Chapter Summaries

Gao De returned to the clifftop with a Maiden Mussel worth fifty kilograms of Aqua Gold Ore, surprising the others and silencing Kaplan’s criticism. After heading back for lunch, Gao De tried the dining hall’s Charcoal-Grilled Centipede and warmed himself after the morning’s cold dive.

• Gao De and Candice reached the clifftop, where the exhausted students rested and Royas offered Candice a stamina potion that she declined.
• Luke bragged about his mining haul, while Kaplan urged Gao De to abandon mussel gathering and focus on mining.
• Candice pointed out the Maiden Mussel in Gao De’s basket, revealing that his catch was worth fifty kilograms of Aqua Gold Ore and embarrassing Kaplan.
• Gao De left to eat, while Jerica helped Candice leave the clifftop and Kaplan headed back to the academy, resentful of Gao De’s luck.
• Gao De showered and changed before going to the dining hall, where he ate Charcoal-Grilled Centipede and felt its warmth dispel the chill from his dive.

Gao De confronted Gerry Harel, the Alchemy Department’s top student, who tried to intimidate him over his admission task. Gao De left the dining hall undeterred and focused on completing the task so he could begin his official mage courses.

• Gerry Harel entered the dining hall looking for Gao De and confronted him at his table.
• Gao De denied being the person Gerry sought and tried to leave, but Gerry blocked his way and insulted his admission by Letter of Recommendation.
• Gao De mocked Gerry by comparing him to a village mongrel named Gerry and refused to accept his claim that seniors could teach him academy rules.
• Gerry used Message to threaten to make Gao De’s submission of 3,000 kilograms of Aqua Gold Ore difficult by strictly judging its purity.
• Gao De replied that he was scared, recognized that academy rules constrained Gerry, and left to complete his admission task.

Gao De ignored the confrontation with Gerry Harel and spent the afternoon gathering Maiden Mussels, making remarkable progress on his entrance task. His success, along with the dining-hall incident, began attracting attention across Ceres Academy.

• Gerry Harel brooded over Gao De’s recommendation letter, which he believed should have gone to him, but he did not dare challenge the academy’s rules.
• Gao De returned to Labor Cliff and searched the riverbed for Maiden Mussels with Detect Magic+ while Instructor Shahu supervised.
• The other five new students arrived and worked in the mine, then waited with Instructor Shahu for Gao De to surface.
• Gao De showed the group three Maiden Mussels from his afternoon dive, bringing his first-day total to four and impressing Candice and the others.
• Gao De carried the mussels to the Department of Magical Potions, having completed one fifteenth of the entrance task as news of his harvest and his clash with Gerry Harel spread.

Gao De focused on gathering Maiden Mussels for his enrollment mission while news of his progress spread through Ceres Academy of Magic. On Darknight Month 22, he completed the mission in nineteen days, breaking Dean Gavin Hogg’s record.

• Gao De gathered Maiden Mussels daily, improving his swimming while spending much of his savings on dinner.
• Gao De turned in twenty-nine Maiden Mussels by Darknight Month 12, and his Guiding Method advanced enough to let him cast nine cantrips in one breath.
• Gao De turned in thirty-eight Maiden Mussels by Darknight Month 15 and manifested the ninth Lotus Petal in his Apprentice Meditation Art.
• Students learned of Gao De’s privileged admission and rapid mission progress, and began betting on whether he would break Dean Gavin Hogg’s record.
• Gao De gathered Maiden Mussels until he needed only three more to complete the mission, then found the final one on Darknight Month 22.
• Instructor Shahu confirmed that Gao De had completed the enrollment mission in nineteen days, setting a new academy record.

After completing his enrollment task, Gao De received ten credits, met the credit requirement for his first academic year, and was assigned Jose as his senior mentor. Studying Ceres Academy’s course schedule, he discovered its expensive fees and understood that the academy’s first lesson was to gain control of money rather than be controlled by it.

• Gao De received ten credits for his mage rank, enrollment task, and record-breaking completion time, satisfying his first-year credit requirement.
• A committee clerk advised Gao De to explore courses, and a staff member assigned him Jose, the Department of Runes Head, as his senior mentor.
• Gao De collected his course schedule and enrollment approval from the academic affairs office.
• Gao De studied the course listings and found that classes cost substantial fees, with some electives also requiring a minimum number of credits.
• Gao De read the first dean Ronan Horry’s statement about money and concluded that students needed to conquer it before they could disdain it.

Gao De reviewed Ceres Academy’s courses and considered the implications of being assigned Jose Okenly, the Department of Runes Head, as his mentor. Confident that his savings gave him freedom to choose, he began selecting courses for his first academic year.

• Gao De calculated that his 212 gold and 15 silver would cover his first-year course fees without taking academy assignments.
• Gao De read about his mentor, Jose Okenly, and worried that the assignment would require him to study Runelore, a subject he had never encountered.
• Gao De reviewed the academy’s graduation requirements and learned how much influence mentors had over students’ progress and graduation projects.
• Gao De went to the course-selection counter and chose Mage Fundamentals, Spell Application and Combat, and Basic Culture Studies.
• Gao De also chose Nolan Continent Geography and War Geography and Introduction to General Spells (0th Circle–3rd Circle) because he thought they would be useful.

Gao De enrolled in eight courses at Ceres Academy, using his highest privileges to join a full class, then visited the Cultivation Hall to test a free basic cultivation room. After finding its mana concentration suitable, he began cultivating with the Apprentice Guidance Method.

• Gao De selected eight courses, including Runelore and two Herbology courses, and confirmed his schedule with the old man.
• The old man recognized Gao De’s highest privileges and let him join the full General Spell Recognition session.
• Gao De paid 120 gold coins for his courses and left with 92 gold and 17 silver remaining.
• Gao De visited the Cultivation Hall and learned that basic cultivation rooms were free for official students.
• Gao De entered cultivation room 37, activated its Mana Node Array, and began cultivating as the room’s mana concentration stabilized at 12.

Gao De discovered that Create Water+ had produced Water of No Leakage, a rare drink that reduced his energy loss and extended his cultivation time. The next morning, he woke refreshed, drank more of it, and headed to report to his mentor.

• Gao De cultivated in a free basic cultivation room, ate the cafeteria’s Devil’s Tail, and returned to District One, Number 30.
• Gao De used Create Water+ and discovered it had produced Water of No Leakage instead of honey water.
• Gao De drank Water of No Leakage, felt his fatigue fade, and cultivated for an additional half hour.
• Gao De drank more of the limited supply before it dissipated, then woke early the next morning feeling refreshed and less hungry.
• Gao De drank more Water of No Leakage, exercised with greater intensity, and left to report to his mentor.

Gao De reported to his assigned mentor, Jose Olkien, at the Department of Runes and was told to study materials in the Rune Workshop. He picked up an old notebook and began reading its six fundamental rules of Runelore.

• Gao De arrived at Ceres Academy’s Department of Runes and asked a senior student where to find Mentor Jose.
• The senior student told Gao De that Jose was usually in the Rune Workshop and recognized him as the new student admitted with Dean Gavin’s Letter of Recommendation.
• Gao De entered the Rune Workshop and called out to report to Jose Olkien.
• Jose instructed Gao De to read the materials on the workbench and leave when he had finished.
• Gao De chose an old handwritten notebook because its introductory explanation of Runelore seemed understandable.
• Gao De began studying the notebook’s six fundamental rules governing runes, Magic Arrays, and their robustness.

Gao De studied the Six Fundamental Runes Rules and calculated that a simple Magic Array should work on both mithril and brass, though the notes said it had failed on brass. He suspected the Rule Six formula was missing an Interference Constant C and left that as his tentative answer.

• Gao De memorized the Six Fundamental Runes Rules and worked through an exercise about constructing a Magic Array from seven basic runes.
• Gao De calculated that the array could be constructed on both mithril and brass according to the rules.
• Gao De read that the array had failed in practice on brass, despite the formula predicting success.
• Gao De recognized that the Rule Six formula might be missing a correction term and wrote that it may need an Interference Constant C.

Jose Okenly reflected on his rejected research into Rune Logic and Computation and his fear that no one would preserve it after his death. After Gao De left the Rune Workshop, Jose found an unfamiliar sheet of calculations beneath his notes and was startled by its handwriting.

• Gao De finished the assigned reading and exercises, left his answer sheet beneath the notes, and departed the Rune Workshop.
• Jose Okenly emerged from his room and reflected on the academy’s disapproval of his decades-long research into Rune Logic and Computation.
• Jose recalled that he had prepared introductory materials for Gao De but had forgotten to bring them, and wondered why Gao De had left without asking him anything.
• Jose sorted his scattered drafts and gathered his notes, intending to make extra copies so his work might survive after his death.
• Jose discovered a sheet of draft paper with unfamiliar handwriting beneath his notes, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Jose Okenly recognized that Gao De’s formula and suggestion of an Interference Constant had opened a path toward correcting the Six Fundamental Runes Rules, though calculating the constant remained. Gao De focused on cultivating in a Tier 1 Cultivation Room with Water of No Leakage and planned to use the remaining supply before its effects ran out.

• Jose Okenly studied Gao De’s worked example and realized that an Interference Constant could explain why some theoretically successful Magic Arrays failed in practice.
• Jose understood that Gao De had exposed a flaw in his formulas, though determining the constant’s value would still require extensive work.
• Jose picked up Gao De’s draft paper and returned to his room, newly energized by the prospect of refining runic formulas.
• Gao De filled his waterskin with Water of No Leakage, rented a Tier 1 Cultivation Room, and began cultivating with the Apprentice Guidance Method.
• Gao De drank Water of No Leakage to overcome his fatigue and completed another half hour of cultivation.
• Gao De calculated that the room and water greatly improved his cultivation efficiency and decided to use the rest of the Water of No Leakage.

Gao De visited the academy library, borrowed books, and ran into Jerica, who was exhausted from her entrance task. He gave her Water of No Leakage, and she drank the whole canteen, leaving its effects to be discovered.

• Gao De splurged on Vulture-Stuffed Wheat before heading to the Ceres Academy library.
• Gao De used his student privileges to borrow ten books and a handwritten copy of Bjorn Otero's paper on specialty awakening.
• Gao De met Jerica outside his dormitory, apologized for using the false name Master Google, and learned she had mined less than 1,300 kilograms of ore.
• Gao De brought Jerica a canteen of Water of No Leakage, which she tasted and then drank completely.

After Jerica discovered that Gao De’s Water of No Leakage restored her strength and vitality, she returned to ask for more. Her description as a fruit drink gave Gao De an idea for preserving Create Water+ liquid, and he left several jars of fruit and water to ferment as a test.

• Jerica returned to Gao De and asked to buy more Water of No Leakage after it relieved her exhaustion.
• Gao De gave Jerica another flask and explained that the drink was scarce and would evaporate within a day.
• Jerica described the Water of No Leakage as a delicious fruit drink, prompting Gao De to consider whether mixing the water into food or drink counted as consuming it.
• Gao De bought fresh fruit, yeast, and clay jars, then divided the remaining Water of No Leakage among the jars with chopped fruit and yeast.
• Gao De left the jars to ferment and planned to check that night whether the liquid had survived past Create Water+’s one-day limit.

Bjorn Otero’s thesis argued that mastering more spells before advancing could produce stronger specialties, and speculated that more than 35 spells might awaken a Superior Specialty. Gao De realized his unusually fast spell-model construction made testing that claim possible, but he still needed to obtain 35 spell formulas.

• Bjorn Otero’s thesis reviewed eleven First Circle mages and proposed that the number of spells mastered influenced specialty strength.
• Bjorn Otero estimated that mastering over 35 spells before advancing might be required for a Superior Specialty.
• Gao De read the thesis and recognized it as a chance to verify Bjorn Otero’s speculation.
• Gao De calculated that his ability to construct a cantrip’s Spell Model in about ten days could let him master enough spells, but he needed 35 spell formulas.

Gao De realized that his dwindling savings would not cover the spell formulas and expenses he needed, so he went to the Logistics Department to look for paid Academy work. After paying a year of dormitory maintenance fees, he browsed the task board but found that the prominent Academy tasks all required qualifications he did not yet have.

• Gao De calculated that expanding his spell repertoire would cost at least a hundred gold coins, while his savings and upcoming expenses left him worried about money.
• Gao De decided to seek work through Academy tasks and remembered he still owed dormitory maintenance fees.
• Gao De paid three gold coins for a year of maintenance fees at the Logistics Department's Finance Office.
• Gao De went to the task hall and learned how to browse and accept jobs posted on its alchemical task board.
• Gao De reviewed the Academy's well-paid tasks, but each required a mage rank or completed courses he lacked.

Gao De accepted Mentor Shoal’s poisonous insect cultivation task, hoping to gain Leyline Creature essence and a rare spell formula. After explaining the task’s risks and long duration, the Logistics Department registered him, and Shoal led him to the Cultivation Room.

• Gao De surveyed the task board, but another student accepted the alchemy machine trial task he had considered.
• Gao De spotted a poisonous insect cultivation task offering the rare Vermin Swarm spell formula and realized that disposing of defective hatchlings could yield Leyline Creature essence.
• A staff member explained that Mentor Shoal’s task involved dangerous eggs, could take one to two months, and paid only with a spell formula, but Gao De accepted it.
• The Logistics Department registered Gao De and directed him to Larry Hall to meet Mentor Shoal.
• Mentor Shoal took Gao De to the Cultivation Room he had rented for raising the poisonous insects.

Gao De began caring for Shoal’s venomous insect eggs and discovered that fermenting fruit drinks could preserve the Water of No Leakage. He left the drink to test whether its effects remained, then made another daily draw that produced only the guaranteed minimum.

• Shoal showed Gao De how to inspect the eggs, move those nearing hatching, and remove defective larvae, warning him that the task required at least a fifty-percent success rate.
• Gao De used Detect Poison to inspect 269 eggs, found four that were ready to hatch, and transferred them into the appropriate cultivation boxes.
• After dinner, Gao De opened the fruit-drink jars and found that the fermented Water of No Leakage had not vanished, confirming that fermentation could preserve it.
• Gao De decided to test the drink’s effects the next day, removed the fruit, and made his daily draw, which yielded two gallons of the guaranteed minimum.
• Gao De spent the rest of the night reading general books to make up for his lack of common knowledge.

Gao De began learning basic runes under Jose Okenly’s written instructions and immersed himself in copying the Mana Gathering rune. Behind a closed door, Jose continued experiments to derive the Interference Constant, leaving the two of them pursuing Runelore in parallel.

• Gao De returned to the Rune Workshop and found Jose’s Rune Primer and practice materials waiting for him.
• Gao De learned how basic runes control mana’s flow and read that a runesmith must master 651 commonly used Zero-Order Basic Runes.
• Gao De repeatedly studied the Mana Gathering (Zero-Order) rune diagram until he could recall its details.
• Gao De began tracing the rune with a Rune Pen, Magic Ink, and Magic Paper, focusing completely on the task.
• Jose Okenly worked on a complex test rune diagram and recorded data for his effort to derive the Interference Constant.

Gao De spent nearly eight hours learning Runelore and drawing its basic runes, exhausting himself but finding beauty in the discipline. After he left the workshop, Jose inspected his work and recognized Gao De as a genius.

• Gao De successfully drew the Mana Gathering rune and studied the functions of the other basic runes.
• Gao De drew the remaining runes, then realized he had worked for nearly eight hours without rest and had nearly exhausted his magic power.
• Gao De accepted that Runelore did not come easily to him but decided to keep studying because he loved the beauty of runes.
• Gao De left his neatly stacked rune assignments for Jose to inspect and went to find food.
• Jose emerged from his laboratory, examined Gao De's completed runes, and called him a genius.