Chapter Summaries

Arro arranged for Bevan to assist with a research project while Anabe tested and evaluated the experiment. At Peran Castle, Bevan continued caring for and recording changes in his rats, then admitted to Captain Patton that he felt his own efforts paled beside Little Heli’s dedication.

• Arro explained that Bevan would handle research details while Anabe helped assess the results, and Anabe agreed to cooperate.
• At Peran Castle, guards complained about wild animals around the walls until Bevan and Captain Patton arrived.
• Bevan fed the rats and recorded their physical changes despite their attacks, while Captain Patton asked why he seemed upset.
• A rat escaped after biting Bevan, and Captain Patton crushed it before teasing Bevan about being jealous that Arro had not summoned him.
• Bevan denied sulking and said he felt his few days of raising rats amounted to little beside Little Heli’s months of dedication.

Captain Patton urged Bevan to spend more time with Arro before he left, but Bevan concealed his reasons for keeping his distance. When Arro summoned him to Lan'er Village, Bevan eagerly agreed to go.

• Captain Patton scolded Bevan for being timid and argued that Arro's youth and knowledge showed he came from a noble background.
• Bevan recalled being dismissed and blamed after his mother became a demon, then explained that he kept his distance from Arro to protect the manor's servants from wizard-related dangers.
• Captain Patton warned Bevan that Arro would leave within half a year and encouraged him to learn from Arro while he could.
• A pigeon delivered Arro's summons to Lan'er Village, and Bevan ordered Captain Patton to prepare a horse.

Bevan traveled with Captain Patton and the Guards toward Lan'er Village, where he reflected on the recovery of the Viscount Territory and reaffirmed that Wizard Arrow remained the master of Lix City. Their journey was interrupted by an injured worker returning from a Poison Salt Ore gathering mission, and Captain Patton arranged to carry him to Lord Arrow for treatment.

• Bevan praised Dylan's work restoring the Viscount Territory, while Captain Patton warned the Guards not to mistake their efforts for ownership of Lix City.
• Bevan agreed that Wizard Arrow would forever be the master of Lix City, and the convoy continued in silence.
• Captain Patton ordered Guzman and Zeller to investigate a convoy approaching under their banner from behind.
• Guzman reported that a strange dwarf had wounded a Poison Salt Ore gatherer and that the bleeding wound might require amputation if it could not be treated.
• Captain Patton ordered the injured man transferred to their carriage and offered to deliver the ore, while Bevan agreed to ride in the cargo carriage.

Bevan rode in a wagon carrying Poison Salt Ore and became increasingly unwell from its pungent smell. While meditating, he entered a strange, dreamlike ink-wash world where a gigantic snake appeared, then awoke as the wagon reached Lan'er Village.

• Bevan rode with Zeller in the Poison Salt Ore wagon after Captain Patton refused to tell him more about the ore.
• Bevan coughed from the smell, concealed his discomfort, and began meditating to calm himself.
• The odor grew stronger in Bevan's perception, and he drifted into a gray, ink-wash world where he could not move.
• Bevan heard rustling and hissing, then saw a gigantic snake whose tongue passed over him.
• Zeller called for Bevan to wake up as the wagon arrived at Lan'er Village, and Bevan awoke drenched in sweat.

Arro and Anabe debated how to divide Qi Blood Rampage into a self-defense system for Academy students, and Bevan ultimately supported the Five Animal Play plan. The chapter left Arro asking Bevan to explain why he thought it was the better choice.

• Arro proposed dividing Qi Blood Rampage into progressively harder tiers, while Anabe argued that five parts would better preserve the system and avoid wasting students' time and resources.
• Arro asked Bevan for his opinion, but Bevan was distracted by thoughts of his unsettling dream and asked after the injured guard.
• Anabe and Arro reassured Bevan that the guard was recovering and that Demon Hunters were handling the monster that had wounded him.
• After hearing the plans explained, Bevan asked whether both could be designed, but Arro said he lacked time to test and refine multiple systems.
• Bevan chose the Five Animal Play plan, arguing that students should pursue the approach that could make them stronger, and Arro asked him to explain his reasoning.

Arro gave Bevan the complete Qi Blood Rampage technique and instructed him and Anabe to adapt its principles into Five Animal Play. Bevan asked to accompany Arro to handle the Poison Salt Ore, and Arro agreed to take him there.

• Arro explained that he wanted to simplify Black Tiger Digs Heart to help spread the Martial Path, but let Anabe and Bevan focus on Five Animal Play first.
• Bevan studied Arro’s revised Qi Blood Rampage and doubted he could complete the assigned work until Arro showed him the muscle-group notes and design blueprints.
• Arro taught Bevan and Anabe how muscle contractions affected blood flow and explained why Qi Blood Rampage had to be practiced lying down.
• Arro told Bevan and Anabe to test his proposed designs and use the experimental methods he had taught them.
• Bevan asked Arro to take him to handle the Poison Salt Ore, and Arro agreed.

Arrow brought Bevan through the jungle to the hidden Research Base in Oak Tree Granny’s territory, where he showed him how the base had been improved and explained its organization. Bevan learned that the most dangerous research area had been prepared for him, but he was not yet allowed to enter it.

• Arrow told Bevan that Oak Tree Granny had transformed a gravel wasteland into a lavender field and demonstrated the Plant Growth Spell.
• Arrow revealed that the Research Base lay within Oak Tree Granny’s territory and promised to introduce Bevan to her later.
• Arrow and Bevan reached the concealed entrance, where Bard welcomed them into the renovated Bat Cave.
• Arrow gave Bard the Wind Dragon Armor so he could practice Qi Blood Rampage.
• Arrow described the Security Area, Heli’s Basic Material and Structure Research Section, and the extraordinary-power research area that Bevan could not yet enter.

Lord Arrow taught Holly and Bevan the principles behind purification and assigned them to find a way to purify poison salt. He left them to work in the laboratory while he went to study in the library.

• Lord Arrow brought Bevan to the laboratory and asked Holly to help research how to purify the poison salt.
• Holly and Bevan volunteered to learn, and Lord Arrow explained how differences in solubility and other properties made purification possible.
• Lord Arrow described distillation, crystallization, washing, and filtration, then told Holly to test the methods on the poison salt.
• Bevan asked Lord Arrow to stay with them, but Lord Arrow left for the library after reassuring him that Holly could help.
• Bevan offered to crush the poison salt with the iron hammer so Holly could teach him as he worked.

Arrow reviewed the dangers of spellcasting and the need to inspect and maintain magic patterns in his Sea of Consciousness. As Bard arrived to announce lunch, Arrow sensed something wrong at the laboratory door.

• Arrow reasoned that inscribed magic patterns could wear down with use and that regular review and repair could prevent dangerous failures.
• Arrow reviewed Feather Fall Spell, then focused on studying Growth Spell before inscribing it into his Sea of Consciousness.
• Bard knocked and told Arrow that lunch was ready, asking whether Young Master and Miss Holly should be called too.
• Arrow went to leave, heard that Bard had made rabbit meat, and suddenly sensed something wrong as he looked at the laboratory's glass door.

Arrow discovered a mysterious black mist in a metaphysical field of vision and tested how it affected his spells and combat abilities. He entered the laboratory and found Holly unconscious and trapped in a nightmare, while Bevan was missing.

• Arrow noticed black mist spread through his metaphysical vision and told Bard to leave the laboratory area and return to the Security Area.
• After Bard left, Arrow tested his magic and found that the mist reduced Fire Element Void Energy, weakened his Feather Fall Spell, and greatly increased the cost of his Light Spell.
• Arrow entered the seemingly normal laboratory cautiously and found Holly lying unconscious on the floor.
• Arrow tried to wake Holly but saw that she remained trapped in a nightmare, then looked around and asked where Bevan was.

Arro discovered that Bevan had entered an Anomaly Space and suspected he had followed Holly’s Consciousness Body inside. He carried Holly’s body into the mist to search for them, but as he neared the boundary, a voice calling his name and icy hands reached around his neck.

• Arro found Bevan’s footprints leading into the Light-Dark Boundary and realized Bevan had entered an Anomaly Space.
• Arro guessed Bevan had chased Holly’s Consciousness Body and decided to bring Holly’s physical body with him.
• Arro put on the Magic Phoenix Golden Armor, tied Holly to his back, and used his Mental Strength and magic power to follow her presence into the mist.
• Arro advanced through the Gray Mist while calling Holly and sensing the Fire Element Void Magic Power on her body.
• A weak voice called Arro’s name, and icy hands reached from behind and wrapped around his neck.

Arro encountered a horrifying head that seemed connected to Holly and discovered his Magic Power was passing through it toward an unknown place. He followed the trail through a mist-shrouded building, while unseen things began tracking him.

• A girl claiming to be Holly clung to Arro, but he doubted her identity when she spoke strangely and then her arm snapped off.
• The girl’s head fell from Arro’s shoulder, and Arro realized his Magic Power passed through it toward somewhere unknown.
• Arro concluded Holly might have fallen into the place where the Consciousness Body was and followed the Magic Power’s direction, carrying the head by its hair.
• Arro found himself inside a stone building surrounded by gray-black mist, with visibility limited to two meters.
• Unknown things rustled in the mist and followed Arro, apparently wary of the light around him.

Arro used the Blazing Greatsword to test a rock wall, then drew nearby monsters toward himself when the wall proved too thick to break through. He fought a Spider Woman in the fog and evaded her piercing attack, but she began transforming into a mass of fangs and teeth.

• Arro cleared the Gray Mist with a charged slash, but the explosion showed that the rock wall was too thick to break through.
• Arro wrapped the wailing head in clothing and used the Blazing Greatsword’s light to reveal a Spider Woman after a small spider creature attacked him.
• The Spider Woman sprayed mucus and attacked with her legs, but Arro deflected the spray and knocked her down with the flat of his sword.
• The Spider Woman used a ghostly spell to pierce Arro’s chest, but the figure dissolved as Arro revealed himself unharmed through Mist Body Technique and Evasion Armor.
• The Spider Woman split her head open into fangs and teeth as Arro prepared to respond.

Arro defeated the Spider Woman with his sword techniques and discovered that Holly’s head might be connected to the creature. He followed the Spider Woman’s footprints through the mist, reflecting that his ordinary combat ability had reached the level of an Advanced Apprentice.

• The Spider Woman unleashed a swarm of face-backed spiders, and Arro’s flames were contaminated by the black smoke.
• Arro used illusions, movement techniques, and a crescent sword strike to defeat the Spider Woman and earn over four thousand Experience Points.
• Holly complained that her hand hurt while staring at the remains, prompting Arro to suspect that his missing arm had become the Spider Woman.
• Arro secured Holly, found the Spider Woman’s footprints, and considered searching its remains before following the trail.
• Arro reviewed the fight and concluded that his conventional combat power now matched an Advanced Apprentice’s.

Arro used the Skull Mask and suppressed his equipment’s Magic Power to escape the fog’s distortions, then encountered a shadow creature and a swarm of sinister eyes. He realized the eyes could yield vast Experience Points and excitedly activated the second level of the Magic Strike Technique, Phoenix Spreading Wings.

• Arro confirmed Holly was stable and within a thousand meters, but found that following the wall led him back to a mark he had already left.
• Arro donned the Skull Mask and restrained the Magic Power of the Blazing Greatsword and Backpack, causing Gray Mist to envelop him and change his sense of gravity.
• Arro used Fear Pressure against a floating shadow, then destroyed it with Blaze and gained Experience Points.
• Arro watched countless bloodshot eyeballs emerge from the shadows and heard them speak threateningly around him.
• Arro recognized the swarm as a Great Opportunity for Experience Points and activated Phoenix Spreading Wings.

Arro fought the monsters of the shadowy Inner World, overcoming their mental attacks by using magic-infused strikes to harvest Experience Points. After the monsters vanished, he tried to locate Holly and reasoned that escaping the Inner World might require both creating light and earning the monsters’ permission to leave.

• The monsters’ eerie roars disrupted Arro’s Mental Strength while their mouths attacked his armor and exposed nape, so he unleashed Abyssal Magic Power and swung his sword to fight back.
• Arro realized his physical attacks were ineffective against the regenerating eyes, but recalled that Blazing Sword Technique had burned shadow before and changed his attacks accordingly.
• Arro harvested Experience Points from the monsters as their taunts continued, rapidly increasing his total.
• The monsters offered Arro a chance to return to the light, then vanished along with the eyes and lips, leaving him alone in the corridor.
• Arro sensed that Holly remained in the same direction but was separated from him, and concluded that returning from the Inner World might require lighting a flame and the monsters’ willingness to let him go.

Arro searched the Inner World’s corridors for a route to Holly and encountered a glowing-headed man who called himself a Different Dimension Explorer. The Explorer recognized Arro as a wizard, but his purpose and strength remained unclear.

• Arro traveled through the dim corridors, fought a few Demonic Beasts, and looked for monster gathering spots while searching for Holly.
• Arro spotted a glowing human head, camouflaged himself with Evasion Armor, and approached it cautiously.
• The man noticed Arro and asked where his family’s elder was, then explained that he had discovered a little apprentice playing hide-and-seek.
• Arro replied in Fien Language and asked who the man was.
• The man called himself a Different Dimension Explorer and confirmed that he could be considered a Formal Wizard before dismissing the distinction as irrelevant to Arro.

Arro met a powerful Different Dimension Explorer and learned that the hidden owner of the Anomaly Space might be manipulating events around him. The explorer refused to join Arro’s search for his friends, but revealed that he recognized the value in Arro’s possessions and could make Space Treasures from newborn Anomaly Space bubbles.

• Arro told the explorer that he was also a visitor and suspected the space’s owner had arranged their encounter to make them fight.
• The explorer and Arro exchanged respectful introductions, and Arro invited him to join his adventure, but the explorer declined because he did business with owners of Anomaly Spaces.
• The explorer judged that the space was of little value and told Arro he was brimming with the aura of treasures.
• The explorer pointed out Arro’s bracelet and ring, explaining that he could make Space Treasures from newborn Anomaly Space bubbles.

Arro refused Explorer’s offer to buy his Magic Phoenix Golden Armor, then offered to sell his research on a Growth Spell expansion instead. After Explorer tried to bargain the price down, Arro showed him part of his “Qi Blood Rampage” notes and demanded a suitable offer.

• Explorer offered Arro thousands of Magic Stones for the armor’s plans or the armor itself, but Arro refused because it contained his mentor’s unique wizardry and was his strongest defense.
• Arro demonstrated his illusion Trick, and Explorer recognized it as an expansion of the Growth Spell and offered three hundred Magic Stones for its research data.
• Explorer criticized the Trick’s weaknesses and raised his offer to three hundred and twenty Magic Stones, while Arro demanded three thousand and ended negotiations.
• Arro tore “Qi Blood Rampage” in half, handed Explorer part of the book, and asked him to make a suitable offer.

Arro tried to sell Qi Blood Rampage to the Explorer without reopening negotiations over an earlier Trick. The Explorer initially dismissed the book as a lesser form of knight training, but then recognized that Arro’s family had discovered the underlying structure of a Formal Knight’s physical quality.

• Arro refused to discuss the earlier Trick again and urged the Explorer to study the Qi Blood Rampage book.
• The Explorer called Qi Blood Rampage a weakened version of knight training and argued that it was of little value to powerful wizards.
• Arro pretended to reclaim the book and mentioned that it was important to his elders.
• The Explorer reconsidered the book and realized it described a foundational structure used to build a Formal Knight’s physical quality.
• Arro feigned ignorance of the Explorer’s discovery and demanded that he return the book.