Chapter Summaries

Viscount Rost inspected Rost Academy, a modern, well-equipped school built to accommodate thirty thousand students, and then announced its opening at a livestreamed press conference. He introduced its research-focused education and religious independence, leaving viewers astonished by the prospect of studying and developing divine arts across church boundaries.

• Viscount Rost toured Rost Academy with its principal and checked its classrooms, laboratories, sports facilities, dormitories, library, and grounds.
• Viscount Rost approved the completed academy and ordered preparations for a public announcement.
• Viscount Rost held a livestreamed press conference with Rost Territory Group Company and the World Economic News Agency.
• Viscount Rost announced that Rost Academy would admit students with a foundation in their studies and involve teachers and students in original research.
• Viscount Rost said students could study free from religious and political interference and that churches could teach and research divine arts at the academy.
• Church members explained that divine arts could be modified within the limits of priests’ traits and Faith Power.

Viscount Rost explained that Rost Academy would contain colleges across many fields and support interdisciplinary research between them. He left the audience considering how the academy’s broad educational program would adapt to a changing world.

• Viscount Rost announced that Rost Academy would include colleges such as the Theological Academy, Magic Academy, Magitech Academy, Economics Academy, and Medical Academy.
• Viscount Rost explained the colleges’ various majors and said the churches would decide what to teach in the Theological Academy.
• Viscount Rost described how colleges and churches could apply to collaborate on research in dedicated laboratories.
• Viscount Rost said the academy was founded to help people adapt to changes in medicine, transportation, and other areas.
• Viscount Rost reflected that his influence had grown, so he now favored gradual change over openly provoking powerful opponents.

Rost Academy's admissions announcement stirred excitement and debate across the Magic Net as people considered its many fields of study. The Shepherd Pope wondered whether the Shepherd God Church should join the academy, worried that nobody would apply to its theology major.

• Rost Academy opened admissions with two interview rounds before classes began in the Month of Renewal.
• Magic Net users debated the academy's colleges and specialties, including agriculture, law, magic, business, and Magitech.
• Rost Academy attracted support from mage apprentices, nobles, free citizens, and the emerging working class, while some nobles criticized the spread of knowledge.
• The Shepherd Pope asked whether the Shepherd God Church should join Rost Academy and worried that its theology major might attract no applicants.

Wool Ryan convinced the Shepherd Pope that the Shepherd God Church had to participate in Rost Academy to secure opportunities, build connections, and spread its faith. The Pope agreed that churches unwilling to join risked being displaced by new branches fostered at the academy.

• Wool Ryan insisted that the Shepherd God Church should participate in Rost Academy, even if it initially attracted no students.
• Wool Ryan argued that Rost Territory would draw the world's leading talents and offer the church opportunities to build social and commercial connections.
• Wool Ryan explained that cooperation with the Agricultural Academy and Business Academy could expand sheep farming, wool trade, and the church's influence.
• The Shepherd Pope agreed that the church should go to Rost Academy and address any difficulties rather than miss its opportunities.
• Wool Ryan warned that churches that stayed away could be replaced if Viscount Rost supported people who interpreted and spread their scriptures.
• The Shepherd Pope recognized the risk that academy-backed branches could become regarded as the orthodox churches.

The Shepherd Pope and other churches realized Rost Academy could reshape religious authority and began considering joining it. The Graycastle Emperor decided to establish academies of his own while sending exchange students to Rost Academy to learn from its advances.

• The Shepherd Pope feared that a Shepherd God Church founded under Rost Academy could split the faith and eventually eclipse the existing church, so churches began contacting Viscount Rost about joining the academy.
• The Graycastle Emperor asked his ministers about Rost Academy, and the Chief Justice and Grand Marshal warned that it could threaten the empire's security and military advantage.
• The Finance Minister argued that Viscount Rost posed no fundamental threat and urged the empire to send exchange students to learn Magitech technology.
• The ministers argued over whether to restrain Rost Academy or cooperate with it, and the Graycastle Emperor ordered the creation of military and scientific academies while allowing Rost Academy to develop.
• The Graycastle Emperor decided to send ordinary students and priests to Rost Academy, accepting that some exchange students might choose to remain there.

The emperor of Graycastle ordered that students be sent openly to Rost Academy to learn advanced technology. After profiting from Steel Futures, the Clarkson Family patriarch proposed new businesses and asked to send many young relatives to study magitech science.

• The emperor of Graycastle rejected the grand marshal’s proposal to send intelligence agents and ordered students to study openly at Rost Academy.
• The Clarkson Family patriarch’s decision to hold Steel Futures until prices rose allowed the family to sell for a profit of roughly 800,000 gold coins.
• The patriarch proposed selling Golden City specialty goods online and expanding shipments once the ultra-high-speed rail reached the city.
• The patriarch announced that the family should send many talented young members to Foster Academy to learn magitech science at Rost Academy, prompting an uproar.

The Clarkson Family decided to send as many eligible children as possible to Rost Academy, while the academy’s first day of online interviews drew over 100,000 applicants. As interviews continued, Viscount Rost outlined a plan to separate the rail network’s infrastructure and operations from train manufacturing, but the gathered influential figures pressed him for details on construction and management.

• The Clarkson Family patriarch told the elders to have every eligible family member interview for Rost Academy, and the elders debated which academies to prioritize.
• Ordinary people across the continent eagerly pursued the opportunity to attend Rost Academy as its online interviews began.
• More than 100,000 people applied on the first day, and Viscount Rost was relieved that interviewers would make final first-round decisions only after all interviews were complete.
• Rost Academy interviewers shared stories about unusual applicants, including an Orc who had been blown up by a Mana Bomb and a forty-year-old who wanted to become a combat mage.
• Influential figures arrived in Rost Territory and asked Viscount Rost how he planned to develop the Ultra-High-Speed Rail Transit System.
• Viscount Rost said a new Rail Transit General Company would build and operate the tracks and stations, while the Southlands Development Company would manufacture the trains, and the visitors asked how the network would be built and managed.

Viscount Rost presented the nobles with a blueprint for a continent-wide Ultra-High-Speed Rail Transit System, laying out centralized management, sixteen trunk routes, and rules for noble-built branch lines. The nobles accepted the proposed arrangements and began considering how to participate in the enormous project.

• Viscount Rost shared the Rail Transit System blueprint and explained that the Rail Transit General Company would manage connected routes.
• The nobles questioned the corporation’s authority over privately built railways, and Viscount Rost said he would not interfere with lines that did not connect to the trunk network.
• The nobles examined a plan for seven east–west and nine north–south corridors spanning 38,000 kilometers, and Viscount Rost said construction would proceed gradually.
• The blueprint allowed nobles to build connecting branch lines with the corporation’s approval, technical support, inspection, and scheduling requirements.
• The nobles agreed to uniform fares and freight charges, with trunk-line revenue going to the corporation and branch-line builders retaining most of their revenue.
• The plan assigned trunk-line stations to the corporation while leaving branch-line station profits largely to their builders, and the nobles read the remaining provisions carefully.

Viscount Rost explained how the Rail Transit General Company would fund its railway network through shares, bonds, loans, and station leases. He agreed that the company could also build railways in territories that transferred their operating rights and land, then began establishing the company.

• Viscount Rost told the gathered figures he would raise initial funds by listing the Rail Transit General Company and issuing one billion shares, then use bonds, loans, and station leases to finance construction.
• The figures praised his funding plan and said they would prepare to buy shares, while Viscount Rost explained he would first confirm buyers could take all the shares before listing.
• A noble proposed transferring railway and station rights in his territory to the General Company for ninety-nine years and donating land in exchange for the company building a railway.
• Viscount Rost agreed the company could take on promising branch lines and potentially list them or issue bonds.
• After the meeting, Viscount Rost began establishing the Rail Transit General Company to start construction as soon as possible.

A young outsider visiting Rost Territory’s Mechanical Plaza learned from a passerby about its public gatherings, new Magitech Devices, and the value residents placed on education. After passing Rost Academy’s online interview, he left with a new understanding of Rost’s commoners and their confidence in learning and ability.

• A young outsider asked a passerby why a large crowd had gathered at Mechanical Plaza, and the passerby explained Rost Territory’s regular events and product demonstrations.
• The passerby described a new Magitech Device that cooked roast meat and said it was nearing mass production.
• The young man revealed that he had passed Rost Academy’s online interview and would be staying there for several years.
• The passerby explained how education had helped his son advance at work and encouraged the young man to study hard at the academy.
• The young man realized the passerby’s respect for education was sincere and reconsidered his assumptions about Rost Territory’s commoners.

The heir to the Bay Duchy met a marquis’s heir in Rost Territory and explained that he had come to study Magitech Devices rather than magic. After witnessing a projection of Viscount Rost and learning how quickly Rost Territory developed new devices, he resolved to study at Rost Academy and bring magitech talent back to his family’s lands.

• The heir to the Bay Duchy encountered the marquis’s heir at a stall and learned that he had come to study combat magic at Rost Academy.
• The heir to the Bay Duchy explained that he wanted to study Magitech Devices and hoped his duchy could develop its own magitech industries.
• A giant projection of Viscount Rost appeared in Mechanical Plaza, welcomed visitors, and explained local rules and encouragement for reserve students.
• The stall owner told the heir to the Bay Duchy that Rost Territory had developed over three thousand Magitech Devices in the past year, with more than seven hundred in mass production.
• The heir to the Bay Duchy became determined to study at Rost Academy, recruit magitech geniuses, and bring them to his family’s territory.

Two noble heirs visiting Rost Territory witnessed a test flight of a Single-Soldier Flying Magitech Device that crashed, then met its designer, Apprentice. Apprentice explained the experimental craft and invited them to learn about it if they enrolled at Rost Academy.

• The Baylands heir and his companion toured Rost Territory and saw an inverted-triangle aircraft flying overhead.
• The aircraft became unstable, its rider floated free, and the craft crashed nearby.
• Apprentice checked that the heirs were unharmed and confirmed he was testing a Single-Soldier Flying Magitech Device.
• The Baylands heir said he planned to apply to the Magitech Academy, while his companion planned to apply to the Magic Academy.
• Apprentice described the craft’s experimental design and invited the heirs to inspect it.

The heir to the Baylands learned how the Technology Laboratory helped Magitech inventors develop devices safely, while the Apprentice revealed that one young man at Rost Academy was far stronger than a gifted Mid-Order Mage. As young visitors praised Rost Territory online, the academy’s final interviews began.

• The Apprentice explained to the heir to the Baylands that the Technology Laboratory let inventors test Magitech Devices safely, and that the Legendary Incendiary Bomb’s creator had died repeatedly during development there.
• The Apprentice said the Single-Soldier Aircraft had already been verified in the Technology Laboratory and would be improved there before the heir to the Baylands and his companion left.
• The Apprentice used a Monitoring Device to identify the quiet young man as an accomplished Mid-Order Mage, then told a staff member that a young man at the Magitech Academy was far stronger.
• The staff member wondered whether the Magitech Academy student could be a teenage High-Order Mage or even near Legendary status.
• Young people gathered in Rost Territory and posted online about its factories, development, Single-Soldier Aircraft, and residents’ confidence.
• Rost Academy began its final interviews.

Viscount Rost secured powerful allies and finalized plans for the Rail Transit General Company, then oversaw its successful share subscription. The company was set to list the next morning as publicity began across the Magic Net.

• Viscount Rost and the Destruction Black Dragon Nidhogg traveled to the City-State Alliance after Viscount Rost reached cooperation agreements with influential figures and settled the railway company's development plans.
• Viscount Rost explained that the nobles had accepted the railway plan because he had balanced incentives, pressure, and freedom, while Nidhogg doubted the project would proceed smoothly.
• Viscount Rost assured Nidhogg that the Battle Priests and Dragons would intervene if problems arose, and Nidhogg became convinced of the railway system's importance.
• The Rail Transit General Company raised five hundred million gold coins in half a day, and the Dragons disclosed that they had subscribed for 280 million shares.
• Viscount Rost agreed that the company would list at nine the next morning and told Newsbird Megan to begin the publicity plan, prompting news to spread across the Magic Net.

As the Rail Transit General Company prepared to go public, the Shepherd Pope and Wool Ryan planned to invest their liquid funds while using the stock purchase to protect their family from desperate Westlands nobles and bring in the Golden Merchants' Guild. When trading opened, the shares surged from 0.5 to 1.2 gold coins, surprising Nidhogg and exciting Viscount Rost.

• The Shepherd Pope told Wool Ryan that they should put nearly all their remaining liquid funds into the Rail Transit General Company's shares because Westlands nobles might target the Wool Guild to recover their debts.
• Wool Ryan proposed bringing in the Golden Merchants' Guild as an investor and sales partner for the Wool Guild's ranch products.
• The Shepherd Pope and Wool Ryan discussed joining other wealthy investors in buying Rail Transit General Company shares when the company went public.
• At market opening, the Rail Transit General Company's share price jumped from 0.5 to 1.2 gold coins per share.
• Nidhogg said the stock had more potential than he had expected, while Viscount Rost claimed it had only exceeded Nidhogg's expectations.

Viscount Rost advised Nidhogg that long-lived investors could wait through years of fluctuations, while the Rail Transit General Company’s shares rose sharply and it launched construction of its first major rail line. The company divided the route into eight sections and began recruiting workers across the continent, with local lords offering unexpected support.

• Viscount Rost told Nidhogg that investors should sell some futures to limit risk but hold remaining funds until the rail system was completed.
• Nidhogg argued that a few years of waiting meant little to long-lived species, and Viscount Rost acknowledged their investment advantage.
• The Rail Transit General Company announced that its shares had risen from 0.5 to 1.7 gold coins and revealed a planned route from Hailik Countdom to the Golden City, with 200,000 workers to be recruited.
• Magic Net users praised the company’s rapid start and discussed the route, which would pass through the Watcher's Wall and major territories and cities.
• Viscount Rost sent construction managers to divide the line into eight sections and begin work across the route at once.
• The company began recruiting near local communities, and many local lords offered support by lending their laborers.

The heir of Baylands watched Apprentice and the technicians celebrate the successful test flight of the Single-Soldier Aircraft, then learned about the Air Force's next major project, a flying Sky Fortress. Apprentice encouraged him to keep studying and told him that he could join the project regardless of his homeland.

• The heir of Baylands watched technicians inspect the Single-Soldier Aircraft after its successful flight, and Apprentice confirmed that its components and runes had worked without problems.
• Apprentice asked Jody about the flight and decided to install a protective cover before taking the next test flight himself.
• The heir of Baylands told Apprentice that he felt overwhelmed by how much there was to learn, and Apprentice encouraged him to continue studying.
• Apprentice revealed that the next project was a Sky Fortress designed to support aerial combat, airborne operations, and military logistics.
• Apprentice told the heir of Baylands that researchers from any nation could join the project, and the heir promised to work hard.

Apprentice successfully tested the Single-Soldier Aircraft and summoned Viscount Rost to inspect it. After flying in it, Rost praised the researchers and rewarded their work, while imagining how aircraft might eventually carry many passengers.

• Apprentice told Viscount Rost that the Single-Soldier Aircraft had passed its tests and could move toward mass production.
• Viscount Rost returned to Rost Territory and listened as Apprentice explained the aircraft’s design and runes.
• Viscount Rost, his bodyguard, and a pilot flew in the aircraft while Rost tested its handling and learned the pilot had trained for only a week.
• Viscount Rost considered how aircraft could transform aerial warfare and potentially replace Great Dragon Express for passenger travel.
• Viscount Rost praised the researchers and promised them an additional bonus.

Viscount Rost named the Single-Soldier Aircraft Dragon Rider Type-1 and approved preparations to recruit experienced fliers for a new aerial force. Meanwhile, Kels Ramqi reached the Duchy of Enping, where his account of recent changes surprised a Fairy Folk representative.

• Apprentice asked Viscount Rost to name the Single-Soldier Aircraft, and Rost called it Dragon Rider Type-1.
• A report estimated that mass production and battlefield deployment would take sixty to one hundred days, and Rost approved beginning preparations for an air force.
• The Lava General proposed recruiting former Griffin Knights or Giant Eagle Knights from the Technology God Church and training them as aerial soldiers.
• Viscount Rost assigned equipment production to himself and left the soldiers' training to the Lava General and Wolf General, with recruits slated for combat training north of Watcher's Wall.
• Kels Ramqi arrived in the Duchy of Enping and met its Fairy Folk representative, who offered him lodging in a castle with a constant-temperature magic array.
• Kels explained that his castle had used such an array the previous year, prompting the representative to ask what now provided warmth more easily.

Kels explained how Rost Territory’s magitech projects had transformed nearby lands, then offered the Fairy Folk representative a broad trade partnership. The representative welcomed the prospect of a rail line to the border, and Kels began showing him thirty truckloads of samples.

• Kels described the free household heating system and the prosperity neighboring territories had gained through cooperation with Rost Territory.
• Kels offered the Fairy Folk access to every model of Magitech Vehicle, along with road construction, maintenance training, and a planned rail line to their border.
• The Fairy Folk representative said the Grand Duchy of Enping welcomed legitimate commercial activity and that goods could spread across the Western Continent within days.
• Kels revealed that he had brought thirty truckloads of samples, surprising the representative with the scale of the shipment.
• Kels showed the representative Rost-made clothing, and the representative judged it warm, attractive, and likely to sell well.