Chapter Summaries

Lynn advanced toward becoming a Great Wizard by constructing a domain and filling its Sea of Elements with magic-made elements. As he tried to create plutonium, Dennis sensed a new element taking shape within the enormous domain.

• Dennis ordered Kevin and the School Wizards to bring more Magic Crystal Stones as the alchemy formation consumed far more magic power than expected.
• Lynn expanded and refined his Mental Power, then focused on constructing a domain from his Consciousness Space.
• Lynn created a Sea of Elements containing forty-nine elements, including nine metals he had previously analyzed.
• Lynn experimented with using element models from the intelligent brain to create plutonium directly with magic power.
• Dennis realized Lynn's domain was unusually large and sensed a new element forming.

Lynn successfully broke through to Great Wizard, but his attempt to reproduce the plutonium element caused a violent elemental storm. Dennis realized Lynn had nearly created a new element, leaving the wizards astonished by what he had attempted.

• Dennis watched a new, unknown element form above Lynn’s hand and realized that Lynn might have created an element rather than discovered one.
• The alchemy circle became unstable, and an elemental storm erupted, destroying the circle and scattering bricks and stones.
• After the storm, Kevin assumed Lynn’s breakthrough had failed, but Lynn confirmed his success and demonstrated control over iron element within his domain.
• Dennis asked whether Lynn had tried to create a new element, and Lynn explained that he had attempted to reproduce the plutonium model he had heard about from a master of the Secret Magic Society.
• Lynn said the attempt had failed when he struggled to mimic the electron shells, which involved the Quantum Domain.

Lynn discussed the theory that elements were made of atomic nuclei and electrons before welcoming visitors from the Kingdom of Hadratta to Iyetar. The visitors marveled at the city’s industry and learned that its enormous steel battleship was intended for fishing.

• Dennis questioned whether elements could be divided further, and Lynn described the Secret Magic Society’s theory of atomic nuclei and electrons.
• Apprentices told Lynn that an airship from the Kingdom of Hadratta had arrived, and he went to welcome its passengers.
• Fula and the others arrived in Iyetar and were astonished by its cleanliness, airships, vehicles, and workshops.
• Orlando showed the visitors the steel battleship and explained how its hollow hull allowed it to float.
• Orlando revealed that the battleship was meant to catch enough fish to feed over ten thousand people for a week.
• Ham worried that dockworkers would ruin their fine clothes, and Orlando explained that Iyetar’s workshops made cloth cheap and plentiful.

Orlando showed Anthony, Fula, Redell, and their companions Iyetar’s industrial innovations and explained how Lynn had transformed the Land of Wizards despite being only a Three-Ring Wizard. At Iyetar Academy, Lynn welcomed the group, and Orlando learned that Lynn had just become a Great Wizard.

• Orlando took Anthony, Fula, Redell, and the others on a tour of the harbor city in a sightseeing Alchemy Car, showing them its workshops, transport, and Wizard Council system.
• Fula asked whether Lynn was a Speaker, and Orlando explained that Lynn had arrived from the Secas Empire two years earlier and was still a Three-Ring Wizard, though he was expected to become a Speaker.
• Orlando described Lynn’s discoveries and achievements, leaving Fula and the others astonished that the young Dean had proposed major magical theories and proved the continent was spherical.
• The group arrived at Iyetar Academy and saw its marble monument depicting the free-fall experiment, while Elock and the other apprentices dreaded their comprehensive graduation examinations.
• Lynn greeted the returning group, and Orlando discovered that Lynn had become a Great Wizard the previous night.

Lynn discussed Iyetar’s transformation and its possible expansion across the Kingdom of Hadratta with Anthony and the others, while Anthony speculated that Lynn might be a fallen Legendary Wizard. At the academy, Elock and the students began a hurried review for their graduation exam.

• Lynn told Anthony that Iyetar’s changes would soon transform the Kingdom of Hadratta, and Anthony warned that the nobles and the new king would resist.
• Redell asked about Iyetar’s abandoned farmland and its alchemical farming device, and Lynn said they would see the results in a few days.
• Fula questioned whether Lynn had truly been only a Three-Ring Wizard, but Anthony rejected the idea and privately suspected Lynn had once been a Legendary Wizard.
• Anthony told Fula and the others to keep treating Lynn as a Legendary Wizard because he was far from simple.
• Elock began reviewing for the graduation exam, while Pierce and the other students struggled to remember their lessons.

The Iyetar School’s graduation exam introduced wizard apprentices and proctors to advanced mathematics, chemistry, and physics as tools for discovering the origins of magic. As Lynn explained the exam and its problems, he suddenly used magic to pin an apprentice’s quill and test paper with a copper nail.

• Pierce began solving the examination’s first problem while Fula and other wizards read the test questions as proctors.
• Lynn explained that the academy taught advanced mathematics, chemistry, and physics to investigate where magic came from and to develop technology used throughout the city.
• Fula set aside her doubts and asked Lynn for help with the mathematics problems, and he showed her how to solve the first question.
• Lynn described the exam’s scoring and said apprentices would also take a practical assessment of combat ability and spellcasting before qualifying as Official Wizards.
• Orlando struggled with an airship free-fall problem and questioned whether the supposedly easy questions were too difficult.
• Lynn prepared to explain the problem, but his expression changed and he used a copper nail to pin an apprentice’s quill and test paper.

During Iyetar Academy’s graduation examination, Lynn caught and expelled apprentices who cheated, while Elock and Lydia struggled with the difficult written questions. Lydia remained determined to pass despite her weak magical talent and the exam’s punishing problems.

• Apad used invisible ink to cheat, but Lynn revealed the hidden answers and had Orlando escort him from the examination hall.
• Lynn exposed thirty-seven cheating apprentices, voiding their results and removing them from the hall.
• Elock, who had prepared a cheat sheet but never used it, continued working on the test and hoped to make up for a weak written score in the practical examination.
• Lydia finished the basic questions but struggled with advanced problems, including one about calculating an artillery bearing from the timing of a detected spell.

Lynn reviewed the apprentices’ exam papers, considered Lydia’s unexpectedly high score, and insisted that she could become a wizard despite being a halfling. After the practical tests, the academy announced that fewer than forty percent of the students had passed, leaving Debra among those who would have to wait another year.

• Elock argued with other apprentices about a free-fall question and realized he had answered it incorrectly, while Pierce was relieved that he had studied the relevant formulas.
• Lynn reviewed the written exams and found that Joanne had scored highest, while Lydia earned eighty-eight points despite struggling only with questions about elements.
• Orlando warned Lynn that making Lydia a wizard could invite ridicule, but Lynn said she could become an alchemist and hinted that she could use magic after all.
• Pierce passed the first four practical subjects with high marks, and Lydia used a short-barreled firearm to defeat the enchanted puppets in combat drills.
• The academy announced the graduation results, with fewer than forty percent passing; Debra received fifty-eight and regretted falling short.

Lydia celebrated passing the graduation examination, but Debra warned that passing did not mean she could become a wizard. As the advancement ceremony began, Pierce drank the Source of Magic Power and successfully became an Official Wizard.

• Lydia learned she had passed the graduation examination with an average score of seventy-four, exciting Daren and the other halflings.
• Debra cautioned Lydia that her lack of magical talent made advancement unlikely, while Joanne suggested Dean Lynn might be able to help her.
• Orlando called the students who had passed into the Screaming Tower for their advancement ceremonies.
• Lynn gave Pierce the Source of Magic Power, and Pierce endured its effects before successfully casting a fireball as an Official Wizard.
• Pierce thanked Lynn, explaining that Lynn's arcanics course had helped him build the computational ability needed to advance.

Lynn awarded wizard badges to the students who passed their advancement tests and planned assignments for the new Official Wizards. He connected Lydia to the Magic Domain so she could cast spells, then considered the need for a Magic Net to supply spellcasters across the Magic Kingdom.

• Lynn gave Pierce his wizard badge and congratulated him on becoming an Official Wizard.
• Joanne met with Lynn, who let her wait in the Screaming Tower and helped her review questions she had gotten wrong.
• Lynn assessed the students’ advancement results and planned to assign them to combat or research roles based on their strengths.
• Lydia asked Lynn to make her a wizard, and he connected her to the Magic Domain through a specially made bracelet.
• Lydia cast Blade of Ice and Fireball, received her wizard badge, and left excitedly to show off her new abilities.
• Lynn examined the cost of providing Lydia with magic power and envisioned a Magic Net that could let anyone become a spellcaster.

Lydia became an Official Wizard after emerging from the Screaming Tower, then proved she could cast magic despite being a halfling. After graduation, the new wizards and workers were assigned to support the war effort, and Redell visited the summer harvest fields.

• Lydia emerged from the Screaming Tower with a wizard's badge, becoming Iyetar's first halfling wizard.
• Lydia failed to cast a spell at first, then used [Mage Hand] and explained that she had exhausted her First-Ring Spell Slots.
• Daren congratulated Lydia, while the other wizards wondered how Dean Lynn had enabled her to use magic.
• Iyetar's graduation examinations ended, and the forty-seven graduating Official Wizards were assigned to departments needing their expertise.
• Redell and Ham toured Wizard City and its workshops, where workers labored long shifts to support the war effort.
• Redell accepted Lynn's invitation to see the summer harvest and arrived at vast golden wheat fields.

Lynn and the Alchemy Research Institute demonstrated harvesters that rapidly reaped Beatrice’s wheat fields, while Redell learned the machines could not reach Hadratta’s current harvest in time. Back at the academy, Lynn considered what to present at the advanced academic symposium and imagined developing a Nuclear Blast Technique, though he remained wary of the Church’s god.

• Philip demonstrated the harvesters Lynn’s blueprints had inspired, and the machines automatically cut, threshed, and collected wheat as they crossed Beatrice’s fields.
• Philip explained that the Institute had also built plows and seeders, and Redell asked whether the alchemical machines could be used in Hadratta.
• Lynn said the harvesters were already committed to Iyetar and other cities, but plows and seeders might be sent to Hadratta for autumn planting.
• Lynn and the others watched five harvesters finish Beatrice’s wheat harvest in just over half a day, and Beatrice celebrated by hosting them for dinner.
• Lynn returned to the academy with an invitation to the symposium, which had been moved forward because of the war with the Church.
• Lynn considered presenting a refined model of the elements and imagined using rare elements to create a Nuclear Blast Technique, but questioned whether it could overcome the god’s power.

Lynn attended Greenriel’s academic symposium with Anthony after breaking through to Great Wizard, and he drew intense attention from the assembled wizards. The symposium began with Lynn seated prominently as a representative of Iyetar, then Sanchez announced that he would also serve as an evaluator.

• Raphael welcomed Lynn and Anthony to Greenriel and learned that Lynn had become a Great Wizard.
• Raphael noticed that Anthony deferred to Lynn and inferred that Lynn held a high position in the Secret Magic Society.
• The wizards at the symposium crowded around Lynn with praise, leaving him eager to escape the attention.
• Raphael guided Lynn to Iyetar’s seats near the front, where Lynn recognized the pressure placed on his school.
• Sanchez announced that Lynn had been added as an evaluator for the academic symposium.

Lynn joined the symposium as a judge and challenged Glen’s claim that red, green, and blue were the true primary colors of light, declaring that objects did not actually possess color. The hall reacted with doubt and anger, and a Great Wizard rebuked Lynn for speaking on a subject he did not understand.

• Raphael explained that Lynn had been added as a judge because many proposals concerned glass instruments, and Lynn took his seat on the platform.
• Glen and his fellow wizards demonstrated their Light Dissociation Device and presented red, green, and blue as the primary colors from which other colors were derived.
• Sanchez, Raphael, and the other judges praised Glen’s research, while Glen imagined his work would earn a Morning Star Medal.
• Lynn said that red, green, and blue could not explain the origin or properties of light and claimed that objects did not actually possess color.
• Sanchez asked Lynn what he meant, Glen and his colleagues objected, and a Great Wizard in purple robes reprimanded Lynn for speaking carelessly.

Lynn explained that color came from light reflected by objects and human perception, then arranged an experiment to demonstrate his theory. The chapter ended as Glen prepared to use his Light Dissociation Device on Joanne’s red dress.

• Lynn told the wizards that objects appeared colored because they absorbed some light and reflected the rest into human eyes.
• Raphael questioned whether Lynn’s theory meant the world had no color without light, while a Great Wizard in purple robes and Glen challenged his claims.
• Lynn invited the wizards to verify the theory by sealing the hall’s doors and windows and using a mirror to illuminate Joanne.
• The wizards confirmed that Joanne’s dress looked red in the reflected light.
• Lynn explained the experiment to Glen and prepared him to decompose the light with his Light Dissociation Device.

Lynn demonstrated that objects appeared colored because they reflected some wavelengths of light and absorbed others, disproving Glen’s theory that the three primary colors created all color. He then praised Glen’s research and secured the judges’ unanimous support for awarding him the Morning Star Medal.

• Glen used the Light Dissociation Device to shine different colors on Joanne, whose red dress turned black under most colors and red under orange and red light.
• Lynn invited the wizards to test the experiment with their own belongings, and their results confirmed that objects absorbed and reflected different wavelengths.
• Sanchez asked where absorbed light went, and Lynn explained that absorbed light energy produced heat; Raphael praised Lynn’s wisdom.
• Glen admitted that his research was mistaken, and Lynn nominated him for the Morning Star Medal.
• Raphael and the other judges unanimously agreed that Glen deserved the medal for his research into rainbow light and primary colors.

At the symposium, Glen rejected his Morning Star Medal nomination after learning Lynn had already explored the same optical theories. Lynn encouraged him to continue studying invisible light and suggested methods for detecting it, leaving Glen with new research directions.

• Lynn explained that he had conducted a similar light-splitting experiment over a month earlier, and Glen realized his theories had already been verified.
• Glen refused the Morning Star Medal nomination, saying the honor should belong to Lynn rather than be accepted as charity.
• Raphael and the other judges approved of Glen’s decision, while Lynn worried that his comments had undermined Glen’s confidence.
• Lynn urged Glen to investigate invisible forms of light, including light beyond the three Primary Colors.
• When an alchemist asked how invisible light could be studied, Lynn suggested observing its effects on objects and developing instruments to detect it.
• Sanchez proposed using magical transformation to study how other creatures perceived light, and Lynn endorsed the idea.

Lynn urged the wizards to investigate the speed of light and promised to seek a Silver Moon Medal for anyone who measured it accurately. He argued that optics and fundamental constants could reveal the microscopic universe, but his dismissal of existing magical theory angered some of the wizards.

• Elock and Pierce regretted their limited prospects for earning a Morning Star Medal through research into invisible light.
• Lynn suggested measuring the speed of light, and Sanchez described Speaker Aurora’s failed attempt to measure it over one kilometer.
• Lynn announced that he would prepare an experiment and propose a Silver Moon Medal for anyone who accurately measured the speed of light.
• Lynn defended the award by explaining the importance of universal constants and optics, citing the mass-energy equivalence equation.
• A Great Wizard in the audience criticized Lynn for calling existing magical theory simple and crude.

At the seminar, Lynn’s proposed experiment for measuring the speed of light drew widespread attention, while a wizard earned Sanchez’s support for researching Multi-headed Lizards. Afterward, Glen devised a thousand-mirror experiment to measure light over a hundred kilometers and decided he would have to borrow the mirrors.

• Sanchez praised a wizard’s Multi-headed Lizard research but warned that transformation could split the wizard’s soul, then urged further study and promised to seek him a Morning Star Medal nomination if he made progress.
• Lynn offered biological advice on the lizard research, while Raphael voiced concerns about the risks of transformation magic.
• The seminar ended with wizards discussing Lynn’s speed-of-light experiment, and Lynn tactfully criticized a flawed theory about the elements.
• Glen told Nancy he had refused Lynn’s offer of a Morning Star Medal because he had not originated the theories behind his work.
• Glen proposed using a focused beam and one thousand mirrors spaced along a hundred-kilometer path to measure the speed of light, and decided to borrow the mirrors.

Harov and Aurora discussed how to measure the Speed of Light after considering Lynn’s claims about optics. Aurora proposed using Tir Star’s satellite, but the missing planetary-distance calculations left them without an immediate result, so Harov turned to other experiments.

• Harov questioned Aurora about Lynn’s statement that existing magical theories were crude, and they considered what secrets optics might reveal.
• Harov asked Aurora how they could measure the Speed of Light, and she proposed using astronomical observations.
• Aurora explained that Tir Star’s satellite disappeared at varying times, which might let them calculate light’s travel time across changing distances.
• Harov praised Aurora’s idea and joked that she would win the Silver Moon Medal, but Aurora revealed that they had not yet calculated Tir Star’s distance.
• Harov suggested recreating the original experiment over longer distances, while Aurora said others were already preparing experiments to measure the Speed of Light.