Chapter Summaries

Ruger, Gubo, and Usman were trapped in darkness when a mysterious Wizard forced everyone in the Small World to judge their closest connections and kill them for a chance to become Black Wizards. The game ended when the Rainbow Mushroom Wizard Academy claimed the world and restored the light, leaving Ruger and his companions safe for the moment.

• The unseen Wizard announced a game in which everyone had to kill the people closest to them, with rewards for the three who killed the most or fewest correctly identified targets.
• Ruger suspected the game served a purpose beyond amusement, while Gubo offered to let Usman kill him in hopes of fooling the Wizard.
• The three companions waited beneath a tree as the darkness and silence unsettled everyone in the Small World.
• A Wizard announced that the Rainbow Mushroom Wizard Academy had claimed the world and granted everyone ten more days to explore.
• The newcomer restored the light amid angry curses and magical clashes, and Ruger saw Gubo demonstrating how to twist off his head.

Ruger reunited with Varin, Mona, Jillian, Gubo, and Usman as the Mushroom Academy prepared to send the Wizards out of the Small World. After learning that far more time had passed for his friends than he had realized, Ruger was spat out onto an island in the Endless Sea.

• Ruger met Varin and learned that he had advanced to a Two-Ring Wizard, then greeted Mona, Jillian, Gubo, and Usman.
• Gubo and Usman thanked Varin and the others for helping them survive, while Jillian explained that they had acted because the Invader had an incomplete world rune.
• Ruger learned that Varin and Mona had spent over three years in the Small World and that nearly a year had passed since the Black Wizards arrived.
• The Mushroom People completed a giant magic array, and Gubo and Usman said goodbye as it teleported the Wizards away.
• Ruger emerged from a giant mushroom onto a small island in the Endless Sea, where a gray-robed Wizard waved to him.

After returning to his island, Ruger planted the Legacy Seed of the Living Library and watched it grow into a vast, wondrous Garden Library. As his companions admired the garden, he realized his recovering teacher lacked the longing that even ordinary Wizards possessed.

• After three days of absorbing Ruger's mental power, the Legacy Seed of the Living Library finally stopped and was ready to plant.
• Ruger chose a site for his Garden with Tuzel and Zhizhi, then planted the seed without digging a hole or preparing the soil.
• Mental power spread beneath the ground in countless threads while Ruger and his companions waited for the seed to sprout.
• The seed burst through the soil, and a strange garden of flowers and plants rapidly grew around Ruger and his companions.
• Ruger proudly showed the Garden Library to his teacher, then noticed that his teacher's wise eyes lacked the longing found in ordinary Wizards.

Ruger watched his Garden bloom with knowledge-bearing flowers and let Little Fairy Nisote take charge of it. As he waited out his remaining peaceful months before his teacher’s teacher’s teacher arrived, he reassured Aisijin that she could study supernatural knowledge in the future, despite her failed attempt to read it now.

• Ruger allowed Little Fairy Nisote to read the Garden’s books within their limits and entrusted Nisote with managing the Garden.
• Ruger reflected that his teacher Immanuel had already shown signs of a changed condition when they studied together at Varin’s home.
• Ruger planned to spend less than half a year on the Small Island before becoming a Free Demon Hunter Wizard when his teacher’s teacher’s teacher arrived.
• Serious Mouse and Nisote planned to collect fragrant dew for wine, while Tuzel began planning how to tend and shape the Garden’s plants.
• Aisijin told Ruger she had secretly borrowed Nisote’s Meditation Method and failed to become a Wizard.
• Ruger reassured Aisijin that she could study supernatural knowledge in the future, and her confidence returned.

Ruger shared tea and wine with Wizard Zorn, who revealed how Ruger’s Inverted Cup spell had helped him advance to High-Rank Wizard and choose a new path. After Zorn left, Ruger woke alone, with their farewell marking the start of the others’ departures.

• Ruger and Wizard Zorn discussed Zorn’s advancement to Four-Ring Wizard and his plans to lead another group of Demon Hunter Wizards before making a long journey.
• Zorn explained that the wine cup and the Inverted Cup spell had helped him decide on his path and gather the chaotic essence needed for his advancement.
• Ruger served Zorn Sour Mushroom Wine, and Zorn thanked him for the spell with a discreet farewell.
• Ruger drank with Zorn until he fell asleep in his Old Recliner, then woke to find Zorn gone.

Ruger chose to develop the Spell Sword from a Wizard’s failed experiment instead of learning the Four-Language Spell. As Little Regna slept beside him, he refined the spell and reflected on how his travels and unusual demon nature might shape the road ahead.

• Ruger watched an unfamiliar sea beast fly over the Small Island while Little Regna rested in his arms.
• Ruger compared the Four-Language Spell booklet with his own Spell Sword notes and decided to set the booklet aside.
• Ruger studied the Spell Sword’s flexible and prepared forms, considering how different spells could be combined within it.
• Ruger refined the Spell Sword beyond the original Wizard’s failed experiment and resolved to make it a keen blade.
• Ruger considered whether the red river had recognized him as a unique Spell Demon and reflected on the lasting, surprising gains of his journeys.

Ruger completed a Spell Sword and tested how it combined spells, discovering that it could sustain and transform their effects in combat. After spending a peaceful afternoon with Little Regna and his companions, he left the story with a beautiful, dangerous sword that held fire within its crystal blade.

• Ruger completed the Spell Sword model and chose to cultivate it by focusing on a few dedicated spells.
• Ruger reflected on life away from the Small Island and remembered Barry Danton and Mahama while Little Regna slept against him.
• Ruger dozed with Little Regna until Tuzel and the smell of dinner woke them, then flew to a quiet shore to test the sword.
• Ruger infused the Spell Sword with Freezing Ray and froze seawater with repeated swings.
• Ruger added Strength of the Savage Bull and found it increased his strength while the sword was in his hand.
• Ruger replaced Freezing Ray with Fireball, producing a blazing sword that enhanced warmth and eased fatigue before he drew the flames into its crystal blade.

Ruger tested how spells changed the Spell Sword, discovering that it grew stronger and gained new effects as spells blended within it. He fell asleep on the shore, where the mysterious visitor appeared nearly half a year earlier than expected and silently scrutinized him.

• Ruger infused Zan Zemanla's Flame Torrent into the Spell Sword, making its blade grow and giving its thrusts and slashes a controllable burst of force.
• Ruger used the sword to reshape Small Island's shore and confirmed that Strength of the Savage Bull enhanced him while he held the blade.
• Ruger infused Mental Boil into the Spell Sword and found that it interfered with nearby mental power instead of stimulating his own.
• Ruger became drowsy, returned to his little Kobold form, and collapsed onto a rock by the shore.
• The mysterious middle-aged man appeared and scrutinized Ruger, arriving nearly half a year earlier than Ruger had calculated.

Ruger endured a worsening spell of discomfort and waited on his Small Island for a visitor he expected to be Mona. Instead, a Messenger delivered a letter revealing that Soldrich had died smiling.

• Ruger woke after a daze in which he felt watched and examined, then joined Little Regna for a meal with his companions.
• After eating, Ruger rested alone and studied his Spell Sword notes while waiting for a visitor he thought would be Mona.
• A Messenger arrived from an unexpected direction, verified Ruger's Arcane Imprint, and gave him a small box containing a letter.
• Ruger read Soldrich's letter, which said Soldrich was already dead, explained that his injuries and ailments had been consequences of his own choices, and wished Ruger good luck.

After learning that Soldrich had died smiling, Ruger shared the letter and his account of a vision with Mona. The changed timing led Ruger to abandon his plan to rest and prepare to travel through the Underground Caverns.

• Ruger read Soldrich’s farewell letter and showed it to Mona, who confirmed she had never met the Wizard in person.
• Ruger and Mona discussed Mona’s fear during her encounter with a mysterious lord and compared what they had experienced.
• Ruger told Mona about seeing a doorless Sealed Cavern, Twelve Stone Chairs, and a teacher who seemed to have lost control.
• Ruger said he would leave early to explore the Underground Caverns instead of resting for half a year.

Ruger experimented with spells for his Spell Sword and narrowed down which ones to keep, with Grey Bullet Spell remaining a special choice. As his design took shape, he prepared to visit the Demon Hunter Wizards’ home base to change his status and acquire experimental materials before setting out on a journey.

• Ruger tested Heartstring Scales in his Spell Sword and found that its strikes repaired damage to the blade, while a shattered, fire-filled sword could not be restored.
• Ruger experimented with repeating spells and found that multiple Heartstring Scales had little effect on repair speed, while repeated Grey Bullet Spell casts produced greater changes.
• Ruger spent time in the garden with Little Fairy Nisote and visited his teacher Immanuel, while keeping Immanuel’s secrets from Mona and the others.
• Ruger considered his shortlist of spells, decided Grey Bullet Spell was a must-have, and continued testing combinations for his Spell Sword.
• Ruger planned to visit the Demon Hunter Wizards’ home base to apply for a status change and become an unprecedented Exception, then use merit stones to obtain experimental materials.

Ruger reflected on his past gains and planned a magic array to help preserve the group’s growing fish catch. After cleaning the Wooden House, he fell asleep there and woke to the others preparing their last meal by the Little Cabin.

• Ruger considered his cultivation materials and devised a simple magic array that would store Little Fairy’s Freezing Ray for the new ice cellars.
• Tuzel and the others gathered supplies while Zhizhi and the others caught fish and hunted sea beasts.
• Ruger cleaned the Wooden House and put away the belongings he had left there.
• Ruger lay on the bed and fell into an undisturbed sleep.
• Ruger woke to find the group preparing a meal, then closed and bolted the Wooden Door before joining them.

Ruger returned to the Demon Hunter Wizards’ stronghold, where he encountered bizarre wizards and a former guide who seemed trapped in a forlorn post. He climbed the Three-Ring commission stairway and presented his Demon Hunter Identity Badge, prompting a surprised response from the figure in the dark opening.

• Ruger arrived at the ancient stronghold built within a demon’s remains and recalled its strange corridors and history.
• Ruger encountered wizards with bizarre demonic and physical traits in the spacious hall.
• A youthful-faced guide recognized Ruger but said he could only guide apprentices and One-Ring Wizards before disappearing into the darkness.
• Ruger discovered that the black stairways tested mental power and chose one suited to a Three-Ring Wizard to browse commissions.
• Ruger placed his Demon Hunter Identity Badge on the platform, and a figure appeared in the opening and reacted with surprise.

Ruger verified his special privileges at the Third Demon Nest and changed his status to a Wanderer, gaining greater freedom as a Demon Hunter Wizard. He reviewed Three-Ring Wizard commissions and found a suitable case involving a wizard who had lost control.

• Ruger presented his Demon Hunter Badge, and the attendant asked him to explain the mark granting exceptionally high privileges.
• Ruger said the Holy Tribunal had given him a special reward and applied to become a Free Demon Hunter Wizard.
• Ruger accepted the restrictions of Wanderer status, and his badge changed to display the new status.
• Ruger accessed commissions available to Three-Ring Wizards and examined the cases listed there.
• Ruger selected a case involving Joe Roken, a Three-Ring Demon Hunter Wizard who had lost control.

Ruger accepted Wizard Joe Roken’s commission to put him down if he failed to regain control, then prepared to leave the Demon Hunter Wizards’ outpost. A blue-black-faced Wizard showed Ruger a Demon Hunter Wizard Badge and summoned him into the darkness, leaving Ruger irritated but curious.

• Ruger examined commissions involving experiments with demons and demon feces before accepting Wizard Joe Roken’s request.
• Ruger learned that Joe Roken was an Atoner who had submitted the distress letter after losing control and still hoped to recover.
• Ruger paid fourteen thousand merit stones, received a transfer Storage Pocket, and declined to post a commission for missing items.
• As Ruger left, a thin, blue-black-faced Wizard in a black robe appeared on the stairs and asked him to come along.
• The Wizard showed Ruger an ordinary Demon Hunter Wizard Badge, then walked into the darkness as Ruger considered whether to follow or attack him.

Ruger followed a confident Wizard through the Abyss to a gathering of Fate Collaborators, a group that claimed to have discovered a rule for staying alive. The group welcomed Ruger as a new member and offered him a contract.

• A tremor shook the Blackstone Steps, and an attendant explained that some layers of the Abyss had been subsiding.
• Ruger followed the upright Wizard through the hall and corridors, observing the unusual Wizards around them.
• The Wizard led Ruger into a large chamber, where the occupants probed the newcomers with their mental power.
• The middle-aged Wizard welcomed Ruger as a new Fate Collaborator and said the group had uncovered a rule that let them stay alive.
• The middle-aged Wizard said the group had dwindled from thirty-six members to nineteen, and a sheet of high-grade contract paper drifted toward Ruger.

Ruger learned that the Rescue Association’s supposed safety depended on a contract that sacrificed injured members and selected others to face spell duels. Distrusting the arrangement and its members, he left without signing, his powers stirring as he approached the exit.

• The Middle-Aged Wizard invited Ruger to share discoveries and explained that the smiling dead had been investigated but their deaths came from an unknown absence.
• Ruger asked whether the Association had found a pattern that could keep people alive, and the Middle-Aged Wizard described the grinning ones' gaze: when members gathered, only two would die when the esteemed figure arrived.
• The Middle-Aged Wizard explained that the contract selected two injured or exhausted members when necessary, who could challenge a Fate Collaborator but risked losing treatment after defeat.
• Ruger realized the contract made weaker Wizards bear the danger and concluded the Association would not last if the visits kept accelerating.
• Ruger refused to sign, said the place did not suit him and that his guide seemed to dislike him, then walked toward the exit as his mental power subtly stirred.

Ruger left the gathering of Wizards connected to the Merciless Taskmaster and considered the figure’s cruel and mentor-like sides, along with his teacher Immanuel’s mysterious gift. While deciphering a spell notebook on the way back to the Teleportation Arrays, Ruger spotted a familiar figure waiting there.

• Ruger realized that many Wizards connected to the Merciless Taskmaster had chosen to become Demon Hunter Wizards, and that their numbers were dwindling under the burden of that choice.
• Ruger left the room and weighed the Merciless Taskmaster’s apparent restraint against the possibility that he had simply taken what he needed.
• Ruger thought about his teacher Immanuel’s promised gift and the signs that Immanuel’s current state and memories were failing.
• Ruger examined a mental-power spell notebook as he walked back toward the Teleportation Arrays.
• Ruger stopped when he noticed a familiar figure standing near the Teleportation Arrays.

Ruger and Mona traveled to a remote Teleportation Array to begin investigating Lord Joe Roken’s situation, while Ruger deliberately chose a distant route to give him time. They arrived in a long-abandoned area and rode Zhizhi toward a Mushroom Forest, where Ruger sensed a moving magical battle ahead.

• Ruger realized Mona had been waiting for him, and she admitted that she had left Varin and the others to travel with him.
• Ruger chose a distant Teleportation Array from the commission’s coordinates, and Mona copied the location onto her Identity Badge.
• Ruger and Mona reached an overgrown, long-unused Teleportation Array, where Ruger summoned Zhizhi.
• Ruger noticed that Zhizhi had grown and might soon sleep and molt, then climbed onto its back and set off with Mona.
• Ruger sensed intense spell activity moving near the Mushroom Forest, and Zhizhi crossed a deep ravine as they continued toward it.

Zhizhi raced through the ravines as Ruger sensed her immense vitality and approaching metamorphosis. As he watched her, he reflected on a wizard’s book arguing that familiars had lost their former closeness to their masters, and that the old ways had offered possibilities that modern wizards had abandoned.

• Zhizhi sprinted across cliffs and ravines, reveling in her strength as she neared another metamorphosis.
• Ruger examined Zhizhi with his mental power and respected her preference to retain most of her familiar form.
• Ruger recalled a book by an old wizard who regretted that ordinary wizards had abandoned familiars because of the drawbacks of familiar bonds.
• The old wizard argued that contract stones did not create true bonded familiars and weakened the mutual influence between master and familiar.
• The old wizard had failed to restore familiars to young apprentices, limiting their role in wizards’ growth and choices of supernatural paths.