Arceus

Arceus is a reclusive Grand Mage who becomes Alex Rogue's first formal magical teacher. His seemingly indifferent mentorship grows into respect when Alex surpasses every trial, while his refusal to join the other Grand Mages against that student leaves him the Order's only survivor and eventual Grand Mage Master. (Chapters 25, 123–169, 310–346, 456–457)

Biography

The reluctant teacher

Alex first learns Arceus's name through a Mage Tower Token and eventually reaches the sealed chamber where the Grand Mage conducts private experiments. Arceus repeatedly kills the intruder, but Alex's ability to return through the World Map exhausts his attempts to eject him. To make the persistent applicant leave, Arceus assigns what he expects to be an impossible retrieval of the Heart of Calamity and threatens soul attacks if Alex fails. (Chapters 25, 103, 118–124)

Alex survives the Cave of Oblivion and absorbs the requested artifact, convincing Arceus that wasting such potential would be more foolish than accepting an unwanted pupil. Arceus awards the Student title, assigns Artemis to supervise his leveling, and begins giving skill books and mastery quests. His grumbling inexperience gradually yields to genuine investment: he pauses his experiments for lessons, takes pride in Alex's rapid improvement, and supplies information about threats including the Hatred Sect. (Chapters 126–169)

The student defeats the teacher

When Alex returns with a dragon bloodline and evidence that he has already killed a god, Arceus admits that he has repeatedly underestimated him and grants the accumulated quest rewards. He then sets the final student trial: Alex must defeat him in a serious duel. Arceus enters the contest at level 2000 with the Staff of the Moon Jade, an extensive spell arsenal, and permission for both combatants to use their full range of powers. (Chapters 310–312)

Arceus uses abilities such as Oblivion Lance, Celestial Judgment, Phantom Chains, Arcane Domain, and Dimensional Rift, forcing Alex to counter both overwhelming attacks and positional control. Alex ultimately wins, completing the final quest and raising Arceus's reputation to its maximum. Arceus survives through an additional life, accepts that the former pupil now stands beyond him, gives the final rewards, and willingly transfers Celestial Judgment through an Artifact Skill Book. (Chapters 313–318)

Order betrayal and a reluctant successor

Arceus invites Alex to the Grand Mage Order's decisive meeting, expecting the gathering to expose how its members intend to respond to the gods. At the meeting, he openly acknowledges that Alex is stronger than he is and watches with amusement as his student challenges the Order's assumptions. When Isolde and the other fifty-two Grand Mages reveal their alignment and turn their staffs on both guests, Arceus remains seated and calm even after being branded a traitor. (Chapters 319, 336–340)

Alex destroys the hostile Order, while Arceus awakens from Mental Sleep and eliminates the remaining servants aligned with it. As the last Grand Mage, he claims the title of Grand Mage Master and accepts Isolde's extracted core from Alex, assimilating it to increase his power. Later, Alex finds him operating a laboratory on Grand Mage Island and burdened with rebuilding the institution. Their earlier tension has settled into practical trust, and Arceus gives Alex his unpredictable Random Potion before the Chosen Games. (Chapters 345–346, 456–457)

Appearance and personality

Arceus appears younger than Alex expects for an ancient Grand Mage. He has golden eyes and hair, wears flowing mage robes, and normally carries the Staff of the Moon Jade. His appearance can lose its cultivated composure when annoyed—Alex's repeated returns leave his robes singed and hair disheveled—but in formal combat he presents an assured, staff-wielding mage surrounded by precisely controlled arcane effects. (Chapters 123–124, 138, 312–316)

Dry, sardonic, and outwardly indifferent, Arceus treats teaching as an inconvenience and hides approval behind insults, shrugs, and impossible assignments. He is also intellectually curious, studying unusual weapons and constantly conducting experiments. His amusement during the Order crisis masks a clear moral line: once the other Grand Mages choose hostile gods over the worlds they govern, he accepts the danger of standing apart from them and later undertakes the unglamorous work of reconstruction. (Chapters 123–143, 310–340, 346, 457)

Skills and system abilities

Grand Mage is a rank beyond the ordinary ten-tier structure, and Arceus is explicitly level 2000 when he duels Alex. His named combat repertoire includes Oblivion Lance, Arcane Domain, Supreme Magic Barrier, Magic Deflection, Mana Devourer, Reality Warp, Celestial Judgment, Arcane Explosion, Lightning Cataclysm, Magical Elevation, Phantom Chains, Dimensional Rift, Immortal Regeneration, and Celestial Collapse. He can fly, manipulate space, construct portals, and cast high-order magic through his staff. (Chapters 123–124, 138, 312–317)

Arceus's magical expertise extends to instruction, crafting, analysis, seals, and alchemy. He creates structured Grand Mage Student quests, supplies high-rank spell books, recognizes bloodlines and abyssal corruption, and produces the Random Potion as his greatest experimental creation. Assimilating the Grand Mage Master Core amplifies power he already possesses; the source does not provide a new numerical level after that promotion. (Chapters 128–169, 310–319, 345–346, 457)

Power progression

Relationships

• Alex Rogue: Arceus reluctantly accepts Alex as his student, grows to respect his impossible accomplishments, and acknowledges him as an equal or superior after losing their duel. Their mentorship becomes a pragmatic alliance against the god-aligned Order. (Chapters 123–169, 310–346, 456–457)
• Isolde: Isolde leads the Grand Mage Order that ultimately labels Arceus a traitor. After Isolde dies, Arceus succeeds him as Grand Mage Master and assimilates the former master's extracted core. (Chapters 336–346)
• Artemis: Artemis serves Arceus with absolute loyalty, supervises Alex's early training, and later judges the formal duel between teacher and student. (Chapters 128–137, 312–316)

Items

• Staff of the Moon Jade: Arceus's Artifact++ staff and principal casting implement. He channels combat spells through it during the final student duel, uses it to expel Alex from the Mage Tower, and later teleports them to Grand Mage Island. It is last explicitly named in his custody before the Order meeting; the source does not separately track it during his promotion. (Chapters 312, 314, 319, 336)