Chapter Summaries

As criticism of Elemental Card Magic Duel spread, Ron and the Imperial City Magic Academy announced a partnership to hold the Magic Cup and establish the Card Research Institute. The generous prize pool and research funding thrilled players and mages, while the dean privately admitted that the money made the offer impossible to refuse.

• Ron reviewed the Magic Battle Hall's ranking data and told Nora to prepare to open Gold Rank by mid-March.
• Instructors from the magic academy, the First Military Academy, and other academies criticized Magic Duel and Elemental Cards.
• Ron posted an announcement at the Magic Battle Hall, while the Imperial City Magic Academy posted a matching announcement about their partnership.
• The announcement revealed the Magic Cup's 40,000-gold-coin prize pool and the Card Research Institute's funding and paid positions.
• Players and academy staff reacted excitedly to the competition prizes and research opportunities, while the dean privately blamed the generous offer for the cooperation.

Ron secured the magic academy’s cooperation with the Magic Battle Hall, reviving interest in Magic Duel and expanding plans for academy clubs. As the Magic Cup grew and a new healing potion neared mass production, Ron remained focused on building his wealth and ignored the System Shop’s skins.

• Ron arranged for the dean of studies to cooperate through the Card Research Institute, prompting Imperial City Magic Academy to endorse the Magic Cup.
• Magic Duel surged in popularity, the Magic Cup gained more than a hundred registrants in one day, and the Magic Battle Hall began recruiting commentators.
• Several local academies sought partnerships, and Ron suggested they create campus Magic Duel Clubs that could compete in a future Academy League Cup.
• Ron’s change of course left Melken’s later supporters isolated and cost them the chance to apply for lucrative Card Research Institute positions.
• An all-purpose healing potion based on Scale Leaf passed testing at the Imperial City Magic Academy laboratory and was ready for batch production.
• Ron decided not to spend Wealth Points on animated skins because the available options did not interest him.

Ron explained why he kept several powerful plants out of the Flower Shop and set the format for the increasingly popular Magic Cup. After teasing Nora and completing a daily quest, he used its dynamic-skin reward on the Goddess of Harvest and resisted spending money on more skins.

• Nora organized Ron’s businesses and asked why the Flower Shop did not sell many useful plants, and Ron explained that some effects could cause dangerous upheaval if widely publicized.
• Nora reported that more than one thousand contestants had registered for the Magic Cup, and Ron scheduled preliminary matches for March 22nd, with the top three hundred advancing.
• Ron planned the Magic Cup’s later stages: preliminary-round duels, a 128-person elimination bracket, a round-robin tournament for the top sixteen, and finals for the top four.
• Ron stroked Nora’s cat ears while discussing the tournament, and Nora fled the study to take a bath.
• Ron completed a daily quest, received a dynamic skin called “Waist Twist,” used it on the Goddess of Harvest, and closed the System Panel without buying more skins.

Ron advised Husky to think carefully about the reasons behind his tribe’s destruction before seeking revenge, while the Magic Cup drew growing attention across the city. After overseeing the successful safety tests at his private experimental area, Ron completed a side quest and received a new quest to investigate the relationship between magic power and elements.

• Ron asked Husky what he wanted to do with his future and warned him that rushing into revenge without understanding his tribe’s destruction could get him killed.
• Public interest in the Magic Cup grew after people returned from the Spring Hunt, and Ron judged that most entrants had little chance of reaching the prize-winning elimination stage.
• Ron inspected the expanding factory outside Chaos City and planned to establish a second production base in Tansang City under Guy’s supervision.
• Ron visited Harper at the private experimental area, where Harper conducted repeated small-scale tests of the magic power-element reaction zone.
• After the tests succeeded, Ron completed the quest to build a private experimental area and received Mimic Grass Seeds and a cultivation method.
• The system gave Ron a follow-up quest to uncover the essential relationship between magic power and elements, with Silver Iron Pine Seeds and a cultivation method as the reward.

Ron secured Harper’s access to the reaction zone under Edith’s supervision, then explored the Mimic Grass cultivation method he had received as a quest reward. He discovered that the plant could project realistic moving images, including a simulated version of his Water Ball spell.

• Ron approved Harper’s use of the reaction zone and told him to schedule experiments with Edith and prioritize safety.
• Ron asked Edith to oversee Harper’s experiments and keep control of the reaction zone’s main key.
• Ron considered the system quest about magic and the elements, then absorbed the Mimic Grass Cultivation Method.
• Ron planted Mimic Grass in the Dimensional Plane, linked himself to it with a drop of blood, and tested its disguise ability.
• Ron discovered the Mimic Grass could imitate his movements and project a lifelike image of a Water Ball spell.

Ron explored Mimic Grass’s projection, recording, and inherited-material abilities, then planned to use it to prepare visual effects for the upcoming Magic Cup. He arranged to meet the Magic Academy’s leaders and learned that Nora had recruited dozens of mages to help supply spell materials.

• Ron tested Mimic Grass’s projections, discovering that it could record its surroundings, project convincing images, and extend its range by scattering secretion from its fruit.
• Ron planted Mimic Grass seeds and found that the new plants inherited their mother’s existing material library but did not gain materials she acquired later.
• Ron asked Edith to arrange a visit with Principal Wosbaits and the two vice principals so he could request their help with materials for limited legendary-tier spells.
• Nora told Ron that the Imperial City Magic Academy had recruited several dozen mages for the Card Research Institute, including more than ten sixth-tier mages.

Ron tested Mimic Grass with Sylvie and discovered how to keep every plant grown from his linked specimen under his control. He left Sylvie in charge of collecting materials for the Magic Cup while he went to meet Principal Wosbaits at Disode Magic Academy.

• Ron took Sylvie to the Card Research Institute and showed her how to link to Mimic Grass with her blood.
• Ron found that multiple people could control a Mimic Grass plant, but its first linker could restrict its recording, materials, and playback order.
• Sylvie tested Mimic Grass by recreating scenery, while Ron explained that he wanted it to show magic and clashes between cards during the Magic Cup.
• Sylvie refused Ron’s suggestion that she portray Element, and Ron did not press her.
• Ron gave the two sixth-rank disintegration mages their task, left Sylvie in charge, and departed for Disode Magic Academy to meet Principal Wosbaits.

Ron arranged for Legendary mages to record spells for future Elemental Card versions, then visited the experimental grounds and heard Edith's ideas about elemental and magic-power conversion. He found Ilya studying Elemental Potatoes and asked whether she wanted another task, leaving her waiting for his suggestion.

• Ron persuaded Wosbaits and the two vice principals to record Legendary spells, including White Magic spells for future cards.
• Ron met Edith at the experimental grounds, where she explained that elves also hunted, ate meat, and pooped.
• Edith described her theories about how elements and magic power transformed into each other, while Ron struggled to follow the reasoning.
• Ron asked Edith to take him to Ilya, who was studying how to reproduce elemental conversion without an Elemental Potato.
• Ron offered Ilya another task so she could take a break, and Ilya asked what he had in mind.

Ron left Doll Ron and Mimic Grass with Ilya to develop an elemental vehicle, then visited the Magic Battle Hall as Gold Rank opened. Andy, Wodesen, and Luo Wei'er advanced to Gold Rank, while the Hall introduced new Elemental Cards and a strategic card-selection phase for duels.

• Ron left Doll Ron and Mimic Grass with Ilya and Harper to develop an elemental vehicle and document their experiments.
• Andy waited for enough qualified opponents, then completed the Gold Rank tournament with nine wins and one loss; Wodesen and Luo Wei'er also advanced.
• Nora told Ron that Andy, Wodesen, and Luo Wei'er had reached the fifth floor, and Ron said Wodesen would remind the nobles to behave.
• Nora reported that the new Elemental Cards had caused no problems during use.
• The Magic Battle Hall added interchangeable copies of the Elemental Cards and introduced a four-round selection phase in which players banned cards to limit each other's strategies.

Ron celebrated the Magic Battle Hall’s new ranks, the launch of more Elemental Cards, and the start of Harper’s experiment as Gil gained a merchant caravan to expand card sales. Mia returned from the Northern Frontier to join the Magic Cup, while Irene reported that hotpot restaurants were expanding beyond the Imperial Capital and into other regions.

• Mimic Grass solved the holographic projection problem, the Magic Battle Hall opened Silver and Gold Ranks, and Harper began his mana-reversal experiment in the operational laboratory.
• Gil’s father gave him a merchant caravan, and Ron told Gil to prepare a gradual nationwide expansion for Elemental Cards without disrupting Magic Cup promotion.
• Mia returned from the Northern Frontier, reached Silver Rank, and headed upstairs to pursue Gold Rank and sign up for the Magic Cup, leaving Irene behind.
• Irene told Ron that most knockoff hotpot restaurants in the Northern Frontier had failed, while their own restaurants had attracted at least eighty percent of customers.
• Irene explained that Mr. Lyle was preparing hotpot restaurant openings in the Southern Frontier and planned to expand into the Western Frontier in April.

Ron was summoned by Andre III, who told him that the court was considering granting him a landed countship. Ron realized the offer could be a political trap, and left to consider how to respond.

• Ron left the Magic Battle Hall after palace guards summoned him to dine with Andre III, while Mia, Irene, and Nora went to the Flower Shop.
• At dinner, Andre III told Ron that court officials had proposed granting him a noble title and that he would qualify for at least a landed countship.
• Andre III warned Ron that prosperous lands were already claimed, leaving him to seek a fief from a powerful noble or develop a remote backwater.
• Ron recognized that the proposal could draw him into rival factions or let them obstruct his development and damage his reputation.
• Andre III watched Ron depart, while Ron worried that his father had begun treating him as a possible successor.

Ron learned that factions were proposing a landed noble title for him and asked Sylvie to bring an Imperial territorial map. At the flower shop, he accidentally opened the door on Mia, Irene, Nora, and Yuna during a resin spa, then turned back after a daily mission offered him a reward for joining them.

• Ron asked Sylvie to bring him an Imperial map of landed noble territories and checked on the Card Research Institute's Mimic Grass recording preparations.
• Ron reviewed his many ongoing projects, including the Magic Cup, Elemental Cards, the elemental vehicle, hotpot restaurant expansion, and healing potion production.
• Mia, Nora, Irene, and Yuna played War of the Gods, then went upstairs for a resin spa.
• Ron opened the bedroom door, saw the four women on the bed, and immediately shut it as they reacted in embarrassment or annoyance.
• The system triggered a daily mission to enter the bedroom and enjoy the resin bath, so Ron knocked and asked to come in; the women refused.

On March 16, Ron trained, discussed his expected earldom with Yuna, and received a map of the Human Empire from Sylvie. The chapter ended with Ron examining the map and its territories.

• Ron woke Nora with kisses, then trained and sparred with Husky, testing magic in close combat.
• Nora went to the Magic Battle Hall, while Husky continued restorative training as his Battle Qi Vortex recovered.
• Yuna teased Ron about his lewd interests, and Ron explained that he planned to accept the earldom being offered despite the attempt to target him.
• Sylvie brought Ron a map of the Human Empire and spread it out for him to examine.

Ron found that Tansang City was still available as a territory and decided to pursue it, seeing the declining town as a place to test projects he could not carry out in Chaos City. He went with Sylvie to the Imperial City Magic Academy to check on the ongoing recording of Elemental Card magic.

• Sylvie explained the territorial map, and Ron ruled out the Western Frontier, other frontier regions, and the scattered white areas as unsuitable choices.
• Ron spotted Tansang City beside Sunset Forest and learned from Sylvie that it appeared to have no lord.
• Sylvie warned that Tansang City had declined, but Ron saw an opportunity to experiment and told her to have their people resist his appointment before accepting it.
• Ron decided that Tansang City could host small-scale pilot projects made more affordable by Elemental Potatoes.
• Ron and Sylvie traveled to the Imperial City Magic Academy, where mages were recording newly introduced Elemental Card magic.

Ron discovered that Mimic Grass could enlarge simulated magic, making the Grand Martial Arena a viable venue for the Magic Cup. After learning the arena’s rental costs and reservation process, he decided to wait and judge the audience size before moving later matches there.

• Ron tested Mimic Grass with the mages and found its illusions could be scaled up or down within the range of its mimic secretion.
• Ron realized the enlarged illusions could make Magic Cup matches visible and spectacular in the Grand Martial Arena, which could accommodate more spectators than the Moonview Street venue.
• Ron asked the dean of instruction about reserving the Grand Martial Arena and learned that outside rentals cost roughly a hundred or more gold coins per day, depending on expenses.
• The dean of instruction told Ron to apply through the Imperial Logistics Department and pay a deposit, noting that the arena was currently idle.
• Ron decided to wait until the Magic Cup began and assess audience numbers before considering a move to the Grand Martial Arena for later matches.

Ron checked on the Magic Battle Hall and found Mia struggling to reach Gold Rank before the Magic Cup. Over lunch, Mia asked to become a commentator, and Ron added her to the list while joking that her participation could help promote the event.

• Ron secured Professor Simmons's help recording legendary lightning magic and introductions to other legendary mages.
• Ron visited the Magic Battle Hall and learned that Mia had built a win-loss lead of over twenty but was only halfway through her next promotion requirement.
• Ron spoke with top players on the fourth floor, then took Mia, Nora, and Irene to lunch.
• Mia asked Ron for a commentator position because she might not qualify for the Magic Cup elimination rounds.
• Ron told Nora to add Mia to the commentator list and proposed publicizing her as the Empire's princess; Mia objected to his calling her defeat a crushing one.

On the eve of the Magic Cup, Ron expanded production in Tansang City by equipping nuns with Elemental Potato-powered staffs and establishing factories staffed by veteran workers. He then returned to the Imperial Capital to check on the Magic Cup preparations and bring snacks for Nora and the hall employees.

• Nora left for the Magic Battle Hall to oversee preparations for the Magic Cup qualifiers, while Yuna sent her doll to wash the dishes and vanished into shadow.
• Ron took Guy and Sylvie to Tansang City, where he showed the newly arrived nuns how Elemental Potato-powered staffs could speed up Everchanging Radish cultivation.
• More than thirty nuns from Chaos City arrived to guide the newcomers, while veteran Heart-Connecting Vine workers came to train staff at the new factories.
• Ron inspected the factory, issued uniforms to its new workers, and told Guy to arrange for the Elemental Cars to be taken to the Imperial Capital.
• Ron returned to the Imperial Capital, bought candied hawthorn for Nora, and headed to the Magic Battle Hall to inspect the preparations.

Ron oversaw preparations for the Magic Cup while waiting for the court to settle his noble title, and discussed plans for expanding his businesses and Elemental Cards. As the tournament preliminaries approached, he left the possibility of receiving Tansang City as his territory unresolved and returned to the Magic Battle Hall with Nora.

• Ron arrived at the Magic Battle Hall, teased Mia about her rank matches, and persuaded Irene to join Mia, Betty, and Leticia as a commentator.
• Mia reported that Lyle had opened the Southern Frontier’s first hotpot restaurant and planned to expand there before moving on to the Western Frontier.
• Nora updated Ron on Gold Rank numbers and Elemental Cards projects, and Ron approved testing Mimic Grass during the preliminaries and recording matches for future promotions.
• Ron and Mia discussed his possible noble title, and Ron explained that he wanted useful land but would reject a territorial marquis title that forced him to reclaim Western Frontier wasteland.
• After the rank matches were suspended and Ron reviewed plans for Elemental Cards and Tansang City, he said goodbye to Mia and Irene and returned to the Magic Battle Hall with Nora.

On the morning of the Magic Cup, Andy prepared for the competition and arrived at the crowded Magic Battle Hall, where he reviewed his cards and tactics. At eight o’clock, Ron officially began the tournament.

• Andy reviewed his tactical plans over breakfast, and his mother encouraged him to compete without putting too much pressure on himself.
• Andy arrived at the Magic Battle Hall and saw its new animated displays, tournament layouts, and contestant lists.
• Andy collected his Elemental Cards, met familiar faces, and reviewed his strategies before the competition.
• At eight o’clock, Ron announced that the first Magic Cup had officially begun.

Ron oversaw the orderly first day of the Magic Cup, where Andy won his opening match and Mia lost to Wodesen. The qualifiers continued without major problems, and Ron confirmed that the quest’s contestant and spectator requirements had already been met.

• Ron set up an announcement system so staff could guide contestants who could not read to their matches and summon anyone who had not checked in.
• Andy defeated a Silver Rank contestant in his first match, while the qualifiers required each participant to complete ten matches before the top three hundred advanced.
• At lunch, Mia complained that she had been matched against Wodesen and mocked Soven for praising her during a one-sided loss.
• Ron brought grilled meat to Nora in the sound control room, fed her, and kissed her before the afternoon matches began.
• Ron surveyed the crowded but orderly Battle Hall and heard that the preliminary rounds could finish within five days.
• Ron checked the System Panel and found that the requirements for one hundred contestants and one thousand spectators had been fulfilled.