Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Arrival”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Green returns to his room with the alchemy scroll Mentor Lilian gave him and uses his Chip to scan, record, and upload its contents directly into his mind.
• The scroll contains basic alchemy theory, Lilian’s personal insights, and practical potion-making techniques. Green realizes that Lilian has given him unusually valuable private knowledge because she regards him as her only apprentice.
• He learns that Alchemy, Formation Studies, and Witch-Tool Crafting are the Wizarding World’s three most difficult and resource-intensive fields. Alchemy is especially demanding because potion ingredients vary subtly and success depends on experience, precision, mental focus, elemental control, and understanding ingredient properties.
• Green discovers that even experienced alchemists commonly have success rates of only around thirty percent, while new or advanced potions are far more likely to fail. This explains why potions are extremely expensive and why skilled alchemists are rare.
• Learning that Magic Stones serve as the currency and energy source of the wizarding world, Green sees alchemy as a way to become financially independent. He believes the Chip’s precise calculations and simulations may allow him to achieve unusually high success rates.
• Green spends the remainder of the voyage studying alchemy and meditating. He masters the material concerning beginner potions but deliberately hides his progress, intending to seek Lilian’s guidance after reaching the academy so that he will not appear unnaturally gifted.
• Three months after leaving, the ship docks at the Pale Woods, where the White House Academy is located. Bru orders the apprentices to gather their belongings and prepare to disembark.
• The apprentices have formed three major factions during the journey:
  • Ante’s Three-Eye Alliance
  • Robert’s Guardians Alliance
  • Gala’s Marauders Alliance
• The Three-Eye and Marauders alliances remain hostile, while Robert’s Guardians Alliance consists mainly of apprentices who wish to avoid the conflict. The academy tolerates this rivalry as a form of controlled competition.
• Bru leads the apprentices off the ship to complete their arrival procedures. Lilian has already departed, instructing Green to finish registration with Bru before seeking her out.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Green: Becomes deeply committed to alchemy and begins planning how to use it to acquire Magic Stones. He demonstrates caution and political awareness by concealing his rapid mastery rather than drawing attention to himself.
• Mentor Lilian: Shows strong trust and affection toward Green by giving him rare personal alchemical knowledge. Her investment confirms that she considers him an especially important apprentice.
• Robert: Has changed significantly after his defeat by Green. His arrogance has diminished, and he becomes calm, humble, and sincere. He apologizes to Green and even expresses gratitude, suggesting that the loss helped him mature.
• Green and Robert: Their relationship shifts from hostility and confrontation toward mutual respect. Robert’s apology is voluntary rather than fear-driven, marking a meaningful reconciliation.
• Bru: Continues acting as the supervising authority aboard the ship and organizes the apprentices’ disembarkation and registration.
• Ante, Robert, and Gala: Emerge as leaders of the three main apprentice factions and represent the growing political divisions among the students.

Significant Themes

• The cost of knowledge and advancement: Alchemy requires enormous resources, repeated failures, and long-term experience, reflecting the sacrifices involved in pursuing power.
• Talent versus accumulated experience: Natural ability alone is insufficient in alchemy; success depends on precision and practice. Green’s Chip gives him an unusual advantage by compensating for the difficulty of experimentation.
• Hidden strength and strategic restraint: Green deliberately conceals his abilities, recognizing that appearing too exceptional could create danger or unwanted attention.
• Mentorship and favoritism: Lilian’s special treatment of Green highlights the importance of teacher-student bonds and suggests that Green may have an exceptional future.
• Maturity through defeat: Robert’s transformation shows how failure can correct arrogance and lead to humility.
• Competition and factionalism: The alliances aboard the ship establish the academy’s social and political conflicts, with rivalry presented as both a source of danger and a means of growth.

Chapter Summary: “Entering the Academy”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Green and the other apprentices arrive at the Pale Forest, a completely white forest surrounding the Academy.
• Bru warns them to stay together because the forest is filled with radiation and occasional mutated beasts. Prolonged exposure can cause illness, genetic damage, or death.
• Green uses the Chip to scan the environment and discovers that the forest contains high-energy plants and dangerous radiation.
• He notices several grotesquely twisted trees covered in human and animal faces. Bru explains that these trees are carnivorous and hunt people who remain beneath them at night; their distorted forms indicate that they have already consumed living creatures.
• Despite the danger, Green becomes interested in studying the trees, showing his continued scientific curiosity and willingness to investigate dangerous phenomena.
• As the group travels deeper, the radiation intensifies, the temperature drops, and the white canopy blocks the sky. Green deduces that the trees absorb sunlight efficiently, causing the forest’s cold environment.
• After roughly half an hour, the group exits the forest and reaches the Academy’s enormous white city wall.
• Bru opens the entrance by providing a magical password through a rune. Inside, they find a crowded registration area where new apprentices are being documented, tested for Elemental Affinity, and assigned Mentors.
• Bru leaves immediately to prepare a Youth Potion, revealing his strong desire to restore his youthful appearance. He instructs Green to complete registration before promising to find him later.
• Green joins a registration line. When asked for his details, he identifies himself as eighteen years old, from the Maslow Alliance, and possessing First-Class Aptitude.
• Green then reveals that he is already a Second-Class Apprentice and has completed his Elemental Affinity test under Mentor Lilian. This shocks the registration apprentice and draws attention from the surrounding staff.
• Green is assigned a waiting area, while the officials begin treating him with increased respect and curiosity.

Character Developments

• Green: Demonstrates caution, intelligence, and scientific curiosity. He uses the Chip to analyze the Pale Forest, recognizes environmental dangers, and deduces why the forest is unusually cold. His revelation that he is already a Second-Class Apprentice establishes him as an exceptionally advanced young wizard and foreshadows his future success.
• Bru: Acts as a knowledgeable guide and protector, warning the apprentices about the forest’s dangers. His urgency to make a Youth Potion emphasizes his embarrassment and frustration over his aged appearance.
• The new apprentices: Initially fascinated by the strange forest, they quickly become fearful and remain close together after Bru explains the trees’ predatory nature.
• Registration apprentice and officials: Initially indifferent and skeptical, they become surprised and respectful after learning of Green’s rare aptitude and advanced rank.

Significant Themes

• Danger hidden beneath appearances: The beautiful white forest conceals radiation, mutated animals, and trees that devour living beings.
• Knowledge and observation: Green’s habit of analyzing the environment allows him to notice details others overlook and understand the forest more deeply.
• Exceptional talent and social status: Green’s First-Class Aptitude and Second-Class rank immediately distinguish him from other students and alter how others treat him.
• Science and magic: Green combines magical knowledge with the Chip’s technological scanning abilities, reflecting the story’s blend of wizardry and experimentation.
• Transformation and identity: Bru’s desire to regain his youth and the forest’s mutations both reinforce the chapter’s interest in physical change and the consequences of magical experimentation.

Character Interactions

• Bru leads the apprentices through the Pale Forest and warns them about radiation and mutated creatures.
• Green privately questions Bru about the twisted trees, prompting an explanation of their carnivorous nature.
• Bru later instructs Green to register and leaves to work on his Youth Potion.
• During registration, Green’s claims about his aptitude and rank cause the apprentice and nearby officials to question him, but his calm confidence confirms his exceptional status.

Key plot points and events

• Newt Clovize escorts Green through the Academy’s outer and inner barriers, explaining its six main areas and warning that students are under pressure.
• Green collects his apprentice supplies: a gray robe, a Sorcery-imbued identification pin that also opens castle doors, and a dormitory key.
• At the Experimental Area, Green meets Mentor Lilian in her laboratory. She points out that, despite Green already being a Second-Class Apprentice, his lack of basic wizarding knowledge means he should begin with general courses.
• Lilian gives Green a key to a fully equipped Potion Laboratory on the castle’s twenty-sixth floor, offering its use for free and promising to replenish its herbs.
• Green uses the Chip to map the Academy, avoids exploring its dangerous Experimental Area, and finds his single dormitory room, number 666.

Character development and interactions

• Green shows deference to Lilian and gratitude for her support. He recognizes his academic gaps and approaches the Academy cautiously, relying on the Chip and preferring preparation over spontaneous conflict. His dry humor comes through in his reactions to the room number and mechanical lock.
• Lilian acts as a concerned, supportive mentor: she acknowledges Green’s unusual head start, directs his studies, and gives him valuable laboratory access while warning him about unpredictable Wizards.
• Newt is a helpful guide, patiently explaining the Academy and escorting Green to collect his supplies.
• The supply clerk is surprised that Lilian personally sponsors Green, suggesting his association with her draws attention.

Significant themes

• Learning and preparation: Green’s advancement does not replace the need for fundamentals; he must build a systematic foundation.
• Independence and caution: The Academy expects apprentices to manage themselves, while its dangers make restraint and planning important.
• Institutional support and opportunity: Lilian’s mentorship gives Green access to resources that could accelerate his development.
• Contrasts within the Academy: White Wizard society seems relatively orderly, but its researchers, hazards, and eccentric personalities still make it a risky place.

Key plot points and events

• Green surveys the Academy, then rejects his neighbor Castian Thorne’s invitation to join a New Student Mutual Aid Society. He argues that wizarding knowledge is too valuable—and ability too dependent on talent—for such a group to last.
• For more than three months, Green follows an intense study routine: attending free introductory classes and memorizing all the publicly available Library material. Lilian’s favor spares him the errands other apprentices perform, letting him focus entirely on learning.
• Green becomes widely known for his exceptional speed and range of study. He also teaches popular Sunday lessons on Sorcery Models and earns Magic Stones from them.
• In the final class on Sorcery Model Principles, Mentor Karina explains how to solidify a Sorcery Model in one’s Mental Space so it can be cast repeatedly. The process risks backlash, depends on sufficient Mental Power and affinity, and is limited by the space available for permanent models.
• Green privately believes his Chip removes that limitation, since it can store vast numbers of models. Karina ends the class by offering a paid advanced course.

Character developments and interactions

• Green proves disciplined, ambitious, and highly capable, but his view of cooperation is dismissive: he believes talent matters more than shared study. His reputation grows as classmates admire his achievements and envy his advantages.
• Castian Thorne approaches Green warmly and invites him to collaborate; Green bluntly refuses, leaving Thorne stunned.
• Lilian is not present, but her support is crucial: by favoring Green and excusing him from routine assistant work, she enables his rapid progress.
• Karina delivers the final lesson and warns students about the dangers and limits of solidification. The apprentices listen attentively, while Green recognizes that his Chip may let him bypass the usual constraint.

Significant themes

• Talent versus cooperation: Green believes individual ability determines success and that study groups cannot overcome differences in aptitude.
• Knowledge and ambition: Green’s relentless acquisition of knowledge drives his progress and status.
• Unequal opportunity: Mentorship and special treatment give Green more time to study than ordinary apprentices.
• Limits and exceptions: Sorcery solidification imposes real risks and restrictions on most wizards, but Green’s Chip may place him outside those rules.

Key plot points and events

• Green reflects on the trade-offs of his strong Life and Nature affinity: those sorceries will be easy for him, while Negative Energy and Corrosion magic will be costly and potentially harmful. He decides to build on his strengths rather than chase perfection.
• He visits his mentor, Lilian, after completing Spell Model Construction. He reports that he has mastered Alchemy Fundamentals and expects to begin making beginner potions within a month.
• Lilian gives him two free sorcery models suited to his talents: Treant Summoning and Lesser Energy Fireball. She advises him to master at least five spells before leaving the Academy on a mission. Green promises not to go unprepared.
• Back in his dormitory, Green uses the Chip to extract the two models. It detects that all three of his spells—including Wizard’s Hand—can be optimized, so Green orders it to improve them together.
• The Chip predicts major gains: faster casting and lower Mental Power costs, stronger Treants with greater Fire resistance, and a more damaging Fireball with sustained burning and explosive effects. The process will consume 14 Mental Power and take over three hours.
• As optimization begins, Green notices his Mental Power declining and his physical attributes have each risen slightly, which he attributes to the Extreme Meditation Method.

Character developments and interactions

• Green shows confidence in his talent but also a practical attitude toward its limitations. He is eager to expand his options, yet accepts Lilian’s warning about preparation. His faith in the Chip leads him to attempt improvements far beyond what ordinary apprentices would risk.
• Lilian displays unusual care for Green: she has selected spells for him in advance, praises his progress, and monitors both his sorcery and alchemy training. She is impressed by his talent and wary that it could make him overconfident.
• Their mentor–student relationship is warm and respectful. Green thanks Lilian sincerely, while Lilian encourages him and gives him a clear safety guideline.

Significant themes

• Strengths and limitations: Green accepts that exceptional talent in some areas can make others harder, and resolves to work strategically rather than seek impossible perfection.
• Preparation and responsibility: Despite his confidence and new power, Green agrees that he should not leave the Academy until he is adequately equipped.
• Knowledge and innovation: The Chip turns Green’s study into a means of radically improving established spells, suggesting that careful analysis can surpass conventional limits—but at a cost to his Mental Power.

Key plot points and events

• Green asks the Chip how many spells he can solidify; it estimates five. The Chip completes an optimized model and solidifies Wizard’s Hand, Treant Summoning, and Lesser Energy Fireball.
• The following day, Green rents a private testing room at the Academy’s Sorcery Testing Area. He has enough Magic Stones from his popular tutoring classes and pays for three hours.
• He tests Lesser Energy Fireball, which registers an initial attack strength of 5 degrees and a lingering burn of 1. The Chip recalibrates its measurements to the Academy’s energy scale.
• Green then tests Treant Summoning. A pure-energy treant hits with strength 2, while a treant summoned using an acorn is much stronger: seven meters tall, with strength 5, rapid recovery, fire resistance, tough skin, and an entangling ability.
• Impressed by the results, Green decides to seek out more Life-Type Sorceries and heads to the Academy sales area to buy some.

Character developments

• Green’s confidence grows as he discovers that his unusually strong Grand Knight’s Life Barrier can withstand 30 degrees of energy—far beyond the defenses of most apprentices and even powerful enough to endure many Formal Wizards’ attacks.
• He remains cautious despite this advantage, recognizing that unusual magic such as curses may bypass or challenge his defenses.
• Testing reveals his special aptitude for Life-Type Sorcery: his acorn-based treant is exceptionally powerful, prompting him to pursue that branch further.
• The reception apprentice is eager to earn commission, then becomes notably deferential after seeing Green’s Magic Stone Card.

Significant themes

• Measurement and experimentation: Green uses systematic testing and the Chip’s calculations to evaluate spells and improve his understanding.
• Power through individual talent: Green’s Knightly defenses and Life-Type affinity make his abilities far exceed those of ordinary apprentices.
• Preparation and caution: Strong defenses give Green confidence, but he knows raw strength cannot guarantee safety against every magical threat.
• Resources and privilege: Magic Stones are a major barrier for many apprentices, while Green’s tutoring income lets him afford a private testing room and pursue alchemy and sorcery without the same financial pressure.

Character interactions

• Green relies on the Chip to optimize spell models, control their solidification, and interpret test results.
• He negotiates with the reception apprentice, who explains the testing facilities and processes Green’s room rental.
• Green’s treants respond to his mental commands, demonstrating his control over summoned creatures.
• His conclusions also reflect Mentor Lilian’s earlier guidance: she judged his defenses sufficient, though she had not anticipated just how exceptional his Knightly toughness was.

Key plot points and events

• Green visits the Academy Trading Area to buy basic spell templates. Using the catalogue’s search function, he finds the limited selection of Life-Type Sorcery.
• Because his Chip can store spell structures and help him learn them, Green sees no reason to choose selectively. He buys every Life-Type spell and all available support Wizard templates—about 279 in total—for one Magic Stone each.
• His large purchase surprises the clerk, who initially doubts Green’s request. Seeing Green’s Magic Stone Card, however, the apprentice promptly completes the transfer.
• On his way out, Green is greeted by Bru, whom he barely recognizes: after taking a Youth Potion, Bru has regained his youthful, handsome appearance.
• Bru explains the Academy’s triennial Pale Forest Monster Cleanup. Wizard activity gradually mutates nearby creatures into Demonic Beasts, so the Academy periodically clears the forest and gives apprentices a chance to train. Bru offers to put Green on his team and promises to keep him safe.
• Green accepts and, after discussing the details, decides he would rather work with someone familiar than join strangers.

Character developments and interactions

• Green shows confidence in his magical potential and financial security, purchasing an unusually broad collection rather than limiting himself to a few spells. He also makes a practical choice to join Bru’s team for the cleanup.
• Bru has recovered his former youthful appearance and remains cheerful and self-assured. He acts as an experienced senior, explaining the mission and inviting Green to join him.
• The clerk is initially cold and skeptical, but becomes attentive once he recognizes Green’s Magic Stone Card.
• Green and Bru reconnect warmly despite Green’s failure to recognize Bru at first. Bru’s offer reassures Green and gives him a familiar ally for the coming mission.

Significant themes

• Preparation and resourcefulness: Green uses the Chip’s capabilities to make extensive learning practical.
• Academy life and risk: The cleanup is both a training opportunity and a response to the dangers created by Wizards’ presence.
• Institutional contrast: Bru contrasts the relatively organized, group-based White Wizard cleanup with the harsher, more dangerous missions imposed on apprentices in Black Wizard organizations.
• Trust and companionship: Green prefers joining a known companion over facing the mission with strangers.

Key plot points and events

• After hearing that the Academy will sweep Pale Forest in a month, Green decides to strengthen his preparations. He has the Chip record spells and optimize models while preserving his combat ability.
• He solidifies three spells, including Illusion Breaker and Curse Cleansing, to guard against deceptive or unusual magic. He also studies curse spells and builds models for others so he can cast them quickly if needed.
• The next morning, Green uses Lilian’s scroll to gain access to her potion laboratory. Its magically protected door verifies the scroll and imprints his Mental Power, granting him secondary access.
• Green inspects the well-equipped laboratory and its preservation-protected storeroom, then gathers ingredients to make a Lesser Life Potion.
• The Chip simulates the preparation process. Its predicted success rate rises with repeated attempts, reaching 99% after 100 simulations. Green transfers the process into his mind, gaining a detailed, seemingly practiced understanding of how to prepare the potion.

Character development

• Green shows caution and strategic thinking: he identifies curses and illusions as greater threats than direct combat and prepares specifically for them.
• He is resourceful in using the Chip to optimize spellwork and reduce the uncertainty of potion-making. His reaction to the laboratory’s equipment also hints at a connection to his previous life.

Significant themes

• Preparation and adaptability: Green anticipates danger and builds a varied toolkit rather than relying on strength alone.
• Experience versus talent: Potion-making depends on repeated practice and sensitivity to small variations, not talent alone; the Chip helps Green simulate that learning.
• Magical security and mentorship: Lilian’s laboratory is carefully protected, and her access scroll gives Green valuable resources and instruction.

Character interactions

• Green and Lilian: Though Lilian is absent, her scroll grants Green access to her laboratory and establishes her as its highest authority.
• Green and the Chip: Green directs the Chip to record, optimize, simulate, and transfer information, relying on it as a tool for both magical preparation and technical learning.

Plot points and events

• Green prepares a Lesser Life Potion from Elf Fruit juice, carefully diluting it before adding a measured amount of Aisa Tree Root.
• Following the Chip’s instructions, he treats a Forest Cheetah’s heart with the mixture and uses an incantation and Mental Power to draw purified potion from it.
• His first attempt succeeds, producing a good-quality potion. The Chip identifies small timing and control flaws and suggests fixes.
• Green immediately tries again. With the Chip’s assistance, he avoids those mistakes and produces an excellent-quality batch, filling ten test tubes.
• Recognizing the potion’s value and his unusually high success rate, Green decides to keep his ability secret until he is powerful enough to protect himself. He continues practicing in the lab and at the Sorcery Testing Grounds to prepare for the coming sweep of the Pale Forest.

Character development

• Green is meticulous and ambitious, but dissatisfied even with a first-try success that most apprentices would find extraordinary.
• He learns from the Chip’s feedback, improves immediately, and shows growing confidence in potion-making.
• His satisfaction at the potion’s commercial potential is balanced by caution: he understands that revealing his near-perfect success rate could make him a target.

Significant themes

• Practice and improvement: Feedback and repetition turn a flawed success into an excellent result.
• Technology and skill: The Chip gives Green a major advantage in timing and Mental Power control.
• Knowledge as power: Green’s rare ability could disrupt the wizarding world, so secrecy is essential.
• Preparation and survival: His training serves the practical goal of surviving the dangers ahead.

Character interactions

• Green relies closely on the Chip for precise measurements, timing, analysis, and corrections; its assistance directly improves his second attempt.
• He briefly thanks the Forest Cheetah whose heart he reuses, acknowledging the creature’s role in his work.

Summary

• Lilian’s warning: Before the Pale Forest cleanup, Lilian repeatedly tells Green to prepare carefully and avoid injury, hinting that this year’s trial will be unusually dangerous. Taking her concern seriously, Green spends more time preparing in the Potion Laboratory.
• The trial’s new rules: At the Academy’s Mission Zone, a White-Robed Wizard announces that 2,575 apprentices—including 725 new students—must enter the Pale Forest and survive for a month. Established apprentices must submit ten Demonic Beast Cores to avoid expulsion. New students who go alone need only return alive, while those joining teams must contribute three cores; their teammates’ quotas fall to seven each. The unexpectedly severe penalty shocks the crowd and prompts a scramble to recruit new students.
• Green’s assessment: Fully equipped with armor, weapons, and supplies, Green keeps a low profile while observing the commotion. He suspects that desperate apprentices may eventually fight one another for cores. The Academy’s harsher policy also makes him suspect a larger crisis. Using his Chip, he learns that major changes to Academy training have historically coincided with wars between White and Black Wizards. The likely cause is an unconfirmed discovery of a large Magic Stone Mine in the Kroensa Mountains, with both sides preparing to contest it.
• Team plans: Green decides to seek out Bru’s team. Bru and a bald, rune-tattooed teammate are worried that Green may not join them, but Bru trusts his word. They see him as a valuable ally: he is a Second-Class Apprentice and Grand Knight, and his status as a new student lowers the team’s core requirement. Green arrives just as Bru is searching for him.

Character development and interactions

Green is cautious and resourceful, responding to Lilian’s warning by preparing extra tools and interpreting the Academy’s policy as a sign of impending conflict. Though he complains about repeatedly encountering wars, he quickly turns his attention to practical survival. Lilian’s repeated concern suggests she knows—or strongly suspects—that the trial is more dangerous than usual. Bru shows confidence in Green’s reliability, while his teammates’ anxiety reflects how abruptly the rules have changed.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes survival under institutional pressure, the cost of sudden rule changes, and the way fear can turn allies into rivals. It also foreshadows a wider war, suggesting that the Pale Forest trial may be part of a much larger struggle over resources.

Plot and events

Green reunites with Bru, who introduces his teammates: Sain, the defensive specialist; Miter, who provides mobility and support; and Aisha, the team’s main attacker. With the Academy’s unexpected penalty forcing them to capture more creatures than planned, Bru proposes starting with the familiar White Crows and avoiding dangerous beasts where possible. The team agrees.
After registering and receiving team Crests, the apprentices are teleported to a white forest. Green handles the journey easily thanks to his exceptional physique, while Bru and the others suffer severe vertigo. Once they recover, Sain uses Tracking Sorcery to locate the nearest lake, where the team hopes to find White Crows.

Character development and interactions

• Bru is enthusiastic to see Green and takes charge as captain. Though worried by the Academy’s changed requirements, he prioritizes the team’s safety and proposes a cautious plan.
• Green arrives well equipped, assesses his teammates’ abilities with Chip, and remains calm during teleportation. He supports Bru’s conservative approach.
• Sain comes across as courteous and dependable, then demonstrates his practical value by locating a lake.
• Miter and Aisha greet Green but are less outgoing than Sain; the chapter establishes Aisha as the team’s strongest-class apprentice and principal attacker.
• The team accepts Bru’s leadership and works collaboratively, with Bru directing the plan and Sain providing the means to carry it out.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes preparation and teamwork in the face of unexpected challenges. It also contrasts caution with ambition: the team needs to meet a demanding penalty, but Bru insists that survival should come before taking unnecessary risks. Green’s superior physical ability further highlights how varied an apprentice’s strengths can be.

Key plot points and events

• The group crosses the Pale Forest and reaches a Fog Lake, where dense mist interferes with detection Sorcery and makes hunting White Crows especially risky: any escape could scare off nearby flocks.
• Rather than leave, Green offers to use his archery to help the team catch them all. Bru reveals a special fragrance agent that lures White Crows by imitating the smell of fresh meat.
• The team prepares a coordinated ambush: Sain sets a Gravity Trap, Miter an Air Disruption Trap, Bru supplies the lure, and Aisha chooses an attack position.
• Twelve White Crows arrive. Green’s first arrows kill three; Sain’s trap brings down four more. Miter’s gust disrupts the fleeing birds, allowing Aisha to kill one, and Green shoots down three more.
• The last crow escapes into the mist, but Green fires a final arrow after it. The sound of the arrow striking and a splash confirm that he has killed it too.

Character developments

• Green proves himself an exceptional archer, using his Shooting Assist to account for wind, humidity, and the birds’ escape routes. His final shot succeeds even without a clear view.
• Bru shows confidence in his own invention and takes charge of organizing the ambush.
• Sain, Miter, and Aisha demonstrate how well they can work together, each contributing a different Sorcery attack at the crucial moment.

Character interactions

• Green’s offer changes the group’s decision from debating whether to leave to preparing a plan.
• Bru trusts Green’s ability and directs the others into their roles.
• During the attack, the team coordinates through shouted signals, especially Miter’s call to Aisha. When the last crow disappears into the mist, the others accept that Green has done well; his final shot then astonishes them.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and complementary skills: The catch succeeds because archery, traps, Sorcery, and the lure are used together.
• Preparation under pressure: The group turns a dangerous, unfavorable location into an opportunity through planning.
• Skill and confidence: Green’s precision and persistence make the difference when the others’ methods can no longer reach the final target.

Plot points and events

• Green kills the last White Crow, revealing that his archery is powerful enough to rival Sorcery. He has already taken down seven of the twelve birds.
• The group quickly harvests the White Crows’ eyes—their valuable cores, useful for making Vision-Enhancement Potions—and buries the bodies so they can continue attracting prey without drawing attention.
• Green uses Breath-Hiding Technique to conceal the smell of blood. The team then leaves the lake and makes camp for the night, wary of the Pale Forest and its dangerous creatures.
• Bru awards Green seven pairs of eyes, matching the number of White Crows he killed. Green accepts his share and leaves the rest of the spoils to the team’s usual end-of-hunt arrangement.
• Bru organizes rotating watches and uses a Crystal Orb to conceal the camp’s presence and warmth.

Character developments and interactions

• Green’s skill and composure surprise the team. His decisive contribution shifts the group’s balance: without anyone explicitly appointing him, he has begun to take the lead.
• Bru recognizes Green’s value, praises his archery, and fairly acknowledges his contribution when dividing the spoils. He also respects Green’s reluctance to explain how he learned his utility spell.
• Green is confident about claiming what he earned, but cooperative about leaving the remaining division to Bru’s team.
• Miter carefully extracts and preserves the eyes. The group accepts Bru’s decisions without dispute, showing trust and established teamwork.

Significant themes

• Competence and leadership: Green’s exceptional ability earns him influence within the group.
• Fairness and cooperation: The spoils are divided according to contribution, while the rest are reserved for later to avoid conflict.
• Survival through preparation: The group hides evidence, suppresses scents, chooses a safer campsite, and organizes watches.
• Hidden dangers: The forest remains threatening even during the quiet camp scene, reinforcing the characters’ vulnerability in the wilderness.

Plot points and events

• Green and his four companions wake in the Pale Forest after a cold night. Green is well-rested thanks to his strong constitution and the Chip keeping watch; the others are tired. They eat stamina pills before setting out.
• The Chip detects two nearby apprentices casting Ice- and Wind-based zero-level spells. Green proposes taking advantage of a possible fight, though Miter warns they may be facing a Demonic Beast. The group approaches to investigate.
• They find Newt badly wounded, with his right arm severed, while a blond apprentice in a black robe taunts him. The blond reveals a horribly disfigured, zombie-like face and blames Newt for taking the Potion apprentice position that led to his capture by Black Wizards.
• The attacker demonstrates his altered body by stabbing his own thigh. Rotting yellow fluid emerges, then flows back as the wound heals. Green orders the Chip to scan him before deciding what to do.

Character development

• Green is opportunistic but cautious: he sees the clash as a chance to benefit, yet checks the opponent’s strength before acting. His curiosity also makes him view the attacker as valuable research material.
• Miter voices practical caution, questioning Green’s assumption about the source of the spells.
• Newt is introduced as a defeated former Potion apprentice, apparently at the center of the attacker’s grievance.
• The black-robed apprentice is consumed by resentment toward Newt and takes pride in the monstrous body he gained through his experiences with Black Wizards.

Themes

• Survival and competition: Apprentices’ limited spells make conflicts opportunities as well as threats.
• Appearance and perception: Green reflects on how drastically appearance shapes how others judge a person.
• Transformation and dehumanization: The attacker’s ruined appearance and abnormal healing suggest the physical and psychological costs of Black Wizard influence.
• Caution versus opportunism: Green’s desire to exploit the situation is tempered by checking the danger first.

Character interactions

• Green’s proposal to approach the fight meets Miter’s skepticism, while Sain supports investigating because the conflict is close by.
• The attacker humiliates and physically assaults Newt, blaming him for the chain of events that led to his transformation.
• Green and his companions observe from cover, disturbed by the attacker’s appearance and behavior; Green then turns to the Chip for an assessment.

Key plot points and events

• Green’s Chip identifies Newt as severely weakened by blood loss, while Aichi’s Mental Power is in a permanent decline, likely caused by a magical alteration.
• Bru explains that Aichi once competed with Newt for the Academy’s limited alchemy apprenticeship. After losing, Aichi was denied support, became a Black Wizard’s test subject, and was enslaved by a Spiritual Imprint. He returned to take revenge on Newt.
• Aichi brutally torments Newt, then prepares to kill him. Newt activates a hidden Wizard artifact that creates a Stasis Field, freezing the surrounding world long enough for him to stab Aichi in the head.
• Aichi survives: his brain has been removed, so a head wound is no longer fatal. With Newt’s artifact spent, Aichi resumes his attack.
• Green intervenes with an enchanted arrow. It splits into ten projectiles and strikes Aichi with explosive force, scattering his body.

Character developments

• Newt reveals resourcefulness and resolve: despite his injuries and usual emotional reserve, he has saved a powerful artifact for a last resort. When Aichi survives, Newt finally shows fear and vulnerability.
• Aichi is revealed as a victim of cruel experimentation and magical enslavement, though he has become consumed by resentment toward Newt. His altered body lets him survive a normally fatal injury, but his worsening condition suggests he may not have long to live.
• Green moves from observing cautiously to taking direct action, using his knowledge, Chip, and archery to save Newt.
• Bru provides context about the Academy and Aichi’s past, but is left stunned by the confrontation.

Significant themes

• Victimhood and revenge: Aichi’s suffering helps explain his hatred, but his fixation on Newt turns that suffering into cruelty.
• Power and survival: Artifacts and magical modifications can overturn expectations, while even powerful abilities have limits.
• Observation versus intervention: Green initially watches to assess the danger, then acts when Newt is helpless.
• Dehumanization: Aichi’s bodily alterations and Spiritual Imprint show the cost of treating people as experimental subjects and tools.

Character interactions

• Aichi’s torment of Newt is driven by Newt’s calm, detached expression, which Aichi interprets as indifference.
• Newt fights back with the Stasis Field artifact, but Aichi’s modification defeats his attempt to finish the fight.
• Green and Bru discuss Aichi’s history while watching the duel; Green then protects Newt with a precisely enhanced arrow.

Key plot points

• Green kills Aichi with a sudden attack, then confirms through the Chip that Aichi is dead.
• He gathers the scattered remains as research material, using curse-protected gloves. Newt identifies Aichi’s unusual strength and rapid healing as signs of bodily modification.
• Green stores the corpse in a one-use Spatial Scroll, eager to study it.
• Green reasons that the Academy will come for Newt because it provided him with a Wizard artifact. A White-Robed Wizard, Torres, soon arrives through a spatial vortex.
• Green tells Torres what happened, but claims the whole squad helped rescue Newt. Torres recognizes that Green likely did most of the fighting, yet accepts the account.
• Green asks for the squad to pass the trial outright. Since he killed a First-Rank Dark Wizard Apprentice, Torres agrees. After Newt regains some Mental Power, Torres leads them back toward the Academy.

Character developments and interactions

• Green proves both powerful and calculating: he kills decisively, prioritizes collecting Aichi’s remains, deduces the Academy’s response, and quietly shares credit with the others to secure their success.
• Newt is badly injured and mentally exhausted, but grateful to Green. He recognizes Green’s promise and explains why Aichi’s body is worth studying.
• Bru, Sain, and the squad are shaken by Green’s unsettling enthusiasm for collecting a corpse. Their fear shifts from Aichi to Green, but they later feel gratitude when he includes them in his account.
• Torres, Newt’s Mentor, rewards the group and lets them pass the trial, while seeming aware that Green was the main combatant.

Significant themes

• Ambition and the pursuit of knowledge: Green treats even a dangerous enemy’s remains as valuable research material.
• Power and survival: The trial tests who can withstand real danger; defeating a Dark Wizard Apprentice exceeds its requirements.
• Pragmatism and moral unease: Green’s efficient, clinical behavior saves the group, but unsettles those around him.
• Loyalty and shared credit: Though the squad contributed little, Green’s account helps them benefit from his achievement.

Key plot points

• Academy Wizards discover that Black Wizard Apprentices have infiltrated the Academy using Spiritual Imprints that bypassed its defensive Formation.
• They vote to continue the trial, judging it safer than the coming war over a Magic Stone Mine. They recall all new students, send Wizards to escort them, and order the Formation School to strengthen the Academy’s defenses.
• After returning to the Academy with Torres and the others, Green reports to his Mentor, Lilian, then begins examining Aichi’s preserved body.
• Three days of research reveal that Aichi’s cells contain an unknown gel-producing substance, created by a foreign gene spliced into his DNA. The gene replicates rapidly, heals and strengthens the body, and carries brain cells throughout it—but consumes immense energy and becomes increasingly unstable, eventually threatening total genetic collapse.
• Green sees a possible application: combining the gene with the Helos Parasite, whose instinct is to protect its host, might produce a parasite that heals wounds while restraining its own growth.

Character developments and interactions

• The Academy’s Wizards prioritize preparation for war over stopping the trial, though they protect new students by recalling and escorting them.
• The Formation School is held responsible for the breach, and its leading Wizard sharply orders the School to repair the defenses.
• Green proves methodical and resourceful as a researcher, applying knowledge from his previous life alongside Wizarding techniques. His discovery also leads him toward a potentially useful—but risky—experiment.
• Green parts from Torres and the others after returning, then explains the situation to Lilian before devoting himself to research.
• Aichi’s altered body becomes the subject of Green’s investigation; its remarkable healing ability is shown to come at the cost of severe biological instability.

Significant themes

• War and sacrifice: The Wizards accept danger in the trial as preparation for a larger conflict.
• Power and its price: Aichi’s rapid healing comes from a gene that may ultimately destroy its host.
• Scientific ambition and risk: Green considers adapting a dangerous biological mechanism by combining it with a more protective organism.
• Institutional vulnerability and accountability: The infiltration exposes the Academy’s failed defenses and the consequences of relying on them.

Plot points and events

• After a week of sleepless experiments, Green finds that directly combining Aichi’s special gene with the Helos Parasite’s genes causes a violent conflict. The parasite’s healing becomes uncontrolled, while its original abilities weaken.
• Green realizes the Helos Parasite is too genetically complex to serve as a carrier. Recalling bacteriophages, he asks the Chip to identify Wizarding World organisms that acquire genes from their hosts.
• He chooses the Pulos Bloodsucker, which can infect many kinds of organisms and incorporate foreign genes. He prepares it to acquire both the desired Helos Parasite gene segment and Aichi’s special gene.
• Early bloodsuckers die from the genes’ incompatibility. Green persists through successive generations until the rejection weakens and the organisms can carry both genes without conflict.
• The genes remain inactive, so Green uses a spell to injure the bloodsuckers, selecting the survivors whose genes activate. He breeds these through further generations and declares the First Phase complete, preparing to continue with sorcery.

Character development

• Green moves from frustration and uncertainty to a breakthrough by changing his approach rather than abandoning the experiment.
• His determination is evident in his relentless work and willingness to repeat experiments across many generations.

Significant themes

• Persistence and adaptation: Repeated selection gradually reduces genetic incompatibility.
• Scientific reasoning and experimentation: Green draws on knowledge from his former life, consults the Chip, and revises his method based on results.
• Control versus unintended consequences: The genetic abilities are powerful but initially unstable; Green must find a way to activate and manage them.

Character interactions

• Green’s interaction with the Chip supplies the list of possible gene-acquiring organisms and helps him identify the Pulos Bloodsucker.
• Green’s relationship with the test organisms is entirely experimental: he engineers their genes, exposes them to infection, and selectively breeds survivors.

Key plot points

• Green activates a Mass Contract Scroll, using his blood and a sample of Pulos Bloodsuckers to bind them to himself. The scroll crumbles after the spell succeeds, and Green gains direct control over the creatures.
• He renames them Symbiotes and begins testing how well they can coexist with a host.
• After three days and many trials, the Symbiotes have established a controlled ecosystem inside white mice. Green orders them to repair a mouse’s severed foreleg; they stop the bleeding and regrow it in about thirty seconds.
• The repair is far more orderly than in earlier experiments, when unstable growth produced grotesque, malformed tissue. Green estimates the Symbiotes need three more generations of cultivation before he can implant them in himself.

Character development and interactions

• Green is resourceful and ambitious, combining knowledge from his previous life, the Chip’s computing power, and Wizarding World magic to develop and control the Symbiotes.
• He is willing to experiment on himself, but remains wary of the Symbiotes’ earlier unpredictable effects. He plans to put them in capsules rather than swallow them directly.
• Green’s relationship with the Symbiotes shifts from researcher and subject to a magically bonded controller: he can communicate commands to them through their connection to his blood and soul.
• His experiments with the mice show his careful, hands-on approach, while his memories of malformed growth reveal the emotional cost of past failures.

Significant themes

• Science and magic working together: Green uses biological research and magical contracts to overcome obstacles that neither approach might solve as effectively alone.
• Control versus unpredictability: The contract gives Green command over the Symbiotes, while selective cultivation makes their effects on hosts increasingly stable.
• Transformation and symbiosis: The Symbiotes are being changed from parasites into organisms that support and repair their hosts.
• Ambition balanced by caution: Green aims to enhance himself but waits for further testing before taking that risk.

• Plot: Green swallows pills containing a symbiote. The Chip reports major physical enhancements and seven symbiotic talents, then detects the symbiote absorbing radiation and predicts a slight increase in Green’s elemental affinity. Green confirms that Fire and Life elements respond more readily, and decides to focus on Alchemy because he is running short of Magic Stones. Some time later, as the Academy’s trials near their end, he presents his mentor, Lilian, with a Lesser Life Potion he has deliberately made imperfect to avoid drawing too much attention.
• Character development: The symbiote makes Green substantially more capable and strengthens his elemental magic. He also shows growing skill and discipline in Alchemy, while staying cautious about revealing the full extent of his abilities. His financial worries remain a practical concern.
• Interactions and turning point: Lilian examines the potion, identifies errors that weakened it, but praises Green for successfully making one and recognizes his talent. She then warns him that the Academy is unstable and war may break out; as the School’s only successor, he could be sent to the front. Green accepts her direction, and Lilian gives him a necklace containing an instant-cast First-Level Spatial Teleportation spell so he can escape even a Formal Wizard. Touched, Green bows to her before leaving.
• Themes: The chapter highlights ambition and resourcefulness, the risks of a looming conflict, and the protective bond between mentor and student. Green’s new power offers opportunity, but Lilian’s gift underscores the danger ahead.