Chapter Summaries

After killing Vis and Laisen, Merlin bought ingredients for the Phantom Demon Potion at the Silver Tower and discovered that Vis's ring contained the wind-element Pandora Demon Energy Destructive Wind, which he could not cultivate. As Merlin examined the ring, the bow-shaped casting tool on his chest began to grow hot.

• Merlin rejected Great Mage Miu Xiu's request for Pandora Demon Energy and told Anliena he would soon leave the Floating City after buying potion ingredients.
• At the Silver Tower, Great Mage Busen asked to buy Merlin's Pandora Demon Energy scroll, but Merlin offered to consider an exchange only for another Pandora Demon Energy.
• Merlin bought enough ingredients to make dozens of Phantom Demon Potions and paid the Silver Tower with Elemental Crystals.
• Merlin examined Vis's ring and found notes describing Destructive Wind, but he could not cultivate it because he lacked the required offensive wind-element Spell.
• As Merlin began putting away Vis's ring, the bow-shaped casting tool on his chest grew hot, and he pulled it out with delight.

Merlin combined the third component of Mage Bell’s composite casting tool with his bow-shaped tool, creating a casting tool that contained a vast space called Bell Space. He discovered that Bell Space could simulate Spells and Magic Energy, but failed simulations consumed his real Mind Power.

• Merlin found an irregular triangular casting tool in Vis’s ring and recognized it as the third component of the composite set.
• After weighing the loss of his Guardian Monument amplification against the potential benefits, Merlin merged the bow-shaped tool with the triangular component.
• The merged tool became a smooth, oval casting tool that drew Merlin’s Mind Power into a dark, vast space and supplied him with information about its abilities.
• Merlin named the space Bell Space and learned that Mind Power could simulate Spells and Magic Energy there, while remaining independent and slowly increasing.
• Merlin’s first attempts to construct a Fireball Spell Model in Bell Space failed, but a larger amount of Mind Power let his avatar construct it successfully.

Merlin discovered that the Bell Space could simulate spells and let mental power avatars meditate continuously, then brewed Phantom Demon Potions before preparing to leave the Floating City. He set out for Doren City to fulfill his promise to Lorinka, with Anliena giving him a detailed map of the Black Moon Kingdom.

• Merlin tested the Bell Space by simulating Fireball and Extreme Ice Finger, but found it could not reproduce unfamiliar treasures needed for the second stage of Extreme Ice Finger.
• Merlin sent a mental power avatar to practice the Advanced Mental Meditation Technique in the Bell Space and brewed sixteen Phantom Demon Potions from the materials he had obtained.
• Merlin told Anliena he was leaving the Floating City and asked her where Doren City was; he said he would not return to the Dark Spirit Domain with her.
• Anliena gave Merlin a detailed map showing the major spellcaster organizations and Doren City within Flame City's sphere of influence.
• Merlin found that Doren City was a long journey away and remembered Lorinka as he prepared to go there.

Merlin traveled toward Doren City while researching the mysteries of the Molta Empire and the incomplete components of Bell Space. He gave Xilin and Haya a ride, then learned they were Spellcasters heading to Doren City who had mistaken his Dark Spirit Domain robe for a sign of great danger.

• Merlin read accounts of the Molta Empire and suspected that Bell Space had more components than the three he possessed.
• When Xilin and Haya asked for a ride after their carriage broke down, Merlin agreed and told them he was going to Doren City.
• Xilin became tense when Merlin named Doren City, and she and Haya watched him cautiously during the journey.
• After getting off in a small town, Xilin and Haya hid until Merlin's carriage departed.
• Xilin explained that Merlin's robe marked him as a formal member of the Dark Spirit Domain, and Haya eagerly set off with her toward Doren City.

Merlin arrived in Doren City and headed for the Shadison Family to meet Lorinka, while Xilin and Haya gathered with their companions to discuss the city’s upcoming display of the Book of Vastness. Emma, who had come searching for her teacher from Dark Spirit Domain, joined their group despite Xilin’s warning that she might not be able to find him.

• Merlin reached Doren City and was struck by how Spellcasters and ordinary people lived and traded together with little distinction.
• After learning where the Shadison Family lived, Merlin ordered the driver to take him there to meet Lorinka.
• Xilin and Haya arrived at a courtyard where Tafiel and Emily were waiting, and Xilin questioned why they had brought Emma along.
• Emma told Xilin that her teacher was a Spellcaster from Dark Spirit Domain and that she had come to find him after successfully constructing three Zero-Level Spells.
• Xilin warned Emma that even Spellcasters from Dark Spirit Domain could not bring her inside without a Dark Spirit Ring, then led everyone indoors to discuss the complicated situation in Doren City.

The Spellcasters learned that the Shadison Family would publicly display the first volume of the Book of Vastness in two days to thwart the Doret Family’s pressure. Meanwhile, Blue Sparrow arrived in Doren City pursuing Merlin, who reunited with Lorinka at Shadison Manor and confirmed he had fulfilled his promise to take her as his attendant.

• Emily told Xilin and the other Spellcasters that the Shadison Family planned to display the Book of Vastness, while the Doret Family had pressured them to surrender it.
• Xilin and the young Spellcasters decided to wait for the public display, while Emma sorrowfully remembered the black-robed figure from Ditas Town.
• Blue Sparrow reached Doren City after pursuing Merlin from the Floating City.
• Merlin arrived at Shadison Manor and asked to see Lorinka, sensing that Spellcasters were lying in ambush inside.
• Lorinka recognized Merlin, asked whether he had become a First-level Spellcaster, and heard him confirm that he had joined the Dark Spirit Domain and would honor his promise.

Merlin learned that the Shadison Family had obtained the first volume of the Book of Vastness and planned to display it publicly to avert pressure from the Doret Family and wandering Spellcasters. He accompanied Lorinka to speak with her father, Great Mage Lainte, who agreed to receive her after learning Merlin was an official member of the Dark Spirit Domain.

• Merlin comforted Lorinka and asked her to return with him to the Dark Spirit Domain after explaining matters to her father.
• Lorinka told Merlin that the Shadison Family had obtained the first volume of the Book of Vastness and would display it publicly in two days.
• Merlin learned that the Doret Family and wandering Spellcasters threatened the Shadison Family, but he was not interested in the volume's spells.
• Great Mage Lainte reassured Shadison Family Spellcasters that he would display the Book of Vastness and invite a Fourth-level Mage to oversee the event.
• Lainte initially refused to see Lorinka, but changed his mind when he learned an official member of the Dark Spirit Domain had come with her.

Merlin arrived at the Shadison Family estate to take Lorinka back to the Dark Spirit Domain, but agreed to wait two days for the Book of Vastness display. As the Doret Family sought a way to attack the Shadison Family, Merlin sensed that years of practicing the Mysterious Reliefs were about to transform his body.

• Lorinka introduced Merlin to Lainte, who allowed her to leave with him after the family overcame its crisis in two days.
• Mage Lobيس told Lainte that Merlin had killed the Third-level Spellcaster Vis, making Lainte eager to recruit Merlin's help.
• Raymondo revealed that he had persuaded Ubek and other Fourth-level wandering mages to join the Doret Family by suggesting the first volume of the Book of Vastness contained clues to later volumes.
• Merlin refused Lainte's request to help defend the Shadison Family and told Lorinka he planned to leave after viewing the Book of Vastness.
• Merlin felt growing heat and strength while practicing the fourth Mysterious Relief and suspected his body was about to transform.

Merlin’s years of practicing the mysterious relief postures triggered a physical metamorphosis, giving him tremendous strength, defense, and healing. Two days later, the Shadison Family publicly displayed the Book of Vastness, while Lainte watched for trouble from the Doret Family.

• Merlin repeatedly practiced the fourth relief’s posture until his body grew taller and underwent a metamorphosis.
• Merlin tested his new strength, toughness, and rapid healing, then continued exploring the changes to his body.
• Two days later, Lainte led Shadison spellcasters outside the manor to display the Book of Vastness before a large crowd.
• Lainte opened the book, which projected a succession of spell models for the gathered spellcasters to record.
• Merlin had the Matrix record the displayed spells, while Lainte warned his people to watch the Doret Family.

The Shadison Family displayed the Book of Vastness, letting Spellcasters record its spells, while Emma searched the crowd for her teacher. The Doret Family and other enemies attacked, and Mage Gil faced two Fourth-level Spellcasters as the Book’s secrets put the Shadison Family in greater danger.

• Xilin, Haya, and Emma recorded spells from the Book of Vastness while Emma searched the crowd for her teacher.
• Mage Raymondo ordered the Doret Family to attack Mage Lainte, and the Shadison Family fought back as the crowd fled.
• An unknown Fourth-level Spellcaster tried to seize the Book of Vastness, but Mage Gil countered the attack with a Fourth-Level Spell.
• Mage Ubek and Mage Sebis confronted Mage Gil and demanded the Book of Vastness, with Sebis claiming it held clues to its later volumes.
• Mage Gil realized that the claim about the Book could draw other Fourth-level Spellcasters to Doren City and leave the Shadison Family in crisis.

As the Doret and Shadison Families fought over the Book of Vastness, hidden Fourth-level Spellcasters joined the battle and knocked the book away from Mage Gil. A mysterious woman approached the fallen book while seemingly searching the crowd.

• Xilin led Emma away from Shadison Manor, and Merlin wondered whether he had glimpsed someone familiar.
• Merlin recognized that the Shadison Family faced danger from the Doret Family and opportunistic Mages seeking the Book of Vastness.
• Mage Ubek unleashed his Alchemical Monster against Mage Gil as Mage Sebis attacked, and Mage Raymondo ordered the Doret forces to assault the Shadison Family.
• Two concealed Fourth-level Spellcasters attacked the three Mages fighting over the book and swept it from Mage Gil's grasp.
• The Book of Vastness fell to the ground, and a mysterious woman in a black feathered hat approached it while searching the crowd.

Blue Sparrow killed Ubek with a single attack at Shadison Manor, then revealed that she had come to find Merlin. She confronted him with clear intent to kill, declaring that he would never join Osum.

• Ubek rushed toward the Book of Vastness, but Blue Sparrow killed him by slicing him apart with ice threads.
• Two Fourth-level Spellcasters identified Blue Sparrow as Osum’s infamous and exceptionally powerful Third-level Spellcaster.
• Blue Sparrow ignored the Book of Vastness and searched the crowd while Xilin and the others watched from a distance.
• Blue Sparrow spotted Merlin and called him out, drawing the attention of the spellcasters at Shadison Manor.
• Merlin asked whether Osum had sent her to kill him, and Blue Sparrow unleashed ice elements while declaring he would never enter Osum.

Merlin fought Blue Sparrow, countering her two Pandora Demon Energies with his own Magic Energies and overwhelming close-combat strength. He shattered her Earth Shield and engulfed her in Annihilation Flame, leaving her fate uncertain.

• Merlin used Annihilation Flame and Freedom's Wind to attack Blue Sparrow, who defended herself with Earth Shield and ice silk.
• Blue Sparrow revealed a second Magic Energy, Flying Spear, and struck Merlin, but his robe and strengthened physique let him withstand the blow.
• Merlin burned away the Flying Spear with Annihilation Flame and used Darklight Domain, which Blue Sparrow broke with her Fourth-level Mental Power.
• Merlin closed in and punched through Blue Sparrow's Earth Shield while she was unable to recast it.
• Merlin engulfed Blue Sparrow in Annihilation Flame as she cried out that Klais still needed her.

Merlin killed Blue Sparrow and Great Mage Sebis, accepted the Book of Vastness from Great Mage Lainte, and prepared to leave with Lorinka. He encountered Emma, the student he had nearly forgotten, and invited her and her companions back to Shadison Manor.

• Blue Sparrow died in Merlin's Annihilation Flame, and Merlin learned she had attacked him because of Klais.
• Merlin left the Book of Vastness behind, but Great Mage Lainte gave it to him to protect the Shadison Family.
• Merlin killed Great Mage Sebis with the Annihilation Flame, leaving the Doret Family without its strongest Spellcaster.
• Merlin departed with Lorinka and met Emma, who called him her teacher.
• Merlin invited Emma, Xilin, Haya, and the others to Shadison Manor.

After defeating Blue Sparrow, Merlin brought Emma and the others to Shadison Manor, where he gave Emma a Dark Spirit Ring and invited her to join the Dark Spirit Domain. He studied the Book of Vastness, found no light spells or evidence of its other volumes, then examined Blue Sparrow’s ring for Magic Energy.

• Merlin praised Emma for constructing all three Zero-Level Spells and offered to take her to the Dark Spirit Domain.
• Merlin gave Emma a Dark Spirit Ring, and Xilin, Haya, Emily, and Tafiel congratulated her.
• Merlin asked Lorinka to arrange lodging for the others, and Emma left him to cultivate in private.
• Merlin studied the Book of Vastness and recorded its spells with Matrix, but found no light spells or signs of its second or Third Volume.
• Merlin considered the limits of his Darklight Domain and decided to postpone constructing Dark Tide until his Mental Power increased.
• Merlin searched Blue Sparrow’s pitch-black ring with his Mental Power to see whether it contained Magic Energy.

Merlin found Millennium Cold Marrow in Blue Sparrow’s ring and reflected on the power of the Mysterious Reliefs. Bell Space began trembling as his Mind Power avatar reached its limit, so he started merging with it.

• Merlin searched Blue Sparrow’s ring and found no cultivation methods for her Demon Energy, but sensed a chill from a black wooden box.
• Merlin used Annihilation Flame to melt the ice around the box, broke it open, and discovered Millennium Cold Marrow inside.
• Merlin placed the Millennium Cold Marrow in his ring, realizing it could help him cultivate the second stage of Extreme Ice Finger.
• Merlin reviewed how the fourth Mysterious Relief had transformed his strength and resolved to seek more reliefs.
• Bell Space trembled as Merlin’s Mind Power avatar reached its limit, and Merlin began merging with it.

Merlin returned to the Dark Spirit Domain with Emma after merging the spiritual force he had cultivated in Bell Space, and he asked Black Cat Didimos to investigate the Book of Vastness. Didimos reacted with startling intensity when Merlin showed him the book, leaving Merlin facing the stele spirit’s powerful response.

• Merlin merged his Bell Space avatar’s spiritual force into himself and decided to postpone constructing Dark Tide until he had grown stronger.
• Merlin prepared to leave Doren City with Emma and Lorinka, mindful that Osum might retaliate for Blue Sparrow and Vis’s deaths.
• Merlin and Emma traveled through a Rune Formation to the Dark Spirit Domain, while Lorinka stayed behind to await an attendant’s Dark Spirit Ring.
• Merlin gave ice-element Elemental Crystals to Black Cat Didimos and asked him to find clues to the other volumes of the Book of Vastness.
• Didimos froze and fixed Merlin with a powerful gaze when Merlin showed him the Book of Vastness.

Merlin returned to the Dark Spirit Domain with Emma after Didimos broke the runes on the Book of Vastness, revealing clues about its later volumes. He brought Emma to Mage Leo’s tower and prepared to tell Leo about his Pandora Demon Energy.

• Didimos broke the runes on the Book of Vastness, revealing information about the Second and Third Volumes, then retreated into the stone stele to sleep.
• Merlin explained Didimos to Emma and returned with her to the Dark Spirit Domain, where she was assigned to Mage Leo’s tower.
• Merlin reassured Emma that Mage Leo was one of the Domain’s strongest Spellcasters and took her to the tower.
• Merlin reflected on Mage Hall’s failed attempt to overcome the hidden dangers in his Spell Model before bringing Emma to meet Mage Leo.
• Mage Leo praised Merlin for killing Vis and two of Osum’s geniuses, including fighting Blue Sparrow, and explained that the Domain had tracked Osum closely.
• Merlin told Mage Leo he wanted to reveal the Pandora Demon Energy he had previously concealed, including Extreme Ice Finger and Annihilation Flame.

Merlin brought Emma into the Dark Spirit Domain and secured a Dark Spirit Ring for Lorinka, then discovered that the Book of Vastness described a hidden law obtainable only by finding all three volumes. He sought Leo’s help to exchange Vis’s Destructive Wind for another Pandora Demon Energy, and Leo reacted with surprise.

• Merlin told Leo that Emma had become his student, and Leo left Emma’s training to Merlin.
• Merlin asked Leo to obtain an attendant’s Dark Spirit Ring for Lorinka, and Leo arranged for one to be delivered.
• Merlin registered Lorinka as his attendant and brought both her and Emma into the Dark Spirit Domain.
• Merlin read that the Book of Vastness’s second volume lay somewhere in the Sea of Death, its third volume in Shimo Grotto, and all three could reveal a sealed law.
• Merlin decided to exchange the wind-element Pandora Demon Energy Destructive Wind for one he could cultivate and asked Leo for help.
• Leo’s blood-red eye opened as Merlin said he wanted to exchange for a Pandora Demon Energy.

Merlin sought to exchange the Pandora Demon Energy he had obtained from Osum, and Mage Leo brought him to Mage Helsius to arrange it. Helsius led Merlin into the secret Dark Spirit Space, where he revealed the Domain’s hidden resources and records of Seventh-Level Spellcasters’ spell-deduction insights.

• Merlin told Mage Leo that the Pandora Demon Energy he had obtained from Osum did not suit him and that he wanted to exchange it.
• Mage Leo took Merlin to Mage Helsius, who praised Merlin for killing Vis and Blue Sparrow and explained that an exchange required equivalent Magic Energy the Dark Spirit Domain did not already possess.
• Helsius led Merlin through a Rune Formation in his tower and transported him to the Dark Spirit Space.
• Helsius explained that the Dark Spirit Space could gather elements and produce treasures such as Elemental Crystals, and that it contained records of Seventh-level Spellcasters’ insights into deducing spells.
• Merlin recognized the Dark Spirit Space as a sign of the Dark Spirit Domain’s deep institutional foundation compared with Spellcaster Families.