Chapter Summaries

Ruger watched his teacher defeat the hand in the final Rabbit Chess game, then questioned the hand about its forgotten master. The hand said it did not remember and revealed that its rough, beastlike appearance was only a disguise.

• Ruger became absorbed in the fifty-one-game Rabbit Chess contest, then watched his teacher win the final game and the overall match against the hand.
• Ruger's stomach growled, interrupting the spectators, and everyone began preparing food after realizing they were hungry.
• Ruger took Sour Mushroom Wine from his teacher and used the remainder to let the hand write answers on the table.
• The hand told Ruger that it did not know or remember its master and suspected something unusual had happened or that its master did not want to be found.
• Ruger asked whether the hand had always looked that way, and it transformed into a pale, delicate-looking female Wizard's hand.

Ruger talked with the wandering Polite Hand, which imagined it had been separated from its master to fulfill a special mission, and invited it to share the Inn’s meal. As Ruger reflected on his meditation breakthrough, he exchanged a meaningful glance with Immanuel to ask whether the teacher’s chess partner was dangerous.

• Ruger asked Polite Hand about its past and learned it did not know its master’s name or why they had parted.
• Polite Hand described reading a story about a mouse rescuing its master and asked Ruger not to shatter its fantasy that it had a special mission.
• Little Fairy served meatballs, and Polite Hand offered a Sun Coin and a Magic Stone to join the meal; Ruger welcomed it.
• Ruger considered his improved meditation method and concluded that sharing it widely could do more harm than good.
• Ruger poured Immanuel Bubble Wine and gave him a meaningful glance to ask whether his chess partner posed a danger.

Ruger reflected on his teacher, Ka Liu, and the Demon Wizard’s visits before speaking with a strange hand about its long, lonely travels. The hand considered Ruger’s suggestion to stay by the sea and contemplate, while it also praised Ruger and his teacher as Wizards without greed.

• Ruger recalled that his teacher was playing Rabbit Chess with Tuzel and felt at peace seeing him as he was now.
• Ruger thought about Ka Liu and reviewed his notes, noticing that the intervals between the Demon Wizard’s arrivals seemed to be shortening.
• Ruger approached the strange hand as it wrote about an old human friend, an Underground Beast named Zizi, and its years of wandering.
• Ruger suggested that the hand stay by the sea for itself and contemplate before setting off again.
• The hand said Ruger and his teacher seemed to be Wizards without greed, then noted that Ruger’s teacher appeared to be in an unusual state.

Ruger resumed his spell practice and established a routine alternating focused work with seven days of Sleep Meditation. After two days of training, he had formed ten more legs for Fendim's Flaming Centipede and prepared to begin his first full Sleep Meditation cycle.

• Polite Hand asked Ruger for Sour Mushroom Wine, then settled into contemplation while Ruger resumed practicing spells.
• Ruger planned to alternate two or three days of spell practice and reading with seven days of Sleep Meditation, while also intending to take on Demon-Hunting Cases later.
• Ruger practiced Word of Flame while warming the Moonworm's Scalded Molt and casting Fendim's Flaming Centipede.
• Ruger found that forming legs beyond the first hundred had become much harder, but Word of Flame helped him cast the spell.
• After two days of strenuous practice, Ruger had formed ten Flaming Legs and postponed modifying his Shadow Servant spell until after Sleep Meditation.

Ruger refined his meditation routine, trained his Flaming Centipedes, and worked on modifying Shadow Servant as he rested. In the Bedroom Space, Stray Hair One showed him the Fuzzies’ completed preparations and crystals infused with faith power, leaving Ruger to consider whether he should expand the God of Spirit Fur’s domain.

• Ruger settled on a cycle of three days of recuperation and six days of sleeping meditation, improving his mental power growth.
• Ruger watched his Flaming Centipedes surpass a hundred and fifty and planned to give Shadow Servant a shadow sword and armor.
• Ruger sensed Stray Hair One calling and entered the Bedroom Space instead of going to watch his teacher’s game.
• Stray Hair One told Ruger that the Fuzzies had purified their materials and rehearsed their undertaking twice with Lord Tuzel’s guidance.
• Ruger saw faith-infused crystals gathered around a tree stump as the spirit furs eagerly awaited him, and he reconsidered expanding the God of Spirit Fur’s domain.

Ruger and the Spirit Furs built a Divine Temple atop a tree stump using faith power, causing the Temple Complex and the Bedroom Space to resonate. Stray Hair One ascended from a False God to a Demigod as the temple was completed.

• Ruger began the Divine Temple construction with Stray Hair One and the Spirit Furs, who channeled faith power around the stump.
• The Spirit Furs carried purified materials in a flowing current and set them precisely into place, raising the Temple Complex.
• Faith power and life force took root in the stump as the temple’s walls, halls, steps, and crystals formed.
• When the final crystal was placed, Stray Hair One absorbed the gathered faith power and descended onto the temple’s highest point.
• The completed Divine Temple resonated with the Bedroom Space, which Ruger sensed had become more stable.
• Stray Hair One transformed from a False God into a Demigod.

Ruger witnessed Stray Hair One’s transformation and experienced the mental benefits of deity shaping as a Faith Wizard. After Stray Hair One announced it had reached the demigod level and requested a stronger divine spell, Ruger began showing it spells to choose from.

• Stray Hair One transformed amid the Spirit Furs’ joy, and Ruger sensed a brief holiness before it broke into laughter.
• Stray Hair One celebrated its new form on Ruger’s nose while the surrounding Fuzzies shared its happiness.
• Ruger received nourishment from Stray Hair One, stabilizing and strengthening his mental power space.
• Stray Hair One said it had reached the demigod level and asked Ruger to bestow a more powerful divine spell on the Spirit Fur Knights.
• Ruger offered to find a suitable one-ring spell and demonstrated the spells he knew for Stray Hair One to choose from.

Ruger bestowed Shadow Servant on Stray Hair One, whose mass blessing gave each Spirit Fur a shadow servant. Watching the Fuzzies interact with their shadows led Ruger to discover new ways to use his own fur, and he ended the chapter eager to test his curled hairs inside a sea beast.

• Ruger let Stray Hair One choose Shadow Servant and bestowed the spell on it through their faith-power bond.
• Stray Hair One led the Spirit Furs to the Divine Temple, where they prayed together before casting the new divine spell.
• A shadow Spirit Fur appeared beside every Spirit Fur, and Stray Hair One ordered them to charge; Ruger found he could partly control the shadow servants when the Fuzzies rode or embraced them.
• Ruger recalled his Spirit-Sucker Fur and sensed the world through their combined perspectives, discovering a new way to experience and control his hairs.
• Ruger recalled his curled symbiotic fur and imagined curling inside a sea beast, where his hairs could pierce its organs and flesh.

Ruger tested whether the ball-forming symbiotic spirit furs on his body could enter symbiosis with a sea beast while he was inside it. By the end, the furs had begun sharing the round-headed fish’s senses and had steadied its swimming, though the symbiosis was still underway.

• Ruger realized his spirit furs might help a sea beast while he was inside it, and decided to test the idea with their shadow servants.
• Ruger left the Bedroom Space, searched the sea for a suitable host, and settled on a round-headed fish smaller than he wanted.
• Ruger stunned the fish, entered its belly, and curled up while his ball-forming symbiotic furs spread through it.
• The spirit furs addressed Ruger’s need for oxygen and balanced his needs against the fish’s ability to withstand the symbiosis.
• Ruger began sensing the fish’s vision as the furs established more connections, and the fish swam more steadily.

Ruger spent more than three days sharing the senses of a large fish before returning to the island, where he reunited with his companions. There, a Holy Judgment Wizard delivered a Special Event Summons for Ruger, nominated by Path Seeker Green, and prepared to take him away.

• Ruger guided the fish back toward the island after exploring through its senses and experimenting with their symbiotic connection.
• Tuzel and the others tried to catch the fish for a meal, but Ruger emerged from its belly and told them to release it.
• Ruger washed up, rejoined his companions by the fire, and decided to spend more time outside the Bedroom Space.
• Wizard Zorn arrived with an unfamiliar Holy Judgment Wizard, who presented Ruger with an official Special Event Summons.
• The messenger said Path Seeker Green had nominated Ruger because of his special ability and explained that the Holy Tribunal would compensate him for any losses caused by the summons.

Ruger accepted Wizard Green’s invitation to join a Holy Tribunal incident and traveled with Roman Bayardo to its destination. He arrived in a vast, plain stone building, with the mission still ahead of him.

• Ruger learned that he could decline or postpone the Holy Tribunal’s summons, but accepted so he could thank Wizard Green in person.
• Roman Bayardo introduced himself and prepared to take Ruger to the incident, while Zorn brought out his silver carriage.
• Ruger stored his recliner and tea table, then rode with Roman and Zorn toward the Teleportation Array in the Chaotic Star Sea.
• Ruger considered the risks of dealing with major wizard organizations and resolved to return alive without getting greedy.
• Ruger boarded the Teleportation Array with his Demon Hunter Badge, and Roman activated it.
• Ruger arrived inside a large building with a plain blue-gray stone passageway.

Ruger settled into the room assigned to him for the Supreme Council’s gathering of wizards who had mastered the Divine Object Art. Green arrived, and their reunion revealed that Ruger had advanced to a Two-Ring Wizard while Green remained a One-Ring Wizard.

• Wizard Roman escorted Ruger to his assigned room and explained that he could use unoccupied laboratories and would be fetched when the undertaking began.
• Ruger explored the austere room and wondered how many wizards had gathered, then waited without knowing when the work would start.
• Green knocked on Ruger’s door, and the two old acquaintances recognized each other after meeting as Wizard Apprentices.
• Ruger displayed his Two-Ring Wizard mental power, and Green congratulated him on surpassing him.
• Green recalled that he had once expected Ruger to remain an apprentice, fail his advancement, or become a One-Ring Wizard, and Ruger joked that Green could have become a kobold too.

Ruger and Green caught up over tea, discussing Green’s advancement, the contract that made Ruger a recognized creator of the Divine Object Art, and the destruction of Blood Castle. Their conversation left Ruger wondering whether Layden had become a Wizard and whether he could help locate the Kobold lair.

• Green told Ruger that he had become a Formal Wizard after following the bald old Wizard’s advice and completing his preparations.
• Green recalled finding Ruger’s Arcane Imprint added to the Divine Object Art contract when he returned to the Knowledge Temple.
• Ruger and Green wondered whether the bald old Wizard would attend the gathering, and Ruger thought about finding Layden to learn the location of the Kobold lair.
• Ruger told Green what had happened in Burning Blood City and explained how Green’s role in finding the characters had helped cause Blood Castle’s destruction.
• Green reflected on mortality and joked that he might pursue bloodline modifications to live longer.

Ruger spent more than half a year meditating and talking with Green before Roman gathered him and scores of other Wizards. They arrived at an enormous underground space, where a corpulent old Wizard announced a test and dropped a small stone slab in front of Ruger.

• Green described his lifelong pursuit of unranked spells and the journeys that had shaped his life as a Path Seeker.
• After more than half a year, Ruger woke when someone touched his stone door and found Roman and Green waiting outside.
• Roman led Ruger and a growing procession of Wizards through the Holy Tribunal, with more than fifty eventually joining them.
• The Wizards reached a vast underground space, where a corpulent old Wizard announced that 2,416 people had gathered.
• The old Wizard began a test by spilling small objects from his mouth, and a stone slab landed in front of Ruger.

Ruger used the Divine Object Art to search a stone slab for traces and found several messages from the wizards conducting the test. After receiving conflicting instructions about how to pass, he continued searching and uncovered a secret about Merselin, leaving the test unfinished.

• Ruger cast the Divine Object Art on his stone slab and searched the darkness for the traces left by a wizard.
• Ruger found a box containing a message that told him to shout that Merselin's bottom was red to pass the test.
• Ruger sensed another trace and found a message warning him not to shout, but to wait quietly with his slab instead.
• Ruger continued toward another trace and found a message explaining that Merselin's red patch came from a failed bloodline modification and potion experiment.

Ruger followed the Divine Object Art test and uncovered the story behind Wizard Merselin’s red-flaming bottom, then learned that his sincere sympathy had passed him. The corpulent old Wizard announced that the sympathetic candidates would stay for the next stage, which would begin in three days.

• Ruger traced the test’s clues and saw Wizard Merselin angrily roast the corpulent old Wizard while beating two others for discussing her red bottom.
• Ruger returned to the gathering, hugged the stone tablet, and silently observed Green and the other candidates.
• The corpulent old Wizard announced that 2,400 candidates had passed, including 60 who offered sympathy, 500 who stayed silent, and 1,840 who shouted; 16 had failed.
• The corpulent old Wizard told the sympathetic candidates to stay and sent everyone else back to their rooms until the official start in three days.
• Green motioned for Ruger to leave with him, but Ruger put away his Old Recliner and shook his head.

Ruger stayed behind with the other Regretful Ones and received a protective stone tablet for use with the Divine Object Art. As he headed back through the corridor, another Two-Ring Wizard stopped him and revealed a badge in their palm.

• Green left the square, while Ruger remained with fifty-nine other wizards to hear the corpulent old wizard explain the dangers of the Divine Object Art.
• The old wizard gave each of the sixty Regretful Ones a stone tablet that fused with Ruger's earlier tablet and could protect them while casting the spell.
• After the old wizard departed, Ruger assessed the ranks of the other Regretful Ones and noticed a Wizard Apprentice among them.
• Ruger walked back through the ancient corridor and passed another Two-Ring Wizard from the test.
• The other wizard turned back toward Ruger and opened their palm to show him a badge.

Ruger met Soldrich, another wizard connected to the Demon Wizard, and learned that Soldrich’s teacher had died after appearing to suffer through repeated encounters with the same mysterious figure. They compared their suspicions about the figure, and Soldrich proposed proving it was deranged so the Holy Tribunal and other wizards would have reason to act.

• Ruger and Soldrich recognized that their Demon Hunter Wizards badges came from the same demon horn and exchanged names and accounts of roughly six hundred days since the Demon Wizard appeared.
• Soldrich told Ruger that his Two-Ring Wizard teacher had died after repeated encounters with the figure, despite dying with a smile on his face.
• Ruger shared his own observations and Mona’s belief that the Demon Wizard intended to devour them, then exchanged Arcane Imprints with Soldrich.
• Ruger suggested that the figure was a wizard who had lost his mind and was testing and eliminating his students through unusual means.
• Soldrich proposed proving the figure was deranged and reporting it to the Holy Tribunal, arguing that powerful wizards would be interested in the monster’s value.

Ruger discussed his deductions about the Demon Wizard’s legacy and the need to make progress to survive, then encountered the peculiar Wizard Apprentice with the enormous head in the Corridor. The apprentice’s strange mixture of staring, walking away, and bowing left Ruger wondering whether he had met a true genius.

• Ruger told Soldrich that the Demon Wizard might be killing those who made no progress, explaining that he shared the deduction to help test it.
• Soldrich left after speaking with Ruger, who resumed humming and walked toward his lodgings.
• Ruger encountered the only Wizard Apprentice among the round’s Regretful Ones, who had an enormous head and stared at him without speaking.
• The Wizard Apprentice walked away, stopped to bow properly to Ruger, and then departed again without waiting for a response.
• Ruger continued along the Corridor, cast Spirit Fur Nourishment on himself, and considered how luck, perception, and spirituality influenced the Divine Object Art.

Ruger returned to his Bedroom Space, where he found Tuzel leading simultaneous Rabbit Chess games with their friends. He also discovered Teacher Immanuel reading a romance novel, and the chapter left him observing how much more alive his teacher seemed.

• Ruger avoided calling Green back and hurried to his quarters.
• Ruger entered the Bedroom Space and noticed that it had grown more stable since Stray Hair One's Divine Temple was completed.
• Tuzel proudly played Rabbit Chess against several opponents at once, including Serious Mouse, Big Silly Hum, Zhizhi, Little Fairy, and the Fuzzies.
• Ruger found Teacher Immanuel reading The Forbidden Romance of a Half-Blood Succubus and a Genius Wizard Apprentice while Polite Hand sat across from him.
• Ruger quietly watched Teacher Immanuel and noted that his teacher seemed increasingly like a normal, living person.