Recaps

Sylutia received Sienna’s payment for the musket and learned about the resources available in the World of Shadows. Still short of the money she needed, she went to the Wind-Ti Chamber of Commerce and bought Moonlight Grass and other potion ingredients.

• Sienna praised Sylutia’s musket, paid her 2,000 gold coins and three rare rubies, and gave her three grams of Black Magic Copper.
• Sienna told Sylutia about her work with the Fire Spirit School and invited her to find her at Tower of Tears No. 57 when she explored the World of Shadows.
• After learning that her crafting work could not earn enough, Sylutia left the academy and headed to the Wind-Ti Chamber of Commerce.
• At Breeze Herb, Sylutia bought ten stalks of excellent-quality Moonlight Grass, fifty stalks of good-quality Moonlight Grass, and auxiliary ingredients for 1,070 gold coins.

Sylutia made a large batch of high-quality White Moon Potions and tried to sell them, but a shop assistant falsely accused her of carrying potions of unknown origin. After the Enforcers attacked her, a powerful Mage intervened, and the investigation proved her innocence while bringing severe consequences for the accusers.

• Sylutia refined sixty sets of ingredients into thirty-three Good-quality, twenty-two Excellent-quality, and five Superior-quality White Moon Potions.
• Sylutia left twelve Third Order—Good potions with the academy receptionist to sell, then took more potions to the Wind-Ti Chamber of Commerce, where a pharmacist offered only fifty gold coins each.
• After Sylutia refused the offer, the shop assistant reported her to the Enforcers, who accused her of carrying suspicious goods and tried to arrest her.
• Sylutia fought off the two Enforcers despite the Forbidden Array, and a Sixth Order Mage arrived after she used her Magic Orb to summon help.
• The investigation confirmed Sylutia had bought the Moonlight Grass and that the shop assistant had falsely accused her; the assistant was jailed and the Enforcers were fired and faced compensation claims.
• The chamber of commerce general manager reprimanded the staff, ordered the implicated shop closed, and arranged an apology gift for Sylutia.

After being falsely accused, Sylutia accepted the Wind-Ti Chamber of Commerce’s apology and secured a promise of a space-related accessory. She finished crafting the Third Order: Legendary Mithril Astronomical Clock and prepared to advance.

• Sylutia reflected on the accusation and made plans to prepare more defenses while continuing work on her Astronomical Clock Page.
• Damian invited Sylutia to an apology dinner with Professor Elijah and the Wind-Ti Chamber of Commerce, where she asked for a storage-space item.
• At dinner, Luan apologized and presented Sylutia with twelve rare gemstones, and Madian promised to find her a space-type accessory.
• The Wind-Ti Chamber of Commerce gave Sylutia a VIP card and a feather bookmark with forgery-proof signing abilities, settling the dispute.
• Professor Elijah offered Sylutia a place in his wondrous-item crafting lectures after she reached Fourth Order, and she later gathered materials for her clock.
• After a week of work, Sylutia completed the Third Order: Legendary Mithril Astronomical Clock.

Sylutia studied the history of Alien Star magic and practiced the Star-Praying Meditation Technique, forming an unusually powerful connection with Lion Palace. She planned to learn the remaining techniques before beginning her advancement ritual the following week.

• Sylutia learned how Alien Star studies developed and how the Star-Gazing School was suppressed by the Hours.
• Sylutia read that the refined Star-Praying Meditation Technique strengthened the mind and guarded against Alien Star corruption.
• Sylutia meditated in Black Rose Palace’s back garden and sensed the stars.
• Sylutia connected with Lion Palace, where a Griffin appeared, and completed a cycle that improved her mental strength and corruption resistance.
• Sylutia estimated she would need three days to absorb the starlight and planned to study Secret Speech and the Star-Sensing Method before her advancement ritual.

Sylutia completed the Astronomical Clock Page and advanced from Second Tier to Third Tier, becoming the Maiden Holding the Astronomical Clock. She tested her new spellcasting abilities and sensed the delicate rhythm of true time.

• Sylutia prepared a garden ritual, sensed the star within the Clock of Four Seasons, and began constructing her Title Page.
• Sylutia inscribed twelve runes and bound them with the Astronomical Clock, then calibrated the clock to true time.
• Sylutia's Fate Card advanced to [Maiden Holding the Astronomical Clock] (Third Tier · Secret Speech), and she reached the Third Tier.
• Sylutia tested her new Spell Page by flying above the garden and creating powerful Flying Bird spells.
• Sylutia summoned twelve Silver Steel Flying Birds, then sensed the varied threads and rhythm of time.

After reaching the Third Order, Sylutia learned about formal mage opportunities and chose a spellcasting item as her advancement reward. She left the Hall of Dawn with the Book of Star-Chasing, which contained four star runes she had never learned.

• Sylutia reported her advancement, and a teacher examined her and found her readings healthy and above average.
• The teacher registered Sylutia at the academy archive, replaced her badge, gave her two new uniforms, and explained exploration missions and future duties for formal mages.
• The teacher took Sylutia to the Hall of Dawn and explained the academy's spellbooks, orbs, and staffs.
• Sylutia rejected equipment that did not suit her and chose the Book of Star-Chasing for its five star runes.
• Sylutia learned how Star-Drawing, Star-Chasing, Star-Falling, Star-Brightening, and Star-Radiance affected spells.

Sylutia traveled to Vichia Academy District to visit Lovier and found her thriving as a student and performer. Lovier promised Sylutia a front-row ticket to an upcoming show, and the two vowed to attend the Silver Bell Festival together next year.

• Sylutia received a Rosy Blue Bracelet and a booklet about the rights and duties of a Third Order official Mage, then tested the bracelet’s protective shield.
• Three days later, Sylutia arrived in Vichia Academy District, explored its theaters and street performances, and obtained a pass to visit Lovier.
• Sylutia visited Lovier in the academy’s student residence, where Lovier greeted her warmly and shared stories about her studies and performances.
• Lovier offered Sylutia a front-row ticket to a performance in two days and invited her to stay the night.
• Sylutia and Lovier discussed missing the Silver Bell Festival and promised to attend it together next year.

Sylutia visited Lovier, watched her perform at Vichia Academy, and parted with her after hearing about her dream of becoming a songstress. Back at Thetis Academy, Damian gave Sylutia a Griffin Feather Key, and she decided to visit Aurora and learn the Art of Obedient Listening at Rorick Academy.

• Lovier told Sylutia she hoped to become a songstress and build a performance hall in her hometown, while Sylutia said she wanted to see the world and make it more beautiful.
• Sylutia watched Lovier perform as a historical queen at Vichia Academy, then toured the area with her before they parted.
• Damian gave Sylutia a Griffin Feather Key from the Wind-Ti Chamber of Commerce and showed her how to use its storage space and sanctuary.
• Sylutia tested the key and stored her accumulated possessions inside it.
• Sylutia decided to visit Rorick Academy to learn the Art of Obedient Listening and see Aurora.

Sylutia visited Rorick Academy to study the Art of Obedient Listening with Fukalian, who explained more uses for the Art of Empathic Connection. She then visited Aurora and learned about her new doll and her feelings about performing, leaving the story with Sylutia, Aurora, and Fukalian sharing a peaceful boat ride.

• Sylutia used Professor Maledo's pass badge to enter Rorick Academy and met Fukalian, who introduced her apprentices Yisu and Jinna.
• Fukalian demonstrated how the Art of Empathic Connection could reveal what was happening underwater and explained other ways it could be used.
• Sylutia studied the Art of Obedient Listening with Fukalian, then stayed overnight at the academy.
• Sylutia visited Aurora, who showed her a new doll and explained that she enjoyed watching it learn and perform rather than acting as someone else herself.
• Aurora and Sylutia discussed their studies over the following days, and Fukalian took them boating after learning they were friends.

At the start of the new semester, the teacher introduced advanced studies and explained that Astral Realm creatures were summoned to solve specific problems, not merely to increase fighting power. He described several creatures, including the powerful but difficult-to-summon Evil Eye, while Sylutia reflected on using the Beholders she had already sealed and tamed as tireless guards.

• Hedra had advanced after preparing thoroughly, and the teacher confirmed she had not rushed her advancement.
• The teacher outlined the semester’s advanced courses, including secret arts and summoning Astral Realm creatures.
• The teacher explained that summons could help Mages handle practical problems, then introduced second-tier creatures such as the Ear-Ringing Worm and Lure-Lantern Fish.
• The teacher described the Evil Eye’s abilities and the Hundred-Eye Cult’s contracts that let Beholders remain in the mortal world, noting that the cult’s members struggled to advance beyond the third tier.
• Sylutia remembered the Hundred-Eye Cult leader and considered how useful her own tamed Beholders would be as guards, though summoning them risked corruption.

The students practiced summoning Astral Realm creatures, and Spencer successfully summoned and tested a Beholder despite struggling to control it. Hedra then began her own Beholder summoning, leaving the class watching to see what she would call forth.

• Aug summoned a Blue-Pincer Crab, defeated it, and claimed its severed pincer after it escaped back to the Astral Realm.
• The students took turns practicing summons, including one who used an Astral Wandering Snake to restrain a Golem.
• Spencer spent nearly 800 gold coins on materials and summoned a Beholder, but its mental defenses nearly overwhelmed his control.
• Spencer drank a mental-strength potion, established a connection with the Beholder, and demonstrated its beam and enchantment abilities.
• After Spencer ended his summoning, Hedra stepped forward and began a ritual to summon a Beholder of her own.

Sylutia summoned and contracted a powerful Fourth Order Lightning-Split Evil Eye, then tested its strength in the academy summoning hall. The Beholder accepted White Moon Potions as payment and left behind two high-quality tentacles before returning to the Astral Realm.

• Sylutia used the Star-Sensing Method and the ritual array to contact a Fourth Order Lightning-Split Evil Eye and successfully summoned and controlled it.
• The teacher tested the Beholder against a White Lion Colossus, and its Lightning-Split Shot blasted a hole through the statue before the teacher repaired it.
• Sylutia obtained a contract tablet and engraved the Beholder’s information and contract onto it.
• The Beholder chose Sylutia’s White Moon Potion, swallowed three bottles, and grew calmer.
• The Beholder detached a large and a small tentacle for Sylutia, then vanished, leaving her facing the enormous materials.

After summoning a fourth-tier Beholder, Sylutia received the enormous Flesh Tentacle as a reward and discovered new storage facilities beneath Black Rose Palace. She left the tentacle secured underground and considered using strange plants and tentacles to protect her gardens.

• Sylutia arranged to have the Flesh Tentacle preserved, while students discussed its possible uses and Spencer openly praised her summoning skill.
• A Castle Aspect Power scholar brought the Flesh Tentacle to Black Rose Palace and revealed the sealed underground facilities he had designed for the estate.
• The scholar showed Sylutia the underground warehouse, special storage cellar, laboratory, and library, and gave her prices for possible future expansions.
• Academy staff moved the Flesh Tentacle into the Underground Storage Room and activated a Refrigeration Sealing Array to contain its aura.
• Sylutia surveyed Black Rose Palace and decided to tend its gardens, considering whether to plant the Eyeball Flower and bury tentacles as living defenses.

Sylutia and her classmates chose to spend their eight-day break in Blanur, where she learned about the Star-Gazer School’s history and its split during a Mage Alliance civil war. After hearing how the school’s legacy shaped modern mage schools, Sylutia prepared to visit the abandoned city and explore its ruins.

• After midterm assessments, Sylutia asked her classmates where they wanted to go, and they agreed on a vacation in Blanur.
• Spencer offered to arrange the trip because he had visited Blanur before, and Sylutia accepted his help.
• Sylutia researched Blanur in the library and learned it had been the center of the Star-Gazer School before the school collapsed in the Battle of Peak Seizure.
• Sylutia and Spencer told their teacher about the trip, and he explained that Blanur now housed various unofficial schools.
• The teacher described how disagreements over dangerous research led to the Star-Gazer School’s civil war and explained its connection to the Stargazing Beast and modern mage schools.

Sylutia explored Blanur, a once-great city where mages traded rare resources and relics. After buying writings from the old Star-Gazer School, she uncovered strange ideas about the Astral Realm and wondered whether humans had once been Star-Gazing Beasts.

• Sylutia arrived in Blanur with her school and learned that mages gathered there to trade rare resources unavailable through official channels.
• Sylutia visited a broken eggshell statue but found that the legendary rainbow reflection described in her book no longer appeared.
• Sylutia explored a former Pointing Tower, now filled with shops, and bought a scroll containing the Rainbow Light Orb spell.
• Sylutia realized that sunlight in this world could not naturally split into rainbow colors, then bought reproduced writings from the Star-Gazer School.
• Sylutia read the damaged writings and found ideas about how beings from different worlds reflected truths to one another, prompting her to wonder whether humans had once been Star-Gazing Beasts.

Sylutia learned how the theory that humans descended from Star-Gazing Beasts divided the Mage Alliance and led to a civil war between Mages who pursued the Stars and those who pursued wisdom. The forgotten third faction turned the tide with the Fire Seed, giving rise to the Gold Steam Aspect and the Sun Furnace.

• The Star-Gazer School split into factions over whether humanity should embrace the Stars, pursue wisdom, or use Mage power to protect the world from Distortion and chaos.
• The factions pursuing the Stars and wisdom went to war, with both sides drawing on Astral or Primal Beast power and many Mages defecting to the Star-pursuing side.
• The third faction introduced the Fire Seed, powering machines and Golems that drove back the Mages who followed the Star-Gazing Beasts.
• Golden light awakened the Gold Steam Aspect, and the defeated Star-Gazer Mages fled.
• The Mage Alliance began studying Gold Steam, and the school that had activated the Fire Seed became known as the Sun Furnace.

Sylutia finished reading the Star-Gazer School’s histories and reflected on the danger of embracing the stars before hearing a frustrated man describe why he would risk forbidden advancement. She left the inn pondering how failed ambitions haunted former students, ending with the thought that people who had seen the stars would keep seeking them.

• Sylutia read the Star-Gazer School’s final warning that the dragons’ protection would eventually break and the stars would descend again.
• Sylutia went downstairs for food and overheard a man say he had arranged to learn the Sand Lizard School’s forbidden advanced techniques.
• The man told his companion that he could not accept a life of limited prospects and wanted power and the opportunities enjoyed by official-school members.
• Sylutia recalled older students in the Asura District who had struggled to become Mages and reflected on how their youthful hopes could become painful memories.
• Sylutia finished eating and concluded that those who had once seen the stars could never forget their beauty.

Sylutia and the Thetis Academy students explored Blanur’s outskirts and visited a market selling illicit Mage goods. From a library rooftop, Sylutia witnessed Rogers being beaten by his former companions for refusing the Rock Core School’s path, and she prepared to intervene.

• Sylutia led the students to a market in the outskirts, where they paid to enter and browsed goods with questionable origins.
• Sylutia bought an Obsidian Grimoire after bargaining its price down from eight hundred to five hundred gold coins.
• Rogers’s former companions caught him after he fled with the money he had taken back from them, and they beat him for rejecting the Rock Core School’s Stone Core.
• Rogers fought back with an empowered piece of wood, splitting one attacker’s head, but the two others knocked him down and continued beating him.
• Sylutia watched the fight from the library rooftop and told her companions that one person was enough to step in.

Reginson rescued Rogers from three attackers in an alley and fought them with his bronze-gold construct spells. After driving them off, he left Rogers alive and the attackers fleeing.

• Reginson won a rock-paper-scissors game among the students and flew down from the rooftop to attack the three men beating Rogers.
• Reginson helped Rogers up, gave him a potion, and stepped forward when the men returned to demand money.
• Reginson shattered one attacker’s stone fist with his Golden Lion Fist and taunted the remaining two.
• The two attackers cast Stone Pillar Hammer Kill, trapping Reginson among crushing stone pillars.
• Reginson used Bronze Frame to escape the pillars and hurled a Bronze War Spear through the stone barrier, frightening the attackers into fleeing with their injured companion.

Rogers recounted how poverty and a conflict at school had left him struggling to pursue magic, and Sylutia gave him a completed grimoire to help him advance along the Gold Steam Aspect Power path. The students left before Rogers learned Sylutia’s name, and he remembered her as the Black Lion Maiden.

• Rogers explained how influential students had gotten him expelled and how poverty pushed him toward unreliable teachings from small schools in Blanur.
• Marg and Xavier helped Rogers understand how his attempt to escape their shared circumstances had hurt his former companions.
• The students discussed how difficult it would be for Rogers to enter a formal academy and suggested he reach the third tier before joining a school’s peripheral organization.
• Sylutia asked Rogers about his studies and skills, then used the Obsidian Grimoire to fill its remaining pages with knowledge that could guide him along the Gold Steam Aspect Power path.
• Rogers accepted the grimoire gratefully, but the students left without telling him Sylutia’s name, so he remembered her as the Black Lion Maiden.

Sylutia and her classmates were ambushed by the Dusty Gale, a local faction demanding money and secret techniques. After the students fought back, Sylutia subdued the faction’s leader with her Steel Shadow Demon Hand, and the battle ended with both sides pulling apart.

• The Dusty Gale surrounded Sylutia and her classmates in an alley and demanded money and ten Third-Order secret techniques.
• The students refused to pay, and the Dusty Gale attacked with a cooperative Violent Gale spell and golden arrows.
• Marg blinded the attackers with Stars, while Aug and Muria escaped the storm and broke through the enemy’s encirclement.
• The students counterattacked, weakening the gale as the Dusty Gale’s leader charged at Sylutia.
• Sylutia blocked the leader’s attack with Mercury Wall, then trapped him in her Steel Shadow Demon Hand and stopped before killing him.
• The gale died down, and the two sides drew apart.

Sylutia questioned Dusty Gale about its totem-based advancement method, then spared the defeated faction on the condition that its members work for her and obey her rules. Before leaving, she improved Meng Jiusi’s runes and demonstrated that she could increase his strength.

• Xavier and the other students learned how Dusty Gale’s members used totem brands and runes to gain power, while Sylutia studied the brands and considered their potential.
• Sylutia ordered Dusty Gale to serve her and follow her code of conduct, using her expanding black hair to frighten the faction into agreeing.
• Sylutia questioned Meng Jiusi about his earlier claim that Dusty Gale maintained local balance, then gave him a Xi Gold Eyeball and promised to improve his advancement method.
• Sylutia used White Moon Potion to alter Meng Jiusi’s totem brands and refine his runes, causing him severe pain but increasing his strength.
• Meng Jiusi tested his newly improved power, and Sylutia left with her companions after reminding Dusty Gale to obey her and uphold justice and balance.

After returning from Blanur, Sylutia spent the semester deepening her studies and helping classmates before the academy emptied for summer vacation. She decided to visit Camilla at the Origin Hourglass school, though she did not know whether Camilla was still there.

• Sylutia and the other students returned by airship from Blanur to Thetis Academy.
• Sylutia spent the next few months studying runes and alchemical techniques and discussing subjects with classmates who sought her advice.
• After final exams, Sylutia stayed at the academy while other students left for summer vacation.
• Sylutia found Camilla's address among their letters and decided to visit her at the Origin Hourglass school.

Sylutia searched for Camilla at Glass Academy and learned that she had taken leave and moved into a rental, but the apartment was empty. Camilla’s research notes suggested she had been investigating a problem with her bloodline, and Sylutia decided to ask the academy for help finding her.

• Sylutia learned at Glass Academy that Camilla had taken a leave of absence and asked the teacher who approved it for details.
• The teacher told Sylutia that Camilla had claimed to be unwell, moved off campus, and left the address of her rental at 171 Sage Street.
• Sylutia found Camilla’s apartment empty, picked the lock, and discovered that Camilla had been gone for some time.
• Sylutia tidied the apartment, washed Camilla’s clothes, and examined her notebooks.
• Sylutia found experimental records about a potion involving Blood Law and Secret Speech and suspected Camilla had encountered a problem related to her bloodline.
• Sylutia decided to return to the teacher and ask the Origin Hourglass School to help trace Camilla.

After Camilla disappeared, Sylutia joined an Inquisition Hall team investigating her whereabouts. A tracing ritual revealed that Camilla was trapped in the World of Shadows near Mercer District, and the team departed by airship to find her.

• Sylutia reported Camilla's disappearance to Mentor Kurand, who assigned Jegas to investigate and allowed Sylutia to accompany him.
• Jegas brought Sylutia to the Inquisition Hall, where Kunlan and Buen joined the investigation.
• The team examined Camilla's lodgings and gathered her clothes and notebook for a tracing ritual.
• While waiting, Sylutia spoke with Buen, who explained his work and background with the Origin Hourglass.
• Kunlan and Jegas used the ritual to locate Camilla in the World of Shadows near Mercer District.
• Sylutia and Buen joined Jegas and Kunlan aboard an airship bound for Mercer District.