Recaps

After failing to identify any Third Order Professionals among Black Claw’s suspects, 'Lai' witnessed two apprentices remove a box from a carriage and suspected it contained smuggled goods. Gareth and Timothy discovered that someone had detected the box with Divine Power, so they postponed moving the goods and planned to find out who was watching them.

• 'Lai' tested three suspected Third Order Professionals and found that they were a Second Order, a First Order, and an ordinary gardener.
• 'Lai' watched two apprentices remove a box from her group’s carriage, then decided not to investigate the suspected smuggling operation.
• Timothy and Gareth opened the box and found only straw, then Gareth used a red liquid to reveal a strong Divine Power reaction on it.
• Gareth and Timothy concluded that a mage had detected the box and agreed to delay transporting the goods.
• Gareth planned to have the stable manager guard the stables and investigate the hotel, while Timothy prepared to take the mages to the plantation in a few days.

Lai joined an academic exchange at the Emerald Life Ring plantation, where she compared its costly magical cultivation methods with her plans to improve ordinary grain yields. The tour ended with Lai recognizing a sword technique used by a plantation worker and realizing it contained a part of the Broken Wing Sword Art she did not know.

• Lai toured the plantation with the visiting mages as Timothy explained its cultivation methods and showed them crops including Azte Grass and Devil Vine.
• Aurora praised the Emerald Life Ring's Azte Grass, but Timothy refused to explain its secret cultivation method and led the group onward.
• Lai considered using fertilizer methods from her previous life to improve Antir's grain yields, and her Panel granted her one point of Magical Botany proficiency.
• A plantation employee used a wooden sword to defeat a Poison Green Vine without damaging it, prompting Timothy to explain the plant and the worker's role.
• Lai recognized the worker's swordsmanship as the Broken Wing Sword Art and noticed that he had used a part she did not know.

Lai recognized that a frail plantation worker had learned the Broken Wing Sword Art and suspected its Sword Saint was in Bohan City. When she tracked the young man to his home, she found him dead from a wound inflicted with the Blood Law Sword Art.

• Lai suspected the Broken Wing Sword Saint had taught the young plantation worker and decided to follow him rather than risk alerting the Sword Saint.
• After the academic exchange ended, Lai asked a plantation employee where the young man lived and went to his home in the outer city.
• Lai searched the area and found a sword-practice scratch on a board near a well, which she believed marked where the Sword Saint had taught the young man.
• Lai sensed blood inside the house, entered, and found the young man dead in a pool of blood.
• Lai examined the wound and recognized it as a core move of the Blood Law Sword Art.

Lai investigated a murder linked to Blood Law Sword Art, defeated the killer’s ambush, and secretly marked him to trace his master. The killer reported back to Elias, who learned that Lai might be connected to an old friend, while a white-robed man prepared a trap with two other Third Order fighters.

• Lai found no clues at the murder scene and was ambushed by a concealed Blood Law Sword Art practitioner.
• Lai melted the attacker’s Bluefire Steel sword with Sunflame and blasted him through a wall using Forward Step.
• Lai let the wounded First Order attacker escape after placing a hidden tracking mark on him, hoping he would lead her to the Sword Saint.
• The attacker followed his master’s escape route and told Elias that a powerful opponent with a red glow had nearly defeated him.
• Elias suspected the opponent might be his old friend, who also knew Sunflame Arts, and wondered why he had let the disciple go.
• A tall man in white robes urged Elias to keep the disciple in place and promised to bring two Third Order fighters to ambush Lai, but refused to explain the Sect’s holy relic.

Fran arrived in Crescent Bay to report to the Territory Mage Working Group and received her identification badge. Her arrival impressed local officials, while Julian sought a transfer to a combat squad.

• Iris left Fran at Crescent Bay’s gate, and Fran took a hired carriage toward Golden Crow Street.
• Patrol Mages stopped Fran near Golden Crow Street, but let her pass after she showed her transfer documents bearing the Command Council seal.
• Fran reached Number 45 Golden Crow Street and received her Territory Mage Working Group identification badge from the Director of Personnel.
• Julian entered the Director of Personnel’s office and learned that Fran held a more important position than an ordinary Working Group staff member.
• Julian began asking the old man to approve his transfer to a combat squad.

Fran joined the Ocean Affairs Department’s Territory Mage Working Group and learned that rival Schools had created numerous competing groups to control Territory Mage affairs. The Command Council’s amendment required them to consolidate into one department within a year, leaving Fran to work amid a struggle for influence while her identity remained secret from the other groups.

• Fran mistakenly entered the Ocean Department before finding the Ocean Affairs Department’s Territory Mage Working Group and meeting its leader, Eleanor.
• Eleanor explained that different Schools backed the many Territory Mage Working Groups because they had fought over control of the work.
• Fran realized that the Sword Chant School’s large presence in the Battle Mage Corps had intensified disputes over how Territory Mage benefits would be shared.
• Eleanor told Fran that the First Territorial Mage Amendment required the groups to be reduced to one department within a year, with the Command Council eliminating groups that lacked results.
• Fran asked whether the other groups knew who she was, and Eleanor assured her that only she and the Law School’s upper ranks knew.

The Ocean External Affairs Department prepared for a territory mage assessment by organizing training and recruiting researchers, while Galle reported how rival departments were preparing. Brandon learned that the Command Council would use a restricted team Magic Duel to determine land-selection order, and he resolved to strengthen his working group.

• Brandon told the Territory Mage Working Group to coordinate with the Battle Mage Corps for the White Dragon Port operation and make their territory the best before the assessment in three months.
• Galle explained that the working groups would compete in a five-person Magic Duel to determine land-selection order, with rank limits, random participant draws, and a twenty-five-member cap.
• Brandon ordered Galle to find two Magic Duel coaches and arrange practice for the working group.
• Galle reported that the Construct School had obtained a transcript of the territory mage paper author's lecture, the Ocean War Department had sent someone to Antir, and the Elemental School's Ocean Management Department had recruited Olean Cross and his assistants.
• Brandon learned that the Ocean Affairs Department had recruited experienced researchers and a Special Adviser, and he felt relieved that the Law School did not seem to have secured extraordinary help.

Fran examined Alliance maps and concluded that the Lohan Archipelago was likely The Alliance’s next target, but her position in the Territory Mage Working Group gave her no clear way to influence those affairs. Meanwhile, “Lai” prepared to follow a holy light mark that night and let Philly attend an arcade event with other mages.

• Fran reviewed Territory Mage documents and found maps showing The Alliance’s expanding control of sea routes and its likely advance toward the Lohan Archipelago.
• Fran realized the Territory Mage Working Group was too new and politically sidelined to help her reach Lohan Islands affairs, so she resolved to seek another opportunity.
• “Lai” practiced Combat Techniques, bringing seventeen to Mastery, and planned to follow the remaining holy light mark that night.
• Philly asked to attend an event at an arcade, and “Lai” allowed her to go with other mages.
• “Lai” gave Philly thirty gold coins for the outing, and Philly happily returned to her room.

Lai prepared time-related Alchemy Devices and a Sky Dragon Rune hide before tracking a marked Profession into an abandoned street, where four Third Order Professions ambushed her. She began an elemental attack and rose into the air, preparing Elemental Regression as the wind battered her pursuers.

• Lai crafted time-accelerating and time-slowing devices, then inscribed a Sky Dragon Rune on magical-beast hide to prepare an escape route.
• Lai followed the Radiant Priest's Radiance into an abandoned street and sensed four Third Order Professions waiting in ambush.
• Lai chose Elemental Conversion followed by Elemental Regression instead of Divine Descent, then used time devices to begin converting the elements.
• Lai completed three Elemental Conversions as Elias attacked with his blood-red sword, unleashing a gale that filled the street with dust and collapsed buildings.
• Lai activated the Sky Dragon Rune hide, rose a hundred meters, and began channeling Elemental Regression while the wind battered the four ambushers.

Philly and Aurora talked about Lai and research at a Bohan City arcade while the mages gambled for entertainment. Their conversation was interrupted when a violent wind swept through the city, followed by a deafening roar and a torrent that burst into the arcade.

• Philly grew bored of games she could predict and accepted Aurora's invitation to talk.
• Aurora asked Philly about Lai, and Philly described Lai as her guiding mage.
• Aurora and Philly began animatedly discussing mathematics and research.
• A violent wind shook the arcade, cracking a window, then abruptly stopped as a roar rang through Bohan.
• The arcade doors burst open, and a massive torrent surged toward the mages.

A devastating attack by the Broken-Wing Sword Saint flooded Bohan City, leaving Elias and the Elephant of Mountains believer alive among the ruins. After hearing that the Sword Saint’s power might come from a sacred relic, Elias began plotting to seize it before the Sect’s reinforcements arrived.

• The Water Element’s blast flooded Bohan City, destroyed the ruined street, and left sewage pooled throughout the city.
• Elias recovered in the wastewater, assessed his injuries, and feared his disciple had been killed.
• Elias questioned the Elephant of Mountains believer about the sacred relic after concluding the Broken-Wing Sword Saint had overwhelmed their group.
• The believer said the relic might explain the Sword Saint’s power and planned to summon Sect reinforcements while keeping him in Bohan.
• Elias and the other Third Order Professionals became interested in obtaining the relic, and Elias planned to recruit allies and approach the Alchemists the next day.

Timothy assessed the flood damage to Emerald Life Ring’s plantation and discussed a delayed shipment from The Alliance with Mage Gareth. The chapter ended with a man in black asking Rainbow Refining Hand’s shop about psychic-power goods and hearing that a Psychic Solid was due to arrive.

• An Alchemist reported that floodwater had damaged the plantation, destroyed many magical plants, and left its soil in need of inspection, possibly forcing a costly three-month shutdown.
• Timothy ordered an itemized list of expenses and told Gareth they could not use the flooded, foul-smelling basement to discuss their shipment.
• Timothy and Gareth agreed to delay moving the goods until the basement could be cleaned, then reviewed the shipment’s psychic headband, Second Order Demonic Beast armor, Psychic Solid, and alchemy materials.
• A man in black visited a Rainbow Refining Hand shop seeking goods related to psychic power and learned that a shipment from The Alliance containing a Psychic Solid might arrive in a few days.

Lai decided to prioritize obtaining the Secret Wordspeaker Profession because she could not safely handle multiple Third Order Professionals while pursuing the Bloodlaw Sword Saint. At the Tranquil Hotel, a break-in revealed that the Broken-Wing Sword Saint had returned and targeted the Emerald Life Ring.

• Lai concluded that the ambush and the Bloodlaw Sword Saint’s unknown allies made pursuing him too dangerous, so she would obtain Secret Wordspeaker after finishing Passionate Warrior.
• Lai found Philly chatting with Aurora and warned Philly to be cautious because Aurora might have joined the project to get close to her.
• Aurora went downstairs to fetch boxed meals, and Lai sensed that something major had happened beneath the hotel.
• Lai and Philly joined the crowd in the lobby, where staff reported that an intruder had broken into a concealed basement room.
• Timothy questioned the staff, who identified the intruder as a black-robed Third Order Sword Saint carrying a greatsword and practicing the Broken Wing Sword Art.

Timothy and Gareth discussed Simon’s theft and growing power, then plotted to recruit allies to kill him. In hiding, Simon used the solidified mental power he had stolen to strengthen himself through the Black Stone Slab.

• Timothy and Gareth realized Simon had stolen Gareth’s solidified mental power and discussed whether a mole had revealed where the goods were stored.
• Timothy learned Simon was behind the recent disasters and joined Gareth in deciding to kill him, while they considered enlisting other Third Order Professionals.
• Gareth told Timothy that Simon had repelled four Third Order Professionals and wounded them, including Elias, and suspected Simon’s mysterious object was responsible for his strength.
• Simon hid in a house in the Inner City after the boy he had taken as an apprentice died from a wound caused by the Blood Law Sword Art.
• Simon fed the solidified mental power to the Black Stone Slab, raising his mental power to roughly that of a Second Order Mage.

Simon decided to remain hidden in Bohan until the Elephant of Mountains Sect’s tracking devices failed, while Lai gained the Passionate Warrior Profession and began exploring the Secret Wordspeaker method. Lai’s first attempt at the Secret Words ritual ended almost immediately, leaving her startled by how much time seemed to have passed.

• Simon chose to stay in Bohan for two or three months to evade the Elephant of Mountains Sect and hoped to find a chance to obtain the Bloodlaw Sword Saint’s blood.
• After mastering her remaining Combat Techniques, Lai used an alchemical herb to kindle temporary enthusiasm and gained the two-star Passionate Warrior Profession, though she lacked its associated trait.
• Lai prepared to investigate the Secret Wordspeaker Profession, judging the ritual potentially dangerous and considering her limited time in Bohan.
• Lai shut off her five senses and began the ritual, but a strange sound startled her into ending it.
• Lai realized that the sun had nearly set despite her belief that she had counted only one second.

Lai interpreted a passage of Secret Words at great cost, then planned to seek help from Alwen's Gate of Secret Words. Meanwhile, factions in Bohan moved smuggled goods and prepared a citywide hunt for Simon, but the night lasted far longer than expected.

• Lai woke after losing awareness, investigated the strange noise in her memory, and found that interpreting Secret Words consumed Divine Power and slowed its recovery.
• Lai deciphered the passage “Night arrives after the sun sets,” found it useless, and decided to visit Alwen's organization in Bohan.
• Gareth and Timothy moved Gareth's smuggled goods from the Tranquil Hotel, using a single-use spatial expansion technique to unload them into another carriage.
• Elias and several Inner City Third Order Professionals organized a hunt for Simon, planning to disguise themselves as tax collectors and begin at sunrise.
• Bohan's Inner City residents poured into the streets when daylight failed to arrive, realizing the night had lasted unusually long.

Lai realized that the Secret Words she had used had plunged Bohan into an apparently lasting night, so she went to ask Alwen about the Promotion Method. Alwen was shocked to learn that her friend had already begun interpreting Secret Words.

• Lai woke to find Bohan in darkness even though it was daytime in Crescent Bay, and learned that the unusual night had unsettled the city.
• Lai suspected that using a Secret Word had caused the darkness and worried about its unpredictable power and the unrest in Bohan.
• Lai flew to Alwen’s house to ask questions about the Secret Words Promotion Method on behalf of a friend.
• Alwen was astonished when Lai said her friend had already tried the exploration ritual and begun interpreting Secret Words.

Lai learned from Alwen how rituals could produce different Secret Words and discovered that her citywide darkness had lasted far longer than expected. After the darkness finally lifted, she prepared to use a Third Order Black Shadow Wolf’s claws to seek an offensive Secret Word.

• Alwen explained that ritual preparations and connections could influence the Secret Word someone obtained, and Lai paid him for three examples.
• Alwen said Secret Words could not be freely canceled, but their effects had time limits; he estimated darkness covering Bohan would last about an hour.
• Lai realized the darkness had lasted roughly nineteen hours, far beyond Alwen’s estimate, and worried about the gap between her power and ordinary Secret Wordspeakers.
• A ray of sunlight ended the darkness over Bohan, and Lai returned to her room relieved.
• Lai retrieved the Third Order Black Shadow Wolf’s claws Fran had brought back from the Sun Domain so she could try to obtain an offensive Secret Word.

Bohan City’s tax collectors began imposing new fees while covert searchers hunted through homes, forcing Simon to flee when Elias discovered his hiding place. Elias signaled for help rather than fight, and Simon escaped toward the Outer City.

• An officer ordered Bohan City’s tax collectors to collect new fees, including a Daybreak Tax, while warning them to avoid powerful residents and mages.
• Tax collectors argued with Inner City residents and demanded payment, while disguised searchers followed them and rummaged through homes.
• Simon watched the searches approach his hideout, suspected they were looking for him, and began packing to escape to the Outer City.
• A tax collector broke into Simon’s house and searched it before Elias arrived and sensed that something was wrong.
• Simon struck at Elias, recognized him, and fled through a window when Elias raised a signal; Elias then waited for his Third Order companion, relieved he had avoided fighting Simon.

Elias told Timothy that Simon had become too powerful for him to stop, while Lai learned from Black Claw that Simon had been blamed for several disasters and was being hunted for a holy relic. Lai realized the mistaken accusations would help her find Simon and kill him.

• Elias told Timothy he could not stop Simon because Simon had overwhelmed him with a casual strike, and Timothy learned Simon might still be in the city or have fled to the Outer City.
• Lai visited Black Claw, where she learned the city lord's second son had instructed the gang to provide her with free intelligence.
• Black Claw showed Lai a portrait of Simon and explained that he was blamed for the flood, the theft from the Emerald Life Ring, and Bohan City's prolonged night.
• Black Claw said Simon was believed to possess a holy relic of the Elephant of Mountains Sect, prompting several Third Order Professionals to join forces against him.
• Lai realized that the mistaken accusations and the hunt for Simon's relic could help her locate and kill him.

Lai learned that Simon had fled to the Outer City and planned to join the Alliance hunting him so she could approach Elias, one of her targets. In Crescent Bay, Fran ended the idle chatter in the Ocean Affairs Department’s Working Group by announcing new arrangements for the coming operation at White Dragon Port.

• Black Claw told Lai that Simon had escaped the Third Order Professionals in the Inner City and was hiding in the Outer City, but he could not introduce her to the Alliance.
• Lai decided to find a third-tier Profession who could help her join the Alliance and get close to Elias.
• The Ocean Affairs Department’s Working Group remained idle while its members worried that they would fail the assessment, since the Special Adviser had not approved their work plans.
• Erwin and Willow speculated about Fran and Eleanor’s relationship, then discussed a rumor about this year’s Gold Alchemy Award winner.
• Fran asked what had happened to the Gold Alchemy Award winner, then called the group together to give new arrangements with ten days remaining before the Tower Battle Mage Corps captured White Dragon Port.

Fran directed the Ocean Affairs Department’s Territory Mage Working Group to promote Territory Mage conversions among First Order Battle Mage teams, despite the members’ doubts. She intended to attract more mages and demonstrate her value to the higher-ups.

• Fran reminded the group that only ten days remained before the Territory Mage system’s formal construction began.
• Fran assigned a few members to contact Tower Battle Mage Corps members and mages expected to exchange military merit for Territory Mage conversions.
• Fran ordered the rest of the group to promote their Territory Mage conversions to First Order Battle Mage teams and include the group’s contact information.
• Erwin questioned how promotion would help with the assessment, and Fran explained that interested mages could choose their group when exchanging merit.
• The group members remained unconvinced, but Fran dismissed them and said she would prepare the promotional materials.

Lai infiltrated the alliance hunting Simon by proving she was a Third Order Professional with an unfamiliar Secret Words attack. Rory accepted her and assigned her to search for Simon in the Outer City alongside Elias.

• Rory questioned Lai's identity and required her to prove she was a Third Order Professional before joining the alliance.
• Lai used the Secret Words attack "Black Phantom Swings Its Claws" to carve a deep gash in the ground, leaving Rory unable to identify her methods.
• Rory accepted Lai into the alliance and showed her the marked map of their search for Simon in the Outer City.
• Rory explained that Timothy had supplied plant seeds that could alert the alliance when Simon passed nearby, and that the search had already begun.
• Rory assigned Lai to work with Elias because Elias had let Simon escape and no one else wanted to partner with him.

‘Lai’ helped Elias spread alchemical seeds and solution through Bohan while secretly looking for a chance to kill him. Simon watched the plants close in around his hiding places and planned to attack Elias when he left the protection of nearby Tier 3 professionals.

• ‘Lai’ found Elias and joined him in scattering seeds and pouring red solution at street intersections as part of the hunt for Simon.
• While working, ‘Lai’ probed the surroundings for Tier 3 professionals and waited for a safe opportunity to kill Elias.
• Elias asked ‘Lai’ to accompany him back toward his building for safety, then she left toward the Inner City.
• Simon watched the rapidly growing magical plants and realized the alchemists’ efforts were steadily shrinking his hiding space.
• Simon tracked Elias through a sword mark and decided to wait for Elias to come out alone before striking to draw blood and escape.

Lai attended the Rainbow Refining Hand’s academic exchange, then led Elias to the Bohan Black Market to ambush him. When Elias entered their chosen spot, attacks came at him from both sides, including one from Lai.

• Lai and Philly toured the Rainbow Refining Hand’s laboratory and watched an Alchemist demonstrate how to make a First Order Alchemy Device.
• Lai noticed an engine-like machine resembling a generator she had written about and suspected Mage Gareth had smuggled knowledge from the Gold Alchemy Award papers.
• Lai decided to make her move against Elias the next day and chose the dark Bohan Black Market for her ambush.
• Elias entered a sunlit patch in the Black Market and told Lai to scatter the seeds.
• Elias reached for his sword when an attack came from one side, then saw Lai launch a black shadow at him from the other.