Chapter Summaries

Dole spent a month cultivating the Storm Meditation Method and reached Level Six, while Aixi managed the expanding territory around Albis Mountain. After Dole emerged, Aixi resolved to enter seclusion and catch up to him.

• Dole ignored the neighboring cities’ expansion and focused on organizing and cultivating the Son of the Storm Meditation Method, while Aixi mapped the wilderness and went to assert control over it.
• Dole’s cultivation accelerated as he drew on the Heart of Storm and storm elements, and he answered Aixi’s messages only with “Agreed.”
• After a month beneath a storm covering Albis Mountain, Dole reached Level Six and advanced his Storm Meditation Method to the ninth layer.
• Dole emerged from cultivation and discovered that his companions had taken over the Wizard Towers while settlers had begun developing land beyond Albis Mountain.
• Bal remarked that Dole could now look for a wife, and Aixi decided to enter seclusion until she reached Level Six.

Dole returned to Albis Mountain after advancing to Level Six and met with the wizards to arrange the Earth Fortress’s relocation and their new meditation methods. Aixi explained that construction of a new city west of the mountain had begun, though nearby cities had already claimed some of Dole’s territory.

• Dole revealed that he had reached Level Six by condensing the complete Storm Heart, then contacted the others and went with Aixi to Babel Tower.
• Dole gathered the tower masters and announced that the Earth Fortress would move to New City under the Glory Wizard Alliance, while he would serve as chairman and distribute meditation methods.
• The tower masters eagerly chose meditation methods, and Dole warned them that he had spent all his money upgrading their towers and expected them to help cover the costs.
• Aixi reported that nearby cities had encroached on Dole’s wilderness territory while he was away, so she had used the wizard towers to deter further expansion.
• Aixi said the Glory Wizard Alliance and City Lord’s Manor had begun building a city beside a river about fifty kilometers west of Albis Mountain, with the Rhine Family leading construction and the Aoun Family securing a share.

Dole emerged from seclusion and arrived at the site of New City, where he established the Glory Wizard Alliance’s eight wizard towers and finalized the city’s name as Albis City. The Rhine Family and Aoun Family prepared to meet with him to discuss the city’s layout and ownership shares.

• Dole reviewed the proposed city plans and learned that the Rhine Family and Aoun Family had been funding the preliminary work equally.
• Dole and the others flew through the Storm Domain to New City, carrying their wizard towers.
• Dole named the settlement Albis City and positioned eight Level Six wizard towers in an octagonal formation.
• Dole activated the towers’ magic arrays, spreading their power across the city site and establishing Earth Fortress as the Glory Wizard Alliance’s main tower.
• Aixi introduced the Rhine Family and Aoun Family representatives, who prepared to discuss Albis City’s layout and division of shares with Dole.

Dole oversaw Albis City’s expansion and used the wizard towers to reshape the surrounding land, impressing the settlers with his power. As he flew to Wasen Fort, he reflected on his new understanding of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, arriving with the beginnings of a storm’s power.

• Dole met with Aixi and the noble families supporting Albis City, promised the minor nobles generous benefits, and assigned his avatar to oversee the city.
• Dole’s true body left for Wasen Fort while his avatar activated the wizard towers and began transforming the land around the planned city lord’s residence.
• The wizard towers leveled vast stretches of terrain in minutes, inspiring awe and reverence among the nobles and workers.
• Dole briefly detoured through Waz City, then flew toward Wasen Fort and considered how his level-six understanding of air and lightning could guide his future growth.
• Dole arrived at Wasen Fort with an aura shaped by wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

Dole returned to Wasen Fort and went to the City Lord's Manor to begin the application process for building Albis City. After his arrival shocked the officials and his allies with his level-six strength, he asked what procedures were required to proceed.

• Dole sensed Akso in Wasen Fort, informed Allen of his return, and headed to the City Lord's Manor to apply to build Albis City.
• Dole entered the manor and asked Westerlin to meet him, then found Dailulaide, Allen, Akron, Aoduolun, and another wizard in the family-head's district.
• Westerlin praised Dole for taking Albis Mountain and told him that Wasen Fort's factions and the Nightmare Empire had fallen quiet.
• Dole's level-six spiritual pressure stunned Westerlin, Dailulaide, Allen, Akron, Aoduolun, and the unknown wizard.
• Dole asked the gathered officials and relatives what procedures he needed to follow to apply to build a city.

Dole took charge of planning Albis City and discussed appointments and administration with Wasen Fort’s factions. After delaying decisions on the proposed candidate lists, he studied city governance while Albis City rapidly grew into a busy settlement.

• Dailulaide presented candidates for Albis City’s security, defense, and academy posts, while Allen said Dole would manage the Glory Wizard Alliance with personnel already assigned.
• Swift praised Dole’s unprecedented advancement, and Enze sought cooperation despite Dole’s hostility toward the Lant Family.
• Dole postponed reviewing the factional candidate lists and said he would stay with the Rhine Family while learning how to administer the city.
• Dole consulted Dailulaide, studied city planning, and used a Heavenly Frost Worm clone to bring him books about cities.
• Dole sold planned areas, invested the proceeds in the mercenary market, and offered tax exemptions to attract settlers and town lords.
• After two months, Albis City had grown around two broad avenues and a cluster of wizard towers, while nobles and merchants competed for land.

Dole struggled to manage Albis City’s rapid development and considered buying specialized slaves to fill the city’s staffing shortage. Gideon visited Zonglu Garden to find capable stewards and secretaries for Dole, and Rupert realized Albis City needed more workers.

• Dole granted the Glory Wizard Alliance mining rights to several Magic Crystal Mines to help fund Albis City’s development.
• Aixi entered seclusion in Babel Tower and resolved to cultivate until she reached Level Six.
• Dole considered delegating work to his subordinates and buying specialized slaves because he could not manage everything alone.
• Gideon and Tawa arrived at Zonglu Garden, where Gideon approached Rupert for help finding capable stewards and secretaries.
• Rupert grew solemn when Gideon explained that Dole needed competent staff for Albis City.

Gideon recruited six people with clerical and management skills for Dole, while two hidden agents planned to infiltrate Dole’s inner circle. Allen learned that the Nightmare Empire was likely behind the takeover of nobles across the northwest and ordered a crackdown as Dole’s recruitment and construction continued.

• Rupert brought Gideon to meet a group of people from a destroyed kingdom, and Gideon selected six candidates with clerical and management experience.
• Two of the selected candidates secretly saw the recruitment as a chance to infiltrate Dole’s inner circle.
• Corpse Thirty-Five learned of Dole’s activities and sent information about him through the Nightmare Empire’s network.
• Aoduolun told Allen that the Nightmare Empire likely controlled nobles across the northwestern kingdoms, and Allen ordered the Tribunal’s Enforcement Division and Nightingale to capture or kill its agents.
• Dole continued overseeing construction and searching for mineral deposits as a caravan arrived in the wilderness by way of Roderick City.

Dole welcomed the Rose Caravan’s supplies and considered how they could help him build Albis City into a renowned potion center. He confronted Aiton Howard, who proposed a forty percent stake in the city and a marriage alliance, and left Aiton overwhelmed by his aura.

• The Rose Caravan arrived with supplies for Dole, allowing him to plan the construction of his potion territory.
• Gideon told Dole that Aiton Howard, a visitor from the imperial capital, wanted to meet him, and Dole learned through the Mystic Corpse Worms that Aiton had come to investigate him.
• Aiton praised Dole’s rapid development of Albis City and proposed that the Howard Family invest one hundred million gold coins for a forty percent stake.
• Aiton proposed a marriage alliance between the Dole Family and the Howard Family, and Dole condemned the offer as insincere.
• Dole released his aura against Aiton, crushing Aiton’s battle intent and leaving him feeling trapped in a raging storm.

Dole refused Aiton’s attempt to recruit him into the First Prince’s faction and remained committed to staying out of imperial politics. After Aiton left to investigate the city and the Rose Chamber of Commerce, Gideon and his group arrived, and Dole gave them their first instructions for helping oversee the developing city.

• Aiton tried to recruit Dole for the Howard Family by promising the First Prince could approve the construction of a city, but Dole refused to join any faction.
• Aiton left the City Lord’s Manor thinking about Dole’s strength and the territory he had acquired, then ordered his coachman to find a hotel and gather information, especially about the Rose Chamber of Commerce.
• Gideon arrived with several people and told Dole he had brought everyone to receive their assignments.
• Dole told Gideon and the others to rest, inspect the area and planning drawings, and wait for their duties; he also said they would supervise stone transport from Albis Mountain when the roads thawed.
• Dole instructed the group not to bend the law for personal gain or respond to any faction.

Dole watched the people Gideon had brought, planning to use suspected spies to uncover the faction behind them while he continued managing Albis City. On New Year’s Day, the city’s workers celebrated and the nobles gathered at a banquet, where they discussed Dole’s spending and the rumored development of a Magic Crystal Mine.

• Dole noticed suspicious people among Gideon’s entourage and memorized their auras so he could monitor them and trace their handlers.
• Dole considered using spiritual intrusion on Corpse Sixty-Five, but he remained confident in his strength and the protection of the wizard towers and Albis Mountain.
• Albis City welcomed the New Year with a day off and celebrations around the workers’ and families’ camps.
• The nobles held a banquet without Dole and discussed his strict city planning and the money he was investing in Albis City.
• Wayne, Jefferson, and Anderson discussed land purchases and Dole’s expenses before Carol said the Glory Wizard Alliance’s Magic Crystal Mine was about to be developed.

At Wayne’s New Year reception, Dole arrived to greet the gathered nobles, while Akso watched him from across the hall. The nobles asked Dole whether the prepared city plots would be auctioned, leaving him to answer their question.

• Wayne shushed Carol after she mentioned the Glory Wizard Alliance and the Magic Crystal Mine, and the guests toasted to tomorrow.
• A handsome black wizard tried to ask Akso to dance, but she recognized him and drove him away; later, she danced with another wizard.
• Dole arrived at the reception, greeted the nobles, and told his slaves, including Gideon and Campbell, to enjoy themselves.
• Dole noticed Akso and felt uneasy, then joined Wayne and the other nobles for drinks.
• A noble asked Dole whether the plots in the planned city would be put up for auction.

At a gathering in Albis City, Dole clarified that he would allow others to gather timber and stone and would buy any surplus, prompting the city’s powerful families to regret their earlier assumptions. Later, Lady Akso approached Dole seeking a place to stay and a chance to focus on improving her strength, while Wayne and Carol discussed her apparent connection to him.

• Dole told Carol, Wayne, Jefferson, and Anderson that they could gather timber and stone themselves and that he would buy any surplus at market price.
• The four men realized Dole had never intended to monopolize the stone trade and drank in frustration over their mistaken assumptions.
• Dole considered Albis City’s construction needs and focused on developing the city as a future center for potions.
• Lady Akso asked Dole to take her in and explained that she wanted to stop worrying about other matters and improve her strength.
• Carol pointed out Dole and Akso to Wayne, who said he was not worried about Dole’s relationships and that Aixi would become his principal wife after reaching level six.

Dole avoided the imperial-capital visitors who had come looking for him and left the banquet with Akso, who insisted on staying with him. Aiton then met Wayne and introduced plans to settle in Albis City, while the newcomers’ presence unsettled the local nobles.

• Wayne learned that the newcomers had arrived and hurried toward the central hall as the ballroom turned its attention to them.
• Akso persuaded Dole to let her stay with him, and Dole decided to leave through the back to avoid the Edward Family’s people.
• Aiton learned that Dole had already left with a powerful woman, but chose to attend the banquet rather than pursue him.
• Aiton greeted Wayne, said he planned to buy land and settle in Albis City, and introduced Sakaran and Tim.
• Carol, Anderson, and the other local nobles regarded the imperial-capital visitors as competitors.

After recovering from his injuries, Dragon Bat learned that a massive storm shielded Albis Mountain and abandoned any thought of attacking it directly. He was assigned to deal with the humans who had founded a city nearby, and began considering how to gather other Magic Beasts for a future raid.

• Dragon Bat recovered from his injuries after half a year and went to report to the ancestor.
• The ancestor told Dragon Bat to look toward Albis Mountain before deciding whether to seek revenge.
• Dragon Bat saw a vast storm filled with white lightning covering the entire Albis Mountain range and realized he could not defeat it.
• A guard told Dragon Bat that the humans had established a city outside Albis Mountain and that the ancestor was leaving the matter to him.
• Dragon Bat decided he would need other Magic Beasts to harass the city, but planned to wait until he had fully recovered and winter had passed.

During the winter slowdown, Dole decided to build Akso a wizard tower, and she chose a seventh-level design in exchange for forty million gold coins and materials. After receiving her ring, Dole considered investing in more wizard towers, but the frozen season left few opportunities for other work.

• Dragon Bat resolved to sabotage humanity’s roads in the Albis Mountain region.
• Dole set aside the barons’ territory applications and decided to build Akso a wizard tower because she was making life difficult for him at the City Lord’s Manor.
• Akso chose a wizard tower design that could be built to level seven and agreed to pay Dole forty million gold coins while supplying the materials.
• Akso gave Dole her storage ring and left in a huff after he rejected her offer to keep him company.
• Dole found that the ring contained the tower materials and more than forty million gold coins, then decided to build other wizard towers while winter prevented further investment.

Dole planned Albis City’s trade route and institutions while rapidly refining an Octagonal Wizard Tower. He spotted hungry Magic Beasts descending from the North Plains Mountain Range and set a wolf-extermination mission, preparing for the dangers ahead.

• Dole planned to leave the trade route’s construction to Tawa and use educated slaves to staff the city’s departments.
• Dole contacted Wasen Fort about sending personnel for the Public Security Office and the Military Office.
• Dole refined a fire-element Octagonal Wizard Tower at remarkable speed while wizards watched from the Glory Wizard Alliance branch.
• Dole spotted an adventurer team fleeing from the north and used the eight Octagonal Wizard Towers to survey the wilderness.
• Dole posted a wolf-extermination mission, alerted the city guard, and detected other Magic Beasts descending from the North Plains Mountain Range.

Dole secured the trade route near Albis Mountain, oversaw the completion of Akso’s Level Seven Li Fire Golden Tower, and continued building his forces and New City. He then invited potion masters above Level Five to move to New City, but the remaining senior members of Chris Wizard Tower were reluctant to leave.

• Dole arranged Level Five patrols and paid adventurers and mercenaries to hunt magic beasts along the trade route.
• Akso’s twenty-story Li Fire Golden Tower was completed, and Dole taught her how to control it.
• Akso considered seeking revenge on the Fire Parasol Tree Organization but agreed to keep helping Dole for a while.
• As the weather warmed, official forces gathered at Wasen Fort, and Dole continued cultivating and teaching at Chris Wizard Tower.
• Dole announced that Chris Wizard Tower would stay in place and that potion masters above Level Five could choose to move to New City.
• Most of the old hands remaining at Chris Wizard Tower were unwilling to leave, while the applications came from low-level potion masters.

Dole prepared to return to Albis City as unrest among the Magic Beasts threatened to complicate plans to open a passage between the provinces. Back at his storm territory, he reviewed his upgraded witchcraft and resolved to use his Wizard Tower and storm domain to confront the hidden Wizard and investigate Corpse Sixty-Five’s soul.

• Dole visited Westerlin’s residence, where Awei confirmed they would meet on the Albis Wasteland to discuss the expedition.
• Dole told Westerlin and his wives that Magic Beasts were restless and that opening the passage between the provinces would likely bring several fierce battles.
• Lauren asked to accompany Dole so she could see Aixi, and Westerlin agreed after noting Lauren’s Level Five strength.
• Dole returned to his storm territory and reflected on how the storm helped him identify flaws in his Meditation Method and refine it.
• Dole considered his newly upgraded Level Six spells and planned to confront the hidden Wizard, whom he estimated was around Level Eight, with help from his Wizard Tower and storm domain.

Dole surveyed the planned trade route from Albis City to Maxuer City, then returned to Babel Tower to strengthen his storm meditation. At a meeting, he told Albis City's Wizards that forces from Wasen Fort were approaching and assigned them to map the terrain and prepare healing potions for an impending conflict with Magic Beasts.

• Dole inspected the future road route, named the river along it the Two Realms River, and noted the need to clear dangerous creatures from the wilderness and river.
• Dole returned to Babel Tower, where the storm's power strengthened his meditation, and Wizards in Albis City recognized that his true body had returned.
• Morris received a message to attend a meeting at Wind Tower and left after setting aside his potions.
• Dole told the assembled Wizards, including Morris and Kelly, that forces from Wasen Fort and the Steel Pioneer Corps were on their way.
• Dole assigned the Wizards to map the wilderness and Albis City and brew healing potions for coming clashes with Magic Beasts driven out of the North Plains Mountain Range.