Recaps

David, an undercover mage, attacked Fran with Spirit Realm spells but was overwhelmed when his Mind Duel failed against her. Fran stopped the Battle Mages from killing him, leaving him alive for capture.

• David cast Heart of Quicksand on Fran and used a demon to help channel Mind Duel.
• Fran sensed David's connection to the Abyss and decided to spare his life to learn more.
• David's Mind Duel failed, leaving him unable to cast spells, while Fran's Divine Power increased slightly.
• Fran's elemental weapon tore through the quicksand, and the Battle Mages rushed in to shield her and attack David.
• The Battle Mages battered David until a Third Order squad captain ordered them to stop, but they ignored him.
• Fran went outside and told the Battle Mages to stop, keeping David alive.

Eleanor allowed the Command Council’s squad to restrain David after he was defeated, while Fran stayed behind to inspect the documents. In Crescent Bay, Arthur told Harbos he could leave the next day, though he remained uncertain whether Fran was Harbos’s disciple.

• The capture squad arrived, and its leader asked Eleanor to let them take David into custody; Eleanor agreed on the condition that they submit to an inspection afterward.
• Eleanor tried to take Fran away, but Fran insisted on staying to inspect the documents, and Eleanor agreed to handle that first.
• The squad fitted David with metal plating and magical devices, while Fran considered using the Divine Power in her bracelet to deal with the Abyss aura she sensed on him.
• Arthur told Harbos that the Spirit Realm Mage had been restrained and that Harbos could leave the next day.
• Harbos celebrated his departure and showed no sign of recognizing Fran as the researcher who had repelled David, leaving Arthur unsure whether she was Harbos’s disciple.

Fran used Divine Power to extract the Abyss-connected presence from David, while David discovered that the demon had escaped his Spirit Realm Talent. Fran later contacted the demon inside a gray crystal and found it waiting eagerly in a strange space.

• Under pressure from the Command Council, Fran inspected David and used her Divine Power Bracelet to move whatever was connected to the Abyss into a small object.
• David taunted the demon, believing his Spirit Realm Talent kept it bound to him, but the demon abruptly vanished from his talent.
• Fran returned to her workshop and found that the object was a warm gray crystal carrying an Abyssal aura.
• After taking precautions, Fran reached into the crystal with her mental power and heard a demon politely offer its help.
• Fran saw a red, bull-headed demon in a gray space, its lifeless eyes and eager expression visible to her.

Fran questioned a demon trapped in divine power, hoping to use it to decipher Abyssal Script while hiding her intentions. The demon tried to win her trust and asked her to investigate an Abyssal aura, but Fran demanded to know what it would offer in return.

• Fran identified the imprisoned creature as a High Demon and cautiously asked about its relationship with David.
• The demon claimed David was its good friend and tried to appeal to Fran by criticizing The Alliance’s treatment of Spirit Realm Mages.
• Fran pretended to sympathize with the demon and offered to rescue David, disrupting the demon’s assumptions about her.
• Fran proposed making a deal with the demon, leaving it unsure how to respond to her unexpected request.
• The demon asked Fran to investigate an Abyssal aura nearby before it considered a transaction, and Fran asked what benefits it would provide.

Fran negotiated with the demon for information about Abyss Demons in exchange for helping it find an item with a strong Abyssal aura. The demon recognized Fran’s description as a powerful Black Stone Slab and grew eager to learn more about it.

• Fran demanded information about at least thirty kinds of high-ranking Abyss Demons as payment for helping the demon find the item.
• The demon described a dense Abyssal aura near the place where David was captured, and Fran realized it had sensed the aura from her Abyss Contract or the Black Stone Slab.
• Fran claimed the item was a Black Stone Slab in Bohan and described its appearance to the demon.
• The demon identified the slab as a damaged slate contract that could contain a demon’s power and help it enter the Material Realm.
• The demon began giving Fran information about Abyss Demons, then eagerly asked her to tell it more about the slab.

Fran pressured the demon trapped in the gray crystal into revealing information about demon incantations and the Black Stone Slab, then planned to test the incantation without risking herself. In Bohan, Lai took the slab to the Outer City and forced a thug to prepare to recite the words written on her note.

• Fran refused to help activate the Black Stone Slab unless the demon offered payment, and rejected its offer of more demon information.
• Fran demanded more valuable knowledge, so the demon explained demon incantations, their precautions, and that holding the slab could launch attacks at nearby surroundings.
• Fran sealed the demon inside a trapped black box and decided to test the incantation using someone else, hoping to eventually learn how to decipher Abyssal Script.
• After Lai completed an academic exchange at the Emerald Life Ring, she went to Bohan's Outer City and seized a thug who had been attacking someone with a shovel.
• Lai gave the thug the Black Stone Slab and a note, ordered him to recite the pronunciation, and flew away when he asked whether he could refuse.

Lai tested the Black Stone Slab with a thug and confirmed that it could unleash a destructive attack, though she suspected the demon had given her only an activation command. Meanwhile, Boao received an oracle ordering the Elephant of Mountains Sect to reclaim its sacred relic from the Alliance mages, leaving its priests fearful of the consequences.

• Lai had a thug recite the spell, and the Black Stone Slab released a purple shockwave that obliterated nearly half a block.
• Lai took the slab from the thug, found no further changes, and concluded that the demon had given her only an attack activation command.
• Lai let the thug go, and he hoped she might hire him for future experiments.
• Boao told the Elephant of Mountains Sect's priests that the Deity had ordered them to recover the sacred relic and show the Alliance mages the Sect's wrath.
• The priests repeated their blessing but feared that attacking the Alliance mages would bring about the Sect's destruction.

Fran tested the Black Stone Slab and told the demon its attack could break First Order shields but was not capable of overcoming Third Order defenses. She demanded compensation before doing further tests, then asked what the demons had done and thought during the battle at Abyss Mouth in Holy Calendar 2681.

• Fran described the slab's purple attack and explained why its power and lack of a special mechanism made it ineffective against Third Order shields.
• The demon tried to persuade Fran to use more incantations, but she insisted that it pay her for further testing.
• The demon agreed to compensate Fran if she continued testing the slab.
• Fran asked the demon about the demons' actions and thoughts during the battle at Abyss Mouth in Holy Calendar 2681.
• The demon recognized the subject but remained puzzled about Fran's reason for asking.

Fran learned a demon’s account of the Abyss Mouth War before Eleanor brought news that the Command Council had approved district expansion. Fran prepared to act, while Aolain decided his working group would expand into three additional districts to catch up with the Wall District.

• Fran heard the demon’s account of the Puos noble who triggered the Abyss Mouth and learned more about the demons’ wartime forces.
• Eleanor told Fran that the Command Council had approved expansion policies for every district after criticism of its failed operation at White Dragon Port.
• Fran recognized that other working groups could be overwhelmed by staffing and management problems, then ordered preparations and contact with Artisans and merchants.
• Aolain worried that his group would fall behind the Wall District, which had six Territory Mages, and decided to expand into three additional districts.

After the expansion rules changed, the Territory Mage Working Groups claimed and surveyed areas across White Dragon Port. Brandon learned that the Wall District was concentrating on one area and decided Dragon Wing District would do the same.

• The Command Council limited each working group to three additional areas and gave the Wall District one extra area to choose from.
• Brandon told Galle to contest Darkscale District through the Command Council rather than a Magic Duel, and to reserve one claim slot for a possible future takeover of Dragon Head District.
• Brandon explained that he expected the Ocean War Department to fail the next assessment because public order in Dragon Head District remained poor.
• Galle reported that the Wall District was building sheet-metal walls around one eastern area before managing it and had sent no personnel elsewhere.
• Brandon abandoned his plan to advance on four fronts and ordered Dragon Wing District to focus on a single area like the Wall District.

Lai visited Kyle to learn that the Elephant of Mountains believers had increased their activity and were plotting around the Tranquil Hotel, apparently targeting the Alliance mages there. Suspecting they planned to use power granted by their Deity, she rushed to warn the mages and prepare for an attack.

• Lai met Kyle at his secret base and asked what he had learned about the Elephant of Mountains believers.
• Kyle reported that the believers had recently begun visiting several Inner City locations and seemed to be planning something involving a holy relic.
• Lai realized the believers might be preparing to attack the Tranquil Hotel despite the many Third Order Professionals who could oppose them.
• Lai suspected the Elephant of Mountains Sect intended to use power bestowed by its Deity.
• Lai ordered Kyle to investigate further and send any evidence of divine power to the Tranquil Hotel, then hurried away to make preparations.

Fran asked the Lord of Radiance about divine blessings and the Elephant of Mountains Sect’s possible Divine Descent, then revealed she had already reached Third Order and requested Divine Power instead of a rank increase. In Bohan City, Gareth warned the mages that the Sect’s four Third Order Professionals might attack the Tranquil Hotel with a Deity’s aid, and Fran considered moving Kyle closer to the hotel.

• The Lord of Radiance explained that a Deity’s Proxy could channel Divine Descent through a Third Order Professional, while an ordinary follower’s descent required prayer support and left the follower immobile and at risk of death.
• Fran decided to prepare against Divine Descent, reasoning that the Elephant of Mountains’ lesser blessings would not quickly breach the Tranquil Hotel’s defenses.
• The Lord of Radiance offered to raise Fran to Third Order, but Fran revealed her Third Order mental power and asked for surplus Divine Power instead.
• The Lord of Radiance congratulated Fran on advancing so quickly and agreed to give her Divine Power and allow her to summon a descent if needed.
• Gareth sent word to the mages at the Tranquil Hotel that four Third Order Professionals from the Elephant of Mountains Sect might attack with a Deity’s aid, and Fran considered having Kyle arrange a nearby house.

Fran focused on a mysterious gray crystal and sought expertise on the Abyss while Eleanor pressed her to expand into more areas. Eleanor revealed that Iris, an Abyss specialist and Working Group member, was already in White Dragon Port.

• A seventh Territory Mage was born in the Wall District on the eighth day, unsettling the other Territory Mage Working Groups with the speed of its expansion.
• Eleanor urged Fran to expand into multiple areas, but Fran said she would wait until the second area had accumulated three Territory Mages.
• Fran asked Eleanor about the screening of obedient civilians for management roles, and Eleanor said the preliminary selection was nearly complete.
• Fran asked whether Eleanor knew any mages who studied the Abyss, explaining that she needed help understanding Abyssal Script.
• Eleanor identified Iris, a special consultant for the Ocean War Department in White Dragon Port, as an Abyss specialist, but Fran did not recognize her.

Fran sought out Iris in the Dragon Head District to learn how demons operated and whether she knew about Abyssal Script. Iris explained that her mentor had deciphered demonic inscriptions, but the Abyss Walker had been in the Abyss for five or six years and could not be contacted.

• Fran recognized that the statue in the Dragon Head District was dedicated to the Goddess of Magic and decided not to use the Star Gazing Art to investigate her.
• Fran asked Iris about demons, and Iris explained how their consciousnesses traveled the continent through transactions and could return to the Abyss if they ran out of energy.
• Fran asked Iris about demon spells and transaction contracts, then agreed to recite praise to the Goddess of Magic as payment for the information.
• Fran asked whether Iris had researched Abyssal Script, and Iris revealed that her mentor had deciphered demonic stone tablets.
• Iris told Fran that her mentor, known as the Abyss Walker, had been in the Abyss for five or six years and could not be contacted.

Fran learned from Iris a way to hurt a demon’s true body and considered how Divine Power might keep its consciousness trapped on the continent, but decided she needed more preparation. In Bohan, Boao prepared a hidden prayer room for the Elephant God and planned an attack within three days while Lai secretly worked in the basement.

• Fran learned that Iris’s mentor was away and obtained methods for harming a demon’s true body, then considered combining them with Divine Power to trap the demon’s consciousness.
• Fran sensed that her praise for the Goddess of Magic had reached something, but put aside her suspicions to avoid drawing The Alliance’s attention.
• Boao realized the city lord’s third young master had conveniently provided a house near the Tranquil Hotel, and decided to use it for the Elephant God’s ritual.
• Boao learned that Mage Gareth kept visiting and concluded the group still had time because The Alliance’s Battle Mage Corps had not arrived.
• Boao told his Priest brother to delay activating the site and said he would finish arranging the prayer room within three days, before unleashing the Elephant God’s wrath on Bohan.
• Boao prepared a room for the prayer room while Lai quietly arranged refined golden alchemical tools in the soundproofed basement.

The Elephant of Mountains Sect's Divine Descent shook Bohan City, while Lai prepared Alchemy Devices to interrupt it. As the Deity appeared, Lai's Star Gazing Art activated and she lost consciousness after triggering the devices.

• Gareth and Timothy investigated the warning letter but found no evidence of an attack before the city began to tremble.
• Gareth and Timothy recognized the Elephant of Mountains Sect's assault and warned the mages and Alchemists to flee.
• Rory told the city lord that no Third Order Professionals could stop a Deity's personal intervention.
• Lai waited for the Elephant of Mountains to appear, planning to activate her Alchemy Devices and interrupt the Divine Descent.
• The Elephant of Mountains appeared above Bohan, and Lai's Star Gazing Art activated as she triggered all her Alchemy Devices before losing consciousness.

Fran’s Star Gazing Art showed Deities in Proxy bodies launching a devastating attack on Number Three Floating City while the Alliance’s powerful mages were absent. The vision ended as magical defenses finally appeared, leaving Fran unaware of what happened next.

• Fran’s Star Gazing Art activated and showed her a future scene at Number Three Floating City, where Philly celebrated winning the Champion Mage Challenge.
• Fran spotted several Deities’ Proxies gathered outside a Mage Tower and realized they were in states of Divine Descent.
• Heather said The Stars had told the Deities when to attack, and Fran saw that no Legendary or Fourth Order mages were present to defend the city.
• The Deities unleashed enormous waves and fissures that ravaged Number Three Floating City while Heather warned them that The Stars was consuming their Divine Power.
• Magical radiance appeared atop the city’s three Mage Towers, but Fran’s vision ended and darkness returned.

Lai’s plan stopped the Elephant of Mountains Sect’s attack on Bohan City, and the city’s leaders tried to understand why the Sect had caused the upheaval. The Priests agreed to pay for the damage and were left under watch, while Lai turned her attention to dealing with a demon.

• Lai concluded that the Elephant of Mountains Sect could no longer threaten Bohan City and decided to rest before going after the demon.
• Timothy suspected the Sect’s phantom had come for Gareth and him, and questioned whether Gareth’s people had taken the Sect’s sacred relic.
• The city lord and Rory found Priest Boao dead at the Sect’s house, where the three surviving Priests mourned him.
• A Priest claimed the citywide disturbance had followed Boao’s death, and promised the Elephant of Mountains Sect would pay for the damage.
• The city lord agreed to leave the Priests to settle Boao’s body, while Rory advised him to keep them under watch rather than risk a confrontation.
• Bohan’s Third Order Professions wondered why the Sect had stayed in the city so long and lost a Priest without accomplishing anything.

Fran used a demon blood-sacrifice ritual, Azali’s name, and mental attacks to trap and hurt the demon inside the gray crystal. Unable to return to the Abyss and terrified by Fran’s threats, Azali agreed to reveal how to decipher Abyssal Script.

• Fran asked the demon his name, and he told her to call him Azali.
• Fran prepared a blood-sacrifice ritual using the Notebook’s instructions and strengthened it with an alchemical liquid.
• Fran used a pearl to prevent Azali’s consciousness from returning to the Abyss for two hours, then struck him through the ritual with a Mental Spike.
• Fran demanded that Azali explain how to decipher Abyssal Script, but he resisted and insisted her power was impossible.
• Fran attacked Azali with Holy Light Strike and threatened to send an Abyss Walker after him, frightening him into agreeing to talk.

Fran forced a demon to teach her Abyssal Script, then used the knowledge to decipher the Black Stone Slab and uncover a ritual connected to the demon Marius. The slab revealed the conditions for a new Fourth Order Profession, leaving Fran intrigued by the power it offered and the price required.

• Fran made the demon repeat its explanation of Abyssal Script, verified the information with Drops of True Knowledge, and sealed the gray crystal away.
• Fran translated the Black Stone Slab’s inscription, learning that it contained a sealed object of the Greater Demon Marius and warned that whoever smashed it would become Marius’s vessel on the continent.
• The Black Stone Slab projected instructions for a ritual that promised Marius’s power, but Fran estimated its rare materials would cost more than two hundred thousand Gold Coins.
• The slab triggered a prompt revealing the conditions for the four-star Abyssal Overlord Profession, including commanding loyal demons and completing a three-day ritual at an opening between the Abyss and the continent.
• A message from the slab urged Fran to claim it and obtain Fourth Order power in exchange for a small price.

Fran examined the requirements and unknown costs of the Abyssal Overlord Profession, deciding to postpone advancement until she learned more. Meanwhile, Aolain’s expansion into three additional areas left the Ocean Management Department’s mage group unable to manage its workload.

• Fran reconsidered who had left the stone slab’s message and studied the materials and requirements for the Abyssal Overlord Profession.
• Fran worried that the ritual’s unknown price and lingering Abyssal aura could be dangerous, so she recorded her questions and set aside the Promotion Method.
• Eleven days after the Command Council loosened its expansion policy, Aolain’s group struggled to administer the three areas it had taken over.
• Aolain divided the extra work among the mages, pushing their workloads beyond what they could complete.
• The mages gathered outside Aolain’s door to discuss how to change their plans.

Fran prepared to leave White Dragon Port for the Champion Mage Challenge in Number Three Floating City, despite the Territory Mage Working Group’s urgent need for her guidance. She told Eleanor she would be away for more than two months and handed over plans to keep the project moving.

• Aolain admitted that his group could not beat the Wall District and ordered his team to copy its methods.
• Fran reviewed the schedule and worried that she had too little time to advance her Territory Mage plans before leaving for the Champion Mage Challenge.
• Fran told Eleanor she would leave White Dragon Port in about ten days and be gone for more than two months.
• Eleanor tried to persuade Fran to stay, but Fran said her mentor would teach her about advancing to the Third Order and that she had duties at his school.
• Fran gave Eleanor the plans for the next stage, and Eleanor wished her luck becoming a Third Order Mage before she returned.

With the Champion Mage Challenge review deadline approaching, the official fretted over the many contestants who had failed strict checks. Fran finally arrived for her review, and her record caught his attention when he recognized her as the undefeated mage who had broken a Magic Duel record.

• The review official worried that only seventy-four contestants had passed while twenty-five had failed, largely because the committee required rules to be enforced strictly.
• The official recalled that contestants had been disqualified for undeclared family ties to the committee, attacking other mages, and using banned Mental Power Enhancers.
• Fran arrived at the review carrying Philly's identification, proof of her Preliminaries ranking, and a Duel Arena staff member's signature.
• The official checked Fran's documents and found that she had ninety-three wins and no losses across thirty-one matches.
• The official recognized Fran as the contestant from Number Nine Floating City who had broken the consecutive-win record.

Fran registered as Philly Felistin for the Main Tournament, passed the required checks, and drew intense attention from Felistin officials because she was only twenty and had a 93–0 record. Meanwhile, Leander learned that Philly would be his first opponent and planned to demand a drug test, convinced her record could not be legitimate.

• Fran registered as Philly Felistin, and the staff member said he would report her identity to the Felistin Family’s senior members.
• The staff member discovered that Philly was twenty, completed her drug and equipment checks, and approved her registration; he and the reviewing official planned to sell her record to newspapers.
• Leander continued recovering from Suppressants he had taken to pass screening, knowing the drugs hindered his training and could leave him vulnerable to testing.
• Leander’s assistant revealed that Philly was his first opponent, and Leander decided to request a test for banned substances at the start of their match.

Harbos learned that Fran had left White Dragon Port to prepare for advancement to the Third Order, and he set out to find her. Fran arrived at Number Three Floating City, booked an expensive room for the Champion Mage Challenge, and heard that its new viewing devices were being tested.

• Harbos asked the Task Issuing Center administrator for credentials to travel to White Dragon Port and reach Fran discreetly.
• The administrator revealed that Fran had left White Dragon Port for two months at her mentor's request to prepare for advancement to the Third Order.
• Harbos read Eleanor's report tracing Fran's airship route toward Number Nine Floating City and decided to search for her, hoping she had gone to see Iris.
• Fran arrived at Number Three Floating City and found a room at a lavish inn despite its high rates during the Champion Mage Challenge.
• Fran heard a commotion as people explained that new devices would let spectators watch the Champion Mage Challenge remotely, and that a trial run was beginning.