Chapter Summaries

Horton and Ian left the Emerald Shadow Family after Jules refused to return Horton’s magic field, then bought an estate on Grayrock Alley to establish a school. After Marcus of the Rust Wizard School extorted an establishment fee from Horton, Ian resolved to take the examination for Elemental Mystery Wizard Academy.

• Jules refused to give Horton his father’s magic field and offered him a small spirit field as compensation, which Horton accepted.
• Horton told Ian how his family had rejected and expelled him, then said they would buy a school headquarters and develop the magic field.
• Horton spent thirty thousand Magic Stones on an estate on Grayrock Alley and brought everyone there to clean it up.
• Marcus demanded three thousand Magic Stones and a monthly service fee for the Rust Wizard School’s approval, and Horton paid him.
• Ian reflected on the City of Elements and resolved to take the examination for Elemental Mystery Wizard Academy.

Ian adjusted to life in the City of Elements, where costly meditation rooms and disputes over the school’s magic herb fields complicated his preparations for the assessment. Horton gave Ian ten Deep Blue Potions, and after a month of focused cultivation Ian’s mental power reached 17; then Audrey invited him to meet at a tavern.

• Ian discovered that the manor had slightly elevated magical power and rented a high-grade Meditation Room to improve his meditation.
• Farn told Ian that another wizard school was occupying the magic herb fields promised to Horton and that Vilo had been taken away by her uncle, Nathan Dusk Song.
• Horton explained Vilo’s family situation and gave Ian ten Deep Blue Potions to help him reach the peak of Zero Ring.
• Ian spent a month cultivating while Horton dealt with disputes over the herb fields and friction with neighboring schools.
• Ian raised his mental power measure to 17, then received an invitation from Audrey to meet at a tavern.

Ian met Audrey in the City of Elements and learned that the upcoming Elemental Mysteries assessment had doubled its admissions but also raised the age limit and placed greater weight on combat. Audrey gave Ian her gold card to support his training, and after three months of cultivation, he was ready to face the assessment.

• Ian met Audrey at a tavern and learned she was the daughter of the Pierce Chamber of Commerce president.
• Audrey told Ian that Elemental Mysteries would admit four hundred candidates, raise the non-Academy age limit to thirty, and emphasize combat in its assessment.
• Audrey gave Ian her gold card, granting him access to fourth-floor training rooms and a free loan of up to fifty thousand Magic Stones, and said she would help him find another path if he failed to enter Elemental Mysteries.
• Audrey hugged Ian, thanked him for saving her, and left after saying goodbye.
• Ian used the gold card to train in the Meditation Room and Elemental Simulation Room for three months.

Ian discovered that the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method was incomplete and resolved to investigate the Four Symbols Academy. He joined the academy assessment, passed its first screening, and learned that his talent fell short of the Silver Moon tier while two other candidates surpassed it.

• Ian saw that the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method had stalled at 350 proficiency and suspected it was missing part of its teachings.
• Ian returned to the Horton Wizard School, where Horton told him the final assessment would begin in a week.
• Ian and Horton traveled to the assessment, and Ian passed through the light membrane that screened for age and peak Wizard Apprentice mental power.
• Ian reached the second-floor talent test and lit seventeen patterns on a stone pillar.
• Ian noticed that the pillars beside him had each lit more than twenty patterns, marking two candidates as Silver Moon-tier talents.

Ian completed the Elemental Mysteries assessment and ranked twenty-fifth after surviving the Illusion Tower’s simulated battles. He secured a place at the academy, where a new journey awaited him.

• Ian reunited with Vilo, learned she had been treated well during the family war, and saw that both of them had made the top thousand after the second assessment.
• The candidates who passed followed the Molten Fire Academy Wizard to the Illusion Tower for the final assessment, which would determine the top four hundred entrants and their academy rankings.
• Ian fought increasingly difficult simulated enemies, using elemental and body-tempering Wizardry while keeping his ability to cast Wizardry instantly hidden.
• After all candidates finished, the rankings placed Abraham Flameheart first, Ael Star-Eye second, and Ian twenty-fifth.
• Ian learned that he had successfully joined the Elemental Mysteries and prepared to begin a new journey.

Ian joined Elemental Mysteries and learned about its benefits, branches, and mentor-selection process, while considering the Four Symbols Academy as a potential fit for his abilities. After touring the Academy, he returned to Horton Wizard School, where a delegation from Rust Wizard School greeted him as a genius.

• Ian found Green Wing and Sam in the rankings, while Vilo had missed the top four hundred.
• Malcolm Gentil explained the Academy’s benefits, handed out insignia badges, and told the new wizards to choose a branch and mentor within three days.
• Ian read about the Four Symbols Academy and its dean, Kilan Howard, and considered trying to join despite the demanding talent requirements.
• Malcolm Steele led the new members on a tour of the Academy’s facilities and residential area, including its vast Library.
• Ian returned to Horton Wizard School with Horton and Vilo, and Vilo’s uncle Seth left after saying he would not agree to the pair being together.
• Three wizards from Rust Wizard School arrived at the school, and their leader greeted Ian as a genius wizard.

After Ian ranked twenty-fifth and joined Elemental Mysteries, he received an apology, congratulations, and sponsorship offers from powerful factions. He signed Audrey’s unusually generous contract, then learned that his chosen mentor, Kilan Howard, abandoned students whose growth slowed—a method that seemed perfectly suited to Ian.

• Theodore apologized to Horton and Ian for a Rust Wizard School wizard’s unauthorized service fee, congratulated Ian on his ranking, and gave them Magic Stones.
• Audrey learned Ian had joined Elemental Mysteries, while Jules dismissed the news as no threat because Ian lacked Silver Moon-grade talent.
• Wizards from several factions and families offered to sponsor Ian, but he rejected their terms until Audrey presented a generous contract from the Bayers Family.
• Ian signed Audrey’s contract, which provided monthly Magic Stones, advancement resources, and discounts in exchange for helping her when needed.
• Audrey warned Ian that Kilan Howard tested students with escalating goals and abandoned those whose progress slowed, and Ian realized that the method suited his own ability to keep advancing.

Ian chose to pursue Wizard Kieran and the Four Symbols Academy, then entered the Elemental Mysteries’ core territory for an interview with Huo Yan. There, his talent let him see a vast black waterfall of valuable knowledge pouring into the academy’s center.

• Audrey explained the Four Symbols Academy’s weaknesses and advantages, and Ian reaffirmed his decision to seek Kieran as his mentor.
• Ian submitted his assessment application, listing Kieran first, Huo Yan second, and a Four Symbols Academy wizard third.
• Ian used his proficiency panel to improve his Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method and advanced its Resonance Chapter to Expert.
• Ian received an interview notice from Huo Yan and followed a Servant Witch into the Elemental Mysteries’ core territory.
• Ian surveyed the five branch academies and saw at least a hundred thousand black threads of valuable knowledge flowing into the academy’s center.

Ian was rejected by Molten Fire Academy because its three places were reserved for Silvermoon-grade talents, then secured permission to wait for an interview with his first-choice mentor, Charlie. After a month of study, Ian finally received Charlie’s overdue interview notice.

• Ian saw strange black lines that suggested a talent value of at least a hundred thousand, but they vanished before he could examine them.
• Sam told Ian that Green Wing had entered Wind Whisper Academy as a student of its head, and that Molten Fire Academy would accept only three Silvermoon-grade talents.
• Huo Yan reviewed Ian’s battle records, praised his combat and spellcasting ability, but rejected him because he had only first-grade talent.
• Wizard Milo offered to take Ian as his student, but agreed to let him try for Charlie first.
• Ian spent a month meditating and studying while his Meditation Method proficiency rose to 385, then received Charlie’s interview notice.

Ian demonstrated his mastery of the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method to Kieran, who accepted him as a student after Ian surpassed the method’s known limit. Kieran gave Ian the missing portion and challenged him to master the complete method within half a year to earn support with a matching Rank One wizardry.

• A servant led Ian to Kieran’s manor, where Kieran rejected a wizard’s demonstration as mediocre.
• Kieran reviewed footage of Ian’s combat and questioned whether the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method was Ian’s only advantage.
• Ian pushed the method’s resonance beyond its 200% limit, reaching nearly 230% through a portion he had independently comprehended.
• Kieran was impressed by Ian’s sorcery talent and accepted him as his student, though Ian could call him Mentor until becoming a Rank One Wizard.
• Kieran gave Ian a Knowledge Crystal containing the meditation method’s missing portion and challenged him to reach its limit within half a year.

After passing Kieran’s assessment, Ian was sent to Castle Number Three, where Kilan Howard made him and the other selected wizards probationary students with a demanding three-year deadline. Ian ended the chapter standing apart from the Academy-born students and their favored peers, quietly listening to them talk.

• Kieran ordered a servant named Brandon to take Ian to Castle Number Three, and Ian declined to report Brandon after Kieran threatened to send him to the battlefield.
• Ian arrived at Castle Number Three and waited with the other selected wizards, including a First-Ring Wizard in a black robe.
• Kilan Howard arrived with Ael Star-Eye and announced that the wizards were probationary students who had to become official first-ring wizards and achieve a recognized breakthrough within three years.
• Kilan introduced Peter Whitman as his student and left, while Peter offered his contact information and asked the group to introduce themselves.
• The wizards introduced themselves, and Ian learned that Ael had also chosen Kilan; Peter and the Academy-born students focused their attention on Ael while Ian stood quietly with the other assessment students.

After passing Kieran’s assessment, Ian studied the Knowledge Crystal and revised his approach to the Meditation Method. His choice of mentor stirred reactions across the City of Elements, while his Mental Power quietly reached its limit at 20 degrees.

• Ian told Milo that he had passed Kieran’s assessment, and Milo said he could seek him out again if he was not Kieran’s student after three years.
• Ian studied Kieran’s Knowledge Crystal, used it to refine his own approach, and found flaws in his Meditation Method as his Elemental Resonance Field’s resonance increased.
• Theodore learned that Ian had chosen Kieran as his mentor and called the heads of the various schools to discuss bringing Horton Wizard School into Graystone Street.
• Old Harker learned that the Harker Family had to give up its magical field, while Jules dismissed concerns about Ian’s connection to Kieran.
• Audrey proudly told her friends that Kieran had accepted Ian, then secured resources from her father for Ian’s future advancement.
• Ian continued studying and meditating until his Mental Power reached 20 degrees, its limit.

Ian attended the monthly gathering at Four Symbols Academy, where Kieran taught elemental fusion and answered the apprentices’ questions. After learning why the other apprentices looked down on his School background, Ian received Audrey’s support and continued his studies until his Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method reached Master Level.

• Ian learned that Horton was struggling to remove Old Huck from the school’s grounds, while Ian focused on advancing toward the first ring and obtaining Wizardry suited to his Meditation Method.
• At the monthly gathering, Ian met Ryan and listened to Kieran lecture on elemental fusion before asking him a question about the Meditation Method.
• Andre invited the apprentices to eat together, but the other Wizard Academy students treated Ian coldly, so he left early.
• Audrey explained that Ian was looked down on because he lacked the backing other apprentices had and promised him a standard set of advancement resources from her father.
• Ian resumed improving his Meditation Method and studying Wizardry, and twenty days later the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method reached Master Level.

Ian reached Master Level in his meditation method, received a valuable zero-ring potion-making inheritance from Isaac, and continued improving his skills. At the second monthly exchange meeting, he returned to Castle Three after finding he lacked time to explore much of the Elemental Core Zone.

• Ian raised the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method—Resonance Chapter to Master Level, gaining 130 talent points and a 350% elemental resonance field.
• Sam visited Ian with a complete zero-ring potion-making inheritance from Isaac, and Ian thanked Isaac for the gift.
• Isaac regretted not taking Ian as his student but decided Ian was better suited to the Elemental Mysteries and sent him the inheritance.
• Ian bought materials and resumed practicing potion-making and the Eye of Harmonization.
• At the start of the month, Ian entered the Elemental Core Zone but turned back when he ran short on time, then arrived at Castle Three for the second exchange meeting.

Kieran dismissed Ryan for failing to meet his standards and examined Ian’s progress, then explained how first-ring wizards chose spells. Ian chose the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method and received its five-system spell set, before returning to the hall and meeting a warmly smiling Andre.

• Kieran assigned the apprentices different numbers of questions and told Ryan to leave, rejecting his plea for another chance.
• Ian asked questions about the lecture, then followed Kieran into a private room and displayed a resonance field of three hundred and fifty.
• Kieran explained that first-ring wizards could imprint spells and revealed that the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method could support five Mental Power crystals.
• Ian chose the Four-Element Resonance Meditation Method, and Kieran gave him a Knowledge Crystal containing its five-system spells.
• Ian returned to the main hall, where Andre approached him with a radiant smile and called him his brother.

Ian joined Andre and the other apprentices for a discussion of the costly preparations needed to become an Official Wizard, while El insulted those she considered untalented and left the gathering. Back home, Ian studied the First Ring Wizardry Blazing Flame Grip and achieved an initial grasp of it after three months.

• Andre explained that advancing to Official Wizard required an elemental pool, expensive potions, and thousands of Magic Stones.
• El refused to toast Ian or other low-talent Wizards, then left and urged Andre to stop wasting time on them.
• Andre warned that Wizard Kieran had kept only four apprentices from a group at most, raising the pressure on Ian and the others to advance.
• Ian studied the Knowledge Crystal for Blazing Flame Grip and watched Huo Yan demonstrate its destructive power.
• After three months of study, Ian gained an initial grasp of Blazing Flame Grip.

Ian struggled to master Blazing Flame Grip while preparing to advance his talent, and watched El become an Official Wizard ahead of him. After months of brewing potions and practicing, he reached the Elemental Pool and surpassed 2,000 talent points, gaining Silver Moon Rank talent and a new wizardry.

• Ian attended the Four Symbols Academy exchange, where Kieran explained the mastery needed to advance to a first-ring wizard and answered questions from El, Andre, and Ian.
• Kieran announced that exchanges would take place every three months, and Peter offered El tailored guidance while treating the other apprentices less attentively.
• Ian practiced Blazing Flame Grip and brewed potions to raise his talent, but learned that El had become an Official Wizard during his second month of training.
• At a later exchange, Kieran approved of Ian's progress, and Peter became somewhat more welcoming toward him.
• After six months, Ian rented the Academy's Elemental Pool with his talent at 1,960 and his Eye of Harmonization near Master Level.
• Ian's Eye of Harmonization reached Master Level, raising his talent to 2,030 and advancing it to Silver Moon Rank; Lesser Elemental Affinity became Elemental Affinity, and he gained Principle Insight.

Ian’s talent surpassed 2,000 points, triggering a transformation that strengthened his abilities and granted him the talent Wizardry Principle Insight. After testing its power and discovering he had spent twenty days in the Elemental Pool, he prepared to assess his changes.

• Ian absorbed vast quantities of elements as his talent advanced to Silver Moon Level - Waning Moon Level and his Elemental Affinity improved.
• Ian checked his panel and found his mental power had risen to 25 marks, its limit had increased, and he had gained the talent Principle Insight.
• Ian used Principle Insight to comprehend the First Ring rune Blazing Flame, raising his Blazing Flame Grip proficiency from 80 to Proficient 30.
• Ian found that Principle Insight consumed Star Sand and would take about a month to recover, and he discovered he could conceal his talent.
• Ian checked his identification and realized he had spent twenty days in the Elemental Pool.

After leaving the Elemental Pool, Ian was fined by Lord Leon and decided to remember the First Ring Wizard for later. He learned that his talent had risen to Silver Moon Level, prepared for advancement, and after three months of training reached 28 units of mental power before heading to Kieran’s gathering.

• Lord Leon charged Ian two thousand Magic Stones for staying in the Elemental Pool without permission, and Ian left without challenging him.
• Ian tested his improved Wizardry and meditation speed, discovering that his power had increased by nearly half and his meditation was almost twice as fast.
• Ian bought First Ring advancement materials and learned that a Purification Potion could improve mental power but was difficult for an apprentice to obtain.
• Ian gathered the resources he needed and spent three months raising his mental power to 28 units and advancing Blazing Flame Grip with Principle Insight.
• Ian left his Meditation Room and went to Four Symbols Mountain for Kieran’s gathering, thinking it might be his last before advancement.

At the final assessment, Ian impressed Kieran with his mastery of first-ring Wizardry and received Kieran’s notes on advancing. After Ian refused Harold’s offer to withdraw from the competition, Harold sought out a hooded Wizard and said he wanted to kill someone.

• Ian, Harold, and Erte attended Kieran’s lesson as the last three apprentices under him.
• Ian demonstrated his skill with Blazing Flame Grip, and Kieran gave him a notebook of insights on advancing to the First Ring.
• Peter offered Ian and Harold advice about advancement and said becoming Kieran’s student would set them apart from ordinary members.
• Harold offered Ian thirty thousand Magic Stones to withdraw, but Ian refused and left.
• Harold met a hooded Wizard in the outer ring and said he wanted to kill someone.