Chapter Summaries

Locke and Daniel arrived at Golden Crown Mountain Academy, where Wizard Matthew introduced them to the Truth Institute and its demanding research system. As they entered the academy, Matthew explained the Last-Place Elimination System and warned them that Advanced Truth Institute researchers had to complete projects independently.

• Wizard Matthew greeted Locke and Daniel, arranged for apprentices to carry Daniel’s delicate instruments, and led them toward the Truth Institute.
• Matthew showed Locke his Four Elements Ring and explained how its four elemental rings could improve the Druid’s Ring, though the set had cost him eighty thousand magic stones on loan.
• The three met Elder Gru, the banyan treant guarding Golden Crown Mountain’s entrance, and continued up the mountain without hiring treants for transport.
• Daniel asked Matthew about graduating, and Matthew clarified that he belonged to the Regular Truth Institute while Locke and Daniel joined its Advanced Truth Institute.
• Matthew explained that the Truth Institute eliminated its bottom thirty researchers each year and warned Locke and Daniel that Advanced Institute members had to complete projects independently.

Lock and Wizard Daniel completed their registration as researchers at Golden Crown Mountain’s Advanced Truth Institute and received substantial benefits, including Jadewater Peaches that increased their mana. Wizard Matthew then took them to the Witch’s Kitchen before their work began.

• Wizard Matthew guided Lock and Wizard Daniel through Golden Crown Mountain Academy, where they met Margaret, a Formal Wizard-level Flower Fairy with Peach Blossom Wings.
• Lock and Wizard Daniel registered at the Truth Institute and received researcher badges, dormitory keys, and the option to choose transportation; Daniel chose a Rainbow Peacock and Lock chose a Cloud Whale.
• Director Freud gave each researcher a Jadewater Peach, which increased Lock’s Magic Pressure by one hundred and Wizard Daniel’s mana by ten.
• Wizard Freud explained how researchers could earn points and obtain more rare peaches by publishing papers, training Formal Wizards, or completing major projects.
• Lock and Wizard Daniel received library credentials and Demon-Breaking Robes, and Wizard Matthew offered to take them to dinner and the wizard hot springs before their work began.

Locke learned about the wizard regions beyond Cloud Marsh Wetland and told Daniel that he hoped to reach Starfield Sea, while Sophia broke through to the Second Ring there. The chapter ended with Sophia learning that Locke had won the Cloud Marsh Cup and joined the Advanced Truth Institute.

• Daniel described the Land of Three Marshes and warned Locke about the dangers of Mind School research, while Locke recognized that Daniel studied meteorology to stay connected to the outside world.
• Locke told Daniel that he wanted to reach Starfield Sea, and Daniel advised him to keep that ambition quiet and pursue the Special Grant Fund Project.
• Locke sensed through Sophia’s Three-Leaf Lucky Clover Ring that Sophia’s Magic Pressure had surged, indicating that she had advanced to the Second Ring.
• Sophia reasoned that Second-Ring advancement required strengthening her connection to the Source of Magic, and her senior brother praised her insight.
• Sophia learned that the laboratory assistant position was already taken, but her senior brother told her that Locke had joined the Advanced Truth Institute and won the Cloud Marsh Cup.

Locke and Wizard Daniel arrived at Cloud Marsh Wetland and learned about their assignments, project-fund applications, and required courses. They attended their first midnight Habit Correction Course, where Wizard Thomasen challenged their understanding of Meteorology and breeding.

• Witch Catherine told Locke to join Group Six, choose a research topic related to Magic Plants or creature reproduction, and apply for a Truth Institute Project Fund.
• Witch Catherine assigned Locke three courses and said he could consult her about a suitable special plane after reaching the First-Ring Crystallization Stage.
• Locke and Wizard Daniel learned that the Habit Correction Course began at midnight and hurried to class.
• Wizard Thomasen asked Daniel what Meteorology studied and asked Locke what a Breeder did.
• Daniel questioned whether Meteorology still meant controlling the weather, and Wizard Thomasen criticized his comprehension.

Wizard Thomasen taught Locke and the other new arrivals that Golden Crown Mountain pursued seemingly useless basic research as a foundation for discovering truth and advancing as wizards. The next morning, Locke joined the Truth Institute’s Group Six laboratory, where group leader Celt complained about his lateness, rank, and lack of teamwork.

• Wizard Thomasen argued that Cloud Marsh Wetland valued basic disciplines over immediate practicality and used Witch Catherine’s research on seven-colored plum blossoms to show how apparently useless study had led to major discoveries and her rise to Throne Wizard.
• Wizard Thomasen explained that Magic Plant Studies and Meteorology investigated nature’s underlying mechanisms, and said this approach laid a foundation for becoming Second-Ring Wizards.
• Locke and Wizard Daniel discussed adapting to Cloud Marsh Wetland’s research culture and returned to their staff quarters; Locke later learned Witch Catherine would guide him in choosing a Superior Meditation Method at the next group meeting.
• After meditating, Locke found that his Magic Pressure had increased by 10 and headed to the laboratory at six, meeting a sleepy Wizard Daniel along the way.
• Locke entered the Group Six laboratory and met Celt, who faulted him for arriving a minute late, being only a First-Ring Wizard in the Liquefaction Stage, and appearing unwilling to cooperate.

Locke learned about Group Six’s research into how Magic Plants affect Magic Creatures’ reproduction and received two proposed ant-and-plant research topics from Wizard Celt. Locke intended to review all the available materials before choosing a project, while Wizard Panno introduced him to the laboratory equipment and described his own research setbacks.

• Wizard Celt explained that Group Six studied symbiotic relationships between Magic Plants and Magic Creatures, then showed Locke the reports and devices used to identify reproductive effects and their natural magic structural components.
• Wizard Celt offered Locke research into Robutas Grass and Steelcart Camponotus Ants or Burola Grass and other ant-type Magic Creatures, but Locke gave no commitment and planned to search the broader collection for a suitable topic.
• Wizard Celt left Locke with Wizard Panno, who said Celt had grown strange after several career failures and explained that a Triangular Black Sheep had destroyed Panno’s Snakeheart Grass research.
• Panno showed Locke how to use the structural comparison machine and described the Ice Magic Mirror, which was difficult to access and for which Panno had little experience.

Locke studied research materials on magic plants linked to magical creatures’ fertility, then visited the Dragonblood Market to rent a magic field so he could begin experiments. He chose a discounted field atop a Great Red Mountain Banyan Tree from O'Connor, the Earth wizard, and prepared to advance his project application.

• Panno told Locke that the public laboratory’s magic fields were fully booked and advised him to rent one elsewhere.
• Locke read Hodel Anderson’s observations about eight magic plants possibly linked to a rise in griffin fertility and spent the day reviewing research materials.
• Locke left the laboratory and withdrew funds from the Fairy Bank, bringing his available magic stones to three hundred and sixty thousand.
• Locke went to Fertile Fields Pact, where O'Connor described different magic field options and offered a discounted one atop a Great Red Mountain Banyan Tree.
• Locke rented the tree-top magic field for four thousand magic stones per year so he could conduct experiments.

Locke used the Synthesis Cube and experiments on Golden Crown Mountain to prove that Lightning Bees living in Yellow Duck Pineapples enabled Thunderbirds to reproduce. He synthesized a mutated Yellow Duck Crown Pineapple that could produce queen bees, then turned to the next stage of his research while reminding himself to focus on his standing as a First-Ring Wizard.

• Locke planted Magic Plant seeds on the Great Red Mountain Banyan Tree’s canopy and used Rapid Growth to cultivate them.
• Locke synthesized three Yellow Duck Pineapples into a Level 8 mutated pineapple whose stored lightning could be released against enemies.
• Locke tested four groups of breeding Thunderbirds and found that only the groups fed Lightning Bees hatched eggs, supporting his theory that the bees—not the pineapples—boosted reproduction.
• Locke planned further experiments on three other pineapple Magic Plants and synthesized a Yellow Duck Crown Pineapple that could rapidly turn Lightning Bees into queen bees.
• Locke considered whether the Crown Pineapple had produced a previously unknown natural magical structure, checked his finances, and headed to the Truth Institute for his final Teacher Skills Improvement lesson.

Locke completed his project proposal after adapting to research life at Golden Crown Mountain and cultivating a new ice-infused Sea Golden Sand variety. Wizard Celt questioned Locke’s decision to pursue research outside Group Six’s focus but approved the proposal after seeing the quality of his preliminary data.

• The Second-Ring Wizard taught Locke and Wizard Daniel to summon the Black Hole Witch Peach to dispose of waste, then congratulated them on completing the course.
• Locke helped Wizard Daniel reconsider his research work by explaining how the library and narrowly focused studies could support practical projects.
• Locke cultivated Hexagonal Prism Watchtower Sea Golden Sand, a mutated variety that combined Golden Magic with ice power.
• Two months later, Locke presented Wizard Celt with a proposal studying four pineapple-type Magic Plants and their relationships with Magic Creatures.
• Wizard Celt criticized Locke for working independently and pursuing a topic outside Group Six’s research direction, but approved the proposal because its preliminary data was exceptionally solid.

Locke submitted his proposal for a third-grade Truth Institute Fund Project and discussed his research habits with Celt and Witch Catherine. He reconnected with Albert, learned that Albert’s attempts to become a Formal Wizard were disrupted by Mana disorder, and offered to investigate his soul records and the Forest Sanctuary spell.

• Celt explained the Truth Institute Fund application schedule and approved Locke’s proposal for a third-grade project.
• Celt told Witch Catherine that Locke had produced strong preliminary data but ignored advice and pursued too many subjects; Catherine decided to judge him by the results of his first project.
• Locke checked his progress toward First-Ring Crystallization and contacted Albert through the Gray Mist Slate.
• Locke reassured Albert that they were still friends, and their shared joke about Ibog Pepper Water eased the distance between them.
• Albert explained that his Mana became disordered whenever he tried to advance to Formal Wizard, and Locke offered to review his detailed soul records and explore whether Forest Sanctuary could help.

Locke identified Albert’s soul affliction as likely caused by a Disc Creature that entered through an injured Magic Rabbit Albert rescued, and planned a test to confirm it. After returning to Golden Crown Mountain, Locke secured research funding and discovered that Yellow Duck Crown Pineapples could trigger bloodline transformations in Magic Creatures.

• Locke told Harlan Vela and Albert that a foreign object in Albert’s soul might be preventing his advancement, and suggested testing his Magic Pressure Spectrum.
• Albert recalled rescuing an injured pink Magic Rabbit and dreaming of a blue ring; Locke connected the incident to the Disc Creature he had once suppressed beneath Lilith’s Cottage.
• Locke explained that the Disc Creature had entered Albert’s soul through the rabbit and that Lilith’s Cottage intended to study the creature rather than ask Golden Crown Mountain to remove it.
• Locke arranged to test Albert’s Magic Pressure Spectrum and gave him a reading list for studying the Forest Sanctuary.
• Locke received approval for a Third-Class Truth Institute Fund, rented another Magic Field, and bought equipment to expand his Pineapple Magic Plant research.
• Locke observed that Yellow Duck Crown Pineapples had transformed a Lightning Bee into a queen and an Electric Light Ant into a king, and considered whether similar plants could help the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat evolve.

Locke joined Group Six’s team-building trip to hear the Mira sisters perform, where their music triggered powerful auditory illusions and unexpectedly accelerated his Mana growth. As the concert continued, Locke’s Magic Pressure approached the threshold for the Crystallization Stage, drawing the sisters’ staff to observe him.

• Mason Witch invited Locke to Group Six’s concert, and he accepted despite planning to study the Big Yellow Duck Crown Air Pineapple.
• Locke traveled with Mason Witch, Witch Freya, and Wizard Barrett to Golden Crown Mountain’s concert venue, where group leader Celt briefly acknowledged him.
• The Mira sisters performed music that manipulated the audience’s emotions and senses, while their staff measured the crowd’s reactions as part of an experiment.
• Locke’s Mana surged during the performance, and the Mira sisters’ staff set up instruments to study his rising Magic Pressure.
• Locke’s Magic Pressure reached an estimated 8,999 as his Mana and soul limit continued to grow, leaving him on the verge of the Crystallization Stage.

During the Mila Sisters’ concert, Locke’s bloodline awakened and helped him advance to the First-Ring Crystallization Stage. He left with Group Six to continue his research, collected Mana structural data, and reached the Ice Magic Mirror, where Griffin greeted him and asked about his project funding.

• As the Mila Sisters sang, Locke’s Immortal Dragon Scale appeared, his bloodline broke his bottleneck, and his Magic Pressure rose to 9,000, making him a First-Ring Crystallization Wizard.
• The Mila Sisters finished their concert and discussed how their performances enhanced wizards’ Mana and strengthened their Great Magic.
• Locke learned that his new stage attracted the attention of special planes, while the Mason Witch and Group Six congratulated him on his advancement.
• Locke left with Group Six, obtained the natural Mana structural components from the Yellow Duck Crown Pineapple, and waited for his turn to use the Ice Magic Mirror.
• Griffin introduced himself to Locke outside the Ice Magic Mirror room and asked whether Locke’s first Truth Institute project application was third-grade or fourth-grade.

Locke used the Ice Magic Mirror to begin analyzing a new natural magic structural component extracted from Yellow Duck Crown Pineapple, then secured applications to use the Sunlight and Electromagnetic Magic Mirrors for further testing. The chapter left him starting his analysis of the component’s functional properties in the Sunlight Magic Mirror.

• Locke entered the Frost Magic Mirror Room, prepared his purified sample with Developing Potion, and used the Ice Magic Mirror to map the component’s particle, spiritual, and magic structures.
• After twelve hours, the Ice Magic Mirror ended Locke’s session, and he left the sample inside so he could continue the work later.
• Locke applied to group leader Celt to use the Sunlight and Electromagnetic Magic Mirrors, explaining that his experiment required analysis beyond the component’s structure.
• Celt signed Locke’s applications while an ordinary Truth Institute researcher reported results about a substance attracting ant-type Magic Creatures to Strong Grass.
• Locke waited for access to the Sunlight Magic Mirror, prepared his sample, and began examining the component’s functional properties.

Locke confirmed that Albert’s soul was parasitized by the Second-Ring Disc Creature Gromdal and proposed that Albert use Forest Alliance Magic to join Locke’s future Second-Ring forest. Locke then considered completing Dean Lewis’s unfinished magic and building a forest community of his own.

• Locke finished analyzing the Yellow Duck Crown Pineapple and planned further pineapple research while managing his research funds and meditation.
• Locke learned that Wizard Daniel had discovered how mist reflected the spirituality of a region, but Daniel was furious to learn he had been excluded from a group event.
• Locke examined Albert’s Magic-Pressure test records and identified Gromdal, a Second-Ring Disc Creature, as the foreign presence in Albert’s soul.
• Locke explained that Albert might appease Gromdal with grassland creature materials or make it retreat by becoming part of a sufficiently powerful forest ecosystem.
• Locke proposed that Albert join his future Second-Ring forest through Forest Alliance Magic after becoming a First-Ring Wizard.
• After guiding Albert in cultivating Forest Sanctuary, Locke considered completing Dean Lewis’s framework and creating a forest community called the Forest of Many Crowns.

Locke successfully refined a Luck Potion with the Primordial Fire and met his first student, Gregor Robinson, at the Truth Institute. He gave Gregor a repaired Blackchain Sword Bamboo and set him to work organizing his research materials.

• Locke's failed Luck Potion attempt caused a dangerous explosion, but he contained it with Mister's Power and disposed of the potion waste.
• Locke used the Primordial Fire to successfully prepare a Luck Potion after carefully combining its rare ingredients and controlling the opposing Magic Flames.
• Locke returned to the Truth Institute, where he met Gregor Robinson, a First-Class Wizard Apprentice with magic pressure near 800.
• Locke learned about Gregor's background and assigned him to organize research materials and help with routine tasks.
• Locke gave Gregor the repaired Blackchain Sword Bamboo as his first student, and Gregor thanked him for treating him kindly.

Locke completed research on natural mana structures and prepared to defend his Truth Institute project while helping Gregor advance with potion toxicity cleansing and an improved talent-raising potion. His potion work attracted Wizard Newt, who traded his students’ labor for monthly batches and help for a student, and Locke arrived at the project fund defense with data from seventeen Pineapple Magic Plants.

• Locke used the Ice Magic Mirror to study the Royal-Type Lightning Field and completed reports on his research, the field’s mana structure, and Mister’s Power as a route into the Crystallization Stage.
• Locke warned Gregor not to overwork, cleansed the apprentice’s potion toxicity with Primordial Fire, and gave him an Advanced Bloodweeping Nightshade Potion that could raise his talent.
• Mason Witch and Wizard Newt learned about Locke’s potion abilities, and Newt arranged to exchange five students’ labor for monthly potion batches and toxicity-cleansing help for one of his students.
• Locke accepted Newt’s proposal and later used the five apprentices to help discover eight more symbiotic relationships between Pineapple Magic Plants and magical creatures.
• Locke and Gregor prepared the project documents, and Locke went to the Truth Institute’s final project-fund defense with preliminary data on seventeen Pineapple Magic Plants.

Locke defended his Third-Tier Truth Institute Fund project by presenting detailed research on how four Pineapple Magic Plants affected the reproductive abilities of Magic Creatures. His discovery of a previously unrecorded natural magical component structure impressed the reviewers, and he attributed his research ability to a special talent in Breeding Science.

• Locke presented his two-month analysis of the reproductive mechanisms linking four Pineapple Magic Plants and Magic Creatures, answering the judges’ questions fluently.
• The reviewers praised Locke’s thorough, apparently reliable research, while Wizard Celt realized Locke had completed the work largely independently of Group Six.
• Locke revealed that his report documented an entirely new natural-like magical component structure, which General Studies and Lightning Studies wizards confirmed was unrecorded in their databases.
• Wizard Hao congratulated Locke and asked how he had discovered the structure, noting that Locke seemed unusually adept at finding mechanisms and producing results.
• Locke explained that his special talent in Breeding Science had led him to breed a variant Yellow Duck Pineapple and discover the new structure.

Locke passed the Third-Class Truth Institute project review and won approval for a Second-Class project fund based on his research into Pineapple Magic Plants and newly discovered natural magic-structure components. After leaving the meeting, he considered how to publish more research and met a representative from the Arthas Plantation Shop Alliance.

• Locke explained that he had bred a Yellow Duck Pineapple variant with a new natural magic-structure component, and Wizard Hao confirmed that his Third-Class project had passed review.
• Locke presented a Second-Class project application covering twenty-three Pineapple Magic Plant species and four potentially new natural magic-structure components, and the judging panel unanimously approved it.
• Wizard Hao praised Locke’s research and said it could merit a First-Class fund if applications did not have to proceed one level at a time.
• Locke left with approval for 500,000 Magic Stones in funding, reflecting that he had spent 460,000 of his own funds on research and had 200,000 left in savings.
• Locke planned to hire First-Class Wizard Apprentices to turn his completed experiments into papers, then spotted a representative from the Arthas Plantation Shop Alliance and invited Gregor to meet their prospective partner.

Locke discussed a partnership for producing and selling his Nine-Headed Snake Magic Plant with Wizard Terrence of the Arthas Plantation Alliance. He favored a two-year profit-sharing deal, but sent the contract to squad leader Celt for review before deciding.

• Wizard Terrence offered Locke either a one-million-Magic-Stone buyout for two years of exclusive sales rights or a five-hundred-thousand-Magic-Stone authorization fee plus half the net profits.
• Locke asked about opening a joint shop or using his technology as shares, but Wizard Terrence explained that such partnerships were generally reserved for Sun-Ring Second-Ring Wizards and Third-Ring Wizards.
• Wizard Terrence offered Arthas resources and a free experimental field to help Locke complete mass production of the Nine-Headed Snake Magic Plant.
• Locke favored profit sharing over selling the plant's rights, and Wizard Terrence explained why Arthas preferred short initial contracts and could not commit to a longer term.
• Locke sent the contract through his Wish Ganoderma to squad leader Celt, who immediately asked where he was and said he had much to discuss.