Chapter Summaries

Alaric reviewed Fran’s mathematical paper analyzing Fireball, struggling with its equations and finding its practical value unclear, but approved it for consideration. He then approved a Northern Lands Society paper on extracting White Star Sand and recommended both papers to selection departments.

• Alaric struggled through the mathematical derivations in Fran’s paper and took a break when the calculations overwhelmed him.
• Alaric found Fran’s analysis of Fireball difficult to follow, read the conclusion, and stamped the paper approved despite doubting its practical value.
• Alaric read a Northern Lands Society paper describing a method to increase White Star Sand yield and produce by-products, then approved it.
• Alaric copied the White Star Sand paper’s details for several selection departments and added Fran’s paper to the note for his friend in Fallen Leaf Selection.

Fran gained the Alchemy skill after a successful attempt and learned the conditions for becoming an Alchemist. She decided to pursue the Profession by making a Spirit Replenishment Potion, but the intricate material-preparation instructions left her overwhelmed.

• Fran successfully completed an alchemy attempt, gained Alchemy proficiency, and saw the Alchemist Profession appear on her Panel with its requirements.
• Fran considered using her theoretical knowledge from her previous life to advance Alchemy and planned to make a Spirit Replenishment Potion.
• Fran read the potion instructions she had bought at the Northern Lands Society's marketplace and learned that preparing its materials was the main challenge.
• Fran studied the timed, complicated material-preparation steps and wondered why Alchemist work was so much more complex than an Apothecary's.

Jared reviewed two papers sent by Alaric and recognized the extraordinary value of Mathematical Analysis of Fireball. He chose it as the cover feature for next month's Fallen Leaf Selection, with the White Star Sand extraction paper as another major selection.

• Jared received Alaric's message and went to the Mage Tower to print every paper awaiting review.
• Jared read Optimization of a White Star Sand Extraction Device and praised it as a major achievement for the Society.
• Jared began reading Mathematical Analysis of Fireball and realized its mathematical theory could inspire new spell optimizations.
• Jared decided to make the Fireball paper the cover feature and include the White Star Sand paper in next month's selection.

Fran asked Iris for a recommendation to join the Northern Lands Society's Battle Mage Corps, despite her recent breakthrough in alchemy research. Iris agreed to write the letter, leaving Fran poised to enter the corps.

• Fran told Iris she wanted to become a Battle Mage, though she had recently made a major research breakthrough.
• Iris questioned Fran's decision and reminded her that she could continue her promising work as a researcher.
• Fran explained her resolve after learning from Dylan how Battle Mages used specialized spells, training, and equipment.
• Iris's Northern Lands Society corps had easier entry requirements and mostly part-time members, but lacked the equipment and support of other corps.
• Iris accepted Fran's request and began writing her a recommendation letter.

Fran and four other recruits joined the Northern Lands Society's Battle Mage Corps, where Zane accepted their recommendations and explained their training and benefits. Fran chose the Alchemy School spell [Forced Fusion], despite Nora expecting her to choose an Elemental School spell.

• Zane accepted the five recruits' recommendation letters and told them to return in three days for basic combat training.
• Zane told the new battle mages to choose one spell and collect a set of protective gear.
• Nora followed Fran to the Battle Mage Corps and tried to persuade her to consider the Elemental School, but Fran refused.
• Fran considered her unusual ability to master spells quickly and chose the Alchemy School spell [Forced Fusion].

Fran joined the Battle Mage Corps’ basic training, where Zane explained that newcomers could become full members by passing three tests. The first test showed how difficult it was to deal enough damage to three dummies in succession, and the others watched as Dylan failed it.

• Fran and the other recommended mages began basic training with Zane, and all five asked to take the tests to become full members.
• Zane led them past hostile Battle Mages to the testing room and explained the damage, resistance-to-interference, and targeting tests.
• Dylan volunteered to take the damage test, which required disabling three dummies one after another within three seconds each.
• Dylan used Heavy Sand to defeat the first dummy but could not damage the next one quickly enough with his fireball, so he failed the test.

Nora and Cole defeated the second training puppet but failed to destroy the third, while their techniques revealed unusual ways to attack. Fran began her test by channeling a First Order spell without using a Spell Ring, and Zane doubted she could finish in time.

• Cole used an invisible attack to smash the second puppet, but could not repeat it before the third puppet's countdown ended.
• Nora infused Wind Blade with wind element and destroyed the second puppet with seven strikes, but her aim faltered against the third.
• Nora's later Wind Blades damaged the testing room's wall, which Zane noted had only recently been repaired.
• Fran entered last and began channeling a First Order spell as soon as the first puppet dropped.
• Zane estimated that Fran would fail because the spell would take too long to cast and reach the puppet.

Fran passed the test by using [Forced Fusion] to damage all three puppets before time ran out. Zane and Nora were astonished by her rapid mastery of the spell and her powerful mental strength, while Nora resolved to keep trying to recruit her into the Elemental School.

• Zane realized Fran's spell had taken effect just as the hourglass ran out and expected her to fail.
• Fran used [Forced Fusion] to damage the puppets, and the magical detection system showed that she had passed the test.
• Zane recognized the spell Fran had claimed a few days earlier and marveled at how quickly she had mastered it.
• Nora sensed that Fran's mental power surpassed her own and resolved to persuade Fran to join the Elemental School.
• Fran reflected that she had practiced [Forced Fusion] to beginner level and estimated she could cast it in about 1.9 seconds before leaving the testing room.

Fran passed the Battle Mage Corps’ three tests and became an official member. The next day, she chose a paid mission to clear a mine in Winter Bear Territory, where a First Order Undead might be lurking.

• Fran passed the distraction test, while Dylan nearly failed, Cole missed the signals, and two other mages struggled.
• Fran passed the moving-target test easily, Cole adjusted and passed, and Dylan, Nora, and the remaining mage failed.
• Zane registered Fran as an official member of the Battle Mage Corps and told her she could begin work the next day.
• Fran reviewed the available jobs and learned that members earned merit by taking paid combat assignments.
• A gray-robed mage recommended a mission to clear a mine in Winter Bear Territory, and Fran accepted after noting the travel time and possible Undead.

Fran found recent signs of travelers near a landmark in the Northern Territory and sensed an unfamiliar, sea-like energy where they had camped. As she settled in for the night, a group riding dire wolves arrived, and Fran was surprised to see that some of them belonged to other races.

• Fran followed the map through deep snow and found a large red-leaved tree marked as the entrance to Snow Bear Territory.
• Fran examined recent tracks, charred rods, and a strange energy that reminded her of the sea, but could not identify its source.
• Fran camped in the cleared area, recognized the rods as coal, and rekindled their fire.
• Fran sensed more than a dozen travelers approaching on dire wolves after Black Horse stamped its hooves.
• Fran faced the group and saw that some of its members had animal features and belonged to other races.

Fran confronted Jeremy, Nathan, and their mercenary squad after they ignored her warnings and approached her hidden Magic Trap. The orcs decided to attack her and steal her Black Horse, leaving Fran facing an imminent fight.

• Jeremy rode toward Fran and demanded to know whether she had seen six people carrying a large dark blue chest, stopping just short of her Magic Trap.
• Nathan joined Jeremy, and both dismissed Fran’s warnings as they moved closer to the trap.
• Jeremy and Nathan recognized Fran’s Black Horse as valuable and decided to take it and sell a Dire Wolf.
• Fran identified herself as a Battle Mage of the Alliance, but Nathan doubted her claim and argued that the Alliance could not reach them there.
• Jeremy ended the discussion and said he wanted to eat Fran’s thigh meat, while the mercenaries prepared to attack.

Fran used magic traps and an enhanced Howling Gale to fight off the orcs who planned to eat her. The battle continued as her wind spell tore through the earthen spikes blocking the path.

• Nathan ordered the orcs to charge at Fran, while Jeremy joined him on his dire wolf.
• Nathan and Jeremy triggered Fran's Flame Trap, which blasted them and their dire wolves backward.
• Fran used Earth Uplift to raise spikes around the orcs, cutting off their retreat and impaling several riders and dire wolves.
• Fran infused Howling Gale with wind elemental energy and realized that elemental affinity enabled the enhancement.
• Fran unleashed Howling Gale, slicing through the earthen spike formation and sending part of it flying.

Fran used earth and wind attacks to devastate the orcs pursuing her, then killed the orcs who charged her. The final survivor fled, but Fran used [Forced Fusion] to merge him with the earth.

• Fran caused an earthen spike to explode, sending wind-driven fragments into the pursuing orcs and killing or wounding several of them.
• Fran met the surviving orcs with her silver longsword and used its red and white attacks to kill two attackers.
• Fran activated the [Elephant of Mountains] rune and split an orc in two with a crushing slash.
• The last orc dropped his weapon and fled after seeing his companions dead.
• Fran used [Forced Fusion] to merge the fleeing orc, his longsword, and his clothes into the earth.

Fran killed the mercenary squad, then revived the badly burned Jeremy to interrogate him about why the squad had come to the Northern Territory. Jeremy revealed that the lord of White Dragon Port had hired many squads to find a stolen object, and he disclosed the location of his hidden treasures and his betrayals.

• Fran used Greater Fireball to kill a wounded orc and burned the mercenaries’ bodies and belongings.
• Fran found the charred Jeremy still alive after he survived her Dragon Flame-enhanced Flame Trap.
• Fran woke Jeremy with cold water and stabbed him with her Purple Shortsword to intensify his pain.
• Fran questioned Jeremy about his purpose in the Northern Territory and why he had tracked six people.
• Jeremy said the lord of White Dragon Port had hired multiple mercenary squads to find an object stolen by thieves, offering at least ten thousand Gold Coins to the squad that found it.
• Jeremy also revealed where he had hidden his treasures and described how he had betrayed his companions.

Fran killed the Great Axe Mercenary Squad after learning that the Lord of White Dragon Port had lost a mysterious sea-related item. The next evening, Archbishop Gillian’s procession arrived at the site and prepared to continue its search, while Gillian wondered why the item mattered so much.

• Fran’s mental influence made Jeremy confess that he had seen Nathan’s wife naked and touched her cat ears.
• Fran incinerated Jeremy’s corpse, then recalled that the Lord of White Dragon Port had hired people to find a stolen item connected to the sea.
• Fran decided she was too weak to pursue the item and set off for Snow Bear Territory after resting overnight.
• Archbishop Gillian’s procession reached the battle site and found evidence that the Great Axe Mercenary Squad had been wiped out by an unknown group.
• Gillian dismissed the battle as unimportant, ordered the procession to rest before moving on, and wondered why her superiors and the Lord of White Dragon Port were so cautious about the item.

Fran traveled through Snow Bear Territory toward Snow Bear City, hunting monsters to earn medals and discover the Monster Hunter profession’s rewards. After hunting ten monsters from the Northern Territory, she gained a weak ice affinity and continued toward the city with only three additional medals.

• Fran learned from a villager that Snow Bear Territory was named after its lord’s former surname, not its monsters.
• Fran hunted wolves, rabbits, leopards, and other monsters while traveling toward Snow Bear City, collecting medals and weighing hunting against improving her skills through research.
• After hunting ten kinds of monsters from the Northern Territory, Fran received a weak ice affinity and learned her next reward would require fifty medals.
• Fran tested the new affinity on her longsword, but found it weaker than the ice power of her Purple Shortsword.
• Fran encountered mostly monsters she had already hunted and reached Snow Bear City’s gates with only three more medals.

Blake Snow Bear struggled with Snow Bear Territory’s financial hardship and the sudden arrival of powerful travelers, while a letter warned that a bishop and about a hundred followers would soon arrive. The news that a Battle Mage from the Northern Lands Society had come to clear Undead from the mine left Blake facing yet another urgent problem.

• Blake recalled how his father’s fear of the Alliance had led him to spend the territory’s savings on weapons, and how Blake became lord after his siblings fled.
• Blake remembered that heavy taxes had driven many residents to leave for the Northern Lands Society, with about half of those who set out failing to reach it.
• Blake read a report that travelers had injured ten guards, killed three, and put two of his four knights out of action.
• Blake received a letter saying a bishop of the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents would soon arrive with around a hundred people and request supplies.
• Blake’s Knight Attendant reported that a Battle Mage from the Northern Lands Society had arrived to clear Undead from the mine.

Fran met Blake Snow Bear in Snow Bear City and agreed to deal with an undead creature in a mine the next day. She also agreed to stay for five days to help Blake deter incoming Professionals and followers of the Goddess of Ocean Currents, in exchange for about a hundred live magical creatures.

• Blake Snow Bear welcomed Fran to the castle and asked when she would deal with the undead creature in the mine.
• Fran told Blake she would handle the undead creature the next day.
• Blake asked Fran to remain in his territory because many First Order Professionals and followers of the Goddess of Ocean Currents were arriving, and he wanted to use her presence to intimidate them.
• Fran agreed to stay for five days after dealing with the undead creature and requested about a hundred live magical creatures from the Northern Territory as her reward.
• Blake agreed to Fran's conditions.

Patrick realized the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents and the lord of White Dragon Port were both pursuing the missing item, and the church had arrived in overwhelming force. He began considering how to escape the situation while remaining bound by his contract with the lord.

• Snow Bear City's guards lowered the portcullis when Gillian led the Goddess of Ocean Currents' party to the gates, and the captain sent for the lord instead of sounding the alarm.
• Patrick saw more than a hundred mercenaries gathered and learned from Liam that White Dragon Port's lord had paid to redirect Liam's crew to the search.
• Patrick suspected the missing item involved powerful factions and urged Liam to join forces with his team.
• The gates opened, revealing a Second Order bishop, nearly fifty priests, and more than twenty First Order warriors from the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents.
• Patrick judged that the church's party could overpower all the mercenaries and reviewed the contract that required his team to search for the item or pay seven Gold Coins.

Bishop Gillian led the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents into Snow Bear City to secure an item, but Blake firmly warned her not to harm his people. Gillian questioned Fran’s claim to be an Alliance mage, and Fran left her uncertain about whether the Alliance was involved.

• Gillian recognized several mercenaries from White Dragon Port and suspected they would not be enough to obtain the item.
• Blake welcomed Gillian’s contingent only on the condition that they did not harm the people of his territory.
• Gillian asked why Fran wore an Alliance insignia, and Fran claimed she was an Alliance mage wearing a Northern Lands Society robe.
• Fran said she belonged to the Sword Chant School, concealing her ties to the Forge School.
• Gillian remained unsure whether Fran was truly an Alliance mage or part of a ruse arranged by the lord of White Dragon Port.