Chapter Summaries

After killing Seflin, Locke raided the resource vault and consumed Tartarus Cave Worm Spinal Fluid, triggering a mysterious connection between his Ancient Creature Bloodline and the Natural Plane. He left with his Magic Pressure raised to 700 and set out to find Sophia and help Albert.

• Locke killed Seflin, took her Astral Ring, and entered the research institute’s resource vault after its defenses failed.
• Locke collected rare resources and filled twenty jars with Tartarus Cave Worm Spinal Fluid from a mine shaft storage.
• Locke submerged himself in the spinal fluid, entered a vision of the Natural Plane, and heard the World Tree call him Three-Eye and speak of a forgotten duty to guard the plane.
• Locke emerged after his bloodline and meditation method resonated with the spinal fluid, and his mana rapidly advanced.
• Locke sealed the mine shaft storage, learned his Magic Pressure had risen to 600—or 700 with the Blackchain Sword Bamboo—and flew off to find Sophia and help Albert.

Locke returned to the battlefield, where Albert had defeated Morris with the help of Perseus's Eye Lichen. Locke then fought Hassan and discovered that Hassan had spared Sisyphus and seemed reluctant to make enemies of Locke and his allies, before escaping as blood-colored bats.

• Locke found Albert alive after his battle with Morris, whose body collapsed from the wounds inflicted by the Space-Rending Curved-Leaf Fern.
• Albert explained that he had cut off his cursed arm and credited Perseus's Eye Lichen with helping him defeat Morris, and Locke gave him another one for protection.
• Locke flew to Hassan's location and clashed with him in the gray mist, with their attacks damaging Locke's Omen Mandrake Vines and cracking one of Hassan's Blood Claws.
• Hassan dispersed the mist, revealing Sisyphus unconscious but unharmed, and acknowledged Locke's rapid growth while warning that he had held back.
• Locke questioned why Hassan had not advanced to Formal Wizard, and Hassan escaped as blood-colored bats; Locke chose not to pursue him and turned his attention to the battlefield near his teacher.

Sophia defeated Rashid Tariel by dismantling the flawed foundation of his Curse Magic, but Lady Morgana prevented him from revealing a secret about Black Wizards. Sophia killed Rashid herself, while Lady Morgana resolved to begin a major purge of Black Wizards in the Southeastern Corner Region.

• Sophia resisted Rashid Tariel’s curses and explained that his Curse Magic relied on immature research derived from the Starfield Sea.
• Sophia’s Curse-Eroding Bugs collapsed Rashid Tariel’s magic, and he realized the Blood Lord might have used him to refine the idea.
• Rashid Tariel’s pupils vanished as his magic failed, leaving him alone and desperate enough to offer Sophia a secret about Black Wizards.
• Lady Morgana warned Sophia not to listen, then used the Nibelungen Astrology System and Digo’s Feather to reverse the Sixfold Curse Barrier.
• Sophia killed Rashid Tariel with a First Ring plant spell, and Lady Morgana decided the Southeastern Corner Region needed a major purge of Black Wizards.

Sophia killed Rashid Tariel with a Blue-Marked Iris, and his death unleashed a Magic Vortex and a growing Curse Magic Storm. Lady Morgana ordered the team to evacuate before the Blood Curse Court detected the attack, while Albert pushed to obtain Tartarus Cave Worm Spinal Fluid first.

• Sophia's Blue-Marked Iris overwhelmed Rashid Tariel's weak defenses, destabilizing his body and soul until he shattered.
• Rashid's death caused a Magic Vortex and sent a final burst of Curse Magic through the research institute.
• Lady Morgana announced the operation's success and ordered an immediate evacuation before Rashid's death triggered a response from the Blood Curse Court.
• Albert asked to obtain Tartarus Cave Worm Spinal Fluid before leaving, and Locke agreed to locate it through the astrology system.
• Sophia retrieved the Blue-Marked Iris and left as Rashid relived his past, regretted never seeing the world beyond the Blood Curse Court, and died.
• Rashid's memories and magical knowledge formed an expanding Curse Magic Storm, and the Blood Curse Court's Wall of the Faithless detected the institute's abnormalities.

Locke and his allies escaped the collapsing Curse Spell Research Institute with stolen resources and rescued Crow Roost Company survivors. They emerged in Corinth City-State Fortress, where the Wall of the Faithless blocked the sky and powerful wizards approached, but Lady Morgana revealed Sophia had planned their retreat.

• As the Mirror Blood Curse space collapsed, Locke and his companions gathered Cave Worm spinal fluid and valuable resources from the Grand Resource Vault, and Locke asked Sophia to rescue the imprisoned First Ring witch and Crow Roost Company survivors.
• Locke failed to find Kode, then chose to bring Leonie Murphy with them while Gabriel refused the Black Wizard Apprentices' pleas to join White Wizard society.
• Gabriel opened an exit through the Curse Hall with Divination School magic, and Locke's group escaped as the Mirror Blood Curse space began to collapse.
• The group emerged in Corinth City-State Fortress, where the Magic Mirror shattered and Sophia explained that the lost space might remain somewhere in the Mirror World.
• Sophia and Gabriel sensed Andy's mind had been badly damaged, while multicolored crystal skulls appeared overhead and at least five Formal Wizard-level Magic Pressures approached.
• Lady Morgana assured the group that Sophia had planned their escape and said about one minute remained before asking when Sophia had become acquainted with the Harpy Court.

After Rashid Tariel's death, the Blood Curse Court activated its defenses and declared total war against Lilith's Cottage. As Sophia and her companions were trapped above Corinth City-State, Harpy Princess Aliya arrived to help them break the barrier.

• The Blood Curse Court's wizards saw Rashid's death and ordered the Wall of the Faithless fully activated to intercept Sophia and her companions.
• The Blood Lord mourned Rashid briefly, then vowed revenge on Lilith's Cottage and ordered his followers to begin total war.
• The Crystal Skull barrier descended over Corinth City-State, crushing buildings and blocking Gabriel's doves and Locke's Tomb Spirit.
• Sophia told Locke that her friends had arrived, and Harpy Princess Aliya and her people broke through the barrier.
• Aliya defended her intervention by saying she owed Sophia a favor and that the Harpy Court's pact with the Blood Curse Court was only a nonaggression pact.

Princess Aliya led the Harpies in rescuing Locke, Witch Sophia, and the others from Corinth, but Black Wizards pursued them across the sky. Locke used Perseus's Eye Lichens and his Innate Magic Eye to fight off the attackers, while Witch Sophia drove back the Formal Wizard Stanley and left another pursuer mortally damaged.

• Princess Aliya sent the Harpies to carry Locke, Witch Sophia, and their companions through the Wall of the Faithless, then welcomed Locke after learning he was an Archaeologist with Ancient Creature Bloodline modification.
• Black Wizard Apprentices attacked the fleeing Harpy flock, and Locke used his Perseus's Eye Lichens to reflect their curses and kill several pursuers.
• Near Lilith's Cottage, Locke activated his Innate Magic Eye and used Earth Extreme Magnetism to crush and scatter more Black Wizards.
• Stanley struck Locke with a Hunger-Thirst Blood Curse, but Witch Sophia hit Stanley with her Blue-Marked Iris and forced him to retreat after he placed a Tracking Curse on Locke.
• Witch Sophia pursued Stanley and killed many of his students, while her Blue-Marked Iris inflicted elemental imbalance on another Formal Wizard; Stanley escaped, but his advancement was ruined.

Witch Sophia treated Locke’s lingering curses, gave him a costly airship ticket and a ring containing communication spells, and advised him on choosing a new mentor before leaving for the Starfield Sea. Locke discovered that she had departed secretly the night before and resolved to become a Formal Wizard and follow her there.

• Sophia gave Locke an Emerald Potion that gently removed curses and other hidden dangers from his body.
• Sophia explained the cost and dangers of traveling to the Starfield Sea, then gave Locke a Lucky Four-Leaf Clover Ring containing three First Ring spells, including a way to contact her.
• Sophia gave Locke books on Breeding Science and Potions, advised him to choose Harlan Vela rather than Lady Morgana as his next mentor, and urged him to revere magic.
• Locke planned a farewell banquet after Sophia said she would leave at noon, but found her office empty the next morning with a farewell letter on the desk.
• Locke used Tomb Spirit Summoning to learn that Sophia had left at midnight, then vowed to become a Formal Wizard and go to the Starfield Sea.
• Locke ordered his servants to clean Sophia’s empty rooms and returned home to convert the resources seized from the Black Wizards into magical power.

Three months of intensive cultivation raised Locke’s Mana from 600 to 750, while consuming most of his savings. He discovered a powerful new potion formula but hesitated to test it, and learned that the auction house had news about a Beholder Potion Formula as a recovering Crow Roost Company wizard prepared to thank him.

• Locke used Tartarus Cave Worm Spinal Fluid, several potions, incense, and meditation to raise his Mana to 750 in three months, leaving himself with fewer than 500 Magic Stones.
• Locke assessed his growing potion resistance and planned to use synthesized formulas to reach 800 Mental Power despite his depleted resources.
• Locke examined the Beholder Lord Potion, a Level 7 formula synthesized from a Tanar'ri Demon Finger and Beholder Potions, and decided to find a test subject before using it.
• Locke focused his potion research on enhancing Mental Power, with curse-breaking and healing potions as secondary interests, and continued studying foundational Abyssal potioncraft books.
• Locke learned that the auction house had news about the Beholder Potion Formula he had commissioned it to find three months earlier.
• Locke noted that the recovered Crow Roost Company wizard planned to thank him, but she remained at Lilith's Cottage because of debts to the Academy.

Locke submitted four articles that Aul believed could earn A-Class ratings, bringing his total to ten, and bought five more articles on rootstock-type Magic Plants. With his Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion licensed for mass production and other projects nearing returns, Locke asked how many contribution points an Advancement Potion required.

• Aul praised Locke's four new articles on Beholder Potion side effects, Beholders, Great Greenleaf Plantain cultivation, and [Animal Mimicry], noting that each could qualify as A-Class.
• Locke reflected on using the Synthesis Cube to find rootstock-type Magic Plants that could make mass-producing Great Greenleaf Plantains possible.
• Aul gave Locke articles on rootstock-type Magic Plants and abyssal potions, and Locke selected five rootstock-related articles, spending his remaining savings.
• Aul told Locke he had 1,200 contribution points and would have 1,600 after his four new articles were approved.
• Locke asked Aul how many contribution points were needed to exchange for an Advancement Potion.

Locke learned that Advancement Potions were tightly restricted and costly, then met First-Ring witch Uma Gardner, who wanted to repay him for saving her. He asked whether her Company could make rune stones that gave magical plants simple self-awareness, leaving Uma’s response unknown.

• Aul warned Locke that Advancement Potion knowledge was forbidden and said a bottle cost five thousand Contribution Points, though the Academy would provide one when his Mental Power reached 800.
• Locke went to Witch’s Kitchen, where Uma Gardner invited him to a private room and thanked him for her rescue.
• Uma told Locke that Crow Roost Company planned to settle in Chimera Market and open a Conjuration shop selling items made by its Shadow Creation Magic specialists.
• Locke asked Uma whether her Company could create rune stones that gave magical plants simple self-awareness, so he could make automatic combat plants.

Locke arranged a trade for the Beholder Potion Formula, exchanging fifteen bottles of Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion for a reverse-engineered version. With the formula in hand, he began studying the Beholder Lord Potion and received delayed competition results that might help him recover financially.

• Uma Gardner agreed to create rune stones containing Shadow Ravens after Locke suggested combining Life Magic with self-aware magic plants.
• At the Potion Auction, Locke rejected a 5,500-Magic-Stone offer for the Beholder Potion Formula and negotiated with the hidden seller for fifteen bottles of Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion.
• Locke recognized that the seller suffered from the Purulent Blood Curse and accepted the trade, receiving a reverse-engineered Beholder Potion Formula in return.
• Locke signed the transaction contract, returned to his laboratory, and began studying how to brew the Beholder Lord Potion.
• Locke received the results of the White Wizard Association Breeder Competition and the Custom Magic Plant Competition, and wondered why the latter had arrived three months late.

Locke discovered that his Perseus's Eye Lichen Shield had won the Academy's Custom Magic Plant Competition, earning him 3,000 Magic Stones, contribution points, and a procurement contract. He also found that his Emerald Iris Lichen had taken first place in the regional Breeder Competition, and began reading the judges' explanation.

• Locke read the Academy rankings and learned Gina Haike's Curse-Reversing Snake Willow had placed second behind Green Sprout Studio's Gear Iron Thorn.
• Locke saw that his Perseus's Eye Lichen Shield had won first place, with judges praising its combat record and defense against curses.
• Locke learned that the Academy championship earned him 500 contribution points, a 3,000-Magic-Stone subsidy, and a bulk procurement contract.
• Locke opened the Association's Breeder Competition ranking and discovered that his Emerald Iris Lichen had taken first place across the Southeastern Corner Region.
• Locke began reading the judges' comments to learn why his work had won.

Locke learned that his two competition victories had earned him major prizes, including two Hive Mind Potions, and that he had also received the Academy’s Distinguished Healer slot. Anglu told him that Albert had won the Academy’s Chief Apprentice and Potions Rising Star honors, then hinted that Locke might be the Breeding Science Rising Star.

• Locke received the championship badge and learned that his victories brought him ten thousand Magic Stones, a Hive Mind Potion, and a Vacuum Manufacturing Device.
• Anglu told Locke that he had been selected for a Distinguished Healer slot at the Healing Hand Clinic, while Anglu had received an Outstanding Healer slot through Aixi.
• Locke suspected the Academy had favored him because of his recent achievements and his wartime reputation, then revealed that he had won first place in both competitions.
• Anglu learned that Locke was a double champion and said Anglong had published ten A-grade papers in five months, which Locke found suspicious.
• Anglu told Locke that Albert had become Chief Apprentice, Potions Rising Star, and Starlight Apprentice because of his Cave Worm spinal fluid and Troll Adrenaline Potion achievements.
• Anglu denied that Mary was the Breeding Science Rising Star and looked at Locke, who realized he might have earned the honor himself.

Locke’s double championship drew attention across Lilith’s Cottage, while Anglong, Green Sprout Studio, and two powerful wizards reacted to the competition results. Lady Morgana and Harlan Vela both pressed Senior Consultant Francis to assign Locke as their student, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Anglu congratulated Locke on his rising fame and told him that the Breeding Science Rising Star title granted a yearly entry to the Wizard Secret Realm.
• Anglong resented Locke and Albert for taking the titles he wanted, but abandoned thoughts of harming Locke after recalling his reputation and considered asking Harlan Vela for advice.
• Mary admitted that Green Sprout Studio’s poor results reflected its unhealthy traditions and told Lancaster to apologize to Locke.
• Mary acknowledged her own ninth-place finish and resolved to find an opportunity to meet Locke.
• Lady Morgana and Harlan Vela argued over who should mentor Locke, criticizing each other’s students and conduct while Francis asked them not to disrupt the Academy.

Harlan Vela traded his chance at Verdant Nursery’s Magic Plant garden project for Lady Morgana’s agreement to let him teach Locke Augustine. After receiving a large payment and signing a major procurement order, Locke planned how to invest his wealth and drank a Hive Mind Potion.

• Harlan Vela offered to withdraw from the Verdant Nursery competition if Lady Morgana gave Locke to him, and Lady Morgana accepted the deal.
• Harlan Vela invited Senior Advisor Francis and Locke to a meal, while Francis agreed to try to invite Locke.
• Locke received fifteen thousand Magic Stones and signed a fifty-thousand-Magic-Stone order for five hundred Perseus’s Eye Lichen through Zack.
• Locke planned to spend much of his wealth on resources for advancing to a Formal Wizard and considered expanding his plant businesses.
• Locke opened a Hive Mind Potion and drank it, causing his mana to surge.

Locke drank the Hive Mind Potion and formed a Distributed Psionic Network linking him to his magic plants, boosting their combat coordination and his Mana. He detected a connection between the network and his Ancient Creature Bloodlines, then captured a Negative Energy Particle Field with Tomb Spirit Summoning and began to identify it.

• Locke experienced the Hive Mind Potion’s transformation and envisioned an underground swarm functioning as a collective consciousness.
• Locke linked his magic plants through a Psionic Network centered on himself, strengthening their combat ability and helping him monitor and cultivate them.
• Locke measured his Mana at 780, thirty points higher than before, and realized further Mana growth would become increasingly difficult.
• Locke sensed that the Distributed Psionic Network had triggered a reaction in his three Ancient Creature Bloodlines.
• Locke cast Tomb Spirit Summoning on himself, captured a Negative Energy Particle Field from the potion, and exclaimed as he recognized something about it.

Locke used the Hive Mind Potion’s psionic memories to witness an ancient hive’s destruction and uncover an incomplete tree-shaped record of the disaster that killed it. After studying the potion’s lasting psionic abilities, he concluded that he had gained First-Ring traits and was closer to becoming a First-Ring Wizard.

• Locke’s Archaeology Spell and the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat’s Innate Magic Eye revealed the memories of an underground hive dying in a catastrophe ten thousand years ago.
• The Hive Queen’s final psionic memory showed Locke an incomplete tree-shaped diagram that had preserved information about the otherwise unrecordable disaster.
• Locke copied the diagram and considered researching it in the library or asking McCarthy, while reasoning that the hive had guarded the black sun.
• Locke tested his Thought-Nerve Psionic Tentacles and concluded that the Hive Mind Potion had granted him a lasting psionic network connecting him to Mana-Grafted Magic Plants.
• Locke decided against taking another dose of the potion and recognized that he had acquired First-Ring traits, bringing him closer to becoming a First-Ring Wizard.

Locke successfully grafted a Great Green Owl Plantain onto a Two-Ball Plane Tree, revealing a potential way to mass-produce rare Magic Plants. He then learned that Harlan Vela and Francis had invited him to dinner, while Kali Ackerman treated him with unexpected deference.

• Locke used the Bark Bud Grafting Method to graft a Great Green Owl Plantain seedling onto a Two-Ball Plane Tree, and the graft succeeded.
• Locke realized the Two-Ball Plane Tree could serve as rootstock for cultivating Great Green Owl Plantains and potentially other rare Magic Plants.
• Locke decided to begin breeding Great Green Owl Plantains and testing grafts of his other rare Magic Plants, though he recognized the project would require many workers.
• A Gray Dwarf servant told Locke that a powerful wizard had come to visit, so Locke left the Plantation for his residence.
• Kali Ackerman greeted Locke with unusual flattery and invited him to dine with her teacher Harlan Vela and senior advisor Francis at the Witch's Kitchen.

Locke met his reassigned mentor, Harlan Vela, at a dinner in Chimera Market and accepted the new mentorship. Harlan discovered that Locke’s magic power was nearly eight hundred and realized he would need to revise his training plans.

• Kali Ackerman confirmed that the Academy had reassigned Locke to Harlan Vela and offered him a high-grade grafting knife, but Locke refused the gift.
• Locke changed into clean clothes, then traveled with Kali to Witch's Kitchen in Chimera Market.
• Kali introduced Locke to Harlan Vela and Senior Advisor Francis in a private room.
• Harlan introduced himself, welcomed Locke as his student, and asked whether Locke was willing to accept the reassignment.
• Harlan sensed that Locke’s magic power was close to eight hundred, and Senior Advisor Francis asked Locke to confirm it.