Chapter Summaries

Charles pursued and killed a wizard apprentice who had stolen his vouchers, then confronted Carter of Alester Dome, another newly advanced wizard. Carter declined to fight over the loot, and the two exchanged names before going their separate ways.

• Charles killed several wizard apprentices, collected their supplies, and pursued the apprentice carrying his thirty merged vouchers.
• The fleeing apprentice rode a Berserk Wolf and changed course after seeing another golden-ringed potion voucher appear nearby.
• Charles caught up before nightfall, blinded the Berserk Wolf with Lesser Darkness, and killed the apprentice with Bone Needle Bee spells after weakening him with the Twelve Cough Technique.
• Charles noticed Carter approaching and used Mage Hand to search the dead apprentice while asking whether Carter would contest the loot.
• Carter of Alester Dome declined to fight, and he and Charles, who introduced himself as Joseph of Isata, parted on cordial terms.

As the Trial Plane ended, Sage Pansy summoned the surviving apprentices back to Isata. Charles returned as a First-Ring Wizard, one of eight people who had advanced within the trial.

• With few apprentices left to pursue and the gray mist closing in, Charles waited out the final hours alone.
• Sage Pansy arrived at Isata’s main tower and prepared to summon the apprentices when the Trial Plane ended.
• Pansy and the Great Wizards activated the teleportation array and brought the scattered apprentices back to Isata.
• Charles returned as a First-Ring Wizard, drawing the Great Wizards’ attention and the envy of the assembled apprentices.
• Only a little over fifteen hundred people returned from the tens of thousands who entered, and Charles saw that five of the other seven new wizards appeared unusually privileged.

After passing the Trial Plane and becoming Wizards, Charles and the other seven received Isata credits for their Trial Vouchers and learned how credits shaped life in Isata. Charles returned to District Twelve and decided to visit Loran to share his news.

• Sage Pansy congratulated the apprentices and Wizards who had passed the Trial Plane, then announced their rewards and future options for joining a school.
• A Great Wizard explained Isata’s credit system and exchanged each new Wizard’s Trial Vouchers for credits; Charles received nearly a thousand credits.
• The Great Wizard offered to help find mentors, but Charles said he already had one.
• Charles left the tower, received an Isata identification card and a black Wizard robe, then rode a night owl back to District Twelve.
• Charles decided to visit Loran and tell her he had become a Wizard.

Charles returned to Loran after becoming a first-circle wizard, then waited over a month before she took him to meet his nominal teacher, Anderson. Anderson welcomed Charles as his student and sent Loran to collect a gift.

• Loran congratulated Charles on becoming a wizard and explained that Anderson would guide him now that he had reached the first circle.
• Charles returned to his quarters, where Bruce and Erika celebrated his new status.
• After more than a month, Loran took Charles to Anderson's tower and explained how wizards accepted students on their teacher's behalf.
• Charles saw the many wizards in Anderson's tower and learned that even they recruited apprentices as students for Anderson.
• Anderson greeted Charles, asked him to wait, and sent Loran to collect a gift from Boxi.

Charles met Anderson, who recognized his bloodline as likely originating from a Succubus and accepted him as a student without charging tuition. Anderson sent Charles to find Boxi, who had crows deliver the books and scrolls he needed to study.

• Anderson examined Charles and said his bloodline likely came from a Succubus and might include a powerful wizard ancestor.
• Anderson accepted Charles as his student, promised to teach him without tuition, and told him to study in the tower and assist in the laboratory.
• Anderson gave Charles a list of courses and spells, instructing him to find Boxi on the floor below.
• Charles met Boxi, Anderson's crow soul companion, and handed her the list.
• Boxi ordered the crows to bring Charles the books and scrolls he needed.

Charles began his first-ring wizard studies after Ms. Boxi gave him course materials, a tower pass, and three months to prepare for an examination. He studied rapidly and met with Anderson to ask questions, earning his teacher’s growing approval.

• Ms. Boxi gave Charles basic materials for nearly twenty Abyssal Grimoire Studies courses, a pass to Anderson Tower, and a room on its third floor.
• Ms. Boxi told Charles to study for three months before she examined him and considered assigning him to an experimental team.
• Charles returned home and used Soul Coins to buy Anderson’s study notes and cultivation insights, quickly mastering the basics of several courses.
• After half a month of study, Charles collected questions and received an invitation to Anderson’s office for a lesson.
• Charles asked Anderson questions about cultivation, meditation, and specialized subjects, and Anderson became increasingly impressed by his ability to learn.

Charles received advanced planar, military, and espionage courses, then spent a year and a half building his magical knowledge and rising to lead a bloodline research group. The chapter ended with him successfully completing a bloodline modification on a wizard apprentice and ordering the assistant to collect the remaining payment after the apprentice woke.

• Anderson added Planar Mathematics, Planar Topology, Conquest Strategy and Tactics, and Shadow Espionage and Infiltration Techniques to Charles's studies, and Lady Boxi gave him the books and warned him about an assessment in half a month.
• Charles studied the new subjects and wondered whether Isata intended to invade otherworldly planes, but he set the thought aside and focused on learning.
• Over the next year and a half, Charles studied many specialized courses and first-rank spells, joined Boxi's bloodline research group, and rose from newcomer to one of its leaders within a year.
• Charles performed a bloodline modification on a second-class wizard apprentice, adjusting the potions when the apprentice's body faltered until the apprentice developed concealed scales and runes and stabilized.
• Charles declared the bloodline modification successful and told his assistant to treat the apprentice's wounds and collect the remaining payment after he woke.

Charles prepared to strengthen Bruce’s bloodline by acquiring a Minotaur Demon from the Abyss. After summoning the demon into his room, he struck it with a spell that magnified its pain.

• Charles finished an apprentice’s bloodline modification and returned to his lodgings to prepare for another experiment on Bruce.
• Charles set up a Summon Demon rune array and contacted Delis in the Abyss to ask whether she had prepared the requested creature.
• Delis confirmed that she had captured a Minotaur Demon and offered to send it over, then answered Charles’s summon before returning to the Abyss.
• Delis summoned the Minotaur Demon into Charles’s room, where it woke and tried to attack him.
• Charles hit the Minotaur Demon with the first-circle spell Pain Focus.

Charles began modifying Bruce with a first-ring Bull Demon's bloodline, hoping to raise his combat power to that of a Lesser Demon. The procedure progressed through the first infusion and Abyss rune etching, and Charles began injecting a second portion of bloodline essence.

• Charles subdued the Bull Demon, recorded its data, and collected samples from its blood and body for future research.
• Charles prepared Bruce for the operation, and Bruce said he trusted Charles and wanted to become stronger.
• Erika assisted as Charles opened Bruce's chest and abdomen and examined his organs and bones.
• Charles purified a portion of the Bull Demon's bloodline essence and injected it into Bruce's bone marrow.
• Charles used the Blood Abyss Resonance Spell as Bruce's body began changing, then etched Abyss runes into his skull, spine, and limb bones.
• Charles injected Bruce with a second, smaller portion of the Bull Demon's bloodline essence.

Charles completed Bruce’s demonic bloodline transformation by replacing his heart with a Minotaur Demon’s, and Bruce survived the ordeal. Bruce woke stronger, with horns beginning to grow, as Charles concluded that the transformation had succeeded.

• Charles gradually fused demonic bloodline essence and Minotaur Demon organs into Bruce, then replaced Bruce’s heart with the demon’s heart.
• Bruce wandered through memories of his life with Charles while resisting the frightening whispers in the darkness.
• Encouraged by Charles’s voice, Bruce pushed onward and transformed into a stronger, more demonic form with horns.
• Bruce broke through the darkness and woke on the operating table with his new heart beating strongly.
• Charles recognized that Bruce’s transformation had succeeded and congratulated him.

Charles learned that Anderson had been teaching him about planes to prepare him for plane wars. Anderson proposed sending Charles as a Shadow Spy Wizard to scout a newly acquired plane, establish an Outpost Base, and build a Teleportation Beacon.

• Charles monitored Bruce's recovery after his demonic bloodline transformation and provided him with nourishment.
• A crow summoned Charles to Anderson's office.
• Anderson explained that wizards relied on plane wars to obtain the resources needed for cultivation and experiments.
• Charles admitted that he had spent most of his credits on potions, equipment, and spells.
• Anderson proposed that Charles scout a plane, establish an Outpost Base, and build a Teleportation Beacon before Anderson led an army to conquer it.

Charles agreed to become Anderson’s Shadow Spy Wizard after learning he would receive a share of the proceeds from conquering a plane. After they signed an Isata-notarized contract, Anderson promised six months of training and offered him a choice of soul companions.

• Anderson explained how plane-conquest proceeds were divided and promised Charles a share for serving as his Shadow Spy Wizard.
• Charles accepted Anderson’s offer, and Anderson revealed that he was a Shadow Spy Wizard who would train him personally.
• Charles reviewed and signed a contract granting him his personal spoils and three-thousandths of Anderson’s proceeds after he established an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon and guided the army through.
• Anderson announced that he would give Charles six months of intensive training and let him choose a soul companion from those he had prepared.

Charles chose a Molten-Poison Flying Python egg as his spirit companion and learned about its abilities and potential. After returning home, he formed a soul contract and fed it his blood and mental power, causing the egg to begin hatching.

• Charles visited Lady Boxi, who offered him three sealed spirit companion eggs to choose from.
• Charles chose the largest egg, and Lady Boxi revealed it contained a Molten-Poison Flying Python, a dragonkin that could grow into a second-tier magical beast.
• Charles researched the flying dragonkin's fire and poison breath, combat abilities, and potential to grow closer to a true dragon.
• Charles activated the spirit companion contract, cut his palm, and smeared his blood on the egg.
• The egg absorbed Charles's blood and mental power, and its shell began to crack.

Charles watched the Molten-Poison Flying Python hatch, named it Scorchflame, and cared for it as their souls formed a contract. Anderson then taught Charles the basics of disguise, survival, and establishing an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon during a plane invasion.

• The Molten-Poison Flying Python hatched and slithered onto Charles, who named it Scorchflame.
• Scorchflame ate its eggshell, then monster meat and two Magic Stones, before falling asleep on Charles's shoulder.
• Charles sensed his soul connection with Scorchflame and chose to bear all soul-attack damage himself while it was still weak.
• Anderson taught Charles that disguise, including clothing, language, and magic, was essential for a Shadow Spy Wizard in another plane.
• Anderson explained that Shadow Spy Wizards needed combat, escape, and resource-gathering skills, and taught Charles how to establish an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon.

Charles continued preparing for his coming invasion of another plane, training Scorchflame and gathering demon essence to help Bruce advance there. Anderson summoned him to inspect Isata’s upcoming sale of plane coordinates and offered him a Luck Potion.

• Scorchflame asked Charles what they were eating, then summoned a Demon Worm and shared the roasted meat with Bruce.
• Charles extracted essence from a Lesser Minotaur Demon, intending to use it to help Bruce gain first-rank combat strength after they reached another plane.
• A crow delivered Anderson’s summons, and Charles went to his tower.
• Anderson told Charles that Isata was about to sell another batch of plane coordinates and invited him to choose a target.
• Anderson showed Charles a Luck Potion he had obtained ahead of time.

Anderson took Charles to buy coordinates for an unknown minor plane and gave him a Luck Potion so he could choose under its influence. After Charles selected a shop using divination, he was presented with five plane options and had to make the final choice.

• Anderson gave Charles a Luck Potion and took him to Isata’s commercial district to choose a shop selling plane coordinates.
• Charles drank the potion and used Feather Divination with one of Lady Boxi’s tail feathers to select a shop.
• Anderson brought Charles into the chosen shop, where Is arranged five minor-plane coordinate scrolls for them to examine.
• Is explained that one plane had a large desert region but was known to contain intelligent life, possibly human, while the other planes had almost no information.
• Anderson stayed silent as Charles considered the five planes, leaving the decision to him.

Charles used a Luck Potion while choosing planar coordinates, and the feather selected the largest of the five planes. After Anderson bought the coordinates, he brought Charles and Bruce to Isata’s cross-planar gateway to prepare for Charles’s expedition.

• Charles asked Is to switch the scrolls’ positions, then used Feather Divination to choose a set of planar coordinates.
• The feather’s path changed when Charles’s breath disturbed it, and Charles and Anderson agreed to choose the largest plane.
• Anderson paid Is for the coordinates and signed a contract granting Isata forty percent of the profits.
• Anderson arranged to use a Sage’s cross-planar gateway and returned with Charles and Bruce, who carried supplies in Demon-Sealing Boxes.
• Is led them through Isata to a small cross-planar gateway and explained that Anderson would eventually need to build his own.

Charles and Bruce crossed through an interplanar portal, but arrived in the middle of an endless ocean with no land in sight. After realizing they could not survive indefinitely in the water, Charles froze part of the sea to create a temporary foothold.

• Anderson activated the interplanar portal, and Charles and Bruce crossed into the unknown plane with the Demon-Sealing Box.
• Charles regained consciousness in the sea, where the floating Demon-Sealing Box stayed sealed and Bruce surfaced nearby in his heavy armor.
• Charles told Bruce to remove his armor and used Flight to search for land, but saw only ocean in every direction.
• Charles decided they needed a boat, then cast Frost Breath to freeze a small patch of seawater into a temporary foothold.

Charles and Bruce crossed the sea on a magically maintained iceberg and reached a small island after divining the direction of land. After scouting and exploring the island, Charles began planning how to gather intelligence and resources, build a boat, and establish a Teleportation Beacon.

• Charles used Star-Tear Divination and Feather Divination to find the direction of the nearest land, then had Bruce row while he made a sail from his clothes.
• After a day and a night at sea, Charles spotted an island and sent a crow projection to scout it, finding plants, birds, and no signs of intelligent life or danger.
• Charles and Bruce reached the island, where Bruce praised Charles as he stepped ashore.
• Charles and Bruce circled the island, found fresh water and seabirds, and killed two birds with Bone Needle Bees for dinner.
• From the island’s highest point, Charles considered gathering intelligence and resources, building a boat, establishing a Teleportation Beacon, and helping Bruce advance into a Lesser Demon.

Charles and Bruce established themselves on an island, where Bruce advanced to Rank One and Charles built a raft. After divination led them to a settlement, Charles discovered humans living there and sent Bruce to capture one.

• Charles gave Bruce the Minotaur Demon essence, and Bruce advanced to Rank One after consuming it.
• Charles and Bruce completed a raft and sailed toward a settlement Charles had located through divination.
• Charles sent a crow projection ahead and found a harbor with wooden houses and two ships.
• Charles spotted a drunken human near the harbor and ordered Bruce to bring him back.