Chapter Summaries

Thor opened an underground level in his Wizard Tower as a humid home for Xiao Zao, but a strange Grudge Spirit emerged from the mud while he prepared a Witchcraft Array. The Diary warned Thor against entering the swamp, and Agu identified the spirit as Tower Master Camus.

• Thor opened a small underground space in the Wizard Tower and invited Xiao Zao to explore its new home.
• Thor began drawing a Witchcraft Array to create a mud swamp, but a cold hand grabbed his from beneath the ground.
• Thor and Xiao Zao pulled a tall, unusually solid female Grudge Spirit from the mud, and Thor examined her while she lay unconscious.
• The Diary issued Thor a death warning against investigating the swamp's origins.
• Agu recognized the strange Grudge Spirit as Tower Master Camus.

Thor investigated the danger beneath the Mud Swamp after a Grudge Spirit resembling the former Tower Master Camus emerged from it. The immediate danger had passed, and Xiao Zao recovered a trace of black powder from the swamp, leaving Thor with a possible clue.

• Butler Hope said he could not confirm whether the unconscious Grudge Spirit was Camus because she had erased traces of herself from the Wizard Tower.
• Thor learned the Light Attribute Witchcraft spell Prime Body from Hope and used it to let Kent explore the Mud Swamp.
• Kent returned from the swamp unharmed and reported that he had found nothing dangerous.
• Thor decided to investigate the swamp himself, but Xiao Zao sent a tendril clone instead.
• Xiao Zao's tendril returned with a clump of soil containing insoluble black powder, which Thor suspected was a trace of the danger that had triggered the Diary.

After discovering Tricky Sand, Thor learned that Rhine Lake’s rules had changed and investigated the frozen lake with the Old Witch. He found that witchcraft vanished and souls were pulled beneath the ice, then stepped onto the ice himself despite the Old Witch’s warning.

• Thor showed the Old Witch the powder, and she identified it as Tricky Sand, residue from a Pollution Source that signaled new rules had emerged at Rhine Lake.
• Marsh reported that Rhine Lake had frozen over, and Thor and the Old Witch saw that the fog had thinned and the temperature had dropped.
• The Old Witch sent a witchcraft bird onto the ice, where it vanished, and Thor saw Kent’s witchcraft unravel as his soul was pulled beneath the lake.
• Thor used the Diary to retrieve Kent’s soul, but could not summon back another Spirit Body after it entered the lake.
• Thor sent Xiao Zao’s tentacle under the ice to retrieve the Spirit Body, but it returned with the wrong one.
• Thor stepped onto the ice, and the Old Witch called him a lunatic.

Thor investigated the strange ice covering Rhine Lake and began developing protective gear for the Diary’s Consciousness Entities. Meanwhile, Gorsa prepared to sneak away from the Wall of Sighs, leaving Ula and Haywood behind as he set out to gather materials and pursue someone in the Land of No Owner.

• Thor found that he could not cast Witchcraft on the ice, while magic particles sank beneath it, and he watched the Old Witch, Marsh, and Xiao Zao play there.
• Thor studied the Prime Body coating on the Butler and Camus, planning to use it to protect the Consciousness Entities so they could fight outside the Diary as Spirit Bodies.
• Gorsa disguised Haywood with pink bandages and a healing cloak, intending to use him as his substitute while he left the Wizard Tower.
• Gorsa told Ula to maintain Haywood’s disguise and help Heidi stabilize her form, since Heidi could not accompany him.
• Gorsa planned to visit the Southern Archipelago for a material, then travel to the Land of No Owner to find someone who interested him.

Thor traded supplies and information with Jiajiagu, then learned that Camus had awakened in the Wizard Tower. After Camus finally spoke during Thor’s experiment, she told him to remove the air from his setup.

• Jiajiagu brought Thor common Witchcraft materials, traded for Magic Crystals and other supplies, and asked Thor to remove his Corruption safely.
• Jiajiagu told Thor that Dream Maker Clark had acknowledged him as Rhine Lake’s new owner, while the Firefly Lord and Wind Demon had yet to respond.
• Jiajiagu revealed that a Dire Wolf had overheard a Tier 1 Wizard discussing Thor, then left to gather more materials.
• Marsh told Thor that Camus was awake, and Thor found her sitting silently in a Witchcraft prison beneath the Wizard Tower.
• Thor questioned Camus and took a sample of the gray-white layer covering her Spirit Body, but she initially showed no response.
• Camus turned her head toward Thor during his experiment and told him to remove the air from his setup.

Thor tested Camus’s repetitive warnings and questioned her about her past, discovering that she had amnesia and could not be absorbed by the Diary. He kept her confined for observation and remained interested in the protective shield around her Spirit Body.

• Thor had Xiao Zao drop Magic Crystals into a beaker at irregular intervals to provoke Camus into responding beyond her repeated warning.
• Thor questioned Camus about her identity and memories, and she recalled water everywhere and herself disappearing.
• Thor concluded that Camus had amnesia, found that the Diary could not absorb her, and strengthened the Magic Array restraining her.
• Camus continued cooperating with Thor’s experiments, while Xiao Zao eventually made her repeat her warning again.
• The Old Witch attacked Camus with spells, but Camus remained unaffected, prompting Thor to focus further on her protective shield.

Thor continued refining his Wizard Body Modification and treating Jiajiagu while setting up a way to receive visitors seeking Corruption removal. A muscular Wizard arrived for treatment, but after Thor questioned whether his discolored arms were actually corrupted, the man angrily decided to leave.

• Thor continued his experiments with Camus and discussed An's modified body, including her ability to transform her legs into spider legs.
• Thor planted Xiao Zao on the second underground floor, where it spread black tentacles and began growing among the walls.
• The Butler informed Thor that two Wizards had arrived at the lake seeking Corruption removal, and Thor rode out to meet them.
• Thor asked the pale female Wizard to show him her corruption, but the muscular man said he was the patient and exposed his reddish-brown arms.
• Thor questioned whether the man's arms showed Corruption or Witchcraft damage, and the man accused Thor of being an incompetent doctor before telling the woman to leave.

Thor investigated the male Wizard’s growing red marks, which the Witch believed were Corruption from two impostors they had killed. After demanding payment, Thor accepted their tiny Thunderstorm Top and exposed their attempted ambush, leaving the male Wizard dead and the Witch injured.

• The Witch explained how two impostors had attacked her and the male Wizard, leaving red marks that resisted healing and worsened over time.
• Thor demanded three thousand Magic Crystals or something of equal value, and the pair returned three days later with a red Witchcraft Item called the Thunderstorm Top.
• The Witch described the Top’s lightning and wind abilities and claimed it could summon a disastrous rainstorm if spun both ways at once.
• As Thor examined the marks, the male Wizard transformed and lunged at him while the red figures peeled off his arms to attack.
• The Witch tried to spin the Top, but a silver figure headbutted her and took it; Thor then cut the male Wizard in half with the Black Blade.

Thor killed the Witch after removing the Corruption from her eye, then suspected a third party had arranged the test and named the red top Red Alert. The Old Witch caught the observer who planned to abduct Thor, but the captive’s head exploded before she could question him, so she carried his corpse back to the Wizard Tower.

• Thor gave An the male Wizard’s corpse to salvage and removed the Witch’s Mental Mark from the top before storing it.
• Thor extracted the Corruption from the Witch’s left eye, then snapped her neck and had An prepare both corpses for transport.
• Thor reasoned that someone else would check the test’s outcome and renamed the Thunderstorm Top Red Alert.
• A spy watched Thor from a hill and planned to abduct him later while spreading rumors to keep people from seeking his help.
• The Old Witch ambushed the spy and demanded to know who had sent him, but his head exploded before she could interrogate him.
• The Old Witch carried the spy’s corpse back to the Wizard Tower, lamenting that she would receive only half the promised Magic Crystals.

Sol traced the agents behind the attacks to the Wind Demon and examined the stolen top, while the Old Witch worried that the Wind Demon might come after her. Later, Sol reconsidered his body-modification research and realized he needed to improve his own flesh and Magic Power talent before he could develop a suitable method.

• Sol concluded that a powerful Wizard was behind the people who had come after him, and the Old Witch identified their top as belonging to the Wind Demon.
• Sol tested the top’s magic and found that a mirror could make its reflection spin in the opposite direction, but the reflected top had no power to create a storm.
• The Old Witch warned Sol that the Wind Demon might demand her top back, but Sol argued that she would risk exposing her corruption if she came herself.
• Sol discussed combat protections with Camus, then began experimenting on three fresh Tier 1 corpses with An and Herman.
• Camus pointed out that Sol’s formulas did not account for his own Wizard Body Modifications, leading Sol to realize he needed stronger flesh and much greater Magic Power talent.

Thor learned from Camus how to build a Magic Storage Pool and finished constructing one in the Wizard Tower. He traveled to the Survivor Ancient Forest to find Quicksand Termites, then entered a nearby Settlement behind seven chained, blindfolded people and witnessed a monster try to seize one of them.

• Thor considered ways to increase his Magic Power, and Camus explained that a Magic Storage Pool could extract purer Magic Power by catalysis, refinement, filtration, and collection, with living wizards described as the best filters.
• Thor completed a Magic Storage Pool on the Wizard Tower’s top floor and prepared to seek more Black Obsidian Amber from a Quicksand Termite colony.
• Thor traveled with his companions to the Survivor Ancient Forest, planning to relocate the termite colony outside the Rhine Lake and arrange for the Old Witch to tend it.
• Thor reached a nearby Settlement and followed seven chained, blindfolded people through its Beechwood Gate as a huge monster watched them.
• The monster grabbed the last person in the line, but an old voice struck it with a whip and ordered it not to touch its things.

Thor entered a Settlement after Kismet claimed him as his younger brother and sponsor, then witnessed a ritual in which men pierced a boy’s feet. The Settlement’s Second Rank Wizard, Monte, ignored a complaint about the ritual while harvesting a substance from a tortured person, and the chapter ended with Monte and a pregnant woman anticipating the arrival of something growing inside her.

• The Flowerpot Old Man demanded a sponsor before allowing Thor into the Settlement, and Kismet vouched for him as his younger brother.
• Thor questioned Kismet about returning and his promised Golden Page, but their conversation was interrupted when men pinned down a boy and pierced the soles of his feet.
• Kismet called the foot-piercing a barbarian custom, and Thor suspected the ritual was connected to Wizards.
• Nick reported Thor and Kismet’s remarks to Great Wizard Monte, who ignored the complaint and ordered him to buy more slaves for the Flesh Nest.
• Monte harvested a drop of white liquid from a person roasting on a rack, while a pregnant woman said the being in her belly would descend in a year or two.

Thor followed Kismet through the Settlement, expecting to find valuable Witchcraft materials, but discovered that the Bandi Court sold Spirit Reading Candles made from treated Humpback Termite venom. Kismet explained how the candles stimulated Wizards’ minds, leaving Thor to consider the strange product and the desperate people who relied on it.

• Thor saw blindfolded people being led into an underground passage and asked Kismet why they had returned covered in dirt.
• Kismet told Thor that rumors about Quicksand Termites were a hoax and that the Settlement’s termites were Humpback Termites instead.
• Thor followed Kismet to the Bandi Court, where he learned that the veiled attendants were Witchcraft constructs with little time left to live.
• A young woman showed Thor the court’s sole product, a Spirit Reading Candle, while Wizards and Apprentices inhaled its fragrance in a daze.
• Kismet explained that Monte processed Humpback Termite Formic Acid into candles that stimulated the mind and helped users study Witchcraft, decipher Runes, or meditate.

Thor questioned Kismet about Spirit Reading Candles and asked for the Golden Page, but Kismet said he had left it somewhere safe. After Kismet departed with Dolly, Thor left Bandi Court and followed a cart carrying corpses after realizing a supposedly dead boy was still alive.

• Thor learned from Kismet that Spirit Reading Candles were nontoxic and not addictive, then asked for the Golden Page, which Kismet said he had left somewhere safe.
• Kismet met the pregnant Dolly, embraced her, and went with her behind the gauzy curtains after telling Thor he was meeting someone and delivering something.
• Thor left Bandi Court and saw a bearded man carry a convulsing boy toward the gate after the boy's caretaker claimed he had died.
• Thor recognized that the boy had only stopped breathing temporarily and followed the bearded man outside, where he handed the boy and a bundle to the Mountain Turner.
• The Mountain Turner tossed the boy onto a cart piled with corpses and drove away, while Thor decided to follow him.

Thor rescued a boy Mountain Turner had abandoned in the forest and questioned him about the Settlement’s Flesh Nests and ant harvesting. He then followed Xiao Zao deeper into the forest and found another group of blindfolded people being led to collect Formic Acid.

• Thor found a wooden thorn in the boy’s neck, healed him, and learned that his father had arranged to smuggle him out of the Settlement.
• The boy told Thor that people were made into Flesh Nests by having ants placed inside holes punched in their feet.
• Thor gave the boy food but refused his plea for help, judging that his damaged spirit body left him no chance of becoming a Wizard Apprentice.
• Thor sent Xiao Zao ahead to scout for Humpback Termites and followed it through the forest.
• Thor discovered seven different blindfolded, shackled people being led through the forest with a Lantern to collect Formic Acid.

Thor uncovered the Wizards’ use of ants to make Spirit Reading Candles, then followed a note from Kismet to the Settlement, where a green barrier rose and the Bandi Court collapsed. As Thor fled, a gigantic winged ant appeared carrying a man who held Dolly’s severed head.

• Thor watched Wizards use ant-filled pits to extract Formic Acid from seven people, but learned nothing about the second extraction needed to make Spirit Reading Candles.
• Thor found Kismet’s note saying the Golden Page was with him at fourth row, house four, and encountered the boy near the forest before returning to the Settlement.
• Thor entered the room and found Kismet’s note reading “Almost done,” then saw a green barrier appear above the Settlement and the Bandi Court collapse.
• Thor ran toward the gate, suspecting Kismet was creating a Golden Page, as a gigantic winged ant appeared carrying a dark-skinned man with Dolly’s head in his arms.

Thor witnessed the Great Wizard use the White Termite’s mind-controlling mist to make Wizards approach and be devoured, while the Settlement’s poisoned gate blocked escape. The mist eventually filled the Settlement, drawing Wizards and Apprentices toward the White Termite as the Great Wizard watched.

• The Great Wizard used the White Termite’s white mist to control nearby Wizards and feed them to it.
• Thor recognized that the mist controlled people and fled toward the city gate, where the Poison Attribute Witchcraft Array killed those who tried to escape.
• The Diary warned Thor of an approaching death, so he hid among the ordinary people’s homes.
• A Wizard tried to counter the gate’s poison with the White Termite’s mist, but the mist controlled him and he was devoured.
• The White Termite ignored ordinary people and ate Wizards, while its mist spread throughout the Settlement and drew Wizards and Apprentices toward it.

The Great Wizard Monte controlled the premature White Termite as it devoured the Settlement, while Thor hid from the mind-controlling gas and prepared to escape. As White Termites swarmed the streets, Thor rescued a fleeing man and child before racing toward the outer wall.

• Monte realized the White Termite had emerged too early to reach Third Rank and ordered it to devour the Settlement's Wizards.
• Thor reasoned that the Spirit Reading Candles had made the Wizards vulnerable to the termites' gas and decided he could not stay hidden in the Seam.
• White Termites spread through the Settlement, biting ordinary people and leaving them numb as the chaos worsened.
• Thor emerged from the Seam and saw that the Giant Termite had grown to ten meters long.
• Thor threw the boy's father and child into a nearby house, protected them with Spirit Armor Technique, and ran toward the outer wall.

Thor lured Monte into a trap while rescuing civilians, then destroyed Dolly’s head and freed the White Termite from her control. Thor trapped Monte in his Consciousness Space, where he claimed the enraged Humpback Termite would kill Monte first.

• Thor rescued ordinary people and left them protected by Spirit Armor Techniques, drawing the Great Wizard’s attention.
• Monte followed the scattered Magic Power to the wall, where the White Termite attacked Herman disguised beneath a cloak.
• Thor emerged from a crack in a brick and destroyed Dolly’s head with a Black Blade, breaking her control over the White Termite.
• Monte cast an Imprisonment Technique at Thor while the White Termite turned against him.
• Thor used the Consciousness Battlefield to trap Monte in a Consciousness Space and said the White Termite would kill Monte before Thor escaped.

Thor fought Monte in the Consciousness Space, where a new form of vision let him escape Monte’s attacks and ultimately outlast him. After Monte’s death, the Hardcover Book absorbed his remnants and revealed half of a Black Page.

• Monte attacked Thor with fleshy wings, but Thor’s shields repelled his first strike.
• Monte’s malformed wings distorted Thor’s vision, while Penny warned him about a hidden tail attack.
• Thor developed eyes across his skin and gained a new, all-around vision that paralyzed Monte and let him evade the tail.
• Monte changed his form and attacked again, but Thor caught his tail as Monte’s body began to disintegrate after his death outside the platform.
• The Hardcover Book absorbed Monte’s fragments and revealed half of a Black Page, leaving Thor wondering why it was incomplete.