Chapter Summaries

Dole confronted Mavik, an Alexander Family wizard who had come to trade information about the Void Worm and Poison Widow for Mystic Corpse Worms. Dole doubted Mavik’s claims, leaving the proposed trade unresolved as bystanders watched from afar.

• Rikdo entered the barren city and noticed Mystic Corpse Worms gathering around him.
• Dole formed an avatar and challenged Mavik, recognizing him as an Alexander Family wizard who also carried an ancient exotic insect.
• Mavik praised Dole’s reputation and proposed trading information for a pair of Mystic Corpse Worms.
• Dole identified Mavik’s insect as a Sacred Scarab and remarked that it ranked below the Mystic Corpse Worm.
• Mavik offered information about the Void Worm and Poison Widow, but Dole dismissed the offer as likely unreliable and questioned whether the Alexander Family was trying to deceive him.
• Mavik maintained that his information might be true and asked whether Dole would trade or sell some worms, while distant onlookers began watching them.

Dole rejected Mavik’s attempt to negotiate and continued building a costly road network through the wilderness near Albis Mountain. After inspecting the route and seeing Dole’s storm domain and seventh-level Wizard Tower protect the mountain passage, Mitler concluded the road project would benefit the Empire and returned to Albis City to assign the report.

• Dole dismissed Mavik, who realized his intelligence about Dole’s strength had been wrong.
• Albis City recruited workers, craftsmen, and earth-element wizards, then sent them to build and reinforce roads into the wilderness.
• Mitler inspected the road crews and considered the wilderness’s potential for settlement and cultivation beneath Albis Mountain’s storm domain.
• A seventh-level Wizard Tower appeared beside the road-building force near the mountain passage, astonishing Mitler and Yama.
• Mitler inspected the passage, concluded the guarded route had no serious problems, and returned to Albis City with his party.
• Mitler asked Aston and Yama which of them would write the detailed report.

Dole pressed Mitler, Aston, and Yama to finish their report within three days, then prepared a public notice announcing the road-opening schedule. The Alexander Family's Mavik arrived to meet Mitler, leaving Dole wary as the roads were set to open in twenty days.

• Dole told Mitler, Aston, and Yama to submit their report within three days and gave each of them a ring of payment.
• Mitler ordered Yama to write the report, and the three agreed to work seriously after finding generous rewards and high-grade potions in the rings.
• A guard told Mitler that Mavik of the Alexander Family had come to see him.
• Dole sensed that Mavik had gone to meet Mitler but restrained his anger and continued writing.
• Dole instructed Aidi to copy his public notice and post it at the city gate and along the roads, announcing that the roads would open in twenty days.

Dole arranged to sell Albis City's surplus resources and sent reinforcements to help Awei deal with Magic Beasts. Three days later, Mitler and Yama brought Dole the investigation team's detailed report, and he began examining it with a powerful magic array.

• Dole asked Awei what Albis City could sell, and Awei listed timber, furs, medicinal herbs, and potions.
• Awei reported repeated Magic Beast attacks and requested reinforcements, so Dole sent Chris and Bernard with their wizard towers.
• Albis City continued to prosper as people settled nearby and supplies arrived for construction.
• Mitler and Yama brought their investigation report to Dole, who found its terrain map and descriptions detailed and unaltered.
• Dole formed a powerful magic array while Mitler and Yama watched anxiously.

Dole sent Albis Mountain’s official document to the Third Prince in the Imperial Capital using spatial-crossing technology while construction continued under the threat of the North Plains Mountain Range’s beasts. After Mitler’s convoy departed, Water Shadow watched it, intending to steal the document as the Nightmare Empire shifted to conciliation against Dole.

• Dole teleported Albis Mountain’s official document to the Imperial Capital, where the Third Prince received it and prepared to report the northern threat to the Emperor.
• Dole explained his long-distance spatial-crossing technology to Mitler and Yama, astonishing them, then kept watch over the road construction and guarded the passage with his storm domain.
• The Dragon Bat watched the roadworks and planned to unleash three beast tides, while Bal stood guard against the North Plains Mountain Range’s level-seven beasts.
• Mitler left Albis Mountain with his convoy after concluding the mission and reflecting on the city’s defenses and the danger of future beast tides.
• Water Shadow watched the convoy from the woods, seeking Albis Mountain’s official document, as the Nightmare Empire chose conciliation because Dole’s strength required several level-seven wizards to overcome.

Dole used the Storm Domain to destroy Magic Beasts emerging from the North Plains River and established the river as the boundary they must not cross. He watched the North Plains Mountain Range, then turned his attention east and west to confront the Dragon Bat Magic Beast.

• Dole considered adding ice power to the Storm Domain, weighing its chilling effects against the loss of lightning strength.
• Dole struck a level-five River Python with lightning as soldiers guarded the road-building crew beside the North Plains River.
• Soldiers halted construction and fell back into defensive formations as Magic Beasts began emerging from the river.
• Dole unleashed a storm of lightning that killed the advancing Magic Beasts and devastated the riverbank.
• Dole declared that Magic Beasts below level seven would die if they left the river and stepped ashore.
• Dole looked east and west and prepared to test the Storm Domain against the Dragon Bat Magic Beast.

Dole defended the gorge and its construction crews as the Magic Beasts of the North Plains Mountain Range attacked, while Bal fought Dragon Bat. The battle continued on multiple fronts, and Dole studied the Storm Domain as its lightning reserves dwindled.

• Dole assured the construction crews that the gorge was safe before Dragon Bat sent Magic Beasts charging into it and attacked with a force that challenged Dole’s storm.
• Dole’s lightning and wind spells clashed with the Magic Beasts’ attacks until Dragon Bat used a strange energy to disperse the storm.
• Dole called on Bal to fight Dragon Bat, and the two seventh-level beings collided in the sky.
• Dole held back Magic Beasts that reached the construction crews, killing many with Wind Spear and Wind Blade spells and driving the rest away.
• Dole noticed another battle of hurricanes and thunder on the western side of the gorge and considered how the prolonged fighting was consuming the Storm Domain’s lightning.
• Dole watched Bal and Dragon Bat battle among the mountains and studied the subtle changes in the Storm Domain.

Dole’s Storm Domain intensified as he touched the rules of lightning, alarming Akso, Dragon Bat, and Bal. After the storm receded, his reassurance and doubled wages calmed the construction crew and strengthened the wizards’ sense of belonging to Albis City.

• Dole gathered lightning into a sphere and, as it exploded in his hand, touched upon the rules of lightning despite being only level six.
• Akso sensed the faint rhythm of rules in the mountains and realized Dole might have begun comprehending lightning rules at age twenty-seven.
• Dragon Bat broke away from Bal and rushed into the mountains, while Bal recognized that Dole’s lightning seemed controlled and might put him on the verge of level seven.
• Bal entered the storm, and its winds and clouds parted to let him pass.
• The storm withdrew toward Albis Mountain, and Dole told the construction crew to continue working and doubled everyone’s pay for the day.
• The crew calmed and cheered, while the wizards working among them felt awe at Dole’s power and a stronger sense of belonging to Albis City.

Dole refined his lightning-based storm, moved the power of ice into Babel Tower, and learned that his Storm Meditation Method could ultimately lead to a Void Storm. As he waited for the imperial capital’s investiture decree, he continued preparing for conflict with the northern Magic Beasts and those who sought to obstruct him.

• Dole decided to preserve his storm’s original form, extracted the power of ice, and placed it in Babel Tower to strengthen Aixi’s ice intent.
• Bal told Dole that the Storm Meditation Method’s ultimate form was the Void Storm and offered to show him the void once he reached level seven.
• Dole considered the knowledge and preparation needed to perfect his storm, but judged that reaching level seven and traveling to the void were still years away.
• Reports spread that Dole had used the Storm Domain, while he let his actions serve as a warning to the unknown force targeting him.
• More than ten days passed as Dole waited for his investiture decree and continued facing the burdens of managing Albis City.

Dole and his allies prepared to defend the Northwest Passage and Albis City as three powerful Magic Beasts attacked. The chapter ended with the Storm Domain clashing fiercely against a giant eagle wielding the power of rules.

• Dole sensed a new uprising in the North Plains Mountain Range, summoned Bal, activated the Golden Corpse, and sent Babel Tower to defend the passage against three Level Seven Magic Beasts.
• Workers at the construction site took shelter inside the convoy’s energy shields as a storm shifted toward the mountains.
• Akso’s Li Fire Golden Tower flew north, while a Water Shadow agent in Albis City assessed the city’s strength and sent his findings away by scroll.
• Bernard alerted the tower masters to prepare the Wizard Tower cluster to defend the city while Dole was away.
• The Storm Domain struck the giant eagle with lightning, but the eagle shattered the attack and sent green clouds surging through the storm.

Albis City repelled another attack by the Magic Beasts, and more than ten days later a large caravan set out along the new Northern Road under the city's protection. As Hudson and Koso traveled together, Hudson hinted that his breakthrough to level five came from a frightening encounter.

• The giant eagle, Dragon Bat, and other Magic Beasts failed to break through Dole's storm, and Albis City defended itself again.
• Akso reflected on Dole's growing Storm Domain and decided to remain in the city with its wizard tower.
• More than ten days later, caravans led by the Rose Caravan departed Albis City along the Northern Road, guarded by Awei's military personnel.
• Hudson and Koso discussed their families and revealed that Hudson had reached level five.
• Koso reassured Hudson that Dole and hired level-seven wizards would protect the caravan, and Hudson asked if Koso knew how his fighting spirit had broken through.

As the Northwest Passage opened, Dole and his allies prepared to confront the North Plains Mountain Range’s massive beast assault. The battle began with heavy casualties, while Allen and the assembled wizards moved to join the fight.

• Hudson told Koso about witnessing Dole, his guard dog, and Wizard Akso fight, and described the battle’s devastation.
• Tens of thousands of magic beasts charged toward the wasteland as the Dragon Bats and other beasts prepared to oppose Dole.
• Dole sent his avatar and military forces to the wasteland, then learned that at least four level-seven auras were among the enemies and requested reinforcements.
• Allen and the senior wizards left their desert camp to support the effort to open Albis Mountain and clear the Northwest Passage.
• On May 1st, Year 351 of the New Civil Calendar, the passage opened amid a brutal battle that left corpses, blood, and enormous craters across the ground.

After Dole’s forces defeated their enemies and opened the Northwest Passage, Albis City celebrated the victory and trade began between North State and Montana Province. In the imperial capital, Emperor Yale agreed to enfeoff Dole as a marquis and assigned George to arrange the conferment.

• The people of Albis City celebrated the victory as Glory Day, establishing the Mountainbreaking Festival as news of the Northwest Passage’s opening spread.
• Dole returned Babel Tower to Albis Mountain, assessed his injuries and costly losses, and prepared to recover while relying on his new alliances.
• The first caravans passed through the Northwest Passage, beginning the exchange of goods between North State and Montana Province.
• Emperor Yale challenged the Edward Family’s opposition to Albis City and listened as George’s faction argued that Dole deserved a title.
• Emperor Yale ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to prepare Albis City’s enfeoffment and tasked George with bringing Dole to the imperial capital for a marquis conferment.

Emperor Yale handed responsibility for the Empire to George, who pushed forward Dole’s investiture as Marquis. As Dole prepared to travel to the imperial capital, his companions advanced on their journey and Albis City continued to grow under his protection.

• Emperor Yale declared that George would handle affairs unless a major matter arose, then George took his place at the front of the hall.
• George urged the Ministry of Internal Affairs to finalize Dole’s investiture and documents for Albis Mountain, and its officials promised to act by the next morning.
• Eugene advanced to Level Five while traveling north with Glaite, Leona, and Jielin, who planned to surprise Dole.
• Dole learned that his investiture was nearly certain and decided to take his true body and Babel Tower to the imperial capital.
• Dole monitored the Northwest Passage and used the Storm Domain to drive away or kill Magic Beasts, while Albis City’s surrounding fields began to flourish.

Dole established Albis City, set its institutions in motion, and watched it prosper as merchant caravans began using the Northwest Passage. While guarding Aixi and preparing to investigate Corpse Sixty-Five, he learned that a Level Eight figure called Nightmare Patriarch stood behind his captive.

• Dole received official confirmation that Albis City had been established and gained authority to build subordinate county towns and city institutions.
• Dole appointed local leaders to city offices, set limits on how many people each family could place in an organization, and announced recruitment for construction and administrative work.
• Workers erected Albis City’s gate, and travelers learned that Dole would go to the imperial capital to receive his title and meet Emperor Yale.
• Merchant caravans began using Albis City as a transit point, bringing prosperity, while Dole handed over most of his authority and stayed to guard Aixi until her advancement.
• Dole questioned Corpse Sixty-Five inside Babel Tower, and the captive revealed that Nightmare Patriarch was a Level Eight existence who would kill him.
• Dole concluded that Nightmare Patriarch was a powerful mental specialist and recognized that he faced an opponent he could not defeat.

Dole isolated Corpse Sixty-Five in Babel Tower’s independent core and invaded his mental world, overwhelming his defenses. As Corpse Sixty-Five’s soul became fuel for a violet presence, the Nightmare Patriarch’s soul body emerged but could not sense its true body.

• Dole threw Corpse Sixty-Five’s ball of light into Babel Tower’s core and sealed the space off from the outside.
• Dole sent his clone into Corpse Sixty-Five’s spiritual world and defeated his Corpse God meditation phantom.
• Dole closed in as Corpse Sixty-Five exhausted himself resisting, and Corpse Sixty-Five warned that the Nightmare Patriarch would avenge him.
• Dole invaded Corpse Sixty-Five’s protected core, where a powerful will pushed back and addressed him.
• A violet soul body formed from Corpse Sixty-Five’s soul, then realized it could not sense its true body.

Dole trapped the Nightmare Patriarch’s weakened incarnation and learned that it sought to restore the Nightmare Empire by absorbing the Northwest nations. When the Patriarch attacked with mental power, Dole countered with lightning, but some of the violet light endured.

• Dole told the Nightmare Patriarch that they were sealed in an independent space, and the shattered mental world revealed the world outside.
• The Nightmare Patriarch offered Dole a position in the restored Nightmare Empire, claiming he was its Fourth Prince and promising him command of a province.
• Dole rejected the offer, condemned the Nightmare Empire’s use of undead Wizards, and said the Patriarch’s main body would never learn of their conversation.
• The Nightmare Patriarch attacked with violet light and runes that stirred Dole’s memories, but Dole used lightning to drive off the invading mental power.
• Dole unleashed his lightning-element spells, burning away much of the violet light as the remaining fragments contracted and resisted.

Dole defeated the Nightmare avatar and entered its mental world, where he uncovered the horrific workings of the Nightmare Meditation Method and obtained its complete version. He emerged from Babel Tower after a ten-day struggle, now a mortal enemy of the Nightmare Patriarch, who remained unaware of their conflict.

• Dole weakened the Nightmare avatar with lightning and repeated uses of the Soul-Severing Technique, then pierced its mental force.
• Dole searched thousands of dream-world bubbles for people resembling the purple figure while the Soul-Severing Technique caused worlds to collapse.
• Dole discovered that the Nightmare Meditation Method imprisoned the mental forces of nearly three thousand real people, including the Nightmare Patriarch’s relatives, to nourish its master.
• Dole inspected the remaining worlds, withdrew from the mental realm, and watched the final bubble and violet glow disappear.
• Dole left Babel Tower with knowledge of dreams and mental power and the complete Nightmare Meditation Method, having become the Nightmare Patriarch’s enemy without the patriarch knowing.

Dole completed the Storm Domain and waited for Aixi to awaken before traveling to the imperial capital to receive his title. After Aixi reached the sixth level, they left a clone behind to oversee the domain and set out together.

• Dole finished shaping the Storm Domain, though its creation had drained Albis Mountain of vitality.
• Dole saw Glaite and the others approaching from Roderick City, but Aixi awakened before he went to meet them.
• Aixi emerged from seclusion two days later, and Dole told her they would leave for the imperial capital immediately.
• Aixi created a clone to remain behind while Dole assigned the Mystic Frost Worm clone to oversee the Storm Domain.
• Dole and Aixi entered the Storm Domain and disappeared on their journey to the imperial capital.

Glaite, Eugene, Leona, and Jielin reached Albis City and reunited with Dole and Aixi, both of whom had advanced to Level Six. Dole and Aixi then traveled toward the imperial capital, arriving the following afternoon.

• Glaite and his companions encountered Glaite’s family caravan, whose leader relayed Dole’s impatient message telling Glaite to hurry to the city.
• Glaite, Eugene, Leona, and Jielin entered the bustling, half-built Albis City and discussed Dole’s ambitions and expenses.
• Dole and Aixi welcomed the four at the city lord’s manor, and the visitors were astonished that both had reached Level Six.
• Dole and Aixi flew from Albis Mountain toward the imperial capital and arrived the afternoon of the next day.