Chapter Summaries

Arun Pombo sent Annie away with Richard and prepared to confront the forces attacking the Pombo Family, revealing that he had only months left to live. After a burst of light and a roar erupted from Saint Louis City, Annie asked to follow Richard and learn from him, and he questioned what she could offer him.

• Arun Pombo explained to Annie that Magic-armored Knights depended on Wizards and urged her to leave while he faced the Pombo Family’s enemies.
• Arun Pombo revealed his remaining life was short, handed Richard the Book of the Void and a papyrus notebook, and went with the Old Servant Feiqi to change clothes.
• Richard held Annie back from chasing Arun Pombo, then led her away from Saint Louis City.
• A brilliant light flared over Saint Louis City, followed by a roar that reached Richard and Annie more than ten miles away.
• Annie asked Richard if he would take her with him, then proposed following him as a student so she could rebuild the Pombo Family and seek revenge.
• Richard doubted Annie’s motives and asked what use she could be to him.

Richard tested Annie’s intelligence before refusing to take her as a student, then offered to answer her questions in exchange for helping him locate Uranium Ore. The chapter left Annie with a Crystal Ball, instructions, and a sample of the ore to guide her search.

• Annie argued that her status as a Level 1 Wizard made her useful and offered to do anything for Richard.
• Richard tested Annie with philosophical, logic, and arithmetic questions, and Annie correctly calculated the army’s total as 9,072 soldiers.
• Richard refused to take Annie as a student because she had taken too long to solve the arithmetic problem.
• Richard gave Annie a Crystal Ball and scroll so she could contact him for help in exchange for finding a special ore.
• Richard showed Annie a sample of Uranium Ore and asked her to locate deposits and report their approximate reserves.

Annie accepted Richard’s offer of cooperation but failed to follow him into the sky, realizing how far beyond her he was. In Saint Louis City, Richard watched as the wounded Allen Pombo faced another dangerous charge from the Magic-armored Knights.

• Annie agreed to cooperate with Richard, who flew away after telling her to contact him through the crystal ball.
• Annie pursued Richard to five hundred meters but could not keep up, then returned to the ground and left with the box of ore.
• Richard landed on a damaged Stone Tower and observed Allen Pombo fighting the Magic-armored Knights.
• Allen Pombo knocked aside a charging squad with Energy Giant Shields, but he was badly weakened as a stronger squad prepared to attack.
• Allen Pombo nearly collapsed when his remaining strength failed, with the stronger Magic-armored Knights still threatening him.

Allen Pombo fought the Magic-armored Knights until he seized their leader, whom he believed was Gao Wen, but the real Gao Wen killed him at the last moment. As the exhausted victors began working with Wizards, Richard considered whether rechargeable magical runes could let Magic-armored Knights operate more independently.

• Allen Pombo rejected Siverlang’s claim that his fight was meaningless and vowed that the Pombo Family would never be destroyed.
• Allen Pombo overcame the charging Magic-armored Knights and captured their leader, whom he identified as Gao Wen.
• Allen Pombo prepared to kill the captured knight, but the real Gao Wen appeared and struck off Allen Pombo’s head.
• Gao Wen declared victory over the Pombo Family’s rule, and exhausted Magic-armored Knights accepted healing from the Wizards.
• Richard watched the aftermath and considered adapting the energy-storage principle of his Micro Spell Tracking Missile into rechargeable magical runes for Magic-armored Knights.

Richard returned to Eden Garden, stored an idea for charge-type magic patterns, and left again for Delan to turn in a mission. Lich Old Man resumed modifying Magic Puppets after realizing he would have to watch over Eden Garden without Richard.

• Richard summarized his charge-magic-pattern idea on a Papyrus Scroll and stored it, prioritizing his nuclear weapons research.
• Richard saw Lich Old Man’s fifty modified skeletons, including the Eight-Armed Skeleton, and watched Pandora call the Golden Retriever back inside.
• Lich Old Man explained that he had spent six days making Magic Puppets because he feared Tinwood might cause trouble.
• Richard told Lich Old Man he was leaving for Delan for up to two days, then departed before Lich Old Man could object.
• Lich Old Man cursed Richard and returned to modifying a Bull-Horned Skeleton, while the Eight-Armed Skeleton handed him a suitable replacement bone.

Richard exchanged the upper half of the Book of the Void for its lower half, then listened as Long Mei Er urged him to accept the Truth Society’s absolute truth. Long Mei Er departed, leaving Richard skeptical of his attempt to persuade him.

• Richard gave Long Mei Er the original upper half of the Book of the Void and received the lower half in return.
• Long Mei Er stopped Richard and invited him to walk outside the base for a talk.
• Long Mei Er used a gray rat’s feigned death to argue that people should recognize their limitations and seek understanding from a greater existence.
• Richard asked whether Long Mei Er meant a god, and Long Mei Er described the organization’s ultimate pursuit as absolute truth.
• Long Mei Er flew northwest in a streak of Gold Light, and Richard muttered that the conversation had been brainwashing or preaching.

Richard studied the Book of the Void and Allen Pombo’s notes to investigate how to draw energy from the Void, then successfully cast a spell that produced a tiny electrical arc. He later carved and assembled rune-marked alloy plates and went to the laboratory holding the Ancient Tree Species Tinwood, which was covered in colorful electrical arcs.

• Richard returned to Galan City and spent a week studying the Book of the Void and Allen Pombo’s notes in Eden Garden’s Main Laboratory.
• Richard calculated the requirements for opening a passage to the Void and used a spell to produce a faint electrical arc, confirming that he had drawn energy from the Void.
• Richard carved runes into thirty-six alloy plates and began assembling them.
• Richard entered Laboratory No. 3 carrying a metal case and saw that the Ancient Tree Species Tinwood remained above its glass pool, covered in colored arcs of electricity.

Richard installed a Type A Model 1 Energy Absorption Tower beside Tinwood, assuring the wary Ancient Tree that the device was safe and would work with the Energy Controller. He left Tinwood protesting after hinting that the tower was only the beginning.

• Richard checked the Energy Controller and inspected Tinwood before unpacking the Energy Absorption Tower.
• Tinwood warned Richard that absorbing void energy could cause a dangerous storm and demanded that he place the tower elsewhere.
• Richard explained that the tower had safeguards and that it could increase energy absorption by working alongside Tinwood, but refused to move it.
• Tinwood protested that the tower violated their agreement and its role as a representative of nature, but Richard argued that the contract did not forbid it.
• Richard activated the tower, connected it to the Energy Controller, and confirmed that it was operating normally.
• Richard told Tinwood that this was only the beginning, then left as Tinwood called after him for an explanation.

Richard repeatedly improved his Energy Absorption Towers, filling Tinwood’s room with the latest Type H Mark II models. After the towers reached his desired performance, Richard planned to test them further before mass production, while Tinwood protested that the machines could not replace him.

• Richard brought successive Type A Energy Absorption Tower models into Laboratory No. 3 and connected them to the Energy Controller.
• Richard introduced the Type B Mark I, correcting Tinwood when he mistakenly called it a Type A Mark V.
• Over the following days, Richard tested newer tower models until the laboratory was packed with Type H Mark II towers.
• Richard decided to observe the Type H Mark II towers longer before mass production, hoping they would resolve his energy shortage and support uranium-235 refinement.
• Tinwood warned Richard that the towers were less efficient and less adaptable than he was, but Richard said he would address problems if they arose.
• After Richard left, Tinwood cursed the silent towers and hissed in frustration.

Long Mei Er and the Truth Society sealed Pompey’s volcano and confirmed the city’s construction milestone. Two days later, an alarm sounded at Eden Garden’s Laboratory No. 3, where the Longevity Ancient Tree Species Tin Wood had finally rebelled.

• Long Mei Er and Canon oversaw the pouring of more than a hundred crates of Black Sand into the volcano, then Long Mei Er used a ruby head sculpture to seal it.
• Long Mei Er told Canon that Wizard Richard’s research would fail, then used a crystal ball to confirm the volcano’s sealing had succeeded.
• Long Mei Er announced that Pompey’s construction had reached its most important milestone, and the group looked toward the city as colored lights appeared in their eyes.
• At Eden Garden, the Lich Old Man tried to nap while the Eight-Armed Skeleton modified skeletons and the Golden Retriever wandered outside Pandora’s room.
• An alarm from Laboratory No. 3 woke the Lich Old Man, signaling that Tin Wood had rebelled.

With Richard away, Lich Old Man scrambled to prepare for Ancient Tree Tinwood’s apparent rebellion, while the Eight-Armed Skeleton unexpectedly organized the defenses. Pandora joined the group, ready to attack, but Laboratory No. 3’s door remained shut as the alarm continued.

• Lich Old Man realized Richard had left Eden Garden and tried to organize more than fifty tall skeletons to defend Laboratory No. 3.
• The Eight-Armed Skeleton used a shinbone to guide the clumsy skeletons into an orderly defensive formation, startling Lich Old Man.
• Pandora came out of her room after the alarm disrupted her work on a math problem and learned that Ancient Tree Tinwood might be rebelling.
• Pandora crumpled her unsolved equation and prepared to charge Laboratory No. 3, but its door stayed shut for more than ten seconds while the alarm continued.

An alarm led Richard to investigate Laboratory No. 3, where the Energy Absorption Towers had melted amid chaotic energy and extreme heat. Ancient Tree Tin Wood blamed the accident on the equipment and demanded contract concessions, leaving Richard unsure whether it had caused the damage deliberately.

• The alarm sounded, and Richard concluded that the Tinwood tree might have escaped or triggered the warning before deciding to enter Laboratory No. 3.
• Richard told Pandora to stand guard and praised Mr. Afu's skeletons for forming a defensive line.
• Richard donned the Achilles Armor and opened the laboratory's four-layer-protected door.
• Richard found the Energy Absorption Towers melted, the room scorched and filled with chaotic energy, and Ancient Tree Tin Wood still rooted in place.
• Ancient Tree Tin Wood claimed the towers had malfunctioned while it absorbed energy and demanded that the downtime count toward its contract and that its service period be shortened.
• Richard doubted the tree's account and used the Gaze of the Eye to examine the room and reconstruct what had happened.

Richard investigated the Laboratory No. 3 accident and concluded that malfunctioning Energy Absorption Towers had caused it, then discovered evidence that the Book of the Void was incomplete. He suspected a missing third volume, possibly held by Long Mei Er, and turned his attention to finding it.

• Richard reconstructed the accident and concluded that an Energy Absorption Tower had triggered a chain reaction, while Tinwood had likely resisted the resulting energy attack.
• Richard told Pandora and the Lich Old Man that his equipment had malfunctioned, then asked the Lich Old Man to watch Eden Garden while he investigated.
• Richard spent three days studying the preserved Energy Absorption Tower and recalculating the formula behind its design, but his calculations produced the contradiction “2 = 3.”
• Richard reexamined the Book of the Void and concluded that its two known volumes were incomplete and that a third volume existed.
• Richard suspected Long Mei Er might possess the missing third Book of the Void and identified finding it as his final obstacle.

Richard questioned Canon about the Book of the Void and sought Long Mei Er, hoping to discuss an urgent matter. Canon directed him to Blue Lake Mountain, where Long Mei Er was conducting cleanup work, and Richard flew there.

• Richard visited the Truth Society branch and asked Canon whether he knew there were three copies of the Book of the Void, but Canon believed there were only two.
• Richard asked when he could see Long Mei Er, and Canon said Long Mei Er was busy with cleanup work after completing an important task for the organization.
• Richard insisted on seeing Long Mei Er that night and asked Canon where he was working.
• Canon pointed out Blue Lake Mountain as Long Mei Er's likely location and offered to provide other locations if Richard missed him.
• Richard left the branch and flew northeast toward Blue Lake Mountain.

Richard pursued Long Mei Er to Blue Lake Mountain, where he found evidence that Long Mei Er had recently left for Banqi Town. He arrived in Banqi Town and discovered hundreds of human and nonhuman corpses being dissolved by green acid, leaving him unsure whether Long Mei Er had caused the slaughter or tried to stop it.

• Richard found Blue Lake Mountain eerily empty and discovered a warm, melted boulder that suggested Long Mei Er had left no more than half an hour earlier.
• Richard contacted Canon through the Truth Society's Crystal Ball and learned that Long Mei Er might be heading to Banqi Town.
• Richard used a map to locate Banqi Town east of Blue Lake Mountain and flew there.
• Richard entered Banqi Town and found more than twenty corpses in an alley, their organs removed and bodies dissolving in green acid.
• Richard reached the town square and found hundreds more human corpses, along with acid-damaged bodies of creatures that were not human.

Richard arrived at Banqi Town after Long Mei Er had left and killed a severely injured Demonized Creature that had consumed the townspeople’s organs. He deduced that Long Mei Er was rapidly clearing multiple sites against the same enemy, then contacted Canon and hurried north to catch up.

• Richard found no sign of Long Mei Er and saw a badly injured monster attack him in the square.
• Richard struck the monster with Frozen Qi Flying Cone, Chained Activated Lightning, and Langdon Nick's Spear, but it survived until he threw another spear to kill it.
• Richard noticed human organs inside the monster and concluded that it and its companions had killed the people in Banqi Town.
• Richard deduced that Long Mei Er had left only minutes earlier and was targeting the same enemy at multiple locations, including Blue Lake Mountain and Banqi Town.
• Richard contacted Canon with a crystal ball, then flew north toward the next location to catch up with Long Mei Er.

Richard found Long Mei Er in Green Moore Forest and asked for the final volume of the Book of the Void. Long Mei Er revealed that the organization would not give it to him, declaring that Richard's research had crossed a Red Line.

• Richard followed signs of fighting through Green Moore Forest and found Long Mei Er defeating a powerful Demonized Giant Wolf.
• Richard asked Long Mei Er whether the Book of the Void had a third volume, and Long Mei Er confirmed that it was the final and most important part.
• Richard asked what price he had to pay for the third volume and said he believed it would let him complete his research.
• Long Mei Er refused, explaining that the organization had hoped Richard would recognize his research was on the wrong path and abandon it.
• Long Mei Er declared that Richard would never obtain the third volume because his refusal to change course had crossed a Red Line.

Long Mei Er told Richard to abandon his nuclear weapon research, arguing that Richard lacked the knowledge and strength to understand the wider world. Richard resolved to continue the work, but Long Mei Er also demanded that he shut down his uranium mine, leaving Richard to ask whether this was merely a recommendation.

• Long Mei Er said he would use force rather than reason with Richard and claimed Richard’s research and confidence were misguided.
• Long Mei Er offered to reconsider Richard’s research if he became a core member, but Richard decided he could not abandon the nuclear weapon plan.
• Richard prepared to agree to give up seeking the third Book of the Void while continuing to mine and process uranium through other means.
• Long Mei Er ordered Richard to close the mine and focus instead on spells and magic patterns.
• Richard recognized that shutting down the mine would cripple his research and asked Long Mei Er whether the order was a recommendation as supervisor.

Richard negotiated with Long Mei Er for a chance to prove his strength and gain access to the third Book of the Void, agreeing to fight him in half a month. After Long Mei Er killed a powerful monster, Richard returned to Galan City and ordered the Shangbala Uranium Mine to increase mining for the next half month.

• Richard challenged Long Mei Er to a fight in half a month, wagering that he could hurt him in exchange for greater freedom, the third Book of the Void, and help learning about the world.
• A furious half-human, half-beast creature emerged from the forest and attacked Long Mei Er, repeatedly calling out “Yugen.”
• Long Mei Er subdued the creature with one touch, and its body withered into powder.
• Long Mei Er departed for Delan's branch and told Richard to meet him there at noon in half a month.
• Richard returned to Blue Lake Manor and ordered the Shangbala Uranium Mine to hire more workers at double pay and mine nonstop for half a month.

Richard spent fifteen days preparing to fight Long Mei Er, upgrading his weapons and experimenting with dangerous void knowledge. As the deadline arrived, he had strengthened his arsenal but had paid a physical price for one new technique.

• Richard decided that resisting Long Mei Er’s order had bought him fifteen days to mine uranium and prepare for their confrontation.
• Richard modified Micro Spell Tracking Missiles with aggressive, risky spell patterns, then tested a Light Spell that vaporized a metal target.
• Richard studied the Books of the Void and Arun Pombo’s notes, discovered a way to make himself vanish, and suffered bleeding from his palm when he used it.
• Richard manufactured a full batch of Gloves of Extinction and prepared to modify the Black Spirit King Mask as a final safeguard.
• Richard used the remaining days to increase his combat power, and the fifteenth day arrived.