Chapter Summaries

Roland erased information about Trina’s power from the mana level, discovered that the World Tree Soul Seed connected his Dreamscape to reality, and negotiated with Trina to keep her close. At the Planar Court, Trina learned that Roland knew her treasure was a divine spark fragment and had built its eventual transfer into their alliance contract.

• Roland used Limited Wish to erase information about his acquisition of Trina’s treasure from the level of mana, then contacted Trina and offered her an increasingly generous salary.
• Roland discovered that he could sense his Dreamscape while awake and asked the dream fairies to search for digital maps and information from his former life.
• Trina decided to pretend to accept Roland’s offer so she could stay near him and learn whether he knew the treasure’s identity or could use it.
• Roland told the Mages’ Guild that Trina had agreed to become his personal guard, and the mages warned him that Green Dragons often feigned submission and plotted against their allies.
• At the Planar Court, Roland drafted an alliance contract that named Trina his Dragon Ally and stipulated that she would inherit his divine spark fragment if he died naturally.
• Trina recognized that Roland knew the treasure was a divine spark fragment and hesitated over accepting the contract.

After turning Trina into an ally, Roland developed a research program to combine Seris runes with True Word Spell and Wish, aiming toward a system that could make reality obey spoken commands. By early March, he had begun experiments on a lower-tier form of Wish and prepared to use divine power from the Divine Spark Fragment.

• News outlets reported that Roland had made a dragon ally pact with Trina, while she settled into her new quarters and demanded better food.
• Roland discussed Trina’s costs with Aier, and Lunifis asked him about the pact before they discussed magical research.
• Roland proposed that Seris runes could specialize in conveying meaning and eventually support spells that made reality obey words, including a theoretical legendary spell called “Infinite Wish.”
• Roland and the school’s researchers considered how seal script, True Word Spell, Wish, and the Divine Spark Fragment could advance this research.
• In early March, Roland began experiments based on Prestidigitation and Limited Wish, then decided to spend a drop of divine power on a practical attempt.

Roland experimented with modifying Prestidigitation toward a dream-powered Wish spell while Grand Mage Watson completed an oracle-script conversion of Level 9 Wish. Their correspondence set them to researching different forms of Wish, while Gallo grew resentful of Watson’s support for Seris arcana and Roland.

• Roland used divine power and a trace of dream to make modified Prestidigitation produce a stable Light-like effect, then planned further research into its unknown spell components.
• Roland visited the green dragon Trina at the Dragon Palace while Grand Mage Watson celebrated completing his new deconstruction of Wish.
• Grand Mage Watson praised seal script and urged his students to share arcane research, but Gallo privately resolved to prove Orthodox Runes were the rightful rulers of the Runes School.
• Roland read reports of Watson’s complete oracle-script conversion of Level 9 Wish and contacted him to discuss using seal script to deconstruct Wish further.
• Roland and Grand Mage Watson agreed that Watson would focus on Level 9 Wish while Roland developed lower-tier Wish spells, and Watson suggested that Roland test advancement through Wish in the Dreamscape.

Roland wrote an article explaining how language and social context shaped Wish, then tested a new Dream Spell in his Dreamscape and apparently advanced to the second rank. He left the experiment eager to refine the spell, study higher-level magic, and find ways to make advancement possible without divine power.

• Roland transcribed his conversation with Grand Mage Watson, named his planned spell the Dream Spell, and drafted an article about the principles linguistics and Wish shared.
• Roland explained how distorted wishes could cause dangerous Mana backlash, then spent nearly half a month preparing to test his spell.
• Roland entered the Dreamscape, examined the World Tree and its fruit, and used the Divine Spark Fragment's power while wishing to advance to the second rank.
• Roland returned to reality and found that his mind and body had strengthened, making Level 2 spells easier to understand and simulate.
• Roland planned to master more spells and refine the Dream Spell so it could work without divine power, possibly by temporarily improving learning and comprehension.

Roland expanded his Dream Spell research, advanced to the third rank, and prepared to qualify as a Second-Rank Mage. After discussing a magical delivery service with Rick, he handed the business plan to him while promising to develop the spells it required.

• Roland invited Atali to remain with the Order of Knights so she might later serve as one of his guards, then returned to his Dream Spell research.
• Roland discussed temporary Legendary advancement with Grand Mage Watson, who shared his research findings but warned that forced advancement could collapse or cause unpredictable effects.
• Roland explored new Dream Spell applications, recognized that his progress depended on Watson's work on Seris Wish, and used divine power in early May to advance to the third rank.
• Roland learned additional Level 2 spells and planned to publish his Dream Spell: Advancement research, apply for an examination exemption, and qualify as a Second-Rank Mage.
• Roland visited Rune City on May 5 for spell certification exams, then discussed his representation deal and financial support for Trina with Rick.
• Roland proposed Dream Spell: Bread and Dream Spell: Water as the basis for a magical delivery service, and Rick suggested branding it as Divine Gift and expanding it through partnerships with the churches.

Roland continued developing Dream Spell and managing his relationships and research, while the Tiniara Restoration Army conducted a blood sacrifice that awakened the power of Xingtian the Headless One. The chapter left Selad and his followers empowered by the newly manifested totem.

• Roland discussed Dream Spell, printed scrolls, and Oracle Bone Divination with Skord and Yvonne.
• Roland visited Trina at the Dragon Palace, while Aier complained that the green dragon was taking his attention from her.
• Aier told Roland that his Dream Spell paper had passed review, and the magic network reacted to its demanding ritual and potential uses.
• In a hidden valley, Selad and the Tiniara Restoration Army sacrificed twelve captives during a ritual led by his wife, the high priestess.
• The ritual granted Selad and other leaders the power of Xingtian the Headless One, and the army's warriors received weaker boosts from blood-painted totems.

Roland received substantial royalty income from his inventions and distributed it among investments, donations, family, and researchers. In the Lainer Kingdom, Diego Capel found a copy of Romance of Seris and read a passage that challenged the hierarchy he had been taught to accept.

• Bruno told Roland that Seal Script had enabled a breakthrough in the Seris Secret Seal Art, and Roland discussed its uses and cultural significance with him.
• Aier reported that Roland had earned 228,000 gold coins in royalties, and Roland ordered some converted into gems and donated money to the Church of Light and the Silver Moon Church.
• Roland arranged modest support for relatives and young mages, then sent Sakari and Jados 3,000 gold coins for their medicinal-herb research.
• Jados received Roland’s bank draft and went to tell the old Druid the good news.
• Trina tried to negotiate a raise from Roland, but he refused and she threatened to stop doing extra work unless he paid more.
• At a reception in the Lainer Kingdom, Diego Capel found Romance of Seris and read the line, “Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born to their stations?”

Diego read Romance of Seris and received the book from an Atrelin mage, while Pollas and Leon considered how the Corlens Family should relinquish or exploit its rule over the Lainer Kingdom. News that Selad’s Restoration Army had taken Ironclad Fortress with a new Xingtian totem led Pollas to conclude that events had chosen their course.

• Diego read the rebellion passages in Romance of Seris, and an Atrelin mage told him about Roland before giving him the book.
• Pollas discussed with Leon the Corlens Family’s options: transfer the governorship under Atrelin’s supervision or sell the colony to dark elves and profit from war.
• A steward reported that Selad’s Restoration Army had captured Ironclad Fortress and killed Vita, Bote, and other mages.
• The steward said the rebels used a new power called the Headless One, Xingtian totem, and Pollas recognized the name from Romance of Seris.

Roland completed the foundational Seris writing system paper and began planning a unified magical rune system, while his teacher Ovesto prepared him for a broader role in the Mage Tower. The chapter left Roland starting an internship in library management as Ovesto departed on a longer assignment.

• Roland received approval for promotion to second-rank mage and ignored online arguments about whether he deserved an Arcane Star nomination.
• Roland finished and submitted “Constructing the Seris Writing System,” attaching Shuowen Jiezi and establishing small seal script as the foundation for Seris characters.
• Arcana’s grand mages recognized that the Seris writing system had taken shape, while Roland explained that unifying its magical runes and developing later scripts remained ahead.
• Roland outlined the stages of Seris script development to the school members before Ovesto summoned him.
• Ovesto announced he would leave for Nevis City and assigned Roland a rotational internship, beginning with managing the Mage Tower’s library.

Roland learned how the Mage Tower library managed magical knowledge and forbidden books, then used a private Arcane Salon to explain how Seris idioms carried cultural meaning. After his Seris writing-system paper was accepted for publication, he examined the World Tree and prepared to use divine power to support his research and rank breakthrough.

• Roland toured the library’s restricted archives, learned how mages managed forbidden texts, and later tried its duties while assessing the Tower’s procedures and staff.
• Roland discussed idioms, allusions, and cultural memes with Skord and other members of the Seris School, arguing that Seris needed a historical and cultural foundation.
• Roland received notice that “Constructing the Seris Writing System” had been accepted by Arcana for publication on August 5.
• Roland consulted Lunifis about the Seris True Word Spell and the Dream Spell, then sensed divine power replenished in his Divine Spark Fragment.
• Roland counted about nine drops of divine power and began preparing to use the Dream Spell in his research and attempt to reach the fourth rank.

Roland’s attempt to advance to the fourth rank with Dream Spell failed, but it unexpectedly gave him a temporary Xingtian Battle Spirit ability. He later learned that the Restoration Army’s leadership had an identical Xingtian Totem, leaving him puzzled by the connection.

• In the Dreamscape, Roland built a magic array powered by the Divine Spark Fragment and received a spiritual-power blessing from Onerovra and the dream sprites.
• Roland wished to advance to the fourth rank, but the array failed and a headless warrior appeared before he awoke.
• Roland discovered that Xingtian’s Form had possessed him, granting him enhanced physical abilities and a temporary battle transformation.
• Roland named the ability Xingtian Battle Spirit and discussed its possible origins with Lunifis.
• Leon wrote to Roland that the Restoration Army’s leadership possessed an Xingtian Totem identical to Roland’s ability.

Roland investigated the Tiniara Restoration Army’s Xingtian totem and discovered that its power drew on faith, ancestral worship, and sacrificial ritual. He refined his own ritual magic and planned to test a monster-slaying method for turning harvested soul essence into advancement materials.

• Roland exchanged information with Leon of the Corlens Family, comparing the Restoration Army’s battlefield abilities with his Xingtian Battle Spirit spell.
• In the Orvisto Wizard Tower library, Roland studied faith and divine power and realized the totem’s magic might complement his legendary destiny.
• Roland questioned Trina about Selad and the Restoration Army, learning about their origins, her former pact with Selad’s ancestor, and the totem’s links to bloodline ability and human sacrifice.
• Roland revised his ritual magic by considering oracle runes, sacrificial offerings, and roleplaying, then asked Trina about the Tiniara Divine Spark Fragment and Dreams Come True.
• Lunifis suggested using magical creatures as sacrifices, and Roland reasoned that slaying them could turn their soul essence into a measurable way to advance.
• Roland decided to capture and slay magical creatures in a nearby forest to test his new method.

Roland hired adventurers to bring him kobold soul essences and live captives, then used them in his Dream Spell ritual to advance to the fourth tier. He awoke with increased Wisdom and Intelligence, confirming that the breakthrough had succeeded.

• Roland posted a commission for sixteen soul essences and at least twenty live kobolds, hiring Wild Mages through the Adventurers' Association.
• Rabio and Jonis completed the commission, delivered the soul bottles and captives, and offered Roland information about ancient ruins they had discovered.
• Roland accepted their offer to discuss the ruins later and prioritized using the kobold souls and captives in his advancement ritual.
• Roland redrew and revised his Magic Array in the Dreamscape, then used the Dream Spell to wish for advancement to the fourth tier.
• Roland's ritual refined the kobold souls into mental energy, filled him with magical power, and increased his Wisdom and Intelligence.
• Roland awoke, tested his improved mental abilities, and confirmed that he had advanced successfully.

Roland developed Seris True Word Spell: Cleave, a ritual spell that beheaded enemies and drew power from their deaths, then wrote a paper about its combat system. Meanwhile, Selad used Xingtian Totem to rout the Lainer Kingdom’s forces and led his warriors toward a defenseless city to slaughter its civilians.

• Roland advanced to Fourth-Circle Mage, and Lunifis helped him realize that a complete Seris rune needed to contain a character’s forms, history, and meanings.
• Roland created Seris True Word Spell: Cleave, whose bronze-axe manifestation severed a training target and alerted the Tower Spirit.
• Roland tested the spell on kobolds and discovered that their blood and spiritual essence fed the Xingtian Totem, strengthening the spell and replenishing his power.
• Roland drafted and submitted a paper on Cleave and Xingtian Battle Spirit after gathering feedback from Lunifis, his teacher, and fellow students.
• Selad used Xingtian Totem and Momentum Slash to cut down Lainer Kingdom soldiers, then ordered his warriors to slaughter the city’s civilians for power.

Roland presented the Seris rune system, drawing praise for establishing a new field of arcane research. The Orthodox School, led by Gallo, plotted to curb the Seris School, then used a massacre in Namor to publicly link Roland’s work to dangerous forbidden knowledge and call for sanctions.

• Roland taught the Seris Joint Research Association how Seris characters evolved into dynamic runes, and his students praised the framework.
• Grand Mage Watson commended Roland’s paper, while Roland reflected on why Seris history and writing had endured more completely than the records of other worlds.
• Roland read that Selad’s forces had massacred Namor and killed members of the overseas legion, and he suspected someone had exploited the Corlens Family’s absence.
• Gallo told the Orthodox School that Roland’s rune system could support thousands of major papers, then proposed suppressing the Seris School through funding and political pressure.
• Oksaya found a report linking Selad’s Xingtian Totem to Seris stories and alerted Gallo, who saw it as an opening to attack Roland’s school.
• Oksaya published a commentary accusing the Seris School of fostering the Namor massacre and urging tighter oversight, reduced funding, and restrictions on exporting Arcana; readers recognized it as an effort by established schools to suppress the New School.

Roland and the Seris School faced an Orthodox School campaign to discredit Seris culture and obstruct their research funding and education programs. Lunifis’s defense and Ovesto’s lobbying secured committee support for targeted funding, and Roland prepared Seris Runes and Spell Scroll Printing proposals.

• Leitlin and other Seris School members told Roland that the committee had delayed, reduced, or threatened to suspend their projects and education programs.
• Grand Mage Watson condemned Gallo and the Orthodox School for using political tactics against the Seris School, but Gallo insisted it was a school war.
• Oksaya and others attacked Seris culture in the press, while Roland judged their campaign a defense of their own power and interests.
• Lunifis published a defense of the Seris spirit, shifting public opinion and winning sympathy from members of other schools.
• Ovesto persuaded the Rotating Commissioners to propose targeted support for emerging schools, and the committee approved the resolution by a large majority, with Grand Mage Watson voting in favor.
• Ovesto told Roland to submit funding proposals, and Roland chose Seris Runes and Spell Scroll Printing while preparing to answer the public controversy.

Roland’s article recast Serisian history as a reflection of Atrelin’s own past, popularizing Serisism and winning official funding for Seris Runes and Spell Scroll printing research. Gallo responded to the funding decision by declaring an all-out campaign against Roland and his allies.

• Roland published “On the Seris Spirit,” arguing that Serisian perseverance echoed humanity’s struggle to build Atrelin’s magical civilization and condemning Oksaya’s criticism.
• Atrelin’s readers embraced the article’s historical parallels, while Lunifis proposed calling the spirit of ceaseless self-improvement Serisism.
• Antonia and other senior mages approved special funding for Seris Runes, releasing support in installments, and granted a smaller sum for Spell Scroll printing research.
• Roland accepted both grants and celebrated receiving an initial installment of one million gold coins for the Seris Runes project.
• Gallo learned that the higher-ups had approved the funding and urged his allies to mobilize commercial partners and colonies to blockade Roland’s efforts.
• Gallo declared that their teacher, Grand Mage Watson, was no longer on their side and said they should not tell him about their campaign.

After Seris School leader Roland wrote an article on Seris calligraphy, Runes editor Lie Yi discovered that calligraphic strokes could replace spoken incantations and asked to join Roland’s organization. Roland left Lie Yi with several new research directions and the Seris School gained a promising recruit.

• Roland told the mages at a gathering that he planned to study calligraphy and outlined the Seris School’s research and staffing needs.
• Roland wrote and revised “On Changes in the Script Styles of Seris Characters and the Art of Calligraphy,” linking writing styles to their historical materials and uses.
• Lie Yi read Roland’s manuscript and used changing Seris script styles to cast the Six Jia Secret Blessing without an incantation.
• Lie Yi realized calligraphy could function as a spellcasting gesture and contacted Roland to ask whether he could research the discovery.
• Roland gave Lie Yi permission to explore calligraphic spellcasting and offered funding, and Lie Yi asked to join the Seris School.

Roland developed Wild Cursive Casting, expanded calligraphy research at Orvisto Wizard Tower, and began organizing the Joint Research Association. After learning that Pano was being pressured over his spell improvements, Roland offered him a way out, and Pano resigned from the institute while relinquishing his rights to Mage Armor and Mount Spell.

• Roland tested his rune-writing casting technique, outlined ways to improve it, and discussed combining it with incantations with Lie Yi.
• Calligraphy gained popularity at Orvisto Wizard Tower, where Skord and others began practicing while Roland used spells to improve his dexterity and perception.
• Froya asked to join the Joint Research Association, and Aier urged Roland to plan a headquarters in Nevis City.
• Aier told Roland that Pano was in a dispute with his superior, Loweid, over Mage Armor, Mount Spell, and control of the Thousand-Mile Horse project.
• Roland sent Pano records supporting his claims and invited him to leave the institute for a position in Rune City; Pano decided to resign.
• Pano presented Loweid with his resignation letter and relinquished his rights to Mage Armor and Mount Spell, leaving Loweid stunned.

Pano left the Legion Research Institute and joined Roland’s Seris School, while Orthodox School sanctions made funding and support harder to secure. Roland began building the school’s own institutional base in Nevis, pursued promotion, and visited Pano as work on the Thousand-Mile Horse spell continued.

• Pano resigned after Loweid accepted his departure, then followed Roland’s advice, refused to sign away his rights, and moved his family to Rune City.
• Roland secured approval for Pano’s project by combining his own funds with support from Rune City’s local guild, while Orthodox School restrictions blocked the institute’s competing funding request.
• Froya noticed that Seris School membership was rising as calligraphy attracted interest, and Roland agreed to prepare a calligraphy textbook for the Mage Legion.
• Roland accepted the Corlens Family’s donation and asked Froya to find a site for the school’s headquarters in Nevis, while he planned to seek promotion and an editorial role at Runes.
• Roland received notice that his promotion application required recommendations from influential Grand Mages, and Ovesto offered to seek Malsin’s support.
• Roland visited Pano in Rune City, thanked him for his work, and learned that the Thousand-Mile Horse project aimed to create a practical Level 2 spell between Mount Spell and Phantom Steed.