Chapter Summaries

After Benjamin advanced, he led Amy and Victor away from the commotion as Wizard Apprentices spread across Eloria to infiltrate, sabotage, and fight. As the Wizard headquarters intensified its attack, Eloria’s leaders gathered to discuss the invasion and the threat posed by powerful foreign Wizards.

• Benjamin decided that the group would change locations after every advancement, and he, Amy, and Victor withdrew into the forest.
• The Wizard headquarters intensified its offensive to draw the Coalition of Eloria's gods away from the scattered Apprentices.
• David ravaged Orc camps, Seraphina Nightshadow gathered intelligence and stirred unrest, Kaelen Vania researched a large-scale rune array, and Rex Magnus began producing mechanical constructs.
• The Apprentices infiltrated Native factions across Eloria, while others were discovered and killed by the plane’s powerful figures.
• Leaders of Eloria’s races met at the palace to respond to the worsening Wizard offensive and discuss the foreign evil gods and their reinforcements.

The rulers of Eloria Plane discussed how to deal with the scattered invading Wizards, whose minds yielded no useful information and whose attacks weakened their rear territories. A young mage proposed recruiting adventurers through bounties, and the leaders approved a nationwide hunt for Wizard Apprentices.

• The human king, Dwarf elder, and priest described the damage caused by Wizards scattered behind the front lines and the difficulty of hunting them down.
• The Dragon King asked about extracting intelligence from captured Wizards, and the Magic Eye Clan reported that mind-reading had failed and cost three elders.
• The Dark Elf Queen said torture and seduction had also failed to make the Wizards reveal information.
• A young mage proposed bounties to mobilize adventurers against the Wizards and recruit successful hunters into the armies.
• The leaders approved the proposal, and bounty notices spread throughout Eloria Plane, beginning a nationwide hunt for Wizard Apprentices.

Benjamin, Amy, and Victor tested their newly advanced powers while traveling through the mountains and fought Forest Monsters with unusual incorporeal bodies. Benjamin identified their weakness and defeated them, but the Eye of Investigation then detected an extraordinary group fifty kilometers ahead.

• Benjamin and his companions used encounters with enemies along the road to practice controlling their newly advanced wizard powers.
• The Five-Skandha Rainbow Mirror detected about thirty Forest Monsters hiding in a foggy forest, and Amy warned that the Shaman's soul had not mentioned them.
• Benjamin found that physical attacks could not harm the Forest Monsters, then protected himself with layered defenses while he analyzed them.
• Benjamin used Elemental Erosion to destroy the Forest Monsters' energy cores, while Amy and Victor eliminated the remaining creatures.
• Amy praised Benjamin's abilities, and Victor remarked that the gap between them was growing.
• The Eye of Investigation detected a team of extraordinary individuals fifty kilometers ahead.

Benjamin, Amy, and Victor found a squad of Noren wizards and followed them to Eloria Frontline Camp, where they registered for the assessment. They learned they could use the camp’s facilities but could not access the wizard war mission system, leaving them to scout and make their own contributions.

• Benjamin used Analysis Art to identify the nearby wizards by their wizardry resonance, then approached them cautiously with Amy and Victor.
• The three waited until the five-wizard squad had defeated a swarm of giant spiders before Benjamin identified them as apprentices from Noren Academy 13 seeking support.
• The squad captain brought Benjamin, Amy, and Victor to Eloria Frontline Camp, a heavily armed headquarters that resembled a miniature Noren Academy.
• The apprentices registered their identities at a Rune Tower and received permission to use the camp’s facilities, trade with the Workshop, or leave the Plane and forfeit the assessment.
• The registration wizard explained that apprentices could not access the war mission system because they had to scout for themselves and prove they could survive and create value in an unknown environment.

After discovering they could not accept missions in the camp, Benjamin, Victor, and Amy discussed how to earn contribution points and support the war. Amy proposed obtaining intelligence through a contact she had made while buying her Level 5 Wizard Artifact.

• Benjamin, Victor, and Amy realized their camp permissions allowed resupply and travel but did not let them accept missions.
• Benjamin explained that the obvious routes to contribution points—field intelligence and research—were difficult because earlier wizards had already covered accessible information and materials.
• Amy suggested buying or trading for intelligence from other wizards and handling it themselves.
• Benjamin questioned whether anyone in the camp would trust newly arrived apprentices with useful intelligence.
• Amy revealed that she knew the Academy senior who had sold her the Level 5 Wizard Artifact engraved with the "Soul Search" Wizardry Model.

Amy led Benjamin and Victor to meet her former seller, Senior Viola, hoping to obtain intelligence and find a wizard squad seeking assistants. Viola offered two pieces of intelligence for free but asked what they could offer in exchange for more, and Benjamin suggested he might have something.

• Amy explained that returning wizards sometimes sold used Wizard Artifacts, and said she had befriended a senior by buying from her and bringing her customers.
• Amy contacted the senior and led Benjamin and Victor through the camp to meet Viola in her rune-equipped quarters.
• Viola greeted Amy and scrutinized Benjamin and Victor before hearing that they wanted information and opportunities for cooperation.
• Viola said wizard transactions required equal exchange and offered Amy two suitable pieces of intelligence for free, but demanded something valuable for any more.
• Amy and Victor fell silent because they had little to offer, and Benjamin said he might have something that interested Viola.

Benjamin offered Viola a self-created potion that slightly improved her Spirit Sea, soul purity, and aptitude, persuading her to trade information and introductions to other Wizards. They agreed on a price, and Viola immediately began contacting her connections.

• Benjamin deduced that Viola had sold Amy a Level 5 Wizard Artifact to gather resources for advancing to Level 3, and Viola confirmed his guess.
• Benjamin gave Viola his unusual potion, which she drank and found had improved her Spirit Sea and soul purity.
• Viola accepted Benjamin's offer and agreed to provide intelligence about local forces and bounties on the Eloria Plane, plus introductions to other Wizard teams.
• Benjamin and Viola negotiated the referral fee and settled on twenty-five doses of potion for each Wizard she introduced, with Viola agreeing to help make the arrangements succeed.
• After Benjamin and the others left, Viola contacted a Wizard named Mok and offered to introduce Benjamin's group for two doses of potion.

The leaders of the races agreed to continue using adventurer bounties while deploying troops to trap Wizard Apprentices and protect the rear. Following Viola’s intelligence, Benjamin, Amy, and Victor infiltrated a mine to investigate unusual minerals, where a Lava Clan elder confronted them.

• The leaders argued over adventurers who had harmed locals while pursuing bounties, then agreed to keep the strategy and set traps for Wizard Apprentices.
• Viola’s intelligence helped Benjamin, Amy, and Victor avoid danger and find promising targets across the plane.
• The trio entered a remote mine to collect samples of unusual minerals valuable to Alchemy and Magic Potion research.
• As the three approached the mineral vein, the tunnels shook and a Lava Clan elder emerged, declaring the mine to be his clan’s territory.

Benjamin, Amy, and Victor fought an Underground Demon Elder empowered by the surrounding mineral veins and defeated it with a Level 4 Wizard Artifact. After Benjamin recovered, Amy detected an altar ahead, which began shaking violently as they approached.

• The Underground Demon Elder attacked Amy, Victor, and Benjamin, shrugging off Amy and Victor's spells and healing quickly from Benjamin's energy bullets.
• Benjamin used layered defenses to hold the Demon Elder back while Amy and Victor changed tactics and restrained its movements.
• Benjamin fired the Level 4 Wizard Artifact's Energy Gathering Ray, fatally cutting the Demon Elder in two.
• Benjamin drank a Magic Potion to recover, and Amy reported energy gathering at an altar deeper in the mine shaft.
• The altar began shaking violently.

Benjamin, Amy, and Victor discovered that the altar was a trap and faced a Level 3 Blood Angel. They bought Benjamin enough time to shield them, and he began assembling thousands of Attack-Type Rune Artifacts while the Angel was trapped outside.

• Benjamin, Amy, and Victor uncovered a red altar surrounded by Underground Demon corpses and realized the dead Elder had triggered a trap.
• A Blood Angel appeared and severed Victor’s arm before Victor could activate his Wizard Artifact.
• Victor feigned surrender and attacked with a Vacuum Blade, while Amy used Heat Manipulation to briefly stiffen the Angel; the Angel repelled Victor’s attack and blasted him into a wall.
• Benjamin distracted the Angel with a crystal ball and activated Level 4 shields around himself, Amy, and Victor.
• Benjamin used Alchemy to assemble thousands of Attack-Type Rune Artifacts into a large ring within the shield’s expanded protection.

Benjamin activated his Full-Power Stance and fought the Blood Angel in a destructive aerial battle, using an Acceleration Rune Artifact to track his faster opponent. The two became locked in a battle of attrition as Benjamin's energy reserves dwindled and the Blood Angel's divine power ran low.

• Amy and Victor fled deeper into the mine while the Blood Angel watched Benjamin prepare his ultimate armament.
• Benjamin activated the Great Light Manifestation and unleashed a barrage of energy bullets that destroyed the mine and caused the mountain range to explode.
• Benjamin used an Acceleration Rune Artifact to perceive the Blood Angel's movements and direct his barrage accurately while his Level 4 shield blocked the Angel's attacks.
• The Blood Angel struggled to survive the barrage, and Benjamin replaced his shield with another defensive Wizard Artifact when the first one failed.
• Benjamin revealed that three Energy-Storage Rune Artifact discs powered his attacks, while both fighters concealed their fear that their strength would run out first.
• Natives who approached were obliterated, and the gods refrained from intervening as Benjamin and the Blood Angel remained locked in their stalemate.

Benjamin defeated the Blood Angel after a prolonged battle by trapping him with Energy Bullets and killing him with a Level 4 Wizard Artifact. The second leaderboard update began, and Amy and Victor emerged to find the devastated battlefield before receiving the new Noren Workshop rankings.

• Benjamin kept firing Energy Bullets as the Blood Angel's divine power dwindled and he dropped to the ground to evade the attacks.
• The second leaderboard update tore open the Eloria Plane's sky, distracting the Blood Angel as the gods' phantoms appeared.
• Benjamin transformed his barrage into an energy cage, overloaded his last Rune Artifact array, and killed the Blood Angel with a crimson ray from his Level 4 Wizard Artifact.
• The observers saw that the battle had destroyed the mountain range and forest, leaving a vast canyon and scorched land.
• Amy and Victor emerged from underground, stared in shock at the devastation, and received the new Noren Workshop contribution leaderboard.

Benjamin’s defeat of the Level 3 Blood Angel made him and Augusta the standout apprentices in the rankings, while the battle convinced Victor and Amy that they could no longer keep pace with him in the field. They agreed to manage intelligence support at camp as Benjamin set out alone.

• Benjamin ranked first and Augusta ranked third, drawing attention from apprentices and high-ranking wizards, who praised their performance at Noren Workshop headquarters.
• Benjamin ignored the fleeing Eloria scouts, then carried the severely injured Victor back to camp with Amy.
• The camp’s medical array and regeneration potions restored Victor’s severed arm, and he recovered enough to fight again after a day.
• Victor and Amy told Benjamin they could no longer keep up with his strength and offered to manage camp intelligence support instead.
• Benjamin accepted their plan, gave them purple potions to improve themselves, and left the camp alone.

Bert Vera Augusta led two fellow apprentices to destroy a corrupted swamp fortress, only to discover an ambush of more than a dozen Level 2 Beings. Trapped and outnumbered, she revealed the electromagnetic Wizardry Model she had developed through years of study and turned the battle against her enemies.

• Bert Vera Augusta used her family connections and intelligence network to locate a corrupted swamp fortress and led two apprentices to attack it.
• Augusta unleashed Heaven's Punishment Thunder Prison, destroying corrupted creatures and breaking through the fortress defenses.
• Augusta and her teammates discovered more than a dozen Level 2 Beings waiting inside, and the enemies trapped them with barriers and suppression fields.
• Augusta remembered Benjamin's lead during their Academy trial and declared that she had not lost yet.
• Augusta revealed her Electromagnetic Control Wizardry Model and manipulated iron sand into whips, spikes, and flying shuttles to overwhelm the attackers.

Augusta destroyed the Corrupted Swamp Fortress and rose to third place on the leaderboard, while Benjamin left his teammates behind to explore Eloria in disguise. After killing an adventurer and taking his identity, Benjamin successfully entered Golden port.

• Augusta defeated the fortress's Level 2 defenders, killed the fallen priest, and destroyed the Corrupted Swamp Fortress, though the battle left her severely exhausted.
• The leaderboard update placed Augusta third and Benjamin first, and Augusta vowed that she had not lost to him.
• Benjamin parted from Amy and Victor, concealed his wizard identity, and traveled through Eloria as a warrior to explore the plane and find materials for artifact refining.
• After reaching Golden port, Benjamin waited until he found an adventurer carrying the documents he needed, then killed him and used the Soul Search Wizard Artifact to copy his memories.
• Benjamin drank the Workshop's disguise potion, took the adventurer's identification and mission certificate, and passed the city guards' inspection to enter Golden port.

Disguised as Jack, Benjamin completed a mission at Golden port’s Adventurer Guild and was challenged by Karl “Iron Hammer” and his gang. After crippling several men and driving Karl away, Jack left the tavern as a feared figure in the port.

• Jack entered the Drunken Dolphin and turned in his mission token and letter for a few silver coins.
• When a thief tried to steal his pouch, Jack seized the man’s wrist and broke his arm.
• After Karl’s lackey tried to trip him, Jack stomped the man’s leg and broke it.
• Karl ordered his men to attack, but Jack swiftly broke the arms or legs of all seven or eight attackers.
• Karl threw down his iron hammer and fled, while the other adventurers stayed out of Jack’s way.
• Jack left the tavern, and Golden port’s Adventurer Guild gained a new figure no one dared provoke.

After settling in Golden port as Jack, Benjamin gathered intelligence from adventurers, tavern talk, and church contacts. He learned how the plane’s kingdoms and gods were responding to the wizard invasion, and recognized that the wizards had used the gods’ fear of losing faith to discourage a desperate counterattack.

• Benjamin frequented the Drunken Dolphin and gained access to the second-floor quests after the bartender began treating him with respect.
• Benjamin befriended Old Gray, who explained that powerful adventurer groups served as the kingdoms’ covert forces and had been conscripted to fight the wizards.
• Benjamin learned that the kingdoms had joined forces against the wizards, though old rivalries and tensions were resurfacing as the offensive eased.
• Benjamin made small donations to a little-known chapel and used conversations with its clergy to learn that the gods feared losing their believers to the invading wizards.
• Benjamin recognized that the wizards had deliberately made the gods fear competition for faith so they would avoid a final battle using the Plane Origin.

Benjamin bought Dawn Mansion in Golden port and turned its basement into a vast laboratory using a spatial expansion core. While the laboratory remained unfinished and his research into the Divine Power Faith Network had not begun, he started searching the city for special materials.

• Benjamin bought Dawn Mansion from Baron Garcia for three thousand gold coins and received the deed that afternoon.
• Benjamin cleared and reinforced the mansion’s basement, then installed a universal spatial expansion core and transformed the cramped room into a vast hall.
• Benjamin checked the expanded space and decided to install an Elemental Pool next.
• Benjamin postponed his research into the Divine Power Faith Network and began exploring Golden port’s markets, docks, and slums to seek special materials.

Benjamin gathered Mortal Dust Aura in Golden Port and posted a highly paid task for Hundred Flower Dew. After rejecting fraudulent offerings and rewarding genuine collectors, he reflected on how people’s character mattered more than their origins.

• Benjamin harvested Mortal Dust Aura while considering the Talisman Seal that refined it, then decided to focus on special cultivation methods that worked in the Wizard World.
• Benjamin asked the Drunken Dolphin tavern’s half-orc bartender to post a Hundred Flower Dew collection task, offering one gold coin per small cup.
• Several days later, Benjamin tested the adventurers’ and townspeople’s offerings, exposed adulterated dew, and broke a farmer’s shin when he tried to grab him.
• Benjamin paid three gold coins for a servant’s pure Hundred Flower Dew and rewarded a young orphan for bringing another genuine sample.
• Benjamin reflected that morality depended on the individual, not their origin or occupation, as the day’s encounters tempered his understanding.

Benjamin used the identity of Jack to establish himself in Golden port, driving off intruders and securing the local nobles’ acceptance. Two months later, he remained absorbed in researching the Divine Power Faith Network and realized that further progress would require better research materials.

• Benjamin used Glimmer Eyes and magic to capture intruders at Dawn Mansion, turning them into test subjects for his research.
• After repeated attacks failed, Golden port’s underworld factions stopped challenging Dawn Mansion and avoided Jack.
• Ryan brought the injured Karl to apologize, and Benjamin accepted while ordering that Karl stay away from him.
• Benjamin spent the next two months researching the Divine Power Faith Network in his basement laboratory.
• Benjamin concluded that his research could strengthen the Great Light Manifestation by more than thirty percent, but he lacked a god to study.