Chapter Summaries

Lanchi baited Mo Dan into making threats while defending Hughberlian, then watched Mo Dan leave after dismissing his warning about the Wilford Merchant Guild. With class still dragging, Lanchi considered challenging the Shadow World and wondered whether Hughberlian would join him.

• Lanchi calculated that Mo Dan could face eight years in prison, then warned him against threatening Hughberlian.
• Mo Dan threatened to use the House of Marquis Gasigas to swallow the Wilford Merchant Guild, but Lanchi welcomed the prospect and refused to back down.
• Mo Dan warned Lanchi that his abilities would be exposed in the Shadow World, told Hughberlian her plans would fail, and left the classroom.
• Hughberlian thanked Lanchi, and Lanchi said he preferred mediating over fighting.
• Lanchi grew bored in class and considered challenging the Shadow World with Hughberlian.

Lanchi offered Hughberlian friendship and legal help, then invited her to team up in a Shadow World. Hughberlian accepted, and Lanchi proposed they go challenge it that very day.

• Lanchi told Hughberlian she could seek legal help from him and promised not to stand by while she was bullied.
• Hughberlian accepted Lanchi's goodwill and promised to recommend him as an adviser to the Aransal Family if she found her father.
• Lanchi recognized that Hughberlian cared more about finding her missing father than inheriting the family, and she privately resolved to keep her dangerous investigation secret.
• Lanchi invited Hughberlian to team up in a Shadow World, and she agreed while warning that he could change his mind at any time.
• Lanchi proposed that they challenge the Shadow World immediately, and asked Hughberlian if she would come with him.

Lanchi urged Hughberlian to stop hesitating and leave with him to challenge a Shadow World, and she agreed. Their classmates reacted with alarm, while Vice Principal Ron recognized the pair and considered their departure in light of their performance in the Third Round Exam.

• Hughberlian asked Lanchi to wait a few days before challenging a Shadow World, but Lanchi convinced her that delay could keep them from acting at all.
• Hughberlian agreed to go, and she and Lanchi hurried out of the classroom just before class began.
• The freshmen debated whether Lanchi and Hughberlian were really going to challenge a Shadow World alone on their first day at Iketerite Academy.
• Vice Principal Ron arrived to teach and learned that the pair had left for a Shadow World challenge.
• Ron recognized that Lanchi and Hughberlian were gone and recalled their performance in the Third Round Exam, which made him less immediately alarmed than he would have been about other freshmen.

Lanchi and Hughberlian registered as a team at Iketerite Academy’s protected Void Gate and entered it to begin their first Shadow World challenge. They arrived in an unknown world as the matching process began.

• Lanchi and Hughberlian passed security and reached the Void Gate inside Iketerite Academy.
• Lanchi named their team the “Civilized Exemplar Squad,” and the staff member registered their Challenger Licenses and Team-Up Card.
• The staff member explained how Shadow World matching worked and warned them not to leave the gate during matching.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian entered the Void Gate together and were transported to a new world.

Lanchi found himself disguised as a demon and trapped in a Tier 4 academy Shadow World, where he had to pass a lethal exam and investigate the danger ahead. Back at Ikelite, students noticed that Lanchi and Hughberlian were the freshmen challenging the rare demon-themed Shadow World.

• Lanchi awoke in a dark classroom at Purgatory Corridor Academy and learned that failing the Demon Magic Text exam or cheating would get him erased.
• Lanchi saw that the Tier 4 Shadow World required the challengers to explore the academy, investigate tonight's danger, and survive until the time limit ended.
• Lanchi discovered that the Shadow World had given him a demon disguise with white horns and crystal-like exoskeletons.
• Students at Ikelite watched the live feed of the newly opened demon-themed Shadow World and recognized Lanchi and Hughberlian as its challengers.

Lanchi and Hughberlian took a Demon Magic Text examination in the Shadow World, where powerful examiners made cheating dangerous. Unable to answer the questions, Lanchi became fascinated by the ancient demon spells and resolved to pass so he could study them further.

• Lanchi observed that the demon candidates feared the patrolling Demon Examiner, whom he suspected was Tier 5, making force an impractical way to leave the examination hall.
• Lanchi recognized Hughberlian sitting nearby, though she seemed distressed and avoided his gaze.
• Lanchi examined the magical writing tools and realized the exam tested ancient demon magic unavailable in human magic.
• Lanchi could not answer the questions but became excited by a question about spells for changing magical beasts’ fur and imagined adapting them into practical magic.
• Lanchi decided he had to pass the examination to learn the ancient spells and planned to ask Hughberlian about her condition afterward.

In the Demon Academy examination room, Lanchi observed the examiners and the students’ cheating methods while Hughberlian watched him. When two students tried to exchange papers, Lanchi reported them, and the Dragon Horned Demon killed them.

• Hughberlian struggled to face her exposed demonic form and realized she and Lanchi needed to cooperate to pass the exam.
• Lanchi studied the examiners’ patrols and noticed that students were cheating during brief blind spots.
• Two students in front of Lanchi prepared to exchange their papers while the examiners could not see them.
• Lanchi raised his hand and told the teacher that the students were cheating.
• The Dragon Horned Demon caught the two students and killed them as the other candidates watched.

Lanchi turned the examination hall into a bloody slaughterhouse by reporting cheating demon students, while Hughberlian struggled to understand him. Outside the Shadow World, Iketerite Academy students watched and worried about the newcomers, unaware that Lanchi was repeatedly steering the Dragon Demon toward the cheaters and making the Owl Demon jealous.

• Lanchi stopped writing his exam and began reporting demon students who cheated, prompting the Dragon Demon to praise him for maintaining order.
• Students gathered at Iketerite Academy’s Open-Air Mega Screen and reacted to Lanchi and Hughberlian’s dangerous Tier 4 Shadow World challenge.
• The Dragon Demon and Owl Demon slaughtered cheating students in the examination hall, while Lanchi sometimes let cheaters go to preserve their slim chance of survival.
• Hughberlian buried her face in her desk and wondered whether she still seemed more human than Lanchi.
• Lanchi’s reports repeatedly led the Dragon Demon to catch the cheaters, leaving the Owl Demon jealous and Lanchi barely suppressing a laugh.

At Ikelite Magic Academy, teachers and students watched Lanchi and Hughberlian face a perilous Tier 4 Shadow World, and several observers debated whether Lanchi’s actions were deliberate. The chapter left Frei noticing the campus commotion and deciding to investigate later.

• Vice Principal Ron rushed to the Conference Room, where Dean Loren explained that Lanchi and Hughberlian might still suit the dangerous Tier 4 Shadow World despite the serious matching accident.
• A Platinum Tier woman laughed at Mo Dan’s apparent defeat, while Mo Dan admitted Lanchi might not be an idiot.
• A young prince and a card maker watched the ruined Demon Examination Hall, and the prince speculated that Lanchi might have acted deliberately, though he did not understand what had happened.
• Frei put up a plaque for the Frei Detective Agency in the Knight Institute dormitory and decided to check out the unusual campus commotion later.

Lanchi used a carefully timed report and a hidden Magic Card to make the Dragon Demon and Owl Demon race to punish the same student, then provoked them into turning their anger on each other. The examiners faced off as Lanchi watched, while Hughberlian realized he was deliberately escalating their conflict.

• Lanchi tracked the examiners' movements and used Basic Etiquette to force a demon examinee to kneel and appear to be copying answers.
• Both the Dragon Demon and Owl Demon rushed to punish the student and reached him at the same time.
• The examiners argued over who had arrived first, and their hostility grew as neither would back down.
• A hidden Long Live Friendship Bug climbed onto the Dragon Demon's suit and spoke an insulting outburst at the Owl Demon using Lanchi's thoughts.
• The Dragon Demon could only roar in pain while the Owl Demon tightened his grip, and Lanchi watched as the two examiners neared a fight.

Lanchi used the Poet of Great Love to drive the Dragon Demon and Owl Demon into a murderous frenzy, creating chaos in the examination room and giving him and Hughberlian a chance to escape. As students watched the broadcast, Talia noticed the demon-themed Shadow World and wondered how far back in demon history it reached.

• Lanchi played his final Magic Card, summoning the Poet of Great Love and triggering the examiners’ violent rage.
• The Dragon Demon and Owl Demon attacked each other, turning the examination room into a bloody melee and terrifying the students.
• Lanchi fled with Hughberlian, who steadied herself and helped him search the corpses for items while concealed by an invisibility spell.
• Students at Jella Memorial Square watched the broadcast and began to understand that Lanchi’s strategy was to incapacitate the examiners directly.
• Talia stopped near the Open-Air Mega Screen, recognized the Ancient Demon Realm, and wondered when its Shadow World was set.

Talia discovered that Lanchi was challenging the Demon Academy Shadow World and hurried away after seeing a summoned creature with her face. Inside the academy, Lanchi reassured Hughberlian about demons, and the pair caught a frightened student named Bachelle to question him.

• Talia realized Lanchi was the challenger and left quickly after spotting the Poet of Great Love, whose face resembled hers.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian followed fleeing demon students through the academy corridor while avoiding the watched portraits and mirrors.
• Hughberlian asked what Lanchi thought of demons, and he told her not to discriminate against them.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian decided to question the last student in the corridor, whom Hughberlian grabbed.
• Lanchi recognized the Green Scale Demon as the student he had previously selected, and the terrified student gave his name as Bachelle.

Lanchi questioned Bachelle about Purgatory Corridor Academy’s rules and learned how students earned and spent Credit Coins. After considering the school’s daily fees and classroom risks, Lanchi asked Bachelle about Tier 2 and Tier 3 classes.

• Lanchi showed Bachelle Credit Coins and offered one in exchange for information about the school.
• Bachelle explained that students earned Credit Coins by completing classes and needed to pay at least five each morning to receive graduation credits.
• Bachelle described the academy’s nightly schedule, Functional Areas, shifting corridors, and classroom difficulty levels.
• Bachelle said passing a classroom guaranteed its difficulty’s number of Credit Coins, with extra rewards possible for exceptional results.
• Lanchi realized Tier 1 classes alone would barely cover the daily fee and asked Bachelle how difficult Tier 2 and Tier 3 classes were.

Lanchi and Hughberlian calculated how to raise the Academy Exploration Rate and investigate the danger at the Demon Academy, then followed Bachelle to a Difficulty 2 Music Classroom. Lanchi entered the theater-like room and recognized the strange setup as a familiar kind of performance assessment.

• Lanchi noticed that clearing the Demon Examination Hall had raised the exploration rate by 1% and concluded they needed to challenge more difficult classrooms or work separately.
• Lanchi asked Bachelle about unusual dangers at the academy, but Bachelle knew nothing useful.
• Lanchi persuaded Bachelle to guide him and Hughberlian to an arts classroom.
• Bachelle led them to a Difficulty 2 Music Classroom, and Lanchi chose to enter it.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian saw a demon student performing for an audience and four demon teachers, prompting Lanchi to exclaim, "Demon Voice?!"

Lanchi, Hughberlian, and Bachelle entered a Demon Realm music examination where students had to perform before four Music Mentors and win at least two approvals. The chapter ended with the first performer executed after only one mentor approved his music, leaving the trio to face the deadly test.

• Lanchi, Hughberlian, and Bachelle received the examination rules and learned that they had to remain for the public performance and pass before class ended.
• Lanchi considered the possibility of a hidden way to clear the music examination, while Hughberlian offered to protect him and Bachelle relied on Lanchi for help.
• The first student's death-metal performance impressed Lanchi and Hughberlian, but only one of the four Music Mentors approved it.
• The host teacher raised his hand, and the student was killed onstage for failing to earn two approvals.

Lanchi and Hughberlian watched the Demon Academy music assessment and figured out what each of the four Music Mentors required for recognition. As the performances battered the audience with Demonic Voice, Hughberlian neared her limit and Bachelle fainted, while Lanchi enthusiastically cheered from his seat.

• Lanchi studied the four Music Mentors and identified them as Ghost Armor, Sleeping Demon Spirit, Morbid Poison Body, and Snow Demon.
• After watching performances for fifty minutes, Lanchi and Hughberlian worked out each mentor’s judging condition: intense audience excitement, music that could put Sleeping Demon Spirit to sleep, psychic-level wailing, or exaggerated visual effects.
• A performance recognized by three mentors unleashed Demonic Voice so powerful that it affected viewers watching the Live Broadcast at Iketerite Academy.
• The students at Jella Memorial Square learned that the classroom tested judgment, spell repertoire, and endurance, with performances earning recognition from two or three mentors bringing Credit Coins and possible rewards.
• Hughberlian covered her ears and stamped her feet as Bachelle fainted, while Lanchi applauded and cheered for the performers.

Lanchi challenged the Music Department’s assessment by asking what would happen if all four Music Mentors recognized his performance. After the hosting teacher promised to appoint him as a teacher if he succeeded, Lanchi summoned Poet of Great Love to sing while he prepared to play the piano, leaving Hughberlian afraid of the consequences.

• Lanchi told Hughberlian that he had realized destruction could be a form of art, then went onstage to perform.
• Lanchi asked the hosting teacher about winning all four Music Mentors’ recognition, and the teacher explained that their conditions were considered contradictory.
• The hosting teacher promised to appoint Lanchi as a Music Department teacher if all four Music Mentors approved his performance.
• Lanchi summoned Poet of Great Love, handed her the microphone, and sat down at the piano.
• Hughberlian saw Poet of Great Love holding the microphone and feared what would happen if she sang at full power.

Lanchi used healing Magic Cards and Poet of Great Love’s song to provoke the Morbid Poison Body, triggering a feedback loop of agony and mental attacks throughout the theater. He continued playing and explained that he was trying to create a self-sustaining “Hellish Sound Nuclear Fusion” that would overwhelm everyone before the performance ended.

• Lanchi played Hell Overture while Poet of Great Love sang onstage.
• Lanchi used Erroneous Healing Magic Cards on the Morbid Poison Body, causing it to scream in agony.
• Poet of Great Love’s song amplified the Morbid Poison Body’s mental attack, and the demon students’ screams fed a worsening cycle of torment.
• Bachelle convulsed and foamed at the mouth, while Hughberlian prayed to keep her mind steady.
• The host teacher tried to stop Lanchi, who continued playing and described self-sustaining combustion as the philosophy behind his performance.
• Lanchi judged that the theater’s pressure was sufficient and planned to intensify the effect until the sound loop continued on its own.

After Lanchi’s performance left the Demon King’s Granted Theater in chaos, the Music Department Director awarded him all four mentors’ recognition and appointed him as a teacher. Lanchi learned that the academy’s principal was away and suspected the absence might be connected to his investigation into the night’s danger.

• Lanchi finished his performance and bowed to the audience, while Hughberlian, the Music Department Director, the four mentors, and the students reeled from its effects.
• The Music Department Director confirmed that Lanchi had earned all four mentors’ recognition and gave him four Credit Coins.
• The director returned Lanchi’s Student ID and gave him a Teacher Certificate and a nameplate, appointing him to teach in the Music Department next semester.
• Lanchi asked about leaving school to teach full-time, but the director advised him to continue studying while teaching and said the principal was away.
• Lanchi connected the principal’s absence to Task Objective 2: Investigate the Source of Tonight’s Danger.

Lanchi questioned the Music Department Director about a high-level meeting, then helped Hughberlian and Bachelle pass their performance assessments in the terrifying classroom. Elsewhere, two challengers puzzled over the unexpectedly high exploration progress and wondered whether a real demon had joined their group.

• Lanchi learned that the principal had gone to the Demon Realm Education Bureau after a high-level meeting and suspected the meeting was connected to Task Objective 2.
• Lanchi invited Hughberlian to perform, and she passed after he praised her singing.
• Hughberlian brought Bachelle onstage, and Lanchi approved his incoherent performance, helping him pass too.
• The first class ended, and only three students emerged from the G24 Corridor classroom, one of them being dragged out like a corpse.
• On the F13 Corridor, two challengers saw that exploration progress had reached 10% and wondered if a real demon had infiltrated their group.