Chapter Summaries

Gao De learned he had only seventeen days left in the month and arranged to repair Pierre's damaged Guidance Ring for a fee. After City Guards announced that merchants had to clear Dark Mire Lurkers from nearby sewers before Trading Day, Gao De realized the creatures were Leyline Creatures.

• Gao De calculated that only seventeen days remained until the end of Awakening Month.
• Gao De agreed to repair Pierre's damaged Guidance Ring for thirty silver and asked where he could buy live Leyline Creatures.
• Two City Guards informed Pierre that Dark Mire Lurkers had multiplied in the sewers and that merchants must clear the sections beside their shops before Trading Day.
• Pierre explained that Trading Day was an annual market and that Dark Mire Lurkers clogged sewers with their slime and were difficult to find.
• Gao De realized Dark Mire Lurkers were Leyline Creatures and asked Pierre to confirm it.

Gao De accepted Pierre’s offer to clear Dark Mire Lurkers from the sewers and tested whether insecticide kills could grant him Sources. He confirmed they could, then used Mage Hand to clear the infestation and raise his Dark Mire Lurker Source count to seven.

• Gao De learned that Pierre needed someone to clear Dark Mire Lurkers from the sewers before the trading day and offered to do it for two Shamrock Silver Coins.
• Pierre supplied insecticide and led Gao De to the sewer entrance near Pierre’s Odds and Ends.
• Gao De sprayed insecticide into the sewage and confirmed that creatures killed by an item he used still granted him Sources.
• Gao De used Mage Hand to spray the sewer walls and water, killing the hidden worms and finishing the cleanup.
• Gao De’s Dark Mire Lurker Source count increased to 7/7.

Gao De finished clearing worms from the sewers, then strengthened Acid Splash and used Repair+ to restore the Guidance Ring. The ring’s magic returned, allowing him to cast Divine Guidance once per day without cost.

• Gao De spotted two eerie red points in the sewer darkness and hurried out before reporting the completed worm-clearing job to Pierre and collecting two Shamrock Silver Coins.
• Gao De returned to the herb garden, washed, ate dinner, and upgraded Acid Splash with the essence of the Dark Mire Lurker, giving the acid a range of 25 feet and allowing it to be preserved for up to one day.
• Gao De cast Repair+ on the damaged Guidance Ring, mending its cracks and restoring its broken magical runes.
• Gao De put on the restored ring and learned that it let him cast Divine Guidance once per day without cost.

Gao De trained, delivered a shipment of potions to Phil's Herb Shop, and earned money by selling his own Novice Spider Venom Potion and repairing Pierre's Guidance Ring. He left with 4 gold and 15 silver in savings and hoped Pierre would find him more spell-item repair work.

• Gao De trained with the Guiding Method and Apprentice Meditation Art, noting that his Meditation Art cultivation seemed faster than the previous owner's.
• Gao De carried more than twenty batches of potions to Phil's Herb Shop and received a payment receipt for 46 gold and 10 silver.
• Gao De explained that low-level Elixirists earned little from potion-making because ingredient costs and failures cut into their profits.
• Gao De returned the repaired Guidance Ring to Pierre, who praised his workmanship and agreed to refer customers needing spell-item repairs.
• Gao De sold Pierre a batch of Novice Spider Venom Potion and collected 30 silver for repairing the ring, bringing his savings to 4 gold and 15 silver.

Gao De searched Hogan City's trade fair for overlooked treasures and became interested in a worn bronze object that its young owner claimed came from the Okenly Merchant Guild. After a knowledgeable buyer rejected the claim and departed, Gao De was left with the chance to examine the object himself.

• Gao De arrived at Hogan City's trade fair to search the stalls for a bargain that might help improve his strength.
• Gao De noticed a crowded stall where a young owner was selling a rusted bronze object resembling an ivory tusk.
• The young stall owner claimed the object bore the Okenly Merchant Guild's mark and had once been a powerful magical alchemical creation.
• A fat middle-aged buyer argued that the mark proved nothing, the object showed no magical fluctuations, and repairing it would be risky, then offered two Sien Gold Coins.
• The young stall owner refused the offer, and the buyer left, saying he would return on the final day if the object remained unsold.

Gao De bought the damaged Veilmist Fang, then returned to the herb garden and faced Mage Seda’s suspicion and threats. Mage Seda confined him until the Spirit-Linking Potion trial, while Gao De concealed his intention to resist.

• Gao De bought the damaged Veilmist Fang for three Sien Gold Coins and twenty Shamrock Silver Coins after its owner explained its repair would require restoring the core rune.
• Gao De delivered Phil's Herb Shop receipt to Mage Seda and noticed that his master’s health had sharply declined.
• Mage Seda accused Gao De of leaving the herb garden, seized his wrist, and used an interrogation spell to verify that Gao De had not delayed his work.
• Mage Seda threatened Gao De, insisting that he would be the one to die in the potion trial, and ordered him to remain in the herb garden until then.
• Gao De submitted respectfully to Mage Seda’s order while hiding his resolve to resist when Mage Seda least expected it.

After Mage Seda threatened him, Gao De prepared to face confinement and began repairing the Veilmist Fang, but a Leyline Creature attacked the herb garden before he could rest. The chapter ended with Mage Seda striking the creature with a Flame Arrow as it charged toward him.

• Gao De used Repair+ on the Veilmist Fang and estimated that repairing it would take about ten days.
• Gao De and Emil heard shrill cries and smelled rot before screams erupted from another apprentice's room.
• A giant ratlike Leyline Creature burst through the apprentices' door and turned toward two apprentices who had come outside.
• Mage Seda fired a Flame Arrow at the creature, wounding it and drawing its charge toward him.

Mage Seda killed the giant rat that attacked the herb garden, and Gao De used the incident to gauge Seda’s strength. Gao De advanced his Meditation Art and completely repaired Veilmist Fang, leaving him better prepared for his coming conflict with Seda.

• Mage Seda blinded the giant rat with a flash of light and struck it with a fiery beam, leaving it near death.
• Gao De stomped on the giant rat’s head to kill it and gained its origin through Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.
• The apprentices discussed the attack and the possibility that Leyline Creatures sometimes entered the city, while Gao De buried the two dead apprentices.
• Gao De manifested the sixth petal of his Meditation Art after more than half a month of training.
• Gao De used Repair+ until the last damaged runes on Veilmist Fang were restored.

Gao De restored Veilmist Fang and discovered its spell and enchantment effects, then prepared for a confrontation with Mage Seda. On the first day of Budding Month, Mage Seda finished compounding a potion and ordered Gao De to test it.

• Gao De learned that Veilmist Fang could cast Veilmist once per day and become enchanted when the spell was cast.
• Gao De asked Emil to buy something in the city, and Emil agreed to help without taking payment.
• When Mage Seda left to collect the final potion ingredient, Gao De filled glass bottles with Acid Splash+ and hid them in his clothes.
• Mage Seda returned and began compounding the potion while Gao De rehearsed possible outcomes of confronting him.
• On the first day of Budding Month, Mage Seda ordered someone to call Gao De over to test the newly compounded potion.

Gao De rejected Mage Seda’s potion and launched a desperate attack, but Mage Seda effortlessly blocked his acid bottle. Gao De then began casting Acid Splash+ as the confrontation turned into a fight to the death.

• Mage Seda offered Gao De a potion and promised to take him as an apprentice if it succeeded.
• Gao De used Mage Hand to seize the potion bottle, then smashed it on the floor to enrage Mage Seda.
• Gao De threw flour in Mage Seda’s face and hurled a homemade acid bottle at him, but Mage Seda’s magic blocked the bottle and acid.
• Gao De declared that only one of them would leave alive, and Mage Seda dismissed him as an inferior Mage Apprentice.
• While speaking to buy time, Gao De cast Acid Splash+ and sent a glowing green sphere of acid toward Mage Seda’s face.

Gao De and Mage Seda exchanged spells in a deadly duel, with Gao De using Acid Splash and Resistance Boost to counter the stronger mage’s attacks. Despite his injuries and dwindling mana, Gao De seized the initiative again with another Acid Splash as the fight continued.

• Gao De’s Acid Splash struck an invisible barrier around Mage Seda and burst into corrosive rain that could not reach him.
• Mage Seda recognized Acid Splash and retaliated with Flame Arrow, but Gao De’s pre-activated Resistance Boost weakened the spell and limited his injuries.
• Mage Seda was startled by Gao De’s spell and precise timing, while Gao De realized that the exchange had consumed more than half his mana.
• Gao De judged that Mage Seda had delayed preparing another spell and cast a third Acid Splash, keeping the initiative.

Gao De used Veilmist Fang to blind Mage Seda and fill the chamber with fog, then trapped him with acid after wearing down his Shield Spell. Mage Seda realized Gao De had planned the sequence in advance, but remained injured and caught in a hazardous minefield.

• Mage Seda blocked Gao De’s repeated Acid Splash+ spells with Shield Spell and blinded him with a flash of light.
• Gao De used Veilmist Fang to spread fog through the chamber and enchant the item with supernatural power.
• Gao De hurled acid bottles and bags of flour through the fog, forcing Mage Seda to dodge without being able to see.
• Mage Seda stepped into acid left by the thrown bottles and Gao De’s spells, severely burning his foot.
• Mage Seda realized Gao De had been draining Shield Spell and preparing the acid minefield, leaving him trapped between moving through the acid or staying in place.

Gao De defeated Mage Seda with a dust explosion and killed him, but collapsed from his own injuries afterward. He left the room as the sole survivor, though his fate remained uncertain.

• Mage Seda tried to burn away Gao De’s Veilmist with a fire arrow.
• Flour dust exploded around Mage Seda, destroying the room and severely injuring both men.
• Gao De rose and explained that he had scattered flour to exploit Mage Seda’s flame spell.
• Gao De stabbed Mage Seda repeatedly with Veilmist Fang until Mage Seda died.
• Gao De checked Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, reflected that he had risked his life because it was freely given, and collapsed unconscious.

After recovering from his wounds, Gao De confirmed that Mage Seda was dead and accepted the apprentices’ proposal to take over the medicinal garden. Emil then presented him with a mysterious box recovered from Seda’s destroyed room.

• Gao De woke after one day of unconsciousness and learned from Emil that Mage Seda had died in the explosion’s aftermath.
• Emil explained that he had found Gao De injured beside Seda, carried him home, and treated his wounds with herbs.
• Emil and the six other apprentices knelt before Gao De and asked him to become the medicinal garden’s new master so they could keep it running.
• Gao De accepted their proposal, and the apprentices greeted him as Garden Master.
• Emil gave Gao De an intact rune-carved box recovered from Seda’s ruined room, saying it appeared to be a Mystic Item but could not be opened.

After defeating Mage Seda, Gao De rested in his bedroom, planned how to revive the herb garden, and assessed its depleted staff and weak potion production. By the fifth day of Budding Month, his injuries had improved, but he realized he was the garden’s only reliable source of income.

• Gao De tried and failed to open the Arcane Wooden Box, then put it aside to recover and restore the herb garden.
• Gao De dismissed the apprentices and took over Mage Seda’s spacious bedroom while they cleared the explosion’s rubble.
• Gao De considered restarting the herb garden’s income, repairing Mystic Items for Pierre's Odds and Ends, opening the box, and improving his cultivation.
• By the fifth day of Budding Month, Gao De had recovered considerably and confirmed that eight people remained in the herb garden.
• Gao De found that Ai Qi and Lei Meng had low success rates making Restful Slumber Potion, leaving him as the herb garden’s only dependable earner.

Gao De calculated the herb garden’s expenses and potential income, then prepared Novice Spider Venom to keep the cash-strapped garden afloat. He went to Pierre’s Odds and Ends to sell a batch and buy supplies, where Pierre greeted him with surprise after more than twenty days apart.

• Gao De worked out that the herb garden needed at least four silver coins a day and could earn a daily surplus from Novice Spider Venom, then planned dividends for the other seven people.
• Gao De wrote down the garden’s personnel, assets, expenses, and income, then prepared a batch of Novice Spider Venom.
• With the garden’s money nearly gone and only eight copper coins left, Gao De carried the batch to Hogan City to sell it and buy food.
• Gao De crossed the Slums and residential district to reach the commercial district, choosing Pierre’s Odds and Ends because it would buy a single batch.
• Pierre was surprised to see Gao De and said he had thought something had happened to him.

Gao De sold Novice Spider Venom to Pierre and learned that demand had driven its price up. He also agreed to repair a First Circle Mystic Item, then asked Pierre how to open Mage Seda’s locked wooden box and learned that it might be protected by Arcane Lock.

• Gao De sold his Novice Spider Venom to Pierre, who paid him 1 Sien Gold Coin and 15 Shamrock Silver Coins because the venom’s price had risen.
• Pierre told Gao De that a customer had offered five gold coins to repair a First Circle Mystic Item, and Gao De agreed to visit the shop the day after tomorrow.
• Gao De asked Pierre about spells that could protect a box from being opened, and Pierre identified Arcane Lock as a likely match.
• Pierre explained that Dispel Magic could remove Arcane Lock, while Knock could suppress it temporarily, but Dispel Magic was a Third Circle Spell.

Gao De learned that a Spell Scroll could let him cast Knock and open Mage Seda’s Arcane-Locked box. Pierre offered to obtain a scroll through his Emerald Alliance contact in Bremen City, and Gao De agreed to pay its cost when Pierre brought it back.

• Gao De asked Pierre about using Knock to open Mage Seda’s wooden box, and Pierre explained that few mages in Hogan City had mastered the spell.
• Pierre told Gao De that Spell Scrolls let users cast a recorded spell once without spending their own mana, provided they met the scroll’s Mental Strength requirement.
• Pierre explained that Spell Scrolls were rare in Hogan City but said he could obtain a Knock scroll through a friend in Bremen City’s Emerald Alliance.
• Gao De asked the price, and Pierre estimated that a 1st Circle Spell Scroll would cost six to seven Sien Gold Coins.
• Pierre offered to charge only the scroll’s purchase cost, and Gao De agreed to let him bring back a Knock scroll and pay upon its arrival.

Gao De asked Pierre about ways to speed up mage cultivation and learned that potions, runes, and Mystic Items were all too expensive or unavailable to him. He then bought Green Spider Sacs for brewing Novice Spider Venom at a higher-than-expected price, leaving himself with only 11 silver coins.

• Gao De asked Pierre about items that could help a mage cultivate faster.
• Pierre explained how Mana Potions, cultivation Magic Arrays, and Mystic Items worked, and why Gao De could not afford or obtain them.
• Gao De left Pierre's Odds and Ends with 1 gold coin and 15 silver coins and went to buy Green Spider Sacs for Novice Spider Venom.
• A herbal shop owner told Gao De that Green Spider Sacs had risen to 12 silver coins each because demand for Novice Spider Venom had increased.
• Gao De bought two Green Spider Sacs, reducing his savings to 11 silver coins.

Gao De bought bread, meat, and vegetables to provision the herb garden, carefully weighing the cost of feeding all the apprentices. He hired a carriage to carry the groceries back to Seda's Herb Garden, leaving himself with little money.

• Gao De bought eighteen pounds of Rye Bread instead of the more expensive wheat bread, deciding the apprentices should all eat the same staple food.
• Gao De spent silver coins on pork, peas, turnips, potatoes, and cabbage at the Pea and Lamb Market.
• Gao De hired a two-wheeled carriage for the trip to Seda's Herb Garden and loaded his groceries beneath the seats.
• Gao De rode back to the herb garden, reflecting that nearly all the money he earned in the city went straight back into expenses.