Chapter Summaries

Locke demonstrated how grafting a Magic Creature’s Bloodline Essence onto a Magic Plant could cause it to go berserk, while explaining the risks to Leopold. He then discovered a billing error involving Leopold that Wizard Sfindis treated as suspected embezzlement, and set out to investigate before the dispute escalated.

• Locke grafted wolf-spider Bloodline Essence onto a Chain Magic Vine subspecies, which attacked Leopold before Locke destroyed it and explained the dangers of grafting animals and plants.
• Locke reflected on Leopold’s lack of an Advancement Potion and learned from the Gray Mist Slate group that Marius Lawrence’s research team was in disarray and his project was lagging.
• Wizard Sfindis accused Leopold of misappropriating ninety thousand Magic Stones after finding an extra zero on a bill for Advanced Nutrient Soil signed by Witch Barbara.
• Locke told Witch Barbara to investigate the group’s bills and went to find Leopold so they could address the disputed reimbursement.

Locke and Wizard Sfindis investigated the destruction of Leopold’s dormitory, where Sfindis blamed the commoner students and accused Leopold of theft. Locke used an Archaeology spell to reveal that Barnaby Cooper and other family apprentices had ransacked the room, leaving Sfindis confronted with his own student’s crimes.

• Locke and Wizard Sfindis found Leopold’s dormitory wrecked and its walls marked with the words “Get out, commoners!”
• Wizard Sfindis accused Leopold and his research group of destroying the dormitory and stealing nine Magic Crystal Cards, while Leopold denied responsibility.
• Locke used a Historical Projection spell to restore the room and reveal Barnaby Cooper and other apprentices stealing documents and magical resources and vandalizing the dormitory.
• Leopold identified Barnaby Cooper as Wizard Sfindis’s student, and Locke asked Sfindis to make him return the stolen documents and answer for his actions.
• Wizard Sfindis denied knowing about Barnaby’s behavior and grew fearful as Locke looked at him coldly.

Locke confronted Wizard Sfindis over Barnaby Cooper’s destruction of Plutarch Family property and demanded compensation for the students in his research group. After forcing Sfindis to hand over two Advancement Potions, Locke gave the evidence to Wizard Gregory, who would have the Plutarch Family enforce its laws.

• Locke and Wizard Sfindis clashed through compressed magic pressure until Wizard Gregory arrived and ordered them to explain themselves.
• Locke showed Gregory evidence that Barnaby Cooper had led the destruction of Plutarch Family property, and Gregory confronted Sfindis over his student’s actions.
• Locke agreed not to pursue the matter on behalf of his students if Sfindis provided an Advancement Potion for Leopold and another for the six other students.
• When Sfindis protested, Locke overwhelmed him with compressed magic pressure and Abyssal Energy until he agreed to provide two Advancement Potions immediately.
• Locke accepted the potions but handed the evidence to Gregory so the Plutarch Family could punish Barnaby Cooper, and Sfindis offered to take Locke to him.

Locke and Wizard Sfindis confronted Barnaby over stolen laboratory data, then exposed and fought the Liquefaction Stage Black Wizard who had come to collect it. The thief escaped into the sewers, but Locke tracked him with Shadow Grass and struck him with amplified magic from White Dragon Tower, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Locke and Wizard Sfindis found Barnaby and his associates at a witch tavern, where Barnaby returned Leopold’s stolen materials and data and apologized.
• Locke exposed a disguised Liquefaction Stage Black Wizard in the tavern, revealing that Barnaby had helped him steal laboratory data.
• Locke and Wizard Sfindis attacked the Black Wizard, but he escaped after transforming into a paper dart.
• Locke used White Dragon Tower’s authority and Beast’s Calamity to injure the Black Wizard, who fled into the sewers while Wizard Sfindis condemned Barnaby.
• Locke tracked the Black Wizard through Shadow Grass and blasted his defensive shield with amplified Earth Extreme Magnetism.

Locke captured Wizard Jacks, a Black Wizard working for the Ladybug Marauders, and negotiated with the organization for payment and the activation codes to his seized artifacts. The clues about layered defenses inspired Locke to revise his Chain Magic Vine project, and after Jacks escaped through a dimensional exile spell, Locke shared that the client who targeted his research was from the Spiral Basin.

• Locke captured the unconscious Wizard Jacks, seized his four magical artifacts, and learned that his defensive rings had been made by Zosimos Keinrich.
• Wizard Sfindis handed Barnaby and several other students over to the White Dragon Tower enforcement department and distanced himself from Barnaby.
• The Ladybug Marauders offered Locke five Magic Crystal Cards and the artifacts’ activation codes in exchange for Jacks, and Locke’s thoughts about the rings inspired a new way to layer Permanent Defense Fields through his Chain Magic Vines.
• Locke agreed to release Jacks if the Ladybug Marauders identified his client, and they revealed that the client came from the Spiral Basin.
• After Locke accepted the artifact codes, Jacks vanished through a dimensional exile spell, and Locke posted the Spiral Basin clue in his Gray Mist Slate group.

Locke used the Cloud Marsh Cup group chat to investigate the Ladybug Marauders’ theft of contestants’ research data, while the competitors accused one another and revealed their suspicions. After reporting the incident to the Plutarch Family, he returned to his laboratory with a new idea and asked Barbara to summon Montgomery.

• Locke questioned Yennefer about the Ladybug Marauders, and she denied hiring them while explaining that she had heard of their victims at Nehel University.
• Edgar David said he had killed a Ladybug Marauder who infiltrated his laboratory, while Yennefer, Karel Knight, Alaric, and Diana discussed whether their own data was at risk.
• Karel Knight discovered that his laboratory data had been stolen, complained that the theft could ruin his Cloud Marsh Cup entry, and argued with Alaric after Alaric reminded him of his earlier insult toward victims.
• Locke shut down the Gray Mist Slate, reported the matter to the Plutarch Family, and returned to his special laboratory.
• Barbara told Locke she had found discrepancies in the bills, corrected them with the finance office, and returned the excess money; Locke said he had resolved the issue and asked her to call Montgomery for an experiment.

Locke and his research group completed the Nine-Headed Snake, a super First-Ring Magic Plant designed to combine Wizards’ Permanent Defense Fields. After it successfully stacked defenses for three Wizards, Locke planned to invite four trusted Wizards to test its limits before the Cloud Marsh Cup ended.

• Barnaby Cooper lost his place as heir for five years, his accomplices were punished, and Wizard Sfindis lost half his research funding, ending much of the exclusion against Locke’s research group.
• Over ten months, Locke, Montgomery, and their colleagues cultivated a nine-headed Chain Magic Vine in the White Dragon Tower laboratory.
• Witch Barbara and Wizard Tacitus let the vine absorb their Permanent Defense Fields, and it successfully gave both Wizards overlapping layers of defense.
• Witch Barbara’s Bloodflame could not harm Tacitus through the combined defenses, while Montgomery added his Life Force Field to test the plant with a third Wizard.
• Montgomery explained that the Nine-Headed Snake was designed to stack up to nine Permanent Defense Fields, and Locke decided to invite Alicia and four trusted Wizards for further tests under confidentiality contracts.

Locke demonstrated that the Nine-Headed Snake Magic Plant could combine the Permanent Defense Fields of nine Wizards, marking a major success for the secret project Alicia had backed. He left the plant ready for further testing, while Alicia’s aides swore to keep the breakthrough confidential until the Cloud Marsh Cup ended.

• Alicia arrived with four trusted half-elementalized First-Ring Wizard aides, and Locke had them sign high-level confidentiality contracts tied to the Eye of Truth.
• Locke led Alicia and the four aides to the Nine-Headed Snake Magic Plant, which amazed Alicia with its power.
• Locke, Alicia, and seven other Wizards hosted the plant, while Locke used the Elemental Fission Pool to strengthen the four aides and balance their power.
• The plant unleashed its attacks and combined all nine Wizards’ Permanent Defense Fields, giving each of them nine layers of protection.
• Montgomery confirmed that the experiment worked, and Alicia warned her aides not to reveal anything before the Cloud Marsh Cup ended.

Locke completed testing the Nine-Headed Snake Magic Plant, then received two True Bloods from Alicia and learned she had found a source for the First Ring Archaeology inheritance. The inheritance holder demanded a potion brewed under a Highest-Level Civilization Curse Contract, so Locke agreed to meet him at the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion.

• Locke and his research group tested the Nine-Headed Snake and found it could stack nine Permanent Defense Fields, though the spell required nine suitably matched wizards and the plant needed to manage the resulting heat.
• Locke left the special laboratory with Alicia and planned to optimize the Rusty Pearl Flower while the research group continued testing the Nine-Headed Snake.
• Alicia gave Locke two True Bloods containing the Second Berserk Spell and Bloodflame, and Locke absorbed them after checking them.
• Locke told Alicia that his Magic Pressure had reached seven thousand and that his improved Compression Method let him gain two mana points each night.
• Alicia said she had found a source for the Archaeology inheritance at the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion, whose holder required Locke to sign a Highest-Level Civilization Curse Contract and brew an Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion.
• Locke agreed to meet the inheritance holder, believing the potion formula could teach him useful techniques.

Locke passed the first round of the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion's Heavenly Ladder by submitting twenty-four Mastermind Control Potions and received a Mad Laughter Potion recipe and Formal Potion Master certification. He accepted the second-round challenge to prepare five Grass Aging Potions within a year, while an unfamiliar elderly Wizard entered the shop warily.

• Locke learned that the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion's Heavenly Ladder offered potion-related rewards for each round and allowed only one attempt in a Potion Master's life.
• The Red Dragon Half-Dragon verified the magical marks on Locke's twenty-four Mastermind Control Potions and confirmed that Locke had prepared them without Primordial Fire.
• Locke opened his first-round reward box and received the recipe for the First-Ring Mad Laughter Potion.
• The Red Dragon Half-Dragon gave Locke the second-round test: prepare five Grass Aging Potions from ten sets of ingredients within one year without using Primordial Fire.
• Alicia declined to participate, and Locke accepted the challenge and requested the ingredients.
• An unfamiliar elderly Wizard entered the shop, watching warily as if ready to flee.

Locke negotiated with an old Black Wizard who wanted an Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion in exchange for an archaeological inheritance. After confirming he could brew it, Locke signed a contract with the wizard, but the magic box containing the promised inheritance had not yet been revealed.

• Locke and Alicia met the old Black Wizard, who claimed a protected magic box would exile its contents if he died or was injured.
• The old Black Wizard revealed that he was an archaeologist and requested an Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion, offering his archaeological inheritance in return.
• Locke examined the recipe and said he could prepare the potion using the Primordial Fire and his Abyssal Potioncraft skills.
• Locke insisted that the old Black Wizard produce the magic box and sign an Eye of Truth-certified contract before the brewing began.
• The Eye of Truth established the contract, and the old Black Wizard remarked that White Wizards were easier to deal with.

Locke traded the Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion he refined for the old Black Wizard’s Wizard King Grimoire, a complete inheritance of First-Ring Archaeology. After studying its spells and the concept of building a [Patriarch] reference book, Locke watched the old Black Wizard transform into a powerful werewolf.

• Locke refined the Abyss Werewolf Transformation Potion in half a day using one portion of materials, then agreed to exchange it for the old Black Wizard’s grimoire under their contract.
• The old Black Wizard handed Locke the grimoire, and Locke gave him the potion before examining its First-Ring Archaeology spells and knowledge.
• Locke learned that First-Ring Archaeologists compared similar Negative Energy Particle fields and compiled historical records into a reference book called a [Patriarch].
• The old Black Wizard drank the potion and explained that he had transplanted a Moon-Howling Demon Wolf bloodline and expected the potion to raise his life level, lifespan, and talent.
• The old Black Wizard began swelling and tearing away his face until a silver-cast wolf head emerged.

Warwick transformed into an Abyss Werewolf and used his Eye of Wisdom to examine Alicia and Locke, discovering a mysterious Ancient Dragon Bloodline within Locke that struck back at him. After explaining the Eye's findings, Locke asked Warwick to trade the Archaeologist's toolbook called the Overlord, which Warwick revealed was his Demon God's Book.

• Warwick completed his transformation into a silver-forged Abyss Werewolf and awakened the Eye of Wisdom on his forehead.
• Warwick's Eye of Wisdom revealed Alicia's Dragon-Scorpion Scorpion Woman Bloodline and Locke's Beholder Lord form.
• Warwick saw a golden dragon shadow in Locke's spirituality, but a black-and-purple dragon claw tore through it and a dragon roar injured Warwick's eyes and ears.
• Locke questioned how the dragon could hurt Warwick through his Abyssal Shell, and Warwick concluded that Locke carried an unusual Ancient Dragon Bloodline.
• Warwick said Archaeology could help Locke develop the bloodline, then agreed to discuss a second trade when Locke asked for his Overlord toolbook.
• Warwick summoned the book and explained that he had named his Overlord the Demon God's Book.

Warwick demonstrated how his Demon God's Book amplified his power and offered Locke a copy in exchange for help exploring an Abyssal Ruins. Locke postponed any commitment until after the Cloud Marsh Cup and left the decision open for two years.

• Warwick summoned his three-faced Demon God and explained that it drew power from Negative Energy Particle Field records collected through Archaeology.
• Warwick's combined Magic Pressure still could not reach the Second Ring because of his racial soul limit.
• Warwick offered Locke a copy of the Demon God's Book if Locke helped him decipher an Abyssal Ruins containing resources he needed to advance.
• Locke declined to sign a contract because he needed to compete in the Cloud Marsh Cup and wanted time to investigate the ruins.
• Warwick agreed to wait two years and offered to copy one-third of the book's information for Locke first.

Wizard Warwick helped Locke create a Patriarch and transfer one-third of his archaeological records, then brought Locke and Alicia into a historical reenactment of a Wyvern attack on the Land of Six Towers. After Warwick departed, Locke escaped the reenactment with Alicia and returned to the Feathered Serpent Ancient Pavilion, eager to study Archaeology spells.

• Wizard Warwick offered Locke one-third of his Patriarch’s information in exchange for future cooperation exploring the Abyssal Tomb.
• Locke created a blank Patriarch while Warwick used [Historical Reenactment] to draw them into the Land of Six Towers ten thousand years earlier, during a Wyvern assault.
• Warwick transferred his records into Locke’s Patriarch, which Locke shaped into a paper dragon called the Dragon’s Book.
• Warwick left the reenactment, and Alicia asked Locke how they could escape as Wyverns attacked them.
• Locke used an Archaeology spell to return with Alicia to the potion laboratory and planned to study spells that could advance his bloodlines.

Locke studied the Archaeology spell Summon Historical Ghosts before watching a Cloud Marsh Cup highlight reel that revealed a war between wizard forces and the Mekanians, a magically enhanced technological civilization. The finalists discussed the apparent escape of the Mekanians and learned that the competition would begin in one month with live combat tests in the Cloud Marsh Wetland.

• Locke studied Summon Historical Ghosts and considered its uses for combat, delay, and historical inquiry.
• Locke watched a video showing the Mekanians attacking the Suarez Plane's wizards with magically enhanced weapons and overwhelming firepower.
• The video explained that the Mekanians and their supercomputer had escaped an experiment and announced a Death Ray Celestial Sphere as the Cloud Marsh Cup prize.
• Locke suspected that Wizard Raymond Griffin had deliberately allowed the Mekanians to escape so he could observe the machine intelligence.
• Edgar David, Witch Diana, Yennefer, the wizard from the Thunder Marsh Lowland, and Alaric discussed their preparations and doubts in the contestants' group.
• The group owner announced that the finals would begin in one month with live combat tests in the Cloud Marsh Wetland.

Locke’s group completed a tetraploid Rusty Pearl Flower and prepared their Nine-Headed Snake Magic Plant for transport to Cloud Marsh Wetland. Before they departed, Alicia told Locke that Great Wizard Sura wanted him to help the Mage Plane’s newest Mage Saint use First-Ring Magic.

• Locke abandoned his 178th attempt to strengthen the Rusty Pearl Flower with Iron-Tusk Demon Boar Bloodline Essence and asked Witch Barbara to fetch Swordmaster Demon Bloodline Essence for another experiment.
• Locke used the Synthesis Cube to create a Tetraploid Rusty Pearl Flower, installed it on a Nine-Headed Snake Magic Plant, and had the group secure the plant in a high-grade Transplantation Pot.
• Locke assigned Montgomery to maintain the Nine-Headed Snake during travel and Barbara, Tacitus, and Leopold to guard it; he also gave newly advanced Leopold a potion and warned him to refine his Permanent Defense Field.
• Leopold thanked Locke and the others for supporting his advancement, while Barbara asked whether he would report his success to his former mentor from the Plutarch Family; Leopold said her prejudice made it pointless.
• Alicia approved Locke taking forty-nine wizards to Cloud Marsh Wetland and told him Great Wizard Sura wanted him to help the Mage Plane’s thirty-second Mage Saint use First-Ring Magic.

Locke prepared to leave the Land of Six Towers despite Great Wizard Sura asking him to stay for Alicia's sake. Sura revealed that his body and soul were failing under the strain of his bloodline experiment and gave Locke records of his attempt to advance to the Second Ring.

• Locke used the Golden Grafting Knife to place the Sanctuary Forest magic's imprint on Alicia of the Mage Plane, who then walked toward Mage Saint Hall City.
• Great Wizard Sura told Locke that his Mage Saints were hunting Demonkin and asked him to remain in the Land of Six Towers, but Locke refused because he lacked the resources and Superior Meditation Method he needed.
• Great Wizard Sura accepted Locke's decision and said he would not interfere with his relationship with Alicia, describing them as better suited to being comrades-in-arms.
• Great Wizard Sura gave Locke a Truth Crystal that showed events in Mage Saint Hall and asked him to observe his upcoming attempt to advance to the Second Ring.
• Locke deduced that Sura's Dark Cave Scorpion Woman bloodline had driven his mana beyond its limit, leaving his body and soul unable to endure the pressure.
• Great Wizard Sura explained that he needed to advance within three months and had recorded his research and methods in the Truth Crystal for Locke to study.

Great Wizard Sura explained his distrust of the Land of Six Towers, his regrets about shaping Alicia’s life, and his history with Uriel and Witch Medea. Locke returned to the White Dragon Tower, then set out with his project team for the Cloud Marsh Wetland and the Cloud Marsh Cup.

• Great Wizard Sura told Locke that past reform failures and the Land of Six Towers’ violent history had made him deeply distrustful of its wizards.
• Sura explained that he had deliberately cultivated Alicia’s kindness and sense of responsibility, but regretted limiting her freedom to serve his plans.
• Sura revealed that Uriel had ghostwritten his articles before Sura’s family pressured Uriel to surrender his research, and Sura later helped Uriel escape to the Spiral Basin.
• Sura said Witch Medea had brought Uriel into the Mage Plane to compete for its resources as revenge for Sura having driven her out after his failed reforms.
• Locke left the Mage Plane and returned to the White Dragon Tower.
• The next morning, Locke boarded an airship with his project team and headed to the Cloud Marsh Wetland.

Locke and his students traveled aboard a Void Battleship to Cloud Marsh Wetland, where they encountered the region’s extraordinary magic tides and flourishing Magic Plant Gardens. The chapter ended as Locke recognized the Eternal Garden, a landmark center of Breeding Science and Potions.

• Locke guided his students into the Second Sky and helped those suffering Magic Pressure Disorder by having the crew pressurize the cabin with air from the Wizarding World.
• Locke told the students about the airship’s free library and its magic-tide equipment, while Leopold offered to teach the Second-Class Wizard Apprentices who had to remain in the cabin.
• A month later, the Void Battleship reached Cloud Lake, where a powerful increase in the magic tide strengthened Locke and revealed the vast lake’s unusual connection to a bottomless pit.
• After five more days, the airship arrived at Cloud Marsh Wetland, and Locke observed its distinctive cities, thriving Magic Plant Gardens, and limited need for outside intervention.
• Locke recognized the enormous floating garden as the Eternal Garden, a revered center of Magic Plants, experimental data, and Breeding Science.