Chapter Summaries

Yelina found Vivian practicing alone and reported that Greg had handled a student dispute responsibly. Vivian considered whether Greg might have changed, but reaffirmed that their former engagement and relationship were over.

• Yelina found Vivian in the Student Council training ground, where Vivian's attempt to cast [Ice Crystal Spike Formation] failed.
• Yelina reported the Central Courtyard dispute and said Greg Sass had acted professionally and impartially as a Disciplinary Committee Member.
• Vivian was surprised by Yelina's positive assessment and wondered whether Greg had begun to change after losing his family and support.
• Vivian recalled Greg's past behavior and decided that their engagement and unpleasant memories belonged to the past.
• After Yelina left, Vivian stood alone and whispered that her relationship with Greg had ended long ago.

Sylvia wrestled with her jealousy and her wish to have Greg for herself, then agreed to join Greg and Victoria on an expedition to the Academy Dungeon’s Second Floor. Victoria returned with forty gold coins from selling a glove and reassured Sylvia that she did not have to go if she needed more rest.

• Sylvia remembered how she had pressed Greg’s hand to her chest and was embarrassed by her actions.
• Sylvia imagined a life with Greg without Victoria, then condemned herself for wishing her friend were gone.
• Victoria returned to the dormitory and told Sylvia that a shopkeeper had paid forty gold coins for the jeweled glove Greg had mentioned.
• Victoria noticed Sylvia seemed unwell and offered to explain to Greg if Sylvia needed to rest.
• Sylvia told Victoria that Greg had suggested the three of them explore the Second Floor of the Academy Dungeon, and Victoria reluctantly agreed.
• Sylvia reassured Victoria that she was all right and said they should go together, all three of them.

Greg returned to camp still troubled by Sylvia’s advance and the holy-light curse on his Ex-Curry Stick. Nightmare had gathered more stone tablets for him to absorb, and after explaining that he was unlikely to suffer the same severe backlash as before, she persuaded him to try.

• Greg recalled how he had resisted Sylvia’s advances and worried that the holy-light effect on his Ex-Curry Stick would ruin any intimate moment.
• Greg returned to camp and found Nightmare sitting atop two newly collected stone tablets.
• Nightmare told Greg the tablets were all intended for him to eat, then admitted she had been partly joking about making him consume them together.
• Nightmare explained that Greg seemed unusually adaptable to the tablets’ power and that repeated absorption would bring diminishing benefits, but probably only mild discomfort this time.
• Greg agreed to absorb the tablets after warning Nightmare that he would never trust her again if he passed out.

Greg absorbed the Broken Mother's power from the stone tablets and saw a vivid vision of a red-haired girl in a blood-red lake. Nightmare dismissed the vision as meaningless to Greg, but privately wondered why he had seen the girl and whether her seal was weakening.

• Greg asked Nightmare whose power was contained in the tablets, and she identified the Broken Mother.
• Greg absorbed the tablets' power and experienced a vision of a red-haired girl beginning to turn toward him before Nightmare's voice shattered the vision.
• Greg told Nightmare what he had seen, and she claimed it was a meaningless hallucination caused by his unfulfilled desire for a woman.
• Greg accused Nightmare of invading his privacy and went to the underground river to cool off.
• Nightmare privately wondered whether Greg had seen the girl because the Broken Mother's seal was loosening or for some other unknown reason.

Greg reached LV29 in the Dungeon, improved several skills and resistances, then went to the Student Council to sleep while Nightmare watched over him. His arrival drew attention from the council members, and the boys prepared to challenge the exhausted newcomer.

• Greg raised Tentacle Bind to LV3 and his ice magic resistance to LV3, but failed to improve Intangibility.
• Greg brought Nightmare with him to the Student Council so she could warn him of danger while he slept.
• Greg entered the Student Council office, where Vivian worked, Yelina was teased by other girls, and several boys watched her.
• The girls gossiped about Greg and Yelina, while the boys' initial hostility toward Greg shifted into a sense of superiority.
• Greg sat in a corner and closed his eyes to catch up on sleep, but the boys decided to put the newcomer in his place.

Greg was confronted by three noble Student Council members who mocked his status and strength, but Vivian ordered them to stand outside instead. Her intervention reassured Greg that she would not oppose him without cause, though he wondered why the girls around him kept stepping in to defend him.

• Three male Student Council members surrounded Greg and taunted him for being a commoner and a low-level student.
• Vivian ordered the three boys, not Greg, to leave the room and stand outside facing the wall.
• The boys reluctantly obeyed Vivian and were overheard being mocked by students in the hallway.
• The Student Council members reacted with awe toward Vivian, while Yelina admired her and Greg felt relieved by her intervention.
• Greg reflected that Vivian had stopped the bullying despite their broken engagement, and wondered why women kept defending him.

Yelina rescued Greg from Vivian’s scrutiny by volunteering to take him on a campus patrol, and the two left the Student Council office together. As they walked, Yelina nervously asked whether Greg hated being seen with her.

• Vivian fixed Greg with an icy stare, but Yelina interrupted to volunteer for a patrol with him.
• Vivian approved Yelina’s plan and said she would join once she finished her work.
• Greg and Yelina left the office, passing the three boys still facing the corridor wall as punishment.
• Greg and Yelina began patrolling the campus, and Greg asked whether she was comfortable with others noticing them together.
• Yelina blushed and asked Greg whether he hated walking with her or being seen close to her.

Greg reassured Yelina about the rumors linking them, then protected her when an unstable fire spell hurtled toward them. Yelina emerged unharmed and was overwhelmed by gratitude and admiration for Greg.

• Greg told Yelina he did not mind the rumors and promised to take responsibility when it mattered.
• An unstable intermediate fire spell erupted from a practice ground and shot toward Greg and Yelina.
• Greg countered the flames with a powerful Level 3 Water Gun and shielded Yelina from the resulting blast.
• Yelina realized Greg had protected her without hesitation and felt her fear give way to admiration and a fluttering heart.

Greg saved Yelina from an uncontrolled Fire Magic spell, surprising the students who had thought him magically inept. After reassuring Yelina and easing her guilt, Greg spotted a familiar red-haired figure near the teaching building and saw a chance for revenge.

• Greg intercepted an out-of-control Intermediate Fire Magic spell with a powerful Water Gun and protected Yelina.
• The third-year girl responsible apologized, and Greg forgave her while warning her to practice in a designated field or under supervision.
• Greg dispersed the crowd, then reassured Yelina that the accident was not her fault and joked that she could give him her snacks next time.
• Yelina apologized for getting Greg hurt, then felt relieved by his kindness and agreed to save her snacks for him.
• Greg spotted a familiar red-haired figure near the teaching building and began plotting revenge.

Lilith searched the Academy Dungeon for Greg and, finding only an empty camp and a guarded black cat, returned to the Academy frustrated that Greg could skip class. She then ran into Greg, who had planned to reprimand her but found no fault in her immaculate appearance and was left unsure what to say.

• Lilith revisited the hidden Dungeon camp as Lily Carlo, but found Greg gone and a black cat guarding strange stone slabs.
• Lilith returned to the Academy disappointed and complained that Greg skipped classes while she had to attend them.
• Greg blocked Lilith’s path, and she nervously debated whether to greet him as herself or ignore him.
• Greg intended to use his Disciplinary Committee position to give Lilith a hard time, but her perfect uniform and grooming left him unable to find an excuse.

Greg faced Princess Lilith in an awkward standoff and searched for a way to provoke her. He decided to embarrass her by revealing her admiration for her sister Vivian, hoping the exposure might also help the sisters grow closer.

• Greg and Lilith stood frozen in silence as students speculated about their encounter and Greg’s former engagement to Princess Vivian.
• Yelina misunderstood the standoff as Greg’s attempt to prove himself to the royal family, then knocked out an Alchemy Department student and dragged her away to prevent a disruption.
• Greg hoped Yelina would rescue him from the awkward encounter, but realized he had to break the silence himself.
• Greg recalled that Lilith secretly admired Vivian and considered exposing those feelings in public to embarrass Lilith and encourage her to be more honest with her sister.

Greg tried to draw Lilith out by revealing that she admired her sister Vivian, then claimed he shared her admiration. Vivian overheard his performance, walked away without responding, and left Greg convinced he had ruined everything.

• Greg confronted Lilith with examples of how closely she followed Vivian's achievements, and Lilith denied admiring her sister in embarrassment.
• Greg said he had always admired Vivian too and described how he and Lilith supposedly shared the same feelings.
• Lilith spotted Vivian behind Greg, shouted that he was talking to himself, and fled toward the Dormitory District.
• Greg realized the avenue had gone silent and found Vivian standing behind him.
• Vivian listened to Greg's weak explanation, then turned and walked away without a word.
• Greg slumped against a tree and sarcastically declared that a world where no one got hurt had been achieved.

Greg reflected on the sisters Lilith and Vivian’s changed relationship, then found Catherine waiting in the empty classroom to question him about the Dungeon. He admitted he knew what the three students had been seeking and had seen the device, leaving Catherine to explain her purpose.

• Greg realized that his failure to recognize Lilith had changed the story and removed the sisters’ original conflict over Victoria.
• Greg noticed that class had ended and the classroom was empty, then prepared to leave for his next class.
• Greg found Catherine Roman sitting behind him and agreed to hear what she wanted to discuss.
• Catherine asked whether Greg had figured out why the three students entered the Dungeon’s deeper levels.
• Greg confirmed that he knew what they sought and had seen the Screech Magic Device, then urged Catherine to state her purpose.

Catherine offered Greg one thousand gold coins and a five-percent share of Screech’s future net profits in exchange for his silence, but he refused the payment. He agreed to keep Screech confidential if Catherine instead promised to help Victoria Cecil when she reasonably needed it, leaving Catherine bewildered by his request.

• Catherine offered Greg one thousand gold coins and a five-percent stake in Screech’s future net profits for his silence.
• Greg refused Catherine’s generous offer, explaining that he would sign a Confidentiality Contract but wanted different compensation.
• Greg asked Catherine to provide reasonable assistance to Victoria Cecil when she faced difficulties or had a legitimate need.
• Catherine was stunned that Greg had rejected a fortune in exchange for help for Victoria, a student he had previously clashed with.

Greg negotiated a magical confidentiality contract with Catherine, securing future assistance for Victoria in exchange for keeping information about Screech secret. After leaving, he discovered that students had interpreted his actions toward Vivian as proof of a tragic, devoted love, leaving him unsettled by their sympathy.

• Greg asked Catherine to replace her original demand with a promise to assist Victoria and a penalty for breaching the contract, and Catherine accepted.
• Catherine and Greg signed a binding Confidentiality Contract that barred Greg from revealing information about Screech and obligated Catherine to provide Victoria with up to 100 gold coins' worth of support if needed.
• Greg left the classroom, while Catherine watched him go and became curious about what kind of person he was.
• In the teaching building corridor, Greg heard students describing his actions toward Vivian as evidence of a hopeless, devoted love.
• Greg found the students' sympathetic interpretation more disturbing than the ridicule he had expected.

Greg struggled to figure out how to convince Vivian that his public confession had been a misunderstanding, then tried to sleep through his next elective. Victoria and Sylvia confronted him about the rumor, and his firm denial seemed to reassure them, though the misunderstanding remained unresolved.

• Greg realized that any explanation for his confession to Vivian might make her think he truly loved her, and decided to deny having feelings for her outright.
• Greg took a seat in the back of a magical history and theory lecture hall to catch up on sleep.
• Victoria and Sylvia woke Greg and asked whether he really liked Vivian.
• Greg insisted that his confession had been a misunderstanding and said he had no time or energy for romance.
• Victoria considered Greg's circumstances and began to believe that the rumor might have been false.

Sylvia hid a strange doll after Greg noticed its cursed aura, and he chose not to press her about it. In class, Victoria repaid Greg with twenty gold coins, including her share of the glove money and compensation for the Gem he gave her in the Dungeon.

• Sylvia dropped a strange humanoid doll, snatched it away from Greg, and insisted it was ordinary.
• Greg decided to pretend he had not noticed anything unusual about Sylvia’s doll.
• A new professor replaced Associate Professor Audrey, while Greg reflected on how the Church and Academy concealed Audrey’s collusion with the Demon King Cult.
• Victoria squeezed into the back row beside Greg and Sylvia, then gave Greg a pouch containing twenty gold coins.
• Victoria explained that she had split the glove money evenly with Greg and added payment for the Gem he had given her in the Dungeon.

Vivian hesitated outside the Student Council office, unsettled by Greg’s words from that morning, but relaxed when she learned he would be absent for the day. Yelina’s support for her and Greg together stirred memories of their childhood, though Vivian pushed her feelings aside and returned to her work.

• Vivian paused outside the Student Council office, wondering how she would act if Greg were inside.
• Yelina told Vivian that Greg had gone to the market district for study supplies and would miss Student Council activities, and Vivian calmly accepted his absence.
• Yelina told Vivian she supported her and Greg being together because she believed he was kind and hardworking.
• After Yelina left, Vivian remembered Greg’s kindness from their childhood and felt the loneliness and distance between them.
• Vivian suppressed her vulnerability and focused on reviewing Academy documents.

Greg, Victoria, and Sylvia visited the Alchemy Department’s tool market to buy supplies for their upcoming Dungeon exploration and studies. Greg found the potent paralysis venom gland he wanted but could not afford its price, and his attempt to bargain caused the shop assistant to recognize him and fetch someone else.

• Victoria and Sylvia explained that they wanted alchemical tools to prepare for their practical assessment and choosing a mentor.
• Greg said he was buying supplies to prepare for the more dangerous Second Floor and planned to hunt a hidden miniboss.
• After searching the market, Greg found a high-quality venom gland priced at 25 gold coins, five more than he had.
• Greg tried to bargain the price down to 20 gold coins by claiming the venom gland had defects.
• The shop assistant began defending the product, recognized Greg, and hurried into the back room to get someone who could make the decision.

Greg suspected the alchemy shop assistant had recognized him and might be seeking revenge, so he persuaded Victoria to buy a bottle of potent paralysis venom gland for him. Victoria entered the shop and met Chloe Ivy, an eccentric Alchemy Department student whom Greg recognized from the game, leaving him hopeful that she would treat Victoria as an ordinary customer.

• Greg worried that the shop assistant's reaction meant someone from the Alchemy Department intended to take revenge on him.
• Greg asked Victoria to buy the venom gland, and she agreed after making him promise to treat her and Sylvia to a feast.
• Victoria entered the shop while Greg and Sylvia watched from outside.
• Chloe Ivy emerged from the back room, and Greg recognized her as the Alchemy Department's Second-Year Top Student.
• Greg recalled that Chloe and Victoria had not yet clashed in the story, so he expected Chloe to treat her normally.