Chapter Summaries

After failing to find the books Wizard Bosco had recommended, Arro borrowed two available texts and studied the principles of light-element magic. He discovered a pure-light Refraction Spell and a question about measuring light’s speed, which he planned to investigate at the Library.

• Arro learned that he could not access the books on Bosco's list without earning more Academy Contribution Points, so he borrowed "Angle Calculation Shortcuts" and "Analysis of Basic Light Element Tricks."
• Arro read that light-element spells were weak because Mental Strength struggled to attach to light, while many other light abilities relied on supernatural beings or other worlds.
• Arro found the Refraction Spell, copied its structure, and understood how a net of light-element Magic Power could bend light to create invisibility.
• Arro reached the book’s question about the speed of light and decided to search the Library for existing research before pursuing the problem himself.

Arro injured his right arm while testing the second level of Body Flickering Technique and realized his physique could not handle its extreme bursts. After returning safely to the Mysterious Great Hall, he delivered Fluorescent Powder to Wizard Bosco and told him which books he had read.

• Arro cleared Evil Spirits in the Bloody Forest and found that Body Flickering Technique had reached its second level.
• Arro tested the technique, crashed into a tree, and broke his right arm.
• Arro used a Minor Healing Potion to mend the injury enough to travel, then decided he could not fight intensely that day.
• Arro returned safely to the Mysterious Great Hall and concluded that his physical attributes limited Body Flickering Technique.
• Arro brought Fluorescent Powder to Wizard Bosco, who asked which books he had read.
• Arro told Bosco that he had finished 'Angle Calculation Shortcuts' and 'Analysis of Basic Light Element Tricks.'

Arro explained his proposed gear method for measuring the speed of light to Bosco, who gradually understood how the rotating gear could block the light. Bosco ended the discussion excited by the design, while Arro insisted the effect would appear if the distance were made sufficient.

• Bosco asked Arro about Analysis of Basic Light Element Tricks, and Arro avoided answering its first question about Mental Strength and light.
• Arro showed Bosco sketches of the Gear Method and improved Octagonal Mirror Method for measuring light’s speed.
• Arro explained that a gear could interrupt light at its source and field of view, allowing its rotation to reveal when the returning light was blocked.
• Bosco questioned whether the gear would still work at speeds exceeding light, and Arro described how the light would dim and then brighten as the gear accelerated.
• Bosco worked through the method and praised Arro’s design as ingenious, and Arro said the effect would appear if the distance were sufficient.

Arro explained the Octagonal Mirror Method to Bosco and demonstrated how its rotating mirrors prevented the observer from seeing reflected light. Bosco offered to buy the plan for three thousand Contribution Points and asked to assist with the experiments so he could be credited.

• Bosco questioned whether the Octagonal Mirror Method would work, and Arro asked him to create a small octagonal prism.
• Bosco formed the prism from Holy Light Mithril, whose energy eased Arro’s injured arm.
• Arro demonstrated that rotation changed the light’s angle and that the mirrors caused the light to skip one face and return along its original path from the next.
• Bosco praised Arro’s design and offered three thousand Contribution Points on behalf of the Academy for the plan.
• Arro agreed to carry out the experiments, and Bosco asked to assist and have his name included in the credits.

Arrow tried to draw closer to Wizard Bosco by crediting him for the idea behind the speed-of-light experiment, and Bosco refused to claim Arrow’s work. Bosco declined to take Arrow as a formal student but assigned him the experiment, leaving Arrow with three months, an independent laboratory, and no assistants.

• Arrow told Bosco that his books had inspired the experiment and insisted Bosco deserved credit as his mentor.
• Bosco said he would not steal Arrow’s ideas, then explained that his approaching Lifespan Limit and past conflicts made it unsafe to take Arrow as a formal student.
• Bosco announced that the Academy would award Arrow five thousand Contribution Points and set him a Personal Task to measure the speed of light.
• Arrow protested that one month, no materials, and working alone made the task impossible, and asked Bosco to assist him.
• Bosco extended the deadline to three months, provided one hundred Magic Stones, and offered to answer Arrow’s Alchemy questions, but forbade him from using assistants and required the Academy to supervise him.

Bosco worked through the light experiment Arro had described while Dora came to discuss using the boy to find Nicole Annelise. He compelled Dora to swear she would not use Arro as a weapon, then watched her leave and hoped Arro would keep going.

• Bosco figured out why the rotating mirrors made the light travel one-eighth of the distance he had first assumed, then realized he had misinterpreted Arro’s explanation.
• Dora told Bosco that Arro had a close relationship with Nicole Annelise, who was worth 750,000 Magic Stones, but Bosco ordered her to put the matter aside.
• Bosco explained that he wanted to protect Arro’s ability to pursue a new path and warned Dora that anyone who tried to use the boy as a weapon would die.
• Dora sensed that her future self would be in danger, and Bosco made her swear not to use Arro as a weapon or interfere with him.
• Dora invoked the Beast of Justice to seal her promise, then left; Bosco stared at his draft paper and hoped Arro could keep going.

After returning from an Anomaly Space with his left arm injured, Arro weighed how to strengthen himself and decided to focus on Alchemy while pursuing news of his mother from Wizard Bosco. Dilia’s concern reassured him, but his suspicions about a possible insider remained, and he considered moving into his independent Research Room.

• Arro reflected on his weakness and concluded that he should prioritize Alchemy, postpone other research, and speak with Wizard Bosco about collecting Fluorescent Powder.
• Arro arrived at the Wooden Cabin, where Dilia noticed his injured arm and worriedly urged him to remove his leather armor.
• Arro told Dilia that a Healing Potion and Wizard Bosco had treated his arm, and she asked him not to enter Anomaly Spaces alone again.
• Arro noticed Dilia had been washing clothes and wondered whether she could be an insider despite her care for him.
• Arro decided to inspect his independent Research Room and consider moving into it the next day.

Arro entered the academy’s Research Area to find his assigned research room and discovered that the landscaped grounds were tended by carnivorous plants and managed by a Stone Spirit named Pipit. After Pipit explained the area’s services and directions, Arro set off for his room.

• Arro used his Personal Name Tag to enter the Experiment Area and noticed that the roses were Magic-Transformed Carnivorous Plants.
• Arro heard a voice directing him to Area D and met Pipit, a small knight sculpture that introduced itself as the Research Area’s management Stone Spirit.
• Arro asked about Pipit’s true body, then said he needed to find his Research Room and buy supplies.
• Pipit explained how Arro could request daily necessities, meals, laundry, and help finding his room.
• Roots emerged from a flowerbed, sucked up dust left by Pipit’s sculpture, and withdrew as Arro headed toward Area D.

Arro inspected his assigned Research Room and found a cluttered laboratory equipped for Alchemy. He went to the Library and exchanged for three essential Alchemy Tricks, preparing to begin experimenting once he gathered materials.

• Arro used Trip Spell to cross the muddy courtyard and reach the building in Research Room D-26.
• Arro inspected the living rooms and discovered a laboratory stocked with experimental equipment, including a Shaping Platform and a magic-energy engraving tool.
• Arro recognized that the previous occupant had likely been a potion maker and decided to replenish materials before trying Alchemy.
• Arro went to the Library and reviewed the core Tricks needed for Alchemy: Hand of Magic Power, Melting Spell, and Material Appraisal Spell.
• Arro exchanged for the three core Tricks and left optional supporting Tricks for later.

Arro celebrated with Dilia and Kaitain, but his worries about Desi and Narcissus made it hard for him to relax. Dilia and Kaitain resolved to pursue dangerous, demanding routes to advance quickly, while Arro set a more modest goal.

• Dilia told Arro she had agreed to enter the Anomaly Space only because he had been unwilling to give up, and she was relieved he had found a safer path.
• Arro worried that Desi might have been controlled and that Narcissus's invitation to the Bloody Forest's depths could have been a trap, but he kept his concerns to himself.
• Dilia revealed that she planned to have a bloodline implanted and join the Guard Army to enter dangerous Anomaly Spaces, aiming to become an Advanced Wizard Apprentice within three years.
• Kaitain explained that his family earned Contribution Points guarding Owl Town's territory and said he would take Magic Stone-paying tasks to buy Mental Potions.
• Arro declined to join Dilia and Kaitain's three-year goal, saying he would be satisfied if he became an Advanced Wizard Apprentice within six years.

Arro bought basic metals and Fire Melting Stone for his first alchemy practice, then began smelting iron in his Research Room. He started casting Hand of Magic Power as he prepared to work with the material.

• Arro considered how a phone could help him stay in touch with others, then decided to experiment with making one when he had time.
• Arro visited an official shop and ordered iron, copper, silver, and Fire Melting Stone for delivery to his Research Room.
• Arro cleaned the Underground Laboratory and carried the delivered supplies inside despite his arm injuries.
• After Pipit brought dinner, Arro returned to the laboratory and heated an iron block on the Heating Platform.
• Arro began casting the Level Zero Trick, Hand of Magic Power, to start his first alchemy attempt.

Arro practiced moving and shaping molten iron with Hand of Magic Power, but his first attempt produced a crooked rod. He decided to smelt it again and use Skill Points to learn Melting Spell faster, then began working out how to turn it into a safe and powerful Skill Move.

• Arro used Fire Element magic power to move molten iron onto the Shaping Platform, then consulted the Alchemy Beginner's Handbook for guidance.
• Arro tried shaping the cooling iron with Melting Spell but failed and made a crooked rod.
• Arro decided to smelt the iron again and practice Heat Fusion Technique instead of taking a shortcut by making a mold.
• Arro chose to spend Skill Points to learn Melting Spell quickly and considered how to design it as a Skill Move without burning himself.

After mistaking the backyard’s uneven ground for a graveyard, Arro investigated and found nothing, then considered how to turn the Melting Spell into an offensive skill. He discovered that a move stopped counting as a skill once released from his body and came up with using a weapon to conduct the spell’s heat, but still needed a way to protect his hands.

• Arro thought he saw a small graveyard in the backyard, but checked with a Solar Fist and found nothing.
• Arro considered the Melting Spell’s limited range and power and wrote down two possible ways to use it in combat.
• Arro tested whether a close-body move remained a skill after release and found that released moves fell outside the system’s jurisdiction.
• Arro decided to cast the Melting Spell on his hands and use a weapon to conduct its heat into the blade.
• Arro wrote and sketched ideas through the night while trying to solve how to keep his palms from burning.

Arro designed and learned the Blazing Sword Technique, a heat-powered sword style, and confirmed that his Melting Spell worked. He set out to meet Wizard Bosco, but found the Enforcement Headquarters tense as he entered the Mysterious Great Hall.

• Arro devised a sword hilt that used water, conductive materials, and steam outlets to manage heat and power the blade with activated Fire Element elements.
• Arro learned the Blazing Sword Technique at Intermediate level and checked his updated attributes and skills.
• Arro tested the Melting Spell and saw that it had left his palm faintly reddened.
• Arro headed to explain the Fluorescent Powder task to Wizard Bosco and demonstrate his progress with the Melting Spell.
• Arro noticed that the Enforcers at the Enforcement Headquarters looked grave and the atmosphere was tense.

Arro visited Wizard Bosco to resign from collecting Fluorescent Powder and ask whether he could buy mirrors and machinery, but Bosco challenged him to fulfill his assignment independently. When Arro demonstrated his newly learned Melting Spell, Bosco suspected he had already known it, then reconsidered because Arro had been enrolled for only half a year.

• Arro wondered whether Lillian communicated with Wizard Bosco and whether her information network could be replicated.
• Arro asked Bosco to stop collecting Fluorescent Powder and to let him buy mirrors and rotating machinery for his experiment.
• Bosco challenged Arro to explain what he had accomplished after being given three months to complete the task alone.
• Arro described how difficult it was to make flat glass mirrors and revealed that he had learned the Melting Spell.
• Arro rapidly cast the Melting Spell on his palm, startling Bosco and knocking his fountain pen to the floor.
• Bosco accused Arro of having learned the spell earlier, then reconsidered because Arro had only been enrolled for half a year.

Bosco tested Arro’s apparent talent by offering him a Level One Trick to learn within a day, then chose the Abyss Contract Spell as the requirement for receiving a Lesser Substitute Puppet. Arro eagerly accepted the bargain, despite the spell’s dangers and restrictions.

• Bosco suspected Arro might have memorized his earlier experimental proposals and decided to test his ability to learn a spell.
• Bosco offered Arro a Level One Trick and warned that he would be punished if he failed to learn it within one day.
• Arro asked for a life-saving trick, and Bosco offered a Lesser Substitute Puppet if Arro first learned the Abyss Contract Spell.
• Bosco warned Arro to use the Abyss Contract Spell only in his protected residence and never again before becoming a Formal Wizard.
• Arro recognized the value of the Lesser Substitute Puppet and eagerly agreed to the bargain.

Arro tried to turn the Abyss Contract Spell into a Skill Book but failed, even after testing whether its incompatible parts or Abyss Magic Script were to blame. He suspected the system might only accept skills aligned with Martial Path Will and decided to test that possibility, still hoping to obtain the Lesser Substitute Puppet.

• Arro studied the Abyss Contract Spell, was affected by its Abyss Magic Script, and purged the black blood he coughed up with Melting Spell.
• Arro copied the spell’s other half and tried to make it into a Skill Book, but the system did not respond.
• Arro used the Enumeration Method to consider whether incomplete tricks or tricks involving Abyss Magic Script could not become skills, then tested a split Melting Spell and failed again.
• Arro considered Bosco’s offer and realized Bosco had given him the Lesser Substitute Puppet as both protection and an apology for suspecting him.
• Arro noticed the system’s Personal Martial Arts Mission label and suspected that skills had to conform to Martial Path Will, so he resolved to test that theory.

Arro analyzed the properties of Abyss Power and designed a martial technique that used the Abyss Contract Spell to create protective armor and amplify his moves. He named the completed draft the “Magic Strike Technique,” with several power levels and plans for managing its strain and aftereffects.

• Arro identified Abyss Power’s ability to corrode matter and its chaotic consciousness, then inferred how the Abyss Contract Spell harnessed it.
• Arro designed a One-Way Check Valve and Recoil Guide Structure to prevent Abyss Power from flowing back and damaging his magic power.
• Arro planned to use guided Abyss Power as external armor and as a booster for his basic martial techniques.
• Arro divided the technique’s power into five levels and outlined ways to limit bodily strain and Abyss Corrosion.
• Arro titled his completed draft the “Magic Strike Technique.”

Arro learned Magic Strike Technique and showed his design to Wizard Bosco, who tested Phoenix's First Cry and revealed its power. Bosco praised the technique, while Arro realized its manifestation had produced effects he had not designed.

• Arro learned Magic Strike Technique, First Level—Phoenix's First Cry, after developing a Tesla Valve-inspired structure.
• Arro encountered Lynn leaving the Living Room and learned that Wizard Bosco had been discussing apprentice placements with her.
• Bosco asked Arro about his studies, and Arro gave him his draft of Magic Strike Technique for review.
• Bosco tried the technique, using his Magic Power to shape Abyss Power into the Phoenix's First Cry structure.
• The technique formed a black phoenix pattern that released a chaotic gale, which Bosco stopped with a barrier.
• Bosco praised the technique's structure and power, and Arro wondered whether Material Activation had caused the unexpected effects.

Bosco explained that the Magic Strike Technique was vulnerable to disruption because its intricate structure was exposed, and advised Arro to conceal it with a creature’s bloodline power. After Arro left, Bosco decided to change his plans and consider using information about Nicole Annelise to draw Arro closer to Owl Wizard Academy.

• Bosco warned Arro that the Magic Strike Technique’s complex structure could be damaged if others understood how it worked.
• Bosco recommended that Arro fuse a demonic beast bloodline into the trick to disguise its workings, while warning him to keep its true nature secret.
• Arro burned his draft paper with the Melting Spell, confirmed that he knew the Abyss Contract Spell, and left satisfied.
• Bosco admired how quickly Arro had learned the spell and devised a powerful new trick.
• Bosco reviewed his records of Nicole Annelise’s appearances and considered using them to draw Arro closer to Owl Wizard Academy.