Chapter Summaries

Wizard Ethan met with Wizard Zephyr and Wizard Lando after exposing the Wizard Families’ schemes on Ancient Forest Mountain. He declared that the rules would be enforced without exception and reviewed a list of targets, including several freshmen.

• Wizard Ethan returned to his office in Ancient Forest Tower, where Wizard Zephyr and Wizard Lando were waiting.
• Wizard Zephyr and Wizard Lando credited Wizard Ethan’s success to their decade of intelligence gathering and discussed the Wizard Families’ rule-breaking.
• Wizard Ethan recalled how favoritism had divided the Umbral Expanse and renewed his resolve to uphold its rules.
• Wizard Ethan warned that anyone involved in breaking the rules would die, regardless of their status.
• Wizard Lando presented a list of targets that included Moss Bailin, Cardi Purple Gold Flower, and Anna Karina.

Wizard Ethan reviewed a list of rule-breaking wizards and decided to arrange their punishment, while Ryan prepared for the danger he expected after killing the Wizard Killer. Ethan arrived at Ryan’s residence and asked whether he dared kill everyone on the list.

• Wizard Ethan and Wizard Zephyr discussed the listed offenders, the powerful Wizard Families, and evidence gathered through the Wizard Array Path.
• Wizard Zephyr offered to handle the listed targets, but Wizard Ethan said he would make arrangements for the Wizard Freshmen.
• Ryan worked in his protected Personal Laboratory, cultivated the Shadow Dark Crow’s bloodline, and planned how to survive the next four days.
• Ryan detected someone at the mist-array entrance, approached with a wizardry scroll ready, and discovered Wizard Ethan waiting for him.
• Wizard Ethan showed Ryan a list that included Anna Karina and Lafayette and asked whether he dared kill everyone named on it.

Lord Ethan ordered Ryan to execute the Wizard Family freshmen responsible for the murders, explaining that everyone who helped violate Ancient Forest Mountain’s rules shared their guilt. Ryan accepted the task after confirming that killing them would not break the rules, then demanded equivalent exchange and gained the rights to everything he obtained from the freshmen.

• Ryan questioned why Lord Ethan had chosen him to execute the freshmen named on the list.
• Lord Ethan explained that Moss Bailin, Cardi 'The Purple Gold Flower,' and other freshmen had masterminded the murders, while their accomplices and those who exposed other freshmen’s information had also violated the rules.
• Lord Ethan pressured Ryan to decide whether the listed freshmen deserved to die, and Ryan answered that they did but asked whether killing them would violate Ancient Forest Mountain’s rules.
• Lord Ethan told Ryan to proceed, saying the rules and Ancient Forest Mountain would disappear at dawn and that Ryan was part of the final batch of Wizard Freshmen.
• Ryan invoked equivalent exchange, and Lord Ethan made the list a Wizard Contract granting Ryan everything he gained from the freshmen in exchange for his blood.

Ryan inherited Wizard Ethan’s Sensory Deprivation wizardry, mastered it, and set out to kill the last Wizard Freshman from the Wizard Ship. He confronted Anna on the path to her residence, leaving her frightened and unsure of his intentions.

• Ryan signed the Wizard Contract, received Wizard Ethan’s Sensory Deprivation inheritance, and learned how the technique used Spiritual Power to affect the five senses.
• Ryan mastered Sensory Deprivation, updated his wizardry preparations, and decided to kill the last person from the Wizard Ship himself.
• Moss publicly acted affectionate toward Anna, while Lafayette and the other freshmen watched the couple from a distance.
• Anna left the gathering believing Moss loved her and walked alone toward the Freshman Residence.
• Ryan approached Anna on the Wizard Array Path, and she warned him against trying to join the Wizard Mutual Aid Association or crossing the rules.

Ryan-Harak killed Anna with a fire elemental shield after she attacked him, then crossed her name off his target list and went after the next target. Meanwhile, Moss and Cardi The Purple Gold Flower learned that Number Two Killer had died and prepared to send Number One Killer after Ryan, but Moss realized the person before him was not Cardi.

• Anna confronted Ryan-Harak outside her door and kicked at his chest, but his fire elemental particle energy shield stopped her attack.
• Ryan-Harak's wizardry burned Anna to death, and he crossed her name off the Parchment Scroll list before heading toward his next target.
• Cardi The Purple Gold Flower told Moss that Number Two Killer was dead, and they suspected Ryan-Harak had hidden his strength or gained an opportunity.
• Moss decided to send Number One Killer after Ryan-Harak and handed Cardi wizardry scrolls and the Mask of Lingering Dreams.
• As Cardi reached for the scrolls, Moss seized the Parchment Scroll and realized that the person posing as Cardi was an impostor.

Ryan Harak defeated Moss after surviving Moss’s Wizardry Scroll and revealing that he had concealed the strength of his wizardry and Nurtured Creature. He killed Moss and took his Wizardry Scrolls and Healing Potion, then turned to the valuable Wizard Artifact Bracelet.

• Moss survived the Wizardry Scroll’s explosion with his Water Guardian’s protection, while Cardi Purple Gold Flower’s charred corpse lay at his feet.
• Moss recognized Ryan Harak and tried to negotiate, but Ryan waited for the Blue Light Wave shielding Moss to fade.
• Moss threw a Silver Gem to disrupt wizardry and fled toward the door while activating his Wizard Artifact Bracelet.
• Ryan’s black crow attacked Moss, and Moss drew two Wizardry Scrolls and a Healing Potion from his bracelet.
• Moss’s body and Particle Energy became immobile, and Ryan caught the Healing Potion before killing him with the Shadow Blade of Assassination.
• Ryan pocketed Moss’s Wizardry Scrolls and eyed his White Bracelet, anticipating more valuable loot.

Ryan counted and examined the supernatural resources he had taken from Moss Bailin and Cardi Purple Gold Flower, then transferred his belongings into the Silver Bracelet. He began analyzing a sealed diary, which would take fifteen days just to figure out how to open, and wondered whether it concealed a Grand Wizard's Treasure.

• Ryan counted the Wizardry Scrolls, Wizard Artifacts, potions, and Magic Stones he had taken and concluded that he was likely the wealthiest freshman on Ancient Forest Mountain.
• Ryan examined the spells and supernatural properties of his new items, including the Mask of Lingering Dreams, Force Field Gem, potions, and Water Guardian array spell.
• Ryan moved his belongings into the Silver Bracelet and decided he might sell the mysterious Red Metal Ring because he could not identify its origin.
• Ryan examined the sealed diary, and his analysis estimated that it would take fifteen days to determine how to break its seals.
• Ryan wondered whether the mysterious book contained the location of a Grand Wizard's Treasure.

Ryan completed Wizard Ethan’s assignment by killing the listed Wizard Freshmen, while Wizard Ethan decided to destroy the Bailin and Purple Gold Flower Families for breaking the rules. As night fell, Wizard Ethan appeared above the Bailin Family grounds, ready to act.

• Ryan killed the remaining Wizard Freshmen on his list, including more than 130 freshmen from the Island Continent, and returned to his residence to wait for Wizard Ethan’s instructions.
• Wizard Ethan reviewed Ryan’s actions and praised his composure and combat talent.
• Wizard Ethan told Wizard Zephyr and Wizard Lando that the Bailin Family and Purple Gold Flower Family would be destroyed for breaking the rules, and ordered them to attack the Purple Gold Flower Family while he dealt with Wizard Gandhi and the Bailin Family.
• Wizard Ethan used his spatial technique to leave the management office and appeared above the Bailin Family grounds as night fell.

Wizard Ethan wiped out the Bailin Family estate, then explained to the surviving freshmen that the Wizard Families had broken the rules and that Ryan Harak had executed the students responsible. Ryan received a reward from the Umbral Expanse headquarters, but he resented being used by Ethan, while the other freshmen struggled to believe he was the executor.

• Wizard Ethan sealed off the Bailin Family estate and spread white matter across it, turning its inhabitants and buildings into bone-like statues.
• Wizard Ethan destroyed the Bailin Family estate, including its Third-level Wizard Apprentice and Wizard Gandhi, then reclaimed Cube Metal and vanished.
• At daybreak, Wizard Ethan summoned the freshmen to Ancient Forest Pavilion and explained the Wizard Families' plot and rule-breaking.
• Wizard Ethan revealed that Ryan Harak had acted as Executor and killed the freshmen who broke the rules, including Island Freshmen whose contact with the Wizard Family freshmen had led to others' deaths.
• Wizard Ethan announced that Ryan would receive free study in one Supernatural Discipline at the Umbral Wizard Academy, while Ryan silently resolved to grow strong enough to make Ethan regret using him.
• The freshmen stared at Ryan in disbelief when they realized he was the freshman who had killed so many of their peers.

Ryan and the other survivors received Wizard Marks and became students of Umbral Wizard Academy's Lower Court. They boarded a Wizard Ship for an inland Wizard City, where they would use a Teleportation Array to enter the Umbral Expanse.

• The freshmen reacted with fear and suspicion to Ryan's reputation for killing more than a hundred students, while Ryan resolved to adapt to being exposed and keep the Eye of Truth secret.
• Wizard Ethan told the students that Ancient Forest Mountain was transforming and asked them to choose where their Wizard Marks would be inscribed.
• Wizard Ethan used the Void Cube to form Wizard Marks on the students, and Ryan accepted the mark's binding and discovered it connected to the Umbral Expanse's Wizard Technology hub.
• Wizard Zephyr announced that the students were now members of Umbral Wizard Academy's Lower Court, and Wizard Lando told them they would travel to the Umbral Expanse.
• Wizard Ethan led Ryan and the other students aboard a Wizard Ship bound for an inland Wizard City and its Teleportation Array.

Ryan arrived in Vast Sea Wizard City with the Wizard freshmen and set out to learn the local market and sell Supernatural Materials. After disembarking, he headed to Freedom Street, where Supernatural Items were traded.

• The Wizard Ship arrived at Vast Sea Wizard City, and Ryan saw the city's Slave Market as it passed the dock.
• Wizard Ethan told the freshmen to explore the city and report to the central Teleportation Array at noon the next day, while Wizard Zephyr warned them not to cause trouble.
• Ryan decided to sell Supernatural Materials and learn the Wizard World's prices, then left the ship before the other freshmen could catch up with him.
• Gray stayed behind with Kobik, whose venomous tongue poisoned him when she licked his lips.
• Ryan reached the Clock Tower and followed the street crowded with Wizards toward Freedom Street, with Harak perched on his shoulder.

Ryan explored Freedom Street, sold Thorn Hearts and a Water Guardian Wizard Array Spell, and bought potions and materials to strengthen himself. As he left, he used a Healing Potion to save a dying young man, shocking Freshmen who recognized him as Ghost King Ryan.

• Ryan learned how Freedom Street's shops and plaza stalls operated, then sold eight Thorn Hearts for forty Magic Stones to a Shabby Middle-aged Wizard.
• Ryan sold the Water Guardian Wizard Array Spell for 150 Magic Stones to a tall woman in a White Tiger Mask, whose presence felt foreign to him.
• Ryan bought a Calming Potion, a Nightmare Flower, and Red Bristle Grass, then spent eighty more Magic Stones on a Mortal Transformation Potion.
• Ryan encountered an old man begging for help for his gravely wounded son and gave him a Healing Potion, which began repairing the young man's injuries.
• Freshmen from the Wizard Ship recognized Ryan as Ghost King Ryan and were astonished to see him helping someone.

Ryan discovered that the Golden Pocket Watch could alter events within the previous twenty-four hours by changing informational targets, and he named it an Anomalous Item. He then inhaled the Nightmare Flower to undergo its trial and increase his Spiritual Power, leaving the outcome unknown.

• Ryan examined the Golden Pocket Watch and saw that its information constantly varied, then turned its hands and caused wiped-away water stains to reappear.
• Ryan turned the hands back by about an hour and found that a Wizard Book had moved from his Silver Bracelet onto his desk.
• Ryan tested the watch with written information and learned that it could send him to a definite location from within the past twenty-four hours, while its effects had daily limits.
• Ryan named the Golden Pocket Watch an Anomalous Item and inhaled the Nightmare Flower to begin its dreamlike nightmare trial.
• Ryan tossed and turned through the night, with the results of the Nightmare Flower trial still unknown by the next day.

Wizard Shaw dismissed concerns over Ethan’s destruction of two wizard families, while Kaze Antun was tasked with protesting on behalf of the wizard families. Ryan endured a nightmare flower’s trial and woke after passing the test of will, having borne the cost of increasing his spiritual power.

• Wizard Deno warned Wizard Shaw that Ethan’s massacre at Ancient Forest Mountain could provoke the wizard families, but Shaw praised Ethan and welcomed the prospect of a confrontation.
• Wizards debated the massacre in a virtual meeting, then assigned Kaze Antun and the Antun Family to make an appeal against the School Lineage.
• Kaze Antun accepted the assignment, condemning the attack publicly while privately hoping it would cause trouble for the Bone Lineage.
• Ryan faced nightmares of alluring women and a catastrophic storm, then woke and realized he had passed the nightmare flower’s test of will.

After gaining strength from the Nightmare Flower, Ryan prepared to enter the Umbral Expanse and met two freshmen at a farewell meal. He arrived at the Umbral Expanse through the Wizard Teleportation Array and was overwhelmed by its natural Particle Energy.

• Ryan used the Golden Pocket Watch to restore the drained Nightmare Flower and raised his Particle Energy to 4.4 units.
• Ryan reflected on his goal of becoming a formal Wizard and planned to find lodgings in the Umbral Expanse before tending to the Mortal Transformation Potion and Lusen's Soul Body.
• At a banquet, Gray introduced Ryan to Tazumi Masque and Mona while other freshmen whispered about Ryan giving away a Healing Potion.
• Ryan and the freshmen entered the Wizard Teleportation Array, where its violent Particle Energy caused weaker students to faint.
• Ryan arrived in the Umbral Expanse and stared in awe at its magnificent structure and dense natural Particle Energy.

Wizard Ethan brought Ryan and the other freshmen into the Umbral Expanse and explained how its academy and districts were organized. As they reached the Lower Academy, Ryan sensed hostile gazes and suspected Wizard Ethan had noticed them too.

• Wizard Zephyr and Wizard Lando left to report to their superiors while Wizard Ethan explained that freshmen began in the Lower Academy and had to pass an assessment to enter the Upper Academy.
• Wizard Ethan led the freshmen from the Teleportation Tower through the Umbral Expanse and introduced its districts, administrative offices, and libraries.
• Ryan used his mental map to study the surroundings as the group entered the busier Lower Academy district.
• Ryan sensed venomous gazes aimed at the group, including Wizard Ethan, but they disappeared before he could identify their source.
• Ryan doubted Wizard Ethan had missed the hostility and suspected him of plotting again.

Ryan attended the Umbral Wizard Academy’s newcomer assembly, where Wizard Family freshmen shamed the Ancient Forest Mountain students for entering without assessments. Monta singled Ryan out and invited him to join their group, deepening the hostility among the freshmen.

• Ryan traveled through the academy grounds toward Academy Plaza, where freshmen from several New Student Camps gathered for the newcomer assembly.
• Gray called Ryan over to the Ancient Forest Mountain group, drawing attention from the other freshmen.
• Wizard Family freshmen accused the Ancient Forest Mountain students of entering through the back door and warned they would be eliminated by the Last Place System and Quota Missions.
• Monta acknowledged Ryan’s strength but invited him to stand with the Wizard Family freshmen instead of the Ancient Forest Mountain students.
• Ryan recognized Monta’s invitation as concealed malice while the other freshmen watched him warily.

Ryan ignored Monta’s invitation as tensions rose among the freshmen, then Wizard Casey arrived to introduce the rules and a future secret-realm assessment. The chapter left Ryan with a clearer understanding of the Umbral Points required to enter secret realms.

• Ryan considered the consequences of killing the Ancient Forest Mountain freshmen and decided to report rule-breaking while accepting any challenges that followed.
• Monta tried to provoke hostility toward Ryan, but Ryan ignored him, leaving Monta wary of making Ryan an enemy.
• Wizard Casey’s pressure forced the freshmen to their knees, while Ryan remained standing.
• Wizard Casey introduced himself as the freshmen’s Management Wizard and warned that he would kill anyone who broke the rules.
• Wizard Casey announced that the freshmen would compete in the Fire Overwhelming Heaven and Corrosive Forest secret realms in two and a half years for ranking rewards.
• Ryan learned more about the Umbral Points needed to enter secret realms.

Ryan studied the Umbral Wizard Academy’s disciplines and weighed his options for building a Wizard’s path, but his lack of Magic Stones threatened his studies. He considered selling rare items for funds and ended with the Aegis Secret Record and Red Metal Ring as possible sources of resources.

• Ryan learned that Wizards earned Umbral Points through missions and could spend them on rare resources and Wizard Legacies.
• Ryan reviewed the twenty-one basic disciplines and chose Energy Studies, Elemental Particle Studies, Biological Nurturing, and Supernatural Anatomy.
• Ryan realized his twenty remaining Magic Stones could not cover courses, housing, and daily expenses, while his valuable Wizardry Scroll, Artifacts, and Potions were still useful to him.
• Ryan considered selling the Nightmare Flower and reversing the sale with the Golden Pocket Watch, but his absolute rationality stopped him.
• Ryan considered trading the Aegis Secret Record, a rare Battle Body Wizard inheritance, for resources, and also thought of selling the Red Metal Ring.

Ryan disguised himself and sold the Aegis Secret Record at the Black Mire Exchange for one thousand Magic Stones, then bought a forest Wizard Residence. He left with his training funds secured and his new home established, ready to choose a Supernatural Discipline.

• Ryan wore the Mask of Lingering Dreams, disguised himself as Arthur, and went to the Free Zone to sell the Aegis Secret Record.
• Scholar Lausley appraised the record, and Biadi offered Ryan either three hundred Magic Stones with permission to copy it or one thousand for the original and its exclusive knowledge.
• Ryan accepted one thousand Magic Stones from the Black Mire Exchange and received a Magic Card he could use at Wizard Banks and participating institutions.
• Ryan visited the Wizard Residence sales office, where Dove showed him the available properties.
• Ryan chose a forest Wizard Residence and paid five hundred Magic Stones for a one-year term.