Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Negotiation, I Want You to Protect Him”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Leo asks his mentor, Stofen, whether he should accept Wizard Bess’s invitation to dinner. Stofen warns that Bess’s connection to the Mysterious Eagle Faction and goodwill toward the Prossians may indicate political or strategic motives.
• Stofen explains that Leo’s published GG Submission has attracted the attention of Formal Wizards. His research implies connections to Stofen’s Dragon Blood Purification Potion, Plaisey’s improved Flying Pumpkin, and—most importantly—Wizard Sajia’s Magitech Device research.
• Stofen criticizes Leo for provoking Sajia, reminding him that Augusta’s protection is temporary and tied to the fulfillment of Augusta’s prophecy. Leo argues that his aggression was necessary to prevent the Golden Eagle Faction from obstructing his research.
• Stofen emphasizes that Leo’s immediate priority must be advancing to the Formal Wizard level, which would give him greater protection and status.
• Stofen cryptically suggests that the Formal Wizards of the Tower of Dawn are also trapped in dangerous circumstances, though he refuses to explain before leaving for another appointment.
• Stofen then visits Sajia, who is privately raging against Augusta over the damage done to him. Stofen offers a possible method for restoring Sajia’s spiritual energy, using Leo’s research as the basis.
• In exchange, Stofen asks Sajia to protect Leo when Stofen may no longer be able to do so. Sajia initially refuses because he blames Leo for his current condition, but Stofen argues that Augusta is the true culprit.
• Stofen sweetens the deal by offering the division and derivation method for Magitech Devices, along with help restoring Sajia’s spiritual energy. Sajia becomes willing to negotiate, effectively accepting the premise of the deal.
• The chapter ends with Leo meeting Wizard Bess in a private, Magitech-filled room for their dinner conversation.

Character Developments

• Leo: Becomes more aware of how dangerous his public research and past confrontations have made his position. Although he admits some impulsiveness, he remains convinced that challenging powerful factions was necessary for his survival and progress.
• Stofen: Reveals himself to be actively maneuvering to secure Leo’s future protection. He treats Leo as a valuable student but remains secretive about the broader dangers facing the Tower of Dawn’s Formal Wizards.
• Sajia: Shows intense resentment toward Augusta and hostility toward Leo, but his desperation to restore his spiritual energy forces him to reconsider his hatred. He begins moving from outright rejection toward a pragmatic alliance with Stofen.
• Augusta: Though absent, he remains a central source of danger and manipulation. His prophecy and actions influence the relationships and risks surrounding Leo and Sajia.
• Bess: His invitation establishes him as a potentially important political or factional player, though his motives remain unclear.

Significant Themes

• Political maneuvering and survival: Leo’s safety depends less on personal strength than on alliances, factional interests, and the protection of stronger Wizards.
• The cost of ambition and research: Leo’s discoveries have gained him recognition but also attracted powerful enemies who may seek to control or eliminate him.
• Temporary protection and vulnerability: Stofen’s warning makes clear that Augusta’s and Stofen’s protection cannot be relied upon indefinitely.
• Pragmatic alliances: Personal hatred gives way to negotiation when survival and restoration are at stake, particularly in Stofen’s deal with Sajia.
• Secrets and incomplete trust: Stofen withholds important information, leaving Leo uncertain whether he can truly regard his mentor as a companion or ally.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Stofen discuss Bess’s invitation, Leo’s enemies, and the consequences of his confrontation with Sajia.
• Stofen and Sajia negotiate a deal in which Sajia may protect Leo in return for help restoring his spiritual energy and access to Magitech research.
• The chapter concludes with Leo and Bess beginning their much-anticipated private meeting, setting up a new negotiation or revelation.

Chapter Summary: “Bess’s Test”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Leo is invited to dinner by Bess, a Formal Wizard and an important member of the Prossian-friendly Mysterious Eagle Faction.
• Bess explains the three major Formal Wizard factions in the Central Region:
  • Golden Eagle Faction: Hostile toward Prossians.
  • Hunting Eagle Faction: Neutral toward Prossians.
  • Mysterious Eagle Faction: Friendly toward Prossians.
• Bess repeatedly emphasizes both his factional status and his goodwill toward Prossians, making Leo suspect that the invitation has a hidden purpose.
• Bess reveals that Augusta told him about Leo’s supposed Bloodline Ability, which Leo believes was part of Augusta’s effort to test or manipulate him.
• Leo confirms that he possesses a Bloodline Ability connected to Prophecy Studies, but downplays its value.
• Bess points out that Leo used the ability to help Sajia repair a magic-mechanism artifact and Stofen create the Dragon Blood Purification Potion. He then asks Leo to use it for him, claiming that Leo can still activate it once more.
• During dinner, Bess applies emotional and political pressure. He argues that Leo used the ability for hostile and neutral factions but now claims it is unavailable to a faction that supports Prossians.
• Leo recognizes the trap: refusing Bess could damage the Mysterious Eagle Faction’s attitude toward Prossians, whose position in the Tower of Dawn depends heavily on that faction’s support.
• Unable to fulfill Bess’s request directly, Leo decides to manipulate the situation through careful acting. He claims that, unlike with other factions, he may be willing to reveal an alternative method of replenishing his Bloodline Ability.

Character Developments

• Leo: Demonstrates sharp political awareness and self-control. He sees through Bess’s repeated declarations of friendliness and realizes Augusta deliberately selected Bess as a more effective test. Rather than responding emotionally, Leo adopts a convincing façade of hesitation and sympathy to protect himself and the Prossians.
• Bess: Is presented as persuasive, politically influential, and subtly coercive. Although he claims to support Prossians, he uses that support as leverage to pressure Leo. His calm exterior gives way to irritation when Leo refuses to comply.
• Augusta: Though absent, she drives the conflict. By telling Bess that Leo’s ability could still be used once, she creates a situation designed to expose or pressure Leo.
• Sajia and Stofen: Their previous interactions with Leo’s ability establish its immense value and explain why the Formal Wizards are interested in obtaining his help.

Significant Themes

• Political manipulation and factional power: The chapter highlights how factional alliances influence individual negotiations and the precarious position of Prossians in the Tower of Dawn.
• Trust versus appearances: Bess’s repeated insistence that he is friendly makes Leo more suspicious, showing that declarations of goodwill may conceal self-interest.
• Strategic deception: Leo relies on acting, misdirection, and selective truth rather than direct confrontation to survive a dangerous political test.
• Exploitation of exceptional power: Leo’s Bloodline Ability is treated as a priceless resource, and the chapter shows how possessing rare abilities can attract both admiration and coercion.
• Social pressure as a weapon: Bess frames Leo’s refusal as an insult to the Mysterious Eagle Faction, attempting to make him feel responsible for the treatment of all Prossians.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Bess maintain polite, respectful conversation, but their exchange is actually a concealed power struggle.
• Bess flatters Leo by comparing him with accomplished apprentices, then gradually shifts to probing his Bloodline Ability.
• Leo recognizes Bess’s friendliness as a tactic and responds with carefully controlled politeness rather than open suspicion.
• Bess uses the Mysterious Eagle Faction’s support for Prossians to pressure Leo into helping him.
• Leo counters by appearing emotionally conflicted and favorably disposed toward Bess’s faction, preparing to offer a carefully controlled alternative instead of revealing the truth.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Leo tells Wizard Bess that his Bloodline Ability, which resembles future deduction, requires a specially prepared environment tailored to the problem being investigated. This environment reduces the ability’s consumption.
• Leo reveals that using the ability also shortens his lifespan, potentially by ten or twenty years, but presents this sacrifice as repayment for Bess’s past help to the Prossians.
• Bess believes Leo’s explanation and promises to find a life-extending medicine after becoming a Second-Circle Wizard. Despite this concern, Bess still expects Leo to use the ability for his research.
• Bess explains that his research concerns a rare astronomical phenomenon: the total lunar eclipse. Because it appears only briefly each year, collecting sufficient research data is extremely difficult.
• Leo warns that complete data would greatly improve his chances of success. Without it, the deduction might take more than ten years or might not succeed at all.
• Bess hesitates to share his hard-won research data, fearing Leo could benefit from it without completing the project. He agrees to prepare the necessary environment first and asks for time to organize the data.
• Meanwhile, Wizard Meys approaches Vivian at the Wizard Journal, hoping to contact Leo and obtain one of Leo’s limited research slots. Vivian reveals that many Wizards—including Formal Wizards—are competing for these slots because Leo’s research has a high chance of solving difficult problems.
• Meys realizes Leo has become highly influential since advancing from a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice.
• After Meys leaves, his instructor asks whether he can monitor Leo’s movements. Meys warns that Leo is being watched by many Formal Wizards, but the instructor dismisses this concern and declares that the matter is an order, not a question.

Character Developments

• Leo demonstrates intelligence and strategic manipulation. He presents his demands as self-sacrifice and loyalty, gaining Bess’s cooperation while concealing his resentment toward Bess’s willingness to exploit his lifespan.
• Bess is shown to be deeply focused on research and willing to accept severe sacrifices from others. He recognizes Leo’s value but remains suspicious and protective of his research data.
• Vivian acts as a gatekeeper for Leo, managing requests from increasingly powerful Wizards while realistically warning applicants that access is unlikely.
• Meys is humbled by Leo’s rapid rise in status and understands that Leo’s popularity has made him difficult to approach or track.
• Meys’s instructor is revealed to be forceful and authoritarian, treating surveillance of Leo as an obligation rather than a negotiable task.

Significant Themes

• The cost of knowledge: Magical research may demand years of life, rare opportunities, and personal sacrifice.
• Exploitation in the pursuit of research: Bess’s willingness to use Leo’s lifespan highlights how Formal Wizards prioritize breakthroughs over individual welfare.
• Trust and secrecy: Leo hides his true feelings, while Bess withholds data because both sides fear being exploited.
• Power and status: Leo’s research ability has transformed him from a minor apprentice into someone sought after by Formal Wizards.
• Orders versus personal choice: The closing exchange emphasizes authoritarian control and foreshadows possible attempts to manipulate or monitor Leo.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Bess negotiate the conditions for using Leo’s deduction ability, with Leo framing the arrangement as repayment and Bess accepting despite the personal cost.
• Their exchange reveals a mismatch between outward gratitude and underlying distrust: Leo speaks respectfully but privately condemns Bess’s selfishness.
• Vivian and Meys discuss the intense competition for Leo’s research slots, establishing Leo’s growing importance within the Wizard community.
• Meys and his instructor end the chapter in conflict over strategy: Meys stresses the difficulty of following Leo, while his instructor insists that tracking him is a direct command.

Chapter Summary: “Powerful Demonic Creature Clan, Abyss Blood Demon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Meys receives secret instructions to monitor Leo, particularly the future expedition Leo will undertake with another of Stofen’s students to gather materials for a Bloodline Ability. He is ordered to determine the expedition’s exact timing and destination.
• While walking, Meys encounters a mysterious little boy claiming to be a knight searching for Wizard Anthony’s laboratory. Although the boy appears harmless, Meys senses an overwhelming and momentary danger from him.
• Meys gives the boy directions but becomes suspicious, realizing the child is neither an ordinary knight nor a Wizard. He eventually suspects that the boy may be the escaped Abyss Blood Demon from the prison.
• At Anthony’s laboratory, Leo examines the completed Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device. Anthony has finished the prototype only a month after receiving Leo’s research slot.
• Anthony demonstrates that the device creates an energy garment capable of absorbing spells and storing their spiritual energy in energy bars. The stored energy can later be released, allowing the garment to continue functioning.
• The device can currently absorb spells with the power limit of a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice. Leo recognizes its immense commercial value, while Anthony hopes eventually to create a version capable of absorbing Formal Wizard spells.
• During the demonstration, Leo detects the smell of blood and realizes that someone has been hiding inside the laboratory.
• The disguised intruder attacks suddenly, injuring Anthony and taking the Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device. The attacker is revealed to be the Abyss Blood Demon, an escaped prisoner from the Crimson Sea.
• The chapter ends as Leo confronts the powerful demonic creature, whose Magical Pressure exceeds the limits of a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice and is roughly comparable to that of a Formal Wizard.

Character Developments

• Meys: Demonstrates caution and strong observational ability. His fear of the little boy reveals how dangerous he believes the Abyss Blood Demon to be. He continues secretly investigating Leo while concealing his own connection to the mysterious instructor.
• Leo: Becomes increasingly suspicious of Anthony’s unusually rapid research progress, suspecting that Anthony may possess prior knowledge or a prototype of the device. He also proves highly perceptive by detecting the hidden attacker before the assault.
• Anthony: Shows impressive research efficiency and technical skill by completing a functional device in only one month. His excitement and ambition grow as he imagines improving the device enough to absorb Formal Wizard spells.
• Abyss Blood Demon: Establishes itself as an intelligent, deceptive, and extremely dangerous enemy. It disguises itself as a child, infiltrates the laboratory, and strikes at the most advantageous moment.

Significant Themes

• Hidden identities and deception: The Abyss Blood Demon conceals itself behind the appearance of an innocent child, while Meys also hides his true objectives and allegiance.
• Power and technological advancement: The Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device represents a major advancement that could alter the balance of power among Wizard Apprentices.
• Ambition and research: Anthony’s research reflects the pursuit of increasingly powerful magical technology, while Leo evaluates both its practical value and its limitations.
• Danger beneath appearances: The chapter repeatedly contrasts harmless appearances with real power, emphasizing that the most dangerous threats may not look threatening.
• Surveillance and conspiracy: Meys’s mission to track Leo suggests that larger forces are monitoring Leo’s movements and preparing to interfere with his future plans.

Character Interactions

• Meys and the disguised Abyss Blood Demon exchange polite words, but Meys privately senses the boy’s terrifying strength and directs him to Anthony’s laboratory.
• Leo and Anthony collaborate in testing the Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device. Leo evaluates its capabilities critically, while Anthony explains its operation and defends the possibility of future improvements.
• The peaceful research discussion abruptly becomes a confrontation when the Abyss Blood Demon attacks Anthony, steals the device, and exposes its identity to both Anthony and Leo.

Chapter Summary: “At Ease”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Leo and Anthony confront an Abyss Blood Demon who escaped from imprisonment in the Central Region. The demon is exceptionally intelligent, possesses Magical Pressure comparable to a Formal Wizard, and wears an Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device.
• Leo initially suggests that they flee separately, but the demon immediately recognizes that the discussion may be a trap. Anthony confirms that the demon has accurately seen through their supposed deception.
• The demon declares that Anthony is his true target and offers to spare Leo if he leaves. Leo refuses, insisting that Anthony is his friend and that he will not abandon him.
• The Abyss Blood Demon attacks using his Bloodline Ability, manipulating the blood within Leo and Anthony’s bodies and causing them to swell violently.
• Anthony explains the ability and uses Fleshcraft magic to stabilize their blood, nullifying the attack.
• The demon then creates a blood clone of himself. Anthony identifies the technique as the origin of Flesh Puppet-style spells and destroys the clone with another Fleshcraft spell.
• Anthony reveals that the Tower of Dawn has studied the Abyss Blood Demon’s abilities for centuries and has developed spells specifically designed to counter them.
• The demon argues that his spell-absorbing garment gives him an unbeatable advantage. Anthony counters that he personally researched the device and knows how to control or overcome it.
• Anthony transforms into a three-meter-tall giant and advances confidently. Although the demon hesitates, he ultimately attacks, moving several times faster than Anthony.

Character Developments

• Leo: Demonstrates loyalty and courage by refusing to abandon Anthony despite recognizing the demon’s superior strength. He also remains calm enough to withstand the blood-manipulation attack.
• Anthony: Reveals extensive expertise in Fleshcraft and other magical disciplines. His confidence grows as he uses specialized spells to neutralize the demon’s abilities and asserts his control over the research behind the demon’s garment.
• Abyss Blood Demon: Shows strong intelligence, combat experience, and pride. He quickly detects deception and relies heavily on his ancient Bloodline Ability and spell-absorbing garment. However, he becomes increasingly enraged when Anthony repeatedly counters techniques that once seemed invincible.

Significant Themes

• Knowledge versus age and experience: Although the demon has centuries of combat experience, modern Wizards have systematically analyzed his abilities and developed effective counters.
• Preparation and research as power: Anthony emphasizes that Wizard research is meant to produce controllable tools, suggesting that understanding a device is more important than merely possessing it.
• Loyalty and friendship: Leo refuses to save himself at Anthony’s expense, choosing solidarity even when escape would be safer.
• Pride and adaptability: The demon’s confidence in his ancient powers clashes with Anthony’s modern magical knowledge, while his anger suggests difficulty adapting to opponents who understand his abilities.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Anthony coordinate against the demon, though their initial discussion is exposed as a potential feint.
• Leo openly defends Anthony when the demon threatens him, strengthening their portrayal as allies and friends.
• Anthony taunts and challenges the demon by explaining how the Tower of Dawn has studied and countered his powers.
• The demon responds with disbelief and fury, insisting that his spell-absorbing garment will overcome Anthony’s specialized knowledge.
• The chapter ends with the demon launching a high-speed attack against Anthony, setting up the next stage of the confrontation.

Chapter Summary: “Chopped into Bloody Pulp”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Abyss Blood Demon discovers that Anthony’s earlier display of overwhelming Magical Pressure was largely a bluff. After striking Anthony, it forces his body to swell and draws out a large amount of his blood.
• Anthony’s Blood-and-Flesh Spell fails to stabilize him at close range, confirming the demon’s suspicion that the spell cannot fully replicate an Abyss Blood Demon’s Bloodline Ability.
• Anthony reveals that his apparent failure was partly intentional. Using a hidden technique, he destroys the demon’s outer garment—the Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device—then retreats to a safe distance.
• He explains that without the device, the demon’s Bloodline Ability cannot affect him effectively except at close range, and he offers to let the demon leave.
• The demon counters by flooding the laboratory with blood, exploiting another limitation of Anthony’s spell: it can only control a limited amount of blood. Anthony’s embryonic defensive force field protects him briefly, but the blood eventually pierces it and disrupts his body from within.
• Anthony appears to be killed, his body shattered by the blood.
• Believing Anthony dead and Leo escaped, the demon lowers its guard. Leo suddenly attacks, decapitating the demon.
• The demon’s head remains alive and attempts to use its Bloodline Ability, but Leo pierces its eyes and realizes that the ability requires visual targeting.
• The demon begs for mercy and claims that Wizard Jindeli of the Tower of Dawn ordered Anthony’s assassination. Leo doubts the confession and kills the demon by chopping its head into pieces.

Character Developments

• Anthony demonstrates considerable intelligence and preparation. Although his initial strategy cannot defeat the demon outright, he successfully removes the demon’s protective device and briefly gains a tactical advantage. His apparent death also functions as a final deception, allowing Leo to strike.
• The Abyss Blood Demon is shown to be perceptive and highly confident, correctly identifying weaknesses in Anthony’s spells. However, its arrogance causes it to overlook Leo and assume victory too soon.
• Leo reveals himself as the decisive combatant. He waits until the demon is vulnerable, identifies the visual limitation of its Bloodline Ability, and eliminates it without allowing further danger.
• Wizard Jindeli is implicated as the possible person behind the attack, though Leo remains unconvinced by the demon’s immediate confession.

Significant Themes

• Deception and counter-deception: Both Anthony and the demon attempt to outthink one another, while Leo ultimately benefits from the demon’s belief that it has already won.
• Limits of imitation: Anthony’s spells resemble the demon’s Bloodline Abilities but lack their full power and flexibility, emphasizing the gap between copied techniques and innate abilities.
• Overconfidence and vigilance: The demon’s arrogance leads it to ignore Leo and reveal its weaknesses. The chapter suggests that victory is dangerous to assume before an enemy is completely neutralized.
• Hidden strength and tactical patience: Anthony’s concealed defenses and Leo’s delayed attack show that apparent weakness—or apparent victory—may conceal another layer of strategy.
• Revenge and internal conflict: The demon’s hatred of the Tower of Dawn motivates its attack, while its accusation against Jindeli hints at possible betrayal or political intrigue within the organization.

Character Interactions

• Anthony and the Abyss Blood Demon engage in a battle of verbal and magical manipulation, with each exposing weaknesses in the other’s methods.
• Anthony attempts to negotiate after disabling the demon’s device, but the demon rejects retreat and escalates the fight.
• The demon assumes it has killed Anthony and searches for Leo, unknowingly leaving itself open to attack.
• Leo taunts and interrogates the wounded demon, testing the mechanics of its Bloodline Ability and questioning its accusation against Jindeli.
• The demon shifts from arrogance to panic and submission, but Leo ultimately refuses to trust it and executes it.

Summary of “I Am Your Natural Enemy”

Key plot points and events

• The Abyss Blood Demon survives Leo’s first beheading by regenerating from dispersed blood, revealing that ordinary physical attacks cannot kill it.
• It attacks Leo with a massive torrent of blood, confident that it can defeat him after having nearly killed Anthony.
• Leo uses the Mind Demon Dragon’s bloodline ability, enhanced by his Combination Spell, to control and immobilize the demon’s flesh. His power directly counters the Abyss Blood Demon’s blood-based abilities.
• Leo freezes, disperses, and then solidifies the demon’s body, preventing its escape. He beheads it a second time, killing it permanently.
• Anthony, who appeared to be dead, reconstructs his body from blood threads and reveals that he had been pretending to be dead.
• The two Wizards discuss Anthony’s strategy: he manipulated the Abyss Blood Demon into approaching him so he could destroy its Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device before escaping.
• Leo realizes that Anthony had controlled the battle’s progression from the beginning, though Anthony admits Leo could have died if he had misunderstood the plan.
• They assess each other’s strength. Anthony possesses a powerful Prototype Permanent Defensive Force Field, while Leo’s physical ability and Combination Spell make him especially dangerous against flesh-based enemies.
• Anthony explains that Wizard Jindeli targeted him because their future research directions may conflict. He intends to remain silent until becoming a Formal Wizard, after which he implies he may retaliate.

Character developments

• Leo: Demonstrates exceptional combat ability, quick analysis, and extensive knowledge of Wizard physiology. His Mind Demon Dragon ability establishes him as the Abyss Blood Demon’s natural counter. He also shows caution and loyalty by checking on Anthony and warning him against provoking Jindeli prematurely.
• Anthony: Reveals himself as a highly calculating strategist who deliberately played dead and manipulated the demon’s actions to destroy its valuable device. Although usually mild-tempered, the near-fatal attack has made him quietly determined to retaliate against Jindeli once he gains greater power.
• Abyss Blood Demon: Initially arrogant and confident because of its regenerative abilities, it becomes alarmed when Leo’s flesh-controlling power neutralizes its blood techniques. Its inability to escape leads to its permanent death.

Significant themes

• Natural counters and specialized power: Leo defeats a seemingly near-unstoppable enemy because his abilities directly oppose the demon’s fleshcraft-based nature.
• Strategy versus brute force: Anthony’s deception and manipulation are as important to victory as Leo’s overwhelming combat power.
• Hidden strength and survival: Both Anthony and the demon conceal their true capabilities—Anthony by faking death and the demon through regeneration.
• Political and scholarly rivalry: Wizard research can create dangerous conflicts, showing that competition among Wizards extends beyond combat and into academic advancement.
• Restraint before power: Anthony chooses to endure and remain silent until he becomes a Formal Wizard, implying that power determines when retaliation is possible.

Character interactions

• Leo and Anthony analyze the battle afterward, with Leo questioning Anthony’s decisions and Anthony explaining his layered plan.
• Their exchange shows mutual respect: Anthony praises Leo’s knowledge and physical strength, while Leo acknowledges Anthony’s formidable defensive abilities and strategic intelligence.
• Leo’s warning about Wizard Jindeli reflects genuine friendship, while Anthony’s response reveals that his apparent submission is only temporary.
• The chapter ends with Anthony’s anger transforming him from a passive survivor into someone preparing for future revenge.

Leo learned that Wizard Olga might pursue him for killing the Abyss Blood Demon, while Stofen promised to keep Olga from crossing the line. Stofen contrasted Leo’s resolve with Phylia’s choice to abandon research to appease a Formal Wizard, revealing why he stopped regarding Phylia as his student.

• Anthony told Leo he could reproduce the destroyed Exoskeletal Spell-Absorption Device and develop it for mass production, while a gray-robed figure reminded Anthony of their ten-year research deal.
• The Enforcement Team announced that Anthony had killed the Abyss Blood Demon, and Stofen deduced that Leo had actually slain it.
• Leo told Stofen he had used a Blood-and-Flesh Spell, concealing his bloodline ability, and Stofen warned that Wizard Olga might demand access to that ability for research.
• Stofen promised to protect Leo from Wizard Olga, and Leo said he would handle Wizard Bess himself.
• Stofen explained that Phylia had once offered to destroy important research to apologize to a Formal Wizard, and said he had stopped regarding Phylia as his student.

Chapter Summary: “Formal Wizards Do Not Pursue Truth”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Stoffen explains that he had been observing Phylia for some time and only recently decided that Phylia was unlikely to become a Formal Wizard because Phylia was willing to abandon important research to preserve his life.
• Leo realizes Stoffen deliberately arranged for Leo—not himself—to kill Phylia. Since Phylia had been sent by Augusta, Stoffen killing him directly could have caused a serious conflict with Augusta. Leo’s role in Augusta’s prophecy made him uniquely capable of acting without provoking the same consequences.
• Stoffen tests Leo by asking whether he would choose research or survival in the same situation. Leo immediately answers that research should come first, having already inferred the expected answer.
• Stoffen then challenges Leo’s understanding of Wizards and research. He argues that “pursuing truth” is merely an idealistic slogan and that Formal Wizards are not truly detached seekers of truth.
• According to Stoffen, Wizards generally pursue their own interests and research. Just as apprentices and lower races are exploited for value by Wizards, Formal Wizards may exploit Wizard Apprentices for their own purposes.
• After returning toward the Esmond Gathering, Leo is confronted by Phylia, who asks whether Stoffen discussed him. Leo secretly uses his first Combination Spell, the Heart Demon Dragon Bloodline, to control Phylia’s mind.
• Under Leo’s questioning, Phylia admits that he fears Stoffen will abandon him because he once offended a Formal Wizard and believes Stoffen would not risk becoming an enemy of another Formal Wizard for his sake.

Character Developments

• Leo becomes more suspicious and politically aware. He recognizes that even his mentor Stoffen is manipulative and capable of arranging events through indirect means.
• Leo’s view of Formal Wizards changes significantly. He begins to understand that they are not necessarily noble, truth-seeking figures, but powerful individuals driven by personal research, interests, and political calculations.
• Leo demonstrates increasing ruthlessness and strategic thinking by lying about mastering his Combination Spell and then using it to interrogate Phylia.
• Stoffen is revealed as calculating and pragmatic. He uses Leo as a proxy to deal with Phylia while avoiding a direct confrontation with Augusta.
• Phylia is shown to be insecure and dependent on Stoffen’s protection. His fear of abandonment explains his concern over Stoffen’s conversations with Leo and his willingness to compromise his research for survival.

Significant Themes

• Research versus survival: The chapter questions whether a true Wizard should value research above life and whether such devotion reflects genuine pursuit of truth or merely personal obsession.
• The myth of noble Wizards: Stoffen dismantles the idealized belief that Formal Wizards are detached, enlightened seekers of truth. Their power does not make them morally superior.
• Manipulation and political maneuvering: Powerful figures avoid direct action when it carries political consequences, instead using others as tools to accomplish their goals.
• Exploitation across hierarchies: Stoffen suggests that every level of Wizard society exploits those beneath it, challenging Leo’s assumption that Formal Wizards ignore apprentices entirely.
• Trust and abandonment: Phylia’s fear shows how vulnerable apprentices are when their survival depends on the protection of stronger Wizards.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Stoffen: Stoffen acts as both mentor and manipulator, testing Leo’s values while warning him to reconsider his understanding of Formal Wizards. Leo respectfully accepts the lesson but privately recognizes Stoffen’s scheming nature.
• Leo and Phylia: Their final encounter reverses their power dynamic. Phylia approaches suspiciously, but Leo uses the Heart Demon Dragon Bloodline to dominate and interrogate him, uncovering Phylia’s fear of losing Stoffen’s protection.
• Stoffen and Phylia: Though Stoffen has protected Phylia, his decision to arrange Phylia’s death reveals that this protection is conditional and subordinate to his own interests and political safety.

Chapter Summary: “Auction”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Phylia admits she fears that Augusta, her Formal Wizard mentor, will abandon her now that Leo has also become Augusta’s student. Leo realizes how deeply intimidated Phylia is by Formal Wizards and uses the Mind Demon Dragon’s Bloodline Ability to erase her memory of having seen him. She will recover the memory after five minutes.
• Leo studies how to transform the Rainbow Dragon’s Bloodline Ability into a Combination Spell. He determines that he first needs the Low-Level Prophecy Studies spell “Magical Creature,” but recognizes that finding a suitable Prophecy Studies magical creature will be difficult.
• After releasing the GG Submission, Leo expects other Formal Wizards to compete for access to his five unrestricted research slots, believing he possesses a valuable Bloodline Ability.
• Leo decides that his main problem is not conducting research, since the Compendium Manual ensures success, but managing the practical work surrounding multiple laboratories. He needs an assistant to handle staffing, logistics, resources, Magic Stone applications, equipment, and other administrative matters.
• Unable to find a suitable First-Rank Wizard Apprentice, Leo considers Second-Rank Apprentices and selects Pella, who has experience independently managing a laboratory.
• Leo offers Pella a highly generous contract: she will handle administrative affairs without participating directly in research and receive 100,000 Magic Stones per month, later offering to raise the amount to 200,000.
• Pella accepts despite the dangers of becoming involved in Leo’s affairs, recognizing that the rewards are unusually high. She signs the magically binding contract and officially becomes Leo’s assistant.
• Leo immediately tells Pella that he has a first test for her.

Character Developments

• Leo demonstrates increasing influence and confidence. He is focused on expanding his research while delegating mundane responsibilities, showing a practical and managerial side.
• He also reveals his continued caution regarding Bloodline Ability research, choosing not to rush his search for a Prophecy Studies magical creature.
• Phylia is shown to be extremely fearful of Formal Wizards, even her own mentor. Her anxiety suggests that Leo’s growing connection to Augusta may threaten her sense of security.
• Pella shifts from an independent laboratory researcher to Leo’s subordinate and administrative assistant. Her willingness to accept the position shows both financial need and a readiness to take calculated risks for substantial rewards.

Significant Themes

• Power and intimidation: Formal Wizards exert overwhelming psychological and political pressure over weaker Wizards, influencing even their students’ decisions and loyalties.
• Risk versus reward: Pella understands that working for Leo may expose her to danger because of his entanglements with Formal Wizards, but the exceptional salary makes the risk worthwhile.
• Delegation and ambition: Leo’s expanding research empire requires him to move beyond being a lone researcher and begin building an organizational structure.
• Knowledge and resources: Leo’s success with the Compendium Manual gives him confidence in research outcomes, but he still requires personnel, materials, and institutional support to turn that advantage into practical progress.
• Contracts and magical authority: The binding employment contract reflects the strict, supernatural mechanisms used to enforce agreements within the Wizarding world.

Character Interactions

• Phylia confides her fear of being replaced by Leo, prompting Leo to use his Bloodline Ability to erase her immediate memory of him.
• Leo approaches Pella directly and presents her with an unusually favorable employment contract.
• Pella questions whether she is capable of handling Leo’s complicated laboratories, especially those connected to Formal Wizards.
• Leo reassures her by emphasizing both her suitability and the generous compensation, eventually persuading her to accept.
• Their formal employer-employee relationship begins with a handshake, a signed magical contract, and Leo’s announcement of an initial test.

Chapter Summary: “Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Leo asks Pella to help him locate a low-rank Prophecy Studies Bloodline Ability or the materials needed to obtain one.
• Pella directs him to the Tower of Dawn’s auction house, operated by the Flame Truth Club, where rare magical creatures, demi-humans, and Bloodline Ability materials are sold.
• At the entrance, Leo and Pella’s Magical Pressure is measured, and they are assigned a shared seat among the many First-Rank Wizard Apprentices attending the auction.
• Pella examines the auction catalog and discovers that Sunken Light Elves are among the auction items. Since Sunken Light Elves may possess Prophecy Studies-related Bloodline Abilities, this gives Leo a possible route toward his research.
• The discovery reminds Leo of Wizard Barbara, a Sunken Light Elf and former owner of Woodpecker Hut, who once attempted to use a Bloodline Ability on him. Barbara was later captured by the Flame Truth Club and has disappeared.
• Pella also points out the auction’s finale item: Thoughtless Skyflight, an unclaimed Combination Spell combining Evocation and Elementalism that can function as a permanent defensive force field.
• Leo rejects interest in the spell because he currently has no affinity and cannot learn it. He also recalls that unclaimed Combination Spells can be dangerous if not thoroughly researched and transformed into one’s own spell.
• Before the auction begins, Leo unexpectedly notices Keli and her son Hain seated nearby. He remarks that they may cause a conflict, implying a hostile or tense history between them.

Character Developments

• Leo demonstrates focused pragmatism: he is interested in the Sunken Light Elf materials but remains indifferent to the highly valuable defensive Combination Spell. His caution shows that he prioritizes reliable research over tempting but risky opportunities.
• Leo’s thoughts about Barbara reveal that he understands the importance of Bloodline Ability materials and the possibility of artificially restoring abilities whose materials do not naturally regenerate.
• Pella proves to be well informed and experienced with the Tower of Dawn’s auction system. She efficiently assists Leo, identifies relevant auction items, and notices his reaction to Keli and Hain.
• Pella’s familiarity with the auction house suggests she has practical knowledge beyond what would be expected of an ordinary Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice.

Significant Themes

• Knowledge and preparation over power: Leo does not pursue the most impressive item merely because it is rare. He evaluates whether it suits his abilities and long-term goals.
• The dangers of incomplete mastery: The unclaimed Combination Spell represents both opportunity and risk; true control requires deep research rather than simple acquisition.
• The value of information and connections: Pella’s familiarity with the Tower of Dawn gives Leo access to opportunities he might otherwise miss.
• Fate and recurring conflict: Leo’s unexpected encounter with Keli and Hain reinforces the sense that old enemies can reappear in unlikely places.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Pella establish a cooperative dynamic, with Leo relying on her local knowledge and Pella responding professionally while occasionally teasing him.
• Pella helps Leo interpret the auction’s procedures, identify the Sunken Light Elf materials, and assess the finale item.
• Pella notices Leo’s unease when he sees Keli and Hain, prompting him to explain that they may become involved in a confrontation.
• Leo does not directly interact with Keli or Hain in the chapter, but their appearance sets up a likely future conflict.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Pella warns Leo not to antagonize Special Envoy Keli, whose Magical Pressure has reached 9999. Keli is only one Defensive Combination Spell away from becoming a Formal Wizard.
• At the auction, various demi-humans are sold, but Leo shows no interest in them.
• The featured item is a beautiful Sunken Light Elf who is a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice. Leo recognizes her as Witch Barbara, someone he already knows.
• Leo instructs Pella to bid for Barbara, setting a maximum budget of two million Magic Stones. He explains that he needs a Sunken Light Elf, not necessarily Barbara specifically.
• Keli deliberately bids against Leo to punish him, assuming that his interest in the elf will make him keep raising the price.
• Leo counters with two million Magic Stones, but Keli unexpectedly raises the bid to five million. Confident that Leo will follow, she is shocked when he refuses to bid further.
• Keli wins Barbara for five million Magic Stones, sacrificing half the funds she had reserved for the Combination Spell needed to become a Formal Wizard.
• Realizing she has been tricked, Keli tries to sell Barbara to Leo for two million Magic Stones. Leo counters with only three hundred thousand, exploiting her mistake and leaving her furious.

Character Developments

• Leo remains calm, calculating, and unconcerned by Keli’s potential advancement to Formal Wizard status. He demonstrates that he is willing to abandon his goal rather than be manipulated into overspending.
• Pella acts as Leo’s assistant and adviser. She initially worries about provoking Keli but accepts Leo’s reasoning and carries out his bids.
• Keli is revealed to be proud, vindictive, and overconfident. Her attempt to teach Leo a lesson backfires, costing her five million Magic Stones.
• Hain shows practical concern for his mother’s finances and her chances of obtaining the Combination Spell. He recognizes the danger of Keli’s impulsive bidding.
• Barbara is introduced as the auctioned Sunken Light Elf, though she has little agency in the scene and is treated as property by the Wizard community.

Significant Themes

• Overconfidence and self-inflicted consequences: Keli’s plan to trap Leo causes her to fall into her own financial trap, reflecting the chapter’s title.
• Manipulation and counter-manipulation: Leo recognizes Keli’s provocation and refuses to play by her assumptions.
• The coldness of Wizard society: The Wizards view demi-humans, including Barbara, primarily as experimental resources rather than people.
• Research over ordinary desires: The auction highlights how Wizards prioritize magical research over romance or physical attraction.
• Strategic restraint: Leo’s willingness to walk away proves more powerful than blindly pursuing his original objective.

Character Interactions

• Pella cautions Leo about Keli’s growing strength, while Leo dismisses the threat.
• Keli and Hain discuss the risks of spending their funds, with Keli insisting Leo will continue bidding.
• Leo and Keli engage in a silent psychological contest through the auction.
• After losing the bidding battle, Keli attempts to negotiate with Leo, but he deliberately offers an insulting price of three hundred thousand Magic Stones, intensifying her humiliation.

Chapter Summary: “Sell It or Don’t”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Leo pressures Keli to sell Barbara, a Sunken Light Elf, after no other Wizard is willing to purchase her. Keli initially asks for 300,000 Magic Stones, but Leo deliberately lowers his offer to 200,000. With the other Wizards unwilling to challenge him, Keli reluctantly accepts.
• Barbara is delivered to Leo with a Control Insignia embedded in her arm. Leo receives the secret art needed to manipulate the insignia and uses it to force Barbara to reveal the material required for her Bloodline Ability: the blood in her heart.
• Leo realizes this blood is renewable, giving him a reliable source of material for his own Bloodline Ability research.
• The auction proceeds until its grand finale: an unoccupied Combination Spell, starting at two million Magic Stones. First-Rank Wizard Apprentices rapidly drive the price upward.
• The bidding reaches twelve million Magic Stones, making it unaffordable for Keli. She realizes that the wealthy Wizard Origin, whose experiments generate enormous profits, is among her competitors and can easily outbid her.
• A Formal Wizard secretly offers Keli thirty million Magic Stones in exchange for a contract. If Keli becomes a Formal Wizard within a year, she must work for him for ten years; if she fails, she must surrender three of the Combination Spells in her Spell Pyramid.
• Keli hesitates, aware that failure could ruin both her future advancement and her current strength. However, Hain encourages her to accept because having a Formal Wizard as a backer would greatly improve his own research prospects.
• Motivated by her love for her son, Keli signs the contract and bids twenty-five million Magic Stones. Origin immediately counters with thirty million.

Character Developments

• Leo demonstrates composure, authority, and ruthless bargaining skill. His purchase of Barbara is not sentimental; he values her as a source of renewable Bloodline Ability material.
• Keli is shown as proud but increasingly desperate. Her frustration at losing Barbara and the Combination Spell reveals her financial limitations and vulnerability despite her considerable magical abilities.
• Hain displays ambition and selfishness. He pushes Keli toward a dangerous contract because her advancement would benefit his own career, though his influence also reflects the close bond between mother and son.
• Barbara remains powerless under the Control Insignia, forced to reveal a secret about her Bloodline Ability.
• Origin is established as a wealthy and formidable rival whose profitable experiments give him the resources to dominate the auction.

Significant Themes

• Power and coercion: Wealth, status, and magical control determine who has freedom and who is forced to submit.
• The cost of advancement: Becoming a Formal Wizard may require Keli to risk her existing achievements and potentially sacrifice her future.
• Maternal sacrifice and ambition: Keli accepts a dangerous bargain primarily to secure Hain’s future.
• Exploitation of living beings: Barbara is treated as a valuable resource rather than a person, emphasizing the harsh, utilitarian nature of the Wizarding world.
• Competition and inequality: The auction exposes the gap between apprentices with limited resources and those backed by profitable research or powerful Formal Wizards.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Keli engage in a tense bargaining exchange, with Leo exploiting her lack of alternatives.
• Leo uses the Control Insignia to interrogate Barbara and obtain information she would not willingly provide.
• Keli consults Hain about the contract, ultimately allowing his ambitions to influence her decision.
• Hain later looks toward Leo provocatively, suggesting growing hostility or rivalry.
• Keli and Origin become direct competitors in the escalating auction for the Combination Spell.

Leo won Barbara’s Sunken Light Elf bloodline material and used it to strengthen his own ability, while Barbara became increasingly affectionate toward him. A mysterious voice then rang through the Wizards’ ears, and Leo went to Stofen’s laboratory, where he found his mentor studying a parchment.

• Keli won the vacant Combination Spell at auction for thirty-five million Magic Stones after the Source Wizard withdrew his bid.
• Leo took Barbara back to the Esmond Gathering and ordered her to call him Master before extracting bloodline material from her heart.
• Barbara drank Leo’s potion, which healed her wound, and regretted having abandoned him months earlier.
• Leo repeatedly extracted and purified Barbara’s bloodline material, strengthening his Sunken Light Elf ability until it made Barbara’s affection for him feel like romantic love.
• A voice cried, “I failed! I failed!” in the Wizards’ ears, and Leo asked Barbara whether she had heard it too.
• Leo arrived at the Stofen Laboratory and saw Stofen absorbed in studying a sheet of parchment.

Chapter Summary: “Formal Wizards, Gnawed Clean”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Stofen catches Leo looking at a parchment and explains that it contains a Combination Spell dismantled from the Spell Pyramid of a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice named Keli.
• He reveals that several Formal Wizards deliberately trapped Keli:
  • One used an unclaimed Combination Spell as bait at an auction.
  • Another lent money to Wizards who wanted the spell, creating the circumstances for Keli to take on a debt.
  • The contract appeared to involve stripping only three Combination Spells, but secretly required Keli to sacrifice her remaining six as well if she could not repay the loan.
• The stripped spells cannot be used directly, though they can be modified and converted into new spells.
• Stofen gives the parchment to Leo as a teaching aid and warns him not to let ambition or the desire to advance blind him to schemes created by Formal Wizards.
• Stofen insists that he does not obtain Combination Spells through such methods, though he admits he urgently needs Dragon Blood Purification Potions.
• The chapter then shifts to Keli’s home, where she is physically weakened after losing nine Combination Spells. She tells her son Hain that the damage may leave her with only a few months to live.
• Keli worries that, once she dies, Hain will be unable to protect himself or develop into a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice.

Character Developments

• Leo becomes more suspicious and cautious regarding Formal Wizards, even briefly wondering whether Stofen may have ulterior motives. After reflecting on Stofen’s methods and reputation, he decides that his mentor is likely being honest.
• Stofen demonstrates a protective, instructive side by using Keli’s misfortune to teach Leo about the ruthlessness of Formal Wizards. He also presents himself as comparatively honorable within the Wizarding world, while hinting that he has his own pressing needs.
• Keli is revealed as physically and magically devastated. Her previous anger has been replaced by resignation, though she remains perceptive enough to understand that she was deliberately exploited.
• Hain feels guilty for encouraging his mother to accept the loan contract, but Keli reassures him that the responsibility lies with the scheming Formal Wizards. His dependence on Keli and uncertain future become major concerns.

Significant Themes

• Exploitation and greed: Formal Wizards manipulate contracts and financial desperation to seize valuable magical resources.
• The predatory nature of power: Advancement in the Wizarding world is shown to involve deception, calculated traps, and the destruction of weaker practitioners.
• Trust and suspicion: Leo must weigh Stofen’s warning against his fear that even his mentor could be using him.
• Parental sacrifice and vulnerability: Keli’s losses threaten both her life and Hain’s future, emphasizing the human cost of magical ambition.
• Moral ambiguity: Stofen is portrayed as “clean-handed” only in comparison with other Formal Wizards, suggesting that morality in this world is relative and fragile.

Character Interactions

• Leo and Stofen: Stofen questions Leo, explains the origins of the parchment, warns him about Formal Wizards, and gives him the dismantled Combination Spell. Leo’s initial distrust gradually shifts toward cautious confidence.
• Keli and Hain: Hain cares for his weakened mother and expresses anger toward the Formal Wizards. Keli comforts him, rejects his self-blame, and reveals her fear that he will be left defenseless after her death.

Chapter Summary: “A Leopard Cannot Change Its Spots”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Keli, seriously ill and aware that her death is approaching, worries about securing her son Hain’s future. She blames her own failure to become a Formal Wizard for Hain’s vulnerable position.
• She decides to approach Leo and offer him a deal: after her death, her corpse will be sold to a Necromancy Wizard for 200,000 Magic Stones, which she offers Leo in exchange for protecting Hain and ensuring that others do not cheat him.
• Leo rejects the proposal. He argues that Hain, as a Third-Level Wizard Apprentice, should be capable of protecting himself and that 200,000 Magic Stones are insignificant compared with his employees’ monthly wages.
• Keli briefly drops her helpless, benevolent facade and insults Leo after being refused. Leo responds by openly condemning her manipulative nature, making clear that he has never forgiven her past hostility.
• Despite their hatred, Keli endures Leo’s humiliation because retaliating would ultimately harm Hain.
• After Keli leaves, Leo reflects on the danger posed by his Combination Spells and rare abilities. He realizes that powerful Formal Wizards may covet or exploit any spell or Bloodline Ability that interests them.
• Leo resolves to conceal his Combination Spells whenever possible, particularly his upcoming Rainbow Dragon Bloodline Ability, which may attract Stofen’s attention.
• Leo reviews his preparations: his potions are complete, his research into the Undead Flying Pumpkin has begun, and Wizard Anthony’s research is nearly finished. However, he remains wary of Formal Wizards observing him, especially Wizard Bess.
• The chapter ends by shifting to Bess’s laboratory, where an unknown beautiful woman arrives, setting up a new development.

Character Developments

• Keli: Her declining health forces her to confront her lack of power and her son’s uncertain future. Although she attempts to appear self-sacrificing, her old manipulative and hostile nature quickly resurfaces when Leo rejects her. Nevertheless, she shows genuine concern for Hain by tolerating Leo’s insults.
• Hain: He is shown as deeply caring and protective toward his mother, trying to persuade her to rest and offering to contact Leo himself. His dependence on others remains a concern, though Leo believes he should already be capable of standing independently.
• Leo: He demonstrates his increased status and confidence. Once intimidated by Keli, he now controls the interaction and refuses to be emotionally manipulated. At the same time, he becomes more cautious, recognizing that his unique magical abilities could make him a target.
• Stofen and Bess: Though they do not directly interact with Leo in the chapter, both represent the growing attention of powerful Formal Wizards toward him and his abilities. Bess’s mysterious visitor suggests that his plans may soon move forward.

Significant Themes

• People rarely change their essential nature: The title refers to Keli’s return to her true, vindictive personality once her attempted emotional appeal fails.
• Power reverses relationships: Keli once held overwhelming power over Leo, but illness and Leo’s advancement have completely reversed their positions.
• Parental concern and manipulation: Keli’s desire to protect Hain is sincere, but she uses emotional performance and bargaining to pursue that goal.
• The dangers of exceptional talent: Leo’s rare Combination Spells, Compendium Manual, and unusual Bloodline Abilities make him powerful but also expose him to exploitation by stronger Wizards.
• The need for secrecy and strategic caution: Leo recognizes that survival depends not only on gaining power but also on concealing the full extent of his abilities.

Character Interactions

• Hain and Keli: Hain tries to care for his sick mother, while Keli insists on acting immediately to secure his future. Their exchange highlights mutual concern and Hain’s emotional vulnerability.
• Keli and Leo: Their meeting is a tense negotiation shaped by old hostility. Keli attempts to use her death and Hain’s future as leverage, but Leo refuses both the deal and her emotional manipulation.
• Leo and Barbara: Leo instructs Barbara to escort Keli out, emphasizing his authority and his refusal to prolong the encounter.
• Leo and absent Formal Wizards: Leo’s thoughts reveal an indirect conflict with figures such as Stofen and Bess, whose potential interest in his abilities creates an atmosphere of surveillance and danger.

Chapter Summary: “Soul Sublimation”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wizard Bess assigns An Wa the task of capturing Leo. She believes Leo will be easy to defeat because he lacks a Prototype Permanent Defensive Force Field, unlike powerful apprentices such as Nova or Anthony.
• Bess promises An Wa protection from other Formal Wizards if she succeeds, helping her eventually advance to the Formal Wizard realm.
• At Anthony’s research laboratory, Anthony prepares to advance to Formal Wizard. A gray-robed Wizard confirms that Jindeli’s Permanent Defensive Force Field is sealed, making the timing ideal.
• Anthony acknowledges that attention is currently focused on Leo, allowing him to proceed with his own advancement without interference. The gray-robed Wizard praises Anthony’s determination and contrasts his ordinary talent with Leo’s exceptional growth.
• Leo meets Wizard Nova in a white courtyard. Nova explains that he intends to attempt advancement to Formal Wizard within a few days.
• Nova fears that if he fails, other Formal Wizards will seize and divide up his numerous Combination Spells. Because of this, he asks Leo to temporarily manage the Nova Assembly if he does not survive or successfully advance.
• Leo agrees, trusting Nova more than the Assembly members who worship Nova as a divine figure. In return, Leo asks Nova to share his knowledge about advancing to Formal Wizard.
• Nova explains that advancement requires not only a Spell Pyramid and a Permanent Defensive Force Field, but also a Spell Casket capable of bearing the wizard’s “Soul Sublimation.”

Character Developments

• An Wa is given a dangerous mission and appears eager to prove herself. Her ambition to become a Formal Wizard is reinforced by Bess’s promise of protection.
• Wizard Bess is revealed to be calculating and confident in her strength. She views Leo as a valuable target and expects his capture to be straightforward.
• Anthony demonstrates a focused, pragmatic mindset. Unlike those motivated by fame or personal attachments, he cares only about successfully becoming a Formal Wizard.
• The gray-robed Wizard recognizes Anthony’s disciplined mentality as an essential quality for Formal Wizard advancement. He also highlights the extraordinary nature of Leo’s talent.
• Wizard Nova reveals a more vulnerable and isolated side. Although revered by his followers, he dislikes being treated as a god and values Leo because Leo interacts with him naturally.
• Leo continues to show gratitude, trust, and practical judgment. He accepts responsibility for Nova’s Assembly while also ensuring that the exchange benefits his own future advancement.

Significant Themes

• Ambition and advancement: Several characters are preparing to cross into the Formal Wizard realm, but each faces different risks and motivations.
• Talent versus preparation: Leo’s rapid growth is contrasted with Anthony’s decade of careful preparation, raising questions about natural genius versus disciplined effort.
• Trust and isolation: Nova’s worshippers admire him but cannot provide genuine companionship or trust. His relationship with Leo is meaningful because it is based on equality.
• The dangers of power: Advancement is not only physically or spiritually dangerous; failure may expose a wizard’s abilities to predatory Formal Wizards.
• Soul transformation: The revelation of the Spell Casket introduces the deeper spiritual requirements of becoming a Formal Wizard, suggesting that advancement involves the sublimation and preservation of the soul.

Important Character Interactions

• Bess and An Wa: Bess commands An Wa to capture Leo and offers protection in exchange for success.
• Anthony and the gray-robed Wizard: They discuss the optimal timing for Anthony’s advancement and compare Anthony’s preparation with Leo’s exceptional talent.
• Leo and Nova: Their conversation strengthens their mutual trust. Nova entrusts Leo with the Nova Assembly, while Leo obtains crucial information about Formal Wizard advancement.
• Nova and his followers: Nova’s discomfort with being worshipped as a god emphasizes the emotional distance between him and the members of his Assembly.

Chapter Summary: “Spell Casket, a Vessel for the Soul”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Nova explains that a Formal Wizard’s mortal body cannot contain an ascended soul. To overcome this, a Spell Casket—a vessel connected to the wizard’s soul imprint—is required.
• Nova reveals that his Spell Casket was made from a bone shed from his body shortly after birth. Once forged, it can contain his Spell Pyramid and allow his body to enter a Permanent Defensive Stance. Future Combination Spells will also be stored and developed within it.
• He tells Leo that most wizards cannot create Spell Caskets from their own bodies and that Ink Gold, a rare metal from the Crimson Sea, is the ideal material. Nova gives Leo an image and reference book about identifying it, completing their trade.
• Nova discusses his upcoming attempt to become a Formal Wizard. Although he claims to be more than seventy percent confident, possible interference from other Formal Wizards reduces his practical chances to roughly twenty or thirty percent.
• Nova intends to attempt his breakthrough openly at the Tower of Dawn, believing that choosing another location would make others suspicious.
• Leo departs the Tower of Dawn with Phylia on an empty Wizard ship to pursue the Bloodline Ability Mentor Stofen wants them to capture.
• Leo detects and destroys a magically monitored seagull, realizing that someone is following them.
• Phylia secretly communicates with the people tracking them and tells them to avoid ordinary surveillance methods. His inner thoughts reveal that he has betrayed Leo because he fears Leo may become Stofen’s favored student.
• High above, Antos follows the ship with Kyle and Virdan. He confirms that Leo is his target and allows the others to deal with Phylia as they wish.

Character Developments

• Nova is revealed to possess an unusually powerful and rare Spell Casket. Despite the immense danger of his ascension attempt, he remains calm and pragmatic, accepting that worry cannot change the outcome.
• Leo gains important knowledge about Spell Caskets and Ink Gold. His sharp spiritual perception is emphasized when he notices the surveillance bird, demonstrating his growing vigilance and abilities.
• Phylia shifts from traveling companion to secret antagonist. Jealous of Leo’s private conversations with Mentor Stofen, he decides to betray him to secure his own position as Stofen’s sole student.
• Antos is established as an active enemy pursuing Leo. He is confident and calculating, treating Leo as his personal prey.

Significant Themes

• Ascension and the limits of the body: The Spell Casket represents the drastic preparations required to transcend mortality.
• Rarity and sacrifice: Nova’s unique bone-based vessel and the scarcity of Ink Gold show how advancement depends on rare resources and difficult choices.
• Calm in the face of danger: Nova’s composure contrasts with the low probability of success, emphasizing acceptance and determination.
• Betrayal and rivalry: Phylia’s jealousy turns an apparent partnership into a dangerous deception.
• Surveillance and distrust: Leo’s awareness that he is being watched introduces an atmosphere of suspicion and impending conflict.

Character Interactions

• Nova patiently teaches Leo about Spell Caskets, Ink Gold, and the risks surrounding ascension; Leo responds with curiosity and respect.
• Leo wishes Nova success but regrets that he will not be present to witness the breakthrough.
• Leo and Phylia appear cooperative during their departure, though Phylia conceals his betrayal and manipulates the pursuers.
• Phylia communicates secretly with the trackers while pretending to travel alongside Leo.
• Antos coordinates with Kyle and Virdan, making clear that Leo is his objective while Phylia is expendable.

Chapter Summary: “Overwhelming”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Kyle and Antos track Leo, viewing him as a valuable target—particularly because Antos wants Leo’s body for his undead collection.
• Kyle discovers that a powerful unknown witch, An Wa, is also following Leo. She is a First-Rank Wizard Apprentice with Magical Pressure exceeding 9,000 and nine mastered Combination Spells.
• Antos initially orders Kyle to monitor An Wa, but then decides to intervene personally, dismissing their agreement with the Tower of Dawn as meaningless.
• Leo detects An Wa’s pursuit and destroys her Wizard ship with a long-range spell. An Wa survives by jumping into the sea and approaches using a fish-shaped Magitech Device.
• While Leo distracts Phylia by asking about the mission to obtain a magical creature’s Bloodline Ability, Antos, Kyle, and another Wizard descend from the sky and confront the group.
• Phylia’s surprise and angry reaction expose that he betrayed Leo. He admits he plotted against Leo so that Mentor Stofen would have no other student and would be forced to favor him.
• An Wa emerges from the sea and declares that she intends to take Leo, allowing the others to deal with Phylia as they wish.
• Antos refuses to surrender Leo, insisting that Leo’s body belongs to him. The two powerful Wizards begin a tense verbal confrontation.
• Leo remains calm and tries to manipulate the situation by telling the enemies to fight among themselves; he will face whoever survives.
• Antos and An Wa recognize the trap and refuse to fight first, each suspecting the other hopes to weaken them before claiming Leo.

Character Developments

• Leo: Demonstrates exceptional sensory perception, detecting both An Wa and the airborne Wizards. He remains composed despite being surrounded and uses psychological tactics to turn his enemies against one another.
• Antos: Reveals his confidence and ruthlessness. He disregards his agreement with the Tower of Dawn and views Leo as a resource for his undead collection.
• Kyle: Acts as Antos’s subordinate and helps identify An Wa’s strength, though his blunt observation about Phylia’s intelligence highlights his lack of tact.
• An Wa: Establishes herself as a powerful, aggressive opponent who prefers direct combat over stealth. Despite her bloodthirsty attitude, she is perceptive enough to recognize Antos’s manipulation.
• Phylia: Is exposed as a jealous and treacherous conspirator. His desire to become Mentor Stofen’s sole student leads him to betray Leo, but his poor judgment causes him to reveal the scheme immediately.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and counter-manipulation: Leo attempts to exploit the conflicting goals of his enemies, while Antos and An Wa see through one another’s schemes.
• Betrayal and selfish ambition: Phylia’s betrayal stems from jealousy and insecurity rather than necessity.
• Power and possession: The conflict is framed around competing claims over Leo—Antos wants his body, while An Wa wants to take him away.
• Composure under pressure: Leo’s calmness contrasts with the greed, anger, and suspicion of the surrounding Wizards.
• Conflicting alliances: Agreements prove fragile when personal interests and power are involved, as Antos openly abandons his arrangement with the Tower of Dawn.

Important Character Interactions

• Antos orders Kyle to monitor An Wa, then changes plans and joins the pursuit himself.
• Leo attacks An Wa’s ship, prompting her to abandon stealth and confront the group openly.
• Phylia accidentally exposes his betrayal when Antos arrives, confirming Leo’s suspicions.
• An Wa and Antos openly contest ownership of Leo and challenge each other’s strength.
• Leo attempts to provoke them into fighting, but both recognize the danger of exhausting themselves before facing the remaining opponents.

Chapter Summary: Magitech Device Disintegration

Key Plot Points and Events

• Antos attempts to challenge An Wa, but a long-range Magitech attack annihilates the left side of his body. An Wa reveals that the attack came from a powerful Magitech Device.
• Realizing that Magitech Studies is a natural counter to Necromancy, Antos abandons the confrontation and leaves with Virdan and Kyle.
• An Wa remains behind to capture Leo, warning that she may maim him if he resists. She refuses to reveal who hired her, insisting that Leo will learn the client’s identity later.
• Leo summons the Dark Archmage and attacks An Wa with a barrage of skeletal Wizard constructs. Her Magitech Device easily blocks the assault.
• An Wa retaliates with a musket that fires magically enhanced bullets. One bullet pierces Phylia’s head, though Leo realizes Phylia is only pretending to be dead. Another bullet strikes Leo’s thigh, leaving a lingering spiral force that prevents the wound from healing.
• Leo reveals the Rainbow Dragon’s Bloodline Ability, projecting an overwhelming aura of draconic majesty. The pressure terrifies An Wa and causes her subsequent shots to miss despite her disbelief.
• Leo offers An Wa one final chance to identify her employer. She refuses and attempts to escape using the sea-traversing Magitech Device.
• The device suddenly malfunctions and explodes as soon as An Wa enters it. She realizes that Leo’s Bloodline Ability is connected to what happened, but the chapter ends before she can explain it.

Character Developments

• Leo demonstrates strategic patience and adaptability. He studies An Wa’s weapons, survives their effects, and unveils a previously hidden bloodline power only when necessary.
• An Wa remains confident and aggressive throughout most of the battle, relying heavily on her Magitech Device. Her confidence begins to collapse when Leo’s aura disrupts her attacks and destroys her escape route.
• Antos shows composure despite being badly injured. His knowledge of Magitech Studies allows him to recognize that continuing the fight would be disadvantageous.
• Kyle appears inexperienced compared with Antos, questioning the decision to retreat.
• Phylia survives the apparent headshot by pretending to be dead, suggesting resourcefulness and tactical awareness.

Significant Themes

• Preparation and countering abilities: Magitech Studies is presented as a direct counter to Necromancy, emphasizing the importance of specialized knowledge in magical combat.
• Hidden powers and controlled revelation: Leo conceals the Rainbow Dragon ability until he can use it decisively, showing the value of keeping one’s strongest abilities secret.
• Overconfidence versus adaptability: An Wa assumes Leo is helpless, but his analysis and unexpected power shift the balance.
• Information and secrecy: Both An Wa and Leo attempt to control the flow of information—An Wa hides her employer, while Leo hides the true nature of his bloodline ability.
• Technology versus magic: The conflict highlights the destructive potential of Magitech Devices, while also suggesting that Leo’s supernatural power can interfere with or overcome advanced magical technology.

Character Interactions

• Antos and An Wa exchange insults before her Magitech attack decisively humiliates him.
• Antos warns Kyle that Magitech Studies is Necromancy’s greatest nemesis, prompting the wandering Wizards’ retreat.
• An Wa repeatedly taunts Leo and demands his surrender, while Leo calmly probes her for information and tries to manipulate her into revealing her employer.
• Leo and An Wa engage in a tactical duel: her Magitech defenses and penetrating bullets initially dominate, but Leo’s Rainbow Dragon aura eventually frightens her, causes her attacks to fail, and destroys her escape device.