Chapter Summaries

Iggs began competing with Is for a month-long position as Professor Aximia’s official assistant, while Nox traveled through the Sacrificial Grounds toward the Royal Capital. There, he encountered two young snails and the Snail Shaman, who seemed to recognize him despite his disguise.

• Is rejected Iggs as a rival, and Aximia revealed that whichever candidate performed best over the next month would become her official assistant while the other would leave.
• Iggs accepted the challenge and began cleaning flasks in Aximia’s laboratory.
• Nox chose the Sacrificial Grounds route to avoid risking another destructive incident among other bugs.
• Two young snails used mist, illusions, and a riddle to mislead Nox, but he tracked them with Heat Sense and caught them.
• The Snail Shaman appeared and asked Nox not to punish the young snails, then seemed to recognize him as his lord despite his disguise.

Nox met with the Snail Shaman and learned about the Shaman’s young niece and nephew, while their conversation revealed the loneliness and long life that shaped their bond. Meanwhile, Iggs struggled to master the theory needed to become Professor Aximia’s assistant, and his determination pushed Farena away.

• The Snail Shaman made his niece and nephew apologize to Nox for luring him into the mist and trying to scare him.
• Nox spoke with the Snail Shaman about his talented nephew and niece, his resistance to Flame-Gluttony Syndrome, and the mystery of how he found the children.
• The Snail Shaman began explaining that finding the two children had been a miracle after he thought he was the last Snail Shaman.
• Iggs spent three days memorizing difficult mathematical and theoretical material so he could compete for a position assisting Professor Aximia.
• Farena tried to talk with the exhausted Iggs over lunch, but he stayed focused on his studies, and she left without him noticing.

Iggs challenged Is to a weekly alchemy test and scored 88 to her 97, while Nox learned about Aximia’s research into treating Flame-Gluttony Syndrome. Nox left the Lift for the Royal City’s Royal Waterways, intending to meet Aximia and see what her research might reveal.

• Iggs studied diligently and joined Is’s weekly alchemy test, while Is arrived calm and minimally equipped.
• Professor Aximia administered the test, and both students answered quickly before time ran out.
• Aximia scored Iggs 88 and Is 97, leaving Iggs stunned by the gap.
• The Snail Shaman told Nox that Aximia was researching a material treatment for Flame-Gluttony Syndrome using a chemical equation.
• Nox agreed to consider meeting Aximia, then continued toward the Royal City’s Royal Waterways as the Snail Shaman went to check on their family’s youngster.

Iggs’s rivalry with Is drove him to neglect his health until he collapsed and fell into a despairing dream. Glimmer entered his dream and pulled him back from giving up, leaving him to recognize her as the legendary goddess of light in dreams.

• Iggs watched Is earn perfect scores while his own efforts failed to close the gap, and the pressure eventually made him ill.
• At Holy Flame Hospital, a doctor used potions and Divine Arts to treat Iggs and urged him to rest.
• Iggs dreamed that his failures had disappointed his professor, Is, Farena, and his parents, then imagined ending his life in despair.
• Glimmer appeared in Iggs’s collapsing dream, illuminated the darkness, and freed him from the sensation of falling.
• Iggs regained his composure, realized he was dreaming, and asked the luminous being if she was Glimmer.

Iggs received comfort from the Goddess of Light in a dream but chose to keep striving, while Glimmer struggled to manage the Sunfire God’s prayers during Lin Jin’s absence. Lin Jin checked on Glimmer, then set out from the Royal Waterways to meet an Alchemist.

• The Goddess of Light told Iggs to accept his limits, but he awoke determined to keep studying and give his best effort.
• Glimmer struggled to handle the Flame Capital’s millions of prayers because she did not know about Lin Jin’s filtering system.
• Lin Jin called Glimmer to check on her, and she assured him she could manage the work alone.
• After the call, Lin Jin returned to his manifested body and decided to meet an Alchemist.
• At a Royal Waterways campfire, a worker and a noble agreed that the Flame Capital’s flame would endure as the worker prepared to maintain it.

Iggs encountered three masked attackers pursuing the badly wounded Is and fled with her into the abandoned old district. After Is explained that she was being hunted and outlined a risky escape plan, the attackers tracked them down, forcing Iggs to prepare to act.

• After leaving the hospital late at night, Iggs heard strange sounds in the Royal City and was attacked by three silent bugs wearing white cloth masks.
• Iggs found the injured Is behind him, dodged a sword strike, and carried her through the old district's hidden alleys to escape.
• In a concealed abandoned apartment, Is told Iggs that the attackers meant to capture her and sacrifice her to a cruel queen.
• Is explained a risky plan to Iggs, but the masked attackers tracked them to the apartment and smashed through the door.
• Is urged Iggs to carry out the plan, and Iggs steadied himself and prepared to act.