Chapter Summaries

Ron learned from Acelia about Erika the Clock King and considered whether his own luck reflected a similar power to choose favorable possibilities. As he prepared to leave, Salamander shared his family’s story and gave Ron exploration materials, while Sarah bid him farewell after securing steady work.

• Acelia praised Erika’s ability to choose favorable futures, contrasted her wisdom with Cassandra’s flaws, and said Ron carried an aura like Erika’s.
• Ron met Hayek and other acquaintances, then agreed to consider taking Edwin, Patri, and Laku on a future Otherworld Exploration team.
• Salamander asked Ron to use Spirit Vision, revealing the many souls of his family gathered around him, and told Ron how wizardry had separated him from his mortal loved ones.
• Salamander gave Ron a folder of Otherworld Exploration records and risk assessments, hoping it would help Ron and his companions.
• Sarah advised Ron not to dwell too heavily on fate, then packed his elemental crystals and said goodbye as he prepared to leave for the Central Land.

With the Wizard fleet on the defensive, Cassandra pressed Ron to advance the Peaceful Evolution plan, and he met Cedric Morwen, whose research aimed to trap the Vitalians in a pleasurable virtual world. Ron and Cedric clashed over Cedric’s proposal to spread a Cognitive Virus through the Vitalians’ collective consciousness, leaving the decision to higher authority as Ron feared Cassandra would favor the riskier plan.

• Cassandra told Ron that the Vitalian fleet’s reinforcements had forced the Wizards into strategic defense and ordered the Peaceful Evolution plan activated.
• Ron visited Cedric Morwen’s laboratory and found him conducting pain-threshold experiments on himself as part of his work on virtual sensory experiences.
• Cedric explained his belief that virtual reality should surpass reality, and showed Ron the Cognitive Manipulation Matrix, which used emotional extracts taken from criminals and prisoners of war.
• Ron proposed building a controlled virtual world gradually, while Cedric argued that the urgent wartime situation required a self-replicating Cognitive Virus to infect the Vitalians’ Thought Network.
• Ron warned that the virus could mutate, bypass its safeguards, or affect other races, but Cedric defended its risks; the meeting ended without a decision, leaving both proposals for higher authority to consider.

Cedric’s Cognitive Virus experiment caused the Vitalian captives to develop extreme dependence and horrifying physical changes, but Cassandra backed his project because the war allowed little time. After divination warned that Ron’s involvement could make the danger uncontrollable, he withdrew and returned to the Abyss Observatory, while Cedric prepared for a field test.

• Cedric tested basic virtual sensations on three Vitalian captives, whose intense cravings and physical distortions forced Ron to order the experiment stopped.
• Cassandra gave Cedric’s Cognitive Virus project the main resources and a two-month deadline, while assigning Ron a much smaller laboratory and limited staff.
• Ron used the Dice of Paradox to divine that Cedric’s plan was dangerous and that his own technical support could trigger an uncontrollable disaster.
• Ron told Cassandra he was withdrawing from the project and returned to research at the Abyss Observatory, while Cassandra acknowledged the risks and kept his position open.
• Cedric announced that the Cognitive Virus would undergo a field test in three weeks as Vitalian test subjects continued to suffer in agony while displaying expressions of pleasure.

Ron withdrew from Cedric’s project and returned to the Observation Station, where he prepared to become a Historian by diving into the events surrounding Sarinvestra’s fall. As the dive began, he saw evidence that Sarin’s death had not ended her existence, then traveled further back to observe the first signs of her fall.

• Ron left the Central Land project despite the risk to his reputation and told Ailan they were returning to the Observation Station.
• Professor Uter warned Ron that diving into Sarinvestra’s history could expose him to contamination and Sweet Nightmare Sarin’s influence.
• Ron trained with the Core of Contradiction and suspected the stars in his meditation method were conscious beings seeking anchor points.
• Professor Uter reported that Abyssal forces and the historical aftershocks of the Sarin Incident were becoming active, then prepared Ron’s dive using three relics.
• Ron experienced the emotions preserved in Mrs. Allen’s Broken Staff, Master Warren’s Confession Diary, and the Corruption Crystal before entering the historical timeline as an Observer.
• Ron witnessed Mrs. Allen beside Sarinvestra’s corpse and saw Sarin’s Abyss-corrupted soul projection survive her death; Professor Uter then guided him back to three months before her fall.

Ron observed Sarinvestra’s fall through a Historical Projection and discovered that a Sacred Seed and forged research materials had drawn her into Abyssal contamination. As Sarin turned on her colleagues, she noticed Ron observing and began planting a seed of contamination in his consciousness.

• Ron identified the black ornament Sarin wore as a Sacred Seed linked to the Abyss.
• Administrator Green gave Sarin forged ancient documents about soul transcendence, and she became absorbed in their claims of immortality.
• Sarin used the documents to persuade students, including Valen, and conducted experiments that left animals conscious after death but unnaturally predatory.
• Sarin’s research group performed a consciousness-extraction ritual on an ape, and the resulting creature spoke with malice as Sarin continued the experiment and infected Wizards.
• Valen fled the underground laboratory, while the Pink-haired Witch confronted the transformed Sarin, who claimed hunger was the universe’s true essence.
• Sarin looked through the Historical Projection at Ron and began planting a contaminating seed in his mind, prompting his silver pocket watch to shake violently.

Ron summoned Nari to stop Sarin’s mental contamination, and Nari dismantled Sarin’s Historical Projection so Ron could safely absorb its memories and knowledge. The fragments revealed that Valen’s actions and Sarin’s downfall were shaped by a deliberate experiment, leaving Ron with new insight into the conspiracy behind the incident.

• Ron activated the emergency contact mechanism and summoned Nari to protect him from Sarin’s mental seed.
• Nari intervened in the Historical Projection, overwhelmed Sarin, and separated her memory, emotion, and knowledge into distinct fragments.
• Ron absorbed Sarin’s memories and knowledge, learning about Abyssal factions, mental contamination, and ways to defend himself.
• Ron learned that Valen had sought help during the Sarin incident but was blocked by absent authorities and bureaucratic delays, which shaped his distrust of systems.
• Ron discovered that Sarin’s outbreak and Allen’s apparent heroic confrontation had been arranged as an experiment, with Sarin sacrificed to gather research data.

Ron advanced Historical Research to Master, gained the Deep Echo trait, and obtained a purified projection of Sarin that could weaken her distant true body. After Professor Uter gave him the final material for his Historian class-change ritual, Ron prepared a blood-resonant Memory Crystal as a gift for Nari.

• Ron unlocked Deep Echo, allowing him to summon controlled Historical Projections, and sensed that absorbing Sarin's fragments had weakened Sarin's true body in the Abyss.
• Nari reproached Ron for neglecting her, and Ron promised to visit her within three days and bring a gift.
• Professor Uter confirmed Ron had avoided Contamination and gave him Fang, the final material for his Historian class-change ritual scheduled for the next day.
• Acelia advised Ron that Nari valued emotional recognition more than expensive treasure and revealed that Nari had sensed her presence but respected Ron's privacy.
• Ron crafted a Memory Crystal infused with his bloodline aura and memories of his time with Nari, establishing a Blood Resonance between them.

Ron completed the Historian (Three-Star) class-change Ritual after striking a Time Contract with Saklang, an ancient Time Hound who recognized Erika’s Pocket Watch. His new historical perception revealed how the Second Era’s Golden Age collapsed, and he gained Apocalypse’s Blessing.

• Ron placed the Time Hound Fang on the ritual platform, and Saklang appeared in his Consciousness Domain during the class-change trial.
• Ron revealed that his silver Pocket Watch had belonged to Erika and persuaded Saklang to form a Time Contract in exchange for cooperation and protection.
• Saklang gave Ron a Fang that could summon his projection and offered intelligence about young Time Hounds.
• Ron witnessed the Second Era’s Golden Age flourish through a knowledge network, then collapse after dangerous information contaminated it and civilization lost its vitality.
• Ron completed the ritual and became a Historian (Three-Star), gaining new abilities and improved attributes.
• Ron received Apocalypse’s Blessing, which strengthened astrological prophecy, resistance to time-related phenomena, and verification between astrology and history.

Ron learned that Apocalypse's Blessing carried responsibility and was taught about the four Cornerstones and their paths, while Professor Uter warned that he might be able to earn all four blessings. The next day, Ron began his planned dive to Nari's Domain, where he reunited with Nari and gave her a Blood Resonance Crystal containing their shared memories.

• Professor Uter and the Eye of Observation explained the four Cornerstones, their histories, and the burdens their blessings imposed on their successors.
• The Eye of Observation and Professor Uter said Ron might qualify for all four blessings, including the still-unattained Blessing of Death's End.
• Ron saw that Professor Uter's existence was fading and learned that the professor expected to live roughly two more years.
• Professor Uter sent Ron in a Diving Capsule to the outskirts of Nari's Domain in the Fifth Layer of the Abyss.
• Nari rushed to embrace Ron with her tentacles, and Ron gave her a Blood Resonance Crystal that preserved their happy memories.

Ron visited Nari’s Chaos Amusement Park and Primordial Chamber, where Nari and Aselia confronted each other over their beliefs about power and stability. After Nari showed Aselia the growing Devourer mark on Ron, Aselia accepted that they would need to cooperate to help him grow stronger before the coming threat.

• Aselia criticized Nari’s close bond with Ron, and Nari dismissed her as an outdated relic before showing Ron the Chaos Amusement Park she had created.
• Nari brought Ron and Aselia to the Primordial Chamber, where Aselia manifested and revealed how Pandora had betrayed her after years of friendship, treating her as material for an experiment.
• Nari sympathized with Aselia’s betrayal but argued that her desire for stability came from fear and a need to prove her worth.
• Nari revealed that the Devourer’s mark was growing on Ron and warned Aselia that his pursuit of power had put him on a path toward the Dominators.
• Ron recognized that Nari was using fear to bind them together, but accepted that cooperation might be their best chance against the Dominators.
• Aselia accepted Nari’s demand to help strengthen their hope before doomsday arrived.

Ron abandoned his plan to fuse three Classes after Nari and Aselia warned him about the dangers of conflicting powers, and he learned that he needed a Void Shell embryo and Soul Anchor first. He accepted Nari’s Chaos Core and gained a second Chimera head, but the evolution left a permanent Loneliness Mark in his soul.

• Ron told Nari and Aselia that he planned to fuse the Magic Swordsman, Bloodline Knight, and Black Wizard paths, and they warned him against attempting it.
• Aselia recounted Ram’s fatal fusion, while Nari described how Chaye and the Evil Hunter paid for their powerful fusions with divided minds and catastrophic instability.
• Nari let Ron touch her Chaos Crystal, and he felt its Contamination nearly overwhelm his reason before she pulled it away.
• Aselia and Nari explained that Ron needed to reach Dark Sun Rank, form a Void Shell embryo, and obtain a Soul Anchor before attempting a higher-rank breakthrough.
• Nari gave Ron her Chaos Core, and its memories revealed how Chaye had rejected and mistreated her after her birth in the Womb Sea.
• Ron thanked Nari for trusting him, and his Chimera evolved a Chaos Ram Head with Chaos Adaptation and Crisis Premonition, leaving a permanent Loneliness Mark in his soul.

Ron recognized Nari’s Loneliness Mark as an emotional anchor that could preserve his identity through mutation, then prepared to train in her Domain before returning to fulfill his outside agreements. Nari revealed that she had brutally conditioned Euphemia into a servant and implanted a mark that let Ron control her life or death.

• Aselia warned Ron that using his longing for family as an Anchor Point could also shackle him, while Nari said Chaye and the other Supreme Apostles were occupied with creating a Seed of the Throne.
• Ron discovered that Chaos Adaptation let him absorb Abyssal energy safely, and Nari offered her Domain’s enhanced magic concentration, accelerated time, and custom training environments.
• Ron promised Nari he would return after handling his commitments to Archwizard Vinard and his otherworld exploration, then explored her transformed Domain and saw Euphemia working under Nari’s authority.
• Ron began compressing his magic with the Core of Contradiction in Nari’s cultivation chamber and estimated he could reach double compression within two weeks.
• Nari showed Ron that she had broken Euphemia’s resistance through a Pain Maze and rewards, then revealed she had implanted a Chaos Mark that let Ron control whether Euphemia lived or died.

Ron completed twofold mana compression and left Nari’s territory, promising to stay in touch as he returned to the Abyss Observatory. Professor Uter prepared to train him for his upcoming work with Vinard, but Cassandra then contacted him with urgent news about Cedric’s former laboratory.

• Ron reached 200% mana compression, received Soul-Calming Incense from Nari, and said goodbye to Euphemia.
• Nari and Aselia argued over how best to care for Ron, and Ron calmed them before leaving in the Diving Capsule.
• Nari watched Ron depart, while Ron returned to the Abyss Observatory and reunited with Professor Uter.
• Uter warned Ron that his power control lagged behind his rapid growth and scheduled a week of intensive training before his assistant work with Vinard.
• After resting and updating Ailan and Dail, Ron received an urgent call from Cassandra, who showed him a video of Cedric’s former laboratory on the Crystal Spire’s underground Seventh Floor.

Cassandra showed Ron the Cognitive Virus project’s disastrous human experiments and its use as an interrogation tool, then assigned him to investigate Vinard’s secretive project. Ron accepted the mission, which would take him away from the Seventh Floor and give him time to prepare for his next journey.

• Cassandra showed Ron how the Cognitive Virus caused Vitalian prisoners to suffer Vital Twist before their collective consciousness purged the virtual experience and overloaded the equipment.
• Cedric’s unauthorized experiments drove three young researchers, including Lai De, into severe mental collapse, while Cedric’s pain experiments revealed his pathological dependence on agony.
• Cassandra ordered the technology used to interrogate prisoners and deserters, and she increased Cedric’s authority despite his violations and the accident.
• Ron praised Cedric’s applied research, presented his own work on Consciousness Structure Stability, and cited Professor Uter’s failing health as a reason to remain at the Observation Station.
• Cassandra assigned Ron to investigate Vinard’s secretive project and report to her monthly, granting him special communication privileges.
• Ron agreed to travel to Vinard’s base within the month and began planning how to finish his work and prepare for the journey.

Ron trained with Professor Uter to control his conflicting bloodlines and concentrated magic, then learned that astrology connected him to the wills of ancient beings preserved in the stars. The chapter ended with Uter promising to explain the Wizard’s path and the higher-level world Ron would soon enter.

• Ron’s Ring of Radiance spell destabilized as his Thunderfire Tyrant and Chaos Ram Head bloodlines interfered with his concentrated magic, and Professor Uter analyzed the resulting control problems.
• Professor Uter used bloodline suppression runes to teach Ron to control his thunderfire and chaos powers separately, including guiding chaos through clear boundaries.
• After several days of training, Professor Uter brought Ron into the Observation Station’s secret chamber and explained that astrological signs embodied the wills of ancient beings anchored in the stars.
• Professor Uter identified the masters and meanings of several stars and constellations, including Aselna, Saint Raffini, Metatron, Anaxi, Saint Chaos, and Saint Themis.
• Professor Uter told Ron that the Dice of Paradox and his resonance with the constellations suggested he might one day leave his own will among the stars, then promised to explain the Wizard’s path and the world ahead in a later lesson.

Ron mastered precise control of his compressed mana before Professor Uter explained how wizard advancement depended on mana compression, academic standing, and establishing otherworldly bases. Ron learned that his Encyclopedia of Transcendence was a Wizard King’s imprint and discovered how to seek knowledge from the King of Absurdity’s copy.

• Ron practiced gradient release until he could light a candle with a steady flame, then controlled five candles at different heights and guided a mana sphere through Professor Uter’s maze.
• Professor Uter explained the advancement paths of Monday-Level wizards, Dark Sun Rank wizards, Archwizards, and Wizard Kings, emphasizing the role of civilization-spreading bases and Grace feedback.
• Professor Uter described Cassandra’s conquest of the Fourth Quadrant as a dangerous, forceful way to spread Wizard Civilization and urged Ron to study Vinard’s base when he went to Vinard.
• Ron asked about the Encyclopedia of Transcendence, and Professor Uter showed him his own dangerous copy, bestowed by the King of Evening Bell.
• Professor Uter explained that Ron’s copy was the King of Absurdity’s personal imprint and advised him to ask it questions, prove his qualifications, and accept the price of its trials.

Ron tried to obtain forbidden knowledge from the Encyclopedia of Transcendence, but the book responded with absurd pranks until he stopped demanding answers and waited silently. It then revealed that knowledge required an equivalent sacrifice, leaving Ron to consider a catalog of increasingly severe exchanges.

• Ron used his mental power to ask the Encyclopedia of Transcendence about Necromancy, but it showed him a sleepy skeleton and then an evolving lock.
• Ron tried to force the book to answer, and it retaliated with irrelevant joke papers and notices while Aselia urged him to attack it.
• Ron concluded that the book was testing his approach and stopped probing, sitting silently before it for twenty minutes.
• The Encyclopedia of Transcendence awakened and told Ron that knowledge required an equivalent exchange.
• The book revealed exchanges that could cost experience memories, future potential, or core traits such as the ability to feel love, and Ron silently weighed their consequences.

Ron rejected two tempting exchanges from the Encyclopedia of Transcendence because their costs would take cherished memories or his ability to cultivate, then offered Kafka’s The Metamorphosis as a story from another world. The Encyclopedia dismissed how other tomes would judge it, then declared that it was different from them.

• The Encyclopedia offered Ron bloodline knowledge in exchange for his emotional memories with Nari, and mana-compression techniques in exchange for his ability to advance through cultivation.
• The Encyclopedia revealed that powerful figures such as Cassandra and Vinard had traded parts of themselves for strength and knowledge, and explained that it tested whether Ron could face temptation without losing himself.
• Ron decided the offered prices were too heavy and searched for something unique to exchange, settling on his memory of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.
• Ron offered the story to the Encyclopedia, which explained that other tomes would dismiss it as useless before declaring that it was not like them.

Ron traded his memory of The Metamorphosis for 100 knowledge points, then tested the Encyclopedia of Transcendence’s random-answer Gacha Machine with questions about bloodline coordination, Void Shell construction, and the Era Reset. The final answer emerged as an unpredictable purple light, and the book admitted it could not tell what it contained.

• The Encyclopedia of Transcendence judged The Metamorphosis rare-grade philosophical knowledge and valued it at 100 points, then removed Ron’s memory of the story as payment.
• The Encyclopedia of Transcendence explained that its Knowledge Gacha Machine randomly selected knowledge related to a question, and Ron spent 15 points asking how to coordinate multiple bloodlines.
• Ron received a Multi-Element Soup Recipe, which the Encyclopedia of Transcendence explained could train elemental control and improve bloodline coordination through cooking.
• Ron spent 25 points asking about Void Shell construction and received a Dream Theater blueprint, which the Encyclopedia of Transcendence used to describe the Void Shell as an architectural expression of consciousness.
• Ron spent his remaining 60 points asking about the nature of the Era Reset, and the machine produced a purple answer that the Encyclopedia of Transcendence could not predict.

The Encyclopedia of Transcendence used a fairy tale to help Ron recognize his outside perspective on reality and apply gradual change to mana compression. It introduced the Concept Mentor, whose musical demonstration taught Ron to guide mana dissonance toward resolution.

• The Encyclopedia of Transcendence told Ron a story about Winnie, whose endlessly refilling honey jar changed the forest with every mouthful.
• Ron inferred that the story represented reality being subtly adjusted, with most beings unable to notice the changes, and connected his ability to perceive them to his Career Panel.
• The Encyclopedia of Transcendence suggested that Ron use gradual restructuring rather than force when compressing mana, then activated the Concept Mentor ahead of schedule.
• The Concept Mentor demonstrated consonance, dissonance, and tension-resolution with a musical performance, while the Encyclopedia of Transcendence explained how those principles applied to mana control.
• Ron realized he could guide conflicts between mana flows toward natural resolution, and the Encyclopedia of Transcendence returned to dormancy as the Concept Mentor disappeared.