Chapter Summaries

Ruger and Mona explored a vast city concealed by mist, where strange residents and apparitions appeared as they walked. They discovered that stepping through the shifting streets changed their surroundings, and the chapter ended as they came upon a Wizard drinking misty liquor in a tavern.

• A mist-born knight charged Ruger and Mona, but Ruger stopped it with the Weighty Book, and the knight dissolved back into mist.
• Ruger approached Little Oster and his mother, then used Foul-Smelling Skin when she turned hostile; an old man explained that they had appeared in the neighborhood recently.
• Little Oster recalled dreaming that he had become a giant knight, while Ruger realized the mist-shrouded city was enormous and difficult to leave.
• Ruger and Mona moved through shifting streets, briefly glimpsing Mahama and a woman seated on a sphere before they missed her.
• Ruger and Mona found an open tavern where a Wizard in robes was drinking liquor that gave off white mist.

Ruger tested how the shifting city separated him from the others and explored its strange inhabitants with Mona. After meeting Varin and Jillian, he found himself facing an inhuman stranger who claimed he had sensed Ruger and showed them a demonic ornament like the ones they carried.

• Ruger confirmed that the surroundings changed when Zorn noticed him and Mona, then resumed exploring instead of standing still.
• Ruger and Mona spotted pale-yellow figures hidden around a street, including one whose appearance changed to resemble an ordinary person.
• Ruger encountered Varin and Jillian together, and the scenery shifted as they recognized him.
• Ruger tested the enormous crossroads, finding that every direction returned him to its center as Filthy Faith Power spread through the air.
• An inhuman stranger approached Ruger and Mona, said he had sensed them, and displayed a black circular ornament with a demonic aura.

Ruger and Mona learned that the strange Faith Power thief was a survivor from a dead world who had been helped by the Demon Wizard and made his disciple. The survivor described how he had fused with demon flesh to endure the Underground Caverns, but his pain and the fate of his people remained unclear.

• Ruger recognized the stranger’s ornament as a badge marking him as the Demon Wizard’s disciple and asked how he had obtained it.
• The stranger explained that the Demon Wizard had helped him several dozen days and nights earlier, when he was suffering from a severe headache.
• The stranger said his world had died, and that he had fused with a special demon and stolen Faith Power to keep himself and the city within his heart from falling apart.
• Ruger realized the stranger was a survivor from the world fragment that had injured the Golden Demon and that the Demon Wizard had guided him to adapt and try becoming a Wizard.
• The stranger showed Ruger his pale yellow crystal tears and explained that his people had clear crystal bodies that turned yellow when they were about to die.

Ruger learned that the man was the last remnant of a shattered world, carrying an inner city inhabited by the hearts of his people. Ruger persuaded him to release everyone inside and leave with them, and the man began to change his inner city’s surroundings.

• The man explained that his people’s bodies became crystal and their hearts lived in inner cities, and that he had failed to save more of them when their homeland was destroyed.
• Ruger explained that the crystal grains falling from the man’s face were tears, and the man eagerly asked whether the Underground Caverns had accepted him.
• A distant crash caused the man pain, and Ruger considered how the Demon Wizard’s experiment and the man’s unusual nature might affect his fate.
• The man asked whether Ruger and Mona had come to help him, and Ruger promised they would save him and everyone in his inner city.
• Ruger asked the man to release everyone he had brought inside, and the man agreed, making the pale mist vanish as the surroundings changed.

Ruger and the others returned from the strange transition to find the Golden Demon confronting the suffering visitor from another world. As the demon branded the man with golden symbols, Ruger tried to help him, prompting the demon to ask whether the visitor was Ruger’s friend.

• Ruger gathered the Unknown Crystals before the group reappeared among the ruined mountain walls with an unfamiliar figure covered in swirling faith power.
• The visitor cried out as Pale Yellow Crystal horns pierced his hands, and the Golden Demon approached in a transformed, towering form.
• Ruger realized the visitor’s fusion with demon flesh had let him steal faith power through the Demon Remains while he slept.
• The Golden Demon used his book to send golden symbols onto the visitor, while Zorn warned him to preserve the man’s value and avoid wasting merit stones.
• The visitor reached helplessly toward Ruger, who stepped forward to help him up.
• The Golden Demon turned polite and asked Ruger whether the visitor was his friend.

Demon Smith removed his influence from the man and departed, leaving the demonic flesh behind. The man explained that the figures in the ruins were remnants of thoughts, while Wizard Zorn appeared to be negotiating a profitable sale.

• Demon Smith drew the golden characters and patterns out of the man, left him the demonic flesh, and returned to the Abyss.
• Ruger helped the battered man sit up and heard him speak of Little Oster and the figures in the ruined walls.
• The man explained that the figures were incomplete hearts and remnants of thoughts from people who had died there.
• Wizard Jillian guessed that Wizard Zorn was trying to sell the man for more than the fixed reward, and Ruger and Mahama smiled at the prospect.

Ruger guarded the barely surviving man while considering why the Golden-Horned Demon had shown him respect after he acquired his demon true name. He studied Fendim's Flaming Centipede as they waited for the Foreign God Oversight Council to arrive, and the man's condition continued to worsen.

• Ruger realized the captive could earn them merit stones from both the Foreign God Oversight Council and the Holy Tribunal, as well as for completing Mr. Demon Smith's commission.
• The captive thanked Ruger and said the Golden-Horned Demon had respected him and stopped being hostile after Ruger mentioned friends.
• Ruger suspected the demon's changed attitude was connected to his demon true name and wondered whether the river he had seen upon awakening it was special.
• Ruger studied Fendim's Flaming Centipede and decided to return to his secluded island, leaving minor demon-hunting opportunities to Mahama and the others.
• After a day of waiting, the Foreign God Oversight Council approached to take the captive, whose condition had grown weaker despite Wizard Zorn's potion.

After returning from the demon-hunting incident, Ruger reflected on his new Demon True Name and other gains as he prepared to complete his advancement to a Two-Ring Wizard. He washed with Bubble Potion, left the upcoming demon-hunting rounds to Lord Mahama, and settled down to study Fendim's spell.

• Ruger recalled how the Foreign God Oversight Council Wizards had captured the Faith Power-tainted target and taken him away.
• Ruger considered how his Demon True Name, the river he had seen, and Demon Smith's advice to find a Demon Heart might shape his growth.
• Ruger drank Bubble Potion and scrubbed himself with the Spirit Furs until bubbles filled the sky above the island.
• Ruger left the backlog of demon-hunting incidents to Lord Mahama while he focused on meditation, spell study, and reaching the Two-Ring Wizard threshold.
• Ruger relaxed by the sea and studied Lord Fendim's Flaming Centipede, imagining Fendim as an eccentric, friendless old man.

Ruger studied Fendim's Flaming Centipede while trying to understand the spell through its creator's intentions, and reflected on the rewards and connections he had gained as a Demon Hunter Wizard. He continued his quiet routine with the Spellbook and Zhizhi, while Fendim's disappearance and the Demon Wizard's mysterious reputation remained unresolved.

• Ruger considered whether Fendim had left his named spell and youth story as an invitation for a future Wizard to find him, but decided he lacked time to investigate.
• Ruger focused on studying Fendim's spell, maintained a sense of connection with its creator, and let Zhizhi run around his recliner before sending it out to catch fish.
• Ruger checked his Demon Hunter Wizards badge and found that his merit stones had increased by twelve thousand since leaving the small Wizard city.
• Ruger reflected that Wizard Zorn had awarded him extra merit stones for persuading the inhuman fellow to leave the Inner City and helping the fellow with the golden curved horn.
• Ruger considered how organizational rewards motivated Wizards and how the Demon Wizard's guidance had indirectly led to his recent gains.
• Ruger reflected on the Demon Wizard's complex reputation and his acceptance of a title associated with demonic magic.

Ruger studied Lord Fendim’s spell and unexpectedly completed his first second-ring spell, Fendim's Flaming Centipede, ahead of schedule. After testing it, he began accumulating its concealed flaming legs and discovered that they changed as they grew in number.

• Ruger reconsidered his assumptions about Lord Fendim while studying the spell, and a vision of a huge insect helped his mastery improve rapidly.
• Ruger constructed the 339-node spell model for Fendim's Flaming Centipede and filled his empty second-ring spell slot.
• Ruger cast the spell for the first time, scorching a deep groove into the cliff's edge ten days earlier than he had expected to finish it.
• Ruger tested the spell's concealed flaming legs and began condensing and accumulating more of them.
• Ruger formed eight disconnected flaming legs that moved together like parts of an invisible giant insect, and he noticed further changes he could not yet explain.

Ruger observed Fendim's Flaming Centipede develop into ten coordinated, lifelike legs and confirmed that they only burned at their tips when not attacking. He then studied the Second-Ring Spell Book of Resentment while considering his future spell choices and wondering whether the Flaming Centipede might surprise him if fixed into a spell slot.

• Ruger examined the Flaming Centipede's eight legs and discovered that their upper portions had cooled while their tips remained hot.
• Ruger formed two more Flaming Legs, bringing the spell to ten legs, and let it roam outside near his cabin.
• Ruger returned to his recliner and began studying the Second-Ring Spell Book of Resentment and the notes he had received from the round old gentleman.
• Ruger reflected that choosing spells for his Second-Ring and Third-Ring slots could shape his future, and expected to hesitate before making his final choice.
• Ruger wondered whether fixing Fendim's Flaming Centipede into a spell slot might reveal an unexpected effect.

Ruger cultivated the Book of Resentment spell using Midoz’s Weighty Book, but the book’s unusual nature made the process progress extremely slowly. After sacrificing sleep to maintain the spell, he entered the Bedroom Space and found Serious Mouse making mushroom cups for Sour Mushroom Wine.

• Ruger reflected on his fulfillment, the God of Wizards, and the possibility that Kurt might grow stronger than him.
• Ruger successfully anchored the Book of Resentment to the Weighty Book, but the spell’s imbuing process stalled and proceeded very slowly.
• Ruger postponed learning Invisible Constraint and kept the Book of Resentment active, sacrificing sleep and halting the growth of Fendim's Flaming Centipede's legs.
• Ruger entered the Bedroom Space without intending to sleep and approached Serious Mouse, who explained that he was making cups from chest mushrooms for Sour Mushroom Wine.

Ruger discovered Aisijin and the Spirit Furs staging a story about the Knight of the Night, with Little Fairy playing the hero. As the performance reached its climax, Ruger’s secretly added Shadow Servant appeared as an enormous final demon.

• Ruger followed Serious Mouse to the gathering spot and found the Spirit Furs’ makeshift theater.
• Aisijin narrated the Knight of the Night’s story while Spirit Furs acted it out for an audience.
• Ruger watched Little Fairy skillfully cast changing balls of light as it portrayed the Knight breaking free and fighting the demons.
• Zhizhi carried Spirit Fur spectators around the stage, while Big Silly Hum served as the stage and Little Regna rode on Zhizhi’s head.
• After Little Fairy defeated the demons, Ruger’s Shadow Servant emerged as an enormous monster and threw the performance into chaos.

Ruger endured days of contemplation while sustaining Book of Resentment, then successfully cast the spell on an Oddity and discovered it had absorbed all his resentment. He decided the spell needed limits before spotting a glimmer of fire on Mahama's island.

• Ruger reflected on the Spirit Fur Followers’ pure but limited faith power and chose to increase their numbers rather than tell Stray Hair One about the obstacle to becoming a Demigod.
• Ruger studied Invisible Constraint and the rotund Old Wizard’s notes while refraining from experiments that might disrupt Book of Resentment.
• Ruger spent days contemplating spellcraft, his aspirations, and the choices of senior Wizards as a Shadow Servant stood ready to wake him with a bluestone.
• Ruger successfully cast Book of Resentment on an Oddity and found that the book had absorbed all his resentment.
• Ruger resolved to limit the book’s effect so he would not lose resentment entirely, then noticed a glimmer of fire on Mahama’s island.

Ruger went to rest after reflecting on his progress, but an explosion on Mahama’s island drew him into a confrontation between Mahama and a strange, mouthless Wizard. The Wizard sought a Demon Wizard’s apprentice, identified Ruger as one, and attacked him with inexplicable flames that Ruger briefly resisted.

• Ruger decided to sleep in his Little Cabin rather than visit Mahama, hoping to recover from his studies and recurring dreams.
• An explosion and Mahama’s roar came from the neighboring island, so Ruger flew over and found Mahama fighting an unfamiliar, mouthless Wizard.
• The Wizard claimed Mahama had attacked him after he asked for directions, then told Ruger he was searching for a Demon Wizard’s apprentice.
• Ruger offered to give directions for a price and considered sending the Wizard to Mona, but the Wizard accused him of being the apprentice.
• Ruger said he was the apprentice’s apprentice, then endured sudden flames that scorched him and his Mental Power Space before his spirit furs helped resist them.

Ruger battled the mouthless man, whose words weakened Ruger's spells and disrupted his casting. After Ruger broke through the disturbance with Faith power and coordinated his attacks, the man transformed into a Fake Giant, and Ruger knocked him down and continued battering him.

• Ruger summoned his thirty-legged Fendim's Flaming Centipede, but the mouthless man endured its attacks and began casting a volatile Fireball Spell.
• Ruger attacked with Grey Bullet Spells while holding a Fire Nail Spear, but the mouthless man's words disrupted his casting and weakened the centipede.
• Ruger answered the mouthless man's remarks, then exploited his opponent's fire wall to attack from the front, side, and rear.
• Ruger used Faith power to resist the disturbance as his Ash Bullets froze the mouthless man and his centipede and spear struck him.
• The mouthless man transformed into a Fake Giant, but Ruger knocked him down with the Weighty Book and battered him from above while his Fur Hands cast Grey Bullet Spells.

Ruger and Mahama made peace with Jensen after their fight and shared a meal at Mahama’s cabin. Mahama explained that Jensen was a Four-Language Wizard whose rare words granted unusual powers, leaving Ruger curious about the spells Jensen had mastered.

• Jensen stopped fighting and warned that continuing could hurt either him or Ruger, while Mahama returned to shore.
• Mahama told Ruger that Jensen had been testing his progress, and Jensen introduced himself as Ruger and Mahama’s conversation resumed peacefully.
• Jensen relit the campfire with his words, and Ruger supplied food while Mahama prepared a meal.
• Mahama explained that Jensen had mastered the Word of Power, the Word of Flame, and the Word of Regret as part of the Four-Language Spell.
• Mahama described the rare process of mastering the unusual language-based spells, and Ruger watched Jensen with renewed interest.

Ruger sought Wizard Jensen’s guidance to learn the Word of Flame and succeeded during his first attempt. Jensen confirmed Ruger had gained an initial grasp of it, then pointed him toward the campfire.

• Ruger visited Mahama’s island and asked the mouthless Wizard Jensen to guide him in the Word of Flame.
• Jensen set a price for further guidance, and Ruger accepted the first attempt as the three Wizards shared a meal by the campfire.
• Jensen used the campfire to guide Ruger and told him to relax without letting the guide shape what he perceived.
• Ruger heard an elusive sound, entered a state of understanding, and perceived the Word of Flame as a unique symbol that could invoke real power.
• Jensen confirmed that Ruger had succeeded on his first attempt and was the only person he had guided who had done so.

Ruger discovered a hazy connection to the Word of Flame and questioned Master Jensen about mastering special languages and the Four-Language Spell. He experimented with the Fireball Spell and recognized how its incantation carried a simplified rhythm of the Word of Flame.

• Ruger sensed a hazy spell model forming after communicating with the campfire and asked Master Jensen about learning the Word of Flame as an apprentice.
• Jensen explained how someone might independently comprehend the Word of Flame and described the risks and protections associated with the Four-Language Spell.
• Mahama warned Ruger that his teacher had advised him to avoid Four-Language Wizards, and Ruger declined Jensen’s invitation to try becoming one.
• Jensen explained that the Four-Language Spell made the world perceive its practitioners as naturally mouthless and warned against mastering too many special languages.
• Ruger studied his Fireball Spell notes, recognized a Word of Flame rhythm in its longest incantation, and launched a fireball that exploded overhead.

Ruger continued his spell studies, using the Word of Flame to strengthen Fendim's Flaming Centipede until it reached one hundred legs and walked through the air. He then turned to the Monster Wolf, seeking a better way to glimpse its creation.

• Ruger revised his training plan to practice the Word of Flame while casting Fendim's Flaming Centipede and to keep probing the Monster Wolf.
• Ruger considered whether his shortcomings as a master had contributed to Stray Hair One's failure to reach the Demigod rank, and resolved to keep nourishing and plucking fur.
• Ruger used the Word of Flame while forming the Flaming Centipede, making its legs more powerful and its growth smoother.
• Ruger formed the centipede's hundredth leg, after which the creature walked through the air above the island.
• Ruger summoned the Monster Wolf and reasoned that examining one of its scattered fragments might help him see the moment it was born.