Chapter Summaries

Gerald gave Richard the Body of Adaptation technique and a training room, but Richard realized the training would be costly. He found a Physique Enhancement Potion formula whose main ingredient had gone extinct, then chose to focus on training and Shaping knowledge while pursuing Bloodline Alchemy for now.

• Gerald passed Richard the Body of Adaptation technique and gave him a key to a training room equipped for its harsh training methods.
• Richard decided to train the Body of Adaptation, learning that each cycle required an Adaptation Potion, damaging the body, and restorative Magic Potion.
• Richard found a Physique Enhancement Potion recipe in the Library's Cipher Notes and extracted it using the Miracle Furnace.
• Richard discovered that the recipe's primary ingredient, Egra Grass, had gone extinct and burned the formula, deciding not to rely on finding it in the secret realm.
• Richard set training the Body of Adaptation and advancing his Shaping knowledge as short-term goals, while choosing Bloodline Alchemy as his current path.

Richard endured the Body of Adaptation’s punishing elemental training, then studied the Shaping School and celebrated with Kevin and Jacques. After a year of daily practice with only slight gains, his training finally triggered a change within him.

• Richard completed ice, lightning, and fire resistance training, then recovered as the potion stimulated changes to the life cores in his cells.
• Richard borrowed Shaping School books and Cipher Notes from the Library and studied until evening.
• Richard joined Kevin and Jacques at a Living District tavern, where Kevin toasted Richard as the top-ranked Legendary Apprentice and the apprentices drank to the living.
• Over the next year, Richard trained the Body of Adaptation daily, but Gerald told him that its slow progress was normal.
• During his usual freezing-chamber training, Richard felt a shackle break within his body, as though his life core had begun to move.

Richard’s Body of Adaptation finally began producing results, and Gerald told him he could enter the Dean’s Secret Realm. At the Central Black Tower, Richard encountered the Dean, Great Wizard Black Tower, whose life radiation nearly overwhelmed the apprentices.

• Richard’s body adapted to the cryogenic chamber and electric shocks, and a test showed his physique had increased to 31.9.
• Gerald told Richard that the Dean had returned early and that he could enter the Dean’s Secret Realm that afternoon.
• Richard told Gerald that his Body of Adaptation had begun working, prompting Gerald to praise his perseverance and scold Jacques for giving up.
• Alex led the apprentices and their mentors above the Central Black Tower’s three-hundredth floor, where Secret Realm Fragments had increased the space and magic power concentration.
• The Dean’s life radiation nearly caused the apprentices to collapse, so he helped stabilize Richard’s body with magic power and introduced himself as Great Wizard Black Tower.

Richard explored the Wizard World’s ancient secret realm, gathering rare magical plants and capturing a Magic Patterned Earthworm. He found a dangerous bird’s nest and left it alone, while another apprentice approached it and triggered a shrill cry.

• Great Wizard Black Tower welcomed the apprentices, gave Ellie a Lava Gem, and explained the secret realm’s rules and three-hour limit.
• Richard entered first and arrived in a twisted forest with magic power stronger than he had ever experienced.
• Richard recognized and collected several rare magical plants, including a cluster of White Crystal Flowers.
• Richard caught a Magic Patterned Earthworm and stored it in his Magic Pocket for later use.
• Richard found a huge tree with a nest containing high-level creature skeletons and chose not to approach it.
• Another apprentice reached the nest, sensed the life force inside, and heard a shrill bird cry before he could take anything.

Richard explored a Secret Realm, escaped a swarm of Magic Crystal Arrowworms, and gathered Egra Grass before the exploration ended. Back in the laboratory, Gerald warned him to keep the Secret Realm Fragments secret and invited him to ask about White Wizards.

• Richard found a valley full of Magic Stones, narrowly escaped a hidden Magic Crystal Arrowworm swarm, and captured one worm for research.
• Richard found a mountain hollow filled with Egra Grass and spent the remaining exploration time gathering it.
• The apprentices returned from the Secret Realm, and Great Wizard Black Tower announced that the top three would receive Secret Realm Fragments.
• Alex warned the wizards not to spread word about the fragments or the Dean’s remarks about White Wizards.
• Gerald told Richard to keep the fragments secret, identified his captured worm as an extinct Magic Crystal Arrowworm, and encouraged him to ask about White Wizards.

Gerald explained the history and roles of Black and White Wizards to Richard, emphasizing that the Bloody Exam served the Wizard World’s larger wars. Richard then learned how to use the Crystal Ball key and entered the Secret Realm Fragment.

• Gerald described the Wizard World’s hierarchy, with the Truth Council at the top, wizards in the middle, and mortals at the bottom.
• Gerald explained that the Truth Wizards created Black and White Wizards during the Pioneering Period to better serve the demands of plane wars.
• Gerald told Richard not to resent the Academy for the Bloody Exam, and Richard said he understood before returning to his room.
• Richard learned that the Crystal Ball opened a Spatial Rift to the Secret Realm Fragment and drew a Magic Array to power it with Magic Stones.
• Richard checked that the rift was stable, picked up the Crystal Ball, and stepped inside.

Richard discovered Pom-pom, a Flower Elf from the Sacred Tree Elves, in a Secret Realm Fragment and bound her to a contract as his gardener. After learning about her race and its inherited memories, he left with plans to use her plant-ripening ability for future herb cultivation.

• Richard entered the Secret Realm Fragment and found Pom-pom inside a flower bud.
• Richard tested Pom-pom’s ability by having her sprout an Egra Grass seed, then frightened her into signing a Slave Contract.
• Richard named Pom-pom and assigned her to ripen seeds he planted in the secret realm.
• Pom-pom told Richard that Sacred Tree Elves had a feudal society, reproduced asexually, and passed memories and skills to their descendants.
• Richard left the Secret Realm Fragment, considering how Sacred Tree Elves might eventually help him earn Magic Stones by growing medicinal herbs.

Richard commissioned a fire-amplifying staff for Ellie and sought powerful Shaping spells to advance his studies. After Ellie told him about the dangerous Water-Fire Annihilation Spell, Richard bought its spell model and discovered the Academy had replaced it with a useless version; Gerald warned him to know his limits.

• Richard recorded what he had learned, then agreed to make Ellie a fire-amplifying staff from her Lava Gem within a month.
• Richard asked Ellie about powerful Shaping spells, and she explained how concentrated water and fire elements could trigger a devastating chain reaction.
• Richard went to the Library and bought the Water-Fire Annihilation Spell model for fifty Magic Stones.
• Richard discovered the model lacked the promised chain reaction and learned from Gerald that the Academy had substituted a useless version to prevent apprentices from causing destruction.
• Richard told Gerald he wanted to research the original spell, and Gerald warned him to know his limits.

Richard studied Gerald’s notes on Realm of Annihilation and devised a physical, bomb-like way to stabilize its volatile elements as a Wizard Grenade. A year later, his adaptation training had improved, but the costly research and daily expenses had left him nearly out of Magic Stones, so he planned to sell more potions.

• Gerald gave Richard his experimental notebook, and Richard learned that Realm of Annihilation was powerful but unstable and dangerously short-ranged.
• Richard decided to stabilize the spell with physical chambers instead of improved Runes, sketched a Wizard Grenade, and hired Kevin to gather materials.
• Richard spent the next year dismantling the spell and working on his design while his Body of Adaptation steadily improved.
• Richard discovered that the freezing chamber had run out of Magic Stones and found that his savings had fallen to just over one thousand.
• Richard traced his losses to research and daily costs, then decided to sell Body Strengthening Potions and increase his Focus Potion supply despite expecting trouble.

Richard revealed to Gerald that a machine was producing his Focus Potions after the Academy questioned the scale of his business. Gerald tested two machine-made potions, confirmed they were nearly identical, and recognized that Richard had created something extraordinary.

• At Anna's Hut, assistants announced that Focus Potion production had doubled, and the month's supply quickly sold out.
• Vice Dean Alex confronted Gerald with records of Richard's potion sales and warned that wizards could not improperly subsidize apprentices.
• Gerald summoned Richard, who presented a contract to protect his knowledge before agreeing to explain how he made so many potions.
• Richard led Gerald to a machine on Black Tower Floor 56 and demonstrated it producing Focus Potions.
• Gerald sampled potions from the machine, found their effects nearly identical, and told Richard he had created something extraordinary.

Richard and Gerald formed a Wizard Merchant Guild to mass-produce and sell Magic Potions, then Richard revealed how his machine worked. Gerald’s explanation of an older guild’s secret led Richard to realize that wizards often repeated research because they guarded knowledge, leaving him confident he could pursue his ideas openly.

• Richard proposed that he contribute his potion-production technology while Gerald invested capital, with profits split seventy-thirty, and Gerald agreed.
• Gerald drafted a Soul Contract covering their partnership, confidentiality, profit distribution, and penalties, and Richard signed it.
• Richard opened the machine and explained its components and the mana standards that made Magic Potions reliably producible, then gave Gerald his precise formula.
• Gerald revealed that the Tower of Truth’s Potion Merchant Guild had discovered the secret thousands of years earlier and that he and other Alchemy School wizards had mistakenly suspected potion slaves.
• Richard concluded that wizards repeatedly reinvented discoveries because they rarely shared knowledge, and he decided he could pursue his ideas more boldly.

Richard refined his Wizard Grenade while learning that an exchange tournament with the White Wizard Academy would replace the Bloody Exam, with guaranteed admission as a wizard as its prize. The tournament was still four years away, and its format remained secret as Gerald warned Richard that establishing the Wizard Merchant Guild would require much more than its legal charter.

• Richard conducted the fifty-sixth Wizard Grenade test, found that its energy dissipated too quickly for it to be more than an individual weapon, and recorded the results.
• Ellie told Richard that the White Wizard Academy exchange tournament had been finalized and that its winner would receive guaranteed admission as a wizard.
• Richard learned from Ellie that the tournament would take place in four years and replace the Bloody Exam, then went to ask Gerald about its format.
• Jacques told Richard that Gerald wanted to see him, and Gerald confirmed the tournament reward while criticizing Alex for offering too little.
• Gerald gave Richard the Wizard Merchant Guild's charter and explained that the guild still needed reliable supply and sales channels and new potions before it could become profitable.
• Gerald said the tournament might involve a simulated battlefield, and advised Richard to keep improving his strength and knowledge despite the secrecy.

Richard bought and learned the Advanced Meditation Method, then spent two years advancing his studies and training while exploring ways to improve his body. The chapter ended with Gerald approaching him with a task.

• Richard bought the Advanced Meditation Method for one million Academy Coins and extracted its knowledge with the Miracle Furnace.
• Richard mastered the method, found meditation far more effective, and projected that he would reach forty Spirit within four months.
• Two years later, Richard studied the Magic Crystal Arrowworm’s muscles and considered how their structure might strengthen his body.
• Richard trained his Body of Adaptation until his resistance reached the limit Gerald estimated was safe for a Wizard Apprentice.
• Gerald approached Richard and said he had a task for him.

Richard accepted a trial mission to investigate disappearances in Gale City and traveled there to search for an Illegal Wizard. He met the city lord, Spencer Gale, and prepared to begin the investigation.

• Gerald gave Richard a mission scroll and warned him that Illegal Wizards could be dangerous opponents.
• Richard packed his Magic Eater Greatsword, protective gear, and five special Annihilation Grenades, then set out with Munin.
• Richard took a Magic Airship to Gale City and was struck by its busy, prosperous streets and the respect its residents showed wizards.
• Richard reached the city lord's official residence, showed the guard his mission scroll, and entered the study.
• Spencer Gale introduced himself as Gale City's lord and welcomed Richard.

Richard investigated a series of disappearances and discovered that the victims were linked to a banned cult. He planned to infiltrate the cult himself after the police confirmed its connection to the missing people.

• Richard asked Lord Spencer for the disappearance records and went to meet the stationed Wizard, an old man who had found no clues at the scene.
• Richard learned from the old Wizard that the neighborhood’s houses had seemed ordinary and showed no traces of spells.
• Richard found references to the Lord of Blood Red in the police records, and Spencer explained that the outlawed cult had demanded human sacrifices.
• Richard ordered Spencer to have the police discreetly investigate the cult, and three days later they identified the missing people as believers of the God of Vortex.
• Richard told Spencer to arrange an identity so he could infiltrate the cult, dismissing concerns about the danger because he was a Wizard Apprentice.

Richard infiltrated the Lord of Blood Red’s believers and uncovered a sacrifice intended to summon their master. When a mental intrusion exposed him at the gathering, Richard confronted the High Priest with his sword.

• Nicollo told the High Priest that the police had begun investigating their sacrifices, so the High Priest ordered the believers to gather that night and hasten their Lord’s descent.
• Richard used his false identity as a wandering knight to join the believers, then learned from a red-robed man that a sacrifice would take place that evening.
• Richard contacted Spencer and asked him to prepare to evacuate civilians near 73 Ninth Street without letting the news leak.
• Richard entered the underground gathering hall, where the High Priest announced that the Lord of Blood Red would descend and the believers began demanding a sacrifice.
• A hidden mental intrusion brushed Richard’s mind, and the High Priest spotted him; Richard stepped forward with his sword and declared that he would kill him.

Richard fought the Mad Wizard in a cult’s underground hall and discovered that the ritual to summon the Lord of Blood Red was already underway. After gaining the upper hand and grievously wounding the Mad Wizard, Richard saw a blood-red eye appear in a Spatial Rift above the Altar.

• Richard attacked the black-clad Mad Wizard, then warned the cultists to leave, but they stayed in the hall.
• Richard learned from Spencer that the Mad Wizard was actually Nicollo, Gale City’s ordinary grain merchant, and realized that Nicollo’s identity was a trap.
• The Altar unleashed blood-red light that drained blood from the believers and attacked Richard’s body, while the Mad Wizard broke through Richard’s mental barrier.
• Richard shot the Mad Wizard’s right arm off with his Magic Drive Gun, but the Mad Wizard regenerated it and the two began fighting hand to hand.
• Richard gained the advantage and blasted a hole through the Mad Wizard’s chest, but a Spatial Rift opened above the Altar and a blood-red eye appeared as the Mad Wizard announced his Lord’s imminent descent.

Richard destroyed the Altar with three Annihilation Grenades, but a Black Robe Wizard arrived and stopped the World Lord’s invasion. The wizard rewarded Richard with a tentacle containing a fading Flesh and Blood Rule, leaving Richard to decide whether to extract it at the cost of Soul Power.

• Richard used three Annihilation Grenades to destroy the Altar, but blood-red tentacles tore open a Spatial Rift where it had stood.
• The World Lord’s tentacles began to retreat until a Black Robe Wizard froze them and appeared in the underground hall.
• The Black Robe Wizard crushed the Mad Wizard, reached through the rift, and returned with a blood-drenched tentacle from the World Lord.
• The Black Robe Wizard praised Richard, gave him a tentacle as a reward, and vanished.
• Richard saw that the Miracle Furnace could extract the tentacle’s incomplete Flesh and Blood Rule for five Soul Power and hesitated over the cost.

Richard refined the World Lord’s tentacle to gain the Flesh and Blood Rule, then reported his encounter to Gerald and learned about Wizard World Guardians. Back at the Academy, he began studying Chimera knowledge and planned to modify Munin using living flesh harvested from the tentacle.

• Richard refined the severed tentacle and gained the ability to control and reshape his own flesh, muscles, and partial bloodline transformations.
• Richard found the Mad Wizard’s notebook and Magic Stones, then ordered Spencer to burn the blood-soaked underground hall.
• Richard reported the World Lord encounter to Gerald, who explained that the mysterious wizard had been a Wizard World Guardian.
• Richard submitted his mission report and received an additional thousand Magic Stones from the Academy.
• Richard studied Chimera knowledge and cultivated living flesh from the tentacle, then planned a modification project for Munin, the Death Crow.

Richard used his Flesh Control ability and an Alchemy Array to enhance Munin with active flesh and a Light Distortion spell module. While Munin underwent the dangerous assimilation process, Richard studied Alchemical Mechanics and reflected on the exchange competition that could let him become a wizard ten years early.

• Richard finished inscribing an Alchemy Array to enhance Munin.
• Richard implanted Level Three active flesh into Munin and controlled it to strengthen his body.
• Richard placed a Light Distortion spell module in Munin, then began the Alchemy Array’s assimilation process.
• Richard locked the laboratory and studied Elementary Alchemical Mechanics while Munin’s enhancement proceeded.
• Richard concluded that winning the exchange competition in half a year could let him become a wizard ten years ahead of schedule.