Chapter Summaries

Roy and Doni traveled together to Oleg City, where the front line urgently needed support. Roy demonstrated the strength of his companions and destroyed the mages’ Sky Patrol Warships with his Death Ray Demon Eye as the city came into view.

• Roy arranged for Black Cat Domi to manage the Gem Workshop while he traveled with Doni toward Oleg City.
• At the city gate, Doni brought a large Follower Legion, while Roy revealed his Level 1 companions and set off with them.
• Doni secretly probed Roy and discovered that his Spiritual Power had reached forty degrees.
• Near Oleg City, Roy offered to deal with the approaching Sky Patrol Warships and used his Death Ray Demon Eye to destroy them.
• Roy and Doni reached the vicinity of Oleg City, which was guarded by Tinas.

Roy and Doni met Tinas at her hidden refuge near Oleg City and learned that enemy forces were gathering nearby. Tinas and Roy outlined the threat, including the identities of two enemy mages connected to their teachers.

• Tinas's hybrid bird led Roy and Doni to a mountain cliff, where she greeted Roy and tried to recruit him and Doni to breed harpies.
• Tinas brought Roy and Doni to her concealed underground refuge, where centaur maidens and a harpy lived.
• Roy warned Tinas that enemy forces were preparing to attack Oleg City, and Tinas confirmed that five legions were stationed about thirty kilometers away.
• Tinas described the enemy forces as including several first-tier combatants from varied professions who operated as mercenaries under adventurer identities.
• Roy identified the enemy mages Doria and Costa as graduates of Lulands Magic Academy and schoolmates of Valentina and Edwin.

Roy studied the harpies’ abilities and limitations, then built Baluli a wearable aiming platform linked to a miniaturized Magic Cannon. Baluli tested the equipment successfully, demonstrating improved accuracy and powerful ranged fire.

• Tinas asked Roy to strengthen and modify her remaining eight harpies, while Doni coordinated the deployment of her followers and centaurs.
• Roy researched harpies and considered their wind magic, combat habits, limited carrying capacity, and equipment costs.
• Three days later, Roy showed Tinas and Doni a wearable targeting platform he had made for the harpies.
• Roy equipped Baluli with the platform and a miniaturized Magic Cannon, then taught her how to use them.
• Baluli practiced firing and throwing weapons, hit targets accurately, and used the Magic Cannon to incinerate a target.

Roy explained his Battle Spears to Tinas and Doni, then used them to launch a surprise aerial assault on Doria’s army. The Harpies joined the attack, routing the force, and Mage Costa and the Warlock Mannifen learned of its defeat.

• Roy told Tinas and Doni that his Battle Spears could threaten Great Knights, and Tinas approved the cost.
• Roy learned that adventurers were operating in the city and asked Tinas to arrange reconnaissance of the enemy camp so he could attack it first.
• Roy used positioning markers and his strength-enhancing transformation to launch Battle Spears at Doria’s army from several kilometers away.
• The Harpies attacked with Alchemical Bombs and Magic Cannons while Baluli deployed Roy’s Pipits and other weapons, scattering Doria’s several-hundred-strong force.
• Mage Costa and the Warlock Mannifen heard that Doria’s unit had been defeated before it saw the enemy’s main force and reacted with shock and suspicion.

Roy’s long-range bombardment routed Doria’s forces, and he gathered spoils and extracted magical knowledge from the fallen mages. The next day, Archmage Gem learned of the defeat and summoned Valentina to provide support.

• Roy agreed that Doni would clean up the battlefield and Tinas would watch Mannifen while keeping communication open.
• Roy moved to another mountaintop and continued attacking, while Doni and Tinas coordinated with him as the mages dispersed to evade the bombardment.
• Roy halted his fire support to let Doria, Costa, and their forces retreat, then met Doni and claimed first choice of the spoils.
• Roy extracted knowledge and experience from Apprentice Mage corpses, absorbed illusion-related knowledge, and fed a Knowledge Potion to the Maiden's Skull to update its database and begin Spell Model deduction.
• Doria and the others reported their defeat to Archmage Gem, who ordered the tower spirit to contact Valentina and summon her for support.

Roy anticipated Valentina’s arrival and used Mills to locate her, while Valentina prepared an ambush with a team of adventurers. The chapter ended as Roy confronted the hidden attackers in the woods outside Oleg City.

• Tinas told Roy that the mages had paused their assault, and Frosv reported that Valentina was approaching with a Mage Legion.
• Roy left the cave with Winsbell and Athedia, met Planje in the city, and confronted Mills in a tavern.
• An informant told Valentina that Roy had appeared in the city and contacted a half-orc, prompting her to gather Iredas’s adventuring team.
• Valentina explained that she had used Mills as bait, suspecting Roy would track her through a Secret Rune he had placed on him.
• Mills led Roy to the woods outside the city, then fled after Roy released him; Roy called out the ambushers and was met with ice spikes and fireballs.

Roy and his allies fought Iredas’s forces in the forest while separate units clashed at the valley entrances. Valentina learned that Roy could use birds to track her, and he set off toward her hiding place.

• Iredas charged Roy and Athedia, grievously injuring Athedia and apparently cleaving Roy in two before Roy’s body erupted into Mushroom Spores.
• Winsbell healed Athedia and summoned sacred lightning against Iredas as Roy’s spores, Fog Demons, and other abilities attacked enemies throughout the forest.
• Kailon, Kaiser, Marcel, and Temple Guard javelin throwers blocked advancing Heavy Knights at one valley entrance, while Fog Demons attacked griffins and their riders at the other.
• Valentina gathered reports from her hidden cave and realized the enemy forces had disrupted her deployment and exceeded her expectations.
• Valentina spotted Roy through a phantom projection as he befriended a forest bird, recognized that he could control birds, and watched him release it and run toward her location.

Roy found Valentina and used the Kirik Magic Ring to dominate her, then confiscated her magical equipment. Valentina’s hidden guardian seal briefly triggered a counterattack, but the ring suppressed it and Roy remained in control.

• Roy dodged Valentina’s Magic Missile attacks and used his charm to distract her.
• Roy activated the Kirik Magic Ring and successfully dominated Valentina.
• Roy chained Valentina, bound her with Secret Runes, and took her staff and other magical equipment.
• Roy ordered Valentina to hand over and unlock her Space Ring, but she could not carry out the complex command.
• The Viken Family guardian seal triggered a powerful counterattack, but the Kirik Magic Ring suppressed Valentina’s will and left her under Roy’s control.

Roy defeated Valentina with the Hypnosis Glasses and Ring of Domination, then seized the valuable supplies and deadly Magic Cards from her Space Ring. Meanwhile, Iredas's battered group was discovered and attacked in the woods, and Roy arrived as Iredas begged him for mercy.

• Roy used the Hypnosis Glasses to disrupt Valentina and the Ring of Domination to subdue her without exhausting himself.
• Roy broke through Valentina's Space Ring and collected its contents, including a Magic Card Box holding powerful spells such as Finger of Death.
• Iredas and his companions hid in a valley while Fog Demons pursued them, and Iredas learned that Valentina had not replied.
• Athedia and Winsbell attacked Iredas's group, with Winsbell's Rose Sacred Thunder killing one warrior as Iredas struggled against his injuries.
• Roy approached the defeated Iredas with Valentina following like a vacant-eyed doll, and Iredas begged him to spare his life.

Roy killed Iredas after rejecting his offer to serve, then learned that the enemy forces had suffered heavy losses and withdrawn to summon reinforcements. After reporting Valentina’s capture to Frosv, Roy planned to split Archmage Gem’s alliance with the Academy and the families.

• Roy bound Iredas with animated iron chains and killed him with the Star Iron Chain Spear.
• Planje reported that Bloodhoof Kailon and the other golems had been badly damaged and that the enemy had retreated to summon reinforcements.
• Athedia returned with the adventurers’ belongings, and Roy gave her Iredas’s Super Alloy greatsword to refashion.
• Roy contacted Tinas and Doni, learned they had temporarily withdrawn from their fierce battle, and then told Frosv that he had captured Valentina.
• Frosv assessed the likely response from the Academy, and Roy proposed driving a wedge between Archmage Gem, the Academy, and the families.

Roy modified Valentina’s robe to create an ornate cleric’s outfit for Winsbell, then considered how to exploit Valentina’s knowledge of magic arrays and Magitech. He awakened Valentina and told her that her allies would likely abandon her, leaving her a prisoner with no value to him.

• Roy tailored Valentina’s robe into a cleric’s robe, and his Talent Ability added Charm and Holiness attributes.
• Roy made Winsbell a hazy veil to complete the outfit, and Athedia questioned why Winsbell was wearing Valentina’s clothes.
• Roy considered whether Valentina’s knowledge of Rune Arrays and Magitech could help his Alchemy Witchcraft.
• Roy partially released the Kirik Magic Ring’s control, and Valentina woke up and demanded that Roy free her.
• Roy dismissed Valentina’s threats, arguing that her classmates, family, and teacher might abandon her, and told her she was now his prisoner.

Roy used news of the failed rescue effort to convince Valentina that the Mage Tower would not save her, then offered to discuss a way to settle their grudge. Archmage Gem faced pressure from Valentina’s allies and sponsors while negotiations continued.

• Roy negotiated with Frosv as news of Valentina’s capture spread through the Mage Tower.
• Archmage Gem told the worried young mages that he would communicate with the wizards, while some secretly resented Valentina.
• Frosv demanded that the Mage Tower withdraw from the Nate World, and Archmage Gem refused to concede.
• Archmage Gem received complaints and threats from academy leaders, nobles, and other mages demanding that he rescue Valentina.
• Roy shared the negotiations’ developments with Valentina until she began to accept that her former supporters were unlikely to help her.
• Roy invited Valentina to calmly discuss resolving their grudge, and she reacted with surprise and suspicion.

Roy pressured Valentina into signing a compensation agreement in exchange for her magical knowledge, then studied the Rune Arrays used by Lulands Magic Academy. He created a basic energy-gathering array and combined it with his Gem Mushroom (Ice), leaving it to grow in the nursery.

• Roy told Valentina that he wanted her knowledge and wealth rather than her body, then presented her with a Compensation Agreement.
• Valentina signed the agreement despite suspecting Roy had hidden a disadvantageous trick in it, and their Secret Runes appeared on the paper.
• Roy questioned Valentina about mage knowledge and learned the basics of Rune Arrays and Lulands Magic Academy’s instruction set.
• Roy wrote a basic Rune Array, then combined an energy-gathering array with his Gem Mushroom (Ice) and planted it in the nursery.

More than a year later, Roy tested a way to combine Witchcraft and the Arcane System and began exploring alchemical applications for Rune Arrays. After recruiting Tinas to share her bloodline research, he was called by Frosv, who told him that someone from the Viken Family wanted to negotiate.

• Roy praised Furia’s homework and told her she was ready to begin learning the basic principles of spellcraft.
• Roy found that combining Gem Mushrooms with Witchcraft doubled Gem Dust condensation efficiency, and considered applying alchemy to industrial production, automation, and genetic modification.
• Roy asked Tinas to collaborate, promising to share their results, and she gave him materials from her bloodline research.
• Roy selected Tinas’s Sunshine 16 sunflower and a Sun-Avoiding Spider egg for further study.
• Frosv contacted Roy and told him that someone from the Viken Family had arrived to negotiate.

Roy and Frosv prepared to negotiate Valentina's exchange after the Viken Family agreed to verify that she was unharmed. Roy told Valentina that Level 1 Mage Chenos would arrive at the end of the month, then used the prospect of rescue to pressure her for more knowledge.

• Frosv told Roy that the Viken Family would inspect Valentina's condition before deciding whether to continue negotiations.
• Frosv said Level 1 Mage Chenos would lead the Viken Family's delegation to meet them outside Oleg City at the end of the month.
• Roy and Frosv discussed bargaining tactics and prepared to make the negotiations appear sincere while demanding a high price.
• Roy informed Valentina that Chenos was coming to negotiate, and she gained hope that her family might rescue her.
• Roy threatened Valentina and demanded that she give him more knowledge.

Roy’s study of Valentina’s arcane knowledge led him to create an intelligent Puppet Core, while negotiations between the Viken Family and Roy ended in a sudden missile strike. The blast devastated the meeting site, leaving the negotiators’ fate unknown.

• Valentina deliberately taught Roy obscure, outdated Rune Array knowledge to waste his time, but Roy rapidly mastered advanced array construction with help from his Alchemy Talent.
• Roy integrated automated programs into witch arrays and created an Intelligence Chip that could improve the intelligence and spirituality of a Puppet Core.
• At the end of May, Roy and Valentina met Chenos and the Viken Family’s representatives to negotiate in a guarded safe zone.
• Chenos identified Valentina as an impostor and secretly attached a Positioning Spell to her.
• A Sky Patrol Warship dropped a massive missile on the negotiation site, and the resulting explosion flattened the area.

Roy survived Chenos’s missile attack, which killed Valentina during what had been presented as negotiations. While preparing to withdraw toward the royal capital, Roy extracted a crucial memory from Valentina and realized he could access her Mage Mansion.

• Tinas, Doni, and the others survived the shockwave, while Roy found Winsbell and Athedia injured but alive and discovered Valentina had been killed.
• Roy collected Valentina’s surviving head and soul, then ordered his forces to spread out as Chenos and the other mages fled.
• Frosv contacted Roy, confirmed the attack had targeted Valentina, and ordered him and the others to return and help defend the royal capital.
• Roy processed Valentina’s brain and extracted the memory of her Mage Mansion, realizing its portal was open and undefended.

Roy refined Valentina and Edwin’s souls into a Two-Headed Golem and used it with a golden key to open Valentina’s Mage Mansion. He entered the mansion with the golem and found its Invisible Servants inactive, leaving him free to explore.

• Roy realized Valentina’s soul-bound Mage Mansion could be accessed by turning part of her soul into a key.
• Roy merged Valentina’s soul with Edwin’s in a golem, then used Soul Pigment and wandering souls to bind and strengthen them.
• The golem transformed into a two-headed troll-like creature, while Roy fashioned a golden key from the mansion’s password.
• Roy guided the golem through Valentina’s summoning incantation, opening the mansion’s portal.
• Roy ordered Winsbell and Athedia to guard the entrance, then entered with the Two-Headed Golem.
• Inside, the mansion’s Invisible Servants mistook Roy for a visitor accompanying Valentina and did not react.

Roy inspected Valentina’s Mage Mansion, found a vast magical library and fully equipped experimental rooms, and began preparing the mansion as a home. He left knowing Valentina still held its highest authority, but the Devil Contract could eventually let him seize the property and even her soul as collateral for her debts.

• Roy examined the mansion’s map and explored its living quarters, discovering that Valentina’s study contained hundreds of thousands of magic books in a magically expanded space.
• Roy inspected the experimental rooms and chose Room One for his Alchemy Room, while noting the garden and its self-sustaining fountain.
• Roy told Winsbell and Athedia that the mansion could serve as their home and warned them not to spread word of it.
• Roy continued checking the mansion for hidden dangers and found only Valentina’s positioning markers and a simple sealing array; its Invisible Servants treated him as a visitor.
• Roy calculated that Valentina’s unpaid debts and accruing interest could eventually let him use the Devil Contract to take control of the mansion and, later, her soul.

Roy discovered that a broken Gem Life could maintain a long-distance sensory link, and he began developing it as a communication component for Intelligent Brain Sailen. Months later, he received a message from the Maiden's Skull and entered his home to learn that the Private Library Collection had been organized.

• Roy returned to his Gem Workshop and discovered that Domi had broken a Gem Life and turned it into a necklace, splitting its spirituality into two communicating halves.
• Roy confirmed that Gem Life had long-distance sensory perception and considered using it to connect Sailen to other brains, though he noted limits involving power, interference, and replication.
• Norwich delivered a mermaid fountain statue, and Roy commissioned him to shape golem forms and repair damaged golems.
• After several months of Gem Synthesis, Roy created another fragment-level Gem Life and sensed a message through his Communication Ring.
• Roy entered his home, where the Maiden's Skull told him that the Private Library Collection had been organized.