Recaps

Juno came to Greg’s room to challenge him to a fight, but agreed to wait for the Five-Academy Competition. After Victoria and Sylvia left, Greg noticed a damp spot on Sylvia’s chair and began cleaning before his roommate returned.

• Juno introduced herself to Greg and demanded a fight, saying her aunt Aurora had asked her to test him.
• Juno explained she had come because Sarah was busy after Sarah’s missing sister returned; Greg wondered whether the Fifth Imperial Princess’s return was another butterfly effect.
• Victoria and Sylvia joined Greg at the door, and Juno took their presence as proof of Greg’s strength and renewed her challenge.
• Greg persuaded Juno to wait until the Five-Academy Competition, and she happily left.
• Victoria and Sylvia departed, with Sylvia saying goodbye to Greg.
• Greg noticed a damp spot on Sylvia’s chair and picked up a cleaning cloth.

Melina met privately with the Demon King Cult’s Hooded Woman and ordered her to gather the cult’s followers for a coordinated action. Melina also resolved to investigate the Dungeon beneath the Imperial City and defy the Mother Goddess, who had erased her memories.

• Melina thanked Adele for helping correct her work, then said an older student disliked her because he already liked someone else.
• After Adele reminded her to rest before the Second Defense, Melina left the Magic Tower and summoned the Hooded Woman in a deserted alley.
• The Hooded Woman reported that the Shadow Swordsman was powerful and had evaded their investigation.
• Melina ordered the Hooded Woman to wait before gathering the Demon King Cult’s followers, then used her violet gaze to compel her to obey.
• Melina sensed the Dungeon beneath the Imperial City and vowed to uncover its secrets rather than remain the Mother Goddess’s pawn.

Greg attended the Second Defense, where only twenty students would advance to the Final Defense, and reassured his roommates as they discussed the competition. He left them impressed by his first-place result in the Preliminary Debate, while Vivian resolved to stay by his side.

• Greg met Vivian before the Second Defense, exchanged a composed greeting, and let her go ahead while she silently reaffirmed her determination not to leave him again.
• Rom called Greg over to sit with him and Colwin, then pressed him about his relationship with Vivian and Victoria.
• Greg evaded his roommates’ romantic questions by asking how they felt about their chances in the Second Defense.
• Rom and Colwin admitted they were unsure they would qualify for the Final Defense, which had only twenty places, and hoped to improve on last year.
• Rom and Colwin praised Greg for taking first place in the Preliminary Debate despite never seeing him study, and Greg said he was standing on the shoulders of giants.

Victoria presented her analysis of elemental resonance theory’s limitations in actual combat after Professor Grace harshly criticized another student’s impractical example. As Victoria began her defense, she drew on a childhood memory to show how fire-wind resonance could cause a dangerous loss of control.

• Professor Grace pointed out that a proposed fire barrier in confined terrain could trap its caster and cause oxygen deprivation, and the student received only twenty-six points.
• Adele and Kaira discussed their nerves about the debate and praised Melina, who had helped Adele revise her presentation.
• Victoria learned that Melina was a first-year commoner who had tied with her in the Preliminary Debate, and she resolved not to lose to her.
• Victoria took the platform, noticed Sylvia, Lilith, Greg, and her mentor Alice in the audience, and began her defense.
• Victoria argued that real combat conditions introduce uncertainty that idealized simulations overlook, then recalled how sparks from fire-wind resonance nearly started a forest fire when she was a child.

Victoria earned a score of ninety-two in the Second Defense after presenting a well-supported argument and answering a professor’s question with advice Greg had taught her. Afterward, she credited Greg’s guidance but insisted that her best friend Sylvia could never fall for him.

• Victoria argued that relying on elemental resonance without assessing environmental factors could cause problems, then explained how to manage resonance when magic power was scarce.
• A professor questioned Victoria about adjusting elemental resonance with insufficient magic power, and she gave an answer Greg had prepared her for.
• The ten professors awarded Victoria ninety-two points, the highest score in the competition so far.
• Adele and Kaira praised Victoria and teased her about Greg, while Victoria admitted that his guidance had helped her.
• Victoria insisted that Sylvia hated Greg and would never like him, declaring that Sylvia was her best friend.

Melina delivered a strong presentation at the Exchange Meeting’s Second Defense and tied Victoria’s score of 92, drawing applause and attention. Greg recognized Melina’s hidden danger and worried about her plan to enter Glory Kael Magic Academy, while several other students presented before his turn approached.

• Rom congratulated Greg about Victoria’s score, and Greg hurriedly denied that they were officially a couple.
• Colwin explained that he was watching for a junior from his academy, and Melina took the podium.
• Melina presented a personalized approach to elemental resonance and earned 92 points, matching Victoria.
• Greg worried that Melina was dangerous and planned to warn Academy Head Olivia about her attempt to enroll at Glory Kael Magic Academy.
• Several students presented afterward, including Juno, who scored 81, and Greg realized his own turn was near.

Greg began his Second Defense at the Hundred-Academy Exchange Meeting, but Veronica’s unexpected arrival interrupted his introduction and drew the Debate Hall’s attention. Veronica took her prepared seat to listen to Greg, leaving him hopeful that he could win her favor with his defense.

• Greg noticed Veronica’s seat was empty and worried that she would miss his Second Defense.
• Greg stepped onto the stage and began introducing himself before the Debate Hall doors opened.
• Veronica entered the hall, prompting the judges to bow and the students to erupt in excitement.
• Sylvia watched Veronica uneasily and suspected that something had happened between her and Greg.
• Veronica asked everyone to continue, sat down, and focused on Greg, who was glad she had arrived in time.

Greg Sass presented his research on elemental resonance, arguing that matching magic frequencies could trigger qualitative transformations at specific resonance thresholds. His detailed evidence and practical analysis impressed the audience and deepened Veronica’s admiration for him.

• Greg Sass opened his defense by arguing that elemental resonance transformed magic rather than merely adding power.
• Greg explained resonance thresholds and presented experimental data on fire-wind and water-earth magic.
• Victoria wondered when Greg had conducted the experiments without her knowledge.
• Greg described how resonance could overcome an enemy’s elemental resistance, then outlined its costs and limitations.
• Veronica listened intently and became even more convinced that Greg was the role model she needed.

Greg delivered a confident presentation on elemental resonance theory, earned a perfect score in the Second Defense, and became the first student at this year's Hundred-Academy Exchange Meeting to score one hundred. His friends celebrated him afterward, though Greg cautioned that a later upset was still possible.

• Victoria, Vivian, Lilith, Alice, Melina, and Sylvia watched Greg onstage, each reacting to his performance in her own way.
• Greg concluded that elemental resonance theory should help people understand the true nature of magic power and use it more efficiently.
• All ten professors gave Greg a ten, and the audience rose in a standing ovation as his score reached one hundred.
• Rom and Colwin congratulated Greg when he returned to his seat, and Greg warned that someone might still cause an upset.
• The Second Defense ended without any other student matching Greg's performance.

After Greg’s perfect score in the Second Defense, he escaped a crowd of admirers with Juno’s help. Vivian arrived looking for him, but Juno intercepted her to challenge her ahead of the Five-Academy Competition.

• Veronica left the Debate Hall, drawing a crowd of students who wanted to meet her, while Greg wondered why she had arrived late.
• Rom and Colwin pulled Greg out of the hall, but girls soon crowded around him and reached inside his clothes.
• Juno drove the admirers away, praised Greg’s defense, and offered him a scholarship to Ember-Eyed Tower Magic Academy, which he declined.
• An Elf Prince named Elwin passed Greg and Juno, and Juno told Greg to ignore him.
• Vivian emerged from the Debate Hall and headed toward Greg, but Juno blocked her and challenged her to a rematch at the Five-Academy Competition.

After the Exchange Meeting, Greg left with Rom and Colwin, then joined Victoria and her roommates on the way to the dining hall. Melina watched Greg and Victoria together and realized Victoria was the person her father had told her to monitor.

• Lilith awkwardly praised Greg for bringing honor to the Kingdom and the Academy, then ran off after insisting she had not wanted to praise him.
• Greg reassured Rom and Colwin that Lilith’s sharp words were not meant to hurt him.
• Victoria and her roommates joined Greg, Rom, and Colwin on their way to the dining hall.
• Adele and Kaira teased Greg and Victoria as a couple, and Victoria calmed down after Greg advised her not to react.
• Melina watched Greg and Victoria from a corridor corner and recognized Victoria as the person her father had told her to keep an eye on.

Greg discovered that Wendy was the Fifth Imperial Princess, who had been sentenced to execution, and rushed to act before the sentence was carried out. Meanwhile, Sylvia questioned Veronica about why she had attended the Debate Hall, leaving Veronica visibly alert to her suspicions.

• Greg and his friends read an imperial notice declaring that Wendy, the Fifth Imperial Princess, would be burned at the stake in seven days for allegedly colluding with Demons.
• Greg recognized Wendy in the portrait and left immediately to do something before her execution.
• Sylvia visited Veronica, and the two exchanged guarded conversation about the Exchange Meeting.
• Sylvia asked whether Veronica had attended the Debate Hall because she was interested in someone, and Veronica slowly opened her eyes.

Veronica and Sylvia discussed their mutual interest in Greg, and Sylvia refused Veronica’s offer to attend the Fifth Imperial Princess’s execution as a Candidate Saintess. After Sylvia left, Veronica revealed her hostility toward her for remaining close to Greg.

• Veronica admitted that Greg’s performance at the Hundred-Academy Exchange Meeting had caught her interest, and Sylvia acknowledged how much she trusted him.
• Sylvia defended Greg’s place at Glory Kail after Veronica suggested he deserved better resources and might eventually move to a more suitable academy.
• Veronica offered Sylvia the chance to attend the Fifth Imperial Princess’s execution in seven days and publicly announce her status as a Candidate Saintess.
• Sylvia declined, saying she preferred to stay with her friends, and left Veronica’s room.
• Veronica concluded that Sylvia cared about Greg and privately called her vile for staying at his side.

Wendy waited in prison after deliberately returning to the Imperial Family, planning to expose her brother Finn’s manipulation at her execution. When the Crown Prince’s sinister butler threatened to use her death in an experiment, Wendy resolved to rely on the Cult Leader’s help rather than accept her fate.

• Wendy awoke from a dream of the black sun over the Imperial Capital and considered why she had allowed herself to be arrested.
• Wendy recalled trusting Greg to rescue her and planned to reveal that the Crown Prince was being used when she was brought before the public.
• The Crown Prince’s butler offered to seek a pardon if Wendy admitted wrongdoing, but Wendy rejected the offer as a lie.
• The butler revealed that his group had been watching Wendy and said he intended to test whether her death would affect a deity.
• Wendy resolved not to be swept along and placed her hope in the Cult Leader’s help.

Greg infiltrated the underground labyrinth to meet Ellie and clear three Dungeon floors before rescuing Wendy, while Nightmare helped him evade the guards. He headed toward the hidden Dungeon entrance, hoping Ellie was waiting there.

• Three knights guarding the labyrinth discussed the Shadow Swordsman and heard a noise in the passage.
• Nightmare posed as a black cat, distracting the knights while Greg hid in the shadows.
• Greg thanked Nightmare for helping him avoid detection, and she smugly took credit for saving him.
• Greg decided to meet Ellie and clear three Dungeon floors before returning to plan Wendy's rescue, since he needed Ellie's strength and had little time left.
• Greg followed the hidden passages toward the Dungeon entrance, hoping Ellie had kept her promise to wait for him.

Ellie ventured alone into the Imperial Dungeon, dismissing Greg’s warning until a hidden time-slowing trap left her helpless before three clockwork Monsters. Black Flame destroyed the Monsters at the last moment, saving her again.

• Ellie defeated the First Floor’s lord Monster and continued deeper into the Dungeon, thinking Greg had been overly cautious.
• Ellie easily killed three level-thirty Monsters and proceeded through ruins where enemies grew increasingly scarce.
• Ellie triggered a trap that slowed her movements and left her unable to escape as three clockwork Monsters attacked.
• Black Flame swept in from the passage and destroyed the three Monsters, and Ellie realized Greg had saved her again.

Greg searched the Imperial Dungeon for Ellie after finding the entrance deserted and followed her trail into the Second Floor. He rescued her from a time-slowing trap, then collapsed into her arms.

• Greg found the Imperial Dungeon's entrance empty and rushed inside to look for Ellie.
• Nightmare told Greg about a shortcut to the Deep Layer and explained that the Dungeon was connected to the Mother of the Clepsydra, whose laws concerned time.
• Greg followed a trail of Monsters Ellie had killed, passed the First Floor boss chamber, and continued to the Second Floor.
• Greg found Ellie trapped in slowed time as three mechanical Monsters attacked her.
• Greg used Black Flame to destroy the Monsters and break the trap's effect, then called Ellie a stupid maid and collapsed into her arms.

As Greg slept after exhausting himself to save Ellie, she remembered how they first met when she was twelve and defending her orphanage. The memory ended with young Greg stepping in as thugs threatened the orphanage.

• Ellie watched the exhausted Greg sleep and recalled that he had saved her before.
• At twelve, Ellie beat up thugs who were harassing a street vendor, then returned to Morning Light Orphanage.
• The orphanage director warned Ellie to stop fighting and take care of herself.
• A bald thug and his men threatened to drive the orphanage out, and Ellie stood between them and the director.
• Just as the thugs moved to attack Ellie, young Greg arrived in a carriage with Knights and ordered them to stop.

Six-year-old Greg saved Ellie and the orphanage from thugs, then took Ellie in as his apprentice maid despite her frightening insistence. Years later, Ellie reflected on how her feelings for Greg had grown and kissed him while he slept, wanting him to find happiness.

• Greg frightened off the thugs by revealing that he was Duke Sass's son, and Ellie asked to become his maid.
• Ellie seized Greg and demanded that he accept her, and Sebas welcomed her to Duke Sass's Mansion as his apprentice maid.
• Ellie said goodbye to the orphanage children and left with Greg, promising to protect them.
• Ellie struggled through her apprenticeship, pranked Greg for amusement, and eventually became his personal maid.
• Ellie recalled how her feelings for Greg changed over the years and gently kissed him as he slept.

Greg woke after rescuing Ellie from the time Monsters and found her safe beside a campfire. After they made up over her recklessness, Greg faced the prospect of eating her strange purple soup, while Nightmare teased him about his greed.

• Greg woke in the ruins, found Ellie safe, and remembered using the World-Devouring Black Flame to save her from the time Monsters.
• Greg scolded Ellie for rushing ahead alone, but she admitted she had been arrogant and apologized for nearly getting hurt and forcing him to exhaust himself rescuing her.
• Greg comforted Ellie, told her not to blame herself, and asked her to wait for him before charging ahead next time; Ellie agreed.
• Ellie prepared a bubbling purple soup, and Greg worried about how to stop her from serving it to him.
• Nightmare spoke to Greg, accepted his thanks for helping him, and teased him for being greedy enough to spare neither his own maid nor himself.

Greg learned that Ellie had kissed him while he was unconscious and began plotting how to encourage her to take the initiative. He remembered that Wendy still needed rescuing from the Dungeon, but Ellie’s glowing purple soup presented an immediate ordeal.

• Nightmare told Greg that Ellie had kissed him while he was unconscious, and Greg accepted that she had done it more than once.
• Greg admired Ellie and devised a plan to seduce her into making another move while he pretended to sleep.
• Nightmare reminded Greg that Wendy was still waiting in her Dungeon cell, and Greg told Nightmare to stop reading his thoughts.
• Ellie served Greg a pot of strange, glowing purple meat soup and insisted he finish it.

After recovering in the Dungeon, Greg told Ellie that Wendy was the Fifth Imperial Princess and had been framed and imprisoned, but he urged Ellie to keep clearing the Dungeon because its source might be connected to Wendy’s crisis. Greg and Ellie headed toward the Second Floor’s temple, where its floor boss awaited, while Nightmare admitted it did not know what had changed inside.

• Greg recovered after eating Ellie’s purple soup and told her that Wendy was the Empire’s Fifth Imperial Princess.
• Ellie revealed that she had killed the people secretly following Wendy when she first picked her up.
• Greg told Ellie that Wendy had been framed, imprisoned, and was due to be publicly executed, then persuaded her not to rush off and disrupt Wendy’s plan.
• Greg claimed the Crown Prince’s strange behavior and Wendy’s situation might stem from the Dungeon, so Ellie agreed to keep clearing it first.
• Greg and Ellie traveled through the Second Floor toward an ancient temple, with Ellie cutting down the monsters in their way.
• Greg asked Nightmare about the floor boss, and Nightmare said it knew the Dungeon’s layout but not what had changed inside since its last visit.

Greg and Ellie explored a pristine temple hidden in the Dungeon, which Greg suspected was preserved by the Mother of the Clepsydra’s power. They reached enormous hourglass-carved doors that likely led to the floor’s lord boss.

• Greg worried that he and Ellie lacked information about the floor’s lord and its moves.
• Ellie and Greg entered the old temple and found its interior spotless despite its ruined exterior.
• Greg told Ellie that the Mother of the Clepsydra’s authority might have altered or reversed time inside the temple.
• Ellie examined an ancient scroll but admitted she could not read it, while Greg skimmed another and urged them onward.
• Greg and Ellie crossed the temple and reached huge metal doors, where Greg suspected the floor’s lord waited beyond.

Greg and Ellie encountered the Second Floor’s boss in a church-like hall and discovered that it could restore itself after Ellie’s attack. The Everturning Filthy Clock reassembled in its complete form, and Nightmare recognized that it contained fragments of someone’s authority.

• Greg and Ellie entered a vast hall containing an intact statue of the Mother of the Clepsydra.
• Metal components covered in writhing flesh gathered in the aisle as the hall decayed around them.
• Ellie attacked the forming creature with a powerful sword slash, apparently destroying it.
• Greg noticed that only the area struck by Ellie’s attack had briefly returned to its pristine state, then watched the creature reassemble.
• The complete monster appeared as the Everturning Filthy Clock LV50, and Nightmare said it had been made by fusing flesh and machinery with fragments of that one’s authority.

Greg and Ellie fought the Everturning Filthy Clock, whose gears let it distort time and thwart their attacks. Greg devised a plan to hinder its time control, and the chapter ended as water splashed onto its gears.

• The Everturning Filthy Clock manipulated time around Greg and Ellie, dodging their attacks and nearly striking Greg with its chain arm.
• Greg realized World-Devouring Black Flame could bypass the monster’s time distortion and suspected its chest gears were the source of its power.
• Greg told Ellie to follow his plan, then spread Level 1 Freezing Mist, which slowed the Everturning Filthy Clock’s gears before it reversed the mist away.
• Ellie feinted at the monster’s right arm while Greg pulled her out of danger with Tentacle Bind.
• Greg used Level 2 Waterwave Flow on the ground beside the monster, splashing water onto its chest gears as it watched in confusion.