Recaps

Charles summoned the succubus Delis with a ritual, but she consumed his soul when his offering proved insufficient. After Charles unexpectedly revived, Delis resumed her projection and restrained him, just as a mysterious Wu Duo Duo Mall announcement sounded.

• Charles performed a blood-circle ritual, sacrificing Magic Stones and a goat to summon Delis.
• Delis appeared and absorbed Charles's soul to sustain her projection, killing him.
• Charles suddenly came back to life, shocking Delis and allowing her to remain longer.
• Charles recognized Delis as a succubus and tried to flee, but she immobilized him.
• Delis laid Charles down as he struggled helplessly, and a voice announced, "Welcome to Wu Duo Duo Mall!"

Charles activated Wu Duo Duo Mall and used its Buy Now, Pay Later benefit to purchase a diluted Abyssal Succubus Bloodline from Delis, who vanished into black mist that entered his body. After waking, Charles cleaned up the summoning scene aboard a ship and wondered how he had ended up there after striking it rich.

• Charles activated Wu Duo Duo Mall and received Buy Now, Pay Later, a 49.9 Soul Coin subsidy, and Refund Only Service.
• Charles found Delis as the mall’s only merchant and chose to buy her diluted Abyssal Succubus Bloodline.
• Delis screamed, broke apart into black mist, and entered Charles as the mall confirmed the order had shipped.
• Charles passed out as black scales appeared and vanished across his body, then woke to find Delis gone and his body intact.
• Charles threw the goat’s corpse into the sea and scrubbed most of the summoning marks from the ship’s floor.
• Charles looked out at the sea and wondered how he had ended up aboard the ship after striking it rich.

Charles recovered fragments of the original owner's memories and learned that his supposed friend Qiaosuo had given him a demonic summoning ritual that nearly killed him. After surviving and meeting Doris on the ship, Charles left for the dining hall, while Qiaosuo was shocked and furious to find him alive.

• Charles recovered memories after Delis's projection shattered and discovered he was Charles Augustus, an earl's youngest son traveling toward the Wizard Continent to study magic.
• Charles learned that the original owner had spent nearly all his Magic Stones trying to summon a succubus with a forbidden ritual, which devoured his soul instead of granting power.
• Charles suspected that Qiaosuo had deliberately tricked him into performing the ritual to get rid of him for Doris's sake.
• Charles left his room for breakfast and greeted Doris, who insulted him and hurried away after apparently hearing the previous night's commotion.
• Qiaosuo saw Charles alive and suspected that he had failed to carry out the demonic summoning, then cursed him in anger.

Charles baited Qiaosuo with a story about his successful ritual and a night with a Succubus, using Qiaosuo’s jealousy over Doris to keep him engaged. After Qiaosuo cleaned the bloodstained ritual circle, Charles claimed his aptitude had improved and that he would soon become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, while Qiaosuo silently seethed.

• Charles greeted Qiaosuo at breakfast and hinted that Doris was ignoring him because of what happened the night before.
• Charles invited Qiaosuo to his room, showed him the remnants of the magic circle, and said the ritual had succeeded.
• Charles asked Qiaosuo to clean the room, and Qiaosuo spent two hours scrubbing away the blood and markings.
• Charles claimed a Succubus had answered his summons, fulfilled his wish, and told him his wizard aptitude had changed.
• Charles boasted that he could soon become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice and blamed Doris’s anger on hearing him with the Succubus.
• Qiaosuo sat clenched-fisted as Charles said Doris might eventually become his maid.

Charles manipulated Qiaosuo into taking the dangerous summoning ritual parchment and lending him Magic Stones, while secretly arranging for Qiaosuo to die. After drawing the ritual circle in Qiaosuo’s room, Charles waited on deck for the summoning to begin.

• Charles pressured Qiaosuo into taking the parchment by promising him Doris and suggesting he could become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice.
• Charles persuaded Qiaosuo to lend him fifteen Magic Stones, claiming he needed them to advance and offering to help draw the ritual circle.
• After Qiaosuo left to buy the materials, Charles recalled that the ritual would consume Qiaosuo’s blood and soul and decided he would kill him regardless.
• Charles secretly entered Qiaosuo’s room and drew the blood magic circle from the parchment.
• Charles went to the deck late at night, staying near the wizard apprentices and preparing to escape if danger arose as he waited for Qiaosuo to begin the ritual.

Qiaosuo used the family ritual to summon Delis, who drained his soul and killed him. Charles destroyed the evidence and returned to his usual routine, while Doris remained angry with him.

• Qiaosuo followed Charles's example and summoned Delis with the magic circle, but Delis drained his soul and killed him.
• Delis sensed Charles nearby before her unstable projection dissipated, and her merchant account briefly came online in Wu Duo Duo Mall.
• Charles entered Qiaosuo's room, burned the parchment, removed evidence connecting himself to the death, and left the Magic Stones behind.
• Charles greeted Doris in the morning, then pretended Qiaosuo was still asleep and went to the dining hall alone.
• Doris complained about Charles to her friend, who remarked that he had become better-looking and said she might pursue him.

After Qiaosuo’s corpse was removed and his Magic Stones were taken by a Great Knight, Charles began training seriously. His improved meditation progress and renewed commitment to the Knight Breathing Technique left him better prepared for the voyage ahead.

• A Great Knight declared that Qiaosuo had died while experimenting with evil wizardry, removed his body, and pocketed his Magic Stones without investigating further.
• Charles felt relieved that Qiaosuo’s death had been handled without suspicion and began cultivating the Basic Meditation Technique in earnest.
• Charles recorded another rune during a meditation session that lasted just over two hours, making faster progress than the previous Charles had.
• Charles applied medicinal oil and completed a demanding two-hour routine with the Flame Breathing Technique to maintain his strength and protect himself.

Charles continued training aboard the ship and brushed off Molly when she could not provide money for potions. A few days later, the final group of wizard apprentices arrived, including a merchant Charles recognized.

• Charles planned to practice meditation in the morning and the Knight Breathing Technique in the afternoon as he worked toward becoming a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice.
• Molly asked why Charles had stopped visiting Doris, and Charles claimed grief over Qiaosuo's death made it too painful to see her.
• Charles asked Molly to buy him a potion or lend him Magic Stones, but she said she could not afford either, so he left.
• Several days later, the final batch of wizard apprentices arrived at the harbor, and Charles watched some wizard apprentices fly onto the ship's upper deck.
• Charles recognized one of the black-robed apprentices, and a notice identified a new merchant.

Charles discovered Wood had become a merchant in Wu Duo Duo Mall, but he could not afford the cultivation insights he needed. As the ship entered the deep sea and danger loomed, Charles prepared to protect himself and refused Molly’s offer to join her group.

• Charles found Wood’s merchant shop stocked with wizard-apprentice cultivation insights, but he had no Soul Coins to buy them.
• Charles returned to his cabin, where a new occupant complained about its smell and the landlord refused to refund the Magic Stones.
• After half a month at sea, Charles had cultivated the Basic Meditation Technique to the thirtieth rune as the ship entered the dark deep sea.
• A Great Knight relayed the wizard’s order forbidding passengers from going on deck and telling them to lock their doors and windows after meals.
• Charles donned his light armor and ate to maintain his strength, while other passengers formed groups in anticipation of danger.
• Molly invited Charles to join her group of seven, but he declined and left the dining hall.

With the ship preparing for danger in the deep-sea region, Charles reluctantly accepted Molly as a companion in exchange for five Magic Stones. Their room was attacked by Mermen, and Charles prepared to defend them as fighting erupted above.

• Charles refused Molly's request to join him until she agreed to pay him five Magic Stones as a deposit.
• Molly moved her luggage into Charles's room, and Charles barricaded the door while both conserved their strength.
• A warning announced that Mermen were attacking the ship and ordered everyone to hide and prepare for battle.
• Charles lit a candle, gagged Molly to keep her quiet, and waited by the door with his sword as spells exploded overhead.

As Mermen raided the ship, Charles and Molly waited in their cabin while attackers smashed through nearby doors. They killed the two Mermen outside their room, but the assault on the ship continued.

• Mermen broke into cabins and captured people as wizards fought them elsewhere on the ship.
• Charles and Molly heard Mermen smash into a nearby room, then waited as the attackers came to their door.
• Charles decided to ambush the two Mermen outside, and Molly opened the door while he prepared his sword.
• Charles killed the first Merman with a sword strike to the neck.
• Molly stabbed the second Merman in the back, and Charles finished it with a blow to the neck and shoulder.

After surviving a Merman attack with Molly, Charles used the two Soul Coins he gained from killing Mermen and a subsidy coupon to buy Wood’s Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice cultivation insights. The knowledge clarified much of his training and left him confident he could reach the Third Rank within days.

• Charles hid with Molly in a room with a broken door while the Mermen attacked the ship, then waited until their horn sounded and they withdrew.
• Charles returned with Molly to their original room, cleared away the corpses and blood, and Molly cried for her dead friends.
• Charles found that killing the two Mermen had earned him two Soul Coins and used them with his coupon to order Wood’s cultivation insights.
• Charles endured the painful delivery of the knowledge and realized it covered Second-Rank, Third-Rank, and his current stage of cultivation.
• Charles understood that Wood’s insights could speed up his training and believed he could become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice within days.

After the deep-sea attack, Charles and Molly cleared the Merman corpses and focused on advancing their wizard training. Molly returned with a costly mental-restoring potion, which helped Charles resume meditation and left him able to progress faster toward becoming a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice.

• A wizard apprentice ordered the passengers to clear the Merman corpses and urged them to become Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices quickly.
• Charles and Molly disposed of the two Mermen they had killed and washed the blood and slime from their room’s surroundings.
• Charles urged Molly to use her Magic Stones to advance, while Molly left to seek help from Doris but could not find her.
• Molly gave Charles a potion she had bought with her last Magic Stones, and he drank it to restore his depleted mental power.
• After recovering, Charles resumed meditation while Molly sat watching him quietly.

Charles advanced to Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice and used his new mental power to lift a cup, but he still had no spells. He brought Molly to the upper deck by paying Wood ten Magic Stones, and the two settled into a better room.

• Charles absorbed magical particles until he grew tired, then used his mental power to lift a water cup.
• Charles woke Molly and told her he had become a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice and planned to move to the upper deck.
• Charles demonstrated his mental power to Wood, who approved his entry and allowed Molly to accompany him for ten Magic Stones.
• Wood led Charles and Molly to the upper deck, where an attendant assigned them a room and explained the rules.
• Charles admired their improved room and told Molly to repay him for the Magic Stones he had spent bringing her upstairs.

After settling into the upper deck cabins, Charles found comfort in a safe night and a lavish breakfast, where he encountered Doris but denied knowing her. A knight then brought Charles to meet a wizard, who praised him after hearing his name.

• Charles washed up and slept in the upper deck cabins while a storm battered the ship, then woke the next morning to breakfast.
• Charles and Molly enjoyed the banquet and saw Doris standing bruised behind a female wizard apprentice.
• Charles told the apprentice he did not know Doris, and Doris left with her, repeatedly looking back at him.
• Charles urged Molly to use her Mental Power Potion and focus on cultivation rather than relationships or Magic Stones.
• A knight escorted Charles to a wizard, who asked his name and praised him after he introduced himself as Charles Augustus.

Charles chose the Acid Missile spell as his reward for becoming a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, then realized the ship was likely taking its passengers to Isata Academy rather than White Mountain Boros Academy. He began learning the spell while Molly continued cultivating.

• The scaled wizard offered Charles a choice of three zero-ring spells, and Charles selected Acid Missile.
• Charles discovered that Hoover, a First-Ring Wizard from Isata Academy, had listed expensive cultivation insights and spells for sale.
• Charles told Molly to stay inside until she became a Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice, and she said she might need another half a month.
• After Molly recalled that they were supposed to attend White Mountain Boros Academy, Charles connected the clues and concluded that the ship was probably headed to Isata Academy instead.
• Charles tore the Acid Missile scroll to learn the spell while Molly retched after drinking the Mental Power Potion.

Charles learned Acid Missile and improved its casting speed and range through practice. When one of his missiles struck the sea, it triggered a huge eruption and revealed a massive tentacle beneath the surface.

• Charles spent days memorizing Acid Missile’s runes while Molly practiced the Basic Meditation Technique.
• Charles successfully cast Acid Missile, corroding a wooden board, and told Molly he could use spells to protect them.
• Charles trained with the Knight Breathing Technique as Molly applied medicinal oil to him.
• A month later, Molly reached Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice but chose not to move out.
• Charles reduced Acid Missile’s casting time to about one second and extended its range beyond seventy meters.
• Charles’s Acid Missile fell into the sea, causing a towering wave as a thick tentacle rose from beneath the surface.

Charles witnessed a Sea-Raiding Giant Squid destroy a sea ship and drag it beneath the ocean, then returned to his quarters shaken by the danger at sea. More than a month later, the ship left the deep sea behind and the Wizard Continent finally came within reach.

• A Sea-Raiding Giant Squid attacked the fleet and crushed a sea ship, dragging it and its passengers underwater.
• The surviving wizards fled, then returned after confirming the squid had left; Charles told one wizard what he had seen.
• Charles checked Wu Duo Duo Mall and found the grayed-out Sea-Raiding Giant Squid merchant, then returned to his quarters, where Molly hugged him in relief.
• Charles worried that another sea attack could leave him helpless and wished to reach land as soon as possible.
• After more than a month, the sea ship left the deep sea behind, and the Wizard Continent came into view.

Charles and the other recruits reached the Wizard Continent after a long sea voyage, then endured weeks of travel by carriage toward their academy. The chapter left them facing the eerie, immense complex of Isata as a wizard welcomed them.

• Charles and the other Third-Rank Wizard Apprentices gathered aboard the ship and were told to follow the guides to their academy for aptitude testing.
• Charles and Molly traveled together in a crowded carriage for weeks, taking turns sleeping and keeping watch.
• The convoy split along routes marked with different emblems, leading Charles to suspect each emblem represented a wizard academy.
• Charles, Molly, and the other recruits arrived at a vast academy complex rising through sickly-colored swamp mist.
• A wizard flew above the recruits and welcomed them to Isata.

Charles arrived at Isata, where a wizard tested his cultivation talent and identified his soul talent, a Demonic Beast bloodline, and three suitable factions. After receiving treatment for his palm, Charles continued deeper into the academy, wary of the strange surroundings and watching eyes.

• Charles and the other newcomers were separated into lines, and he parted from Molly after she kissed his cheek.
• Charles waited for hours, then entered a tent where a wizard tested his talent with a crystal ball.
• The wizard said Charles had second-rank soul talent, a thin Demonic Beast bloodline, and aptitude for Flesh Witchcraft, Abyssal Grimoire, and Pain Transmutation.
• A knight applied black ointment to Charles's wounded palm, which quickly began to heal.
• Charles followed a central road into Isata as the surroundings grew stranger and unseen gazes seemed to watch him.

Charles arrived at Isata and was carried by a giant bat to a plaza where new apprentices received their supplies. He kept his Magic Stones hidden and followed a servant to choose a residence.

• Charles climbed the black stone foundation of Isata and reached a platform filled with enormous bats and birds.
• A wizard forced Charles toward a giant bat, which carried him in a spiraling flight around Isata and dropped him into a plaza.
• Charles received two gray robes, a room key, a meditation method, and a newcomer handbook from a senior sister.
• The senior sister offered to sell Charles additional supplies, but he claimed he had spent all his Magic Stones on the ship.
• Charles followed a servant away to choose his residence while keeping his remaining Magic Stones concealed.

Charles settled into Isata’s bleak newcomer housing and learned that survival and study there depended on Magic Stones. After spending several days observing the city, he attended his first free class, where the wizard immediately ordered everyone standing to leave.

• A servant led Charles to a cramped room in a low building, where Charles moved in and read the Newcomer Guidelines.
• Charles learned that newcomers had six months to become apprentices, that nearly everything in Isata cost Magic Stones, and that he had only twenty-one.
• Charles considered changing his Meditation Technique and finding a way to earn money, but decided to learn more about Isata first.
• Charles spent several days observing crowded places while disguising himself as an older resident.
• Charles attended a free class on his fifth day in Isata, and the wizard ordered everyone standing to get out.

Charles attended a day of public lectures, learning about rune studies, soul and pain studies, and Abyssal Grimoire Studies. Wizard Loran ended her lecture by inviting apprentices to study demons and acquire demonic bloodlines through research or paid body modification.

• A rune studies wizard taught Charles about runes and advertised his tutoring class.
• A hooded wizard lectured on turning pain and life essence into energy for magic, crafting, and sacrifices.
• Wizard Loran introduced Abyssal Grimoire Studies and explained how wizards studied demons, their runes, and their bloodlines.
• Loran told the apprentices that demonic bloodlines could improve magic power accumulation and could be integrated through wizardry.
• Loran invited the apprentices to her classroom in Tower No. 6, where her teaching group taught demonic studies and offered paid bloodline modifications.

After finding Isata’s public classes shallow and focused on selling tutoring, Charles listened as Barry explained how wizard apprentices relied on societies for work and guidance. Barry brought Charles to join Fenny’s Hand, where they learned about its services and the work of filling blank Magic Stones.

• Charles and Barry complained that Isata’s public classes mainly promoted paid tutoring.
• Barry told Charles that societies offered apprentices work and cultivation guidance, then invited him to visit Fenny’s Hand.
• Barry and Charles registered to join Fenny’s Hand and were led into its hall by a female apprentice.
• The female apprentice explained that the society offered jobs, lectures, and a way to earn Magic Stones by filling blank ones.
• Charles asked how long filling a blank Magic Stone took, and the female apprentice said it generally took three or four days.

Charles learned how Fenny's Hand helped its members find work and decided to seek a job that could support his cultivation and let him encounter souls. After spending the night with Erika, he returned home with her promise to look for suitable work for him and Barry.

• Charles learned that Fenny's Hand offered jobs, lessons, techniques, and support to its members.
• Charles considered studying the Abyssal Grimoire and finding work that would earn Magic Stones while helping his cultivation.
• Erika offered to look for suitable work for Charles in exchange for his attention.
• Charles told Barry that Erika had asked him to unclog her sewer and had promised to find them an easy job.