Chapter Summaries

Angel and Benbo discussed whether Angel’s shaping of the crystal pen had awakened a new Orichalcum trait called Heartbreak Ink, possibly by responding to an obsession in Flamenco’s emotional memory. Benbo secured Algalong’s support for testing the theory and promised Angel greater access to Orichalcum, leaving them ready to begin searching for suitable materials.

• Angel explained that Heartbreak Ink might have emerged because he shaped the pen to match the crystal pen in Flamenco’s emotional memory.
• Benbo argued that Angel’s subjective inspiration had influenced the forging, noting that the pen had taken Flamenco’s form when it was created.
• Benbo proposed testing the theory by forging Orichalcum with materials carrying emotional memories, and Angel agreed to help in the short term.
• Benbo contacted Algalong, who approved a broad search for materials and supported the research despite the possible Orichalcum cost.
• Benbo told Angel that Algalong would prioritize his future Orichalcum requests and no longer require him to share research results.

Benbo persuaded Angel to help test whether relics carrying intense emotional memories could give Orichalcum a new trait, and they began forging a Login Device from a chaotic assortment of relics. After the first relic was incorporated, Angel and Benbo went to inspect the result, while Sorrowful Love’s apparent connection to Flamenco remained unexplained.

• Benbo convinced Angel to test whether emotional relics could awaken a new Orichalcum trait, and Napoli brought them a mountain of relics.
• Benbo planned to forge relics into Orichalcum one by one, using Netherflame to make a Login Device and having Angel check each result for emotional feedback.
• Angel recalled that the previous Orichalcum Login Device had been enhanced to 2999 logins, far beyond his estimate.
• Angel and Benbo speculated that Flamenco’s emotional memories had influenced Sorrowful Love, and considered testing its reaction to Lunbota.
• Netherflame finished incorporating the first relic, and Benbo took Angel to inspect the result.

Angel and Benbo tested Orichalcum for emotional memories, but repeated reforging yielded no suitable relics. Angel named two newly discovered traits Emotional Extraction and Love’s Return, which Benbo said would be added to Orichalcum’s Trait Ranking.

• Benbo used spatial and temporal methods to isolate the experimental bench while Angel enchanted Orichalcum’s chip slot.
• Angel and Benbo repeatedly tested relics for emotional memories, but found none, while Orichalcum endured many reforgings without reaching its limit.
• Benbo asked Napoli to investigate the former owners of the relics and locate relics belonging to people with intense emotions.
• Angel named the traits Emotional Extraction and Love’s Return.
• Benbo explained how Eya created the Trait Ranking to motivate Academy City scholars, and said Angel’s two traits would rank near the top.

Angel examined Orichalcum’s traits ranking with Benbo and learned that its entries revealed little about the traits themselves, while reflecting the rivalries and researchers behind them. He had not yet viewed the top three, but Benbo revealed that Algalong had placed one of its own discoveries there and had left other powerful contributors off the list.

• Angel agreed to view the traits ranking, and Benbo borrowed his illusion nodes to display it while making plans to use them for other rankings.
• Angel read entries with bizarre trait and society names, including a feud between the Anti-Ancient Elephant Society and the Ancient Elephant Society.
• Angel skimmed the ranking and saw discoveries by Academy City societies, solo researchers, and scholars from other worlds, but did not find Weird Witch listed.
• Benbo explained that Algalong had excluded Weird Witch out of dislike, while admitting that the ranking was biased and did not include every researcher’s discoveries.
• Benbo said Algalong had researched more traits than anyone and had listed one of its own discoveries among the top three, while avoiding naming certain powerful Mirror Dragons without their consent.

Angel learned that Orichalcum’s top-ranked traits included creating spiritual life, adapting to almost anything, and serving as the primary material for a Secret Treasure. He discovered that the Secret Treasure had been forged by the Mohelun Choir, whose suspicious arrival and connection to the Weird Witch left their true motives unclear.

• Benbo explained that the Mystic Dragon’s Birth-Spirit Pool trait came from Orichalcum’s ability to give bookshelves and other creations spiritual life.
• Benbo described Algalong’s Omnipotent trait, including how Orichalcum could imitate materials from extinct Abyssal Ancient Dragons.
• Benbo revealed that the Mohelun Choir had used Orichalcum as the primary material to forge a Secret Treasure.
• Benbo told Angel that the Choir was led by the human alchemist Rui Jin and included powerful members from various races.
• Benbo explained that the Choir arrived in the Day Mirror Domain a year after the Weird Witch, went directly to Academy City, and sought out Algalong to research Orichalcum.
• Angel and Benbo suspected the Choir was connected to the Weird Witch, though the Choir’s genuine alchemical skill had produced the Secret Treasure.

Angel learned that the Mohelun Choir had once visited Algalong, refined a secret treasure using Orichalcum, and left after Algalong failed to persuade its four near-Legendary lead singers to stay. Napoli returned to the Bubble Workshop with relics and fake-looking injuries, then eagerly accepted Benbo’s offer to renew Little One’s authorization.

• Benbo told Angel that the Mohelun Choir had refined a secret treasure for Algalong, then departed when its four powerful principal vocalists insisted on leaving.
• Benbo showed Angel the choir’s performance list, which named Rui Jin as its lead singer and listed the other members by their stage names.
• Benbo explained that Rui Jin had refined the secret treasure by swallowing materials and spitting them out, but Algalong could not understand or reproduce his method.
• Napoli returned with relics and claimed he had been injured while retrieving them, then quickly recovered after Benbo promised to ask Algalong to renew Little One’s authorization.
• Napoli identified a berry hairclip as belonging to a child of the Yingji Race whose story inspired the bestseller “Fledgling Flying Toward the Sun.”

Angel received Level Three authority to smelt Orichalcum after Benbo placed an authority mark on his hand. Learning that the mark projected a wisp of Algalong’s companion flame, Angel wondered whether he could simulate its aura himself.

• Napoli brought Benbo relics with powerful stories, but smelting the berry hairpin produced no emotional memories.
• Benbo explained that Napoli had tried to renew Little One’s authority early so Angel could use it to smelt Orichalcum.
• Benbo told Angel that Algalong had granted him Level Three smelting authority as a reward for discovering a new characteristic.
• Benbo placed an authority mark on Angel’s left hand, allowing flames channeled through it to smelt Orichalcum for one year.
• Benbo revealed that the mark projected a wisp of Algalong’s companion flame, and Angel privately considered simulating its aura.

Angel chose Hunquan’s face veil as the final auxiliary material for smelting the Orichalcum, and the resulting dark patterns triggered an emotional extraction. In Hunquan’s fading memory, Angel learned that Hunquan was condemned after agreeing to deliver a dying Glorystone Clansman’s gemstone to his brother.

• Angel selected Hunquan’s face veil for the final smelting attempt, and Netherflame quickly wove its threads into a chip slot on the Orichalcum.
• Angel enchanted the chip slot and later discovered dark patterns beside the Nightmare Illusion enchantment, which he suspected signaled emotional extraction.
• Angel touched the dark patterns with his mental power and entered Hunquan’s hazy, heavily worn memory space.
• Angel watched Hunquan and a Glorystone Clansman he called Purple repeatedly fight, gradually developing mutual respect despite remaining enemies.
• Purple died in an internal Glorystone Clan struggle and entrusted Hunquan with a gemstone to deliver to his elder brother.
• Hunquan agreed to deliver the gemstone, and the resulting accusation of colluding with an enemy led to his being made a scapegoat and sentenced to the ultimate punishment.

Angel and Benbo examined Hunquan’s memories to decide what to shape for Algalong’s Love’s Requital trait, then investigated the truth behind Hunquan’s execution. They learned Hunquan had died protecting a purple gemstone entrusted to him by Amethyst, though Hunquan never knew what it contained or why he was condemned.

• Angel recreated Hunquan’s blurred memories for Benbo, but neither could learn why Hunquan had been executed.
• Angel and Benbo considered shaping one of four objects from the memories, and Algalong advised investigating Hunquan’s death to identify the most important item.
• Benbo contacted Pufan, who used Mystic Dragon’s help to question the Earsi Race and Glorystone Clan through the Dream Crystal Plain.
• Pufan learned that Amethyst had entrusted Hunquan with a purple gemstone containing evidence of nobles sacrificing slaves to create gemstones.
• The Glorystone Clan nobles framed Hunquan and demanded the gemstone, but Hunquan refused to surrender it and was executed; the nobles recovered it after his death.

Angel and Benbo discussed shaping Hunquan’s purple crystal to test the Love's Return trait while Pufan searched for a way to restore it. Angel also explored the Authority Tree, where he found hints that the Dark Corner might not be the only real-world Instance, and managed the Dream Crystal Plain’s surging population before Benbo reopened its eye with apparent good news.

• Angel argued that intense emotions could attach to objects even when their owners were alive, and Benbo agreed to include non-relics in future experiments.
• Angel and Benbo settled on shaping Hunquan’s purple crystal, but its unclear appearance made them wait while Pufan sought someone who could restore it.
• Angel searched the Sea of Authority for information about the Dark Corner and received a warning that the relevant information required higher permissions, leading him to suspect other real-world Instances might exist.
• Angel saw that the Celestial Change authority had grown stronger and learned that Dream Crystal Plain logins had exceeded one hundred million, with Tooth Fairies and the God-Eyed Race overtaking the Crystal-Eyed Race.
• Angel coordinated with Rabbit Girl and race representatives to expand and redistribute login locations, then saw Benbo open its eye with a delighted expression.

Angel and Benbo completed a purple gemstone using Orichalcum and awakened its newborn spirit, which repeatedly fell into blankness because Hunquan’s memories were fragmented. They suspected the spirit’s condition came from those incomplete memories and began trying to learn its abilities, but their first attempt failed.

• Benbo explained that Hunquan had secretly made a replica of Amethyst’s purple gemstone and given it to Duanque, and Napoli brought the replica to the workshop.
• Angel used the replica to shape the gemstone, and its final setting produced an Alchemical Omen that Algalong passed through in the Valley of Division.
• Benbo awakened the gemstone’s spirit, which repeatedly fell into blankness whenever it tried to think.
• Angel and Benbo suspected that Hunquan’s fragmented memories had caused the spirit’s condition, and Angel suggested asking about its abilities in stages.
• When Benbo asked about the spirit’s abilities, it began wondering why it had gone blank and immediately fell into blankness again, so Angel advised Benbo to use pressure and stop it from thinking.

Benbo and Angel discovered that the spirit-born entity’s disguise ability confirmed Love’s Return as a new, anchored trait, and Benbo named the entity Zero Thought. As Angel prepared to leave for the Modern City instance, Algalong offered him a reward, and Angel requested an alchemical exchange with Lord De.

• Benbo questioned the spirit-born entity and learned that its abilities were logging into the inner world, transformation, and disguise.
• The entity demonstrated that disguise could perfectly copy observed objects, though it needed time to study them; Benbo and Angel connected the ability to Hunquan’s memories and confirmed Love’s Return as an anchored new trait.
• Benbo named the spirit-born entity Zero Thought and decided to give it to Pufan.
• Algalong told Benbo to treat Angel with greater respect after recognizing his discovery, but Angel focused on leaving to handle matters in the Modern City instance.
• Algalong offered Angel a reward for discovering the new trait, and Angel asked for an alchemical exchange with Lord De.

Angel agreed to an alchemy exchange with Algalong, then logged into the Dream Crystal Plain to meet Laplace at Text Manor. Laplace led him to meet a formidable-looking man standing by a stream.

• Algalong eagerly accepted Angel’s offer of an alchemy exchange and asked him to wait in Anjing Town.
• Angel agreed to hold the exchange that day, then logged into the Dream Crystal Plain to handle matters related to an instance.
• Algalong asked its Time Doppelgängers to inspect the Fairyland Instances before deciding whether to visit them itself.
• Angel arrived at Text Manor, where Turing clung to him after spending the night helping Yifuda catalogue residents of the Sacred Corpse Crystal.
• Laplace told Angel she had heard about his two newly researched traits and led him to meet a burly man waiting beside a stream.

Angel and Laplace introduced Sigmund, a battle-hungry swordsman chosen to explore Dark Corner, and prepared a reflective Wonderland item to let them observe his journey. The item turned out to be a durable fake divine halo whose Halo Follows skill could keep its reflection trained on Sigmund as he entered the instance.

• Laplace introduced Sigmund and explained that he constantly rehearsed battles, while Sigmund clarified that he feared being trapped in Angel's illusion and asked to challenge him after returning from Dark Corner.
• Angel agreed to let Sigmund enter Dark Corner, and Sigmund declared that he would complete its main quest and use the experience to prepare for fighting Angel.
• Laplace explained that Turing had found a suitable reflective item among a new resident's possessions and that they had traded for it.
• Angel examined the Pseudo Fire God Halo and discovered that it was a durable fake halo with a passive skill that made it follow its bearer.
• Laplace explained that Halo Follows would keep the item's reflection positioned to show Sigmund's actions in Dark Corner without requiring him to adjust it while fighting.

Angel modified the Light Wheel with external attachments to create a stable livestream camera for Sigmund, then led Sigmund and Laplace into the Modern City Instance. The chapter ended with Angel guiding them through the rain-soaked North District toward a ring train, hoping to reach Hidden Waters before the connection weakened.

• Angel tested the Light Wheel and used illusion to add attachments that kept Sigmund framed in a balanced livestream image.
• After seeing the camera work, Sigmund asked Angel how to handle scenes that did not suit the framing, and Angel told him they would discuss it in Hidden Waters.
• Angel explained that Laplace could leave the Modern City Instance from Hidden Waters, so Laplace agreed to go with him.
• Angel brought Turing along, and he, Laplace, and Sigmund entered the Modern City Instance together.
• Angel shielded the group from the acid rain and pointed out the nearby ring-train station as their route toward Hidden Waters.

Angel revised Laplace and Sigmund's route after learning they were still on the first main quest, then led them to Prada Media Company by shortcut. They completed the quest and discovered that the next stage had changed to joining the company.

• Angel explained that clues to a Fashion Demonic Beast near their starting point could be an opening trap because their first main quest had a two-hour deadline.
• Laplace and Sigmund revealed that they were still on Main Quest 1, which required them to reach Prada Media Company within two hours.
• Angel chose a shortcut to secure their quest completion before taking Sigmund to Hidden Waters, and Sigmund agreed.
• Angel led Laplace and Sigmund along the loop train's roof, then they jumped down and used Celestial Change to land safely near Prada Media Company.
• Laplace and Sigmund completed Main Quest 1 and received a rumor about a hunched old-man silhouette at Nietuosi Landfill.
• Angel saw that Main Quest 2 had changed to the objective, “Join Prada Media Company.”

Laplace and Sigmund completed the task of joining Prada Media Company through Gleipnir’s connections, while Gleipnir gave Angel Hua Yuan’s candy token and explained that the quasi-Dark King wanted to enter Dark Corner to treat her Fashion Demonic Beast, Cherry. Angel sent the token with Sigmund and continued toward Companion Star Lake, as Hua Yuan left her workshop with Cherry and headed toward an unknown destination.

• Gleipnir added Laplace and Sigmund to Prada Media Company’s employee roster, completing their second main quest and advancing them to the task of restoring the company.
• Gleipnir gave Angel an ordinary candy as Hua Yuan’s token and explained that Hua Yuan was a powerful magician seeking a way into Dark Corner to heal Cherry.
• Angel agreed to bring Hua Yuan to Dark Corner if she was willing, then gave the candy to Sigmund so Hua Yuan could locate him.
• Angel, Laplace, and Sigmund left the train near East Sixth District and headed toward East Nineteenth District.
• Hua Yuan escaped her underground dye workshop with Cherry’s help and set off toward a destination she had chosen.

Angel guided Laplace and Sigmund to the hidden passage beneath Companion Star Lake, then waited for Hua Yuan to arrive. After revealing her extraordinary potential, he told her Dark Corner’s entrance was closing and led her underwater toward it.

• Angel showed Laplace and Sigmund the artificial starry sky above Companion Star Lake and sent them into the hidden passage with a guiding light orb.
• Hua Yuan arrived with Cherry, tracked the candy’s scent to the lake, and found Angel waiting nearby.
• Angel used Potential Eye and discovered Hua Yuan had an eight-star rating for fragrance and five-star potential in dyes and idol work.
• Hua Yuan teased Angel and asked whether he had seen someone jump into the lake, but Angel said he had been waiting for her and warned that Dark Corner’s entrance was about to close.
• Angel dived into the lake, and Hua Yuan followed with Cherry after realizing his light barrier kept the water out.

Hua Yuan followed Angel through the Hidden Waters and reached the Underwater Church after inhaling a hallucination-inducing supply. After reading about the Hidden Waters and choosing to enter the Dark Corner to seek a cure for Cherry, she learned she would travel with Sigmund when the gate opened.

• Angel guided Hua Yuan through the underwater tunnels with glowing arrows and a countdown, and she sensed the token's user somewhere ahead.
• Hua Yuan overturned a glass bottle, inhaled its Oxygen Breath Factor, and collapsed into a hallucination before waking in the Underwater Church.
• Angel explained the situation and offered Hua Yuan a booklet about the Hidden Waters, the Underwater Church, and the Dark Corner; Hua Yuan chose to read it and continue onward.
• Hua Yuan learned that the Hidden Waters refreshed supplies and could serve as a route to the Dark Corner, then told Angel she needed a cure for Cherry's congenital illness.
• Angel said Hua Yuan and Sigmund would enter the Dark Corner in an hour, while he and Laplace would activate the entrance and see them off.

Angel delayed opening the Dark Corner gate after team chat activated and learned that Gonzales had come seeking him about Zuniga. Using an illusory body to meet Gonzales, Angel asked him for information about Dark Corner, the Dreamscape Layer, and the Lord of Layers.

• Laplace and Sigmund joined Prada Media Company, which activated team chat and updated Gleipnir and Star Worm's Text Panels.
• Gleipnir told Angel that Gonzales had arrived looking for him because Zuniga had suddenly fainted, and Angel inferred that Zuniga had entered a Fashion Demonic Beast challenge.
• Angel found that Pattern Lady could not contact him through Zuniga's card because Modern City and the Hidden Waters had been severed from each other.
• Angel created an illusory body at Prada Media and explained to Gonzales that his true body was outside Modern City, then offered Gleipnir's help with Zuniga.
• Angel asked Gonzales what happened after the Mountain Kingdom entered Dark Corner and whether he knew of the Dreamscape Layer or the Lord of Layers.