Chapter Summaries

Ariel tried to draw closer to Allen and his companions as they entered the royal capital, but the group chose the Water God Style Main Dojo as their first stop. There, Eris declared that she would challenge the dojo, and Ariel followed to watch.

• The second lock chamber opened, revealing the royal capital, and Ariel realized she could approach Allen by meeting him where he set aside his desires.
• Ariel offered Rudeus and the others a trip to the red-light district, shocking the group, but Allen led them by boat to the Water God Style Main Dojo instead.
• Allen explained that the dojo’s plain design encouraged focus and told Eris that greater concentration could bring her closer to Saint rank and the Sword of Light.
• Eris declared that she would challenge the dojo, inspired by Isolte’s past feat, but Allen explained that as a Sword God Style disciple she would be provoking the Water God Style dojo.
• Ariel and Derrick followed Allen’s group off the boat, and Ariel said she had come to watch the dojo challenge.

Allen explained Ariel’s safety during the Succession Conflict and extended her loan period, then led the group to the Water God Style dojo. There, he explained how the Sacred Land of Swords was meant to change hands through challenges that tested a style’s disciples and its strongest fighters.

• Allen told Ariel that the royal family could not let her die amid public outrage in the capital, and she tried to persuade him to let her travel with his group.
• Allen extended Ariel’s loan period and agreed to accompany her to her residence as guests before sunset.
• As they approached the Water God Style dojo, Eris asked what a dojo challenge meant, and Isolte explained that it concerned the rival styles’ honor and ownership of the Sacred Land of Swords.
• Isolte said the Water God Style had reclaimed the Sacred Land of Swords over a century earlier, but the Sword God Style took it back a few years later.
• Allen explained that the first Water God had established challenges every five years, judged mainly by the strength of disciples below King rank and also by fighters above King rank.
• Rudy questioned Allen’s explanation, saying Ghislaine had told him the Sacred Land of Swords belonged to the style of the era’s strongest swordsman.

Allen returned to the Water God Style Main Dojo with his companions, explained how royal politics had corrupted the school, and reunited with its disciples. The chapter ended with Dantoris revealing that Reida had expected Allen to come back.

• Allen described how the Water God Style lost the Sacred Land of Swords and became bound to the Asura royal capital, while Ariel promised to reform the order if she became queen.
• Allen entered the Main Dojo and headed toward the Personal Instruction Dojo, where he wondered whether Reida was waiting for him.
• Isolte recalled that Allen had once beaten disobedient apprentices into respecting him, delighting Eris with the story.
• Fores rushed to embrace Allen, but Eris kicked him down and defeated him when he challenged her.
• Allen greeted Dantoris, met the dojo's apprentices, and learned that Reida had been certain he would return after Isolte left.

Allen returned to the Water God Style Main Dojo in Ars after 625 days and went to see his master, Leyta. After confronting Lilfa and Sino, he told Leyta he had learned King-rank Sword of Light and declared that he had returned to make a name for himself.

• Allen arrived at the dojo with Rudy, Sylphy, Eris, and Ariel, then asked them to wait while he went to speak with Leyta alone.
• Dantoris and Isolte welcomed Allen’s companions and offered to take them to the small dojo while Allen headed for the teaching dojo.
• Allen met Lilfa and Sino on the stairs, told them to leave the Golden Sword behind, and criticized Lilfa’s use of the Severing Arcana.
• Allen entered the teaching dojo, reunited with Leyta, and told her he had learned King-rank Sword of Light.
• Leyta asked whether Allen had returned to kill Darius, and Allen said he had returned to make a name for himself.

Allen persuaded Lita to support his plan to make a name in ten days by entering Dawn publicly at a grand promotion banquet. He proposed using Ariel to attract noble attention and turning the occasion into a challenge to reclaim the Sacred Land of Swords, then hinted that he had chosen a candidate for the third duel.

• Lita urged Allen to ignore worldly affairs and focus on swordsmanship, but accepted that he would pursue his own goals.
• Allen revealed that he had mastered the Sense Flow and Thought Flow, giving him Water King strength and the qualifications to enter Dawn.
• Allen explained that he wanted to make his Dawn promotion public at a grand banquet, with Ariel helping draw nobles and officials.
• Allen proposed using the promotion banquet to publicly renew the Water God Style's claim to the Sacred Land of Swords.
• Lita questioned whether Allen could win the required duels, and Allen said he had a better candidate for the below-Saint-ranked match.

Allen proposed his sister Eris as a candidate for the Water God Style dojo, but discovered she had gone to challenge the Small Dojo while he was speaking with Leda. There, Eris was presented with Falz, the newly appointed chief disciple, as her opponent after he performed a scandalous comedy about Allen.

• Allen told Leda that Eris was an advanced swordswoman who had mastered much of the Soundless Katana and could become a Water God Style practitioner.
• Allen and Leda left the instruction dojo and found Eris and the others gone; wooden-sword clashes from the Small Dojo revealed that Eris had challenged it.
• Leda explained that rumors had been spread about Allen fleeing marriage to make his return to the royal capital less shocking.
• Isolte, Sylphy, Rudy, and the others entered the Small Dojo and found Falz acting out a salacious tale about Allen and Isolte for the disciples.
• Isolte introduced Eris as the challenger and ordered Falz, the Small Dojo’s new chief disciple, to face her.

Isolte and Allen returned to the Water God Style Main Dojo, where Eris challenged Small Dojo Chief Disciple Falz after he insulted her. Eris used Allen’s techniques to turn the fight around and launched a knee at Falz, leaving the match unresolved.

• The apprentices welcomed Isolte and Allen’s return, but Allen was absent, so they watched Eris arrive to challenge the dojo.
• Isolte arranged for Falz to fight Eris and reassured Sylphy about the rumors surrounding Allen and Isolte.
• Falz mocked Eris’s background and questioned whether she could even wield a wooden sword, while Eris demanded to use an iron sword before accepting the wooden one.
• Falz attacked before the match was officially announced, and Eris met his strike with her wooden sword.
• Falz disarmed Eris and thrust toward her, but she used battle aura to flick her sword’s hilt into his blade and deflect the attack.
• Eris regained her balance and drove her knee toward Falz.

Eris Boreas Greyrat lost her first match against Falz, but Isolte revealed Eris’s connection to the newly titled Water King Allen and turned the bout into a dojo challenge. Eris defeated Falz decisively and challenged the Small Dojo’s disciples, leaving the room silent.

• Falz used Flow Arcana to break Eris’s balance, then kicked her down and won their match.
• Eris demanded another match, while Falz insulted her and criticized Allen for sending her to the dojo.
• Isolte ended the challenge match and announced that Eris was Allen’s younger sister and a disciple of Sword King Ghislaine, while identifying Allen as a thirteen-year-old Water King.
• Falz rejected Isolte’s claim and imitated Allen’s sword stance as he prepared to face Eris in the dojo challenge.
• Eris attacked at high speed, broke Falz’s wooden sword with a kick, and sent him crashing to the floor.
• Eris pulled her sword from the floor and demanded to know who else refused to accept her challenge, but no one answered.

Eris reignited the Water God Style Small Dojo’s fighting spirit by challenging its students and forcing them to confront their reluctance to improve. After watching her begin a fresh round of matches, Leda accepted Eris’s commendation as chief disciple of the Water God Style Advanced Dojo.

• Isolte realized Eris’s challenge could revive the stagnant Small Dojo, but the students’ defeat had left its fighting spirit extinguished.
• Eris threw Falz a wooden sword and provoked him and the other students into standing up to fight again.
• Falz accepted Eris’s challenge, and Isolte reassured Rudeus that the students would honor the dojo’s rules rather than gang up on her.
• Eris defeated Falz again and called for the next challenger as Kuri stepped forward.
• Allen watched from outside with Leda, who accepted Eris’s commendation as chief disciple of the Water God Style Advanced Dojo.

Allen returned to the Water God Style Small Dojo, rallied the defeated apprentices, and announced Eris as its new chief. He then revealed plans to reclaim the Sacred Land of Swords in two months, with Lita’s silent endorsement leaving the dojo under his direction.

• Allen entered the dojo after Eris defeated its apprentices, praised Isolte, and rallied the defeated swordsmen to remember their loss and keep improving.
• Allen announced a celebration for his promotion to Water King and declared that Eris belonged to the orthodox Water God Style lineage.
• Allen appointed Eris chief of the Water God Style Small Dojo, challenging anyone who objected to defeat her and take the position back.
• Allen announced that the dojo would reclaim the Sacred Land of Swords in two months, naming Isolte, himself, and Eris as its representatives at different levels.
• Allen demonstrated the Soundless Katana and explained that Eris could judge its trajectory, while the apprentices could challenge her before the contest.
• Lita appeared at the entrance, silently endorsed Allen’s decisions, and left.

Allen used Eris’s victory at the Water God Style dojo to secure Leta’s support for reclaiming the Sacred Land of Swords, while Rudy treated the injured apprentices. After Allen went to speak with Ariel, Sylphy recalled Isolte’s invitation for her to share a room with Allen that night.

• Leta inspected the dojo’s progress, approved Allen’s actions, and left before Allen addressed the apprentices.
• Allen asked Rudy to heal the defeated apprentices and said the fees would come from the dojo assistance fund.
• Allen stopped Sylphy from joining the male apprentices and redirected her to heal Eris, prompting the onlookers to misunderstand the situation.
• Allen praised Eris’s swordsmanship and progress, then went to speak with Ariel while Eris asked Sylphy to heal her scrape.
• Sylphy remembered Isolte inviting her to sleep in her room with Allen because Isolte’s house lacked enough guest rooms.

Allen met Ariel at the Water God Style dojo and arranged for her to invite nobles to his commendation banquet, using the event to build his prestige. When Duke Pylemon arrived at Ariel’s residence that night, Allen asked whether she could still sincerely support him now that she had a choice.

• Allen approached Ariel at the dojo, and they discussed his upcoming commendation ceremony while the apprentices gossiped about their relationship.
• Isolte pulled Allen away from Ariel and invited him and the others to stay at her house, while Ariel realized the ceremony could help Allen attract support.
• On a boat to Ariel’s residence, Allen confirmed that he wanted prestige and told Ariel that her invitation to the nobles was part of the price she owed him.
• Allen explained that the crowd around Ariel would increase her value as supporters, and Duke Pylemon’s arrival gave her another political choice.
• Allen asked Ariel whether she could still sincerely support him now that she had a choice.

After Ariel returned to her residence, Pylemon tried to win her support by claiming the Boreas Family had arranged the assassination attempt, but Ariel refused to turn against Allen. The king watched the succession struggle intensify, while Pylemon proposed comparing Allen with his son Luke to prove who deserved Ariel’s trust.

• Pylemon heard that Allen had rescued Ariel and suspected the Boreas Family had staged the assassination attempt, so he went to Ariel’s residence to demand an explanation.
• Allen left Ariel to meet Pylemon, and Ariel hurried to the reception room while refusing Derrick’s suggestion that she accept the Duke’s support.
• The king told Lilfa that the succession struggle was heating up earlier than expected and said the royal capital should become lively.
• Ariel rejected Pylemon’s offer, explaining that she believed Allen and that the events in Cascade City had not seemed staged to her.
• Pylemon announced that he had summoned Luke Notos Greyrat and proposed comparing him with Allen to show Ariel who was more worthy of her trust.

Luke arrived at Ariel's residence after Pylemon summoned him, but his attempt to impress Eris ended with her kicking him into a pond. Pylemon and the others rushed to retrieve Luke while Allen and Eris discussed her restraint.

• Luke reached Ariel's residence and learned that Pylemon was waiting inside with Ariel and Derrick.
• Pylemon argued that Luke was a better choice than Allen as Ariel's Guardian Knight and led Ariel and Derrick toward the courtyard to compare them.
• Luke saw Eris, rushed over, and delivered an extravagant declaration of love while kneeling before her.
• Eris kicked Luke and a nearby table into the pond, leaving everyone stunned as bubbles rose from the water.
• Allen told Rudy to keep Luke alive, and Pylemon summoned guards to retrieve him.
• Allen praised Eris for holding back, and she said she had understood his advice.

Allen confronted Pylemon after the clash at Ariel's estate, revealed Rudeus's connection to the Notos family, and let Eris break Pylemon's sword before he left. The chapter then shifted to Gravel and Darius, who discussed whether James and Allen had staged the ambush, with Darius denying involvement.

• Allen told Pylemon he intended to kill James and take control of the Boreas family.
• Allen introduced Rudy as Rudeus Greyrat, Paul’s son and Pylemon’s nephew, provoking Pylemon’s fury.
• Pylemon drew his sword, but Eris cut its blade apart; Pylemon warned Allen to keep blades sheathed and departed.
• Gravel asked Darius whether James and Allen had staged the ambush, and Darius said Allen was Philip’s son and that he had not plotted to remove James.

Derrick read Philip Boreas Greyrat’s letter and learned that Allen was Philip’s son, sent to the royal capital to represent Boreas and reclaim its future. The revelation made Derrick reinterpret Allen’s actions as an attempt to gain prestige and kill James, while Darius and Gravel waited to see whether Allen would seek a place in “Dawn.”

• Darius told Gravel that James had likely been outmaneuvered by Philip and dismissed the lost King-level fighters as expendable pieces.
• Darius reported that Allen planned to announce his promotion to Water King, and Gravel questioned whether Allen intended to join “Dawn.”
• Allen declined Ariel’s dinner invitation but asked her to bring as many nobles as possible to the next day’s commendation ceremony at the Water God Style Main Dojo.
• Ariel reassured Derrick that she trusted Allen, told him to publicize the joint commendation banquet, and sent him to rest.
• Derrick received and read Philip’s letter explaining Allen’s parentage and Boreas role, then concluded that Allen meant to reclaim the family headship by killing James.

Sylphy found reassurance in Allen’s hand while he privately planned around the royal succession conflict. Darius recognized Allen, murdered Doristina and the black-haired slave to erase witnesses, and Allen announced he would return to Boreas Manor to speak with his father before the chance was gone.

• Sylphy noticed Allen seemed tense and distant in the carriage, then felt reassured when he held her hand.
• Darius saw Allen’s carriage pass and said he had finally been waiting for Allen Boreas Greyrat, though Allen did not know him.
• Darius ordered Doristina Papurhos and the black-haired slave killed, then personally stabbed Doristina and ensured the slave was dead as well.
• At Isolte’s home, Allen said he planned to return to Boreas Manor tomorrow or the next day and stay until May tenth.
• Allen explained that he wanted to speak with his father in name because there would not be many chances left.

Allen reassured Isolte and Sylphy that his return to the Boreas Mansion was part of a plan to undermine James, while concealing his real intentions. After the others went to bed, he spoke with the system and concluded that his rapid changes to the future had made the Human God panic.

• Isolte confronted Allen about whether he planned to reconcile with his father before killing James, and Allen calmed her by outlining his political strategy.
• Isolte brought up marrying Allen, and she, Sylphy, and Eris began discussing when it might happen while Rudy protested in disbelief.
• Allen said he would return to the Main Dojo on May 10 after building his reputation and told Isolte and Eris where to meet him, persuading Isolte with a carefully constructed explanation.
• After dinner, Eris and Rudy went to bed, while Isolte and Sylphy bathed together and returned to their shared bedroom.
• In the bathroom, Allen questioned the system and reasoned that his false explanation and recent actions had changed the future so often that the Human God had lost its bearings and was panicking.

Allen reviewed how he kept revising his plans as new information changed the future, then questioned the Man-God about Persuasion and his plans for James. After Sylphy and Isolte joined him for the night, Sylphy recognized how exhausted Allen was and comforted him until he fell asleep.

• Allen explained to the Man-God that he continually adjusted his plans as new information emerged, and mocked the Man-God's system.
• Allen asked the system how Persuasion worked, concluded that it could not easily override strong motivation, and confirmed that he intended to wear James down.
• Allen told the Man-God that he wanted to build power and eliminate threats such as the North Three and Demon Gods, prompting the Man-God to disappear when Allen mentioned Gal.
• Sylphy and Isolte surprised Allen in the bath, then waited for him in his room after he sent them out.
• Sylphy noticed Allen's exhaustion, pulled him onto her lap, and gently dried and massaged his hair while telling him to rest.
• Allen fell asleep against Sylphy as she and Isolte spoke softly beside him.

Allen attended the Water God Style Main Dojo’s lavish commendation banquet, where nobles dismissed his claim to be a Water King. He demonstrated his swordsmanship by unleashing a fierce wind that silenced the hall, then announced the challenge bouts would begin.

• Allen and his companions arrived at the Water God Style Main Dojo and saw nobles gathering for an extravagant banquet.
• Dantoris explained that Reida, Darius, and the Second Princess had helped draw powerful guests to the event.
• Allen overheard nobles mock his Water King rank and his plan to reclaim the Sacred Land of Swords, and he told Dantoris the corrupt atmosphere would drive people away.
• At the banquet, Reida announced that Allen would face ten exhibition challenges, while nobles continued to doubt his advancement.
• Allen raised his wooden sword and unleashed a blast of wind that extinguished the candles and silenced the hall before declaring the challenge begun.