Chapter Summaries

Roland considered how to settle his feud with Green Dragon Trina and planned to hire guards while facing a smear campaign against Bronze Script. Alchemist Leitlin’s experiments produced a practical Energy-Saving Lamp, and Roland ended the chapter reading about the breakthrough and a possible collaboration with Professor Kingsley.

• Roland studied Draconic, worried that Green Dragon Trina might seek revenge, and decided he should either kill her or negotiate peace while arranging protection for future travels.
• Roland increased the household budget and set aside funds to temporarily hire high-level guards.
• Roland read competing arguments on the Magic Network, where critics attacked Bronze Script’s potential and supporters defended its magical adaptation.
• In the Fornier Wizard Tower, Leitlin used Bronze Script and Magic Guidance principles to create a stable, energy-efficient magical lamp.
• Leitlin announced his Energy-Saving Lamp on the Magic Network, drawing widespread astonishment.
• Ovesto gave Roland a message from Professor Kingsley proposing a collaboration, and Roland saw that the new product was called the Leiterin Energy-Saving Lamp.

Roland agreed to reduced Bronze Script royalties for alchemy and arranged for Leitlin to study at the Orvisto Wizard Tower, while news of profitable Bronze Script applications stirred the arcane community. As the Orthodox School’s members grew envious of the new opportunities, Gallo and Oksaya tried to keep them focused by assigning overtime.

• Roland agreed to lower Bronze Script royalties for alchemy and welcomed exchange students from the Fornier Wizard Tower, while Ovesto proposed bringing an alchemist to teach at Orvisto.
• Kingsley told Leitlin that Orvisto had accepted the exchange terms, and Leitlin explained that he wanted to study Bronze Script and meet Roland.
• Roland and the Hilt Company announced reduced royalty rates for alchemical applications, prompting Magic Network users to debate the commercial potential of Leitlin’s energy-saving lamps.
• Pulia and his team announced mass production of affordable Silver Scale Armor using Bronze Script, drawing attention to the vast potential market and the profits its rights could bring.
• Orthodox School members grew envious of the new opportunities, so Gallo and Oksaya decided to assign them overtime improving and applying Ous Incantations.

Roland received year-end payments and gifts, including five beastkin servants, and met visiting alchemists from Fornier Phasta. He welcomed the researchers and reassured Leitlin that he would not fight to claim every profit from advances inspired by his work.

• Roland received substantial revenue shares from Hilt Company, the Isser Royal Asset Management Bureau, and Catona Company, along with gifts from his associates.
• Aier brought Roland five beastkin servants, including the trained cat-eared rogues Nico and Rila, whom Roland accepted despite his objections to slavery.
• Roland welcomed Rudger, Leitlin, Thibault, and Hitya from Fornier Phasta as visiting researchers at the tower.
• Roland discussed Bronze Script and alchemy with Leitlin, who asked how Roland would respond to others profiting from related advances.
• Roland explained that he valued moderation over claiming every profit, impressing Leitlin with his outlook.

Roland helped Thibault develop movable-type spell-scroll printing, then proposed an open-source Seris Character Set and Font Library Project to provide scripts and fonts for magicalized printing and information processing. The project gained support, while Gallo recognized that the Joint Research Association’s shared goals could make it more cohesive and viewed it as a growing threat.

• Leitlin, Thibault, and Hitya began work at Roland’s laboratory, where Thibault explained his movable-type device for printing spell scrolls and demonstrated it by producing a Prestidigitation scroll.
• Roland suggested testing Seal Script to address problems with the printing type, then sent Thibault Seal Script characters and magicalized examples for Light.
• After the Compendium of Bronze Inscriptions was published on December 5, Roland invited Leitlin, Thibault, and Hitya to join the Joint Research Association, and they accepted.
• Roland proposed dot-matrix and inkjet printing ideas and outlined an open-source Seris character-set and bitmap-font project, which the Joint Research Association published and many readers supported.
• At the Orthodox Hall, Oksaya criticized Roland’s project as stingy, while Gallo worried that shared goals would strengthen the Joint Research Association.

Roland tested whether Daoist hand seals could amplify Seris True Word Spells, then adapted the Nine-Character Mantra into a new spell. He submitted his findings to Magic, leaving the technique open for others to investigate.

• Roland learned Lunifis's Level 3 Seris True Word Spells and discovered that performing the Nine-Character Mantra hand seals while casting them dramatically increased their power.
• Roland asked Lunifis to design experiments, taught Nico and Rila the seals, and confirmed that they empowered only the three Seris True Word Spells: Stabilize, Shock, and Repel.
• Roland adapted the Nine-Character Mantra into a Level 0 spell that enhanced his Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, and named it the Six Jia Secret Blessing.
• Roland agreed with Lunifis that the hand-seal technique should be made public and submitted a short paper about it to Magic.

Novis tested Roland’s Six Jia Secret Blessing paper and confirmed that the spell worked, helping it spread interest in Seris magic. Roland agreed to Lunifis’s renewed invitation to lecture at the Yther Wizard Tower and began arranging a visit for the next few days.

• Novis reviewed Roland’s paper, watched Little Hans learn Six Jia Secret Blessing, and mastered the spell himself after several attempts.
• The editorial office and wider arcane community learned that Six Jia Secret Blessing worked, prompting more people to study Seris Pinyin.
• Roland watched Nico and Rila train with the spell, and Lunifis told him that Seris Pinyin course sales had risen.
• Lunifis reported that four characters from the Nine-Character Mantra could trigger different metamagic effects and planned a full-effect version of Six Jia Secret Blessing.
• Roland suggested testing the Six-Character Mantra with Paladins and Monks, and Lunifis offered to find people to try it.
• Lunifis invited Roland to lecture at the Yther Wizard Tower again, and he accepted, proposing a date in the next few days.

Roland traveled to Isser with an entourage to strengthen the Joint Research Association and prepare to lecture at the Yther Wizard Tower. After reuniting with Lunifis in person, he followed her to her study, where she confessed that she had fallen in love with him.

• Roland arranged his trip to Isser with Lunifis, then invited members of his tower and Leitlin to join his entourage.
• Roland and his companions traveled through several Teleportation Arrays and arrived at the Yther Wizard Tower, where Lunifis welcomed them.
• Roland's group toured the Yther Wizard Tower and attended a welcoming banquet with the king, queen, and nobles of Yther.
• Roland thanked Kevin Catona for promoting Seris, and the two agreed to meet privately to discuss it.
• Lunifis invited Roland to her study, embraced him from behind, and confessed that she had fallen in love with him.

Lunifis confessed her love to Roland, and the two discussed his upcoming lecture and the ideas behind his work. As Isser prepared for the lecture and public interest surged, Roland arrived at Hall 7001 before a vast audience.

• Lunifis kissed Roland, confessed her feelings, and explained that she was drawn to his wisdom and soul; Roland accepted her affection while remaining cautious about her intensity.
• Roland explained his planned lecture on structuralist linguistics and discussed Seris magic and historical inscriptions with Lunifis, who advised him about the Yther School’s interests.
• Lunifis and Roland parted publicly as host and guest, and news outlets announced his arrival and the establishment of the Isser Branch Association of the Seris Language Research Society.
• Lunifis arranged lecture preparations and livestream resources while Roland kept his distance; more than a hundred thousand tickets sold, and the Yther Branch Association attracted over three hundred prospective members.
• On January 5, Roland arrived at Hall 7001 amid extensive security and a huge audience gathered in person and through livestreams.

Roland lectured the arcane community on language as a vessel for meaning and civilization, arguing that a civilization’s accumulated knowledge could give writing and fiction the power to resonate with the world. He announced the Dreaming of Seris project, leaving Gallo uneasy about the role Romance of Seris might play in carrying Roland’s Way.

• Dylent joined former classmates at the Yther Wizard Tower as mages and other attendees gathered in person and through the Magic Network to hear Roland’s lecture.
• Roland explained that language and writing transmit meaning, and argued that their limitations could be overcome through the knowledge and cultural reserves of a civilization.
• Roland claimed that literary works projected reality and could create imaginary worlds, prompting Fictionalists to believe he supported their approach while the Orthodox School members grew wary.
• Roland announced Dreaming of Seris, inviting scholars to help turn his magic-free novel Romance of Seris into a dream world with the Yther mages.
• Gallo sensed a threat from Roland’s announcement and wondered whether Romance of Seris was Roland’s vessel for conveying his Way.

Roland introduced “magicless fiction” and presented Romance of Seris, a retelling of Blue Star’s Records of the Grand Historian, to demonstrate how stories could shape imagination and produce real benefits. He unveiled Seal Script and the Annals of the Five Emperors, leaving the audience awed by the work’s scale and depth.

• Poietes and Armand discussed Roland’s proposed Romance of Seris and the potential for bards to adapt it.
• Roland argued that fiction could broaden experience, shape people’s minds, and help create new ideas, then opened the floor to questions.
• Roland read from the Annals of the Five Emperors, revealing that Romance of Seris drew on the official history of his previous world.
• Roland projected unfamiliar characters in Seal Script, and Thibault, Lunifis, Skord, Yiwen, and Froya recognized the script.
• The audience studied the vast historical account in astonishment, while Lunifis trembled and then slowly relaxed.

Roland’s lecture on Seris history amazed wizards and bards, while his discussions afterward led to plans for collaboration with Henry. Roland and his companions traveled north to Snowfort, where Lunifis waited to welcome them.

• Gallo reacted with shock to Roland’s account of Seris, while Armand sang about the Five Emperors and Poietes praised his performance.
• Roland expanded on the Yellow Emperor’s battle with Chiyou and other legends, leaving the audience impressed by his imagined history of Seris.
• The lecture ended to enthusiastic acclaim, and bards began adapting the stories for their audiences.
• Roland learned that Lunifis had gone ahead to Snowfort, then discussed the Seris projects and dream technology with Henry.
• Roland and his companions traveled by rail vehicle and reindeer-drawn sleigh through snowy country, reaching Snowfort the next day.
• Lunifis and her subjects waited at the town wall to welcome Roland and his companions.

Roland arrived at Snowfort and learned about its ice-lantern traditions and local fairy folklore while Lunifis hosted him and his companions. After they discussed the growing interest in his lecture and Seris stories, Lunifis offered to be his bedcover fairy, and they embraced.

• Lunifis welcomed Roland and his companions to Snowfort and explained the town's ice lanterns and their protective traditions.
• Lunifis showed the group Snowfort Castle and described the local belief that fairies lived in household objects and watched over residents.
• Roland shared pastries with the two Cat-Eared Girls, and the castle staff made them a padded box to use as a cat bed.
• Lunifis showed Roland news about interest in his lecture and the Seris stories, and he replied to inquiries while discussing arcana with her.
• Lunifis told Roland about bedcover fairies and asked him to let her warm him; she embraced him before he could answer.

Roland spent the morning with Lunifis before she taught him the principles and limitations of the secret Yther Runes. He learned how dream design and construction worked, and left convinced that their private, offline dreams could help him explore his subconscious more deeply than a shared spirit realm.

• Roland woke beside Lunifis and learned from the bloodstained bedsheet that she had been a virgin before their night together.
• Roland suggested dishes from his memories for Lunifis to try, and she asked him to write the recipes down.
• Lunifis arranged for the group to stay inside Snowfort during the snowstorm and taught Roland about the Yther Runes.
• Lunifis explained that Yther Runes required intelligence to design dreams and wisdom to construct them, with both attributes needing to be high.
• Roland learned that the Yther Runes created private dreams, while virtual reality formed a shared spirit realm operating on the surface of consciousness.

Roland joined Lunifis and the others on a winter excursion, where Lunifis gave him a Wisdom-enhancing necklace and explained how Dream Sprites could help him master the Yther Dreamwalking Spell. After Lunifis summoned the sprites at their camp, a vast swarm descended and connected itself to the sleeping Roland.

• Lunifis spent the night playing mischievous Snowfort fairies with Roland, leaving him exhausted before the excursion.
• Roland and the group explored the frozen lake, built a snowman, skated, fished, and shared a feast beneath the aurora.
• Lunifis gave Roland an Ornate Mana Crystal Necklace that granted +6 Wisdom, and Roland gave her his Command Staff in return.
• Lunifis explained that Dream Sprites could grant lasting Wisdom through a pact and revealed that her ancestor, Archmage Yther, had formed such a pact and built Yther's Faerie Realm.
• Lunifis summoned Dream Sprites at the camp with special incense and a lullaby, and Roland fell into a deep sleep.
• Firefly-like lights appeared above the camp, and countless ribbons of light descended into Roland as the servants recognized the Dream Sprites.

Roland formed a pact with the Dream Sprite queen Onerovra, gaining enhanced perception and a way to copy texts from his subconscious while dreaming. He used the ability to produce historical works and the Book of Songs, while his alliance with the Yther School drew attention across the arcane community.

• Roland entered a lucid dream, encountered Dream Sprites, and formed a host pact with their queen, Onerovra.
• After waking, Roland discovered that the pact had improved his Wisdom and perception, then used the Copying Spell to transcribe historical material from his dream.
• Roland changed his dream routine to copy ready-made texts from his Soul Depth, completing volumes of Records of the Grand Historian and producing poems from the Book of Songs.
• Roland shared the Book of Songs with Lunifis, who praised its importance to Seris Linguistics, and he prepared his recent works for publication through the Seris Language Research Society.
• The Yther School announced a cooperative alliance with the Seris School and their Dreaming of Seris project, prompting excitement across the arcane community.
• In the Orthodox Hall in Nevis, Gallo and the others realized Roland's mastery of Yther Runes and his pact with Dream Sprites gave him the foundation of a Grand Mage.

Roland published material on the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, prompting physician Jados to investigate its acupuncture and medical ideas. With Roland's support, Jados began seeking help from Sakari Mata, a hidden Druid in the lower city, and asked whether he had heard of the text.

• Roland uploaded the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon and related works to the Magic Network before leaving Snowfort with Lunifis and returning to Orvisto Wizard Tower.
• At a banquet, physician Jados recognized that Roland's account of the Nine Needles of Supreme Simplicity might contain sound medical principles and emailed him with questions.
• Roland encouraged Jados to study local medicinal plants and gave him five hundred gold coins to support his work and treatment of commoners.
• Roland asked Kevin Catona to look after Jados, who decided to consult Sakari Mata, a Druid physician living in the lower city.
• Jados visited Sakari and asked whether he had heard of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon.

Jados and Sakari planned to compile local herbal knowledge into a systematic medical work, while Roland supported their research and mastered the newly registered Level 3 Seris True Word Spell. Meanwhile, Trina targeted Roland’s business partner, and Selad found inspiration in Roland’s account of Xingtian, beginning to consider replacing the restoration army’s outside gods with a deity of their own.

• Jados persuaded Sakari to help create a systematic record of herbs and treatments inspired by Shennong and Li Shizhen.
• Roland arranged funding and access to books for Jados, then learned that the Level 3 Seris True Word Spell had joined the Magic Network.
• Roland studied and mastered the Level 3 spell, while his paper on the Six Jia Secret Blessing was published and praised.
• Trina learned that Pulia’s workshop was tied to Roland and left to attack it, while the Tiniara Restoration Army struggled with its failing intelligence network and costly allies.
• Selad read news about Roland’s visit to Isser and, inspired by Xingtian’s defiance, considered using the Divine Relic Tiniara to create the restoration army’s own God of Vengeance.

Roland learned that Pulia had been kidnapped and suspected the green dragon Trina was behind it. He traveled to Rune City with Ovesto in disguise, while Trina revealed that her ransom demand was likely a ploy to capture Roland.

• Roland discovered Pulia had vanished and received a kidnapper's note demanding that he negotiate in person.
• Roland and Ovesto went to Rune City, where the Mages' Guild reported that Pulia had been taken without triggering the workshop's defenses.
• The kidnapper demanded 110,000 gold coins, leading Roland to suspect Trina was collecting an old debt from him.
• Trina kept Pulia bound in a forest and angrily rejected his suggestion of a 10,000-gold ransom.
• Trina told Pulia that she expected Roland to bring powerful allies, then revealed her likely aim was to kidnap Roland.

Roland tried to ransom Pulia from Trina, but she kidnapped him and demanded more money. Ovesto intervened and nearly captured Trina before she escaped with a dream-related power; that night, she invaded Roland’s dream and demanded his submission.

• Roland brought gemstones to Trina’s forest hideout to ransom Pulia, but Trina seized him and flew away with the gems.
• Trina demanded a million gold coins and tried to take Roland’s treasure, but his borrowed Dimensional Bag was empty and he escaped with Dimension Door.
• Ovesto summoned Simmonli and attacked Trina, but she vanished from his Forcecage using a dreamlike power, and his Creature Location Spell failed to track her.
• Roland and Ovesto returned to Rune City, where Pulia was safe and the city remained on alert.
• Trina appeared in Roland’s dream and used her Dreamwalker power to warp his mental world while demanding his treasures and submission.

Roland defeated Trina inside his lucid dream and took control of the Divine Spark Fragment she had called the Dragon Pearl. After learning its true nature through Limited Wish, he realized the powerful treasure could bring serious danger if others discovered he possessed it.

• Trina invaded Roland’s dream with power from Tiniara, but Roland and Onerovra summoned Dream Sprites to resist her domain.
• Roland transformed into Pangu and cut down Tiniara’s projection, leaving Trina trapped and unable to escape.
• Trina’s Dragon Pearl emerged and took root in Roland’s dream, becoming a World Tree Soul Seed under his control as Trina lost her connection to it and disappeared.
• Roland awoke and used Limited Wish to learn that the seed was a Divine Spark Fragment from Tiniara that had granted Trina her legendary destiny.
• Roland recognized that the fragment could attract powerful people and decided to keep its nature secret while considering the risks.