Chapter Summaries

Xing Luo proposed relocating Dark Spirit Domain to escape Osum’s attacks, and Merlin backed him after Didimos revealed the Rune Formation could withstand Great Wizards for only half a month. The elders questioned where they could go, and Merlin said he knew an excellent destination.

• Xing Luo explained that Osum was attacking Spellcaster Organizations and proposed relocating Dark Spirit Domain.
• Merlin supported Xing Luo’s plan and asked him to summon Didimos to assess the Rune Formation.
• Didimos said the Rune Formation could hold against relentless Great Wizard attacks for at most half a month without Fidel.
• An elder challenged Xing Luo’s proposal because he had not chosen a destination, and other spellcasters objected to relocating without a plan.
• Merlin said he knew an excellent place for Dark Spirit Domain to relocate to.

Merlin proposed relocating Dark Spirit Domain to the Icebound Snowfield, and Mage Xing Luo agreed to have its leaders question Merlin’s companions before deciding. Merlin brought Aining, Watson, and Number Three into Dark Spirit Domain to describe the region to the gathered mages.

• Merlin named the Icebound Snowfield as a suitable place for Dark Spirit Domain to relocate, and Mage Xing Luo and the other mages agreed to assess it by questioning Merlin’s companions.
• Mage Xing Luo gave Merlin three Dark Spirit Rings after Merlin said he controlled Aining, Watson, and Number Three.
• Merlin gave the rings to Aining, Watson, and Number Three, then led them through the Rune Formation into Dark Spirit Domain.
• Aining and Watson marveled at Dark Spirit Domain’s Rune Formations, towers, and powerful spellcasters as Merlin brought them to Dark Spirit Hall.
• Merlin told Aining and Watson that Dark Spirit Domain’s leaders would ask about the Icebound Snowfield, then led the three companions into the hall.

Merlin helped convince the Dark Spirit Domain to relocate to the Icebound Snowfield after Aining and Watson described its lack of Archmages and major organizations. With the relocation set for ten days later, Merlin prepared Lorinka and Emma and then turned to the contract he had signed with Mage Bamu.

• Mage Xing Luo questioned Aining and Watson about the Icebound Snowfield, and they said it had no Archmages or powerful established forces.
• Merlin argued that relocating offered the Dark Spirit Domain a chance to become the strongest organization in the Icebound Snowfield, and Mage Xing Luo ordered the move to begin within ten days.
• Merlin visited Lorinka and Emma, gave them an Advanced Mental Meditation Technique and other supplies, and told them to prepare for the relocation.
• Merlin transferred his remaining Contribution Points to Lorinka and Emma so they could exchange them for supplies before the move.
• After sending Lorinka and Emma away, Merlin took out the Contract Paper he had signed with Mage Bamu.

Merlin arranged for Bamu to bring the Wilson Family to the Dark Spirit Domain before its relocation to the Icebound Snowfield, then began constructing a new Fifth-Level darkness spell. After Merlin completed it, Mage Xing Luo and two other Eighth-level Mages guarded his tower as the Dark Spirit Domain prepared to move.

• Merlin contacted Bamu and ordered him to bring the Wilson Family safely to the Rune Formation before the Dark Spirit Domain, then travel with them to the Icebound Snowfield.
• Bamu told Merlin that Avril and Shirley had given birth to two more sons, and Merlin instructed him to begin preparing the family’s relocation.
• Merlin considered the dangers of the journey and chose to construct a Fifth-Level darkness spell to strengthen his control over Dark Eye.
• After three or four days of work, Merlin completed the spell, drawing a vast mass of dark elements that alarmed Spellcasters across the Dark Spirit Domain.
• Mage Xing Luo and the other two Eighth-level Mages recognized Merlin’s feat and guarded his tower so no one would interrupt him.

Merlin constructed two new Fifth-Level Spells, Dark Concealed Slaughter and Weakening Ring, then prepared to lead Dark Spirit Domain and the Wilson Family to the Icebound Snowfield. As the relocation began, Didimos suddenly appeared before Merlin, leaving the reason for its arrival unresolved.

• Merlin completed Dark Concealed Slaughter, a Fifth-Level Dark Spell whose hidden attacks could strike enemies inside a field of darkness.
• Merlin constructed the Fifth-Level Earth Spell Weakening Ring and tested how it reduced the power of Annihilation Flame.
• Merlin left the tower and learned from Mage Xing Luo that Dark Spirit Domain was ready to relocate, though Mage Xing Luo regretted abandoning its home.
• Mage Xing Luo organized Dark Spirit Domain's Spellcasters and resources, and the group began its relocation to the Icebound Snowfield.
• Merlin learned that Mage Bamu had brought more than three hundred Wilson Family members and told him to wait outside Dark Spirit Domain's Rune Formation.
• Didimos appeared before Merlin as he prepared to leave, though Merlin did not know why the Black Cat had come.

Didimos treated the Dark Spirit Domain’s relocation as the crisis Archmage Fidel had foreseen and took Merlin as its Fire Seed, using the Domain’s hidden Elemental Crystals to send them through a spatial passage. Merlin and Didimos escaped the passage’s crushing pressure through a sliver of white light, beginning Merlin’s journey to an unknown place.

• Didimos told Merlin that Archmage Fidel’s instructions required it to take him away as the Dark Spirit Domain’s Fire Seed.
• The Dark Spirit Domain’s Rune Formation failed, and Wizard Xing Luo evacuated the Spell Casters while Didimos trapped Merlin.
• Didimos consumed a mountain of Elemental Crystals to activate a Rune Formation that destroyed the Dark Spirit Domain and carried Merlin and Didimos through a spatial gateway.
• Wizard Xing Luo witnessed Merlin’s departure and left to lead the surviving Spell Casters to the Icebound Snowfield.
• The Rune Formation protecting Merlin and Didimos shattered under the passage’s pressure, but they leaped into a sliver of white light and vanished.

Merlin and the Black Cat Didimos escaped the Land of Glory through Archmage Fidel’s destroyed Rune Formation and found themselves stranded in the timeless, elementless Void Realm. Unable to return without becoming at least an Archmage, Merlin set out with Didimos to search for a Plane and learn how to use his Plane Coordinates.

• Merlin and the Black Cat Didimos emerged from the passage into the Void Realm, and Didimos explained that Archmage Fidel’s one-way Rune Formation had carried them beyond the Land of Glory.
• Didimos told Merlin that the Rune Formation was destroyed and that only an Archmage or Legendary Mage might find a way back; Merlin tested Didimos and concluded that he had become a half-spirit.
• Merlin discovered that the Void Realm had no time or elemental energy, meaning spells relied on stored mana and spellcasters could die there if they ran out of supplies.
• Didimos explained that many Planes existed within the Void Realm, and Merlin asked how to use the Plane Coordinates he had obtained for the Egudo Plane and Mage Saitu’s Plane.
• Unable to explain the coordinates, Didimos suggested they search for a Plane, so Merlin began wandering through the Void Realm with him.

Merlin discovered a living Plane in the Void Realm and entered it despite Didimos's warning about its Innate Deities. Elsewhere on the Plane, Madam Feli and her daughter faced an assassination by Black-Robed Mages, until a mysterious Fireball descended from the sky.

• Merlin spotted a mist-shrouded Plane, learned it was filled with life, and chose to enter despite Didimos's warning about its possible Innate Deities.
• Madam Feli's carriage was stopped by four Black-Robed Mages, who revealed they had been hired by Weston of Tagan City to kill her.
• Madam Feli's third-level melee mages charged the attackers, but the Fourth-level leader's Starfire spell overwhelmed and burned them.
• Madam Feli sent her frightened daughter back into the carriage and pleaded for her life, but the Black-Robed Mages continued their attack.
• A Fireball appeared above Madam Feli and descended toward the ground.

Merlin and Didimos entered a new Plane but crashed into the ground under its immense gravity. Merlin subdued the local Spellcasters to obtain information, and as Stone City mages approached, he asked Madam Feli to explain what had happened.

• Merlin and Didimos survived their uncontrolled fall into the new Plane, where they encountered Madam Feli and several Black-Robed Mages.
• Merlin killed three Black-Robed Spellcasters with Dark Phantom Slaughter and forced their leader, Mage Mingye, to sign a Slave Contract.
• Mingye told Merlin that he served Eternal Night Mountain and had been hired by Weston of Tagan City to intercept and kill Madam Feli of Stone City.
• Madam Feli explained Mingye's power and forces, while Merlin learned that mages from Stone City were approaching.
• Merlin calmly asked Madam Feli to explain everything as the Stone City mages drew near.

Merlin reached Stone City with Madam Feli and learned from Mage Mingye that the Plane had once been ruled by evil deities before Mage Mogan defeated them and founded Glory Palace. Merlin suspected Mogan was a powerful Mage from the Land of Glory, and the chapter left him with a first account of the new Plane’s history.

• Mage Pujesai arrived with Stone City’s melee Mages, and Madam Feli credited Merlin and Mage Mingye with saving her from an ambush sent by Weston of Tagan City.
• Merlin rode with Madam Feli to Stone City while Mage Mingye guarded the carriage, and Merlin quietly checked that Didimos had survived their arrival in the new Plane.
• Madam Feli brought Merlin to her residence in the busy trading city, where Merlin summoned Mage Mingye to question him about the Plane.
• Mage Mingye explained that evil deities had ruled the world until Mage Mogan defeated them in a century-long war and taught people to become Spellcasters.
• Mingye described how Mogan founded Glory Palace for Ninth-level Spellcasters, and Merlin concluded that Mogan was likely a powerful Mage from the Land of Glory.

Merlin learned how Stone City and its Plane were governed, then discovered a vast Elemental Crystal Mine that could provide the wealth he needed. He planned to claim a share of the mine and use it to advance his goals in the Plane.

• Merlin learned from Mingye that Stone City was controlled by the Merchant Alliance elders rather than a City Lord.
• Mingye identified Merlin as an Outworld Spellcaster, and Merlin confirmed it after hearing that the Plane accepted outsiders under Mage Mogan’s rule.
• Mingye explained that merchants held power because they controlled the money Spellcasters needed to buy knowledge, resources, and training.
• Mingye revealed that Weston of Tagan City had hired him to intercept Madam Feli in exchange for a map to a massive Elemental Crystal Mine.
• Merlin promised Mingye a share if the mine was real and decided to secure control of the valuable resource.

Madam Feli told the Merchant Alliance elders about Merlin, and they warned her that he might be an Outworld Spellcaster and should not be provoked. At a Glory Palace branch, Merlin discovered that spellcaster knowledge and Fused Magic Energy had remained far more powerful and complete beyond the Land of Glory, leaving him eager to find better resources.

• Madam Feli recounted Merlin's arrival and his defeat of Mage Mingye and his subordinates to the Merchant Alliance elders.
• An elder told Madam Feli that Merlin might be a legendary Outworld Spellcaster and ordered her not to provoke him or maintain close ties.
• Merlin visited Stone City's Glory Palace branch with Mage Mingye and found that an elementary Mental Meditation Technique rivaled an advanced technique from the Land of Glory.
• Merlin examined the branch's Potionology, Runology, Alchemy, and puppet-making knowledge and found them more complete than the knowledge of the Land of Glory.
• Merlin discovered that the branch openly sold genuine Fused Magic Energy, which spellcasters could buy with Elemental Crystals.

Merlin agreed to let Mingye recruit help from Eternal Night Mountain before they continued toward Tagan City and the Elemental Crystal Mine. Meanwhile, Tagan City's leaders decided to offer the mine's map to Mage Tanbet of Bisi City in hopes of preserving their city and reviving its trade.

• Merlin told Mingye they would visit Eternal Night Mountain after bidding Madam Feli farewell, so Mingye could bring his subordinates to help secure the mine.
• Weston learned that Mingye had spared Madam Feli and appeared in Stone City, and he feared Eternal Night Mountain and Stone City would join forces to seize the mine.
• Weston's father explained that Tagan City could not hold the mine alone and urged the city to offer it to a powerful mage in exchange for a share of the proceeds.
• Weston objected to involving Tanbet, but his father said the Elder Council had chosen to seek his protection rather than risk Tagan City's destruction.
• Weston agreed to travel secretly to Bisi City and invite Tanbet to Tagan City.

Merlin and Mage Mingye returned to Eternal Night Mountain and discovered that Bisi City had learned about its hidden valley of rare potion ingredients. Merlin killed the Bisi City mages who tried to escape, and the mountain’s spellcasters remained wary until Mingye arrived and ordered Lems and Kwell to stop.

• Mage Mingye explained that Eternal Night Mountain’s hidden valley of potion ingredients had sustained his force, though selling too many rare materials had risked exposing it.
• Merlin and Mage Mingye found spellcasters from Bisi City confronting the mountain’s mages, and the crimson-robed visitors threatened to report the valley to Mage Tanbet.
• Lems and Kwell attacked the Bisi City mages, but the crimson-robed spellcasters used a Rune Formation in their robes to block the assault and flee.
• Merlin intercepted the fleeing mages, froze them all with Ice Dominion, and shattered their ice-bound bodies.
• The spellcasters of Eternal Night Mountain arrived and questioned Merlin’s intentions, but Mage Mingye appeared and ordered Lems and Kwell to stop.

Mingye brought Merlin to the hidden valley on Eternal Night Mountain, where Merlin placed Mingye in charge of the mountain and its mine. Meanwhile, Spellcaster Tanbet arrived in Tagan City to investigate the mysterious mage who had taken control of Mingye, and he summoned Stone City’s people to question them.

• Mingye returned to Eternal Night Mountain, introduced Merlin as his master, and reminded his subordinates that Merlin had saved them from the red-robed mages.
• Mingye led Merlin to a secluded valley filled with rare potion ingredients and explained that Spellcaster Tanbet’s greed threatened Eternal Night Mountain.
• Merlin assigned Mingye to manage Eternal Night Mountain and its mine, then ordered him to bring spellcasters to Tagan City the next day.
• Spellcaster Tanbet arrived in Tagan City with powerful red-robed mages, accepted the elders’ welcome, and met with Weston and the city’s spellcasters.
• Tanbet revealed that Mingye had signed a Slave Contract with a mysterious spellcaster and ordered a mage to summon Stone City’s people so he could question them.

Mage Tanbet summoned Madam Feli and learned that Merlin might be an Outworld Spellcaster, then went to confront Merlin over the Elemental Crystal Mine map. Believing Merlin was only a Fourth-level Spellcaster, Tanbet ordered an attack, but Merlin’s Ashen Flame killed two Sixth-level Mages, leaving Tanbet facing him.

• Mage Tanbet pressured Madam Feli into recounting how Merlin had saved her, and an elder identified Merlin as an Outworld Spellcaster.
• Mage Tanbet weighed surrendering the mine map against the danger Merlin posed, then learned Merlin’s forces had arrived outside Tagan City.
• Merlin arrived at Tagan City with Mage Mingye and recognized the crimson-robed Spellcasters from Bisi City waiting there.
• Mage Tanbet mistook Merlin’s Fourth-level rank and Fifth-Level Spells for proof that he was no Outworld Spellcaster, then ordered two Sixth-level Mages to kill him.
• Merlin used Ashen Flame to burn the two attackers to ashes and turned his gaze toward Mage Tanbet.

Merlin battled Tanbet, a peak Seventh-level Spellcaster, to test his strength but could only suppress him with his spells. Refusing Tanbet’s offer to withdraw, Merlin revealed the Dark Eye and prepared to kill him so he could take control of Bisi City.

• Tanbet gave Merlin the Elemental Crystal Mine map and tried to retreat, but Merlin trapped him in Dark Concealed Slaughter.
• Merlin added the Rune Heart Seal’s Rune Formation, but Tanbet shattered it with his Wind Spell, Piercing Wind.
• Merlin used Ice Dominion and Ashen Flame, yet Tanbet’s fused Magic Energy, Rune Robe, and defensive spells kept him protected.
• Merlin concluded that his strength without the Dark Eye could rival Tanbet’s but could not kill him quickly.
• Tanbet offered to return to Bisi City and stop interfering in Tagan City, but Merlin declared he wanted Bisi City too.
• Merlin opened the blood-red eye in his palm as Tanbet vowed that killing him would not be easy.

Merlin killed Tanbet, took control of his faction, and secured the support of Tagan City’s people. He led them to investigate the Elemental Crystal Mine, whose scale remained unknown.

• Merlin used the Dark Eye’s fourth form to strip Tanbet of his control over Spells, then burned him to ashes.
• Mage Mingye persuaded Tanbet’s remaining red-robed Mages to submit to Merlin, and Merlin accepted their allegiance.
• Merlin recruited Madam Feli to help develop Bisi City and froze Weston to death.
• Merlin ordered the group to investigate the Elemental Crystal Mine and learned that Tagan City’s elders had kept its old map hidden until Stone City’s pressure forced them to reveal it.
• The group reached the marked hillside, and Merlin sent Mage Mingye to inspect the mine.

Merlin discovered an immense Elemental Crystal Mine and took control of Bisi City, placing Madam Feli in charge of its commerce and mining resources. After constructing new Fifth-Level Spells, he considered how to obtain lightning- and ice-type Fused Magic Energy to prepare for becoming an Archmage.

• Mingye dug into the hillside, and Merlin and the others found an enormous Elemental Crystal Mine stretching more than fifty li from east to west.
• Merlin ordered Mingye to organize the mining and appointed Madam Feli to lead a Commercial Guild overseeing Bisi City and its thirty-nine smaller cities.
• Merlin searched Tanbet's ring and found millions of Elemental Crystals, potions, and alchemical materials, then asked Madam Feli to seek ways to increase his Mental Power.
• After six days in seclusion, Merlin completed Wind Without a Trace and Flame of Annihilation, but his strength still only let him contend with Peak Seventh Level Spellcasters.
• Merlin studied the Book of Vastness and decided to seek Thunderstone and suitable ice-element treasures so he could cultivate more Fused Magic Energy for his future advancement to Archmage.

Merlin learned that the Illusory Heart, a rare treasure that strengthened Mental Power, would be auctioned in Dara City and set out to obtain it. After arriving at the city and securing entry to the auction, he discovered the Whirlwind Lord was in Private Room Number Thirteen and ordered Wizard Mingye to watch it.

• Madam Feli told Merlin that the Illusory Heart would be a finale item at Dara City's auction, and Merlin ordered her to gather as many Elemental Crystals as possible.
• The Whirlwind Lord arrived in Dara City, and Merlin held back from confronting him after he injured Wizard Mingye on the road.
• Merlin and his companions reached Dara City and entered the auction using Tanbet's guest plaque, which granted them access to Private Room Number Twenty-Eight.
• Merlin bribed the maid to reveal that the Whirlwind Lord was in Private Room Number Thirteen, then told Wizard Mingye to watch the room.