Chapter Summaries

He Xi could not buy [Lightning Guidance] because upperclassmen had bought out the shop’s stock, so he planned to look for it elsewhere. At home, Tata tried to help him bathe, but fled after someone appeared at the bathroom door; Zoya then entered and offered to help.

• He Xi learned that [Lightning Guidance] was sold out at Silver Scholar and that it normally cost around twelve Gold Shields.
• Tata cooked dinner with Zoya’s guidance while waiting for He Xi to return, and Bruce eagerly greeted him at the door.
• Tata served He Xi clam-stewed cod and later prepared his bath, pleased when he thanked her.
• Tata entered the bathroom wearing a revealing apron and offered to help He Xi bathe.
• Someone appeared at the bathroom door, startling Tata into fleeing, and Zoya later entered and asked He Xi if he needed help.

He Xi drew Zoya into the bathtub under the pretense of demonstrating how to bathe someone, then used the conversation to coax her into showing him Tata’s apology gesture. The chapter ended with Zoya realizing he had tricked her as he began touching her.

• Zoya reluctantly agreed to help He Xi bathe, and he claimed her technique differed from that of a bath attendant.
• He Xi pulled Zoya into the bathtub and began bathing her while asking about her recent commissions.
• Zoya asked whether He Xi would teach Tata the same way, and he said he planned to punish her for failing to apologize properly.
• He Xi persuaded Zoya to demonstrate Tata’s apology gesture, then began touching her as she bowed.

He Xi visited Karte Grand Market to look for skill scrolls and found a vendor selling a reliable [Lightning Guidance] scroll. The vendor offered to obtain an [Earthstone Eruption] scroll for him, while Tata’s unexplained departure left him worried about her.

• He Xi found Tata’s breakfast, note, and ten Silver Scale coins, learning that she had left to take care of personal matters.
• He Xi took Bruce to Karte Grand Market, where they saw a signed Adventure Card depicting Wen Nai Ke Fusi.
• He Xi browsed the market’s skill scrolls and found a stall whose scrolls gave off stable magical fluctuations.
• He Xi bought the [Lightning Guidance] scroll for eleven Gold Shields after checking it with [Fivik Appraisal Spell].
• The bundled stallkeeper asked what kind of scroll He Xi wanted, and he requested an earth-element area-damage spell.
• The stallkeeper said they could get He Xi an [Earthstone Eruption] scroll.

He Xi bought an Earthstone Eruption scroll and searched the market for ingredients to cook dinner for Zoya, discovering and bargaining for a bottle of soy sauce. The chapter ended with Zoya arriving home to find He Xi frying food over a stream of fire breathed by Bruce.

• He Xi arranged to buy an Earthstone Eruption scroll for around 160 Gold Shields and learned the seller was available on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
• He Xi bought a little over a pound of Luminous-Feelers Green-Shell Shrimp to cook for Zoya.
• He Xi recognized the aroma of Karatu Black Sauce as soy sauce and bought the bottle from Fat Hal for fifteen Silver Scales.
• Zoya followed the strong aroma to 46 Sea Breeze Street and found He Xi cooking with Bruce breathing fire beneath his frying pan.

He Xi cooked dinner with Zoya and learned that Tata had wanted to make grilled meat patties for him before she left. After mastering Lightning Guidance, he visited Lionel at the academy, where Bruce demonstrated his flame magic and explained Lionel’s confused lessons about sulfur ore.

• He Xi used Bruce’s flames to cook pepper beef and served Zoya shrimp with soy sauce dipping sauce.
• Zoya told He Xi that Tata had learned about his fondness for grilled meat patties and hoped she would return; Bruce promised to apologize for bullying her.
• He Xi studied the Lightning Guidance scroll and mastered the skill, gaining one point of Wisdom.
• At the academy, Lionel begged He Xi to teach him Mage Hand and Mage Armor after mixing up his lessons.
• Bruce introduced himself to Lionel as a spellcaster skilled in flame magic, breathed fire, and revealed why sulfur ore was part of Lionel’s confused instructions.

Lionel took Bruce’s absurd advice about fire magic seriously, while He Xi left Bruce with him and went to Instructor Mirabelle’s Lightning Bolt lesson. Mirabelle warned the students that they had to successfully construct and cast the spell before the third class to earn credits, then began gathering lightning.

• Lionel asked why Bruce could breathe fire from his rear, and Bruce claimed it improved mana conversion efficiency.
• Bruce advised Lionel to bark at an opponent twice before battle to provoke anger, and Lionel recorded the advice in his notebook.
• The next morning, He Xi arrived at the fifth floor of the Tower of Strength and entered Practice Room No. 4.
• Instructor Mirabelle warned the students that they had to successfully construct and cast Lightning Bolt before the third class to earn credits.
• Mirabelle told the students to focus and gathered blue-white lightning above her fingertips.

Instructor Mirabelle taught the students how to balance compression and release when casting Lightning Bolt, then invited them to practice. He Xi observed Lidona’s casting and recognized the gemstone on her staff as resembling the Heart of the Swamp, but he could not explain why it was connected to her.

• Mirabelle explained how to shape and release mana to cast a stable Lightning Bolt, then demonstrated the spell on a Training Dummy.
• He Xi observed the sixteen third-year students and chose not to volunteer first.
• Lidona volunteered, and Mirabelle moved a metal Training Dummy to the center of the Practice Room for her.
• Lidona began casting while holding her staff, and He Xi noticed the deep blue gemstone at its tip resembled the Heart of the Swamp.
• He Xi wondered whether Lidona was Flora’s daughter, but dismissed the idea because Lidona showed no elven traits, then returned his attention to Lightning Bolt.

He Xi carefully gathered lightning elements while practicing [Lightning Bolt], revealing unusual control that led Mirabelle to suspect he had the rare [Elemental Harmonizer] talent. As the lesson ended, his spell suddenly broke free, and Mirabelle stepped in front of him.

• He Xi slowly guided lightning elements toward the critical balance needed to form [Lightning Bolt].
• Lai An and Lidona recognized that He Xi was controlling the spell’s gathering stage unusually well, while Mirabelle suspected he had [Elemental Harmonizer].
• Mirabelle moved the other students away and stayed nearby as He Xi continued practicing after class.
• Lidona left the Practice Room when Mirabelle warned that He Xi’s spell might become dangerous.
• A silver-white lightning serpent burst from He Xi’s fingertips, and Mirabelle stepped in front of him.

He Xi practiced Lightning Bolt and a self-designed earth spell, then went with Zoya to Karte Grand Market to prepare for buying an Earthstone Eruption scroll. The chapter ended when Bruce smelled the cat he disliked nearby.

• He Xi mastered Lightning Bolt under Mirabelle's guidance, and she reminded him to save mana for Monday's demonstration.
• He Xi practiced Lightning Bolt in the first-floor Practice Rooms, then used his earth spell to bury himself and recover mana through Earth Affinity.
• He Xi asked the Silver Scholar for an Earthstone Eruption scroll but found none, and he told Zoya about his plan to meet a stallholder the next morning.
• He Xi and Zoya went to Karte Grand Market, where he planned to spend 160 Gold Shields on the scroll and stopped Zoya from paying for him.
• Bruce sniffed around the market and told He Xi he thought he smelled the cat he disliked.

He Xi, Zoya, and Bruce followed Tata’s scent from the market to the Gray Rat Tavern, where they found signs she had been attacked and tracked her trail inside. He Xi sent an invisible Bruce and Zoya to investigate the tavern’s back passage while keeping an eye on a mysterious cloaked stranger.

• Bruce led He Xi and Zoya to an alley where they found Tata’s blood, fur, and signs of a struggle.
• Bruce followed a tangled trail of scents south into the Hidden Valley District and stopped at the Gray Rat Tavern.
• He Xi and Zoya entered the tavern, where He Xi recognized the halflings as possible members of the Shadow Hand.
• Bruce followed Tata’s scent toward a dark passage, but He Xi called him back before a nearby thug could interfere.
• He Xi spotted a cloaked stranger whose level he could not appraise, then used [Shadow Dodge] and Telepathic Communication to send Bruce and Zoya invisibly into the passage to investigate.

He Xi and his allies attacked the Gray Mouse Gang’s warehouse to rescue Tata and defeat Claw. Claw fell, but a hooded figure tried to take something from his pocket before He Xi pulled the body back with [Lightning Guidance].

• Tata refused to reveal her hidden money to the guards, who told her Yuna had already been sold.
• He Xi learned Claw was not in the warehouse and sent Zoya to attack the guard inside.
• Claw entered the warehouse, where Zoya, Bruce, and He Xi attacked him, but he endured their strikes and charged He Xi.
• A hooded figure appeared behind Claw and stabbed him through the chest, killing him.
• The hooded figure reached for Claw’s pocket, but He Xi used [Lightning Guidance] to pull Claw’s body away and claim it.

He Xi took a black Adventure Card from Claw’s pocket, then escaped the tavern as a cloaked attacker tried to seize it. Watchers arrived on Griffins, and He Xi led one into a chase that left the rider wondering whether he was being toyed with.

• He Xi found a black Adventure Card on Claw’s corpse, and the cloaked man lunged for it while He Xi and Zoya delayed him with spells.
• He Xi stored the card in his Dimensional Bag, and a crash and Griffin’s cry made the cloaked man flee through the hole in the wall.
• He Xi told Zoya to rescue Tata and escape invisibly, then headed toward the street outside the Gray Rat Tavern.
• A Watcher on a Griffin ordered everyone to stop, but He Xi ran, prompting the Watcher to pursue him.
• After two blocks, the Watcher noticed He Xi kept accelerating and wondered if the fleeing figure was toying with him.

He Xi escaped the guardian by tricking him into striking a wall, then returned to Karte Grand Market and searched for the small figure. He Xi stopped at a shop selling Adventure Cards, where he learned there were no black-rarity cards and left without buying any.

• He Xi checked that Zoya was safe, then used his black Adventure Card to distract the guardian and make him mistake a falling illusion for a spell; the guardian plunged from his griffin and struck a wall.
• He Xi returned to Karte Grand Market, where customers discussed the cavalry and griffins sent toward the Hidden Valley District.
• He Xi found the Skill Scroll stall empty and decided to return the following Wednesday to look for the small figure.
• He Xi entered Moment of Fate and asked the clerk about black Adventure Cards and the odds of drawing a gold card.
• The clerk said there were no black-rarity cards, so He Xi left without buying any.

At 46 Sea Breeze Street, Tata told Zoya how Claw deceived her and Yuna while Zoya treated her wounds. Reassured that she was safe and would not be cast out, Tata asked Zoya whether she and He Xi had slept together.

• Zoya bandaged Tata's reopened wounds as Tata thanked her and He Xi for rescuing her.
• Tata explained that Yuna had cared for her and that they sought the Shadow Hand to find a rogue who had taught them Combat Techniques.
• Tata said Claw claimed he could help them join the Shadow Hand, then deceived her into earning money and told her Yuna had gone on a secret mission.
• Tata learned Claw had sold Yuna, and she told Zoya she had planned to return to Hidden Valley District with her savings and say goodbye.
• Zoya reassured Tata that she and He Xi would protect her, and Tata asked whether Zoya and He Xi had slept together.

Flora played out a memory of He Xi and a dog using light and shadow in her private pool atop the Observer's Tower. When Veron Jaxos arrived to examine a Magic Seal for one of her juniors, she composed herself and welcomed him.

• Flora recreated a scene with He Xi and a dog, acting out their conversation with light-and-shadow figures.
• The tower's golem announced Veron Jaxos's arrival, interrupting Flora's game.
• Flora dismissed the figures, changed into her mage's robe, and ordered black tea.
• Veron entered the tower, eager to see Flora after receiving her request for help with a junior's Magic Seal.
• Flora turned from the window and greeted Veron.

Flora brought He Xi, Zoya, and Bruce to meet Archmage Veron, who investigated the seal suppressing Zoya’s magic. After his initial dispelling spell failed, Veron prepared to test the seal with an eighth-circle Anti-Magic Barrier.

• Veron arrived early at Flora’s Observer’s Tower, and Bruce’s highest access permission interrupted their conversation.
• Flora met He Xi, Zoya, and Bruce, then covered Zoya’s eyes to conceal her identity before leading them upstairs to Veron.
• At He Xi’s prompting, Zoya introduced herself as Bruce and repeated their prepared story about being cursed in an ancient elven ruin.
• Zoya demonstrated Mage Hand, and Veron recognized that an unusual ancient elven seal was heavily suppressing her magic.
• Veron’s third-circle Dispel Magic had no effect on Zoya, so he requested a training ground to cast Anti-Magic Barrier.
• Zoya removed her magical ornaments and daggers and handed them to He Xi before Veron began the test.

After returning home, He Xi reunited with Zoya and Tata and learned more about the strange black card taken from Claw. He discovered it was an Adventure Card labeled “No. 142—Shadow” and wondered whether attuning it would make him part of the Shadow Hand.

• Tata asked Zoya whether she would object to Mistress having a romantic relationship with someone else, and Zoya firmly said she would.
• He Xi returned home, where Tata embraced him and Zoya quietly welcomed him; Bruce was left despondent after his attempt to greet He Xi was ignored.
• He Xi made cod and clam stew, which lifted Tata’s spirits and increased her Favorability toward him.
• While eating, He Xi considered Claw’s black card, the Shadow Hand, and the Gray Mouse Gang, questioning whether Claw and the cloaked man belonged to the organization.
• He Xi used Fivik Appraisal Spell on the card and learned it was an Adventure Card labeled No. 142—Shadow; he wondered whether replacing Claw’s attunement imprint would make him a member of the Shadow Hand.

Veron failed to undo Zoya’s seal with [Anti-Magic Barrier], which instead left her dizzy and weakened. He suggested [Imprisonment] as a last resort to preserve her life in time stasis, and He Xi left with Zoya to let her rest while Flora continued searching for a solution.

• Veron used [Anti-Magic Barrier] on Zoya, but the seal remained untouched and Zoya became dizzy.
• Flora stopped Veron’s spell and gave him a mana potion, while He Xi caught the unsteady Zoya.
• Veron apologized for failing to break the seal, and Flora said she would search ancient texts for another way.
• Veron proposed [Imprisonment] in time stasis as a last resort if the seal threatened Zoya’s life before her coming-of-age.
• Zoya comforted He Xi and said she could accept sleeping for a long time if no other solution existed.
• Veron departed, and He Xi took Zoya away to rest as Flora promised to keep searching.

After Veron failed to remove Zoya’s seal, He Xi asked about the Hiloan Family and promised not to seek them out unless Zoya faced slumber. Left alone, Zoya recovered a hidden memory directing her to the Silver Radiance Temple in the Land of Falling Stars, and decided to face her people’s past by herself.

• He Xi asked Zoya about the Hiloan Family and said he might seek them out if she had no other way to avoid slumber.
• Zoya asked He Xi to wait until he was powerful enough to protect himself, and he left with Bruce after promising to send Beilu to check on her.
• After He Xi left, Zoya remembered her mother had sealed away a memory and instructed her to find Priestess Alus at the Silver Radiance Temple in the Land of Falling Stars.
• Zoya recalled her mother’s plea to live without seeking revenge and admitted she still resisted awakening her people’s power.
• Zoya decided to travel to the temple and face the matter alone, hoping to return soon without worrying He Xi.

Flora disguised herself to visit Lidona, but encountered He Xi outside the Observer's Tower and was recognized. He Xi asked her about the Hiloan family, then accompanied her toward the Magic Academy.

• Flora disguised herself as a scholar and ordered the rock golem to deny access to the Observer's Tower.
• Flora found He Xi and Bruce waiting outside the tower, but He Xi recognized her despite her disguise.
• He Xi asked Flora about High Elves surnamed Hiloan, and she named Valois Hiloan, a legendary paladin devoted to Lucis, along with others she knew.
• He Xi thanked Flora for bringing Archmage Veron, and Flora told him to repay her by coming to the Magic Academy with her.
• Flora headed toward the academy, and He Xi hurried after her.