Chapter Summaries

Ron studied the strange deaths of scholars who pursued Lance Hewitt’s research and used divination to conclude that consciousness-sharing technology was too dangerous to pursue before reaching the rank of Ancient Alchemist. He prepared to keep his academic review focused on safer work, then entered the review chamber and faced Chairman Vinard Schmidt.

• Ron read accounts of Lance Hewitt’s successors dying under bizarre circumstances and suspected hidden enemies of the King of Illusions rather than the Abnormality Catchers.
• Ron’s dice divination warned against pursuing consciousness-sharing technology at his current rank but suggested it might be safer after he became an Ancient Alchemist.
• Ron decided to avoid discussing consciousness sharing at the review and focus instead on Abyss adaptation training, portable improvements, and basic simulation optimization.
• The next morning, Ron declined Ailan and Dail’s offer to accompany him and went to the Academic Review Building, where Liz and members of his Elite Group encouraged him.
• Ron read Chester Black’s briefing on the review committee, passed the chamber’s blood-iron inspection, and entered under the scrutiny of the assembled Wizards.

Ron defended his adaptive Abyss simulation device before an Archwizard-led review panel, winning publication, research funding, and Vinard’s personal support. Vinard recognized Ron’s Creator’s Blessing, gave him an alchemical emblem, and warned him about the dangers of pursuing forbidden research and the Ancient Alchemist path.

• Vinard and the review panel challenged Ron’s research, and Ron explained how his living neural network and chaos-adaptation systems improved Abyss exploration survival while controlling contamination risks.
• Minerva questioned Ron about Alchemist Lance’s theories on consciousness archives and memory sharing, and Ron insisted that his research focused on practical simulation technology.
• Ron outlined future possibilities for portable, deeper-layer, and networked training devices, then waited while the panel deliberated.
• The panel unanimously approved Ron’s paper for the core journal Deconstruction, named it a key achievement, and awarded him five thousand contribution points and five hundred Magic Stones.
• Vinard privately gave Ron an Iron Wrench Emblem, revealed that he sensed the Creator’s Blessing in him, and offered guidance in alchemy.
• Vinard warned Ron against pursuing Alchemist Lance’s dangerous ideas recklessly and cautioned him that becoming an Ancient Alchemist could lead to madness.

After Ron passed his academic evaluation and secured a key recommendation from Deconstruction, he praised his students’ research and appointed them as teaching assistants. He later visited Eve, who was disappointed that he had bought a residence in the Central Land but was excited when he offered to visit more often, and he asked how her Magic Devour symptoms were progressing.

• Ron told his Elite Group that his evaluation had passed and his paper would appear as a key research result in Deconstruction.
• Herman, Liz, and Lucia presented their research progress, and Ron praised their work while warning Liz not to test experiments on herself.
• Ron explained that their preferential treatment carried expectations, then asked the students to prepare lesson plans as teaching assistants for his advanced course.
• Ron calculated that he was less than a thousand contribution points short of exchanging for a Potential Awakening Stone and spoke with Professor Uter about his review and Eve.
• Ron visited Eve at the Emerald Small Building, offered to visit more often after she expressed disappointment about his new residence, and asked about her Magic Devour symptoms.

Eve explained that Ron’s Grace had eased her Magic Devour symptoms, and she learned advanced mental branching from him, helping him master parallel spellcasting. Ron proposed using the Grace feedback from his coming Monday-Level breakthrough to treat her, and the chapter ended with Eve asking whether they should keep the plan from her mother.

• Eve told Ron that his Grace let her live normally in the low-mana environment, though she still could not cultivate and feared losing his help.
• Eve taught Ron how to establish resonance nodes and run mental power through multiple circuits at once, and Ron mastered the technique and gained the Parallel trait.
• Ron sensed Eve’s intense fear of abandonment and dependence on him, then offered to explore using his Monday-Level breakthrough’s Grace feedback to improve her condition.
• Eve agreed to risk the treatment because she wanted freedom from Magic Devour, her mother’s potions, and confinement in the small building.
• Ron left for his North District residence after promising to discuss a treatment plan with Professor Uter, and Eve asked whether they should hide the plan from her mother.

Ron and Eve contacted Cassandra to discuss using the Grace backlash from Ron’s coming breakthrough to try to cure Eve’s Magic Devour symptoms. Cassandra agreed to study the dangerous treatment and restore Chester Black’s resources, then urged Ron to become stronger as a subordinate who could fight beside her; Ron left resolved that he would not belong to anyone.

• Ron persuaded Eve to consult Cassandra about the risks of using his breakthrough’s Grace backlash to help her reach Morning Star Rank, and Eve contacted her mother.
• Cassandra learned that Eve’s pain had eased by at least seventy percent, agreed to consult Professor Uter and her ancestor, and promised to decide within a month and join the attempt herself if approved.
• Cassandra restored Chester Black’s resource supply after Ron showed her the family heirloom he offered in apology, but refused to grant him special treatment.
• Cassandra advised Ron to ask Archwizard Vinard about reforging the Eye of Time and the Eye of True Knowledge into an Alchemy Apparatus of his own.
• Cassandra told Ron that she wanted him to grow stronger as a subordinate who could fight alongside her, and Ron left thinking that he had no desire to be anyone’s subordinate.

Ron taught a well-attended Advanced Potionology class on the Life Resonance Potion and its applications, then went to meet Eve after Franka warned that Eve’s eagerness for his guidance had grown excessive. Eve introduced him to her private training room and asked to perform a deeper mental-power technique she called “Mental Massage”; Ron asked to hear the procedure and safety measures first.

• Ron explained life resonance theory, demonstrated an adaptive potion, and answered questions from students and visiting Wizards.
• Franka interrupted the gathering to tell Ron that Eve was waiting, and warned him that Eve’s craving for the improvement from his guidance seemed beyond normal.
• Ron traveled with Franka to the Emerald Small Building and noticed unusually strong magical activity around it.
• Eve welcomed Ron excitedly, led him to her private training room, and proposed a deep mental-power interaction technique called “Mental Massage.”
• Ron asked Eve to explain the technique’s exact procedure and safety measures before agreeing.

Eve soothed Ron’s exhausted mind through a deep mental connection, then Ron contacted Archwizard Vinard to learn how to combine the Eye of Truth and the Eye of Time. Vinard began teaching him the techniques, leaving Ron with a plan to preserve time perception while improving spiritual detection and removing outside control or surveillance.

• Eve guided Ron through a deep mental massage that eased his exhaustion and increased his skill experience.
• Eve asked whether their mental resonance meant they had a special connection, but Ron urged them to remain rational before leaving for home.
• After Ron departed, Eve privately dealt with the lingering physical excitement from their mental communion.
• Ron used the silver Iron Wrench Emblem to contact Archwizard Vinard and showed him the Eye of Truth and the Eye of Time.
• Vinard assessed both items and began teaching Ron how to fuse them while preserving time perception, improving spiritual detection, and removing external control or surveillance.

Ron upgraded his workshop with materials and equipment from Starlight Market, then helped Vinard fuse the Eye of True Knowledge and the Eye of Time into the more powerful Eye of Time Knowledge. Vinard offered Ron a place as his ordinary student after Ron declined a new master-disciple bond, but said they would discuss it after Ron’s breakthrough to Monday-Level.

• Ron spent sixty-eight Magic Stones on spatial materials and more than eighty on precision alchemy equipment, noticing that his elevated status brought less scrutiny over his purchases.
• Ron paid Vinard the consultation fee and brought him the Eye of True Knowledge and the Eye of Time for fusion.
• Ron used his talents to help Vinard redesign the items’ rune circuits, impressing Vinard with his insight and precision.
• Vinard asked Ron to become his disciple, but Ron declined because he already had a master, Mrs. Allen Meredith, and would not form another bond without her consent.
• Ron and Vinard completed the fusion, creating the Eye of Time Knowledge, which combined the original items’ functions and gained additional synergistic effects.
• Vinard offered Ron a place as an ordinary student and reliable assistant, but proposed waiting until Ron had reached Monday-Level.

Vinard gave Ron his first practical lesson in alchemy by letting him experience the Starforge Titan’s awakening and operation. After the Titan mined an asteroid, Ron returned to his workshop inspired to pursue the power to create.

• Vinard told Ron to bring ten complete Magic Stones to his private laboratory the next morning and pay a consultation fee for alchemy instruction.
• Vinard activated the Starforge Titan and used Ron’s Wrench Emblem to bring Ron’s consciousness into its core control room.
• Vinard explained the Titan’s auxiliary intelligences and costly magic-crystal energy core as it launched from his transformed planet toward an approaching asteroid.
• Vinard let Ron control the Titan’s left-arm sensory array, then used a beam saber to eliminate giant parasitic creatures on the asteroid.
• Vinard operated the Titan to drill into and process the asteroid, extracting valuable materials worth about 3,800 complete Magic Stones while spending less than 500.
• After returning to his mobile workshop, Ron held the Emblem and felt newly driven to learn alchemy and gain the power to create.

Ron upgraded his mobile workshop with rare spatial materials and precision equipment, then worked with Vinard to fuse the Eye of True Knowledge and the Eye of Time into the Eye of Time Knowledge. Vinard offered Ron a place as an ordinary student after Ron declined an immediate master-disciple relationship, but asked him to first complete his breakthrough to Monday-Level.

• Ron spent over one hundred and fifty Magic Stones at Starlight Market on alchemy materials and workshop equipment, noticing that his higher status brought less scrutiny.
• Ron visited Vinard's laboratory, paid the consultation fee, and helped redesign the energy circuits for the fusion of the Eye of True Knowledge and the Eye of Time.
• Vinard praised Ron's alchemy talent and asked him to become his disciple, but Ron declined because he already had a master-disciple relationship with Mrs. Allen Meredith.
• Ron and Vinard completed the fusion, creating the Eye of Time Knowledge, which combined the original items' abilities and gained additional effects.
• Vinard offered Ron a position as an ordinary student and assistant, and Ron accepted; Vinard told him to complete his breakthrough to Monday-Level before they arranged the details.

Ron returned to the Observation Station with Eve’s gift of a radiation theory tome and a Thought Expansion Potion, then reunited with Nari through their mental link. He promised to visit her in the Abyss within a week to conduct experiments, and Nari eagerly prepared to welcome him.

• Eve gave Ron a tome on radiation field control and a Thought Expansion Potion before he left, risking Cassandra’s anger to help him.
• Ron arrived at the Observation Station and directed Ailan and Dail to unload and arrange his new experimental equipment.
• Chloe welcomed Ron back, but he hurried away to set up his laboratory, leaving her disappointed.
• Ron reestablished contact with Nari, who showed him how her territory and abilities had grown more orderly and powerful.
• Nari described the Surrogate Puppet’s progress and promised Ron access to her blood, the Abyss, and her repaired robot for his planned experiments.
• Ron said he would visit Nari within a week, and she eagerly vowed to prepare her territory and help him.

While studying Ellie’s memories, Ron recognized that his pursuit of power and cultivation of Whispers of the Star Eater were eroding his empathy, and he resolved to protect his emotional bonds as anchors to his humanity. He also received the prototype theory of Cursed Technique Reversal, while Chloe worried that Ron’s rising status had made her unimportant to him.

• Ron experienced Ellie’s memories of waiting for her missing brother Tom, searching for him in the Abyss, and being deceived and consumed by Memory Parasites.
• Moved by Ellie’s fate, Ron realized he had become detached from others’ suffering and feared the spiritual alienation caused by his cultivation and ambition.
• The King of Illusions secretly implanted the foundational theory of Cursed Technique Reversal into the Memory Crystal, and Ron learned that using it would damage the user’s soul and encourage addiction to its power.
• Ron resolved to preserve his humanity through his bonds with Eve, Nari, Dail, Ailan, and his family, and recognized emotional relationships as a foundation of being human.
• Chloe worried that Ron’s growing reputation and status had left her with nothing to offer him, until Professor Uter came to her room and asked whether she was worried about someone special.

Chloe used divination to realize she should approach Ron as a professional partner, then met with him and offered to help reveal Euphemia’s dangerous fate. Ron agreed to join Chloe’s divination the following evening, knowing the choice could change all their futures.

• Chloe divined that beauty and indirect contact would not win Ron’s attention, while professional guidance about Euphemia could make her a valuable partner.
• Ron studied Cursed Technique Reversal until Ailan told him that Star Voice Chloe had arrived on Professor Uter’s referral.
• Chloe told Ron that her prophecies showed Euphemia becoming a sacrifice to a terrifying power, but that she might help break the cycle.
• Chloe explained that Professor Uter could no longer perform deep divinations because years of probing fate had left his soul near collapse.
• Chloe proposed a complete divination to show Euphemia her true fate, and Ron agreed to hold it the following evening.

Ron and Chloe confronted Euphemia with a prophecy that exposed her role as the Blood King's created tool and showed her a possible path to freedom. Euphemia agreed to cooperate with them, beginning a long-term plan to master Cursed Technique Reversal while hiding her betrayal from Aiden.

• Ron and Chloe met Euphemia in the library and told her she was an artificial creation intended to serve the Blood King's plan.
• Chloe used Euphemia's hair to divine symbols of control, bondage, and a possible key to liberation, while Ron explained that her talent and powers were tied to curse seals.
• Euphemia asked who supported Ron and Chloe, then agreed to consider their offer after Ron promised they would not abandon her.
• Euphemia committed to cooperating and began discussing a plan to study Cursed Technique Reversal while maintaining her obedient-daughter appearance.
• Euphemia gave Ron a vial of Blood Dew that could interfere with Asmond's consciousness and said Aiden would not detect it during his dormancy.
• Ron, Chloe, and Euphemia clasped hands to seal their informal pact.

Ron taught Euphemia Cursed Technique Reversal and Chloe the foundations of Historical Research, while gathering Grace from their studies. Professor Uter revealed that he was near the end of his existence and explained why he had entrusted Chloe’s instruction to Ron, whose rationality suited the Historian’s need for an Observer’s perspective.

• Ron explained that Euphemia could reverse the Control Mark in her bloodline with a relatively high chance of success, despite the usual risks of soul damage.
• Ron taught Chloe how Historians explored memories and warned her about becoming trapped in the past and attracting Time Hounds.
• After the students left, Ron considered using Grace to advance and planned to hunt Time Hounds to charge his Pocket Watch.
• Professor Uter told Ron that advanced theoretical materials would unlock only as Ron gained sufficient strength and understanding.
• Professor Uter revealed that his decay had reached a critical point, so he had assigned Chloe to Ron because her Grace would help Ron more and Ron’s guidance would suit her.
• Professor Uter said Ron’s innate rationality made him a suitable teacher of the objective perspective required of a Historian.

The King of Absurdity and the King of Illusions discussed Cassandra’s greed, Eve’s suffering, and their past failures as they considered Ron’s unusual potential. They agreed to watch Ron with minimal interference for one hundred years, while allowing only limited protection against powerful threats.

• The King of Absurdity and the King of Illusions judged that Cassandra had abandoned the true purpose of conquest and was repeating the mistakes of the past with Eve.
• The two Wizard Kings noted that Ron could pursue power while retaining balance, and considered him a possible new variable in their stagnant game.
• The King of Illusions explained that Aiden’s rise had helped trigger the King of Absurdity’s ascension and the events leading to the End of Death and the end of the Third Era.
• The Wizard Kings agreed to tolerate Cassandra’s madness for now and to give Ron one hundred years of minimal attention, shielding him to a limited extent from malice above the Archwizard level.
• After the Wizard Kings withdrew, Ron felt his quill tremble and sensed that something was watching him before the feeling disappeared.

Ron tested an upgraded simulation device that let multiple people train together in a shared Abyss environment, then pursued research into radiation fields, potion formulas, flesh runes, and Magic Sword transformations. He planned to apply for a new Abyss exploration mission, where he intended to visit Nari and complete a bloodline breakthrough.

• Ron tested the improved mobile simulation device, and Axar questioned how Ron's skills kept improving despite infrequent training before teaching him advanced Weapon Master techniques.
• Ron invited Wayne, three assistant researchers, and two Silver Ring explorers to test a shared virtual Abyss environment, where they coordinated against sandworms and verified the system's stability.
• Ron studied radiation field control and analyzed Eve's Thought Expansion Potion, identifying its ingredients and planning a cheaper, potentially more stable formula.
• Ron planned experiments combining Flesh Runes, Nari's chaotic blood, and Franka's Strain Keeper bloodline, while considering new forms for the Magic Sword.
• Ron decided to apply for another Abyss exploration mission so he could return to Nari and pursue a bloodline breakthrough.

Ron descended alone into the Abyss to meet Nari and prepare for dangerous experiments, while learning that Maxim's exploration team had gone missing on the Sixth Floor. He reached Nari's transformed palace on the Fifth Floor, where she greeted him in a beautiful but unnaturally youthful form.

• Ron refused Miller and the others' offer to escort him, and Professor Uter approved his solo mission.
• Professor Uter told Ron that Maxim and his team had exceeded their return time by ten days and that rescue prospects were slim.
• Ron considered the dangers of deep-layer exploration, remembered those erased by the Land of Oblivion, and resolved to investigate Trish's fate after advancing to Historian.
• Ron descended through the Abyss Observatory and the upper layers, noting ideas for automating its material-processing equipment and sensing Nari's guiding presence.
• Nari's power carried Ron through the Fourth Floor to a transformed Fifth Floor, where he arrived at her crystal palace.
• Nari greeted Ron in the form of a beautiful girl, but her voice sounded unnaturally rehearsed.

Ron reassured Nari that he accepted and admired her true form, and she revealed the laboratory and upgrades she had created for him. He began planning to improve the Thought Expansion Potion with Nari’s help, while realizing he needed to grow stronger and repay her devotion.

• Ron used Extraordinary Identification to see through Nari’s human disguise and found her sealed Pollution Touch and words of repentance for the injury she had once caused him.
• Ron comforted Nari, touched her hidden tentacles, and told her he loved and accepted her true appearance, so she released her false body and embraced him gently.
• Nari showed Ron the laboratory and its chaotic energy hub, along with the improved Surrogate Puppet and modified Explorer One golem.
• Ron warned Nari not to exhaust her source power for his sake, and she was overjoyed that he cared about her safety.
• Ron proposed improving the Thought Expansion Potion, and Nari offered Abyssal materials and her blood essence to help eliminate its side effects.
• Ron recognized that Nari’s protection made him a princeling on the Fifth Floor, and resolved to grow stronger and repay her care.

Megs and the Supreme Apostles worked to complete a fusion seed while investigating Nari’s extraordinary change in sanity and power. Meanwhile, several Apostles discussed the Fifth Floor’s upheaval and recognized that its weakened forces might offer an opportunity.

• Megs, Chaye, Isabella, and Nas continued the dangerous fusion project, and Nas said an external influence might aid it.
• Megs sensed that Nari’s sanity had become unusually stable and her fate obscured, then left to preside over the ranking tournament’s warm-up match.
• A deeper Abyssal will sent a disturbing ripple, prompting Megs to insist that the seed be completed in the next cycle.
• Kamps convened Drell and Kro, who reported that Nari’s territory repelled their scouts and that her sanity and power had changed dramatically.
• Kro and the others noted that Selena’s dream legion, Moglon’s fury legion, and Asmond’s Vampire network had all weakened.
• Kamps, Drell, and Kro considered exploiting the Fifth Floor’s weakened forces despite Nari’s rising strength.