Chapter Summaries

Angel defeated Saka in the Sky Tower, then studied other contestants’ abilities while recovering. Later, he confronted the Chloe brothers, but Black-Robed Chloe threatened to use a Crown Clown teleportation scroll at the cost of his own life to help White-Robed Chloe escape.

• Angel resisted Sylvia’s soul attacks, froze Saka with a frost arrow, and forced him to concede before the medical team carried him away.
• The audience chanted Angel’s nickname, “Milk Baron,” and he returned home to recover and investigate why Sylvia’s soul abilities had barely affected him.
• Angel studied David’s list of seeded contestants, then returned to Sky Tower and won four matches.
• Angel waited for Saka after his matches but instead encountered the Chloe brothers and cornered them in a dark alley.
• Black-Robed Chloe offered a Crown Clown’s Balance Teleportation Scroll and said he would sacrifice his own life to let White-Robed Chloe escape if Angel attacked them.

After letting the Chloe brothers go with a warning, Angel visited David to ask about Saka and Sylvia’s soul abilities, which had failed to harm him in the arena. He left unsettled by the unknown changes in his body, while his conversation with David ended with Angel revealing plans to craft Toby a music box.

• Angel released the Chloe brothers after questioning them and took blood from the white-robed Chloe so he could track him later.
• Angel watched David craft a gear and learned several precise alchemy techniques before asking him about Saka, Sylvia, and the other stars.
• David described Sylvia’s Soul-Shaking Howl and Soul Siphon, confirming that Angel had experienced their usual effects without being harmed.
• Angel feared that something unknown had changed in his body and resolved to ask Sanders about it.
• David told Angel that apprentices and wizards posted most mission hall tasks and suggested he accept custom weapon commissions for valuable materials.
• Angel said he planned to use Echo Flower to make Toby a music box, despite David’s urging him to focus on weapons.

Angel’s meditation became more efficient, though tests showed he had not reached mental stillness, and he later advanced to the Sky Tower’s thirteenth floor. After watching Shepherd Fox decisively defeat Hurricane Messenger, Angel realized he would need to change his battle strategy.

• Angel asked David for books on ordinary runes, but David refused and urged him to focus on cultivation; Angel pretended to take the advice and left David bewildered.
• Angel found that his meditation was nearly ten percent more efficient, but noise from Toby’s Echo Flowers and bird cries proved he had not reached mental stillness.
• A week later, Angel defeated a poison-type apprentice with a small flaming arrow and advanced to the thirteenth floor of the Sky Tower.
• Angel watched Shepherd Fox crush Hurricane Messenger with phantom beasts and judged that his own usual tactics would not be enough against opponents on this floor.

Angel entered Sky Tower’s thirteenth-floor competition and drew two opponents for the next day, both ranked contestants. He planned to use his hidden methods and Toby to fight his way toward the summit, which he only needed to reach by the fifteenth floor.

• Angel watched several matches, then went to draw an opponent for the next day.
• Angel mistakenly gave Baroque a magic crystal as a bribe, and Baroque explained that he had wanted Angel’s information card.
• Baroque told Angel that the contestant pool held only thirteen people and that most were on the points ranking table.
• Angel drew Wasteland Warrior, ranked thirty-seventh, as his first opponent, then drew Night Twilight, ranked forty-first, as his second.
• Baroque limited Angel to two draws and warned him not to die.
• Angel decided that he would use his hidden methods and Toby to compete on the thirteenth and fourteenth floors.

Angel fought Wasteland Warrior in his first third-level match while thinking of his brother Leon on Leon’s birthday. He fired ten magic-pattern arrows at his opponent, who sensed the danger too late to escape.

• At Sky Tower, White Bear told a couple that fate foretold Milk Baron would defeat Wasteland Warrior, and they bought tickets to watch the match.
• Angel remembered Leon on his birthday as he arrived at Sky Tower for his first match on the third level of Death.
• Wasteland Warrior recognized Angel as the fighter who had defeated his teammate War Horn and boasted that Angel could not break his defense.
• Angel raised defensive cantrips while Wasteland Warrior stood still and challenged him to attack.
• Angel fired ten magic-pattern arrows, and Wasteland Warrior’s beast-bloodline instincts warned him that danger surrounded him in every direction.

Angel defeated Mondo with tiered rune arrows, drawing attention to the mysterious alchemist behind his weapons. Rumors spread through the underground market, while David learned that Angel had entered Sky Tower and beaten Mondo.

• Angel trapped Mondo with rune arrows, wounded him, and forced him to concede before revealing his Mechanical Wrist Crossbow.
• Competitors tried to learn who had made Angel’s weapons, but Angel brushed them off and left for home to meditate.
• Rumors of a mysterious alchemist spread through the underground market, and customers complained to David about Master Promi’s lack of new goods.
• David collected a shipment from Master Promi and found several small crossbows among the alchemical tools.
• Master Promi asked David about the alchemist behind Angel’s golden arrows and told him that Angel had defeated Mondo at Sky Tower, shocking David.

Promi learned that Angel was the mysterious alchemist behind the enchanted arrows and hoped to find him for a commission, while David realized Promi’s description of Angel did not match his friend. Angel prepared to face Night Twilight, and the chapter ended as spectators gathered to watch their match.

• Promi explained his need for a long-range weapon with holy effects and told David what he had learned about Angel’s arena record and title.
• David laughed at Angel’s title, then disagreed with Promi’s description of Angel as cold and aloof.
• Promi decided to find the mysterious alchemist before Angel’s other pursuers, while David knew the alchemist was Angel himself.
• Angel reviewed Night Twilight’s profile and brought Toby with him to their match.
• Angel entered a packed arena, where Melantha and an old man discussed his chances against Selena Walton.

Angel, fighting as Milk Baron, survived Selena’s lethal ambush when Toby unleashed a burst of gravity-fueled force that smashed her into the arena floor. The spectators learned that Angel’s seemingly weak magical bird possessed a gravity thread, while Baroque predicted it would help Angel reach the summit.

• Baroque told Melantha that her father had asked when she would return, and she refused to leave before reaching her chosen path.
• Selena activated her Radiant Bloodline and vanished from sight, then appeared behind Angel and stabbed at him.
• Toby burst forward and kicked Selena into a deep crater, leaving Angel unharmed and the audience unable to see what had happened through the dust.
• Baroque and Melantha used their observations to realize that Toby had a gravity thread that let him alter his own gravity.
• The dust cleared to reveal Angel aiming his Mechanical Wrist Crossbow at the badly injured Selena, while David alone among the spectators had guessed the truth.

Angel defeated Selena in Sky Tower, forcing her to concede after her brother Dupont intervened. He entered the match pool to secure further fights and learned that four contestants, including Fox Shepherd, were scheduled as his opponents; after leaving the tower, he arranged for mortals to record the evening's match schedule.

• Angel overwhelmed Selena in the arena, but she refused to concede until Dupont rushed in and persuaded her to throw out her information card.
• Selena told Dupont that a bird had attacked her with sharp claws, revealing how Angel had caught her off guard.
• Baroque discussed Angel's restraint with Melantha and hinted that he might arrange for Angel to face Parasite Maiden.
• Angel entered the match pool and learned that four contestants were scheduled for the next day's matches, including Fox Shepherd.
• Angel left Sky Tower by cable car, hired mortals in the underground bazaar to record the evening's schedule, and returned to Apprentice Town.

Angel continued practicing illusion magic and considered combining Harmonic Illusion with music to make an elaborate music box for Toby. Sky Tower announced that Parasite Maiden would face Milk Baron, and Angel learned he would also fight Shepherd Fox in his first match tomorrow.

• Angel toasted the distant mountains on Leon’s birthday and returned to studying illusion magic.
• Angel planned a music box that would pair music with mood-matching illusions, but he had not yet worked out how to combine Harmonic Illusion with alchemy.
• Sky Tower announced Parasite Maiden versus Milk Baron as a recommended match, sending apprentices rushing to buy tickets.
• A black-robed person arrived at Sky Tower and murmured eagerly about seeing Parasite Maiden.
• Promi decided to attend the match and warn Parasite Maiden not to hurt Angel too badly, while David bought a ticket.
• Angel learned he had five matches the next day, including a match against Parasite Maiden and an opening match against Shepherd Fox.

Angel learned that Shepherd Fox might know he was responsible for Dog Shepherd and Red Butterfly’s deaths, and David urged him to kill Shepherd Fox during their upcoming match. Angel entered the arena still undecided, then used a novel combination of cantrips to create fog as the duel began.

• David revealed that Shepherd Fox was close to Dog Shepherd Pundongo and might suspect Angel, then advised Angel to kill him in the arena.
• David passed along Master Promi’s request to meet Angel, and Angel said he would go after reaching the top of Sky Tower.
• Angel and Shepherd Fox faced off in Sky Tower’s first match of the day while Angel weighed whether to kill him.
• Shepherd Fox summoned a Blood-Eyed Fox Demon and planned to attack Angel from a distance.
• Angel slowed the demon with Frostfall Spell, then combined it with Dust to create a fog effect that caught Baroque’s interest.

Angel used a dust-haze illusion to trick Shepherd Fox into attacking his own summoned beast and then killed him after confirming Shepherd Fox had intended to murder him. He left the arena amid the audience’s outrage, reflecting that killing in the wizard world might only bring further enemies.

• Angel sent Toby to fight the Blood-Eyed Fox Demon while he hid the real battle behind a Dust-Haze Spell and an illusion.
• Shepherd Fox mistook the illusion for Angel and attacked the Blood-Eyed Fox Demon, believing he was defeating Milk Baron.
• Shepherd Fox revealed that he wanted revenge for Angel killing Pundongo and claimed Bolangke would kill Angel if he did not.
• Angel killed Shepherd Fox with a golden arrow after the Blood-Eyed Fox Demon had died.
• The audience grieved Shepherd Fox and glared at Angel, who returned backstage without anyone stopping him.

Angel faced Parasite Maiden, whose beauty and unexplained victories had made her the top fighter on Sky Tower’s thirteenth floor. Toby struck her while Angel was frozen, leaving her unconscious, but Baroque said an unseen battle was still underway.

• David told Angel about Parasite Maiden’s strength and strange victories, and Angel instructed Toby to act if he became dazed.
• Parasite Maiden entered to a frenzied crowd, insulted Angel during the standoff, and threatened to leave him crippled.
• When the match began, Angel froze under Parasite Maiden’s influence, and Toby launched a powerful attack into her shoulder.
• The spectators saw Parasite Maiden unconscious and gravely wounded while Angel remained motionless, but Sky Tower did not announce a winner.
• Baroque told a staff member that the match was not over because an unseen battle might still be raging.

Poi used her mother body to infect Angel during their match, leaving him unconscious as his mind entered a struggle for his soul. Meanwhile, Melantha confronted Baroque over the danger to Sanders’s disciple, and the chapter ended with Angel facing Poi inside a strange mental space.

• Melantha questioned Baroque about why Poi had abandoned her offspring bodies and infected Angel with her mother body, while Baroque denied responsibility and admitted he had revealed Angel’s identity to Poi.
• Melantha warned that Poi’s parasitism could put Angel under her control or replace him, and worried about Sanders’s reaction.
• The audience demanded a result after both contestants collapsed, while Toby panicked beside the unconscious Angel and wished it were strong enough to protect him.
• Angel recalled that a green shadow had entered his vision at the start of the match, taken control of his body, and drawn him into a dark space of thought.
• A green flower bloomed inside the mental space, and a graceful woman rose from its center.

Angel watched Parasite Maiden's green pollen take control of his body and begin attacking his soul. When gray mist unexpectedly blocked the assault, he tried to learn whether he could control it.

• Angel realized Parasite Maiden was using pollen to seize his body and learned from her emotions that Baroque had urged her to target Sanders' disciple.
• Parasite Maiden's pollen took over Angel's body, leaving only his brain unconquered, and she then searched for his soul.
• Parasite Maiden sent pollen to erode Angel's soul, but Angel released thick gray mist that stopped it.
• Parasite Maiden raged at the mysterious mist and called for Milk Baron, while Angel cautiously tried to touch and control the mist.

Angel struggled against Parasite Maiden’s soul infection as gray mist poured uncontrollably from his soul and left him near death. Parasite Maiden attacked a wound on his back, while the spectators waited for the arena match to be decided; then Milk Baron began moving.

• Angel found that gray mist from his soul stopped Parasite Maiden’s Striped Green Velvet spores, but he could neither control the mist nor stop it from spreading.
• Parasite Maiden rushed Angel’s weakened soul and drove a Striped Green Velvet vine into a small wound on his back.
• Melantha worried that something had changed, while a hooded man sensed Angel’s soul weakening and then strengthening again.
• The crowd grew restless as the staff repeatedly said the match was still undecided.
• Spectators noticed Milk Baron moving his fingers and pushing against the ground.

Angel defeated the Parasite Maiden in their unseen battle for his soul and regained control of his body, then ordered Toby to kill her former body in the arena. Baroque and Melantha realized Angel had survived the possession attempt, while Sanders sensed a familiar aura and vanished toward the underground market; Angel remained weakened by Striped Green Velvet spores.

• Angel staggered to his feet as David and the others mistook him for the Milk Baron’s new host, and the crowd noticed his exposed face and hateful expression.
• Angel called for Toby, who descended and killed the Parasite Maiden’s unconscious body, shocking the arena and drawing the crowd’s fury.
• Baroque and Melantha recognized that Angel, not Poi, had survived the soul battle, and Baroque suspected Sanders had placed defenses in Angel’s soul.
• Angel had actually received no safeguard from Sanders, who sensed a familiar aura on Demon Illusion Island and vanished toward the underground market.
• Angel regained control of his body but could barely stand because Striped Green Velvet spores remained in his limbs and bones.

Angel struggled with severe pain and stiffness after killing Parasite Maiden as the spectators turned on him. David revealed that Angel was an alchemist to persuade Promi to help, but the arena result was announced and the crowd rushed the stage, leaving Toby to defend Angel.

• Angel collapsed to one knee as pain and stiffness left him unable to move, while Toby tried to protect him from the agitated spectators.
• David told Promi that Angel had made the enchanted alchemical weapons, and Promi agreed to go save him.
• Baroque persuaded Melantha to announce the match result so he could see whether Sanders would appear.
• Melantha announced Milk Baron as the winner, the arena's protective array vanished, and the crowd charged onto the stage.
• Toby fought off the attackers while Angel remained helpless, and one apprentice raised his foot to stomp on Angel's head.

David rescued the gravely injured Angel from the arena and brought him to Promi for treatment, where they discovered green powder-like impurities throughout his body. Sanders appeared, took Angel away, and left David and Promi wondering whether he was Angel’s mentor.

• Promi held off the apprentices while David carried Angel through the arena and onto the aerial cableway.
• David brought Angel to Promi’s alchemy shop, where Promi found green powder-like impurities throughout Angel’s body and prepared to extract a sample.
• Sanders appeared beside Angel’s bed and wounded Promi when Promi’s thrown scalpel rebounded.
• Sanders forgave Promi for the attack, took Angel and his belongings, and left.
• David and Promi wondered about Sanders’ connection to Angel, and David admitted he had never asked who Angel’s mentor was.

Angel woke after two days unconscious in Sanders’s residence, shaken by a dream of a grotesque figure inside a blooming flower bud and unsure whether Parasite Maiden was truly dead. He learned Sanders had rescued and treated him, then prepared to face his mentor after discovering his gear was missing and worrying that he had lost his Sky Tower points.

• Angel dreamed of dandelions and drifting green threads before seeing a parasite-covered figure appear inside a blooming flower bud.
• Angel woke in an unfamiliar room and learned from Butler Gude that Sanders had brought him there and treated his wounds.
• Angel dressed in Sanders’s old clothes and found his belongings, including the Outer Eye, but could not find his Mechanical Wrist Crossbow or pistol.
• Angel realized that missing three scheduled matches while unconscious might have cost him all twelve of his Sky Tower points.
• Angel finished eating and headed to Sanders’s study.