Wow, Nona is a beast. She's always been very determined just like in the one-shot, but this chapter really highlighted how competent and resourceful she is to support that. She did so much with her magic this chapter, and this manga just started! Miramira's sinking magic is also rather neat. I'm sure Mevijilara will have neat uses as well; we haven't seen these uses since she's a bit timid, but she's getting there. It's rather endearing how she holds her wand like that lol
The lock magic monster was seriously terrifying. It's a great design for a first enemy, and if this is a sign of what is to come, that's awesome. Its head dissipating into a skull has some interesting implications; we know that magic is extracted from mages at Uvral, so could the lock monster be a human? Perhaps mages aren't killed, but are converted into sources that provide the magic in magic tools as these magic monsters; this would explain why the lock magic monster is connected to the shackles. It's like a wand through which the mages channel their magic, almost.
I am now fully hooked on this series. The past few chapters have been good, but nothing truly unique. This chapter is when the series started being more than a manga about mages, and it is glorious.