A summary of Roman Prokofiev’s "The Spellbinder" Automatic translate

This book is the third installment in the "Stellar" series, created in 2020. The work combines post-apocalyptic settings with litRPG mechanics. The protagonist, Gray, searches for keys to lost memories while fighting among the ruins of a destroyed civilization.

Interrogation and new appointment

Gray, posing as deceased cadet Sven Grayholm, infiltrates the Legion’s military camp. He deliberately conceals the nature of his incarnation. A centurion with a cybernetic eye and a metal arm methodically interrogates the hero, suspecting a lie. Gray maintains a confident demeanor, monitoring his pulse and breathing. He is actively assisted by Miko’s holographic cogitator. Gray utilizes an acquired genetic mutation for invisibility, allowing him to evade detection during basic scans. Cadets Esther and Peter are brought before the interrogator for identification. They confirm Sven’s identity. After passing the test, the hero is sent on a transport helicopter directly to the City. The craft struggles through the stormy ocean gusts. In the distance, colossal concrete walls rise, over 300 meters high. The first barrier bears the proud name "White Star."

Arrival at Timus Academy

The hero finds himself at the Timus Military Academy. In the academy’s basement, an option harshly scolds the hero for losing equipment, threatening him with penalties. Local medic Irian conducts a thorough medical examination. The equipment detects suspicious mutations. The doctor decides to initiate a safety protocol. Gray immediately uses his mental subjugation skill. Irian falsifies the test results, concealing the anomalies. Gray is placed in a common room with cadet Ian. This young man wears antique optical glasses, believing them to be a symbol of high intelligence. Mentor Guy Grammar, nicknamed "Spider," subjects the group to brutal physical tests. The tributes run grueling cross-country runs with heavy backpacks. In the dining hall, Gray meets Esther and Sven’s old friends. The burly Asmund behaves defiantly. Gray thwarts the hazing attempts with telepathic pressure. He forces the bully to apologize to the timid Ian.

Rebellion and lectures

Gray encounters Sven’s former lover, Eva. Eva pulls Gray aside, revealing a throwing knife made of rare Blue Steel. A secret identifying mark unites the rebels. The girl whispers of a secret plot against the City authorities. Aurelia, the head of Thymus, begins to suspect something is wrong. The powerful sorceress possesses colossal mental power. Aurelia openly attempts to scan Gray’s mind. The hero erects a solid ice dome of protection. The mentor retreats, promising to deal with him later. Meanwhile, the cadets listen to Master Kay’s lectures. The instructor talks about the Black Moon, various xenoshards, and dangerous mutants. The cadets learn about Spears, Sowers, and Sarcophagi. Gray desperately searches for a way to legally enter the training grounds. He needs to enter the simulation of the Void Tower, where his past self hid the artifact.

Combat patrol

Suddenly, the entire second year is put on alert. Tributes are armed and sent to a rocky ocean shore. The low tide line is teeming with small parasites and the corpses of giant jellyfish. Swift creatures leap out of the sand. A mutant rips Esther’s jumpsuit. Esther suffers a leg injury. Suddenly, the ocean erupts into a colossal monster, Scylla. The beast resembles a hybrid of a reptile and a crustacean. Thousands of eurypterids accompany the monster. The legionnaires’ camp comes under brutal attack. Equipment is disabled due to the colossal radiation levels. The legionnaires hastily retreat. Gray lags behind the group, holding back the tide of mutants. He unleashes a ghostly fire wolf. The beast tears apart dozens of opponents. Gray finds the dying Spider. The hero secretly uses his light healing ability, saving his mentor’s life.

Inside the Beast

True city Incarnators engage Scylla. Corwin, Helios, and the Sentry unleash a powerful energy weapon on the monster. Scylla breaches the City’s first defensive Wall, shattering the concrete fortifications. Gray controls the mind of his ornopthar mount using his amplifier diadem. Riding the bird, he flies straight into the gaping mouth of the gigantic monster. Inside, Gray navigates approximately 20 meters of deadly digestive tracts. He is forced to jump between the interlocking chitinous teeth of the chewing stomach. The entrails are flooded with a caustic acidic juice that burns through armor. Gray discovers clutches of transparent eggs. Scylla turns out to be an artificial host. In the center of the organism, Gray finds the Shard effector. This alien mechanism controls the monster’s actions. The effector fires black energy beams, piercing the Incarnators’ defenses. Together, the group destroys the device. The orbital station delivers a crushing blow with its heavy kinetic rods. The surrounding area is transformed into a smoking crater.

The Riddle of the Polygon

The cadets return to the academy exhausted and irradiated. Gray is awarded a badge of honor for valor. The hero secretly hacks into Master Kay’s mind. The mentor launches the required virtual location. The group infiltrates the digital Tower of Void. Inside, the fighters battle shadow projections woven from fog. Then the group is attacked by a huge armored orcus. The illusion of pain seems completely real, the wounds bleed. Half the squad is killed as the monsters tear the soldiers apart with their claws. The remaining fighters reach the top of the Tower. There, a giant hologram of an alien star system rotates. The squad barely defeats the final boss, Ahriman. Gray smashes a mirror niche, hoping to retrieve the message. The cache turns out to be completely empty. The digital copy of the Polygon was created for training ordinary fighters and does not contain any real artifacts. Gray realizes his mistake.

Encounter with Nemesis

After disabling the simulation capsule, Gray is attacked by Aurelia. The head of the academy reveals herself to be Nemesis. An agent of the City’s secret service has tricked Gray into taking over the sorceress’s body. Nemesis places a paralyzing collar on Gray. She drains his energy with a special extractor. Nemesis demands a confession to espionage and threatens to torture Esther. The hero refuses to talk. The spy dons a mental amplifier in the form of a flower tiara. She infuses herself with a potion containing liquid Azure. Nemesis breaches Gray’s mental barrier, penetrating the very depths of his memory. There, she encounters an ancient "neuroplomb." The protective program was installed by the hero’s past incarnation. The trap is instantly activated. A voice from the past orders a complete formatting of the invader’s brain. The program mercilessly erases Nemesis’s memory and personality. The former head of the secret police is reduced to an empty shell. Gray frees himself, takes his equipment and escapes on a high-speed flying machine.

The Search for Corvin

The hero secretly arrives at the colossal Mercada market. Gray frees his mind from the shackles and hides in a labyrinth of multi-tiered avenues. The trading floors teem with people from all over the world. Gray meets with the chief mercator of the Cats merchant guild. Gray pays with a rare, glowing azuride crystal. He asks the merchant to arrange an urgent meeting with Corwin. The guild leader organizes an ambush in a deserted neighborhood, inciting a crowd of drug addicts. Gray easily disperses the street thugs with blinding light. He heals the attackers’ wounds and instills in them the idea of leaving a life of crime forever. The merchant, concealing his presence with optical camouflage, is convinced of his client’s strength. Corwin appears unnoticed, sword at the hero’s throat. Gray reveals the truth about Aurelia’s death and shows him the cogitator recording. Corwin is stunned. He agrees to lead the fugitive to the real Proving Grounds. The City’s underground Arsenal contains a sealed training complex. The entrance is blocked by massive metal seals. Corvin slices through the metal with his sword. The Raven is trapped inside the Proving Grounds. The former hero of the First Legion has gone mad, turning into a merciless monster.

Battle in the real Tower of Emptiness

Gray enters the Tower alone. Inside, he finds terrifying installations of human bones arranged in the shape of a bird. The hero reaches the true scriptorium. The mad Raven attacks the hero, demonstrating colossal superiority in speed. Firearms prove useless. The Raven pins Gray to the stone floor with throwing daggers. The weapons cause rapid tissue necrosis. Gray uses a plasma scalpel of pure light energy. He severs his own damaged limbs, regenerating and regenerating them. Corwin’s group rushes to the rescue. The Sentry blocks the enemy’s abilities with a force field generator. Helios showers the Raven with solar plasma. Corwin delivers terrible blows with the ancient sword Nothung. The Raven instantly recovers, killing Corwin, Helios, and the Sentry. Gray unleashes a mental strike, destroying the madman’s barrier. The hero resurrects his fallen comrades with a powerful beam of focused light. Corvin impales the enemy with his sword. Gray takes the killer’s soul.

True Heritage

Gray places the soul of a defeated enemy in a special isolation container — an animarium. The hero opens a mirrored compartment. Inside lies the segmented bracelet of the City’s founder. A holographic projection from the past confirms even the most incredible suspicions. Gray observes a scene in an ancient tent camp. He sees himself next to a woman. Gray is the legendary Prometheus. In the past, he argued with Helen the White Star, promising to return. He erased his memory and secretly joined the military expedition to the Black Moon. Now he must use the bracelet. The artifact will unlock the secret core of the Stellara system, hidden in an underground laboratory. The hero accepts his true destiny.