also known as for short, is a Japanese web novel series written by Asa Rokushima. It began serialization on the online publication platform Shōsetsuka ni Narō in January 2021. Kodansha later published it as a light novel featuring illustrations by Kisui, releasing two volumes between January and October 2022. A manga adaptation by Gyomuyomochi based on Rokushima's original light novel began serialization in Kodansha's Shōnen Magazine R in October 2021, before being transferred to Monthly Magazine Base website.
The manga widely departs from the novel, including manga-original characters and a different storyline and worldbuilding. Rokushima has described the two versions as "990%(99割)" different. An anime television series produced by P.A. Works adapts the manga version and is set to premiere in October 2026. The manga had over 1.5 million copies in circulation as of August 2026.
Plot The web novel and light novels and the manga share the same opening premise, but immediately developed into almost completely different stories. Rokushima has described the contents of the novel and manga versions as almost entirely different, and the anime adaptation follows the manga version.
Novels Rein Garland is an enchanter for the adventurer guild Beast's Fangs. Believing his services are no longer needed after he finishes strengthening all of their equipment, the guild laid off him. Feeling betrayed by the people he regarded as his companions, Rein recollects the enchantments on their gear and recovers his accumulated bonus points. When he applies these bonus points to his own low-grade equipment, they become extraordinarily powerful, allowing him to embark on a successful solo career.
Rein's growing reputation draws the attention of Lily Flambert, an S-rank knight from the guild Emperor's Shields, and Martina Jeera, a noblewoman from the Uralis Kingdom who is a candidate to become the next Hero. After obtaining a legendary sword, Rein is also named a Hero candidate. He travels to the Uralis Kingdom to help reinforce the seal on the Radiant Dragon, an ancient calamity. However, the dragon awakens prematurely, pulling Rein and his allies into a wider war involving wielders of supernatural artifacts known as Heavenly Relics.
Manga The manga adaptation opens with the same premise as the novel, in which Rein is dismissed from Beast's Fangs and withdraws the bonus points he had placed on the guild's equipment, but the story that follows is largely original. It is set in a world where magic coexists with modern technology such as cars, firearms and recorded media, and where the two interfere with one another: using technological goods weakens a person's magic, while strong magic damages machinery.
After that, Rein joins the Blue Crystals, a small guild run by Elsie Zra, and is paired with Lily Flambert, an S-rank adventurer who has not drawn her sword since her party was killed at the Radiant Dragon Ruins two years earlier. Margaret Ells, whose elder sister died on that expedition, blames Lily for it. Rein returns to the ruins with them, where Lily and Margaret settle the matter between them and the Radiant Dragon is killed. Mirabelle, an assassin hired to kill Rein and Lily by Cornelius, fights alongside them there and afterwards gives up assassination to join the guild.
Rein's activities increasingly draw Blue Crystals into conflicts outside conventional adventuring. Among those he encounters is Mirabelle, an assassin raised by the Mother of Assassins, who eventually leaves her former life behind and joins Blue Crystals. The guild later becomes embroiled in a conflict involving the , a group of former adventurers and other social outcasts involved in organized crime. The group is led by Half, a former member of Beast's Fangs who had previously operated under the identity Glenda. Rather than functioning simply as hired criminals, the THUG form a tightly knit community centered on Half, and their conflict with Blue Crystals culminates in a confrontation between Half and Elsie.
Following the conflict with the THUG, the story broadens into a crisis involving the revival of the dragon race and political turmoil in the Kingdom of Zeruge. The return of dragons, which had once driven humanity to the brink of extinction, draws Blue Crystals and the surviving factions from the preceding conflicts into a larger struggle. The ensuing conflict develops into a struggle over the throne of Zeruge alongside renewed hostilities between humans and dragons, bringing together characters and organizations introduced throughout the manga.
Setting and terminology
Magic used by an to place power, measured in "bonus points", into weapons, armour and other objects in order to strengthen them. The amount an object can normally receive depends on its quality and durability. Rein is unusual in that he can withdraw abnormally large amount of points he has already granted and reuse them elsewhere, as well as apply them to a wider range of objects than conventional equipment.
Adventurers Guild-affiliated people who undertake monster suppression, exploration and other dangerous work. In the manga, adventurer guilds occupy an important position in the Kingdom of Zeluge and operate with a degree of independence alongside the kingdom's civil and military authorities. Many experienced adventurers possess an individual form of magic that determines their fighting style.
Magic and technology In the manga, magic coexists with modern technology, including cars, firearms and recorded media. Reliance on technological goods reduces a person's magic, while strong magic can interfere with machinery, making the two difficult to use together. The effect varies between individuals and can lessen if a person stops using technological conveniences. Rein attracts attention after demonstrating that his enchantment magic can also be applied to technological objects.
Exceptionally powerful supernatural abilities that exist outside ordinary magic. They appear in both versions, but their users and treatment differ substantially. In the novel, Rein's enchantment is identified as the "Granting" Relic, while other holders possess abilities including Destruction and Movement. The manga later reintroduces the same concept for unusually powerful abilities possessed by people known as , although the abilities and characters associated with them are different from their novel counterparts.
The principal country in which the manga is set. Its society relies heavily on adventurers for exploration and monster suppression. The royal family becomes increasingly important when the king's declining health develops into a succession dispute between the first prince Hearkeen and the second prince Dura. Dragon race Dragons appear in both versions but are developed differently. In the novel, the Radiant Dragon King is an ancient calamity served by powerful dragon followers, including the Seven Dragon Knights. The manga expands the dragons into an ancient intelligent race with its own society and internal disagreements. Their earlier wars with humanity are said to have brought humans close to extinction.
Characters The novel and the manga adaptation share most of their principal cast but differ substantially in plot and characterization; the author has stated that the two versions are almost entirely different from one another. Several of the groups described below, including the THUGs and the Zelruge succession conflict, are original to the manga.
Blue Crystal The is the adventurer guild Rein joins after leaving Beast's Fangs. It appears in both versions, although its membership and importance differ. In the manga, Elsie runs it as a refuge for adventurers who have suffered failures or setbacks.
The protagonist, an enchanter who can place bonus points into weapons, armour and other objects and withdraw them at will. He begins both versions as a member of Beast's Fangs and takes back the points he had placed on the guild's equipment after being dismissed.
In the novel, Rein quickly discovers that his ability far exceeds that of an ordinary enchanter, rises through the adventurer ranks and becomes a candidate for the title of Hero. In the manga he initially has little experience fighting as an adventurer despite the strength of his magic, and learns practical adventuring from Lily and the other members of the Blue Crystal. He is considerably more eccentric than his novel counterpart, often making jokes or behaving strangely even in dangerous situations, although he is consistently willing to put himself at risk to help other people.
An S-rank adventurer. In the novel she is a prominent member of the Emperor's Shields who seeks Rein out after hearing about his enchantment magic and becomes one of his regular companions. She is polite and reserved despite having become the youngest adventurer to reach S rank.
In the manga, Lily belongs to the Blue Crystal and is the youngest adventurer to have reached S rank. She has been unable to use her sword since losing the other members of her party were killed during an expedition to the Radiant Dragon Ruins two years earlier, and initially carries considerable guilt over being the only survivor. After confronting the circumstances surrounding the expedition with Margaret and Rein, she resumes fighting. Her personal magic uses flame to burn magic itself, allowing her to interfere with an opponent's magical defences as well as attack directly. Her manga counterpart is also more temperamental and outspoken than the novel version.
A B-rank adventurer of the Emperor's Shields whose characterization differs considerably between the two versions. In the novel, she is a cheerful and competitive younger adventurers, admires Lily and regards Rein as both a rival and a dependable companion.
In the manga, her elder sister was a member of Lily's party and died during the expedition to the Radiant Dragon Ruins, causing Margaret to blame Lily for her death when she is introduced. She is sarcastic and often hides what she is feeling, but later becomes one of Rein and Lily's regular companions. She keeps her sister's dog, . During the later conflict with the dragon race, Margaret becomes closely involved in the revival of the Radiant Dragon King.
In the novel, she is sent to kill Rein but is defeated and readily gives up information about her employer. Unable to return to her assassin guild afterwards, she becomes an adventurer and joins the Blue Crystal. She is largely carefree, self-interested and used as a comic character..
In the manga, Mirabelle was raised from childhood by the Mother of Assassins in an abusive environment in which killing was treated as ordinary and she was taught to place little value on human life. She becomes a highly skilled assassin while still young. After being hired by Cornelius to kill Rein and Lily, she gradually breaks with her upbringing, helps them during the Radiant Dragon incident and eventually leaves assassination to join the Blue Crystal. She later struggles with guilt over the people she has killed and retires Adventuring.
The guild master of the Blue Crystal in both versions. In the novel, her role is primarily administrative: she manages Rein's progress through the adventurer ranks, explains the guild system to him and encourages his advancement. The manga greatly expands her role and backstory. Elsie was formerly an S-rank adventurer but retired while still young after seeing a veteran adventurer she respected fall into poverty after being forced to retire. She established the Blue Crystal as a place for adventurers who had failed or had nowhere else to go, although the guild's generous policies leave it heavily in debt. She places the safety of its members above its finances and is willing to use deception or politically risky schemes to protect them.