Chapter Summaries

Ian spent his 87,000 merits on rare potion ingredients, the Starry Sky Rite, and treasures for strengthening his Mental Power. After briefly encountering Elena, he returned to his residence and planned to settle his family and old grudges before pursuing the wizard’s path.

• Ian exchanged 11,000 merits for the primary ingredients needed to complete the Water of Balance formula and five sets of Dream Potion ingredients.
• Ian spent 60,000 merits on the first volume of the Starry Sky Rite, a meditation method compatible with his current one and capable of supporting his advancement.
• Ian used his remaining merits to obtain Moonlight Dew and Pure Soul Crystal Fragments to nourish and purify his Mental Power.
• Ian saw Elena in the redemption hall with a Peak Liquefaction wizard guarding her, exchanged a nod with her, and decided he no longer needed to look up to geniuses.
• Ian returned to his residence, promised Gaga a better gift than Astral Silver, and planned to return to Shadowmoon Tower to settle his family and old grudges before pursuing the wizard’s path.

Ian returned to Shadowmoon Tower after the Demon-Hunting War, learned how to regain his standing there, and prepared to settle personal matters. The chapter ended with him arriving at the tower and resolving to protect his family and confront the Osborne Family and the administrator who had framed him.

• Ian and Malena discussed their plans, and she told him that Wizard Alivia would recommend him for readmission to the High Tower.
• Malena explained Shadowmoon's leadership, departments, and return procedures, while warning Ian that his advancement outside the tower might attract attention.
• Ian introduced Gaga to Malena and chatted with fellow wizards aboard the ship as Gaga accepted Amber Starfruit and drew their interest.
• Ian reviewed his supplies and studied an Abyssal Law Crystal Fragment during the journey back.
• The ship reached Shadowmoon Tower, and Ian resolved to secure his family's safety and settle his grudges against the Osborne Family and the Library administrator who had framed him.

Ian returned to Shadowmoon, registered as an Early First-Level Wizard, and chose Independent Affiliation while he assessed his options. Alivia offered to recommend him for full incorporation into the High Tower and invited him to consider joining the Potion Department’s research projects.

• Ian registered his advancement, received First-Level Wizard permissions and a temporary residence key, and declined to join a department for the time being.
• Ian settled into his Outer Tower District residence and learned about his monthly allotment, Contribution Points, and annual obligations.
• Malena delivered Alivia’s letter recommending Ian for full incorporation into the High Tower and inviting him to meet her at the Vice Dean’s Office of Potion Studies in three days.

Ian officially joined Shadowmoon Tower’s Potion Department and chose to work on an Abyssal Contamination neutralizer. After uncovering research linking Abyssal contamination to rule contracts, he prepared to leave the tower with Gaga and settle an old score with the Osborne Family.

• Malena warned Ian that Wizard Douglas might watch him because of his conflict with Nolan and his rapid advancement.
• Alivia confirmed Ian’s registration as a First-Level Wizard and offered him a choice of three Potion Department research projects.
• Ian joined the Potion Department and chose the Abyssal Contamination Neutralizer Development project.
• Ian found research suggesting Abyssal contamination overwrote rules through Abyssal Contracts, which reminded him of his [Abyssal Soul Pact].
• Ian told Gaga they would leave the tower quietly to collect an old debt from the Osborne Family, whose Leon Osborne had caused Ian’s escape.

Ian arrived at the Osborne Family’s territory with Gaga and confronted the family over Leon Osborne’s past pursuit of him. He killed the apprentices gathered at the training grounds, leaving the patriarch and the family’s fate unresolved.

• Ian told Alivia through the Arcane Mark that he would be away for about a month, then flew to the Osborne Family’s valley on Gaga.
• Gaga’s arrival crushed the apprentices at the training grounds beneath its pressure as Ian hovered above them.
• The Osborne patriarch begged Ian for mercy, and Ian revealed that Leon Osborne had once hunted him down.
• Ian froze a resentful mid-level apprentice into an ice statue.
• Ian killed the five advanced apprentices and more than thirty other apprentices with white rays that turned them to ashes.

Ian found the complete First Order Bloodline Potion formula in the Osborne Family’s secret vault and recognized its value for his magical medicine research. After finishing his revenge and taking the formula, he left the ruined family estate with Gaga.

• Ian questioned the surviving steward, who offered to lead him to the Osborne Family treasury in exchange for sparing the mortals.
• Ian found an ancient beast-hide scroll containing the complete First Order Bloodline Potion formula, made with an Earth Savage Bear’s heart Essence Blood and Stoneheart Vine marrow.
• Ian studied the formula’s brewing process, effects, and risks, noting that it could preserve law fragments and potentially awaken Earth Affinity.
• Ian stored the formula in his Dimensional Bag and left the castle without addressing the surviving mortals.
• Ian returned to Gaga, and they flew away, leaving the Osborne Family reduced to terrified survivors and the scorched remains of its wizards.

Ian traveled toward Marcus Domain, preparing to reunite with his family and protect them from threats tied to their magic stone mine. As he neared home, Latour received a demand from Marquis Holden to reconsider the mine’s rights, while Ian’s letters had been missing for a year.

• Ian and Gaga flew west from Osborn Valley toward Marcus Domain, and Ian resolved to leave his family protected before returning to the High Tower.
• Gaga killed a three-headed sea serpent during their flight across the ocean.
• Ian explained that his family would remain in the mortal world and that he would stop anyone from targeting them over the mine.
• Gaga told Ian they would reach home by noon the next day, as Ian calmly prepared for the reunion.
• Latour read Marquis Holden’s demand to reconsider the division of mining rights at Blackstone Gorge and remembered the sacrifices he had made to fund Ian’s wizard training.
• Latour recalled that Ian’s letters had stopped arriving a year earlier.

With Ian missing for a year, Latour and Vincent faced growing pressure from Marquis Holden and the kingdom’s finance minister to surrender Blackstone Gorge. As Latour weighed a harsh deal to protect his family, Ian returned home on Gaga.

• Latour and Vincent discussed rumors that Ian was dead as Holden and outside merchants moved against the Marcus family’s mine.
• Holden’s steward Richard offered ten thousand gold coins for Blackstone Gorge and threatened to return in five days if Latour refused.
• Latour rejected the offer and ordered the family guards to prepare, while privately considering the finance minister’s harsher contract.
• Latour told Ainoa he would wait for another caravan before deciding whether to surrender the mine.
• Ian spotted the castle’s blue flag from Gaga’s back and announced that they had arrived.

Ian returned to the Marcus family castle on Gaga, revealed his power as a first-rank wizard, and learned how Marquis Holden and the Finance Minister were pressuring his family. He flew to White River City to confront Holden and descended into the marquis's banquet hall.

• Gaga carried Ian to the castle, where the guards panicked and Latour, Ainoa, and Vincent recognized him.
• Ian walked through the air to the battlements, reunited with his family, and listened as Latour and Vincent described the threats against them.
• Ian learned the locations of the people involved and left on Gaga for White River City despite Ainoa's worry.
• Ian burst through the ceiling of Marquis Holden's banquet hall and demanded to know which man was Holden.
• Marquis Holden stood behind his guards, shocked and furious, and demanded to know who Ian was.

Ian avenged the Marcus Family by eliminating Marquis Holden, the finance minister, and three wandering apprentices who had threatened their magic stone mine. He returned to Marcus Castle in under an hour and assured his family that no one would trouble them again.

• Ian froze and killed Holden’s accomplices, then crushed the marquis after confronting him over the attempt to seize the Marcus Family’s mine.
• Ian entered the finance minister’s residence, destroyed the takeover draft, and killed the minister with a collapsing spell.
• Ian located and erased three wandering apprentices in the wilderness, then returned to Marcus Castle with magic stones.
• Latour and Vincent watched Ian arrive, while Ainoa checked him for injuries.
• Ian told his family he had dealt with the marquis, the finance minister, their forces, and the wandering wizards, and Latour thanked him.

Ian joined his family for a tense luncheon, where Gaga’s talkative antics eased the atmosphere. In the study afterward, he revealed powerful Bloodline Potions to Latour and began explaining their effects and dangers.

• Ian ate with Latour’s family, and Gaga’s comments and conversation with Lillian gradually relaxed the tense meal.
• Ian went with Latour to the study and showed him a Constant-Temperature Secure Storage Box.
• Ian explained that the Rock Bear Potions could raise ordinary people’s physical abilities to the level of an Advanced Wizard Apprentice, surpassing a Grand Knight’s strength.
• Ian identified the pale-blue bottles as Tranquil Water, which had to be taken in advance to ease the potion’s erosion of the user’s will.
• Ian showed Latour the Limit Break Rock Bear Potion and warned that its effects were three to five times stronger, but anyone whose constitution did not surpass a Grand Knight’s would have their body explode.

Ian gave Latour powerful potions that could awaken Bloodline Talents and help him approach the strength of a weakened First-Level Wizard. Latour began preparing to take them, convinced that Ian’s return would change the Marcus Family’s future.

• Ian explained that combining the Limit Break [Rock Bear Potion] with the [Dream Potion] could awaken Bloodline Talents and extend Latour’s life.
• Latour asked when he could take the potions, and Ian told him to use conditioning herbs twice daily for seven days before he tested whether Latour could withstand them.
• Ian left Latour to decide how to distribute the twenty controlled [Rock Bear] potions, suggested several family members and loyal Knights, and said he would arrange a potion for his mother.
• Ian gave Latour more than two hundred Standard Magic Stones and said the Royal Capital would likely send someone to make contact, which Latour should handle without him.
• After Ian left, Latour resolved to take the potion after seven days and declared that the Marcus Family would rise with the power Ian had brought back.

Ian used a ritual array and two potions to awaken Latour’s bloodline, transforming him into a transcendent being with immense strength and Earth-affinity abilities. Latour tested his new powers in the secret chamber, demonstrating Rock Metallization and Earth Vein Resonance.

• Ian prepared the magic array and guided the Dream Potion and Rock Bear Potion into Latour.
• Latour endured the transformation as his body strengthened and his aura rose beyond mortal limits.
• The ritual stabilized, and Latour awoke with a transcendent life level and renewed strength.
• Latour used Rock Metallization to punch a smooth hole into the stone wall.
• Latour tested Earth Vein Resonance, finding that his movements and footing had become exceptionally stable.

Latour and the rest of the Marcus family completed their transformations into extraordinary beings, and the royal envoy arrived to offer the king’s rewards. After preparing his family for his departure, Ian left the castle with Gaga, while Latour looked toward a future beyond his count’s territory.

• Latour discovered he could harden his skin and shape it into piercing points, then celebrated his new power as a Bloodline Warlock.
• Ian confirmed Latour’s transformation was stable and warned him to spend the next few days familiarizing himself with his new abilities.
• Ainoa and Vincent completed their transformations safely, giving every core member of the family an extraordinary physique.
• A royal envoy brought the king’s condolences and rewards, but Latour dismissed him, having grown ambitious beyond the kingdom’s recognition.
• Ian left behind a communication talisman and healing potions, said goodbye to his family, and departed on Gaga’s back.

Ian returned to Shadowmoon Tower and proposed a new approach to the Abyssal Contamination Neutralizer project, earning Herman’s approval. When Wizard Julian tried to summon him privately to question his advancement, Ian refused and insisted that any inquiry follow official procedures.

• Ian returned to his residence with materials and the Earth Savage Bear Potion formula, then resumed analyzing contaminated samples while keeping his Abyssal Law Crystal secret.
• At a routine project meeting, Ian argued that the team needed to identify contamination rule pathways and their contract nodes to neutralize the sample effectively.
• Herman approved Ian’s proposal and assigned Wizard Marcus to lead a group investigating ways to locate the pathways.
• A gray-robed Shadow Department wizard ordered Ian to meet Wizard Julian for a private verification of his advancement, but Ian refused and cited his registration with the Council of Stewards and Vice Dean Alivia as his sponsor.
• Ian rejected the summons as improper, displayed his strength, and left for the Potion Department while the gray-robed wizard withdrew to report to Julian.

Ian began cultivating the Starry Sky Rite and discovered that its resonance let his Abyssal Soul Pact draw spiritual energy from the Abyss, which the Status Panel purified for him. He planned to improve his cultivation with Concentration Potions and begin practicing the Forge Body Tempering Art.

• Ian merged the Starry Sky Rite into his meditation method and began visualizing its vast star chart.
• The Abyssal Soul Pact awakened and connected to the Abyss, sending contaminated spiritual energy into Ian's Mental Sea.
• The Status Panel purified the energy and extracted an incomplete Demonic Tongue rules fragment, allowing Ian to absorb a small amount of Mental Power.
• Ian confirmed that the soul pact continued drawing energy during meditation and that the purified influx boosted his cultivation efficiency.
• Ian decided to focus on raising his Concentration Potion proficiency and opened the Forge Body Tempering Art he had taken from Barton.

Ian faced suspicion from Wizard Julian and discovered that someone had secretly probed his residence with a Shadow Department detection spell. He considered how to retaliate without leaving evidence and turned to the Abyssal Law Crystal Fragments for an idea.

• Blake mocked Ian in the archive room, but Mentor Herman ordered Blake back to work and warned Ian that Wizard Julian suspected him of misconduct during the Demon-Hunting War.
• Herman advised Ian to focus on the Abyssal Contamination Neutralizer project and cautioned him not to rush his First Order Potion research.
• Ian asked Gaga whether anyone had visited his residence, and Gaga recalled sensing a faint Shadow Bug near the window.
• Ian recognized the trace as a concealed Shadow Department detection spell and realized someone had been spying on his home.
• Ian considered how to respond without provoking a direct conflict, then took out three Abyssal Law Crystal Fragments.

Ian created an invisible Abyssal trap at his window to mark the shadow energy spying on him, then continued developing an improved First Order Concentration Potion. The chapter ended with him searching for a guiding medium that could reconcile mental condensation and vitality.

• Ian gathered Abyss Crystal powder and shadow-sensitive materials to make bait that could attach a concealed mark to probing shadow energy.
• Ian ordered Gaga to guard the residence while he crafted and activated the miniature crystal Sting Needle near the window.
• Ian resumed meditation and absorbed Abyssal Mental Essence through his connection to the Abyss.
• Ian planned to improve the Concentration Potion by adding gentle stimulation to its effects, considering Living Thought Vine sap and Starlight Sand as possible materials.
• Ian recalled Alivia's lesson and his success improving the Rock Bear Potion, then wondered what could let condensation and vitality coexist.

Ian used purified Banshee Tear Crystal Powder and Living Thought Vine sap to create a new First-Order Starlight Potion with enhanced focus and spiritual vitality effects. As he sealed the potion, Gaga warned him that the Shadow Bug had returned and lingered longer than before.

• Ian recalled crystallized Wailing Banshee tears as a possible material for stabilizing the potion’s spiritual framework, then obtained a tiny amount of the powder.
• Ian awakened the Living Thought Vine sap’s life vitality and used the Starry Sky Rite and Abyssal Soul Pact to purify the tear crystal powder into a stable resonance material.
• Ian combined the processed ingredients with the standard Concentration Potion materials and guided the turbulent mixture into a stable azure potion.
• The Status Panel confirmed the potion’s First Order rank and its Deep Focus and Starlight Resonance effects, and Ian named it the Starlight Potion (First Order).
• As Ian sealed the potion, Gaga warned him that the Shadow Bug had returned and stayed longer than before.

Ian marked the shadow spy who searched his potion-making table, identified the intruder as a mid-stage First-Level Wizard of the Shadow Department, and drank his successful Starlight Potion. He followed the mark with Gaga to a building in the Outer Tower District, where Gaga sensed someone inside carrying the same aura as the earlier spies.

• Ian hid his potion-making traces and used his Abyss-and-shadow mark to tag the shadow energy as it withdrew from his window.
• Ian traced the mark to a mid-stage First-Level Wizard of the Shadow Department and suspected Wizard Julian had sent the spy.
• Ian drank the Starlight Potion and completed a deep meditation that raised his Starry Sky Rite proficiency by 20 points.
• Ian and Gaga left through the window and avoided patrols and warning formations as they followed the mark across the Outer Tower District.
• Ian and Gaga reached a dark blue three-story building, where Gaga sensed someone inside with the aura of the earlier spies.