Chapter Summaries

The Beast-Eared Witch transformed into a Silver Werewolf and fought the Wizards who had tried to sacrifice her to a monster. Ruger watched her defeat them and saw one attacker survive through a Life Exchange before the smiling man turned his attention to him.

• The Beast-Eared Witch opened a metal box and used a silver hair to transform into a Silver Werewolf as the Wizards attacked.
• The Silver Werewolf teleported between her opponents, impaled the two Wizards who had pursued her, and overwhelmed their spells with Spirit Fur Armor.
• The Beast-Eared Witch threw the impaled Wizards aside, leaving them in pieces.
• The smiling man used Faith Power and Life Exchange to revive one wounded Wizard at the cost of the other's life.
• The revived Wizard began repairing his injuries, and the smiling man looked up at Ruger in the tree.

Ruger watched the silver werewolf overpower the Wizards and studied the unusual abilities of her fur. As the fight continued, he intervened to place a book on Robin, whose body began transforming, while the blinded werewolf was hit with Foul-Smelling Skin.

• Ruger said he could end the fight if he acted, while the silver werewolf drove black substances from the scattered remains and destroyed them with silver flames.
• The silver werewolf charged the two Wizards and fought through their spells, keeping the upper hand as Ruger watched from the tree.
• The one-armed Wizard used a golden balance spell, causing his own eyes and upper body to burst and leaving the silver werewolf unable to see or sense her surroundings.
• Ruger approached Robin, set a book on his chest, and watched as Robin struggled and began changing into something inhuman.
• The blinded silver werewolf tried to rely on her sense of smell, but the last Wizard cast Foul-Smelling Skin.

The Beast-Eared Witch pushed her silver werewolf transformation to its limits against the Faith Wizard and the monster Robin, while Ruger watched. As Robin broke free of the Weighty Book, Ruger used its power and the Chains to halt everyone, leaving the battle frozen.

• The Beast-Eared Witch used a silver werewolf form and Foul-Smelling Skin to fight her opponents, while Ruger approached.
• The werewolf emitted mental fluctuations resembling those of a high-rank wizard and split into two identical forms to attack the wizard who toyed with the Scales.
• The wizard urged Robin to resist the monster's influence and help defeat Ruger, as Robin struggled to escape the Weighty Book.
• Ruger transformed, recalled the Weighty Book, and used it with the Chains to bring everyone and everything to a halt.

Ruger sensed an unprecedented fluctuation from his Demon Hunter Wizard Badge, which drew his mental power into a sealed stone room where he appeared as a faintly lit chair. After several illusory figures gathered, someone at the head of the table said that their Teacher seemed to have lost control.

• Ruger inspected the captives and found that Robin still held two entangled souls, while the other survivors remained restrained by the Boundless Cage.
• Ruger noticed a strange fluctuation from his Demon Hunter Wizard Badge that only he could sense.
• Ruger reached out with his mental power and was struck by crushing pressure that continuously drained him.
• Ruger adapted to the pressure and found his mental power attached to a stone chair in a sealed room.
• Illusory figures appeared on the other chairs, and someone near the head of the table said their Teacher seemed to have lost control.

Ruger overheard ancient Wizards discussing their teacher’s growing loss of control and the changes surrounding an authorization that had been retrieved and sealed. As his connection to the stone chair faded, he learned that Immanuel Caputo had been one of the Demon Wizard’s original disciples’ students.

• Ruger listened as the Wizards discussed their teacher losing control and said their long efforts were meant to bring about a long-awaited answer.
• When a Wizard sensed another presence, Ruger held still as the group discussed the retrieved and sealed authorization and recalled Immanuel.
• Ruger realized Immanuel Caputo had been a disciple of one of the Demon Wizard’s original twelve disciples, making Ruger a disciple several generations removed.
• The Wizards said their teacher had granted someone authorization, and they wondered what astonishing event had prompted the change.
• Ruger’s mental power weakened, and the fading pressure pushed him away from the stone chair.

Ruger reflected on Immanuel’s sealing and the long-running plan of the Twelve Stone Chairs, then examined Wizard Robin, whose body concealed an Invader. He remained uncertain what the participants were trying to accomplish as he recovered and investigated the creature.

• Ruger inferred that Immanuel had been sealed after something happened to him and hoped his teacher would eventually return.
• Ruger speculated that Immanuel’s twelve eligible disciples had altered their plans after their teacher went witless but still intended to achieve something.
• Ruger put away the Demon Hunter Badge and steadied himself after surviving the upheaval at the stone chair.
• Ruger examined Wizard Robin and used Fendim's Flaming Centipede to open a wound so he could sense the Invader concealed within it.
• Ruger continued probing Robin’s unusual possession while carefully recovering his strength.

Ruger investigated Robin’s entangled soul and body, then separated the Invader from him by exploiting Robin’s pride. He left Robin shriveled and dying beneath a tree while holding the living, flesh-and-blood creature that had consumed the group’s sacrifices.

• Ruger probed Robin’s entangled souls and body, while the Flaming Centipede wounded him without revealing a way to separate them.
• The Beast-Eared Witch asked Ruger to release her restraints so she could shed her silver fur and put on a Wizard Robe.
• Ruger attacked the Invader through Robin’s forehead and taunted Robin about his wizard’s pride until Robin’s soul weakened.
• Ruger released Boundless Cage, pulled the creature out of Robin, and hurled Robin against the Giant Tree.
• Ruger held the dying Invader as the others watched, while Robin lay shriveled beneath the tree among the group’s scattered dead.

Ruger restrained the Otherworldly Visitor and considered its potential value before offering the Faith Wizard and the Beast-Eared Witch a chance to bargain for their freedom and the creature. The Beast-Eared Witch proposed serving Ruger in exchange, offering her rare Hair Planter abilities and the contents of a little box.

• Ruger examined the restrained Otherworldly Visitor and considered how Wizards might use it as a vessel or weapon.
• Ruger offered the Beast-Eared Witch a chance to decide what happened to the captives in exchange for a price, including payment for rescuing her.
• Ruger offered the Faith Wizard the same terms, reminding him that his group had attacked first.
• The Beast-Eared Witch offered to follow Ruger, protect him, and sign a service contract.
• The Beast-Eared Witch said she was a rare Hair Planter and showed Ruger the little box she had obtained from Lord Gautier.

Ruger negotiated compensation from the Beast-Eared Witch and the Faith Wizard after rescuing them, then examined a living clump of Fuzzy fur. The Faith Wizard departed with two injured companions, and Ruger questioned how the Beast-Eared Witch knew his name.

• Ruger asked the Beast-Eared Witch for the box as payment, but she proposed staying with him and sharing her knowledge instead.
• The Faith Wizard offered Merit Stone, Magic Stones, a spell notebook, and a living clump of fur as compensation for attacking Ruger.
• Ruger accepted the items as payment, warned the Faith Wizard that carrying the clump of fur would be dangerous, and watched him leave with Robin and another injured companion.
• Ruger stored the Rearing Pouch in his Bedroom Space and examined the vital, bloodied skin and Fuzzy hairs inside.
• The Beast-Eared Witch urged Ruger to leave without a trace, and Ruger asked how she knew his name.

Ruger watched the Beast-Eared Witch collapse after she blurted out his name, and Wizard Tab explained that the name had triggered a vicious contract. He was left wondering how the witch had learned his name and whether he would still receive the payment she owed him.

• The Beast-Eared Witch vomited blood and lost her strength while Ruger backed away and tightened the Boundless Cage around the Invader.
• The Beast-Eared Witch struggled to open the box containing the Sacred Silver Attire, but Wizard Tab took it from her.
• Ruger asked whether Tab had harmed the Beast-Eared Witch, and Tab said the witch had injured herself by violating a contract after Tab's spell made her lose focus.
• Tab explained that the Beast-Eared Witch had blurted out Ruger's name before he had told it to her, triggering the contract's punishment.
• Ruger wondered how the Beast-Eared Witch had learned his name and reminded Tab that she still owed him payment.

Ruger watched Wizard Tab apologize and give him a mysterious box, which transformed into a beating metal heart and restored the dying Beast-Eared Witch. After Tab disappeared following a clash with the witch, the witch collapsed again but remained alive.

• Ruger asked Wizard Tab whether she belonged to the Fluffy Enthusiasts Association, and she confirmed that she did.
• Wizard Tab apologized for using Ruger and tossed him the metallic-looking box.
• The box transformed into a beating metal heart that enveloped the dying Beast-Eared Witch in masses of hair and restored her.
• The restored Beast-Eared Witch confronted Wizard Tab as the two clashed with Four-Ring Wizard Mental Power.
• Wizard Tab vanished, and the Beast-Eared Witch fell backward again, breathing steadily.

Ruger carried the recovering Beast-Eared Witch to a broken giant tree and began turning it into a home while his companions joined him. His teacher Immanuel examined the captured Otherworld Invader and explained that it might be waiting for the right conditions or for a commander-level being to arrive.

• Ruger placed the sleeping Beast-Eared Witch on the Flaming Centipede and traveled for over a day while considering Fur Shepherds and examining a spell notebook.
• Ruger found a broken giant tree and ordered the Spirit Fur Knights to clear its surface and hollow out a wooden house.
• Ruger brought the Beast-Eared Witch to the tree, rested there, and opened the Spatial Gate so Tuzel, Aisijin, and her group could join him.
• Ruger showed Immanuel the captured Otherworld Invader and shared his observations about it.
• Immanuel said the Invader could weaken into a seed and explained that Invaders might await a suitable environment or the arrival of a commander-level being.

Ruger learned more about the boneless Invader’s weaknesses while Tuzel worried that Immanuel had been disappearing more often. Immanuel planned to study the weakened creature after dinner, while the unconscious Beast-Eared Witch continued recovering and shedding borrowed fur.

• Ruger assessed that Wizards or even some Apprentices could kill the boneless Invader before it possessed someone, and compared its dangers with those of the Emberfolk.
• Tuzel told Ruger that Immanuel had been disappearing more often and feared they might lose track of him for a long time.
• Ruger reassured Tuzel that Immanuel could be trusted, and Tuzel went to the chefs preparing the meal.
• Immanuel said the boneless Invader was nearing a critical weakness and that he would study how its possession stabilized the soul after dinner.
• Aisijin noticed that the unconscious Beast-Eared Witch was shedding fur, revealing that her silver appearance had come from the Sacred Silver Attire.

Ruger coaxed the weakened Beast-Eared Witch out of pretending to sleep and welcomed her to a meal with his companions. After she thanked him for rescuing her, Ruger made clear that she had saved herself because of the knowledge she possessed, and the chapter ended with his teacher taking the still-imprisoned, shrinking Invader through a Spatial Gate.

• Aisijin worried that the Beast-Eared Witch’s severe shedding signaled dire illness and suggested waking her to eat, but Ruger showed that she was feigning sleep.
• Ruger invited the hungry Beast-Eared Witch to join the meal, and she rose, bowed to the diners, and thanked him for saving her.
• Ruger told the Beast-Eared Witch that she had saved herself, implying that her value came from what she knew, while Aisijin served her food.
• The Beast-Eared Witch enjoyed the meal as Aisijin continued filling her plate, and Ruger later told her to choose a downstairs room and rest.
• Ruger watched his teacher escort the weakened, shrinking Invader through the Spatial Gate while Tuzel signaled that he understood.

Ruger watched his teacher experiment with the Otherworld Invader, learning from his methods while worrying about the risks of their soul-level encounter. After the experiment, Ruger emerged through the Spatial Gate and discovered that his mushroom had briefly transformed into a Mushroom Man.

• Ruger's teacher inscribed a magic array to restrain the Otherworld Invader, and Ruger reflected on the origins of magic arrays and his incomplete world rune, which he called long ashes.
• Ruger's teacher inserted his arm into the invader to test how it merged with and occupied another being, while Ruger worried about his teacher's unusual nature.
• Ruger watched the experiment over several days and learned to adopt an experimenter's way of thinking.
• Ruger and Strange Hand were sent out during the soul-related final stage, and Ruger emerged through the Spatial Gate to find Tuzel alarmed that Sir Immanuel was alone inside.
• Ruger took out a mushroom, which briefly became a shy Mushroom Man before returning to its mushroom shape.

Ruger visited Tracy Rydell and learned that she had been assigned to remain by his side through a commission from the Association. Tracy explained that a Prophecy Wizard had guided her to him, but the commission had no definite deadline and could end only with her death or the fulfillment of a condition.

• Ruger descended through the Giant Tree stump and found Aisijin caring for the recovering Tracy Rydell.
• Ruger met Tracy in his room and asked about her disguises and the circumstances that had brought her to him.
• Tracy admitted that she had used the Wizards pursuing her as an excuse to approach Ruger, though she had genuinely wanted to save them.
• Tracy explained that the Association had commissioned her to serve Ruger, following guidance from a Prophecy Wizard.
• Tracy told Ruger that she could leave the commission only if she died or fulfilled an unspecified condition.

Ruger questioned Tracy about why the Prophecy Wizard had sent her to stay by his side, while Tracy speculated that Tab Wah had also been pursuing Ruger but wanted to keep him undisturbed. Ruger then met Immanuel, whose new cloak seemed to help him hold on longer, though its effects still needed testing.

• Tracy said a Prophecy Wizard had guided her to Ruger and suggested Tab Wah had targeted her to keep her away from him.
• Ruger warned Tracy that he reserved the right to execute her while allowing her to stay until she recovered.
• Tracy explained that Hair Planters were rare and described Fur Shepherds as an ancient, versatile Ascension Ritual.
• Ruger sensed Immanuel's mental power and found him beside the Spatial Gate with Tuzel examining a black cloak fused to his shoulders.
• Immanuel said the cloak should help him hold on longer, and Little Fairy brought over a keg of liquor.

Ruger celebrated entering a Newborn Small World and studied its world rune, the upper domains, and Lord Benson's distinction between true and false demons. He reflected on Barry Danton's chance to improve his mental power and ended by considering the unique nature of true demons.

• Ruger, Tuzel, Big Silly Hum, and the others celebrated with Sour Mushroom Wine and a feast.
• Ruger sensed the Newborn Small World and reviewed his three spells and notes on the Inverted Cup spell.
• Ruger recalled learning that the upper domains were regions more strongly affected by falling worlds, where meditation helped wizards grow their mental power.
• Ruger sensed the incomplete world rune and considered how it might help Barry Danton overcome his poor aptitude and improve his mental power.
• Ruger read Lord Benson's account of demons and concluded that true demons possessed a unique unity unlike the broadly defined false demons.

Ruger pondered the heart of his demon form and the spell he was creating, then encountered a strange many-headed creature in his anchored dream. Aisijin appeared as a giant dragon and destroyed the creature before Ruger woke.

• Ruger reflected on shaping his Demon Heart from spells and considered traveling through the Cavern World as a Free Demon Hunter Wizard.
• Ruger fell asleep and found himself beneath his dream trees, where a strange many-headed bird appeared.
• Ruger tried to leave the dream, but the creature held him there and grew larger as it cried out.
• A giant dragon reached through the mist and struck the creature, while Ruger used his dream tree to keep it from escaping.
• The dragon destroyed the creature, and Ruger recognized her as Aisijin before she spoke to him and he woke as her snores came from the next room.

Ruger encountered a fading Otherworld Invader in the dream realm and collected a strange mass from its body. Aisijin ate the mass, and Ruger was left considering her unusual power over dreams.

• Ruger recognized the flickering Monster Bird as an Otherworld Invader and gathered a blue mass from its dissipating body.
• Aisijin woke, recalled dreaming of eating the many-headed bird, and asked Ruger if she could eat the mass.
• Aisijin used a trace of dreamlike power to lift the mass and swallowed it in one big chomp.
• Ruger sent Aisijin to find Little Regna and reflected on how her dream abilities seemed stronger than his own.