Chapter Summaries

After thirty years of research with Ellie, Richard finished studying the Fire Element strange objects and received an invitation from Bob to attend an auction in Paradise City. He boarded an express airship, where the pilot pointed out his conspicuous killing intent, and began the month-long journey.

• Ellie completed the research on the final strange object, and she and Richard discussed her departure before she flew away.
• Richard learned that Ellie had fully fused with the Fire Dragon Demon bloodline and had grown strong enough to fight him on equal terms.
• Richard received Bob's invitation to the Nine Stars Merchant Guild auction and decided to attend, hoping to discuss business and sell some Alchemical Ink.
• Richard traveled to the airship field, paid the wizard pilot, and boarded an express airship bound for Paradise City.
• The pilot told Richard that his killing intent stood out outside the Tower of Truth, and Richard took his key for Room 225.

Richard arrived in Paradise City as the Black Tower Wizard Academy prepared for a fifty-year Academy War, and he discussed the danger with Ulysses. Bob welcomed him on behalf of the Nine Stars Merchant Guild, and their conversation hinted that Bob had another reason for inviting him.

• Richard experimented with the Heart of Annihilation rune model until Ulysses stopped its unstable magic and warned him about the spell’s limits.
• Richard explained that the Black Tower Wizard Academy faced an Academy War in which wizards would fight inside the World Mirror while Great Wizards remained barred from acting.
• Richard arrived in Paradise City and sent a message for Bob, who came to collect him in a Nine Stars Merchant Guild VIP aircraft.
• Bob praised Richard’s success with the Spell Support Vehicle and offered him a cigar laced with hallucinogenic Sky Blue Tianma Stem, which Richard pocketed instead of smoking.
• Richard asked Bob whether the invitation was about more than an auction and a tour of Paradise City.

Richard met with Bob, who revealed that the Nine Stars Merchant Guild’s dying Old Guild Master had made him a potential successor and begged Richard for protection. An ambush interrupted Richard’s decision, and after he defeated the attackers, Bob received confirmation that the Old Guild Master had designated Richard as successor instead.

• Bob told Richard that the Old Guild Master was near death and had promoted him to oversee resources from other worlds, making him a possible successor.
• Bob asked Richard to protect him from rivals in the inheritance struggle and offered him his Magic Pocket and a possible loan.
• Attackers bombed Bob and Richard’s aircraft, and Richard ordered Ulysses to kill the five Second-Ring Wizards before sealing the survivors.
• Richard tried to question one of the attackers, but Bob said the mercenaries were bound by Soul Contracts.
• Bob showed Richard a message from an informant confirming that the Old Guild Master had designated Richard as the Nine Stars Merchant Guild’s successor.

Richard helped Bob respond to an attack at the Nine Stars Merchant Guild headquarters by having Ulysses defeat security chief Aimen and force him to escort them to the auction. As Bob gained standing among the guild’s succession contenders, Rother sent a subordinate to Luomaha City to invite Richard.

• Richard offered Bob access to the Richard Gerald Merchant Guild’s Alchemical Ink in exchange for opening the Nine Stars Merchant Guild’s sales channels.
• Bob confronted Aimen over the attack at headquarters, and Richard ordered Ulysses to take him down.
• Ulysses tore out Aimen’s heart, and Richard made him dismiss the guards responsible and arrange a safe escort.
• Aimen escorted Bob and Richard to a new VIP aircraft, while Bob realized Richard was building momentum for his bid to lead the guild.
• Rother reviewed reports about Richard’s strength and sent a subordinate with the guild president’s badge to invite him from Luomaha City.

Richard arrived at the Nine Stars Merchant Guild’s Wizard District headquarters and learned about the upcoming auction, then received news that the Fire Lizard Artisans had completed their Sacred Armor project. He inspected the powerful prototype, named “Mechanist,” and left the story with the armor ready for further use.

• Richard arrived at the Nine Stars Merchant Guild’s White Tower, received a top-rank black badge, and teleported to his luxurious guest room.
• Richard examined the tower’s entertainment offerings before Pom-pom told him the Fire Lizard Artisans had finished the sacred armor.
• Richard entered the Secret Realm and saw Makal wearing the completed armor, while the exhausted Fire Lizard Artisans gathered to greet him.
• Richard rewarded the Alchemy Workshop employees with three months of leave and reviewed the armor’s impressive combat specifications.
• Sulina told Richard that the armor was named “Mechanist.”

Richard tested Makal’s new Mechanist Type I Personal Armor and brought him to the Wizard World to assess its potential in the Academy War. Three days later, Richard arrived masked at the Nine Stars Merchant Guild auction, where Aimen and Bob’s political maneuvering drew the attention of other guests.

• Richard learned that Makal’s armor could sustain full-strength combat for about half an hour and took him out of the Secret Realm to test it.
• Makal suffered from the Wizard World’s low-energy environment, so Richard gave him a Magic Potion and had him activate the armor’s sealed state.
• Richard explained to Ulysses that his Soul Contract with Makal made using him in battle lawful, and Ulysses said he hoped to become Richard’s subordinate god.
• Three days later, Richard arrived at the auction with Ulysses and Makal, where Aimen and Bob greeted him.
• Auction guests discussed Aimen’s support for Bob’s bid to become president and Abarro’s attempt to delay the guild’s internal conflict by backing a newcomer.

Richard attended the Nine Stars Merchant Guild auction with Bob and recognized a mysterious power source as possibly a Star Wraith Power Core from Ulysses's world. Richard won a powerful Staff and then bid on the unknown artifact, leaving its identity and usefulness unconfirmed.

• Aimen escorted Richard and Bob to a private room, where Bob worried about rivals plotting against his bid for the president's seat.
• Richard noticed a last-minute auction item in Bob's internal catalog, and Ulysses said it resembled a Star Wraith Power Core from the Great World of Deformity.
• Richard identified chief auctioneer Brown's charm spell and watched him open the auction with a Staff that amplified Four Elements spells by one thousand Energy Levels.
• Richard bid twelve thousand magic essence and won Master Akrol's Staff.
• When the mysterious artifact failed to attract other bidders, Richard bid five thousand five hundred magic essence for it.

Richard won the Star Wraith Power Core at auction, then left the auction house and deliberately drew Rother and Liviu toward an isolated spot in the Transition Zone. As Richard waited at the prepared location, an unseen figure rose from the shadows behind him.

• Richard outbid the masked wizard in VIP Room Number Thirty and secured the Star Wraith Power Core, while Rother persuaded Liviu to stop bidding.
• Richard watched the Mutated Fire Lizard Flesh become the auction’s fiercely contested finale, then left the auction house as Liviu decided to learn who bought it.
• Richard toured the Wizard District and headed for the Transition Zone while Rother tracked him with a magical-pet eagle and sent his coordinates to Liviu.
• Richard noticed the surveillance, signaled for the pursuers to act, and went to an empty area Aimen had prepared for an ambush.
• Richard waited at the designated spot, unaware that a figure was silently rising from the shadows behind him.

Richard lured Liviu into a confrontation to test Makal’s anti-wizard armor, and Makal defeated and captured the Third-Ring Mad Wizard. As Richard’s people prepared to deal with Liviu, enforcement wizard Kelod arrived and demanded to know who had sealed Derek the Butcher.

• Liviu attacked Richard with a sequence of spells, but Richard evaded Death Finger and withdrew with Ulysses, leaving Makal to fight him.
• Makal tested his armor and Chainsaw Sword against Liviu, breaking through Liviu’s defenses and stopping his attempts to escape.
• Liviu seized an ordinary person as a hostage, but Makal struck him down without harming the hostage and drove Mana-Sealing Nails into Liviu.
• Richard sealed Liviu, then Aimen and several Black Robe Wizards arrived to handle the captive.
• Enforcement wizard Kelod landed beside Liviu and asked who had sealed Derek the Butcher.

Richard claimed credit for sealing Liviu and learned that the Nine Stars Merchant Guild had been using its mutual-aid service to assist Mad Wizards, knowingly or otherwise. As the guild’s succession struggle ended, Abarro handed Bob control of the guild before dying, and Rother acknowledged Bob’s victory.

• Richard told Kelod that he had sealed Liviu, revealed Makal’s Third-level power, and accepted the bounty scroll to claim the Legal Department’s honor medal.
• Aimen explained that law-enforcement wizards repeatedly visited the merchant guild because Mad Wizards used its mutual-aid service, and Richard suggested the guild had gained research materials in return for aid.
• After Liviu’s capture, the Director of Personnel, the Director of Slave Trade, and the Director of Sales declared support for Abarro’s arrangements, while the Director of Alchemy Machinery, Akeem, was killed.
• At Abarro’s gathering, Bob reported Akeem’s death, and Abarro observed that Bob had pacified the merchant guild while Rother had lost.
• Abarro gave Bob the guild’s black legitimacy scroll and died, after which Rother collected his ashes and told Bob, “You won, President Bob.”

Richard studied a Star Wraith Power Core, had it installed in his armor, and oversaw the forging of three Mechanist personal armor sets. After testing the armor with three Fire Lizards from New World Island, he revealed that they would fight Black Wizards.

• Bob promised Richard that the Nine Stars Merchant Guild would sell his ink without channel fees and agreed to gather the alchemy materials Richard needed for the Academy War.
• Richard examined the Star Wraith Power Core, found that the Miracle Furnace could extract its blueprint, an incomplete Ghost Artisan Forging Technique, and the Ghoulification Rule, then sent it to the Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters to install in his armor.
• Richard ordered materials for three armor sets and promised the Fire Lizards a vacation and a year off after production; over the following months, they forged the three sets at increasing speed.
• Richard brought three Silver Horn Nobles from New World Island to the Secret Realm, where they tried on the armor and praised its strength and agility.
• Richard told the three Fire Lizards that their enemies would be Black Wizards, while Makal greeted the news with a knowing smile.

Richard learned that Black Tower Wizard Academy would soon fight Meteorite Wizard Academy, which had twice its numbers, and improved his staff-making skills while upgrading Ellie’s Staff. The war was moved up to one month away, leaving Richard and the other wizards summoned to defend their Academy.

• Richard told the three Fire Lizards they would fight Black Wizards in the coming Academy War and sent them with Makal to train in the secret realm.
• Ellie told Richard the war stemmed from a dispute between their Great Wizard and Meteorite Great Wizard, and that Meteorite Academy had roughly twice as many people.
• Richard extracted Staff Crafting and a rare amplification Rune Array from Ellie’s Mithril Staff, then spent months studying the array.
• Richard upgraded Ellie’s Staff, increasing its Fire Elemental Magic amplification to five hundred Energy Levels.
• Black Tower Wizard Academy announced that the Academy War against Meteorite Wizard Academy would begin in one month and called on its wizards to defend the Academy.

Richard joined the Black Tower Wizard Academy’s forces as they gathered for an Academy War, reuniting with Gerald’s students and learning how the Academy had prepared. The World Guardian transported the Academy’s wizards into the World Mirror, where they began falling toward the battlefield.

• Richard reached the Black Tower Wizard Academy and learned from Anna that Gerald had become a Third-Ring Wizard and joined the Command Department.
• Richard reunited with Anna, Jacques, and Yelena, exchanged news with his fellow disciples, and offered to sell Yelena advanced magic-beast meat for her wyvern.
• Yelena told Richard that the Dean had moved the apprentices into a secret realm or the Central Black Tower to protect them and prepare them for the war.
• The World Guardian asked Vice Dean Alex whether the Academy was ready, then used the World Mirror to exchange the Academy’s location with its mirror world.
• After six hours, the World Guardian drew the gathered wizards into the World Mirror, where they fell toward the ground like meteors.

The Academy War began in the Mirror World, and Gerald assigned his students defensive positions while Richard was recruited for a separate elite harassment mission. After the command meeting, Gerald gave Richard five long-lived Dragon Beasts and warned him to avoid greed as he set out for battle.

• The wizards entered the Mirror World, where Anna explained that its energy was real inside the realm but vanished unless fully absorbed into their bodies.
• Gerald summoned his students, explained the defensive strategy, and assigned most of them suitable zones to defend against Meteorite Wizard Academy.
• Gerald brought Richard to the Command Department, where Alex recruited him and other Second-Ring Wizards as elite harassers and promised them three items from the Dean's treasury if they completed the mission.
• Alex required the elite wizards to sign contracts and warned them to keep their Communication Crystal Balls hidden except during a daily check-in.
• Gerald gave Richard a Chimera Pouch containing five optimized Dragon Beasts, then cautioned him to be careful and not become greedy.

Richard rode a newly released Dragon Beast toward Meteorite Wizard Academy while using [Existence Fade] to avoid detection. Both academies’ wizards remained hidden as rookie patrols flew overhead, and the first day of the war ended without a battle.

• Richard fed the Dragon Beast Flame Giant Beast jerky, gained its acceptance, and rode it using commands he had learned from the Fire Lizards and an Ancient Dragon Script dictionary.
• Richard cast [Existence Fade] and headed toward Meteorite Wizard Academy on the ground to evade aerial detection.
• Meteorite Wizard Academy’s Third-Ring Wizards, led by Chrispin Stevens and Zeke Herta, agreed to occupy Black Tower Wizard Academy’s areas except its core Wizard Tower.
• Richard spotted novice wizards flying overhead without scouting the ground and changed his Adamantine Staff to use a Nomie Crystal for quieter spellcasting.
• Anka and the other Black Tower Wizard Academy wizards chose to stay hidden and follow the patrols rather than attack, and the first day passed peacefully.

The war between Black Tower Wizard Academy and Meteorite Wizard Academy began with an assault that broke Black Tower’s defenses. Thirty days later, Richard and his steel giant attacked a patrol inside Meteorite’s territory as part of an operation to divert forces from the front.

• Meteorite Wizard Academy’s Black Robe Wizards breached Black Tower Wizard Academy’s wall with resonating metal stakes and poured into the Academy.
• A steel giant ambushed a patrol outside Meteorite Academy, killing the patrol wizards and their captain.
• Richard emerged from hiding and explained that the Command Department had ordered infiltrators to attack Meteorite’s rear and draw away its forces.
• Richard took the patrol’s Magic Armor and Magic Pockets, burned the corpses, and led the steel giant onward.

Richard formed the Witch Hunting Squad and prepared to provoke Meteorite Wizard Academy into moving wizards away from the front lines without drawing a deadly response. After Richard acted as bait, an infiltrator was spotted and a Black Wizard squad pursued him.

• Chrispin and Zeke decided to strengthen the Academy’s patrols instead of pulling wizards back from the front.
• Richard released the three Fire Lizards Heraen, Kava, and Mishaen, equipped them with Mechanist Type I Personal Armor, and completed the Witch Hunting Squad with Makal.
• Richard told the squad to hunt and revealed that he would serve as bait, aiming to make Meteorite Academy transfer wizards without provoking its Third-Ring Wizards.
• A patrol spotted a Second-Ring Wizard infiltrator, raised the alarm, and sent a five-man Black Wizard squad after him.

Richard ambushed and killed a squad of Black Tower Wizard Academy wizards, though their captain managed to send a message before dying. While Meteorite Wizard Academy’s leaders discussed the attacks, Richard counted his spoils and discovered notes containing partial principles of Great Disintegration.

• Four steel giants and Richard ambushed the pursuing Black Tower Wizard Academy squad, killing its members and captain, who sent a message before he died.
• Richard took the squad’s Magic Pockets and equipment, burned their bodies, and left the battlefield.
• Chrispin and Vice Dean Zeke inspected the scene; Zeke concluded that modified golems had attacked and recommended recalling some wizards to deal with infiltrators.
• Richard counted the spoils he had collected and found several premium Magic Armor items, research notebooks, and Cipher Notes containing partial principles of Great Disintegration.

After studying the Cipher Notes and the remaining Magic Armor spells, Richard received orders to infiltrate Meteorite Academy and sabotage it. He hired Anka and joined a team of elite wizards, who slipped past the academy’s patrols and entered its grounds.

• Richard studied the incomplete Great Disintegration model and examined the High-Energy Aurora and Rune Fist spell models.
• Richard received the Command Department’s order to infiltrate Meteorite Academy and carry out sabotage.
• Richard contacted Master Anka and paid one hundred magic essences to join his infiltration team.
• Richard brought Makal to the rendezvous, while Heraen, Kava, and Mishaen stayed behind to await a call for support.
• Richard sold the wizards Existence Fade scrolls, and the team chose its sabotage targets.
• Richard and the team passed Meteorite Academy’s patrols and entered the academy undetected.

Richard's team infiltrated Meteorite Wizard Academy and planted three bombs in its communications tower, but a patrol Chimera discovered them during their escape. Unlucky Kayan's arrival plunged the retreat into chaos, and a Third-Ring Wizard pursued the fleeing intruders into the forest.

• Richard's team crossed Meteorite Wizard Academy and reached the communications tower while an alarm drew most of the Academy's wizards elsewhere.
• Bell concealed three Bell's Roar bombs with Richard's [Existence Fade] scroll, and Bell and two wizards placed them inside the tower while Richard disabled its metal beast-head lock.
• A patrol Chimera detected the team as they tried to leave, and the patrol wizards sounded the alarm.
• Unlucky Kayan attacked the patrol, prompting the Necromancer to warn the team that Kayan brought misfortune and a Third-Ring Wizard to approach.
• Richard ordered Makal to clear a path, and the team scattered and fled into the forest as Kayan escaped in another direction.
• A Third-Ring Wizard arrived and pursued the intruders into the forest, following the same route Kayan had taken.