Chapter Summaries

Roland received Lunifis’s invitation to give an Arcana lecture in Isser, but he postponed while preparing to establish a new discipline. After catching up on replies and helping his family, he heard Lunifis’s discovery that Oracle magic might work with True Word Spells to imitate the abilities of priests, warlocks, and mages.

• Lunifis invited Roland to give an Arcana lecture in Isser and promised to look after him, but Roland said he was busy preparing to establish a new discipline.
• Roland learned that his paper on a new language was scheduled for publication and that the Arcane Committee wanted him to help develop it into a discipline and textbook.
• Roland read Cynthia’s message about her studies and Spellcasting Certificates, then learned Atali was going to the northern border for knightly field training.
• Roland heard that his family had moved into a house with a shop after Hols bought it cheaply, and he sent them money to help their business.
• Lunifis told Roland that Oracle magic might be especially suited to True Word Spells and could imitate abilities used by priests, warlocks, and mages.

Roland shared his knowledge of Oracle with Lunifis after she developed three flexible True Word Spells, then proposed a Pinyin scheme to standardize their pronunciations. Lunifis agreed to turn the scheme into incantations with both their names on the work and began a special spell quota transfer application.

• Lunifis told Roland she had created the True Word Spells Halt and Repel and adapted Shock into a spell that scaled from level zero to nine.
• Roland praised Lunifis’s discovery and answered her questions about Oracle’s characters and meanings.
• Roland discussed the challenges of pronunciation across Atrelin’s many languages and proposed a Modern Chinese Pinyin Scheme, also called Seris Pinyin.
• Lunifis praised the scheme and agreed to develop it into incantations with both their names attached.
• Lunifis began writing a special spell quota transfer application.

Roland and his friends traveled to Rune City to take the spellcasting license exam, where Roland passed the written tests for Tongues and Scholar's Zeal. As Roland and Yvonne went to see the arriving superstar Polina, Skord was shoved to the ground in the crowd.

• Roland studied Ancient Elvish and advanced spellcasting before heading to the teleportation array.
• Roland, Skord, Yvonne, and Froya traveled to Rune City for the Runes School's spellcasting license exam.
• Froya explained that the exams tested whether mages could cast spells with their own mana, even outside the magic network.
• Roland passed the written exams for Tongues and Scholar's Zeal, while Yvonne took the Tongues exam.
• Roland and Yvonne heard that superstar Polina was coming to take her exam and went to look at the crowd.
• Someone shoved Skord, knocking him to the ground.

Roland and the others met Polina and her agent Sophia after Skord was injured in a crowd, and learned that Polina and Sophia had once studied at the Orvisto Wizard Tower with Froya. Sophia urged the juniors to leave the Runes School, while Froya defended Roland’s prospects.

• Roland helped Skord out of the crowd, and Froya scolded Skord for rushing into the crush.
• Sophia arrived with Polina, who apologized to Skord and gave him, Roland, and Yvonne signed souvenir booklets.
• Froya refused Polina’s gift and called her a traitor, prompting Sophia to explain that Polina had left the Orvisto Wizard Tower for the entertainment industry.
• Sophia advised Roland, Skord, and Yvonne to leave the Runes School and offered to help them enter the entertainment industry.
• Froya snapped at Sophia and praised Roland’s prospects, but Sophia and Polina appeared unconvinced.

Roland and his companions passed their practical spellcasting exams in Rune City, and they decided to visit the Hilt Consortium before taking the next day's Teleportation Array. As they arrived at the Hilt Building, they encountered Polina again.

• Froya vented about Polina and her other rival after the women left, then took Roland, Skord, and Yvonne to the practical spellcasting exams.
• Roland passed the Tongues and Scholar's Zeal exams, and the others also passed their tests.
• Roland learned that passing the exams had converted his special Tongues spell slot into an unrestricted slot, though he had not yet qualified as a First-Rank Mage.
• Froya told the group they would stay in Rune City overnight, and Roland suggested visiting the Hilt Consortium to see Rick and the Oracle Spell Scroll Company.
• The group hired carriages to the Hilt Building, where Polina stepped out of a splendid carriage as evening fell.

Froya, Roland, and their companions met Sophia and Polina outside the Hilt Consortium headquarters, where Sophia mocked them for arriving without an invitation. The group’s prospects changed when Rick arrived and welcomed Roland, leaving Sophia and Polina shocked.

• Skord grumbled about the carriage ride as Roland and the others admired the Hilt Consortium’s headquarters and saw Polina’s team unloading equipment and luggage.
• Sophia and Polina recognized Froya and the others, and Sophia mocked Froya for supposedly coming to look around rather than attend to important business.
• Roland summarized Sophia’s ambitions by saying adults wanted it all, while Polina invited the group inside and Froya refused to accept her offer.
• Sophia and Polina entered with a Hilt Company senior manager, while Froya seethed at Sophia’s behavior.
• Rick arrived for a business meeting, greeted Roland warmly, and offered to welcome the group into the headquarters.
• The senior manager told Sophia and Polina that Rick had arrived, and they were shocked to see him walking deferentially beside Roland.

Rick revealed that Roland’s Oracle Magicalization Technology and patent had made him a valuable business partner and a promising future mage. Sophia and Polina realized Roland could soon become extremely wealthy, and Rick invited the group to tour the company building.

• Sophia and Polina questioned why the senior manager treated Roland’s group with such deference, and he pointed out the insignia on a mage’s robe.
• Rick introduced Roland as Lord Ovesto’s accomplished student and explained that Roland’s patent underpinned the consortium’s Oracle spell scroll business.
• Rick described the consortium’s exclusive, preferential license, and Sophia recognized that it could give Roland a major advantage in the spell scroll market and bring him great wealth.
• Sophia and Polina reassessed Roland’s importance, while Roland, Sophia, and Polina acknowledged that they already knew one another.
• Rick greeted Froya and the others, then invited the group to tour the company building.

After learning about Roland’s achievements, Sophia urged Polina to pursue him for the opportunities he could offer, while Froya struggled with the Runes School’s bleak prospects. Froya advised Skord and Yvonne to consider changing schools if they wanted to advance in Arcana.

• Roland and his companions toured the Hilt Consortium’s headquarters with Rick and shared a lavish dinner at the company’s expense.
• Sophia obtained information about Roland from her Mage Tower connections, and she and Polina were astonished by his accomplishments and Oracle’s significance.
• Sophia urged Polina to get close to Roland, but Polina insisted that she was interested in him as a potential romantic partner.
• Roland, Skord, and Yvonne comforted Froya as she lamented her inability to change Sophia’s decision or the Runes School’s condition.
• Froya warned Skord and Yvonne that they should consider switching schools unless they wanted to spend their lives as arcane drudges.

Froya explained her dismay over Sophia leaving Arcana to pursue stardom, and Sophia challenged Roland with the claim that geniuses like him would leave everyone else behind. Roland defended his approach to research as a way to create opportunities for others, leaving Froya, Sophia, Skord, Yvonne, and Polina stunned by his ambition.

• Froya, feeling cooped up, went for a walk with Roland, Skord, and Yvonne and spoke about growing up amid war and poverty.
• Froya lamented that Sophia had abandoned their shared Arcana ambitions to become an agent and cultivate stars, while warning that the entertainment world was not as glamorous as it seemed.
• Sophia and Polina arrived, and Sophia traded insults with Froya before arguing that Roland’s genius would block other arcanists from advancing.
• Roland said he pursued positive-sum research and vowed that, when he became Legendary, everyone in the Runes School would have achievements, awards, and a chance to benefit.

Roland encouraged Sophia and Froya to mend their friendship, then agreed to stay longer so Sophia could spend time with Froya. At the Hilt Company, the group watched Polina prepare to film advertisements for Oracle Spell Scrolls.

• After hotel staff warned them off the newly planted lawn, Roland urged Sophia and Froya to respect each other's choices and avoid letting their friendship break.
• Sophia asked Roland to keep Froya in town for a few more days, and he agreed because he hoped they would reconcile.
• The next morning, Roland, Skord, and Yvonne told Froya they wanted to stay longer, and Froya reminded them she could not pay for their lodging.
• Sophia welcomed the group at the Hilt Building, where Rick led them to watch Polina rehearse for the advertisement filming.
• Rick showed them a script pairing Oracle Spell Scrolls with simple slogans and scenes featuring spells such as Light, Flare, Ghost Sound, Read Magic, and Prestidigitation.

Roland learned that his research on oracle magicalization had been officially published, and he prepared to attend the celebration for the new Oracle Spell Scroll Company. A message revealed that Lunifis had gifted him rare spell quotas, leaving him wondering who she really was and how she had obtained them.

• Roland and his companions grew closer to Sophia and Polina as February 5 arrived.
• Roland’s paper, “Research on Oracle Magicalization,” was officially published.
• Roland joined Skord and Yvonne for breakfast and learned Froya had gone out with Sophia.
• Roland received a message from the Magic Network Administration Office saying Lunifis had gifted him two additional spell quotas for each level from 0 to 3.
• Roland tried to contact Lunifis, but her automatic reply said she was working on an Arcana breakthrough.
• Skord and Yvonne explained how rare transferred quotas were, and Skord asked where Roland had met such a wealthy benefactor.

At an Arcana salon in Nevis, Gallo and the Orthodox School planned to seize influence over Oracle by establishing their own pronunciation standard. Their scheme was interrupted by news that Seris Pinyin had been born, leaving Gallo uneasy.

• Mages at the salon discussed Oracle's success and the possibility of adopting a new magical script as Atrelin's official standard.
• Gallo and the other Orthodox School mages admitted they had come to learn Square Characters despite their objections to them.
• Gallo proposed establishing a pronunciation standard for Oracle to weaken Roland's control over its development and influence the language's future.
• Oksaya questioned whether Archmage Ovesto would interfere, but Gallo insisted that their expertise gave them an advantage.
• A man arrived with a newspaper and announced the birth of Seris Pinyin, prompting Gallo to fear that the situation felt familiar.

Roland attended the launch celebration in Rune City and met the leaders of the Mages' Guild as Hilt began selling goods based on his technology. The celebration was overshadowed by news from Nevis: Princess Royal Lunifis had announced a Seris pinyin scheme coauthored with Roland, and the group was left stunned by the report.

• Rick introduced Roland to Huo Daofu and Jia Erdas, the president and vice president of Rune City's Mages' Guild, and they exchanged praise and contact information.
• Rick began the celebration, where performers entertained the crowd and Hilt launched a heavily discounted sale from more than a hundred stalls.
• Roland watched the eager buyers and reflected that the sales were another sign of his influence on the world.
• A Hilt employee brought Rick a fresh newspaper reporting that Lunifis had announced Oracle-Seris Pinyin and submitted a paper coauthored with Roland to Arcana.
• Rick and the others read the report and were stunned by the details of the everyday and incantation components.

Roland explained how his Seris Pinyin materials helped Lunifis develop a phonetic framework for the True Word Spell, and defended their collaboration as a way to create opportunities for others in the world of Arcana. As Roland and his companions prepared to leave Rune City, he left Sophia and the others reflecting on his ambitions and ideals.

• Roland told Huo Daofu and Jia Erdas that Lunifis had built on his Seris Pinyin materials to develop a phonetic scheme for the True Word Spell.
• Huo Daofu and Jia Erdas praised Roland’s contribution to Lunifis’s research.
• Sophia and Polina saw Roland and his companions off at the Dimensional Teleportation Array in Rune City.
• Roland discussed inequality, ambition, and the need for education, then described his ideal of a Philosopher King.
• Roland explained that he had worked with Lunifis because he wanted to create a blue ocean where everyone could achieve results and win awards.

Roland introduced ballet to Sophia and Polina as a way to reinvent their dancing, then left as they considered the new art form. In Nevis, Gallo and the Orthodox School planned to undermine Roland’s new phonetic system and develop a rival scheme to contest its adoption.

• Sophia praised Roland, then asked him to help her and Polina; Roland suggested that Polina pursue high art through ballet.
• Roland explained ballet’s movements, costumes, equipment, and Swan Lake as a model, and Sophia recognized an opportunity to create something new.
• Roland left through the activated Teleportation Array, while Sophia and Polina considered their futures.
• In Nevis, Gallo assessed Roland’s phonetic system as flawed in places but likely to become difficult to displace once widely adopted.
• Gallo ordered Oksaya to spread doubts about the system and directed the Orthodox School to develop a competing scheme suited to Atrelin pronunciation.
• The Orthodox School members agreed to unite in a prolonged struggle over the standard for language and writing.

After returning to the Orvisto Wizard Tower, Roland was summoned by Ovesto, who asked about the Seris Pinyin system he had developed with Lunifis. Recognizing its potential to help him advance to Legendary, Ovesto asked Roland to teach him, and Roland agreed.

• Froya returned to work while Roland and Skord parted from Yvonne after their certification trip.
• Ovesto summoned Roland to the ninth floor of the Mage Tower, where he reunited with the Succubus twins.
• Ovesto asked Roland about developing the phonetic spelling system with Lunifis and praised his achievement.
• Roland explained how his correspondence with Lunifis had led to their collaboration on Seris Pinyin.
• Ovesto asked Roland to teach him Seris Pinyin, and Roland agreed.

Roland visited Ovesto in the Mage Tower, where his teacher practiced pronouncing Roland’s language while seeking inspiration for Legendary Destiny. Ovesto explained how a sense of mission could lead a mortal to become Legendary and left Roland with a vision of immortality as the true transcendence mages sought.

• Roland found Ovesto practicing pronunciation in the Grand Mage’s study and praised his progress.
• Ovesto explained that Legendary beings were defined by a great mission, which they awakened to and fulfilled to transform beyond ordinary limits.
• Roland and Ovesto discussed how Legendary beings could influence the world’s fundamental laws and possess a measure of divinity without becoming true gods.
• Ovesto said that immortality and freedom from the passage of time were the transcendence mages truly longed for.

Roland and Ovesto discussed how language could preserve meaning and help mages grow, while Ovesto urged him to work with Lunifis to make Seris Pinyin an official standard. After the system was published in Arcana, Roland saw widespread praise but also two sharply conflicting reviews that appeared designed to provoke controversy.

• Ovesto explained that dense knowledge and meaningful symbols could help human mages overcome their short lives, and Roland reflected on how historical and cultural meaning shaped language.
• Ovesto advised Roland to enlist Lunifis and the Yther School to promote Seris Pinyin, and he urged Roland to cultivate her support.
• On March 5, Lunifis told Roland she had never claimed to be a teaching assistant and promised to handle promoting Seris Pinyin after its publication.
• Roland read the newly published Seris Pinyin paper, which listed him as Lunifis's coauthor and drew praise across the Magic Network.
• Skord warned Roland about two articles in Arcana Review: one cautioned against Seris Pinyin, while the other praised it and recommended applying its approach to Oracle-Bone Characters.

Roland and Lunifis reacted to two articles attacking the Seris Pinyin scheme and urging an alphabetic replacement for Oracle-Bone Characters. Their suspicions about the Orthodox School grew when the Arcana Communications Journal announced a public call for opinions on the Ous Alphabet phonetic notation scheme.

• Roland read an article criticizing Seris Pinyin's tones, pronunciations, and learning burden.
• Roland read a second article that praised Pinyin while proposing an alphabetic writing scheme and Atrelin words to annotate pronunciations.
• Roland rejected the proposal, believing it would sever the connections between Chinese characters' sound, form, and meaning.
• Lunifis messaged Roland about the articles and blamed the Orthodox School, predicting its members would spread the criticism.
• A few days later, Roland received a journal notice soliciting opinions on the Ous Alphabet phonetic notation scheme.

Roland and Lunifis faced growing support for the Ous Alphabet by turning their Seris Pinyin research toward practical magic. Roland tested Lunifis’s nearly completed True Word Spell and successfully cast three level-0 spells.

• Roland learned that mages were increasingly praising the Ous Alphabet, and Ovesto offered support in the public debate and through the Arcane Committee.
• Roland argued that winning over neutral mages mattered most and proposed demonstrating Seris Pinyin’s value through practical magic.
• Roland and Lunifis exchanged materials on the True Word Spell, which Lunifis had developed using incantations converted through Seris Pinyin.
• Roland tested True Word Spell: Shock in the Mage Tower and confirmed that the spell worked.
• Roland discovered that he had also mastered the level-0 True Words Hold and Repel.