Chapter Summaries

Plot and events

• The Gray Tower forces uncover a Black Wizard operation in Keser City, where a mass killing and a bone altar have been used to gather souls for a huge soul crystal.
• Ian joins the fighting, killing several Black Wizards with ranged attacks and his defensive artifact. He learns that their unusual soul-based powers come from forbidden teachings, but they remain vulnerable to a sufficiently powerful opponent.
• Hades dominates a Third Ring Black Wizard, while Ian notices another Black Wizard fleeing beyond the city with thousands of black lines trailing him. Ian, Emil, Osborne, and another wizard pursue.
• The fugitive is Archie Stanton, a celebrated wizard from a neighboring academy—and the son of the Black Wizard fighting Hades. Osborne recognizes him and warns that Archie is nearing a Third Ring breakthrough.
• Ian confronts Archie with his companions, then sends them away and reveals his full strength: elemental mist suppresses Archie’s power, while Ian’s transcendent organs, Overclocking, and overwhelming spell barrage kill him.
• The battle ends after half a day. The surviving Black Wizards are captured, and Hades destroys the enormous soul crystal rather than allow it to be used. He declares the Second Phase assessment over.

Character developments and interactions

• Ian loses his remaining sympathy for the Black Wizards after witnessing the city’s suffering. He fights cautiously, studies their abilities, and demonstrates that his power far exceeds what his companions expected. His allies’ awe and desire to stay close to him deepen.
• Archie shifts from a confident, powerful fugitive to a desperate opponent. Though he initially believes he can defeat Ian’s group, Ian’s suppression and superior strength leave him unable to resist.
• Hades toys with Archie’s father during their duel and correctly infers the family connection from the man’s alarm. Though he wins, he is injured protecting Gray Tower wizards from a final burst of frost.
• Osborne contributes vital information by recognizing Archie and explaining his reputation, helping Ian assess the danger.
• The Gray Tower wizards endure the massacre’s aftermath with grim relief rather than celebration.

Significant themes

• Justice versus forbidden power: The destruction of the soul crystal reflects the view that human souls should never be exploited, regardless of the crystal’s immense value.
• Strength and restraint: Ian’s overwhelming power is most effective when paired with caution and a clear understanding of his opponent.
• Hidden evil and its consequences: The revelation that a respected wizard’s family is tied to Black Wizardry shows how deeply such forces can penetrate ordinary institutions.
• Victory amid tragedy: The operation succeeds, but the slaughter leaves the city—and its survivors—unable to treat the outcome as a triumph.

Ian took first place in all three events of the Gray Tower’s second-phase assessment, drawing Bruno’s favor and gaining access to the Myriad Source Pool. After more than half a month inside, he brought his Four Symbols Sacred Body to the peak of top-tier physiques and left as the next round approached.

• Ian saw the death aura and supernatural creatures gathering around Keser City, then resolved to grow strong enough to reach three rings.
• Ian’s results confirmed him as first in all three events, and Grant, Zachary, and Cyril each acknowledged his strength or apologized before leaving.
• Bruno upgraded Ian’s reward to grade-one access to the Myriad Source Pool, prompting Gray Tower families to seek his favor and send gifts.
• Ian received the Mountain Giant Construction Technique, the final earth-element Replenishment Wizardry he needed.
• Ian spent more than half a month in the Myriad Source Pool, fully integrating his body-tempering aura, nature aura, and physique as his Four Symbols Sacred Body reached the peak of top-tier physiques.
• Ian left the pool after breaking the Academy’s previous stay record, ready for the next Study Tour round.

Ian practiced the Mountain Giant Construction Technique and attended the third round of the Gray Tower Study Tour, where he learned about the Pattern-Eyed Civilization. During combat class, he saw through instructor Chase Farrell's Goatman transformation and defeated him with a single Dragon Breath.

• Ian summoned a mountain giant, tested its destructive power and defense, and continued practicing the spell ahead of the third Study Tour round.
• Anton introduced the Pattern-Eyed Civilization, a low-level civilization at war with the Gray Tower, and gave the Wizards books on its supernatural system to study.
• Ian studied the Pattern-Eyed people's power patterns and decided their techniques might be worth adapting to his own Wizard abilities.
• Instructor Chase Farrell transformed into a Goatman and challenged Ian to demonstrate combat against creatures from other civilizations.
• Ian detected Chase's deceptive position with the Four Symbols Mirror Eye and blasted him with Dragon Breath, leaving Chase injured and astonished.

Ian studied the Pattern-Eyed People’s methods, used their frequency techniques to advance his stalled Frequency Resonance Method, and learned that the next level of physique was called the Primordial Body. After Ian submitted a bold analysis of the Pattern-Eyed People, Anton was so shocked by its contents that he hurried to bring it to Vincent, head of the Patterned-Eye research project.

• Chase demonstrated the dangers of unfamiliar alien abilities by defeating Grant, while Ian’s earlier victory prompted the Wizards to take the class seriously.
• Stephen gave Ian individual alchemy instruction, and Ian studied the Academy’s analyzed Pattern-Eyed legacy, discovering its world-connected patterns and unusual frequency method.
• Ian learned the Pattern-Eyed Resonance Method and saw his Frequency Resonance Method progress from 50 to 51, then received Edith’s letter explaining the Primordial Body.
• Ian advanced the Pattern-Eyed Resonance Method to Master Level and began researching how to improve his Four Symbols Sacred Body.
• Anton taught the class about the Sea Folk, the Abyssal Race, and the Wizard World’s other enemies, then collected the Wizards’ analyses of the Pattern-Eyed People.
• Anton read Ian’s complete analysis and countermeasures, became visibly shocked, and rushed to Vincent, head of the Patterned-Eye research project.

Vincent recruited Ian to the Academy’s Pattern-Eyed People project after reading Ian’s analysis of their first-ring methods. Although the team suspected Ian had joined through connections and assigned him a difficult frequency to decipher, Ian quickly mastered it and developed the Burst Frequency Method.

• Anton showed Vincent Ian’s analysis of the Pattern-Eyed People, and Vincent invited Ian to join the Academy’s project team for five hundred thousand magic stones per month.
• Ian accepted the invitation, visited the project laboratories, and saw the Pattern-Eyed People’s ancient tree covered in patterns.
• Vincent assigned Ian to work under Cameron Stone on frequency resonance, and Cameron gave him an undeciphered pattern frequency as his first assignment.
• The project team’s Wizards assumed Ian had joined through connections and doubted he could solve the difficult assignment.
• Ian used Universal Empathy to decipher the frequency, discovered the Burst Frequency Method, and raised it to Master Level in one week.

Ian joined Cameron’s Pattern-Eyed Resonance project after deciphering its Second Ring portion in ten days, then spent half a year advancing his studies and wizardry. After reaching Master Level with the Mountain Giant Construction Technique, he completed a transformed Four Symbols Core chapter and emerged from a month-long physique reconstruction having advanced, but not completely.

• Ian gave Cameron his report, and Cameron made him lead the project’s Second Ring analysis after Royce and Lia accepted his ability.
• Ian quickly completed his assigned portion of the Pattern-Eyed Resonance analysis, while Vincent hoped the project would help the front lines against threats to the Pattern-Eyed World.
• Over the next half year, Ian advanced his alchemy, project work, and training until the Mountain Giant Construction Technique reached Master Level.
• Ian used the skill’s insights to complete the Earth Core Chapter of the Four Symbols Codex and began preparing resources for a major physique advancement.
• Ian spent a month undergoing reconstruction in a Second-Ring Elemental Pool, then awoke with gray patterns across his body and realized his advancement was incomplete.

Ian advanced his Four Symbols Sacred Body to a Pseudo-Primordial Body, greatly strengthening his abilities, then helped his team complete the analysis of the Pattern-Eyed Resonance Method and earned a personal reward. Vincent told Ian that the Study Tour might end early because of a problem in the small world and promised to arrange the knowledge Ian needed; Ian then went to meet Bruno.

• Ian advanced his Four Symbols Sacred Body to a Pseudo-Primordial Body, doubling his mana quality and capacity and dramatically strengthening his balance ability and physique.
• Ian returned to the Laboratory, where Royce and Lia reported that the pattern Ian had identified was related to resonance.
• Ian led the team to complete the analysis of the Pattern-Eyed Resonance Method, earning praise and a personal reward of five million magic stones.
• Vincent offered to help Ian with Edith and promised to arrange the knowledge he needed, then warned that the Study Tour might end early because of a problem in the small world.
• Ian followed a Servant Witch to the Wizard Tower and met Bruno again.