Chapter Summaries

Richard used a Nuclear Weapon’s Magical Electromagnetic Pulse to badly injure the Truth Society Wizards surrounding him in Pompeii Town. He summoned Pandora, the Lich Old Man, his puppets, and A Nan, replenished his magic, and led them into battle to break out.

• The blue light injured or killed many Truth Society Wizards, including those who had been flying above Pompeii Town.
• Qiekafu regrouped the surviving Wizards and argued that their numbers and Richard’s weakened state would prevent him from escaping.
• Richard drew magic from an Energy Storage Short Staff and summoned Pandora, the Lich Old Man, his Magic Puppets, and A Nan from a black suitcase.
• Richard put on the Black Spirit King's Mask and replaced his Gloves of Extinction before ordering his companions to attack anyone blocking their escape.
• Richard led the group off the Stone Tower as Qiekafu ordered the remaining Wizards to stop them, and the battle began amid intensifying earthquakes.

As Richard’s group fought to escape Pompeii Town, the atomic bomb’s detonation stirred Vesuvius Dak Volcano and caused the ground to collapse. Richard and his allies continued breaking out east, while Lich Old Man attacked the wounded Truth Society Wizards.

• A collapsing Stone Tower gave three Wizards cover to prepare a sneak attack on Richard’s group.
• Pandora hurled a massive boulder at the attackers, killing two, and Richard destroyed the third with two Micro Spell Tracking Missiles.
• Richard stopped Pandora from pursuing enemies and led the group east.
• Lich Old Man and his Magic Puppets slaughtered wounded Truth Society Wizards as they advanced through the battlefield.
• A wounded Level 3 Wizard tried to attack a Magic Puppet but suddenly froze and collapsed before he could raise his hand.

Richard fought through Pompey's Truth Society defenses and finally broke out of town with his companions. After sending them into Eden Garden and taking flight alone, he was pursued by Qiekafu and other Truth Society leaders, who launched a spell at him.

• Eight-Armed Skeleton A Nan ambushed and killed several Truth Society Wizards with his bone hammer while Richard continued toward the town's defenses.
• Richard broke Qiekafu's defensive line with Micro Spell Tracking Missiles and the Gloves of Extinction, then pressed onward to conserve his strength and escape the unstable volcano.
• More than ten minutes later, Richard led his group out of Pompeii Town after killing hundreds of Wizards along the way.
• Richard sent A Nan, the Lich Old Man, the Magic Puppets, and Pandora into Eden Garden, then flew away alone.
• Qiekafu and several Truth Society leaders pursued Richard, and Qiekafu fired a Cyan Flame at him.

Richard lured Qiekafu and three Truth Society members to extreme altitude, where he unleashed nearly a hundred Micro Spell Tracking Missiles against them. The sky filled with explosions as the attack struck the pursuing group.

• Richard destroyed a Cyan Flame with his Energy Shield and threw four Golden Energy Spears at Qiekafu and the other three, forcing them to stop at a distance.
• Richard used the Black Spirit King Mask's remaining energy to ascend, and Qiekafu ordered the group to pursue him.
• Qiekafu and the others chased Richard higher, struggling with injuries, cold, strong winds, and dwindling mana.
• Richard stopped above them and launched nearly a hundred Micro Spell Tracking Missiles at the group.
• The missiles overwhelmed Qiekafu and the others as explosions lit up the sky.

Richard survived Qiekafu’s attack, but Qiekafu secretly cursed him with a prophecy spell that could let the Truth Society track him. Qiekafu fled toward Pompey, forcing Richard to choose between pursuing him into a trap or risking the curse’s effects.

• Richard watched the missile explosions engulf Qiekafu and the others, then prepared to leave when Qiekafu burst from the flames and charged him.
• Richard switched from the Gloves of Extinction to the One-Hit Kill Staff and blasted a hole through Qiekafu’s chest, apparently killing him.
• Qiekafu suddenly revived, bit Richard through the Achilles Armor, and revealed that the bite had planted a curse that would let him track Richard while he lived.
• Richard put on the Gloves of Extinction, but Qiekafu escaped his reach by unfurling wings and flying irregularly toward Pompey.
• Qiekafu taunted Richard into pursuing him, and Richard realized that returning to Pompey could draw him into another defensive trap while ignoring the curse might be dangerous.

Richard avoided Qiekafu’s trap by dropping Truth Number Two, a 150-kiloton atomic bomb, on Pompeii Town before fleeing. The blast killed nearly everyone in the town and triggered Vesuvius Dak Volcano’s full eruption, burying Pompey beneath fire, ash, and magma.

• Richard activated Truth Number Two and sent it toward the center of Pompeii Town, then flew away at full speed.
• Qiekafu recognized the falling construct as the weapon Richard had once described, but he could not warn the Wizards before it detonated.
• Truth Number Two’s blast destroyed Pompeii Town, killed nearly all its Wizards, and produced a vast mushroom cloud and devastating shockwaves.
• The bomb’s force awakened Vesuvius Dak Volcano, which split open and began erupting.
• A surviving Level 1 Wizard tried to escape, but a fountain of magma engulfed him as the eruption buried Pompey.

Richard returned to Pompey's ruins to collect data from the atomic bomb explosions and confirmed that Qiekafu's curse had vanished. As he prepared to leave, he encountered a powerful Truth Society director named Dead Sea, who asked what had happened.

• Richard returned to Pompey's ruins, saw that Qiekafu's curse had lifted, and concluded that Qiekafu had died in the blast.
• Richard set up instruments and Crystal Balls around the ruins and near the crater fissure to collect atomic bomb data.
• After gathering enough measurements, Richard turned to leave and discovered a stranger standing on a half-melted rock nearby.
• Richard recognized the stranger's seven-colored diamond ring as the mark of a Truth Society director.
• The stranger introduced himself as Dead Sea and asked Richard to explain the destruction in Pompey.

Richard tried to escape Dead Sea by distracting him with a fabricated explanation, but Dead Sea caught up and attacked him with black energy chains. The chains pierced Richard, leaving him gravely wounded as Dead Sea prepared to extract the truth from his memories.

• Richard decided that fleeing before Dead Sea could confirm his suspicions was his best chance.
• Richard invoked the Theory of Relativity as a distraction, then flew away from Pompey at full speed.
• Dead Sea realized Richard had deceived him and pursued him, scanning the surroundings with his mana.
• Dead Sea intercepted Richard and declared that his attempted escape proved his connection to Pompey's disaster.
• Richard evaded Dead Sea's first energy chains with a Void Spell, but Dead Sea located him and struck him with more than twenty chains.

Richard fled Dead Sea toward the Pompey Ruins, repeatedly using the Void Transfer Spell to survive despite its dangerous erosion. He lured Dead Sea into Vesuvius Dak Volcano and detonated an enhanced atomic bomb, triggering a catastrophic eruption that left the volcano collapsed into a vast magma-spewing shaft.

• Richard escaped Dead Sea's attacks by repeatedly using the Void Transfer Spell, which erased his wounds but eroded his body.
• Dead Sea pursued Richard back to the Pompey Ruins, where Vesuvius Dak Volcano was nearing a powerful eruption.
• Richard plunged into a crack in the volcano, and Dead Sea followed him into the passage.
• Dead Sea found an oval metal object embedded in the passage and realized too late that it was a trap.
• Richard's enhanced Implosion-Type Atomic Bomb detonated, forcing magma downward before the volcano erupted with overwhelming force.
• Vesuvius Dak Volcano collapsed into a massive shaft that spewed magma, flames, and smoke across the ruins.

Richard escaped Dead Sea by detonating his final Atomic Bomb, but the void energy erosion left him gravely injured as he headed toward Kano. Meanwhile, Zong Hu and Dragon Tree reached Nova Town and debated whether to investigate the volcanic eruption or return after their mission to Pompey had failed.

• Richard used repeated Void Transfer Spells and his final Atomic Bomb to escape Dead Sea, suffering severe void energy erosion in the process.
• Richard gathered basic readings from the eruption, concluded he had enough data for his experiment, and continued toward Kano.
• Zong Hu and Dragon Tree landed near Nova Town and observed the eruption’s effects as frightened townspeople fled.
• Zong Hu explained that Oscar had ordered them to support a collaborator in Pompey before dawn, but the deadline had passed and Pompey would soon be dangerous.
• Dragon Tree dismissed the idea of returning and proposed that they investigate the eruption out of curiosity.

Dragon Tree and Zong Hu went to Pompey after Zong Hu’s attempt to contact their lord failed and discovered that Vesuvius Dak Volcano had vanished, leaving a huge lava-spewing crater. Dragon Tree approached the volcanic vent despite their plan to leave and spotted something strange inside.

• Dragon Tree persuaded Zong Hu to visit Pompey after Zong Hu’s spare Communication Crystal Ball cracked while he tried to contact their lord.
• Dragon Tree and Zong Hu arrived at Pompey and found that Vesuvius Dak Volcano had disappeared, leaving a massive crater spewing lava and ash.
• Zong Hu urged them to leave and report the disaster, and Dragon Tree agreed before walking toward the volcanic vent.
• Dragon Tree protected himself with an Energy Membrane, peered into the vent, and called Zong Hu over to look at something strange inside.
• A sudden bang followed.

Dragon Tree and Zong Hu escaped the volcano after being overwhelmed by a mysterious, possibly human presence, and Zong Hu suspected it had been a severely wounded powerhouse. At Blue Lake Manor, Jia Lie read Richard’s instructions for managing the estate during his long absence, destroyed the letter, and left still weighing his choices.

• Dragon Tree and Zong Hu regrouped fifteen li south of Pompey, nursing injuries caused by the energy from the volcano.
• Zong Hu told Dragon Tree that the presence inside the volcano was likely a badly wounded person who might once have been powerful enough to suppress two Level 4 Wizards.
• Dragon Tree agreed to report the encounter to Zong Hu’s lord, while Zong Hu chose to stay behind and supervise another task.
• At Blue Lake Manor, Jia Lie found a letter from Richard saying he would be away for at least a year and offering him the choice to dismiss the staff, maintain the manor, or sell it and flee.
• Jia Lie burned the letter as instructed, then left his room still undecided between dismissing the staff and continuing as Richard’s butler.

Jia Lie asserted his authority as butler by firing Blair and announcing staffing and duty changes at Blue Lake Manor. As dusk approached, the servants listened to his plans while Master Richard remained away.

• Jia Lie noticed Blair was missing from the servants’ gathering and decided to dismiss him for his poor work and defiance.
• Blair arrived late and tried to excuse himself, but Jia Lie listed his misconduct and firmly fired him.
• Blair threatened to appeal to Master Richard, then left after Jia Lie warned he could summon the city guards.
• Jia Lie announced plans to reduce staff and reassign duties, including giving Blair’s gardening work to an assistant maidservant.

Hua Erzi began preparing Shangbala Mine to diversify into trade, while Richard’s letters reached associates in other places. In a hidden stone chamber, a mysterious figure attached a lifelike doll’s head and became a beautiful girl just as a stone door opened.

• Hua Erzi swallowed Richard’s letter, called a meeting, and announced plans to expand Shangbala Mine into other businesses and trade networks.
• Bobobo Wei Qi read Richard’s letter at Ash Academy and burned it with his trimmed hair.
• Harry and Kathy read Richard’s letter, burned it, and agreed to keep it secret before discussing books they had been reading.
• A figure in an underground chamber polished a jade doll’s head, attached it to its empty neck, and transformed into a beautiful girl.
• The girl admired her appearance in a mirror, then turned toward a stone door as it opened and reacted with alarm.

Dead Sea returned severely injured after using his Seven-Colored Diamond Ring and entered a long slumber, leaving Bi Bi to guard his base and search for a dangerous target. At an inn, Annie Pombo killed an intruder, just as three more attackers burst into her room.

• Dead Sea arrived at his secret base with a shattered Seven-Colored Diamond Ring and told the Magic Puppet Girl that he had run into trouble.
• Dead Sea entered a metal coffin to recover and gave the Magic Puppet Girl three aura-stained grains of dirt to use in finding a dangerous target.
• The Magic Puppet Girl swallowed the grains, accepted responsibility for the base, and eagerly set out to find someone.
• An intruder broke into Annie Pombo's inn room and stabbed a pillow decoy instead of her.
• Annie Pombo killed the intruder by crushing his throat, and three armored figures charged into the room.

Annie killed the men sent by Lord Cologne and fled the inn, deciding to search for ore farther away. That same night, Richard arrived at another inn and suffered a sudden, painful reaction after entering his room.

• Annie killed two attackers and forced the last survivor to reveal that Lord Cologne had ordered her death.
• Annie killed the survivor, abandoned the inn, and chose a new place to investigate after ruling out several locations.
• Richard paid the wary innkeeper for a quiet room and said he would leave at dawn.
• After removing his hood and relaxing, Richard began trembling as his face flushed and pain twisted his expression.

Richard confirmed that his Atomic Bombs had released far more energy than their designs could account for. He concluded that matter in this world contained an extra component, which he named the Extraordinary Factor.

• Richard endured another painful flare-up caused by void energy eroding his body.
• Richard recalculated the data from the three Atomic Bombs detonated in Pompey and confirmed that their combined yield had reached 720,000 tons against a designed total of 750,000 tons.
• Richard determined that the bombs' energy utilization rate was about 96% and could exceed 100% under less restrictive assumptions.
• Richard reasoned that the excess energy came from additional mass in the world's atoms, unlike those on Earth.
• Richard named this extra component the Extraordinary Factor.

Richard developed the First Law of Extraordinary, theorizing that spells arose from energy released by Extraordinary Factors in superheavy elements. He concluded that understanding the principle could let Wizards systematically explore and improve spells over centuries, though it would not immediately change their abilities.

• Richard reasoned that Extraordinary Factors in ordinary atoms had little effect, while heavier atoms could release them during nuclear reactions.
• He theorized that Extraordinary Factors stabilized superheavy elements, which Wizards smelted into mana and converted back to cast spells.
• Richard proposed that many kinds of Extraordinary Factors combined with different superheavy elements to produce the world’s Wandering Energy Elements and spells.
• He compared Wizards’ inherited spell knowledge to memorizing chemical reactions without understanding their formulas or causes.
• Richard concluded that understanding the First Law of Extraordinary could guide safer spell experiments and eventually transform magical research.

Richard reflected on how the First Law of Extraordinary could lead to modern extraordinary chemistry and decided to build its foundations by studying spells and Extraordinary Factors. He saw collecting spells as the next step toward mastering knowledge and uncovering the truth of the world.

• Richard compared alchemy's failures with chemistry's progress and argued that the First Law of Extraordinary could guide the world toward modern industry.
• Richard decided he would first study the properties of Extraordinary Factors rather than try to transform the whole world by himself.
• Richard reasoned that knowledge of extraordinary materials and their weaknesses could help him overcome powerful enemies, including Long Mei Er and the Colored Ring.
• Richard concluded that spells could serve as reaction equations for understanding Extraordinary Factors and that he needed to collect spells from across the world.
• Richard looked out from the inn room and accepted that he would have to walk the road ahead himself.

Annie Pombo killed a Level 1 Wizard who tried to stop her, then chose Newburg as her next destination. At Mo Luo Mine, worsening corrosive energy in the ore threatened the mine’s business, so Nancy planned to take the impure ore to Newburg and find new buyers.

• Annie Pombo escaped a pursuer by crossing a city wall, then killed him with a silver ice spike when he confronted her.
• Annie Pombo checked her map and decided to head to Newburg after finding no valuable clues.
• Gelo and Ta Men inspected ore from Mine No. 9 and discussed how its corrosive energy could drive away customers and force the mine to close shafts.
• Nancy brought ore from Mine No. 3, explaining that corrosive energy had appeared there as well and that the mine needed a solution.
• Nancy proposed taking the impure ore to Newburg’s annual gathering to find new customers willing to buy it.