Recaps

Fran visited the Alliance office in Number Nine Floating City to request expedited approval for building her equipment. While reviewing her records, an Alliance mage discovered her hidden connection to the Antir Region and the Territory Mage research, then considered selling the information for profit.

• Fran flew to the Alliance office and submitted applications to build her equipment throughout Number Nine Floating City.
• An Alliance mage checked Fran’s award record and found her earlier application to claim territory in the Antir Region.
• The mage connected Fran’s Northern Lands Society affiliation and Antir application to the Territory Mage paper and realized she might know its author.
• The mage imagined selling his discovery for ten thousand gold coins but concealed his delay with an excuse.
• Fran told the mage to process her applications within three days and left.

Fran discovered an unexplained footprint leading into her house and warned Iris that someone might be inside the top-secret laboratory. They found Lexi there, who explained her visit and offered Iris responsibility for coordinating the Floating City's power system.

• Fran spotted a gray footprint leading into her open house, prepared for a fight, and flew to fetch Iris instead of entering.
• Iris rushed back with Fran and used several Wonder Items to immobilize the area, but Lexi called for them not to attack.
• Lexi explained that she had come to see Iris about a completed secret project and showed her identification as its project leader.
• Lexi asked Iris to take charge of coordinating the Floating City's power system, and Iris accepted the important assignment.
• Fran saw an opportunity to learn more from Iris's new responsibility.

Fran received an unusual invitation from the Transmutation School and decided to attend its academic exchange banquet, hoping to gain advanced transmutation knowledge. At the banquet, Xiya found her and sat down to speak with her.

• Iris left Fran to finish scattering devices around the floating city and promised to call her in when she needed help.
• A messenger from The Alliance delivered Fran an invitation to a Transmutation School academic exchange banquet, which mentioned her paper and the Gold Alchemy Award.
• Fran decided to attend, hoping to learn more about advancing her transmutation abilities while keeping a distance from the Transmutation School's Chief.
• Fran won her seventh 3:0 qualifier match with Enhanced Wind Blade and Greater Fireball, bringing her Contribution Points to 85.
• Fran arrived at Silver-Scale Manor wearing her Northern Lands Society robe, and the guests speculated about why the Transmutation School had come to Number Nine Floating City.
• Xiya approached Fran, asked to sit with her, and joined her to listen to the exchange conference.

Fran attended a Transmutation School exchange where Ruge Felistin openly taught his award-winning Winged Dragon transmutation research. The lecture exposed Fran’s prior study of the field and left Xiya realizing Fran had acquired a Transmutation School sequence.

• Xiya asked Fran whether she missed the Northern Lands Society’s open exchange model, and Fran questioned whether the Transmutation School wanted to loosen restrictions on knowledge.
• Fran warned Xiya that open access could let another school surpass the school that developed a technique, while Xiya argued that rank bonuses would protect them.
• Ruge Felistin introduced his award-winning work on transmuting a Winged Dragon and taught the gathered mages Transmutation School knowledge at Vernon’s instruction.
• Fran asked Xiya to explain unfamiliar technical terms, then revealed that she had bought the [Song of the Deep Sea] transmutation sequence with military merit.
• Xiya recognized the Siren’s voice and the fluctuations in Fran’s throat, then froze in shock.

Fran demonstrated her flawless Siren vocal-cord transplant to Xiya, who realized the Alchemy School mage had mastered First Order organ modification with extraordinary speed. Xiya invited Fran to publish her paper through the Transmutation School, and Fran agreed while asking to study some of its knowledge.

• Xiya recognized that Fran had performed a flawless Transmutation Surgery and was shocked that an Alchemy School mage had completed First Order organ modification so quickly.
• Fran told Xiya that she had studied the Transmutation School’s knowledge on her own, and Xiya confirmed that doing so did not violate the school’s rules.
• Fran asked Xiya to explain why she had been invited, and Xiya said her mentor, Vernon, admired Fran’s paper and wanted her to give an academic lecture.
• Fran declined to lecture because she was busy, so Xiya asked whether she would publish her paper through the Transmutation School.
• Fran agreed to publish the paper and asked to view the school’s knowledge; Xiya granted access to some material but said other parts were restricted.

After Fran left the academic conference, Xiya reported to Vernon that Fran had agreed to his conditions and described her unusual talent, prompting him to warn Xiya not to push her to change schools. Back home, Fran found Iris waiting and was recruited to help with Iris’s troubled work in the Floating City’s power department.

• Fran left the conference after finding that the mages’ understanding of Ruge’s explanation was shallow and Ruge had disappeared.
• Xiya told Vernon that Fran had accepted his basic conditions and described Fran’s successful integration of a Modified Organ.
• Vernon assessed Fran as exceptionally promising but told Xiya to coordinate with her without trying to recruit her away from the Alchemy School.
• Fran returned home and found Iris, who asked her to reduce her banquet attendance and become her confidant.
• Iris told Fran to report to the second basement level of the Mage Tower the next morning to help with her work in the Floating City’s power department.

Fran extended her Duel Arena winning streak to nine 3:0 victories and prepared to keep her fighting methods hidden as other mages began countering her style. Warren deliberately arranged to face her, hoping to break her perfect streak and gain fame, while Fran accepted the unexpectedly prompt match without knowing his motive.

• Fran considered future countermeasures, decided to carry a bat and protective Spell Rings, and planned to make rune equipment to improve her speed, stealth, and combat ability.
• A staff member told Fran that her next duel application had been accepted because Warren had arrived to challenge her shortly after she submitted it.
• Warren showed his friends Fran's match record, and Harvey recognized her as the mage with nine consecutive 3:0 victories.
• Warren revealed that he had deliberately timed his application to face Fran and hoped to take one round from her, breaking her 3:0 streak and gaining recognition.

Camilla introduced Calista to the Felistin Family’s new cable-connected communication terminals, which quickly sold out across the Floating City. Seeing Fran’s unusual efforts on behalf of the family, Camilla concluded that Fran was interested in Philly and wanted to separate her from the Felistin Family, though she had no way to act on her theory.

• Camilla demonstrated the communication terminal to Calista, who bought four after confirming cables would reach her residence.
• Calista recognized the terminals’ advantages over other communication tools and expected them to become the Floating City’s main means of communication.
• Camilla learned that nearly eight hundred terminals had sold out in three days and that buyers had already purchased premium service plans.
• Camilla reviewed Fran’s profit-sharing agreement and wondered why Fran had helped the Felistin Family while keeping her distance.
• Camilla connected Fran’s changed behavior to Philly and guessed that Fran was interested in her younger sister and wanted to cut ties with the family.

Fran arrived at Number Nine Floating City’s Mage Tower to help Iris inspect the Magic Inscriptions that supported the city’s suspension and prepare them for high-power movement. After Iris left Fran to supervise the uncooperative mages, Fran sought out the group’s best inscription expert, Henry.

• Fran used Iris’s special identification badge to pass the Mage Tower’s security checks and reached the power department.
• Iris showed Fran a top-secret assignment to inspect the Magic Inscriptions and prepare for the floating city’s high-power movement.
• Iris told Fran that the mages would not properly record their inspections, then left Fran to supervise them while she handled other matters.
• Fran ordered the mages back to work and considered how to make the inspection progress faster.
• Fran asked who was best at Magic Inscriptions, and a mage identified Henry as a nominee for the Construct School’s [Magic Barrier Award].

Fran used Henry’s expertise to learn Magic Inscription while investigating irregularities in the Floating City’s power department. She reorganized the stalled inspections and left the mages with a formal record of their work, while Owen privately reassured them that he would review the results.

• Fran ordered Henry to explain the Magic Inscriptions, and his detailed lecture raised her Magic Inscription proficiency to Mastery.
• Fran studied the wall, noted unusual inscriptions, and designed inspection forms with more than a dozen criteria.
• Fran ordered each mage to inspect at least three walls by six o’clock and warned that the forms would document any failure to obey.
• After Fran left, the mages panicked that she might uncover their wrongdoing, but Owen told them to follow her orders and let him review the completed inspections.

Warren faced Fran in the Duel Arena, hoping to win just one round and earn a reputation that would secure him more funding. After Fran took the first two rounds, Warren planned to unleash three prepared Spell Rings in the third.

• Warren's two friends arrived before the duel and speculated about Fran's age and experience.
• Fran quickly defeated Warren in the first round after he used Steel Skin to test her casting speed.
• Warren drank an agility potion to test Fran's aim, but she anticipated his movements with Enhanced Wind Blades and won the second round.
• Warren concluded that Fran's casting speed and accuracy had foiled his tactics, then prepared three Spell Rings for the third round.

Warren tried to defeat Fran with a layered defensive strategy, but Fran used rapid Elemental Conversion to overwhelm his protections. Warren survived her Pyroblast, yet Fran’s next Greater Fireball left him unable to keep up.

• Warren cast [Steel Skin] and used Shield Spell rings to endure Fran’s enhanced Greater Fireball while channeling [Mithril Body].
• Warren completed [Mithril Body] and drank [Metal Essence], believing his strengthened defenses would secure his victory.
• Fran recognized Warren’s defensive plan and chose to use Elemental Conversion rather than reveal her skill at breaking shields through repeated spells.
• Fran rapidly converted the elements twice and launched Pyroblast, whose blast interrupted Warren’s attempt to cast another shield.
• Warren’s mithril barrier survived the Pyroblast, but Fran’s next Greater Fireball flew toward him, leaving him unable to defend himself in time.

After Fran defeated Warren, she learned that more than two hundred ranked duelists in Number Nine Floating City could provide her with opponents, and she booked another duel. Warren told his friends how decisively she had beaten him, prompting two of them to rush to challenge her.

• A staff member assessed the damage Fran's Pyroblast had done to the arena and told her she had reached 100 preliminary points.
• Fran learned that she was likely ranked in the 3,900s and that Number Nine Floating City had over two hundred ranked duelists accepting challenges.
• Fran booked a duel for the following afternoon.
• Warren told his friends that Fran had beaten him three-nil, describing her exceptional casting speed, accuracy, and mental strength.
• Warren's friends discussed why a Yobner Society mage had entered the Champion Mage Challenge and realized Fran had won ten matches in a row without losing a round.
• Two mages hurried to the front desk to challenge Fran and try to end her winning streak.

Iris brought Fran to the Floating City's power department, where Fran used her knowledge of Magic Inscriptions to force the mages to begin inspections. After reading Iris's secret mission details, Fran learned the city was being prepared for a possible clash with the Cult of the Sky Dragon, while Iris planned to leave afterward; Iris then ordered the exhausted mages to work faster and inspect the external engines.

• Iris found Fran confronting the power department mages over their neglected inspection work, and Fran made them begin inspecting the walls.
• Iris discovered Fran had written an analysis of Magic Inscriptions and recognized that her expertise had persuaded the mages to cooperate.
• Fran read the confidential mission details, learning that the Floating City had to reach and sustain high speeds in preparation for a possible encounter with the Cult of the Sky Dragon.
• Iris told Fran she would leave the city after the deadline and expected powerful Alchemy School mages to handle any confrontation, while Fran privately wondered whether they knew the Sky Dragon might appear.
• Iris set a thirty-five-minute limit for inspecting each section and ordered two mages to accompany her to inspect the external engines.

Fran advanced into the Elemental Scout profession and found its bonuses and reconnaissance trait unimpressive, then considered the difficult requirements for Passionate Warrior and Sword Saint. She planned to seek out obscure sword arts and eventually challenge a Sword Saint to claim a path to the Third Order.

• Fran used elemental power with her combat techniques and advanced into the Two-Star Elemental Scout profession, gaining the Elemental Reconnaissance trait.
• Fran dismissed Elemental Scout as a poor profession and decided to find Anna a Ranger variant instead.
• Fran considered how to gather twenty mastered combat techniques for Passionate Warrior, starting with opportunities on the Alliance's Floating City before turning to the Adventurers Guild.
• Fran examined the Sword Saint requirements and concluded she needed to collect obscure sword arts and raise one to the Extraordinary level.
• Fran planned to learn a Third Order Sword Saint's sword art, kill its strongest practitioner, and use her Panel to master sword arts that others could not fully learn.

Fran attended Silver-Scale Manor’s Silver Dragon Dinner, where mages sought information from her because of her connection to the Territory Mage thesis. She traded details about Antir for sword arts and combat techniques, while keeping the truth about Antir’s vanished throne to herself.

• Fran arrived at the Silver Dragon Dinner and was escorted to the third floor, where Kieran Burns greeted her and introduced her Sandglass Cup achievements to the assembled mages.
• Fran asked Kieran Burns to find combat techniques and copies of the Broken Wing Sword Art or Blood Law Sword Art.
• A woman in red offered Fran silver sheets in exchange for information about Antir and its status as territory of The Alliance.
• Fran told the gathered mages that Antir had once had a throne, but its lords could no longer sense it after her colleagues occupied the region.
• Kilan returned with silver sheets and discussed Antir’s throne with Fran, who withheld that it had been replaced by The Alliance’s regional administrator position.

Fran left Silver-Scale Manor exhausted but satisfied after obtaining Anna’s Ranger Promotion Method, two sword arts, and more than twenty combat techniques. Meanwhile, Roderick struggled to find a way to suppress the Felistin Family’s popular new communication terminal as the Alliance Council debated the rise of Territory Mages.

• Fran left the banquet with the combat techniques and advancement method she needed, while resolving to avoid future banquets for a while.
• Fran examined the Sharpshooter class requirements and realized Anna would need to improve her Physique, possibly with a Body Promotion Potion.
• Aunrich and other important mages gathered for a meeting at the Aether Palace, while Roderick considered the political concerns surrounding Territory Mages and mage families.
• Roderick found that the Alliance could not quietly suppress the Felistin Family’s communication terminal because its infrastructure had already been approved.
• A mage praised the terminal’s communication quality and explained how the Mana Communication System project had developed it, leaving Roderick to put aside his concerns for the moment.

Oinrich returned to lead a secret operation, announcing that Number Nine Floating City would attack the Cult of the Sky Dragon’s floating islands. He also conveyed a new Alliance policy placing Territory Mage matters under the Battle Mage Corps Commanders’ Council, leaving Roderick relieved that Felistin’s ambitions could be contained.

• Oinrich told the mages that the operation had never been approved by the Alliance Council and revealed plans to attack the Cult of the Sky Dragon’s floating islands using Number Nine Floating City.
• The mages questioned the danger of risking the Floating City, while Oinrich said the attack had to proceed because he believed the Cult of the Sky Dragon posed a serious threat.
• Lexi outlined the secret mission’s identifying features and instructed the mages on how to respond to tasks connected with it.
• Oinrich announced a resolution regulating Territory Mage projects and giving the Battle Mage Corps Commanders’ Council the highest authority over them.
• Roderick concluded that the policy would let the Alliance put Felistin’s matters on hold and prevent its Territory Mages from gaining influence.

Fran extended her Magic Duel winning streak to fourteen consecutive 3:0 victories, drawing the attention of Lynn and his uncle Caleb as she approached his father's Preliminaries record. Caleb investigated Fran's abilities to prepare Lynn for a possible match, but found her reported skills almost impossible to believe.

• Lexi told Oinrich that the Deity-detecting sensors were finished and that a Fourth Order Mage had been assigned to the Propulsion Department.
• Fran won her fourteenth Magic Duel 3:0 and resolved to vary her fighting style and prepare new rune-carved boots.
• Caleb brought Lynn the record of Fran's fourteen straight 3:0 victories, and Lynn hoped to face her before she could challenge his father's sixteen-win record.
• Caleb investigated Fran's duel history and struggled to believe reports that she could cast faster than Shield Spell, fly exceptionally well, and use Elemental Conversion twice without scrolls.
• Caleb tore up his notes, fearing that if the reports were true, Lynn might not win even a single round against Fran.

Iris defended Fran’s place on the secret mission while Owen failed to have her removed. Owen then planned to sabotage the airgate device and frame Fran during its upcoming test.

• Owen questioned Iris about Fran’s knowledge of Magic Inscription and threatened to report her, but Iris refused to explain and warned him to focus on his work.
• Iris resolved to protect Fran, relying on the official Alchemy School identity and records she had arranged for her.
• Owen returned to the Power Department mages and declared they had to stop Fran from investigating further.
• Owen proposed secretly altering the airgate device’s inscription array so it would burn out during testing and Fran could be blamed.
• When a mage worried Fran might spot the trap, Owen dismissed the concern and cited an earlier scheme involving Henry.

Fran reached Mastery in Magic Inscription and discovered a concealed circuit in the Floating City's power department that could destroy its arrays. Unable to identify the saboteurs through her current knowledge, she persuaded Iris to order a new comprehensive inspection and planned to use her authority to investigate further.

• Fran reached Mastery in Magic Inscription and recognized that a pair of shifted inscriptions formed an unfamiliar system.
• Henry hinted that the abnormal inscriptions could affect the array, then left after Fran dismissed him.
• Fran realized the circuit could burn out the device and suspected someone in the power department was sabotaging the work or hiding something.
• Fran found that the inspection records showed no abnormalities and concluded she lacked the time to locate them through technical knowledge alone.
• Fran asked Iris to require every mage to inspect the entire rune array again after the functional tests, so their results could be compared with the existing records.
• Fran asked Iris to intervene if she came into conflict with the mages during the investigation.

Fran confronted Owen’s group over their attempt to obstruct functional testing, then exposed their tampered air-channel inscription and accused three mages of lacking Magic Inscription skills. She ordered the Mage Tower’s internal security department to investigate them, leaving Owen’s scheme uncovered and the accused mages facing compulsory measures.

• Fran ordered the exhausted mages to test the air-duct device, but one of Owen’s associates objected that it could only be activated alongside the entire apparatus.
• Fran dismissed the objection, while Owen prompted another mage to support the claim and a third core-group mage eventually joined them.
• Fran activated the air-channel device herself, and its wind-element current circulated through the Floating City without triggering the trap.
• Fran forced the first objecting mage to activate the inscription, which flashed and damaged its activation module before she performed an emergency cancellation.
• Fran accused the mage and two others of serious Magic Inscription deficiencies and demanded that Mage Tower internal security investigate their technical proficiency.

Fran and Iris moved against Mage Owen, whose attempt to obstruct their investigation left him isolated and forced to return to work. At Felistin Manor, Kieran Burns approached Oliver to discuss the magic essence communication system after the ban on Territory Mages left their families with losses.

• Fran told Iris about Owen's obstruction, and Iris ordered the Mage Tower guard unit to take away the accused mages.
• Owen stayed silent as the guards removed three members of his clique, then resolved to seek new allies and distance himself from the investigation.
• Iris stopped Owen from leaving the Power Department and ordered him back to his post.
• Kieran Burns told Oliver that the Territory Mage ban had cost mage families money and left them with little to show for their investments.
• Kieran revealed that he had come to talk with Oliver about the magic essence communication system.

Kiran proposed that Oliver’s family build a live-broadcast Mana Telecommunications System for the Champion Mage Challenge, while Caleb searched for information about Fran and learned that she had entered the Mage Tower. Oliver left the proposal for the main branch and project team to consider, and Caleb found that Fran’s movements were impossible to investigate safely.

• Kiran urged Oliver to help build a Mana Telecommunications System for broadcasting the Champion Mage Challenge in Number Three Floating City, promising profit and favor from The Alliance.
• Oliver agreed to consult the main branch and the project team, and Kiran set a deadline tied to the tournament venue plans.
• Caleb visited a second-tier thief in Number Nine Floating City and asked him to gather information about Fran.
• The thief told Caleb that his apprentices had lost track of Fran when she entered the Floating City Mage Tower, making it too dangerous to follow her.

Lynn learned that his opponent Fran had won fifteen consecutive duels without dropping a round, while Caleb could find no reliable information about her fighting style. Fran then returned to the Mana Telecommunications System project and found Philly working with a lighter workload.

• Caleb told Lynn that he had arranged his duel with Fran for the following afternoon and urged him to aim for one round.
• Lynn learned that Fran had won all fifteen duels 3–0, and he and Caleb discussed the suspiciously unreliable reports about her matches.
• Caleb said that people saw Fran enter the Mage Tower after her duels, which had discouraged apprentices from investigating her.
• Fran returned to the Mana Telecommunications System project after confirming that apprentices were no longer following her.
• Fran found that the project had sold nearly two thousand terminals and that Philly's workload had eased, then knocked on Philly's desk to get her attention.