Chapter Summaries

Suye and Pallas traveled to Dragon's Fine Things, where Pallas gave him a Pandion Family token to keep their carriage from being stopped. At the restaurant, the nobles recognized Pallas and were stunned to see her walk in arm in arm with Suye.

• Pallas told Suye that the nobles were competing to buy the New Cutlery, and they discussed asking Kelton about its success.
• When soldiers stopped Suye's carriage, Pallas gave him a Medusa Bronze Shield Token bearing the Pandion Family emblem, and Suye had Hill hang it on the carriage.
• Hill realized the token would keep soldiers from stopping the carriage and drove proudly as soldiers escorted the group to Dragon's Fine Things.
• Suye helped Pallas out of the carriage, and their classmates teased him with approving gestures as they entered the restaurant.
• The nobles stood to greet Pallas, who welcomed them to Dragon's Fine Things, then linked arms with Suye as he led her upstairs.
• The nobles wondered who Suye was and suspected he was the classmate who had received Pallas's Talent Fruit.

Suye hosted Pallas and his classmates at Dragon's Fine Things, showcasing the restaurant's design and dishes. The group enjoyed a lavish meal, with Hote ordering an enormous quantity of food and Pallas praising the Cherry Foie Gras.

• Suye guided Pallas and the students to a private room at Dragon's Fine Things and explained its design and soundproofing.
• Mr. Kelton introduced the menu, and Hote asked to order everything; Suye approved a huge meal for him.
• Pallas followed Suye's recommendations, tried Cherry Foie Gras, and praised its taste and texture.
• The dishes arrived, and the students ate while Hote worked through a platter piled with meat.
• The Wellington Steaks were served, filling the room with the aroma of meat.

Suye shared Wellington Steak and desserts with Pallas and his companions, who grew closer over the meal and discussed his planned play, Zackrey. He agreed to change Kanmonla’s name in the play to Andre, then kept the meaning of his finger-tapping gesture a secret.

• Suye served Pallas and Hote extra Wellington Steaks, and Pallas ate nearly a kilogram while the others enjoyed desserts.
• Pallas asked Suye to let her household’s dessert chef learn his recipes, and Suye agreed if the chef kept them confidential.
• Rolon, Albert, Hote, and others offered to support the Suye-Pallas Chamber of Commerce, while Lake asked Suye to bring egg tarts to his sister.
• Lake announced that Suye’s play, Zackrey, would soon be performed, and Rolon warned that Kanmonla’s family might object to the story.
• Suye said he would keep the names of the forty-four people but change Kanmonla’s name to Andre.
• Jimmy, Hote, Lake, Rolon, and Pallas asked about Suye’s finger-tapping gesture, but he called it his little secret.

Suye analyzed why Lake and Rolon had chosen the tiger, then expanded his business through cutlery sales and new trade partnerships. After founding Hooke Potion Merchant and receiving capital and magical goods, he woke to an unread Magic Letter from Lake.

• Suye explained that choosing the tiger reflected a desire for the power to protect, though he did not reveal whom Lake and Rolon wished to protect.
• Kelton told Suye that gold cutlery sales had surged and silver cutlery had sold out, and Suye planned to expand the range and eventually replace ceramic ware with fragile cutlery.
• Suye received Pallas's authorization to make decisions for the Supernova Chamber of Commerce and finalized a cutlery partnership with Yixinna.
• Suye met Sigurd at Dragon's Fine Things and agreed on cooperation to develop the Northern Europe trade route.
• Suye and Niedern established Hooke Potion Merchant, and Niedern gave Suye a Spatial Ring containing more than twenty thousand Golden Eagles and seven Black Iron Magic artifacts.
• Suye returned home exhausted, slept, and found an unread Magic Letter from Lake when he woke.

Suye met Aeschylus at Dragon's Fine Things and asked him to critique his drama outline. Aeschylus first criticized it personally, then praised its radical innovations as a playwright and urged them to give the new form time to prove itself.

• Lake brought Suye to meet Aeschylus, who agreed to visit Dragon's Fine Things and try its food.
• Suye and Lake dined with Aeschylus, who explained that he avoided dessert to preserve his love of drama.
• Suye showed Aeschylus the outline of Zackrey, and Aeschylus listed flaws that Suye wrote down.
• Aeschylus distinguished his personal dislike of the drama from his professional admiration for its bold departures from theatrical conventions.
• Aeschylus argued that playwrights should nurture Suye's new form rather than reject it before time could prove its worth.

Suye, Lake, and Aeschylus developed the drama 'Zackrey' and planned a free public performance to reach ordinary people before the nobles could interfere. Afterward, Suye searched unsuccessfully for Julie and devoted himself to writing the play.

• Aeschylus argued that new forms of drama should be supported rather than suppressed, then helped Suye and Lake shape 'Zackrey' while declining to put his name on it.
• Hasok authorized Neder to sign cooperation agreements with Yixinna and Sigurd, who each paid five hundred thousand Golden Eagles for New Cutlery production rights.
• Suye, Lake, and Aeschylus finalized the drama and planned to perform it for free in City Hall Square after the City-state Tournament, with a drama troupe and a possible later performance at Plato Academy.
• Aeschylus asked Suye about his ideas on nobles and commoners, praised his self-developed Knowledge System, and left with a cryptic remark about magic and humanity's hope.
• Suye searched for Julie but learned she had been missing for months; Laurence could not locate her with magic, so Suye returned to writing 'Zackrey' while Hooke Potion Merchant continued operating.

Two days before the City-state Tournament, Rolon learned that Lake had uncovered his grandfather’s attempt to rig his Combat Skill score and was ordered to silence him. Rolon went to Lake’s home, where he encountered Lake’s blind sister, whose presence left him stunned.

• At the Dragon's Fine Things restaurant, Kelton worked happily as the Bronze Medusa Token protected the business from trouble.
• Suye returned from the Giant Hills with Magic Herbs, resumed his studies at Plato Academy, and prepared for the City-state Tournament and the play "Zackrey."
• Liobo told Rolon that Lake knew he had arranged for a Combat Skill teacher to inflate Rolon’s score and ordered him to resolve the matter or lose his family name.
• Rolon learned that Liobo had long resented him for his father’s death, while Liobo sent a black-clad figure to intervene if Rolon would not act.
• Rolon went to Lake’s home intending to keep him from revealing the evidence, but found Lake’s sister in the courtyard and stared at her in disbelief.

Rolon visited Lake’s blind, scarred sister Nia, then left without harming her, but a man in black killed her and planted a message blaming Rolon. Lake found her body and rushed off to kill Rolon, while Rolon returned to his family and faced his grandfather after admitting he had killed someone.

• Nia guessed that her visitor was Rolon and pleaded with him to punish her instead of her brother Lake; overcome with emotion, Rolon left.
• A man in black entered Nia’s courtyard, and Lake arrived home to find Nia dead beside a blood-written message reading, “Close your mouth—Rolon.”
• Lake covered Nia’s body, vowed to kill Rolon, and rushed into the streets; the man in black erased the message and used magic to conceal the scene and put nearby people to sleep.
• Hote trained, Pallas practiced with her weapons, Jimmy studied, Albert worked on a prosthetic limb, and Suye prepared for the City-state Tournament.
• Rolon returned home and scrubbed his hands until they bled, then told his grandfather Liobo that he had killed someone; Liobo approved of him as a child of the Rolon Family.

Rolon confronted Liobo about the childhood friend Liobo had killed and learned that the evidence had been erased, while Liobo offered to let him return to the Aristocratic Academy. At Plato Academy, Niedern announced that Lake and his younger sister Nia had been murdered, leaving Suye and their classmates devastated.

• Rolon recalled how Liobo had ordered Old Turner to kill Little Tom for befriending him, and how Rolon's father later stood up to Liobo.
• Rolon accused Liobo of covering up both killings and said he would take responsibility if the truth was discovered; Liobo asked whether he wanted to return to the Aristocratic Academy.
• Suye noticed Lake was absent from class, and Niedern arrived looking grief-stricken.
• Niedern told the class that Lake had been attacked and killed, and that investigators had also found Nia murdered at home.
• Suye struggled to accept Lake's death as Hote broke down in tears and mourned that Nia would never eat Anzel Honey again.

After Lake and Nia were killed, Niedern warned the students not to investigate, while Suye resolved to wait until he was powerful enough to seek the culprit. As Suye grieved and promised to attend the City-state Tournament, Rolon began telling him about his father's death.

• Niedern said the academy had found no magical clues, forbade the students from investigating Lake's death, and asked them to report unusual incidents connected to Lake.
• Suye remembered that Lake had visited the West Side of Socrates Street twice, then mourned as classmates recalled Lake's kindness and Pallas sent him words of comfort.
• Suye told Hote to build strength through training rather than anger, and Hote vowed to become a powerful warrior and hero.
• Suye promised Rolon he would attend the City-state Tournament and help him win, despite grieving for Lake and Nia.
• Rolon told Suye that Lake's death reminded him of his father's death and began describing his father's potential as a warrior.

Rolon told Suye how his father died, why he had been expelled from the Aristocratic Academy, and why he was desperate to win the City-state Tournament for his family. After Suye sent Rolon home, he received a caring message from Pallas and learned she was already a Bronze Warrior.

• Rolon recounted how his father died protecting him and remembered that his father had also told him to take care of himself.
• Rolon explained that he had killed a noble in a life-and-death duel, been expelled from the Aristocratic Academy, and feared his family would fall under pressure from its enemies.
• Rolon begged Suye to help him win the championship, and Suye urged him to consider where his family's glory came from before warning that Lake had chosen the tiger to protect his sister.
• Rolon declined a ride home and walked away, while Suye returned home grieving Lake and struggled to eat or study.
• Pallas sent Suye a Magic Letter asking how a warrior could evade an Instant Cast Fireball Technique, and Suye replied with detailed advice.
• Pallas told Suye she was already a Bronze Warrior and explained how members of her Demigod Family advanced in strength.

Suye learned from Pallas about the gods, the old gods, and the dangers of divine sacrifices, then set out with Rolon and three Black Iron Warriors for the City-state Tournament. Rolon revealed that his family had two enemies among the competitors and was counting on Di Aotian to help them win.

• Pallas warned Suye that a Great Sacrifice could bind him to a god and explained why gods rarely descended into the mortal world.
• Pallas described the four generations of gods and said the old gods were sealed away after resisting the current pantheons, with the Titans prophesied to seek revenge.
• After exchanging Magic Letters with Pallas for two hours, Suye calmed down and prepared to leave at dawn.
• Rolon introduced Suye to Kasona, Cobert, and Glor, who became respectful after seeing the Pandion Family crest on Suye's carriage.
• Rolon told Suye that Di Aotian could be decisive in the tournament's final battle and revealed that his family had two enemies competing.

Suye and Rolon toured the Athens Arena before the City-state Tournament, where Rolon explained its gladiators, customs, and events. As the arena filled for the Opening Ceremony, Suye waited among the participants and looked for Pallas and the attending families.

• Suye and Rolon ate barley porridge with beef at the arena and encountered Rolon's rival, who threatened him during the tournament.
• Rolon pointed out the family’s Four-Nation Hybrid Team, including an Egyptian mummy warrior, a Persian warrior, and two beast-soul fighters, and Suye said he welcomed the chance to face them.
• Rolon showed Suye the gladiators’ quarters and training areas, then described the arena and the tournament’s events and schedule.
• Suye messaged Pallas, who replied that she would arrive before the Opening Ceremony, and he examined the Demigod Terrace reserved for Athens’s Demigod Family.
• As the arena filled, Suye recognized several nobles from the Black Iron Trial, exchanged a nod with Gerna, and asked whether Harnas would attend.

Suye attended the City-state Tournament’s opening ceremony, watched the gladiatorial performances, and learned that his team had drawn a formidable Magic Armored Turtle. The tournament began with another team defeating an Ice Wolf King, while Suye’s group prepared to rely on Di Aotian against their upcoming opponent.

• Suye noticed the stark differences in clothing between the audience’s inner, Middle, and outer circles, then exchanged a greeting with Pallas.
• The procession presented statues of Athena and the Goddess of Victory before the contestants entered the arena.
• Suye watched the gladiators fight and saw wooden balls containing prizes thrown to spectators in the outer and Middle Circles.
• Rolon returned from the draw with a Magic Armored Turtle as their opponent, and Suye discussed its weaknesses and a plan centered on Di Aotian.
• The first noble team defeated a Bronze Ice Wolf King in nine minutes, leaving one member seriously injured and three with minor injuries.

The Rolon Family faced the Magic Armored Turtle, and Suye’s Flame Goblin King Di Aotian drew attention by bombarding it with powerful Fireball Techniques. Though the flames burned through parts of the turtle’s armor, its second water spell suppressed them, leaving the team’s chances uncertain.

• The crowd mocked the Rolon Family while cheering for Suye as the team entered the arena to face the Magic Armored Turtle.
• Suye summoned three Flame Goblins, and Di Aotian repeatedly cast Fireball Techniques at the turtle while Rolon and the other warriors took positions around it.
• Spectating mages noticed that Di Aotian wore eight Fireball Technique Rings, and a mage association decided to track Suye as a potential recruit.
• After two minutes, Di Aotian’s flames burned through weak spots in the turtle’s armor, and the turtle’s Water Cloak failed to extinguish them.
• The Magic Armored Turtle cast Water Wave Scale Armor inside its Water Cloak, suppressing the flames and leaving its shell scorched and pitted.

Suye and Di Aotian helped the Rolon Family defeat a Magic Armored Turtle that was close to advancing into a Silver Magic Beast. The team advanced to the Prisoner Battle, where Rolon drew the prisoners assigned to their next match.

• Di Aotian was blasted away by the Magic Armored Turtle, while Suye and the Black Iron Warriors used earth magic and attacks to withstand its water waves.
• The turtle’s attacks kept the warriors at bay, and its body began showing signs of an imminent breakthrough into a Silver Magic Beast.
• Suye strengthened the warriors as Di Aotian ignited himself, dodged the turtle’s Water Column, and shattered the armor protecting its head.
• The turtle bit down on Di Aotian, but a Fireball exploded inside its mouth and destroyed its head, securing victory for the Rolon Family.
• Suye recorded information about the other teams while the remaining Beast Battles ended, and Rolon drew the prisoners for their upcoming Prisoner Battle.

Suye led the Rolon Family team to a decisive victory over seventeen berserkers from the Bloodthirsty Legion in the third Prisoner Battle. The team advanced to the Noble Battle as the crowd celebrated, while the Fire-element Holy Domain Archmage marked Suye for observation.

• After the Baines Family team defeated their opponents, Suye urged Rolon to think about the steps needed to reach his goal and recorded details about the rival team.
• During the lunch break, Suye meditated and practiced after mastering the basic apprentice-level and Black Iron-level spells.
• Suye and the four members of the Rolon Family team faced seventeen Bloodthirsty Legion berserkers, then retreated while his summoned Flame Goblins attacked.
• Three Flame Goblins detonated, killing four berserkers and setting nine others ablaze; the burning berserkers died after charging into Suye's Earth Walls.
• Di Aotian defeated the four remaining berserkers, securing the Rolon Family's victory and prompting a Holy Domain Archmage to designate Suye for observation.

Suye and the Rolon Family faced the Baines Family in the championship battle, where an Egyptian Mage’s mental attack backfired against Suye. As Suye’s team advanced toward Charles, Rolon asked him not to kill the Baines heir, and Suye agreed to try.

• The Baines Family and Rolon Family advanced to the championship after their opponents forfeited, and the crowd’s cheers for Rolon strengthened his resolve.
• Suye noticed that the opposing team had replaced its mummy puppet with the Egyptian Mage, and the championship battle began as both teams entered the arena.
• The Egyptian Mage struck Suye and his summons with a mental attack, but his spell backfired because Suye’s Spirit Body was stronger, leaving the mage collapsed.
• Rolon admitted he feared the consequences of Charles’s death, and Suye promised to try to spare him.
• Suye led his team toward the Baines Family, while the Flame Goblins charged ahead and Charles called for them to be stopped.

Suye and his companions tried to counter the enemy team’s defenses and draw out the Beast Soul Berserker’s Berserk, while Suye’s Wind Drawing Technique drew the Wind Magic Association’s attention. The Berserker eventually charged Suye’s group, leaving Kasona gravely wounded, Cobert maimed, and Glor fleeing his axe.

• The Beast Soul Berserker endured Di Aotian’s attacks with layered ice armor, while Suye held back his Earth Element Bloodline after noticing the Egyptian Mage and feeling uneasy.
• Suye used Wind Drawing Technique against the Persian Mage’s sandstorm, secretly suppressing his Disassociation talent; his wind overcame the sandstorm and drew the Wind Magic Association’s attention.
• Suye’s group tried to approach the Egyptian Mage, but Charles dragged him away and kept circling the fight; the five then decided to wait for the Berserker’s Berserk to wear off.
• Suye and Di Aotian attacked the ground beneath the Beast Soul Berserker with fire, but the Persian Mage’s sand greaves and the Berserker’s ice armor repeatedly extinguished the flames.
• After Di Aotian was knocked back, the Beast Soul Berserker charged Suye’s group; Suye dispelled Di Aotian and summoned three Flame Goblins as the warriors moved to defend him.
• The Berserker’s axe shattered Kasona’s spear and shield and left him gravely wounded, severed Cobert’s left hand, and forced Glor to dodge before pursuing him furiously.

The Rolon Family won the City-state Tournament after the Beast Soul Berserker collapsed from his rage, while Suye saved the wounded Cobert and accepted Rolon's thanks. As Suye prepared for the staged Champion Match, he reflected on his future and wondered whether a mage could rise beyond the demigod realm.

• Charles surrendered after the Beast Soul Berserker killed veteran Glor and collapsed from exhaustion.
• The host declared the Rolon Family the tournament champions, while Suye carried the dying Kasona and wounded Cobert from the arena.
• Suye brought Cobert to the Medical Room, where Rolon thanked him and offered him the championship wreath and Palm Branch.
• Rolon told Suye they had to stage the next day's Champion Match because their other teammates were dead or injured, and Suye agreed to endure it.
• Suye walked through the arena at night, contemplated his plans to grow stronger, and wondered whether a mage could surpass the demigod realm.