Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Soul Traits and Opponents

Key Plot Points and Events

• The ranking battles take place within an immense, invisible vortex of aura centered over the battlefield. Dago senses his soul reacting to the intense atmosphere, while the gray soul-smoke behind him begins to churn as if approaching a transformation.
• Michael enters the arena and immediately overwhelms his opponent without casting a spell. His soul-smoke transforms into a massive, pale-golden humanoid phantom wearing a crown, holding a bow and staff, and radiating overwhelming majesty. His opponent loses the will to fight and surrenders.
• Havid explains that Michael has manifested a Soul Trait, a rare phenomenon possible within Isidore’s inheritance domain. Soul Traits reveal the nature of a wizard’s future True Spirit and greatly aid advancement into the Fourth Circle and beyond.
• The contest is therefore valuable not only because of Isidore’s Law Wielder inheritance, which only the eventual champion can obtain, but also because it can strengthen Soul Force and help contestants discover their Soul Traits.
• Michael’s manifestation shocks the arena and establishes him as an extraordinary contender. His presence creates a psychological burden over the other participants.
• Gale, inheritor of Psychic Dawn, becomes the second contestant to manifest a Soul Trait. Riding a winged unicorn, he defeats his opponent decisively and reveals the image of a white holy temple behind him. He and Michael regard each other as the only true opponents among the participants who have not yet reached their level.
• Vicky of the Chaos Secret Society manifests a sinister Soul Trait resembling a shadow covered in tentacles.
• Korklau also manifests his Soul Trait: a skeletal phantom surrounded by green flames. His confidence and momentum return despite having previously lost an arm to Dago, and he taunts Dago with a throat-slitting gesture.
• Dago acknowledges that his soul aptitude is inferior to that of Michael, Gale, and perhaps even Havid. However, he refuses to view talent as destiny, believing that fighting powerful souls will produce greater benefits and help him grow.
• Dago is selected for another battle when his pillar of light changes from white to blue. He recognizes the person chosen as his opponent and reacts with surprise before stepping onto the battlefield.

Character Developments

• Dago: Becomes more aware of the gap between his soul aptitude and that of the strongest contestants, but remains determined and optimistic. He adopts a growth-oriented mindset, viewing formidable opponents as opportunities rather than threats.
• Michael: Reveals extraordinary soul talent by manifesting a majestic golden Soul Trait immediately. His calm, detached behavior reinforces his confidence and superior status.
• Gale: Demonstrates overwhelming combat ability and manifests a holy, temple-like Soul Trait. He emerges as Michael’s apparent rival.
• Vicky: Shows that he too possesses exceptional soul potential through the manifestation of a disturbing, tentacled shadow.
• Korklau: Recovers his confidence after manifesting a skeletal, green-flamed Soul Trait. His hostility toward Dago remains clear.
• Havid: Acts as Dago’s guide, explaining the significance of Soul Traits and emphasizing how exceptional this generation of contestants is.

Significant Themes

• Talent versus determination: Natural soul aptitude provides a major advantage, but Dago insists that talent does not determine everything.
• The path to transcendence: Soul Trait manifestation offers Formal Wizards insight into their future True Spirits and makes advancement toward Miracle Wizard status more attainable.
• Rising competition: The contest is portrayed as a gathering of unusually gifted wizards, making the struggle for the chief seat exceptionally difficult.
• Psychological dominance: Michael and the other Soul Trait users intimidate opponents before combat even begins, showing that power can be exerted through presence alone.
• Growth through conflict: Dago believes confronting stronger souls will create greater opportunities for development.

Character Interactions

• Havid explains Soul Traits and their importance to Dago, helping him understand the true purpose of the contest.
• Michael’s aura suppresses his opponent so completely that the wizard surrenders without a fight.
• Gale and Michael silently recognize one another as the only genuine rivals among the emerging elites.
• Korklau directly threatens Dago through a throat-slitting gesture, renewing their antagonism.
• The chapter ends with Dago being paired against an unexpected opponent, setting up the next major confrontation.

Dago faced the famed Gellman in the ranking arena, drawing on his silver armor and thawing flame to attack after Gellman declared him a stepping stone. At the Emerald Court encampment, Tracy recognized Dago and feared he might expose her, while Jiniya watched him in silence.

• Gellman arrived to fight Dago as spectators praised him as Thunder Tower’s youngest deputy tower master and a leading southern prodigy.
• Dago recalled that Ang had once ambushed and severely wounded Gellman on the Goblin Plains, then responded to Gellman’s boast that he would become a stepping stone.
• Dago vanished, appeared above Gellman in silver armor, and swung a huge thawing-flame blade at his head.
• Gellman calmly told Dago he would see the name of thunder before spiritual power surged around him.
• Tracy recognized Dago at the Emerald Court encampment and worried that he might have seen her during the Golden Curse incident.
• The Emerald Court wizards mocked Dago as an unworthy southern prodigy, while Jiniya watched him with surprise and conflicted feelings.

Dago battled Gellman, whose lightning domain overwhelmed the arena, and answered with powerful ice magic that brought the two forces to a stalemate. Gellman then unleashed a devastating spear of lightning through Dago’s Ice-Cold Domain, leaving the fight at a critical moment.

• Thorn Ring wizards watched Dago fight and marveled that he had reached the top thirty-two despite his youth.
• Dago’s metal attacks failed to pierce Gellman’s lightning domain, and Gellman demanded that he use his real power.
• Dago summoned multiple Apex ice spells and gradually wrested control of the arena from Gellman, bringing their domains to a stalemate.
• Gellman cast Crimson Thunder, but Dago’s Iceflame Winter Star slowed the attack within his Snow Kingdom.
• Gellman entered Dago’s domain, seized the lightning, and transformed it into Thunder Heaven’s Punishment: Spear of Destruction.
• The watching wizards recognized Gellman’s attack as Triple Domain Resonance as the spear expanded before Dago.

Chapter Summary: “Gellman’s Trump Card”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gellman unleashes a devastating Lightning Spear, transforming the dueling platform into a storm of crimson lightning and overwhelming the spectators with its pressure.
• He then compresses the remaining lightning into an extremely powerful dark-red sphere, intending to end the battle.
• The sphere suddenly explodes, and Dago emerges from within it, having survived the attack. His transformed body is enormous and demonic, covered in lightning-like markings and protected by a powerful domain.
• Dago crushes the lightning condensed in his hands and reveals that Gellman’s attack nearly killed him.
• Activating the evolution trait of his Blue Demon Physique, “Complete Despairfication,” Dago’s aura and combat power increase dramatically.
• Dago repeatedly attacks Gellman at close range. Each time, Gellman’s body breaks apart into lightning and disappears, allowing him to evade the attacks.
• Eventually, Dago appears to land a decisive punch through Gellman’s chest, but discovers that the body was only a Spatial Mirror Spell projection created through a spell artifact.
• The real Gellman appears behind Dago, unharmed and surrounded by silver spatial ripples, revealing his hidden trump card.

Character Developments

• Dago demonstrates that his true strength lies not in ice magic but in his terrifying physical transformation and Despair Force. His survival of Gellman’s strongest lightning attack shocks the audience and establishes him as an exceptionally mysterious and powerful combatant.
• His activation of Complete Despairfication greatly enhances his senses, instincts, speed, and destructive power. He becomes capable of tracking Gellman’s teleportation-like movements almost immediately.
• Gellman reveals far greater depth than expected. In addition to controlling overwhelming lightning, he possesses a powerful defensive and evasive technique linked to a Miracle-Tier spell artifact obtained from the Elder Mirror Forest secret realm.
• Gellman remains calm despite Dago’s relentless attacks, using projections and spatial manipulation to conceal his real position.
• Rufus becomes visibly interested when Dago emerges from the lightning, suggesting that Dago’s transformation may have special significance or connect to powers Rufus recognizes.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and deception: Both fighters conceal their strongest abilities. Dago’s demonic transformation overturns the audience’s assumptions, while Gellman’s apparent body is revealed to be an illusion.
• Physical might versus magical technique: Dago relies on overwhelming speed, strength, instincts, and Despair Force, while Gellman uses lightning control, defensive spells, and spatial artifacts.
• Escalation of battle: Each apparent finishing move is surpassed by another revelation, emphasizing that neither combatant has yet exposed their full capabilities.
• Mystery and identity: Dago’s unknown bloodline or life-modification ability and Gellman’s access to a powerful artifact deepen the uncertainty surrounding both characters.

Character Interactions

• Gellman attempts to overwhelm Dago with divine-punishment-like lightning and a condensed lightning sphere.
• Dago survives, mocks the near-fatal attack, and immediately launches a close-range assault.
• He repeatedly pursues Gellman through the lightning domain, confidently remarking, “Let’s see how many more times you can run.”
• Dago eventually identifies the technique protecting Gellman as a Spatial Mirror Spell and deduces its connection to Thunder Tower’s Miracle-Tier artifact.
• The chapter ends with Gellman standing behind Dago, unharmed and partially suspended between illusion and reality, signaling the continuation of their battle.

Dago revealed the true power of his Snow Kingdom and defeated Gellman, whose artifact-fueled pseudo-elementalization had seemed nearly invincible. He shattered the frozen domain with [Shattered Winter Mirror], leaving Gellman trapped as the arena watched in stunned silence.

• Gellman demonstrated a body transformation drawn from the Elder Mirror Forest artifact and challenged Dago to concede.
• Gellman summoned dozens of crimson lightning spears while Dago rebuilt and expanded his Snow Kingdom.
• Gellman launched his lightning spears at Dago, declaring that the south would enter his age.
• Dago used [Winter Star] to freeze the Snow Kingdom and everything inside it, including Gellman and the spears.
• Dago touched Gellman's forehead and used [Shattered Winter Mirror] to crack him and the frozen world around them.

Chapter Summary: “Victory”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dago defeats Gellman in a devastating battle that destroys the Winter Mirror Snow Country and tears apart the surrounding spatial platform.
• Amid the spatial shattering, Dago precisely locates Gellman’s physical core and seizes him with a claw-like arm made of black lightning.
• Dago reaches into Gellman’s body and grabs the spinning silver Triangular Prism that forms the foundation of Gellman’s power and spellcasting.
• As Gellman attempts to recite another spell, Dago declares, “It’s over, Gellman,” then crushes the Prism’s rotation and extinguishes its glow. Gellman loses consciousness and is decisively defeated.
• The watching wizards erupt in shock and excitement. Dago’s victory becomes the first major sensation of the ranking matches and brings the name “Dago Heka” to the attention of wizards throughout the South.
• The Emerald Court wizards react uneasily, trying to explain Dago’s strength as the result of treasures or benefits gained from His Highness Michael. Fink, consumed by jealousy, is then forcibly lifted into the air with several others by the unpredictable Ash Witch.
• Jiniya silently watches Dago in admiration, suggesting that his overwhelming strength is beginning to change her feelings and perceptions.
• The Thorn Ring wizards are left speechless. Gellman’s defeat shatters the psychological dominance he had held over their entire generation.

Character Developments

• Dago: Establishes himself as an overwhelming and terrifying combatant. His victory demonstrates not only brute force but also extraordinary perception and precision, as he identifies and destroys the core mechanism sustaining Gellman’s power.
• Gellman: Falls from his position as an apparently untouchable prodigy. His confidence and spellcasting instinct persist until the end, but fear replaces rational thought once Dago seizes his core. His defeat symbolically destroys the image of his invincibility.
• Fink: Reveals deep jealousy and insecurity toward Dago, whom he once looked down on. His humiliation at being dragged into the air reinforces his reduced position.
• Jiniya: Begins openly admiring Dago’s strength. Her silent fascination hints that his victory may influence her loyalties or emotional attachments.
• The Thorn Ring wizards: Experience a collective psychological transformation. Their belief in Gellman as an unreachable “sun” collapses, allowing them to imagine power and authority differently.
• Emily: Tries to rationalize Dago’s strength as something acquired through an exchange with Michael, but her explanation mainly exposes her own unease.
• The Ash Witch: Remains a capricious and frightening force, casually dominating and humiliating Emerald Court wizards for her own amusement.

Significant Themes

• The collapse of established authority: Gellman represents the old hierarchy and the unquestioned supremacy of Thunder Tower. Dago’s victory tears down that hierarchy in a single brutal confrontation.
• Power and perception: Dago’s strength changes how every faction evaluates him. He moves from an obscure or underestimated figure to a threat worthy of fear and respect.
• The shattering of idols: Gellman’s defeat does more than end a duel; it destroys the psychological image of perfection that had shaped the younger generation’s worldview.
• Fear, admiration, and jealousy: Dago inspires different reactions across the factions—fear from rivals, admiration from Jiniya, jealousy from Fink, and awe from the Thorn Ring wizards.
• Violence as liberation: By defeating Gellman directly rather than through trickery, Dago breaks the sense that authority and genius are inherently untouchable.
• Chaos and domination: The destroyed battlefield and the Ash Witch’s arbitrary cruelty reflect a world where overwhelming power can disregard established rules and dignity.

Character Interactions

• Dago and Gellman’s final exchange is brief but decisive: Gellman attempts one last spell, while Dago calmly ends the fight and crushes the Prism sustaining him.
• Emily and Fink discuss Dago’s sudden rise, with Emily offering a rational explanation and Fink reacting through concealed resentment.
• The Ash Witch interrupts the Emerald Court’s discussion by forcibly suspending Fink and others, humiliating them and reminding everyone of her dangerous authority.
• Emily attempts to comfort Jiniya by invoking Michael’s future return, but Jiniya remains focused on Dago, showing that Dago’s victory has captured her attention.
• The Thorn Ring wizards collectively reassess their relationship to Gellman. His defeat transforms Dago from an impossible outsider into a new symbol of power and possibility.

Chapter Summary: “Loser’s Tribute”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dago defeats Gellman, the former prodigy of the Thunder Tower, during the Prodigy Battle.
• He realizes that Gellman’s Miracle-Tier Spell Artifact is connected to half of his soul. Removing it would kill Gellman, so Dago chooses not to claim the artifact directly.
• Instead, Dago uses the Eye of Truth to analyze and memorize the artifact’s core spell, the Constant-Change Incantation, and its complex rune structure.
• Gellman’s defeat produces the “Loser’s Tribute,” a sphere of accumulated power and mysterious matter. It enters Dago’s body, causing his Soul Force to surge and his fourth Soul Crystal to mature.
• A fifth Soul Crystal begins forming, marking a rapid qualitative advancement in Dago’s power.
• Dago’s grey smoke—representing the mysterious matter he has accumulated through previous victories—expands dramatically, making his strength visible to everyone present.
• Humiliated and badly injured, Gellman retreats without making a formal statement.
• Dago’s victory causes his stone pillar in the arena to rise to the level of the other top-ranked geniuses, officially confirming his elevated status.
• The power of the ancient Rune Magic Array beneath the arena reacts to Dago. His Eye of Truth detects its presence, leading him to think of Isidore, the legendary creator of the domain, though Dago gains no further insight.
• Dago studies the spell structure he copied from Gellman and names it Mirror Flower, Water Moon. He plans to recreate its defensive ability, Body Mirroring, by modifying his own Soul Imprint.
• The chapter ends with Dago preparing to continue the battle and eventually transform Spatial Silver Ice.

Character Developments

• Dago demonstrates both overwhelming power and restraint. He refuses to kill Gellman merely to obtain the artifact, recognizing that the living wizard may be more valuable than the artifact itself.
• His Eye of Truth proves capable of stealing and preserving profound magical knowledge, making Dago increasingly dangerous as a self-taught wizard.
• Dago’s Soul Force advances rapidly, with his fifth Soul Crystal beginning to condense.
• Despite his growing power, Dago remains aware of his inferior natural soul aptitude compared with geniuses such as Michael. Rather than surrender to insecurity, he resolves to compensate through knowledge, experimentation, and self-created techniques.
• Gellman suffers a devastating psychological defeat. His pride collapses after Dago neutralizes his strongest ability, and he retreats in shame and fear.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: Dago’s decision not to kill Gellman shows that victory does not require pointless destruction.
• Knowledge as power: Dago turns an opponent’s secret technique into future strength by analyzing and memorizing it.
• Talent versus effort: Although Dago believes his innate soul aptitude is mediocre, he relies on intellect, persistence, and invention to challenge naturally gifted wizards.
• The cost of defeat: The Loser’s Tribute represents the brutal rules of the Prodigy Battle, where the defeated literally strengthen the victor.
• Pride and humiliation: Gellman’s collapse illustrates how a genius’s identity can be shattered when his defining advantage is overcome.
• Self-created advancement: Without a mentor or inherited legacy, Dago intends to forge his own spells and Soul Imprints through dangerous experimentation.

Character Interactions

• Dago and Violet: Violet publicly declares that Dago’s name may shape the future of the Thorn Ring, drawing the attention and mixed emotions of the other young wizards.
• Dago and Gellman: Their confrontation ends with Dago overpowering Gellman’s soul-linked artifact and exposing the limits of Gellman’s supposedly invincible defense.
• Dago and the observing wizards: Dago’s victory provokes shock, jealousy, fear, and confusion, while his rising stone pillar forces the others to recognize his status.
• Dago and Isidore’s legacy: Though Isidore does not appear directly, the ancient magical domain and Rune Magic Array connect Dago’s progress to the legendary wizard’s deeper mysteries.

Dago noticed Vicky of the Chaos Secret Society watching him with murderous intent, then the first ranking round ended and the second began. After witnessing Michael overwhelm a powerful opponent and sensing his extraordinary life force, Dago waited for his next battle, ready to hunt or be hunted.

• Dago spotted Vicky of the Chaos Secret Society and recognized the killing intent in his gaze, while the white-armored knight continued grooming his Two-Winged Unicorn.
• The first ranking round ended with sixteen contestants remaining; Dago took Gellman's place, while Havid lost and was eliminated.
• Isidore's mechanism began the second round, and Dago watched Michael defeat a Late Third Circle wind wizard with Triple Domain Resonance.
• Dago sensed that Michael's life force was nearly twice his own and wondered whether it came from a powerful legacy, ancient bloodline, symbiote, or magical item.
• Dago waited for his next opponent as Vicky grew impatient and the knight continued tending his mount.

Chapter Summary: Miracle Arcane Artifact

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dago analyzes the major competitors in Isidore’s inheritance trial:
  • Michael, chief genius and inheritor of Isidore’s Law Wielder legacy, may possess hidden close-combat strength in addition to her known abilities.
  • Gale of Psychic Dawn uses pure psychic power rather than conventional spellcasting. His will directly affects the material world and exerts overwhelming pressure on the soul.
  • Gale’s companion is revealed to be a likely Pureblood Unicorn, an ancient and immensely powerful magical creature that amplifies his abilities.
  • Vicky of the Chaos Secret Society appears to specialize in darkness and curses, but has revealed little of his true power.
• Dago recognizes that every inheritance present—especially the Emerald Court’s life-energy techniques and Psychic Dawn’s will-tempering methods—could help him overcome his own limitations or suppress the parasitic consciousness of Behelet.
• Dago’s stone pillar activates, signaling that it is his turn to fight. He enters the central platform under the scrutiny of the surrounding geniuses.
• His opponent is Falin Leon, a wizard from the wealthy Arcane Energy Workshop. Falin is equipped with ten third-tier spell-artifact rings, making him a heavily armed “walking arsenal.”
• Falin admits that he cannot defeat Dago through ordinary means, but proposes using one powerful artifact as a single decisive attack. If Dago survives, Falin will surrender.
• Falin unveils an ancient dark-gold dagger shaped around a serpent. He chants in an unknown ancient language, declares a terrifying prophecy concerning those who desire or possess the dagger, and cuts his own palm to feed it blood.
• The dagger awakens, releasing black mist and a force that strains the arena’s defensive formation. Dago realizes that it is a Miracle-Tier Spell Artifact, possessing power beyond the Third Circle and approaching the level of rules.
• The chapter ends as the artifact unleashes a vast, beautiful, and deadly storm of aurora-like energy over the battlefield.

Character Developments

• Dago demonstrates sharp strategic judgment and an increasingly sophisticated understanding of his rivals. His thoughts reveal both ambition and practical concern: he wants to exploit other inheritances to strengthen his body and control Behelet.
• His confidence remains intact, but the dagger’s power triggers genuine alarm, showing that he recognizes threats realistically rather than recklessly underestimating opponents.
• Gale is characterized as an idealistic, pure, and terrifyingly powerful psychic wizard. His strength comes from disciplined will and soul power rather than complex spell formulas.
• Falin Leon initially appears nervous and aware of his inferiority, but reveals courage and desperation by sacrificing his own blood to activate an artifact of extraordinary power.
• Dago’s mention of Behelet reinforces that the parasitic consciousness remains a major weakness and potential source of danger.

Significant Themes

• Power through different paths: The chapter contrasts life-energy magic, bodily transformation, psychic will, elemental wizardry, curses, and artifact-based power.
• Greed and ambition: Dago admits that the desire to obtain every inheritance is a wizard’s “original sin,” reflecting the constant competition and opportunism of the Wizarding World.
• The cost of power: The Emerald Court may sacrifice life itself for magic, while Falin sacrifices his blood and possibly his future to awaken the dagger.
• Beauty and destruction: The dagger’s attack is depicted as breathtakingly beautiful while simultaneously carrying overwhelming death, emphasizing the dangerous magnificence of high-level magic.
• Observation and predation: The arena is portrayed as a place where every genius studies the others as both potential rivals and valuable specimens.

Character Interactions

• Dago mentally evaluates Michael, Gale, and Vicky without directly confronting them, positioning himself within a broader network of rivalries.
• Gale’s presence alone exerts pressure on Dago, and Dago considers using Psychic Dawn’s techniques to strengthen his will against Behelet.
• A wine-eyed young man attempts to provoke or encourage Dago with a sinister, predatory attitude, but Dago dismisses him completely.
• Falin approaches Dago respectfully, openly acknowledging the gap in their strength and proposing a conditional attack rather than engaging in a prolonged battle.
• The encounter shifts abruptly from polite negotiation to mortal danger when Falin activates the Miracle-Tier artifact, forcing Dago to confront a threat far beyond an ordinary wizard duel.

Summary of “I Admit Defeat!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• On a hill overlooking the Fairy Ancient City, a mysterious gray-haired wizard observes the unfolding battle with fascination. He is accompanied by Doru, a black-robed subordinate who was once a promising wizard but has since fallen into a subordinate role.
• The gray-haired man reveals that their mission involves more than capturing a girl from House Lucien. The target possesses a trace of the legendary life witch Nollys Lucien’s bloodline and has an unusual affinity with one of the remaining Life Sets.
• The gray-haired man, who oversees research for the Salvation Arsenal project, pressures Doru to complete the mission and promises him a chance to become his assistant and possibly control one of the project’s weapons.
• The two men disappear mysteriously, suggesting they are powerful figures operating behind the battlefield and that a larger conspiracy is underway.
• Meanwhile, Dago battles Falin of the Arcane Energy Workshop. Falin uses the Golden Serpent Dagger, a terrifying Miracle Arcane Artifact that transforms into a black phantom beam embodying destructive, rule-like power.
• Dago deploys nearly all his defenses: his Domain, extreme-frost sphere, Yitai metal shield, mental defenses, and the strongest form of his Blue Demon Physique. The attack destroys or pierces every defense and severely wounds him, narrowly missing his heart.
• Dago survives because of his extraordinary regenerative ability, fueled by the despair energy within him. Recognizing the danger of continuing, Falin admits defeat.
• Under Isidore’s rules, Falin’s surrender transfers a large amount of soul energy to Dago, increasing Dago’s Soul Force and mental power.
• Falin is left severely weakened. The Golden Serpent Dagger has drained most of his mental power and over half of his life force, making it clear that the artifact is dangerous even to its wielder.
• Falin is astonished that Dago survived a direct attack from an artifact powerful enough to nearly kill a Mid Third Circle wizard.

Character Developments

• The gray-haired wizard is established as an influential, highly intelligent, and unsettling antagonist. He is deeply interested in the battlefield’s destruction and appears to possess authority over Doru and the Salvation Arsenal project.
• Doru is shown to be a former elite who once nearly became the chief of his generation. His submissive reaction to the gray-haired man suggests past humiliation, fear, or dependence. His promised promotion motivates him to obey.
• Dago demonstrates immense physical durability, regenerative power, and mental resilience. Although he is nearly killed, he responds with curiosity and ferocity rather than fear, reinforcing his image as something beyond an ordinary human wizard.
• Falin changes from an aggressive opponent wielding overwhelming power into a desperate survivor. His surrender is both a tactical decision and an act of self-preservation, since his own artifact is consuming him.
• Falin’s awe toward Dago confirms that Dago’s body and recovery ability are exceptionally abnormal, even by the standards of powerful wizards.

Significant Themes

• Power and hidden agendas: The battle is only one part of a much larger conflict involving House Lucien, the Life Sets, the Phoenix bloodline, and the Salvation Arsenal.
• The cost of power: The Golden Serpent Dagger grants devastating strength but drains its wielder’s life and mental energy, showing that great power can be as dangerous to its user as to the enemy.
• Survival and monstrosity: Dago’s ability to endure an attack that should have killed him blurs the boundary between human and monster.
• Control and submission: The gray-haired wizard manipulates Doru through authority, intimidation, and promises of advancement.
• Legacy and bloodlines: The value of the target lies in her connection to ancient bloodlines and inherited artifacts, emphasizing how history continues to shape present conflicts.
• Victory through surrender: Falin wins no conventional exchange but preserves his life by admitting defeat, while Dago gains the official spoils of victory.

Character Interactions

• The gray-haired wizard speaks nostalgically about Doru’s former greatness, but his apparent praise carries an undertone of dominance and humiliation.
• Doru cautiously raises concerns about the Phoenix bloodline and the Fourth Circle guardian, but the gray-haired wizard dismisses them and insists that only the mission matters.
• The gray-haired wizard offers Doru advancement while simultaneously threatening him with disappointment, binding him through both reward and fear.
• Dago and Falin’s confrontation highlights the contrast between Falin’s artifact-based destructive power and Dago’s physical resilience and regeneration.
• After surrendering, Falin apologizes and offers Dago compensation through a Communication Stone. His shock at Dago’s survival replaces hostility with fear and reluctant respect.

Chapter Summary: “Dago’s Muddled Soul”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Falin’s secret weapon, the cursed dagger Jelgany’s Edge of Envy, fails to deliver the decisive blow against Dago. Although Falin sacrifices much of his blood essence to use it, the dagger only inflicts a shallow wound beneath Dago’s ribs.
• Dago’s regenerative flesh rapidly closes the wound, leaving only a faint scar. Falin retrieves the thrown Communication Stone, asks about the dagger, and retreats in a badly weakened state, promising to discuss it with Dago later.
• After the battle, Dago rises higher on the stone pillar while his enormous gray spiritual clouds gather above him. Despite his immense Soul Force, the clouds remain formless and fail to produce a True Spirit.
• Dago meditates using the Gray Sun Meditation Method and enters Winter’s Stillness, descending into the deepest layer of his soul to investigate why his Soul Trait has not manifested.
• He discovers that his soul consists of three conflicting wills:
  1. His own former life and experiences from Blue Star.
  2. The remnant soul and memories of the original Dago.
  3. The brutal, despair-filled will of the Despair Winter Dragon, Behelet.
• Dago realizes that his soul has been contaminated and fractured through transmigration and his decision to absorb Behelet’s bloodline. Its lack of purity and unity may prevent him from advancing beyond the level of a Fire Borrower.
• He concludes that separating the three influences could destroy his consciousness, comparing the problem to trying to separate milk from already-mixed coffee.
• Dago decides to seek a solution through Isidore’s inheritance or Undine, while prioritizing his immediate goal of securing the chief position and obtaining the legendary inheritance.
• Before he can leave meditation, a mysterious vibration penetrates the barrier between the Material and Spirit Realms and forcibly drags his consciousness back to reality. The chapter ends as Dago opens his eyes in complete shock at whatever he sees.

Character Developments

• Dago demonstrates overwhelming defensive and regenerative power, surviving the Forbidden Blade’s attack with minimal injury. However, his apparent strength masks a serious spiritual weakness: his soul is fundamentally unstable and impure.
• He gains a clearer understanding of his stalled advancement and recognizes that his greatest obstacle is not insufficient Soul Force, but the conflicting identities within him.
• Dago remains pragmatic. Although deeply disturbed by this discovery, he suppresses his anxiety and resolves to continue pursuing power and the chief position.
• Falin is decisively defeated and physically devastated by the failed use of the cursed dagger. His retreat evokes the image of a fallen hero, emphasizing both the cost of his gamble and the gap between his expectations and Dago’s actual strength.
• Behelet, though not physically present, becomes more significant as a continuing force within Dago. Its ancient, destructive will threatens Dago’s identity and future advancement.

Character Interactions

• Dago and Falin’s battle centers on Falin’s attempt to use Jelgany’s Edge of Envy as a trump card against Dago.
• After the attack fails, Dago questions Falin about the artifact through the Communication Stone. Falin answers reluctantly and promises a later conversation before withdrawing.
• Dago’s most important “interaction” is internal: his consciousness encounters the three fused elements of his soul and recognizes that they are in constant tension.
• The chapter also points toward future interactions involving Isidore’s inheritance and Undine, both of whom may possess knowledge capable of resolving Dago’s spiritual problem.

Significant Themes

• Power versus personal stability: Dago possesses extraordinary strength, yet his advancement is threatened by the unstable foundation of his soul.
• Identity and fragmentation: His soul is a fusion of multiple selves and an ancient beast’s will, raising questions about which consciousness truly defines him.
• The cost of pursuing power: Absorbing Behelet’s bloodline gave Dago immense abilities but permanently contaminated his soul.
• Purity and ascension: The wizarding system requires unity and purity of spirit for advancement, making Dago’s fractured soul a direct challenge to the established path.
• Hidden consequences and miscalculation: Falin’s cursed weapon fails spectacularly, while Dago’s own past choices may prove more dangerous than any external enemy.
• Cliffhanger and unknown intervention: The unexplained soul-resonating vibration introduces a powerful new force and abruptly interrupts Dago’s self-discovery.

Ewakuai defeated Korklau with a single soul attack after Korklau unleashed his Toxic Skin spell and destroyed his bone giant. Korklau survived but lost half his soul, while Dago reconsidered how powerful Ewakuai was.

• Korklau unleashed Toxic Skin, filling the battlefield with corrosive poison and dark green energy.
• Andariel's poison destroyed Korklau's winged, four-armed bone giant, leaving its shattered remains across the ground.
• Ewakuai appeared as a giant spectral black wolf and passed through the poison as he charged Korklau.
• Ewakuai struck Korklau with a burst of soul power, extinguishing his spell and biting off half his soul.
• Korklau collapsed alive but grievously weakened, while Ewakuai calmly stroked the fading blue motes beside him.
• Dago watched Ewakuai's victory and reconsidered his belief that the top-tier prodigies were nearly equal.

Summary: “Rufus vs. Boulder Peak”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dago analyzes Ewakuai’s earlier spirit-wolf technique and determines that it attacks the soul directly, bypassing physical and elemental defenses. He concludes that spatial magic and overwhelming speed would be the safest counter.
• After Ewakuai’s display of power, most competitors become wary and lose their earlier confidence. Michael, Gale, and Ang remain notably calm and unconcerned.
• The second round reaches a major match: Rufus of the Crimson Tower faces Wenus, heir to Boulder Peak. Their rivalry is notorious because Wenus hunted and humiliated Rufus for two years.
• Rufus enters the battle prepared and reveals a greatly strengthened Ancient Blood Secret Art. His body transforms into a gigantic, grotesque demonic form covered in living muscles, bone spikes, and blood mist.
• Wenus responds by expanding his rock golem to over one hundred meters tall. His enormous mass and spiritual power completely overwhelm Rufus.
• Rufus’s blood curse fails because the golem is lifeless stone, while his physical attacks barely damage it. Wenus repeatedly crushes Rufus, who burns through his blood essence and repeatedly reconstructs his body.
• Once Rufus exhausts the spiritual power needed to regenerate, Wenus casually flicks him out of the arena. Rufus survives but leaves bloodied, broken, and defeated.

Character Developments

• Dago: Demonstrates careful tactical reasoning by evaluating the mechanics of soul-based attacks and considering how he would counter them. Watching Rufus’s defeat also reinforces his ruthless understanding of wizard society.
• Rufus: Reveals that hatred and humiliation have driven significant growth in his secret art. Despite his increased strength and determination, he is emotionally and physically crushed when his abilities prove useless against Wenus’s overwhelming advantage.
• Wenus: Appears playful and almost childlike while displaying terrifying power. His immense rock form and superior spiritual cultivation allow him to dominate Rufus without needing sophisticated techniques.
• Other observers: Most competitors become tense after witnessing Ewakuai’s power, while Michael, Gale, and Ang remain detached, suggesting exceptional confidence or hidden strength.

Significant Themes

• Absolute power and natural countering: Training and effort cannot always overcome an opponent whose size, attributes, or cultivation completely negate one’s abilities.
• Humiliation and powerlessness: Rufus’s defeat is especially painful because he sacrificed years to overcome Wenus, only to be reduced to a helpless target.
• The cruelty of the wizard’s path: Dago recognizes that wizards must accept the possibility of becoming stepping stones for stronger individuals.
• Determination versus talent and advantage: Rufus’s perseverance and hatred make him stronger, but they cannot compensate for the overwhelming gap between him and Wenus.
• The pursuit of supremacy: The only true escape from helplessness, Dago concludes, is to become the person standing at the top.

Character Interactions

• Dago internally compares Rufus’s situation to his own and sympathizes with the despair of being unable to overcome a stronger opponent.
• Wenus taunts Rufus as a “little rat,” treating their long-standing rivalry as entertainment.
• Rufus responds with repeated attacks and desperate regeneration, driven by hatred and humiliation, but cannot meaningfully threaten Wenus.
• The spectators’ reactions contrast with the combatants: most are shaken and fearful, while the strongest figures remain calm and detached.

Isidore’s Law Wielder Legacy appeared over the Fairy Ancient City Ruins, interrupting the ranking battle and stirring the crowd’s desire to claim it. The legacy resonated with Dago Heka and descended toward his pillar, drawing every gaze to him.

• The ranking battle’s rules collapsed as an eruption of elemental light tore through the dueling platform and sent a purple beam into the sky.
• A wizard identified the brilliant ring in the beam as Isidore’s Law Wielder Legacy, and the crowd erupted with excitement.
• Dago felt the legacy resonate with his Golden Law and the bloodline of Behelet, while the ring surveyed those gathered.
• The legacy ignored Michael and the other geniuses, then plunged toward Dago Heka’s stone pillar as the crowd fell silent.

Chapter Summary: “Isidore’s Blood Battle”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Dago stands before the mysterious deep-purple orb while seven powerful genius wizards surround him with Mental Force Fields and hostile attacks.
• Despite recognizing that the orb may be a trap, Dago chooses to touch it, believing that a wizard must risk everything in the pursuit of truth.
• The moment he grasps the orb, a soul-shaking ripple spreads across the Fairy Ancient City Ruins, freezing the crowd and imprinting ancient information into their minds.
• The orb bursts into stardust, which forms a miniature galaxy around Dago. He learns that the inheritance was not a gift or shortcut, but the trigger for a deadly trial.
• The inheritance initiates Isidore’s Blood Battle: Dago must defeat every remaining contender in the arena. He cannot refuse, surrender, or withdraw; his only alternatives are victory or death.
• The revelation causes the spectators to erupt. Many react with sympathy, regret, or malicious excitement at the prospect of watching Dago die.
• As the battle begins, Dago surveys the seven opponents and accepts the challenge with a cold, determined smile.

Character Developments

• Dago moves from hesitation to resolve. Although he suspects the orb is dangerous, he decides that fear and caution cannot define a true wizard. After learning the inheritance’s cruel conditions, he does not panic; instead, he embraces the coming battle.
• Lintis is revealed as a detached observer who treats the event like an experiment. He recognizes the significance of the moment and declares that “the game has begun.”
• Tracy displays childish cruelty and boredom. She views Dago’s likely death as entertainment and casually destroys a fire sparrow in her hand.
• Jiniya is devastated by the revelation and attempts to contact Dago, but she is helpless because the battle’s rules prevent outside intervention.
• Emily explains the rules and understands that Dago’s situation is nearly hopeless, especially because Michael is among his opponents.
• Fink responds with open malice, confidently predicting Dago’s death and taking pleasure in his apparent doom.
• Michael remains largely silent but is presented as the most overwhelming threat among the contenders.

Significant Themes

• The price of pursuing truth: Dago’s decision to touch the orb reflects the dangerous, uncompromising path of wizardry.
• Fate versus choice: The inheritance initially appears like fortune, but it is actually a curse that forces Dago into a predetermined life-or-death struggle.
• Glory and destruction: The same inheritance that could elevate Dago to greatness may also destroy him, showing how closely triumph and death are linked.
• Public cruelty and schadenfreude: The crowd quickly turns Dago’s potential success into a spectacle of anticipated failure, revealing the darker side of spectatorship and envy.
• Isolation under pressure: Though surrounded by thousands of witnesses and seven enemies, Dago stands alone, cut off from help and forced to determine his own fate.
• Defiance in the face of death: The chapter ends by shifting from despair to confrontation, as Dago accepts the battle rather than surrendering to the expectations of others.

Character Interactions

• Dago’s confrontation is primarily with the seven genius wizards, whose combined Mental Force Fields attempt to prevent him from claiming the inheritance.
• Jiniya looks to Emily for reassurance, but Emily instead confirms the severity of Dago’s predicament.
• Fink cruelly reinforces Jiniya’s fear by declaring Dago doomed, while Emily offers a more sober explanation of the battle’s rules.
• Lintis observes the entire event from the shadows, treating the conflict as a controlled game.
• Tracy watches Dago from the Emerald Court encampment and expresses contemptuous amusement at his apparent death sentence.
• Dago ultimately turns his attention toward all seven opponents, silently transforming the inheritance’s curse into a direct challenge.

Summary of “Dago’s Declaration”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lintis and Doru observe the arena’s unfolding spectacle. Lintis takes pleasure in manipulating the crowd and controlling the apparent fate of those involved.
• Doru realizes that the promised inheritance of Isidore is not genuine. The entire event is a staged performance designed by Lintis, with Dago serving as the sole intended prey and actor.
• The arena’s rules create an unfair trap: Dago must defeat all seven other participants to have any chance of claiming the inheritance, while each opponent can potentially gain it simply by killing him.
• Surrounded by hostility, greed, and murderous intent, Dago stands at the center of attention. The spectators and competitors treat him as a valuable “treasure chest” rather than a person.
• Instead of succumbing to fear or anger, Dago undergoes a profound internal realization. He recognizes that his true desire is not merely survival or power, but complete control over his own fate.
• This realization breaks an unseen spiritual shackle within him. The surrounding gray clouds and colorful light transform dramatically, forming a bridge to the central platform and an ominous abyss-like presence behind him.
• Dago steps onto the central platform and declares that the contestants must either kill him or be killed by him. He then challenges them to send the first attacker, leaving the seven geniuses stunned into silence.

Character Developments

• Dago: Moves from resignation and confusion to clarity and defiance. His years of hardship have made him familiar with desperate situations, but this crisis finally reveals his central ambition: to control his own life rather than remain a victim of fate. His spiritual breakthrough suggests a major increase in power or status.
• Lintis: Is revealed as a cruel manipulator who views the arena and its participants as pieces in an entertaining game. He takes pleasure in orchestrating suffering and observing how people react to it.
• Doru: Understands Lintis’s scheme and appears sympathetic toward Dago. His thoughts also reveal uncertainty about his own future and whether he might eventually suffer the same fate as Lintis’s other victims.
• The Seven Competitors: Initially view Dago as an easy target and potential source of inheritance. His transformation and confident challenge unsettle them, replacing their certainty with hesitation.

Significant Themes

• Fate versus free will: Dago rejects the role fate has assigned him and resolves to seize control of his own destiny.
• Manipulation and exploitation: The inheritance contest is exposed as a cruel performance in which people are manipulated for another’s amusement.
• Survival and transformation: Dago’s long history of hardship becomes the foundation for a breakthrough rather than a source of defeat.
• Desire as the foundation of power: The chapter suggests that a wizard’s progress is driven not by abstract ideals, but by the deepest desire sustaining their journey.
• Defiance of an unjust system: Although the rules are deliberately designed against him, Dago refuses to accept the role of helpless victim.

Character Interactions

• Lintis speaks to Doru while gleefully commenting on the crowd’s fascination with death, but Doru remains silent and guarded.
• Doru watches Dago with sympathy, recognizing that he has been deliberately placed in a fatal spectacle.
• The spectators and seven contestants direct greed, killing intent, and judgment toward Dago, treating him as a prize.
• Dago responds to their hostility with a commanding declaration, challenging all seven and reversing the psychological balance of the arena.

Dago began the Isidore Blood Battle against the Flame Oath wizard and Ewakuai, two Late Third Circle opponents. After countering their combined assault, he unleashed Frost Domain: Land of Snow and froze Ewakuai in midair as the platform’s ice-and-fire conflict continued.

• Lintis activated the runic nexus, summoning the red-haired Flame Oath wizard and Ewakuai to face Dago together.
• The Flame Oath wizard turned the platform into magma and sent a giant molten hand at Dago.
• Dago entered [Brilliant Great Sun], attacked Ewakuai with an ice blade, and then conjured an ice ring to block both opponents’ attacks.
• Dago summoned an eight-pointed snowflake that froze the platform and suppressed the magma, but the Flame Oath wizard made the lava flow again.
• Dago cast Frost Domain: Land of Snow, freezing Ewakuai in the form of a lightning-wreathed eagle as ice and fire clashed beneath him.

Chapter Summary: Dago Battles the Elder Spirit Wizard

Key Plot Points and Events

• The red-haired wizard of Flame Oath unleashes a powerful combined attack, summoning a massive lava troll while the elder spirit wizard, Ewakuai, manifests as a giant bear. The attack traps Dago between fire and earth-based forces.
• Dago uses his advanced spatial abilities, “Freeze” and [Shattered Winter Mirror], to immobilize and then shatter the battlefield’s space. The lava troll is sliced apart by spatial fissures, causing its elemental form to collapse.
• Dago immediately attacks the red-haired wizard, breaking through his mental and elemental defenses. Before Dago can kill him, Ewakuai attempts to intervene in giant-bear form.
• The collision between Dago and Ewakuai accidentally sends the red-haired wizard flying into a stone pillar. He is fatally injured and eliminated from Isidore’s grand stage.
• Ewakuai returns to human form and ignores his defeated comrade, focusing solely on Dago.
• Though Dago suffers a devastating blow that caves in his chest, his Despair Force rapidly regenerates his body. He rises again, transforms further, and challenges Ewakuai with the single word: “Again.”
• The spectators are stunned by Dago’s rapid defeat of Flame Oath’s genius despite fighting two opponents. However, experienced wizards observe that Ewakuai deliberately held back and refused to cooperate fully, meaning Dago’s real trial is still the coming one-on-one battle.
• Dago and Ewakuai clash directly. Dago fights in his Complete Despairfication form, combining frost laws, overwhelming physical strength, and black lightning. Ewakuai shifts between Eagle Form, which controls lightning, and Giant Bear Form, which commands earth and immense physical power.
• Ewakuai’s attacks do more than injure Dago physically: they assault his soul, causing pain severe enough to disrupt Dago’s control and break his combat rhythm.
• Unable to defend against the spiritual attacks, Dago chooses to endure them and rely on overwhelming strength. He then fully ignites his small Behelet bloodline, causing dragon-like scales and slit pupils to appear. Ewakuai finally recognizes the threat, reacting with instinctive vigilance at the sight of a dragon.

Character Developments

• Dago demonstrates mastery over higher-level spatial laws, rapidly destroying the lava troll and overcoming the Flame Oath wizard. His regeneration, endurance, and refusal to retreat highlight his terrifying resilience.
• Dago’s combat state becomes more refined: Winter’s Stillness grants him detached calculation, while Brilliant Great Sun drives explosive physical power and battle intent. He can balance absolute rationality with savage aggression.
• Dago embraces pain as a source of strength. Rather than allowing Ewakuai’s soul attacks to break him, he decides to turn suffering into fuel and fight even more aggressively.
• Dago’s hidden Behelet, the Despair Winter Dragon, bloodline awakens fully, marking a major escalation and revealing a natural predator-like quality that unsettles Ewakuai.
• Ewakuai is shown to possess immense pride and confidence. He refuses to gang up on Dago and deliberately allows the battle to become a one-on-one contest.
• Ewakuai’s abilities are revealed to be more than simple shapeshifting or elemental physical strength. Each form carries a mysterious soul-affecting power, making him a dangerous opponent even when Dago can overpower him physically.
• The Flame Oath wizard shifts from arrogant confidence to terror and helplessness before being eliminated. His death also emphasizes the overwhelming difference between ordinary elemental techniques and Dago’s manipulation of higher laws.

Significant Themes

• Strength beyond conventional levels: Dago’s spatial-law techniques make powerful elemental constructs appear insignificant, emphasizing the difference between raw spell power and mastery of fundamental laws.
• Pride and individual combat: Ewakuai’s refusal to attack alongside the Flame Oath wizard reflects the arrogance of elite contenders and turns the battle into a test of personal superiority.
• Endurance through suffering: Dago’s philosophy is that there is no retreat in the wizarding world—only forward movement through pain, danger, and death.
• The fusion of opposites: Dago’s fighting style combines icy rationality with burning aggression, showing how opposing forces can produce extraordinary combat effectiveness.
• Hidden bloodline and transformation: The awakening of Dago’s dragon bloodline signals a deeper source of power and suggests that his battle with Ewakuai is entering a more dangerous, instinctive stage.
• Spectacle and reputation: The spectators’ shock and the high-level wizards’ analysis frame Dago’s performance as a major demonstration of his status as a potential chief-seat contender.

Character Interactions

• Dago and the Flame Oath wizard: Their brief confrontation is decisive. Dago dismantles the wizard’s summoned troll and penetrates his defenses, while the wizard’s desperation and fear contrast sharply with Dago’s calm dominance.
• Dago and Ewakuai: Their relationship shifts from a temporary, indirect clash to a personal duel. Ewakuai’s intervention unintentionally eliminates his ally, while Dago accepts the challenge and repeatedly demands another exchange.
• Ewakuai and the Flame Oath wizard: Ewakuai does not truly cooperate with him and later ignores him after his defeat, revealing both his disdain for teamwork and his fixation on worthy opponents.
• Dago and the spectators: Dago’s performance transforms him in the audience’s eyes from an underdog into a monstrous contender. Yet the experts caution that his greatest challenge is only beginning.
• Dago and his bloodline: By awakening the Despair Winter Dragon’s power, Dago moves beyond ordinary human or wizardly limits, provoking Ewakuai’s first visible sign of concern.

Dago Heka fought Ewakuai’s Ghost Wolf form, but Ewakuai’s phase displacement let him bypass Dago’s defenses and attack his soul. As Dago weakened and the spectators anticipated his defeat, he remained standing while Ewakuai pressed the attack.

• Dago struck Ewakuai’s Earth Giant Bear form with overwhelming physical force, but Ewakuai emerged as a Ghost Wolf immune to physical attacks.
• Dago combined frost, despair force, and [frost element] to strike at the Ghost Wolf, but Ewakuai’s soul attack wounded him through his Yitai Armor.
• Dago dispelled Complete Despairfication and summoned the [Fine Snow Sword Domain], but Ewakuai phased through the ice blade and inflicted more soul wounds.
• Spectators judged Dago doomed to lose, while Lintis watched with satisfaction and the Emerald Court, Progress Society, and Thorn Ring groups reacted to his plight.
• Ewakuai’s Ghost Wolf form ignored Dago’s ice spikes and black flames as it continued to attack him.

Dago endured Ewakuai’s soul attacks while recognizing that their battle was helping to clear and strengthen his damaged soul. Just as Ewakuai prepared to finish him, Dago formed a Miracle Domain with [Endless Vortex of the Sea of Despair] and aimed it at him.

• Dago’s physical attacks and [Fine Snow Sword Domain] failed to harm Ewakuai’s Ghost Wolf form, while Ewakuai’s soul attacks wounded Dago.
• Ewakuai told Dago that he wanted to help resolve the problems with his soul if Dago would first do him a favor, and Dago agreed after the battle.
• Dago used [Shattered Winter Mirror] to freeze the Snow Kingdom, but Ewakuai prepared an Elder Spirit Wizard killing move, prompting spectators to expect Dago’s defeat.
• Dago opened a path to the Spirit World and combined four [Despair Death Rivers] into a black vortex, creating a Miracle Domain that shocked Lintis, Jennifer, and the Miracle Wizard.
• Dago named the spell [Endless Vortex of the Sea of Despair] and pointed it at Ewakuai.