Chapter Summaries

Angel entered Lucia's Workshop to find Bulu's master and discovered that the workshop's master was the same person. He reached the laboratory and found a white-haired, green-eyed boy beside a steaming boiler.

• Angel entered Lucia's Workshop and agreed to its verbal promise not to reveal what he saw there.
• Angel questioned the receptionist Bulu No. 2 about Bulu, then learned from a regular customer that he could meet the workshop's master.
• Bulu No. 2 contacted the master, who recognized that Bulu had sent Angel and invited him to the laboratory.
• Angel followed Bulu No. 2 into the laboratory, where he saw a white-haired, green-eyed boy standing beside a steaming boiler.

Angel met Lucia Dydia, the owner of Lucia's Workshop and Bulu's master, while she was brewing Witch's Soup in a male form. After Lucia transformed into a woman, she discussed Angel's Starlit Glory membership and offered him a Shining Diamond Card for access to internal trade fairs and discounted Preacher's prophecies.

• Angel found Lucia brewing Witch's Soup while appearing as a male youth, and Lucia explained that she could transform into a woman if anyone challenged her right to brew it.
• Lucia transformed into a young girl, introduced herself as Lucia Dydia, and confirmed that she was Bulu's master.
• Lucia recognized that Angel understood the political meaning of Starlit Glory membership, while Angel continued using the name Jon.
• Lucia offered Angel a Shining Diamond Card and explained that it granted access to Starlit Glory Merchant Caravan internal trade fairs and low-priced opportunities to receive Preacher's prophecies.
• Angel showed interest in the trade fairs, and Lucia asked whether he wanted the offer.

Angel examined Lucia’s Witch’s Soup and discovered that her Flower Series recipes improved on existing soups, while her Grass Series represented her original work. The discussion left Lucia defending her creations and explaining the ambition behind her classification system.

• Lucia offered Angel double points at her workshop if he bought Witch’s Soup, but Angel said he would only spend money on rare soups that potions could not replace.
• Lucia presented four soups from her Flower and Grass Series and explained their effects, including smoother skin, fragrance cleansing, and rebuilding the body’s internal energy circulation.
• Angel recognized that the Flower Series soups improved on existing Witch’s Soup, prompting Lucia to worry that he would report her for claiming them as original.
• Lucia insisted that Little Grass No. 1 Witch’s Brew was her own creation and described the hardships behind making it.
• Lucia explained that her Tree, Flower, and Grass Series names represented reverence, tribute, and her ambition for original soups to spread and flourish.

Angel recognized that Lucia's Little Grass No. 1 restored energy by consuming the user's potential, then praised her brewing. Lucia revealed her Little Grass No. 2 could increase mental power by 1.2, mistook Angel for an Ashilia Academy teaching assistant, and offered him a Flash Diamond Card, but he said he still wanted to buy her Witch's Soup.

• Angel inferred that Little Grass No. 1 restored different kinds of energy by squeezing the user's potential, and Lucia confirmed his guess.
• Angel told Lucia that Little Grass No. 1 was an original, useful potion, and she revealed that Little Grass No. 2 increased mental power.
• Angel guessed that Little Grass No. 2 raised mental power by 1.2, prompting Lucia to suspect he was a prophecy wizard or an Ashilia Academy alchemist.
• Angel explained that he had studied under a master of magical medicines, and Lucia mistook him for an Ashilia Academy teaching assistant.
• Lucia gave Angel a Flash Diamond Card, but he said he still planned to buy some Lucia Witch's Soup.

Angel bought fifteen bowls of Lucia’s Witch’s Soup and agreed to exchange alchemy insights with Lucia. Before they could begin, Bulu reported that Bilen Tree Court had been attacked by someone from the Starry District, and Lucia rushed to investigate with Angel.

• Angel bought five bowls of Lucia Flowerheart Witch’s Soup and ten bowls of Lucia Little Grass No. 1 Witch’s Soup, and agreed to Lucia’s proposal to exchange alchemy insights.
• Lucia took Angel to the Travel Inn and discussed membership cards, Witch Sharon, and the Starry District’s visitors with him.
• After leaving the workshop, Lucia changed back into his male form and explained that he did not mind people knowing about his transformations.
• Bulu told Lucia and Angel that Bilen Tree Court had come under attack by someone from the Starry District.
• Lucia grabbed Bulu and rushed toward the district entrance with Angel to investigate the attack.

Angel headed toward Bilen Tree Court to look for Kael and listened to reports about a blue gorilla’s attack. As evacuees concluded that the Bilos Family had helped stage the destruction to expose the Starry District, Angel walked back outside, unconvinced by their claims.

• Angel went toward Bilen Tree Court to check whether Kael was safe, while listening to evacuees describe the attack.
• Angel learned that a giant blue gorilla had destroyed private guild headquarters and rampaged through the Arena District while avoiding the Bilos Family’s official buildings.
• Evacuees praised Mr. Exus for helping people escape the gorilla, and Angel wondered why Bulu had known the attacker came from the Starry District.
• Sherlock argued that the attack was a trap set by the Bilos Family to force people to reveal the Starry District’s entrance.
• A cleric-robed man pointed out that no Bilos Family wizards had appeared, leading the crowd to accuse the family of conspiring with the attacker.
• Angel silently left the Starry District as the crowd grew furious over its theory.

Angel investigated the attack on Bilen Tree Court while searching for Kael, discovering that the destruction had been targeted rather than indiscriminate. He continued toward the Arena after finding signs that someone named Exus had saved a victim from the blue gorilla, along with a strand of blue hair.

• Angel reasoned that the Bilos Family's absent main force and the concealed Starry District entrance had misled Sherlock and the monk-robed man, while suspecting someone within the Bilos Family had leaked the departure.
• Angel left the Starry District through the Logistics Support Department's cleaning room and headed toward the center of Bilen Tree Court to find Kael.
• In the Guild District, Angel rescued injured ordinary people and discovered that the Sharkstar Pureblood Society had been singled out and its buried members killed by a hidden attacker who drained their blood.
• Angel followed the blue gorilla's footprints through the undamaged Commercial District toward the Arena, concluding the beast had avoided harming shops and had pursued specific targets.
• Angel found footprints and drag marks suggesting that Exus had stopped the gorilla from crushing someone and pulled the victim to safety, then noticed a strand of blue hair nearby.

Angel followed Swift Spirit to the sealed Bilos Council Hall, where Kael’s aura led him through a hidden passage. In the dark corridor, he met Exus, who had rescued the man in monk’s robes and was protecting the council hall’s survivors; Angel sent Swift Spirit ahead to find them.

• Angel found a blue hair bearing inscription power that warded off the world's will and suspected the giant ape might have come from beyond the realm.
• Swift Spirit guided Angel to the Bilos Council Hall, where Kael’s pheromones lingered near the sealed entrance.
• Angel opened the council hall’s magic energy array, followed Kael’s aura to a hidden passage behind a painting, and descended into the corridors below.
• Angel encountered Exus, who said he had rescued the man in monk’s robes and was guarding the people from the council hall.
• Exus agreed to let Swift Spirit go ahead and check on the people he was protecting.

Angel found Kael and Red Sword Dox at the Council Hall, where wizard Ex had protected them and other survivors from the gorilla. After leaving, Angel learned that Dox suspected Ex had a hidden agenda and had followed him to investigate.

• Angel found Kael beside a disguised Red Sword Dox, thanked Ex for protecting them, and took them away from the Council Hall.
• Angel asked Ex about the attack on Bilen Tree Court, sensed that Ex was lying about what he knew, and left without confronting him.
• At the main hall, Angel recognized the disguised female warrior as Dox, who revealed his true appearance and argued that he was a mercenary rather than Angel's subordinate.
• Kael explained that Ex had blocked the gorilla's foot and rescued people in the commercial district before the gorilla continued toward the arena.
• Dox told Angel that he had followed Ex to the Council Hall because he suspected Ex had a hidden agenda.

Angel, Dox, and Kael headed for the arena after learning that a Shallow-Sea Strongman was rampaging in Bilen Tree Court. Dox revealed that his suspicion of Exus came from Exus’s ability to use Consecutive Slash, while Exus left his patrol to check on Ohado.

• Dox told Angel and Kael that he suspected Exus might like men, but Angel pressed him for real evidence that Exus had done anything wrong.
• A tremor from the arena led Dox to identify the attacking blue gorilla as a Shallow-Sea Strongman, and he proposed going to watch it.
• Angel agreed to look at the arena with Dox and brought Kael along, deciding it was safer than returning him to Starry District.
• Angel admitted that Exus had lied about the attack, and Dox revealed that Exus could use Consecutive Slash.
• Deep beneath the council hall, Exus heard the crash of a shattered lamp, worried about Ohado, and left his patrol to check on it.

Angel learned that Exus had used Chain Slash to save a man from a Shallow-Sea Strongman, and Dox suspected the technique might have been bestowed by a wild god. Angel remained uncertain about Exus’s origins and possible connection to the attackers as he considered investigating further.

• Angel asked Dox about Chain Slash, and Dox explained that bloodline wizards could use one strike’s power to unleash multiple attacks, even energy-based ones.
• Dox recreated the scene of Exus striking a Shallow-Sea Strongman twice with a single sword swing, giving himself time to rescue a man in monastic robes.
• Dox said Exus was not a bloodline wizard and argued that his body lacked the blood vitality and energy normally required to perform Chain Slash.
• Dox explained that Chain Slash originated with the wild gods of the Savage Realm and suspected a wild god had bestowed the art on Exus.
• Angel considered whether Exus might be connected to the attackers but decided the contradictions surrounding him required further observation.
• Angel asked about the Black Earl, and Dox said he and Wai had gone to negotiate with the Bilos Family and might return with its wizards.

After rescuing people from the collapsed deadwood forest, Angel learned that an unknown person had sealed Paradise and trapped six of Swift Spirit’s scattered breezes there. Concerned that losing them would weaken Swift Spirit, Angel changed course and raced toward Paradise with Dox following.

• Angel and his companions rescued people trapped beneath the collapsed treehouses in the deadwood forest, delaying their trip to the Arena.
• Swift Spirit returned to Angel and reported that six of its scattered breezes were trapped inside Paradise, which an unknown person had sealed with an energy barrier.
• Swift Spirit used Wind Listening to hear an unidentified voice announce a game and promise to let the trapped people leave if they won.
• Angel learned that losing the breezes would diminish Swift Spirit’s energy source and decided to go to Paradise instead of the Arena.
• Dox chose to follow Angel as the group turned toward Paradise, and Angel hurried ahead while wondering why the voice sounded familiar.

Angel, Dox, and Kael examined Paradise’s spatial seal, and Angel began trying to break it. Meanwhile, Gano and the Bilos Family arrived at the devastated arena, where Dreys provoked Gano before Lord Tree ordered them to focus on finding the attackers.

• Kael identified the seal around Paradise as powerful spatial energy shaped by an extraordinary creature, but admitted he had no way to break it.
• Dox warned that forcing the seal open could cause spatial energy to run wild and endanger both Paradise and the surrounding area.
• Angel volunteered to study and try to break the seal, hoping to put his spatial knowledge into practice.
• Wai, Black Earl, and the Bilos Family reached the arena and found its buildings, including most of the Sky Tower branch, reduced to ruins.
• Gano erupted in anger at the destruction, but Shayna calmed him and Dreys mocked his helplessness.
• Lord Tree rebuked both Gano and Dreys, telling them to avoid internal conflict and prioritize finding the attackers.

Elder Tree learned that a Shallow-Sea Strongman had ravaged Bilen Tree Court and that three suspects linked to Starry District might be involved. As he dispatched wizards to investigate and question Lucia, Clan Leader Starleaf and Lucia arrived with Gai Nuo and Shaina.

• Night Tree No. 9 reported the destruction across Bilen Tree Court and identified three suspicious people seen during the attack at Giant Tree Plaza.
• No. 9 said the three suspects had appeared near the Logistics Support Department and likely came from Starry District, while Lucia had disclosed no further information.
• Elder Tree reprimanded Dreys for provoking internal conflict, then sent him with Night Tree No. 10 to search for the Shallow-Sea Strongman and investigate the suspects.
• Elder Tree sent Gai Nuo and Shaina to question Lucia, warning Gai Nuo not to start a fight because Lucia's silence followed Starry District's rules.
• Elder Tree spoke with Black Earl about the attack and a possible information leak while Wai remained silent.
• Gai Nuo and Shaina returned with Clan Leader Starleaf and Lucia, whom they had met on their way to No. 6.

Wai questioned Black Earl about the Bilos Family’s power struggle and learned that Starleaf had pursued the Path of True Knowledge, leaving the patriarch’s succession uncertain. Wai also suspected Elder Moon might have helped the attackers by drawing the family’s forces away, and the chapter left that possibility unresolved.

• Elder Tree left Black Earl with Gai Nuo and Shaina while he went with Starleaf and Lucia to discuss matters.
• Wai asked Black Earl why Gai Nuo and Dreys were enemies, and learned they were competing to become patriarch after Starleaf announced his departure thirty years earlier.
• Black Earl explained that Starleaf sought the Path of True Knowledge and might have traded with the Preacher for a prophecy about his advancement.
• Wai and Black Earl discussed the likely successors, with Black Earl judging Gai Nuo more likely but warning that the choice remained uncertain until Elder Tree and Starleaf decided.
• Wai learned that Night Tree was an intelligence organization overseen by Elder Moon and wondered whether she had deliberately drawn away the Bilos Family’s forces before the attack.

Wai, Black Earl, Gai Nuo, and Shaina considered who had leaked information about the Bilen Tree Court’s defenses and examined three suspects shown in images. Black Earl identified the man in the third image as being nearby, and Wai’s magically enhanced vision met the man’s gaze atop the Sky Tower registration office.

• Wai reasoned that Elder Moon might not be the mole, though information could have leaked through Night Tree or an apprentice; Black Earl agreed those possibilities remained open.
• Shaina suggested a prophecy wizard might have revealed that the Bilen Tree Court was vulnerable, and Gai Nuo favored that explanation because the suspects came from the Starry District.
• Gai Nuo said the woman in the first suspect image seemed familiar, so Shaina proposed asking Black Earl about the three suspects.
• Wai judged the woman’s detached behavior unlikely for an attacker, saw no clear evidence against the female apprentice, and considered the smiling man in the third image the most suspicious.
• Black Earl said he knew the woman in the first image and that the man in the third image was nearby; he guided Wai’s gaze to the Sky Tower registration office.
• Wai saw a refined man in a suit on the building’s roof, and their gazes met.

Gai Nuo, Starleaf, and Elder Tree confronted the suited man they suspected of orchestrating the attack on Bilen Tree Court, but his strange rules prevented them from speaking and reflected attacks back at their source. He summoned Ammit and a Desolate-Island Strongman as opponents, and Gai Nuo chose to fight the Strongman as the game began.

• Wai, Gai Nuo, and Shaina spotted the suited man, and Gai Nuo rushed to capture him while Shaina alerted Elder Tree and Starleaf.
• Gai Nuo attacked the suited man with violet fire, but the man declared the attack invalid and reflected the flames onto Gai Nuo.
• Elder Tree joined Starleaf and Gai Nuo, and the three demanded that the suited man surrender or die, but he announced rules that stopped them from speaking and reflected attacks against him.
• The suited man summoned Ammit and Libya, including a wizard-level Desolate-Island Strongman, and Gai Nuo pointed to the Strongman as his opponent.
• The suited man declared that the game had begun.

Gai Nuo fought the Desolate-Island Strongman and was badly injured before turning his violet flames on the man in the suit, who countered with a reflected Purple Flame Earth Pillar. As the battle continued, Black Earl questioned Lucia about the man’s wizard school.

• Gai Nuo’s violet fire shield blocked the Desolate-Island Strongman’s first blow, but the beast covered its arms in black rock and shattered the shield with a piercing strike.
• Starleaf and Tree Elder intervened to save Gai Nuo, who landed severely wounded and realized the Desolate-Island Strongman could overpower them without special abilities.
• Gai Nuo targeted the man in the suit with a Purple Flame Earth Pillar, but the man reflected the attack and appeared beside Gai Nuo after he dodged the returning pillar.
• Black Earl told Shaina that the fighters had fallen into a trap and asked what kind of wizard the man in the suit was.
• Lucia said he did not know the man’s wizard school, and Shaina pressed him to give Black Earl his guess.

Lucia and Shaina deduced that the suited man had used spirit speech to disguise a verbal contract as rules and trick Geno, Tree Elder, and Clan Chief Starleaf into joining the battle. As the three were overwhelmed by the Desolate-Island Strongman and Ammit, Shaina asked Black Earl for help and agreed to his first proposal for dividing the Garden Maze ruins.

• Lucia guessed that the suited man used spirit speech to strengthen a verbal contract, and Shaina explained how he tricked Geno into accepting it and drew Tree Elder and Clan Chief Starleaf into the fight.
• Black Earl confirmed Lucia’s deduction that joining the battle also counted as agreement to the contract, while Shaina and Wai considered how the suited man had targeted Geno’s impulsive nature.
• Black Earl identified the suited man’s reflection as the rare sound-school art Echo Reflection and explained how a sound-school wizard could create an undetectable Silence domain.
• The suited man’s contract prevented Tree Elder and Clan Chief Starleaf from attacking him or escaping, while the Desolate-Island Strongman and Ammit overwhelmed them.
• Shaina asked Black Earl to help and agreed to his first proposal concerning the distribution of the Garden Maze ruins.

Shaina offered Black Earl the Bilos Family’s concessions in exchange for help against the man in the suit, but Black Earl explained that his avatar could not intervene without entering the man’s contract. He revealed that Wai could enter the contract by accepting the game invitation, leaving Black Earl to weigh the danger to Wai against the chance to save Tree Elder’s group.

• Shaina offered Black Earl the Bilos Family’s first proposal and promised to try to persuade Tree Elder to accept the second.
• Patriarch Starleaf was gravely injured after the man in the suit destroyed the mental power he had sent into the Desolate-Island Strongman.
• Black Earl explained Starleaf’s mistake, and Shaina offered to press Tree Elder to accept the Noah Family’s reserve in the Garden Maze.
• Black Earl told Shaina that his avatar could not save Tree Elder’s group unless he entered the man in the suit’s word-of-power contract.
• Black Earl revealed that Wai could enter the contract by accepting the game invitation the man in the suit had made, allowing Black Earl to join through Wai.
• Black Earl hesitated because Wai would become a vulnerable participant, and an unappeared Shallow-Sea Strongman could make the battle even more dangerous.