Chapter Summaries

Punk learned from Benraji that the black dragon Ovakain Acid-Throat had founded and ruled the Dragon Roar Kingdom for three centuries, making the mission to oppose him far more dangerous than it seemed. Punk agreed to consider cooperating with Benraji in exchange for reliable intelligence.

• Punk challenged Benraji’s offer of cooperation because their previous deal had fallen apart, and Benraji asked whether Punk planned to take on the black dragon.
• Benraji explained that the Zordas family were royal guardian paladins of the Maple Leaf Kingdom and that the Dragon Roar Kingdom bordered it.
• Benraji revealed that Ovakain Acid-Throat and a group of dragonborn had conquered half of the Maple Leaf Kingdom and established the Dragon Roar Kingdom three hundred years earlier.
• Punk realized the dragon’s flourishing kingdom and long rule made Ovakain far more formidable than an ordinary black dragon.
• Punk agreed to cooperate with Benraji if his intelligence proved more reliable than their previous business deal.

Punk and Benraji set out together on a dragon-slaying mission, flying toward a port city on griffins. Their partnership left them bound by an equal split of rewards, with Benraji providing intelligence, while Punk remained wary of the powerful target and the mission’s client.

• Punk rode a summoned griffin alongside Benraji, who flew on an Inkfeather griffin he had bought at auction.
• Benraji explained that he had lost his savings in the black market crash and had come to the mission hall seeking work.
• Punk considered the risks posed by the black dragon Ovakain—Acidthroat and the client Joni Zordas before accepting Benraji’s offer to team up.
• Punk and Benraji agreed to split exchange points and spoils equally, with Benraji supplying intelligence for free to make up for breaking their previous agreement.
• Benraji’s lack of dedicated flight spells forced the pair to travel toward the port city on griffins.

Punk and Benraji reached a deserted airborne port in Goldtooth City after a delayed griffin flight, hoping to travel quickly to the Hoss Mountains. The port owner, Edada Goldtooth, nervously recommended his brother Dada Ai’s airship, leaving Punk to suspect that the journey might bring trouble.

• Benraji told Punk that his acquaintance in Goldtooth City owned a fast, comfortable Hobgoblin Airship, and Punk pressed him to hurry there.
• After crossing mountains and a forest, Punk and Benraji arrived at the airborne port and Benraji called for its owner, Edada Goldtooth.
• Edada welcomed the two mages and offered them oysters, but Punk demanded an airship and a guide to the Hoss Mountains.
• Edada nervously admitted that his claims about the route had been advertising and recommended his brother Dada Ai’s faster, more luxurious airship.

Punk and Benraji questioned air harbor owner Edada after he refused to send them to the Hoss Mountains. Edada revealed that Monbei-Windbeak had been destroying airships, leaving the reason for the Thunder Eagle’s attacks unresolved.

• Punk threatened Edada unless he prepared an airship to the Hoss Mountains and explained his refusal.
• Edada said Monbei-Windbeak had attacked anything flying toward the Hoss Mountains and destroyed four of his airships.
• Benraji explained that Monbei-Windbeak was a Master Level Thunder Eagle that had previously protected merchants who paid its meat toll.
• Benraji and Punk questioned whether Edada’s convoy had angered the Thunder Eagles, but Edada insisted his clan had delivered fresh meat and never broken its word.
• Edada said the Mage Guild was preparing to negotiate with Monbei-Windbeak, and Benraji admitted his intelligence network had recently contracted.

Punk and Benraji prepared to use Edada’s luxury airship as a decoy to draw out the Thunder Eagle Monbe-Windbeak, whose sudden madness seemed suspicious. Edada agreed to guide them through the Hoss Mountains, while Punk began planning traps for the encounter.

• Punk questioned whether Monbe-Windbeak’s sudden madness was connected to the tensions between the Maple Leaf Kingdom and the Dragon Roar Kingdom.
• Benraji persuaded the reluctant Edada to use his luxury airship, the Grand Carnival, as transport and camouflage for their expedition.
• Punk accepted the plan to pose as a merchant convoy and lure Monbe-Windbeak into attacking them on the airship.
• Punk asked Edada for a guide familiar with the Hoss Mountains, and Edada volunteered to guide them himself.
• Punk followed Benraji toward the Grand Carnival and began considering traps to kill Monbe-Windbeak if he attacked.

Punk and Benraji traveled aboard Edada’s airship to confront Monbe-Windbeak, while Punk prepared a hidden bomb to catch the Master Level Thunder Eagle by surprise. The chapter ended with Punk finishing the reactor bomb and linking its detonating seals to his mental command.

• Punk and Benraji disguised their Master Level auras as they boarded the Luxury Carnival with the disheartened Edada.
• Benraji enjoyed the airship’s hospitality while Punk left to prepare a trap for Monbe-Windbeak.
• Punk entered the power core hall and found the airship’s low-output elemental reactor less suitable for his planned bomb than he had expected.
• Punk strengthened the reactor’s enchantments and compressed its energy despite the risk that Monbe-Windbeak might notice the airship’s increased energy fluctuations.
• Punk finished the reactor bomb, whose seals he could remove instantly to trigger an explosion powerful enough to rival a Master Level spell.

Punk kept Edada away from the power core with a Suggestion Spell, but Monbei Windbeak arrived in a violent storm and forced Punk and Benraji to prepare for battle. The enormous monster revealed itself above the Grand Carnival as Punk began dual-casting spells.

• Punk cast a Suggestion Spell on Edada and sent him back to his room to sleep instead of inspecting the power core.
• A sudden storm battered the Grand Carnival, and Benraji emerged from his room, recognizing Monbei Windbeak’s presence.
• Punk and Benraji prepared their spells while the crew panicked and Edada slept through the chaos.
• Monbei Windbeak roared that the Hoss Mountains belonged to it and emerged from the thunderclouds, towering over the airship.
• Benraji readied a Scorching Fireball as Punk began casting with Metamagic Technique—Dual Casting.

Punk and Benraji used the Hobgoblin Airship as a decoy and detonated its elemental reactor beneath Monbe-Feng Huid's wing. The wounded Thunder Eagle gathered lightning for a desperate last stand as Benraji charged to finish it off.

• Punk launched the Hobgoblin Airship through an Any Door with Kinetic Velocity, while he and Benraji escaped through a second door.
• Punk released the seal on the airship's elemental reactor, causing an explosion that burned through half of Monbe-Feng Huid's wing.
• Punk assessed the Thunder Eagle's injuries and warned that it might fight desperately, while Benraji moved in to attack.
• Benraji said Monbe-Feng Huid would make valuable magical materials, enraging the Thunder Eagle as it gathered lightning for an attack.

Benraji and Punk coordinated their spells to trap Monbei-Windbeak and strike its vulnerable belly. Punk then turned the Thunder Eagle’s attempt to break free into an uncontrolled flight that ended in a collision with a mountain.

• Monbei-Windbeak unleashed lightning, and Benraji dodged it with Flame Jet while hurling a Scorching Fireball at the Thunder Eagle.
• Punk trapped Monbei-Windbeak in a Kinetic Unidirectional Lock as it tried to evade the fireball.
• Benraji’s Scorching Fireball struck Monbei-Windbeak’s exposed belly and inflicted intense pain.
• Monbei-Windbeak gathered wind energy to break free, but Punk dropped the lock and cast Kinetic Velocity as its burst of power erupted.
• Monbei-Windbeak was propelled uncontrollably into a towering mountain.

Punk and Benraji fought the rampaging Monbe-Feng Huid and began to suspect that someone had driven the Thunder Eagle mad. They left it badly wounded and planned to investigate its lair for clues.

• Monbe-Feng Huid rose from the mountain rubble and unleashed a massive storm filled with cutting wind blades.
• Benraji mocked the Thunder Eagle's wasteful attack, while Punk warned that its sudden madness was more alarming than its combat strength.
• Punk and Benraji discussed Monbe-Feng Huid's change from a rational creature and suspected a mastermind connected to the countries beyond the Hoss Mountains.
• Punk crossed the gale behind a Kinetic Shield and sent two accelerated Wind Drill Gulls toward Monbe-Feng Huid.
• Benraji battered the Thunder Eagle with Flying Fire Meteors, and one of Punk's Wind Drill Gulls struck Monbe-Feng Huid's right eye.

Punk and Benraji killed Monbe-Windbeak, ending the Thunder Eagle’s rule over the Hoss Mountains. As Punk prepared to harvest the ruined corpse, Benraji mourned his old trading partner and called him free.

• The Wind Drill Gull burrowed through Monbe-Windbeak’s skull while Punk’s Kinetic Blasts and Benraji’s Flying Fire Meteor battered the Thunder Eagle.
• Monbe-Windbeak tried to summon a storm and escape, but Punk struck it with Energy Blockage Ray.
• With its elemental defenses interrupted, the Wind Drill Gull reached Monbe-Windbeak’s brain and destroyed its exposed soul.
• Monbe-Windbeak’s corpse rolled down the mountain, and Punk regretted that Benraji’s flames had ruined most of its valuable feathers.
• Benraji remembered his thousand-year partnership with Monbe-Windbeak, mourned him, and followed Punk toward the corpse.

After defeating Mengbei-Windbeak, Punk examined the Thunder Eagle’s remains and found traces of an outside Master Level spell that might have caused his madness. Punk and Benraji headed to Mengbei-Windbeak’s nest colony, Thunderwind Fortress, to search for more clues.

• Punk harvested Mengbei-Windbeak’s nerve fibers and destroyed the risk of trying to capture his soul.
• Benraji mourned Mengbei-Windbeak, but Punk urged him to focus on what had driven the Thunder Eagle mad.
• Punk detected foreign Master Level spell residue in Mengbei-Windbeak’s brain and suspected it was connected to his madness.
• Punk and Benraji decided to investigate Mengbei-Windbeak’s nest colony, Thunderwind Fortress.
• Benraji led Punk toward the Hoss Mountains and criticized the strange, rocky nests as they traveled.

Punk and Benraji searched Monbe-Windbeak’s enormous nest for clues, but found no sign of the Thunder Eagle flock that once lived there. The chapter ended with both mages realizing the birds had vanished without a trace.

• Punk rejected Benraji’s criticism of the nest’s spires, explaining that they had been built for Thunder Eagles to perch on.
• Punk and Benraji entered Monbe-Windbeak’s cavern and found its sleeping chamber decorated with emeralds, gold, and diamonds.
• Benraji complained about the foul-smelling dung in the Thunder Eagles’ cavern, while Punk explained that Monbe had likely valued living among its own kind.
• Punk noticed that no Thunder Eagles were present, and Benraji confirmed that the flock, including the expected eggs, had disappeared without leaving any hidden passages or other clues.

Punk’s divination spell failed to reveal what happened to the missing Thunder Eagles, leading him to suspect a powerful opponent and question the Zordas family’s account. He decided to investigate the Dragon Roar Kingdom directly with Benraji.

• Punk confirmed that more than a thousand Thunder Eagles had vanished and used a Master Level Divination Spell to search for them.
• Punk’s spell failed to locate the Thunder Eagles, so he concluded that a powerful mastermind had blocked his divination.
• Punk and Benraji discussed whether Ovakain Acid-Throat or the Zordas family might be connected to the disappearance.
• Punk remained wary of Ovakain’s hidden abilities and the Zordas family’s intelligence, while Benraji dismissed the danger and looked forward to food in the Maple Leaf Kingdom.
• Punk turned toward the Dragon Roar Kingdom, saying they should investigate there instead of trusting the Zordas family’s account.

Anya struggled with worsening mental side effects from Lord Saian's experiment while continuing to excel at magic. She recognized that Jasmine was using her protection, but chose to value their closeness and followed her to class.

• Anya woke from nightmares and worried that her insomnia, fading memories, and diminishing happiness were worsening.
• Anya practiced Life Leaf and mastered the healing spell with unusual speed, though her success only made her more uneasy.
• Anya prepared for the selection to become Chachas Mage's experimental assistant, knowing Lord Saian would be unavailable for a year or two.
• Jasmine greeted Anya outside her room and urged her to hurry to Lady Angita's public class.
• Anya suspected Jasmine had attached herself to her for protection, but decided the warmth of their relationship was worth protecting and went with her.

Punk and Benraji arrived in the Dragon Roar Kingdom, where villagers celebrated the Thunder Eagles’ disappearance and trusted a royal notice crediting the kingdom and Ovakain-Acid Throat. The two strangers stood at the gate of Springwater Town as Benraji questioned Punk’s plan to investigate the kingdom.

• Villagers across the Hoss Mountains enjoyed safer herding and travel after the Thunder Eagles vanished, and the kingdom announced that the threat had been resolved under Ovakain-Acid Throat’s protection.
• Punk and Benraji traveled into the Dragon Roar Kingdom on summoned Mana Rays while avoiding possible enemy surveillance spells.
• Benraji complained about the rough flight and suggested finding Joni-Zordas for information about Ovakain instead of investigating the kingdom.
• Punk and Benraji stood silently beside the royal notice outside Springwater Town as Benraji continued to question Punk’s plan.

Punk noticed that the dragon-blooded residents of the Dragon Roar Empire lived peacefully despite their bloodline’s violent influence. After examining a girl’s soul, he discovered that an unknown energy was neutralizing the contamination, leaving Benraji convinced their dragon-slaying mission was more complicated than expected.

• Punk pointed out a girl with draconic traits and asked Benraji to examine her, but Benraji dismissed them as ordinary signs of mixed ancestry.
• Punk explained that the dragonized residents’ peaceful lives were strange because Chromatic Dragon blood carried violent instincts.
• Punk took a wisp of the girl’s soul and found that an unknown energy was neutralizing its dragon-blood contamination.
• Benraji sensed the unusual reaction and conceded that their mission to slay Ovakain—Acid-Throat had become troublesome.

Punk and Benraji realized that Ovakain-Acid Throat was likely a powerful spellcasting dragon and that the Zordas family had misled them. Unable to abandon the Thought of Truth mission, they decided to investigate the Dragon Roar Kingdom’s secrets before Ovakain discovered them.

• Punk concluded that Ovakain-Acid Throat likely had class levels and advanced alchemical skill, while Benraji complained that they lacked evidence to abandon the mission.
• Punk warned that they could not raid a spellcaster’s lair and explained that he could not afford the exchange-point penalty for retreating.
• Punk and Benraji agreed to gather intelligence themselves and treat the Zordas family as untrustworthy.
• Benraji recalled that a Dragon Roar Kingdom noble had shipped a huge quantity of White Butterfly Wings through his air harbor more than a century earlier.
• Punk decided to investigate the noble’s family and uncover the alchemical energy suppressing bloodline effects, hoping to undermine Ovakain’s kingdom.

Punk used divination to identify Huai En-Ting and learned that Ovakain Acidthroat’s casting level surpassed his own, exposing the danger of their mission. Despite Benraji’s doubts, Punk decided to capture Huai En and later seek a chance to kill Joni Zordas.

• Punk’s first divinations failed to find the noble Gabo-de Lutous, and Benraji explained that customers at his skyport used false names.
• Punk used a Fierce Body Worm’s soul in his strongest divination spell and learned the noble’s true name was Huai En-Ting.
• Punk concluded that Ovakain Acidthroat’s casting level exceeded his own because the black dragon’s shielding prevented him from learning more about Huai En.
• Benraji urged Punk to abandon the mission, fearing a fight against a powerful mage on the dragon’s home turf.
• Punk chose to capture Huai En, search his memories, and then pursue the Zordas family, including killing Joni if he got the chance.

Huai En, Dragon Roar Kingdom’s Vice Governor, walked home while praising His Majesty and the kingdom’s prosperity. A powerful unseen attacker ambushed him, killing his guard Gru with a Disintegration Spell as Huai En realized the danger.

• Huai En dismissed Gru’s offer to return to his hometown celebration and spoke admiringly of His Majesty.
• Gru sensed a lethal threat approaching and ignited his life force to protect Huai En and raise the alarm.
• An attacker cast Dual Casting and Any Door to redirect a Disintegration Spell around Gru’s Earth Battle Qi shield.
• The spell disintegrated Gru and his armor before Huai En could react.