely give him repetitive basic potion work and said she could transfer him if he became a Junior Potion Master.

Ian gathered with the Mutual Aid Society before advancing to Great Knight and reporting to the Potions Department. There, Wizard Hal singled Ian out for menial work while assigning Roger to prepare Minor Hemostatic Potions.

• Ian hosted a gathering at his new home, and the Mutual Aid Society agreed to meet every three months as most members prepared to leave the School.
• Ian advanced to Great Knight and noted that his strength had grown to three times the limit of an ordinary person.
• Ian passed the departing Combat Department group, where Rune, Levi, and Logan resolved to pursue their own advancement and expected to surpass him.
• Ian reported to the Potions Department and found Roger already assigned to the same laboratory.
• Wizard Hal reprimanded Ian for arriving late, then assigned Roger to prepare Minor Hemostatic Potions while ordering Ian to process potion materials.

Ian began processing materials under Hal’s harsh quota and learned that becoming a Junior Potion Master could help him escape Hal’s control. Despite the slow proficiency gains and dwindling funds, he decided to pursue qualification by brewing three basic potions.

• Hal’s servant ordered Ian to process materials for fifty Minor Hemostatic Potions a day, and Ian used spiritual pressure to stop the servant from openly belittling him.
• Mamen Brook told Ian he could leave Hal’s laboratory by becoming a Junior Potion Master, which required successfully preparing three basic potions at the required rate.
• Ian processed nearly fifty batches in ten hours, lost two, gained twenty proficiency points, and realized that material work could still improve his expert Minor Hemostatic Potion skill.
• Roger watched Ian work and believed that the lack of departmental support would prevent him from catching up.
• Ian rented basic brewing equipment and bought two potion formulas, leaving himself with only eight Magic Stones and setting his sights on becoming a Junior Potion Master.

Ian’s Minor Hemostatic Potion skill reached Master Level, but Hal continued to burden him with difficult work and switched him to unfamiliar potion materials. Ian planned to use the extra workload to improve his skills and become a Junior Potion Master within three months.

• Ian’s Minor Hemostatic Potion skill reached Master Level, increasing his Talent by five points.
• Hal ordered Ian to stop processing Minor Hemostatic Potion materials and start handling new materials, while privately deciding to keep making things difficult for him.
• Ian remembered Hal’s past mistreatment and recorded his name in his notebook, but decided to wait before retaliating because Hal was a Second-class Apprentice Witch.
• Ian began processing Minor Stamina Potion materials, gained proficiency quickly, and spent the day completing the department’s large workload.
• Ian estimated he could master the brewing skill within a week and advance to Junior Potion Master within three months.

Ian sold his potions through Victor and learned that Vivian was waiting for him to prove his worth before offering protection. After Hal withheld his wages and tried to end the Silver Moon Lake Family's support, Ian resolved to become a Junior Potion Master as soon as possible.

• Ian asked Victor for help selling his potions, and Victor bought all ten for nine Magic Stones each while explaining Vivian's expectations.
• Ian spent the Magic Stones on potion ingredients and continued practicing, reaching Expert proficiency with the Minor Stamina Potion over the next half month.
• Hal claimed Ian owed five Magic Stones for damaged materials and equipment, leaving him with no wages, and dismissed his request to see the records.
• Ian visited Chris to collect the Silver Moon Lake Family's monthly support, and Lily told him Hal had asked the family to cancel it.
• Ian learned Chris had defended his support and silently resolved to repay her kindness.

After three months in Hal’s laboratory, Ian mastered Minor Antidote Potions, condensed his tenth rune, and applied for the Junior Potion Master assessment. Vivian summoned Hal to supervise the assessment, and the chapter ended as Ian began brewing under a recording crystal.

• Ian condensed his tenth Mental Power Rune and decided to reveal more of his talent to gain Vivian’s protection.
• Ian raised Minor Antidote Potion skill to Master Level and applied to Vivian for the Junior Potion Master assessment.
• Vivian summoned Hal to supervise Ian’s assessment, surprising Hal, who doubted Ian could brew potions after being denied materials and Magic Stones.
• Vivian arranged the ingredients and a recording crystal, and Ian began brewing at the experimental bench.

Ian passed the Junior Potion Master assessment after brewing nine potions from twelve sets of materials, earning Vivian’s support. He then visited Chris, where his advancement and Vivian’s presence prompted her family to admit they were wrong and increase her funding.

• Ian brewed Minor Hemostatic Potions, Stamina Potions, and Antidote Potions during the assessment, passing despite one failed batch.
• Vivian congratulated Ian, and Hal left in a fury before punishing Roger by assigning him material processing.
• Vivian gave Ian an Energy Potion and escorted him toward the Residential Area so he could rest.
• Ian stopped at Chris’s home and told her he had advanced to Junior Potion Master while Vivian stood beside him.
• Chris’s family representative agreed to compensate her and raise Ian’s funding to twenty until he turned fifteen.

After Ian became a Junior Potion Master, Vivian explained his new privileges and warned him that the school planned to send potion masters to the front lines as the war intensified. She urged him to qualify for the Academy’s Cultivation Sequence by becoming an Intermediate Potion Master, giving him a year and a half to avoid deployment.

• Ian arrived at the Potions Department, where its potion masters congratulated him on becoming a Junior Potion Master after only three months.
• Ian encountered Mamen, who was leaving the Potions Department for the Combat Department after failing to advance despite three years of effort.
• Vivian described Ian’s increased allowance, access to the department Library and Wizard inheritances, independent brewing rights, and generous material allowance.
• Vivian warned Ian that the conflict was expected to intensify and that potion masters would be sent to the front lines after two and a half years at the Academy.
• Vivian explained that Ian could avoid deployment by entering the Cultivation Sequence, and Ian resolved to advance to Intermediate Potion Master within a year and a half.

Ian received two potion-making inheritances from Vivian and became a Junior Potion Master, then registered at the Castle and received a fine-grade Wizardry from Mickey. Hal learned that Ian had advanced despite his efforts to undermine him, faced a resource cut, and blamed Ian and Vivian when his potion batch failed review.

• Vivian gave Ian the Faint Glimmer and Guidance Technique inheritances as an apology for not helping him over the past three months.
• Ian studied potion-making books in the department Library, gained twenty proficiency points, and headed to the Castle to register his identity.
• Mickey congratulated Ian on becoming a Junior Potion Master, urged him to enter the Cultivation Sequence, and gifted him a fine-grade Wizardry in exchange for his remaining Magic Stones.
• Doug scolded Hal for allowing Ian to become a Junior Potion Master and cut Hal's laboratory resource allotment in half for the next three months.
• A Potion Master told Hal that the review office had rejected his laboratory's potion batch, and Hal furiously cursed Ian and Vivian.

Ian mastered the beginner level of Faint Glimmer and returned to the Potions Department, where Vivian provided him with an assistant, advance Magic Stones, and support for his potion work. He acquired a Basic Potion Recipe and received a new set of experimental equipment, leaving him ready to begin brewing potions.

• Ian studied Faint Glimmer and the Guidance Technique while the Energy Potion kept him working with little sleep.
• After three days of practice, Ian mastered beginner-level Faint Glimmer and saw how it could help him inspect materials and potentially read energy fluctuations in battle.
• Ian reported to the Potions Department, where Vivian assigned Farn as his assistant and arranged three months of advance Magic Stones.
• Ian took Farn to an empty laboratory, collected thirty Magic Stones, and bought a Basic Potion Recipe.
• At the supplies office, the Wizard replaced Ian's battered rented equipment with a new set because Vivian thought highly of him.

Ian used his freedom to advance his potion-making and sorcery studies, while Farn’s doubts turned to respect as Ian’s brewing progress accelerated. Ian returned home to find Logan waiting at his door.

• Ian brewed potions in the laboratory, failing at first with Lesser Sedative Potions but succeeding consistently with Minor Hemostatic Potions.
• Ian spent his evenings studying sorceries and meditating, then continued practicing potions over the next several days.
• Farn tracked Ian’s results and became convinced of his potential, offering to prepare materials in advance and protect Ian’s time.
• Ian calculated that he could reach Master Level in potion-making within another week and left the Potions Department.
• Ian returned home and recognized Logan waiting outside his door.

Ian reunited with the Mutual Aid Society and learned how dangerous life had become for his friends in the mine, alchemy labs, and on the battlefield. After revealing that he had become a Junior Potion Master, Ian resolved to pursue the Cultivation Sequence, and his talent reached 200 when he mastered the Lesser Sedative Potion.

• Ian reunited with Logan, who described a deadly Wind Wolf attack at the White Crystal Mine and the dangers of the Combat Department.
• Ian welcomed Coro, William, Emily, and Alfie to the Mutual Aid Society gathering, where William described the heavy losses on the battlefield.
• Ian told the group he had advanced to Junior Potion Master, surprising his friends with his progress and the value of his skills on the front lines.
• Ian promised to prepare potions for his friends at the cost of materials, then resolved to become an Intermediate Potion Master and a Second-class Wizard to enter the Cultivation Sequence.
• Ian mastered the Lesser Sedative Potion, raising his talent from 195 to 200.

Ian improved his talent and mastered new potion-making Wizardry, using the Glimmering Eye to observe elemental energy and brew potions more effectively. He witnessed the vast power of Wizard Horton’s Wizard Tower and ended the chapter with his talent rising to 205 after reaching Master Level in Minor Healing Potion.

• Ian planned to enter the Cultivation Sequence as an Intermediate Potion Master while secretly raising his talent, and resolved to become a Second-class Apprentice Witch to protect himself from Hal.
• Ian reached beginner level in the Guidance Technique, then bought a Minor Healing Potion formula and continued practicing Wizardry and potion-making.
• Ian advanced Faint Glimmer to Proficient and saw elemental threads streaming into Wizard Horton’s Wizard Tower, resolving to become an Official Wizard himself.
• Ian brewed eighteen successful potions out of twenty, and Minor Healing Potion reached Master Level, raising his talent from 200 to 205.

After Blackstone School seized several Horton School resource sites, Ian attended an emergency Potions Department meeting where Doug urged potion makers to prepare for wartime demands. Ian then told Vivian that his Faint Glimmer had reached its first stage, surprising her.

• Ian spent half a month practicing Wizardry, becoming proficient in three Acid Splash spells and nearing mastery of a feather technique.
• Maine told Ian that Blackstone School had attacked and captured several of Horton School's core resource sites, including a Potions Department plantation.
• Vivian summoned Ian to an emergency meeting, where he observed the department's divided seating and saw Hal and Doug on the opposing side.
• Doug announced that the Potions Department would stockpile potions and that members might be sent to a fallen frontline base, offering increased resources to volunteers.
• Ian visited Vivian to request more Faint Glimmer materials, but first revealed that his spell had reached the first stage, shocking her.