Chapter Summaries

An apprentice’s white iron-based isolation material produced extraordinary resistance results at the Noren Academy testing center, stirring interest among formal wizards while Benjamin remained unaware. In Warehouse No. 5, Benjamin watched Victor persuade his partner to take a task in an energy room, knowing its unpleasant side effects but choosing not to interfere.

• The testing wizards discovered that the white iron-based material had exceptional erosion and curse resistance, with results beyond their instrument’s range, despite poor physical and energy resistance.
• The testing center erupted in confusion, and wizards began contacting others about acquiring the material as the supervisor was summoned.
• Benjamin continued sorting ores in Warehouse No. 5, unaware that his sample had caused a commotion throughout the Academy.
• Victor arrived at the warehouse with his task partner and urged them to accept a higher-paying energy conductivity test task.
• Benjamin recognized that Victor had omitted the energy room’s likely side effects but decided not to expose him.

After sorting ore at Warehouse No. 5, Benjamin used the five points he earned to rent a private laboratory and break through to Qi Refining Level 2. At dawn, he stood watching the sunrise, newly strengthened and close to inscribing another Truth Rune.

• Benjamin used his spiritual power to identify low-grade Moonshadow Stone mixed with iron ore and continued sorting materials while learning about their properties.
• Victor showed a new apprentice how to sort Glowstone before Spinel Ore, and Benjamin observed without reacting to Victor's attempt to impress him.
• After finishing his task, Benjamin saw that he had earned five points and rented a temporary laboratory near the Potions Department.
• Benjamin let his True Essence surge through his body and guided it through the transformation, successfully advancing to Qi Refining Level 2.
• Benjamin reflected on the differences between cultivators' and wizards' advancement and lifespans, then noticed dawn breaking through the laboratory window.

Benjamin discovered that he could absorb Purple Qi of the East at sunrise in the Wizard World, purifying his True Essence and spiritual power. The Great Dao Library explained that both Purple Qi and Adamantine involved refining concepts, leaving Benjamin considering how this could let him create powerful materials from ordinary substances.

• Benjamin sensed faint Purple Qi in the sunrise and absorbed it by circulating his cultivation method.
• The Purple Qi refined Benjamin's True Essence, cleansed his physique, and purified his spiritual power.
• Benjamin asked the Great Dao Library why the Wizard World contained Purple Qi and how refining gold had produced Adamantine.
• The Library provided three texts explaining that advanced cultivation refined abstract concepts rather than merely tangible materials.
• Benjamin learned that Purple Qi embodied concepts of dawn, hope, and new life, and realized concept extraction might let him refine extraordinary materials from common substances.

Benjamin learned that a mysterious apprentice’s isolation material had stunned the Workshop’s wizards, then realized it was his own Adamantine-based material. He discovered that it had sold out for 500 points, leaving him worried that his secret and low-profile status were ruined.

• Benjamin listened as Amy told him that an apprentice’s isolation material had impressed official wizards with its resistance to elemental erosion and curses.
• Amy said the material had sold out on the Workshop’s Magic Network for 100 contribution points per unit and was listed as “White Iron-based Isolation Material.”
• Benjamin recognized the name and suspected that he had created the material Amy was describing.
• Benjamin rushed to the task hall and checked his account on a Magic Network Terminal.
• Benjamin saw a balance of 500 points and the material’s “sold out” status, then realized his work had drawn unwanted attention.

Benjamin spent half a month anxiously waiting for Noren Academy to investigate his unusual materials and hidden Cultivator powers, but no one came. During an Alchemy Workshop accident, he rescued Amy and recognized that the malfunctioning separator threatened to explode or release more corrosive dust.

• Benjamin feared the Academy would discover his secrets, so he concealed his aura and coated his body with Adamantine while waiting for an investigation that never came.
• During a public class, an old Element Dust Separator malfunctioned, sending its energy out of control and scattering corrosive gray dust.
• Benjamin shouted a warning, retreated behind a pillar, and pulled Amy out of the danger zone.
• The dust burned apprentices who could not escape in time, while chaotic energy currents knocked others to the floor.
• Benjamin studied the separator's failing energy flow and realized it could explode or cause a larger leak if no one stopped it.

Benjamin stopped a malfunctioning elemental dust separator and was taken away by enforcement wizards, expecting them to investigate him. In a secret chamber, Level Four wizards reviewed his actions and found no signs that his soul, mind, or relationships had been compromised.

• Benjamin rushed through the corrosive dust and tapped the separator’s key rune nodes until its alarms and unstable energy stopped.
• The apprentices cheered, while the injured were treated and evacuated by magic puppets; enforcement wizards took Benjamin away.
• In a secret chamber, powerful wizards reviewed footage of the accident and assessed the apprentices’ reactions.
• The wizards examined Benjamin’s soul, relationships, subconscious, and cognition, finding no evidence of parasitism, replacement, or alteration.

Noren Academy's wizards reviewed Benjamin and confirmed he was neither a spy nor under outside control. They protected his research under the Star Track Tribunal's covenant and approved a Level Two Training Agreement to support his growth.

• A balding wizard reported that Benjamin's fate showed no signs of contact with an unknown powerful being, and the Dean confirmed that the Plane Origin showed no external invasion within the past century.
• A wizard suggested seizing Benjamin's unusual material, but Mentor Clark warned that doing so would violate the Star Track Tribunal's covenant.
• Another wizard dismissed the material as a Level 5 achievement and pointed to Mentor Clark's past creation of a Level 6 material as an apprentice.
• Mentor Clark proposed activating the Level Two Training Agreement for Benjamin, and the wizards approved it by an overwhelming margin.
• Mentor Clark announced that the Academy would notify the relevant departments and mobilize resources for Benjamin.

Benjamin was summoned to a secret chamber, where Instructor Clark told him the Academy had activated his Level Two Training Agreement after his research and conduct impressed them. The agreement gave him expanded access to Academy resources and markets, leaving Benjamin relieved that the Academy regarded him as a promising apprentice rather than a threat.

• Enforcement wizards took Benjamin to a guarded chamber, where he waited without restraints or questioning.
• Instructor Clark arrived and praised Benjamin's White Iron-based Isolation Material and his response to the public laboratory incident.
• Clark explained that the Level Two Training Agreement gave Benjamin broader purchasing permissions, access to a private laboratory, and the ability to sell research across the Star Ring Federation.
• Benjamin asked whether the Academy would provide points or materials, and Clark said the agreement's privileges were the support; Benjamin would need to earn resources himself.
• Benjamin realized the Academy had recognized his potential and felt safe under its rules.

Mentor Clark explained that the Academy had thoroughly investigated Benjamin and found him to be a gifted, trustworthy apprentice, though some wizards had hoped he was connected to unknown gods. Benjamin realized his identity had been cleared and resolved to keep the Great Dao Library secret while using his knowledge to gain opportunities.

• Mentor Clark told Benjamin that the Academy had spent considerable resources checking his soul, connections, and potential, and had found no hidden danger.
• Mentor Clark revealed that some wizards had hoped Benjamin was linked to foreign gods whose knowledge might benefit Wizard Civilization.
• Benjamin grew alarmed at the thought that the Great Dao Library could be mistaken for a divine scheme and resolved to conceal it.
• Benjamin concluded that the Star Ring Alliance's Level Two Training Agreement confirmed his identity was cleared and gave him room to present his knowledge as Wizard World discoveries.
• Mentor Clark told Benjamin that the agreement would take effect within a week, then left the secret chamber.

Benjamin enjoyed his new privileges and established a mid-level laboratory, then used his Adamantine profits to plan how to compare the materials and laws of the Wizard World with those of the Cultivation World. He began looking for Wizard World materials to study, only to discover that their variety and the available information were overwhelming.

• Benjamin secured approval for a laboratory and rented a mid-level one so he could live and work there.
• Benjamin refined Adamantine from the Academy’s gold reserves, kept some for experiments, and sold ten units for 100,000 points.
• Benjamin bought elementary Runology and Potions courses after finding advanced knowledge courses far too expensive.
• Benjamin reasoned that comparing the two worlds’ materials could help him understand their differences and began browsing the Academy’s materials exchange.
• Benjamin found that Wizard Civilization’s countless conquered planes had produced an immense range of materials and reference works.

Benjamin realized his points could not buy every material he wanted, so he focused on studying and building a modest stockpile. Instructor Clark directed him to a hidden workshop project that gave him access to many unfamiliar materials, and Benjamin recognized the opportunity as a benefit of his Level Two Training Agreement.

• Benjamin abandoned his plan to buy materials in bulk and purchased a few samples for study.
• Benjamin spent the following weeks studying alchemy, potions, runes, and materials, then bought gold to refine into Adamantine.
• Instructor Clark asked Benjamin about his research and told him to check the Magic Network task section.
• Benjamin applied for a long-term project cataloging and analyzing stockpiled materials, and the announcement vanished after his application.
• Clark closed the project to further applicants and inferred Benjamin's interests from his recent purchases.

Benjamin reached Qi Refining Level Three and inscribed his fourth Truth Rune, choosing stability to deepen his Logistics Department studies. As he began constructing his first Wizardry Model, he reflected on how the Wizard System distinguished research-based models from rote-copied ones and privately viewed Logistics Department wizards as the orthodox practitioners and Combat Department wizards as cannon fodder.

• Benjamin advanced to Qi Refining Level Three after half a year of rapid cultivation.
• Benjamin inscribed his fourth Truth Rune, choosing stability from the Potions School, and planned to focus all nine core runes on Logistics Department schools.
• Benjamin examined the Wizardry Model taking shape in his Spirit Sea and considered how wizards constructed models through accumulated research and understanding.
• Benjamin reflected that rote-copied Wizardry Models could cast spells but could not be optimized or reliably adapted to changing conditions.
• Benjamin concluded that Logistics Department wizards were the orthodox practitioners, while Combat Department wizards served as cannon fodder.

Benjamin completed his Alchemy Wizardry Model and, after reaching the third level of Qi Refining, used Alchemy to make metal talisman paper. His first Flame Talisman produced only a tiny flame before going out.

• Benjamin finalized his Alchemy Wizardry Model, which let him analyze and control simple metals without external equipment.
• Benjamin reached the third level of Qi Refining and began learning talisman-making from the Great Dao Library.
• Benjamin used Alchemy to refine Adamantine and other metals into a workable talisman medium.
• Benjamin inscribed a Flame Talisman onto the metal paper and activated it in the laboratory Testing Ground.
• Benjamin watched the talisman release a thumb-sized flame that quickly went out.

Benjamin discovered that talismans could not draw on ambient Spirit Energy in the Wizard World, so their spells depended on his own True Essence and were less efficient than casting directly. He devised a plan to combine talisman principles with Wizard Artifacts so they could repeatedly invoke ambient elemental energy, but recognized that developing it would require deep study.

• Benjamin tested his talismans and found that their flames grew only when he supplied more True Essence, making them less efficient than casting spells directly.
• After studying the Great Dao Library and Alchemy Studies, Benjamin concluded that talismans invoked ambient Spirit Energy, while Wizard Artifacts stored complete spells and their energy in advance.
• Benjamin compared a talisman with a Wizard World spell scroll and confirmed that the scroll released its stored fireball without drawing on environmental energy.
• Benjamin proposed engraving instructions on Wizard Artifacts so they could use a small mental-power trigger to draw ambient elemental energy and repeatedly release spells.
• Benjamin realized he would need to understand talisman Seals and Wizard runes before combining the systems, and regretted not choosing Runology as his fourth Truth Rune.

After three years of research, Benjamin had reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining while holding his Wizard advancement at the peak of Level 3 Apprentice. He learned that Noren Academy would soon hold a dangerous trial ahead of a Federation-wide assessment, and saw it as a chance to test his nearly completed talisman-rune fusion research.

• Benjamin spent three years trying to combine wizard runes and Cultivation talisman techniques, while reaching the peak of Level 3 Wizard Apprentice and the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
• Amy told Benjamin that the Academy planned to hold a dangerous trial in about half a year, with possible fatalities.
• Benjamin contacted Mentor Clark, who confirmed the trial would take place on a recently conquered savage minor plane where Natives were resisting.
• Clark explained that the trial would prepare apprentices for a comprehensive assessment of more than a hundred Noren Academies five years later, requested by the Star Ring Federation.
• Benjamin decided that the trial would be a good opportunity to test his nearly successful talisman-rune fusion research.

As the trial approached, Benjamin completed his research into combining wizard runes and cultivation talismans and began making reusable Rune Artifacts. He crafted prototypes for attack, defense, and mobility, then carried them to the training ground to test them.

• Benjamin used Analysis Art and Alchemy to study wizard runes, talisman structures, and the principles behind basic talismans.
• Benjamin designed a reusable Rune Artifact made from Adamantine and specialized Metal Essences, combining Wizard World artifact-making with methods from the Great Dao Library.
• Benjamin crafted an attack-type Rune Artifact that cast a shape-manipulable Fireball Spell.
• Benjamin crafted a defense-type Rune Artifact that formed energy shields with properties based on the elemental energy they absorbed.
• Benjamin crafted a mobility-type Rune Artifact that let its user fly faster and more agilely than the Wizard World's Flight Spell alone.
• After checking the prototypes with laboratory instruments, Benjamin carried them into the training ground to test them.

Benjamin tested his prototype Attack-Type and Defense-Type Rune Artifacts in the training ground, confirming their power, versatility, and rapid shield deployment. The defense bracelet briefly endured a Level 1 Formal Wizard attack before burning out, and Benjamin decided to make extra artifacts as backups for the trial.

• Benjamin activated the Attack-Type Rune Artifact and blasted a heavy metal target with a fast, powerful fireball.
• Benjamin controlled the fireball in flight, steering it around obstacles and experimenting with changing its size and shape.
• Benjamin tested the Defense-Type Rune Artifact against apprentice-level attacks and found that its shields adapted to different elemental energies.
• Benjamin exposed the bracelet to a Level 1 Formal Wizard-grade attack, and its rapidly renewed shields protected the target before the artifact was destroyed.
• Benjamin concluded that the Rune Artifact's continuous casting let it withstand the attack and decided to prepare extra artifacts for the trial.

Benjamin completed and tested three Rune Artifact prototypes, then joined the Noren Academy apprentices gathering for the trial on the Savage Wilderness Plane. As the apprentices prepared to teleport, Amy thanked him for the advance information that had helped her profit, and warned him that the trial would be dangerous.

• Benjamin tested his Movement Rune Artifact, confirming its speed and maneuverability, and judged his three Rune Artifact prototypes successful.
• News of the trial spread across Noren Academy, prompting apprentices to prepare and causing practical Wizard Artifact and potion prices to soar.
• Benjamin decided to test the three prototypes during the trial because there was no time to pursue his other research ideas.
• Benjamin arrived at the teleportation plaza, where several thousand apprentices had gathered with their equipment.
• Amy told Benjamin that the trial information he had passed on helped her prepare and make a profit, then warned him that people might die.
• An authoritative voice at the center of the plaza ordered the crowd to be silent.

Benjamin prepared to enter the Gray Rock Plane trial, where apprentices would collect score tokens and compete based on their total points. As the teleportation began, he was sent into the plane with Amy and the other apprentices.

• A high-ranking wizard announced the trial rules, including the token objective, equipment limits, and Level 3 Wizard Apprentice requirement.
• Benjamin learned that older apprentices from the previous class could compete, and Victor warned him and Amy that those veterans might be much stronger.
• The high-ranking wizard gave each apprentice a ring that could transport its wearer out of the plane, though using it would void the trial results.
• Benjamin and Amy wished each other caution before Amy joined the line and Benjamin stepped into the teleportation array.
• Blue light and violent spatial fluctuations enveloped Benjamin as the teleportation began.

Benjamin arrived on the Gray Rock Plane and tested how its violent elemental power affected his Rune Artifacts. Satisfied with their enhanced performance, he flew toward an area rich in elemental energy to test them further and collect local materials.

• Benjamin activated his defensive shields after teleporting to the Gray Rock Plane and recognized that its elemental power was unusually violent.
• Benjamin tested his Rune Artifacts, finding that the earth shield was more durable, his movement was faster, and his fireball destroyed a boulder with greater force.
• Benjamin decided to test the artifacts' limits and collect materials unique to the plane, while aiming only to place in the top ten percent of the trial.
• Benjamin flew toward a region with denser elemental power and avoided other Wizard Apprentices, preferring to find living targets before fighting people.