Chapter Summaries

Roland faced Selad in a card duel, where Selad tried to summon Xingtian through sacrifices. Roland used civilization-building events, especially Cangjie’s creation of writing, to suppress sacrifice rituals and leave Selad’s strategy unable to summon Xingtian.

• Selad accused Roland of hoarding cards, and the referee Judis began their duel with Selad taking the first turn.
• Selad deployed a sacrifice-focused army while Roland summoned the Yellow Emperor and revealed a deck supported by the Seris School’s faith.
• Roland played Bronze Age, Military Revolution, and Cultivate Virtue and Strengthen the Army to develop civilization and equip his troops.
• Roland played Cangjie creates writing, whose hidden disenchantment effect prevented the deaths of warriors from forming sacrifices.
• Roland’s organized, well-equipped forces overwhelmed Selad’s troops, while Selad failed to meet the conditions for summoning Xingtian.
• Selad and the spectators suspected that the Yellow Emperor card was countering Xingtian, unaware that Cangjie’s writing had disrupted the sacrifice strategy.

Selad sacrificed his tribe and summoned Xingtian, but Roland used the accumulated benefits of civilization and the War God’s own equipment to defeat him with the Yellow Emperor. After the duel, Roland’s Xingtian-related cards evolved, and the power stripped from Xingtian transformed Roland’s Xingtian Battle Spirit spell.

• Selad repeatedly sacrificed his people to accumulate power and fulfill the conditions for summoning Xingtian.
• Roland developed his economy and technology instead of attacking, while Selad’s tribe continued its sacrifices.
• Selad sacrificed Talmud and Gian to summon Xingtian, who could attack as soon as he entered the field.
• Roland equipped the Yellow Emperor with Xingtian’s Axe and Xingtian’s Shield, then defeated Xingtian by splitting him vertically in two.
• The referee, Judis, ended the duel, and the arena’s rules transformed Roland’s Xingtian equipment into pseudo-divine artifacts using power stripped from Xingtian.
• Roland absorbed some of that power, upgrading his Xingtian Battle Spirit spell beyond its original lower-tier limits.

Roland defeated Selad after the dark game and had him detained, while the tournament committee concealed the incident and gave Piero a bye into the final. As Diego advanced from the semifinal, Agathus prepared to act and Piero secretly began a summoning ritual on the eve of the final.

• Roland used Xingtian Battle Spirit in its descent form to knock Selad unconscious, and the guards bound him after he woke and cursed them.
• Roland ordered Selad held until the tournament ended, while Grand Mages Watson and Pollas treated the incident as settled and Pollas continued searching for Agathus.
• The organizing committee publicly claimed Selad had been injured by a collapsing arena and withdrew him, then granted Piero a bye into the final.
• Diego defeated Bona in their semifinal, securing his place in the final against Piero.
• Agathus vanished into the shadows after learning the final was the next day, while Piero secretly revealed an undisclosed card and began a summoning ritual.

The Phantom Magic Cards Grand Prix final began between Diego and Piero, who used a series of traps and summoned monsters to defeat Diego’s priests and reach match point. Piero then invoked Dialos and unleashed the Abyssal Legion, causing the Dark Game to descend over the arena.

• The hosts introduced Diego and Piero as finalists, while Roland watched from a private box and warned Sophia and Polina to follow his advice without explaining the danger.
• Piero took the first turn and built a cautious position with a Dark Altar and Dark Elf Rogue, while Diego fielded Seris-style Tang Cavalry and prepared Qin Qiong.
• Piero trapped Qin Qiong with a legendary Dark Tentacle and Exploding Spiders, then used a Two-Headed Troll Mage to attack while Qin Qiong’s protective spells kept him alive.
• Piero revealed that his attacks had targeted Diego’s priests; Exploding Spiders killed both the light priest and Dark Priestess, bringing Piero to match point.
• Piero spoke wistfully to Diego, then Dialos appeared at his neck and summoned the Abyssal Legion, bringing the Dark Game down over the arena.

Pollas killed Agathus but suffered a Weakness Curse, while Roland and the others struggled to break Judis's divine barrier as demons poured into the arena. Watson prepared to use Seris-enhanced Wish magic to end the dark game as soon as possible.

• Agathus stabbed Pollas, but Pollas used Time Stop, dispelled the assassin's protections, and killed him with Magic Missiles empowered to strike through the Shadow Realm.
• Pollas identified the wound's effect as a Weakness Curse that eroded the source of magic and ordered the others to keep attacking the divine kingdom.
• Roland sent Princess Rosa, Sophia, and Polina to safety, then joined the assault on the Game Duel Arena as the breach widened and Judis blocked the attackers.
• Piero's Abyssal Legion spell opened a gate through which real demons poured onto the platform, while Judis refused to let the attackers disrupt the sacred duel.
• Watson told Holmes he would try Wish magic, then wished in Seris for the dark game to end as soon as possible.

After Grand Mage Watson’s Wish failed, Roland used the same incantation to wish for the Dark Game to end, and Seris runes caused chaos inside the Divine Kingdom. Dialos was banished and Piero was captured, ending the duel with the demon army still in disarray.

• Grand Mage Watson’s Wish failed, so Holmes suggested that Roland cast it instead.
• Antonia granted Roland Level 9 authorization for Wish, and Roland decided to use Watson’s original wording.
• Roland wished for the Dark Game to end, and Seris runes resonated across the arena, stirring chaos among the demons.
• The demons began attacking one another, and Piero was blinded and dropped Diego’s Banishment card.
• The empowered card banished Dialos, causing Judis to declare him defeated and leave with the Divine Kingdom.
• Piero fled toward the Interdimensional Gate, but Roland froze him with True Word Spell: Halt, and the Church Knights captured him.

Roland and the mages destroyed the Interdimensional Gate after defeating the demons, though the battle cost many lives. After Diego’s soul appeared to answer Roland’s call, Roland proposed using Seris-style apotheosis to bring him back, giving Moberon hope.

• Roland fought a Deceiver Demon with Lie Yi, Blaise, and his companions, then killed it with his battle-axe.
• Grand Mage Pollas led the mages in destroying the Interdimensional Gate, and the humans defeated the remaining demons at heavy cost.
• Grand Mage Pollas had Gallo detained over his apprentice Piero’s demonic plot and ordered an investigation.
• Roland sensed Diego’s presence in the Divine Kingdom and called to him after the priests failed to recover his soul.
• Roland told Moberon and Lacey that he could try to restore Diego through offerings, Wish, and a Seris-style path to godhood.

After Diego’s death, Roland used “Summoning the Soul” and the power of the Divine Kingdom to draw back a hazy soul, then created a Seris Magic Card for his student. The card embodied Diego’s life and sacrifice, and the story left his recovery and future role dependent on the work of Moberon and the others.

• Roland accepted Lie Yi and Blaise’s advice to seek state support for research into restoring Diego’s soul.
• Newspapers, the Card Association, and the Church of Light publicized Diego’s sacrifice, while the spreading tributes strengthened the resonance Roland sensed.
• Roland wrote “Summoning the Soul,” whose calligraphy and emotional force drew a hazy soul that he tentatively identified as Diego’s.
• Roland and his colleagues circulated the poem as an arcane work that could strengthen soul-summoning spells and rituals.
• After receiving magical materials from Atrelin, Roland wrote Diego’s biography and created a Seris Magic Card that gave Diego the hidden classes of guardian god of Leiner and runologist.

Roland summoned Diego as a pact spirit and urged his students to preserve Diego’s memory through virtue, deeds, and writing, then arranged a plan to make Diego a household name through Seris Magic Cards. After receiving a combat medal, Roland learned that demonic contamination still threatened Terry City and was promoted to deputy speaker and acting tower master while Grand Mage Watson faced an investigation.

• Roland activated Diego’s Legendary Card and summoned him as a pact spirit, though Diego did not recognize him.
• At Diego’s funeral, Roland taught his students the Three Establishments of the Gentleman and encouraged them to preserve Diego’s legacy.
• Moberon told Roland that publicity for Diego had begun, and Roland proposed promoting Diego through Seris Magic Cards and practical card abilities.
• Roland and the others received combat medals, and Pollas warned that demonic contamination could reopen a gate to the Abyss.
• Grand Mage Watson placed the East Lainer Council’s high mages under Pollas’s command and announced that Roland would become deputy speaker and acting tower master during Watson’s investigation.

Roland became Acting Tower Master with veto power while Gallo remained under investigation for his ties to Piero and a mage’s murder. Gallo entrusted Roland with his research and projects, then Pollas summoned Roland for a private talk that ended with Pollas coughing blood.

• The Arcane Committee’s investigation uncovered evidence that Gallo had taught Piero the Soul-Stealing Art, while Piero confessed to murdering a Full Mage, leaving Gallo under suspicion.
• Roland warned Leilide not to cause trouble and used his Acting Tower Master duties to review Orthodox School projects and consider recruiting its members.
• Roland declined Oksaya’s offer to obtain Gallo’s Time Stop materials, but Gallo later gave Roland the Ouse Magical Script research and transferred related projects to his care in exchange for the Time Stop materials.
• Gallo admitted he had failed to supervise properly, accepted the possibility of punishment, and told Roland he had become too consumed by their rivalry.
• Pollas privately warned Roland to act carefully regarding Gallo, then coughed blood onto his handkerchief.

Roland kept Terry City’s Mage Tower appearing calm while Pollas investigated demonic agents and outside interference in Lainer World. As plots spread and Diego’s card began gathering faith, King Arkham XIV was assassinated in the royal palace of Savaran.

• Pollas told Roland that demonic contamination had already appeared in Lainer World and left Terry City to hunt the agents, instructing Roland to maintain normal appearances.
• Roland held a symposium, supported research projects by Blaise, Morella, and Pendus, and secretly worked to keep the Mage Tower steady amid military controls.
• Pollas and the legion officer reported suspicious activity involving the Dago Brotherhood, the Red Sand Legion, the Black Dragon Dynasty, and the Demon-Worship Society, while Chaos-Detecting Goggles helped ease the investigation.
• The Capel Company launched a heavily promoted sale of Seris Magic Cards featuring Diego, and Roland sensed faith gathering into Diego’s card.
• An assassin disguised as a palace attendant stabbed King Arkham XIV during a meeting in Savaran and died after biting through a poison capsule.

After King Arkham XIV was assassinated, Roland arranged protection for Princess Rosa and her brother Silaire while Grand Mage Pollas escalated his campaign against the Dagg Brotherhood into massacres that provoked international outrage. The Arcane Committee granted Roland the kingdom protectorate of East Lainer and governor’s powers, assigning him twelve squadrons to manage the succession and stabilize the region.

• The Tower Spirit informed Roland and Princess Rosa that King Arkham XIV had been assassinated, and Roland told Rosa to wait while he investigated.
• Grand Mage Watson and Minx told Roland that political opposition to Arkham XIV had persisted and suspected Ottomitia of secretly supporting the turmoil.
• Roland arranged for two Mage Legion squadrons to protect the palace in Savaran and accompanied Rosa and Silaire as they prepared to return.
• Grand Mage Pollas ordered a fireball bombardment against a neighborhood suspected of sheltering the Dagg Brotherhood, killing civilians along with the targets.
• Reports of Pollas’s massacres spread across planes, drawing public condemnation and concern from the Arcane Committee.
• Antonia granted Roland the kingdom protectorate of East Lainer, governor’s powers, and twelve squadrons to oversee the succession and stabilize the region.

Roland accepted Atrelin’s proposal to exercise guardianship over Lainer World, while Princess Rosa returned to Savaran as Feilie challenged Silaire’s claim to the throne. Rosa backed Silaire at the royal gathering, forcing the lords to declare where they stood.

• Roland accepted the committee’s trust to govern Lainer World, despite privately fearing the responsibility.
• Rosa and Silaire arrived in Savaran and learned that Feilie had taken control of the capital amid uncertainty over the succession.
• The royal family and lords argued over whether Feilie or Silaire should inherit the throne, while Feilie promised to placate Atrelin and crush opposition.
• Feilie declared that he would crown himself king if the lords would not support him.
• Rosa asserted her political credentials and announced that she supported Silaire, asking the lords who agreed and who opposed them.

After Prince Feilie’s supporters pushed him toward seizing the throne, he launched a rebellion in East Lainer, forcing Atrelin and Roland to respond as other powers began moving. Rosa faced the fighting in Savaran and set aside her grief, determined to act.

• Rosa warned Lainer’s nobles that an ill-timed bid for independence would bring ruin, while urging them to follow her cautious approach and support Silaire.
• Feilie hesitated over his supporters’ plans to seize power, but an attendant quietly resolved to find a way to put the crown on his head.
• Roland met with Pollas, who offered records and strategic materials but warned that Atrelin could not spare troops for Lainer.
• The Tower Spirit reported that Feilie had raised the banner of rebellion and attacked the royal palace in East Lainer, and Feilie declared himself king after his army surrounded the city.
• Pollas learned that the Red Sand Legion and the Black Dragon Dynasty were making moves, then left to coordinate Atrelin’s response as Roland prepared to deal with the crisis.
• In Savaran’s royal palace, Rosa listened to the fighting outside, wept, then wiped her tears and resolved to press forward.

Princess Rosa persuaded Atrelin’s Battle Mages to intervene in the rebellion, but demons and hidden conspirators forced her and Prince Silaire to retreat. Roland arrived in Savaran and used Wish to uncover that a High Mage from Sinvira had summoned the demons, revealing a new source of the conspiracy.

• Rosa offered Lamb and Xienni private knightly fiefs to secure their help, and the Battle Mages turned the battle around before Deceiver Demons attacked them.
• Lamb and Xienni killed the demons but exhausted their supplies, while Rosa ordered a retreat and warned that someone was secretly helping Feilie and might have arranged the king’s assassination.
• Roland learned of the crisis and used a Group Teleportation Scroll to bring elite Battle Mages to Savaran, where he reunited with Rosa, Silaire, Lamb, and Xienni.
• Roland repeatedly cast Wish until it revealed that Garland, a High Mage from Sinvira, had summoned the demon as part of a broader mission involving several factions.

Roland’s forces tried to reclaim Savaran for Silaire, but their first attacks faltered until Jonis and the adventurers joined the fight. In secret, Garland of Sinvira and the elves of Ottomitia plotted to keep Lainer divided and target those around Roland, while Artemia and Delys prepared to act.

• Grand Mage Watson and Pollas reported the Sinviran betrayal, while Antonia warned Roland that Ottomitia might be involved as well.
• Roland recruited adventurers and backed Silaire’s claim; Silaire proclaimed himself Arkham XV, while Feilie declared himself king inside Savaran.
• Roland’s hastily assembled army failed to make headway, and Feilie’s troops routed the adventurers until Jonis’s Mercenary Corps held the line.
• Garland watched the fighting and told his followers to use the elves to prevent Silaire from retaking East Lainer.
• Artemia overheard Garland’s followers insult the elves, and Delys calmed her before they discussed targeting Silaire and avoiding the Green Dragon.

Roland equipped Jonis’s new mercenary corps with magical war banners and spell cards, helping them defeat Feilie’s forces and reclaim Savaran. Rosa stabilized the ruined kingdom with emergency measures, but after three months Silaire and the Queen Mother died in a poisoning that left the palace in chaos.

• Roland gave Jonis command of a new warfare-focused mercenary corps and equipped it with Four-Character Command Banners and Six Jia Secret Blessing and mount spell cards.
• Jonis’s magically enhanced riders broke Feilie’s shield-wall formation, forcing Feilie to retreat and abandon the Royal Capital.
• Rosa and Roland found Savaran’s stores depleted, and Rosa raised emergency funds through donations, appointments, and contributions from former officials and nobles.
• After three months, Rosa warned Roland that her financial fixes had only postponed Lainer World’s problems, and she decided to return to the Academy while Silaire handled the kingdom.
• Silaire collapsed after drinking tea, and Roland found that the Queen Mother, maids, and guards were also suffering from varied symptoms of poisoning.
• Silaire died before Roland and Rosa reached the palace, and the Queen Mother died shortly afterward, leaving Rosa devastated.

After Rosa was poisoned by sea blood in a plot linked to the sea elves of Ottomitia, Roland used Wish to locate the mastermind. His allies traced Artemia to Connel City, where they began a covert operation to capture her.

• Roland learned that Rosa had been colonized by the sea-blood parasite, and Linge said treatment could turn it into a gift for breathing underwater.
• Roland gathered magical evidence and used Wish to discover that Artemia and her allies were hiding in Connel City.
• Roland sent Linge and Naldo to investigate and assigned Trina to help them uncover the enemy's network.
• Trina recruited magical creatures as informants while Linge and Naldo investigated covertly, and they uncovered Artemia's movements.
• Roland used Greater Teleportation to reach Connel City and join the operation to defeat Artemia in one decisive strike.

Roland and Atrelin’s forces killed Artemia and Delys, disrupting the elves’ covert operation and uncovering evidence of plans to destabilize Lainer. After learning that Rosa wanted to take the throne, Roland heard her declare her ambition to unite all of Lainer as its supreme empress.

• Roland, Linge, and Naldo led an assault on the elves’ hideout, killed Artemia and Delys, and captured Artemia’s soul while Delys’s soul escaped or resisted the binding.
• Roland read Delys’s mission records, learned that the elves had worked with local nobles to sow chaos, and found Varnonado Leaves that might provide material for affordable Seris Magic Cards.
• Garland, realizing the elves had likely been killed and fearing discovery, ordered his informants to go dormant and searched for a way to leave Lainer World.
• Roland returned to Savaran and told Rosa that her vengeance had been accomplished, but she said that her personal grievance would not solve the Kingdom’s crisis.
• Rosa told Roland that she intended to unite all of Lainer, conquer its rival factions and peoples, and become its supreme empress.

Rosa revealed her ambition to unite Lainer and asked Roland for support, offering their future child as a pledge; Roland agreed to help her build a realm aligned with the Seris School. Rosa then planned to move the capital to Terry City and become queen with Atrelin's support, accepting the backlash her dependence on Roland would bring.

• Rosa told Roland she intended to unite Lainer, develop it into a stronger power, and eventually become empress, while Roland warned her that Atrelin would oppose an independent Lainer.
• Rosa asked Roland for wholehearted support and offered to bear his child as an heir; Roland accepted her plan and agreed to help.
• After Rosa left to consult Arkham Royal Family ministers, Atali asked Roland about the prospect of his having a child with Rosa, and Roland began drafting plans for Lainer's future.
• Roland contacted Skord about using Varnonado leaves to make affordable Seris Magic Cards, and Skord agreed to investigate the materials and trade routes.
• Rosa told Roland she would move the capital to Terry City and become queen with Atrelin's support, treating both compradors and nationalists as pieces she would control.