Chapter Summaries

Angel saw Flora’s hidden Red Death God, a soul-gathering skeleton, and accepted a rose from it. The rose appeared in the real world in Angel’s hand, leaving Flora convinced that Sanders had arranged the gift for him.

• Flora arrived asking Gloria for fragment mayflies, and Angel recognized her and spotted the skeleton clinging to her back.
• Sanders confirmed that Angel could see the Red Death God, while the other wizards failed to perceive it.
• Flora prompted the Red Death God to offer Angel a blood-red rose, and Sanders stopped Heloline from intervening.
• Angel touched the Red Death God and took the rose, causing it to appear in the real world and astonish everyone.
• Flora accused Sanders of having arranged the rose for Angel.

Sanders offered to take Angel as his student, and promised to help him gain enough time to save Jon. Angel weighed the offer against his promise to attend White Coral Floating Island Academy, while Moro decided to act after realizing Heloline blamed him for overlooking Angel’s talent.

• Sanders praised Angel’s ability to see through illusion and offered to make him his student, astonishing the gathered Wizards and apprentices.
• Angel recalled the strange turns that had brought him there and wondered whether fate had guided him into the situation.
• Angel told Sanders that he had promised Moro he would go to White Coral Floating Island Academy to find a way to save Jon.
• Sanders offered to teach Angel personally and promised a scroll that could preserve Jon for another five years if Angel could not save him within five.
• Angel considered Sanders’s offer as the extra time eased his worries, then glanced toward Moro.
• Moro noticed Heloline’s anger and decided to take action after realizing she blamed him for failing to recognize Angel’s talent.

Angel chose to follow Sanders rather than remain with White Coral Floating Island Academy, despite worrying about what Sanders wanted from him and whether he could save his mentor within five years. His choice left Moro ashamed and the other wizards treating Angel with new respect.

• Moro tried to claim Angel for White Coral Floating Island Academy, but Flora pointed out that the academy had never taught him its Guidance Method.
• Flora argued that Angel was free to choose because he had not been trained or formally bound to the academy, and Moro fell silent in shame.
• Flora invited Angel to become her junior, but he remained focused on deciding between Sanders and the academy.
• Angel chose Sanders, who smiled and accepted his answer.
• The gathered wizards regarded Angel more seriously because of the status he would gain from becoming Sanders's student.

Angel joined Sanders as his disciple after choosing Savage Cave, then selected Fragment Mayflies from Gloria’s living food. Sanders and Flora left the restaurant with him, and Angel learned that maintaining a good relationship with Jeral could benefit his future studies in alchemy.

• Angel chose Sanders over White Coral Floating Island Academy, and Heloline’s crushing pressure vanished once his choice was settled.
• Gloria asked Sanders about Angel’s talent, but Sanders left with Flora and Angel without answering.
• Angel chose Fragment Mayflies and asked Gloria to provide servings for Sanders and Flora as well, earning Flora’s approval.
• Sanders explained Jeral’s importance as the Mithril Revolutionary and advised Angel to maintain a good relationship with him.
• Flora told Angel about Barbie Restaurant and compared its oddities with those in Fairy Tale Town.

Flora explained Fairy Tale Town and Gloria’s standing as a powerful Gourmet Wizard, while Sanders described what made a wizard true and judged Angel suited to academic research. Gloria then delivered a Fragment Mayfly for Angel and tried to probe his talent through Sanders’s meal order, but Sanders concealed what he knew.

• Flora explained that Candy House in the Forest was known for its Gourmet Wizards and that Gloria was among the Southern Region’s most formidable practitioners.
• Sanders told Angel to follow his own path tirelessly, saying that a wizard who did so was a true wizard.
• Sanders called Angel suited to becoming an academic wizard, and Flora reassured him that wizard factions did not determine a person’s character.
• Gloria brought Angel a Fragment Mayfly in a crystal bottle, and Sanders advised him to keep it for future use rather than sell it.
• Gloria asked whether Sanders still wanted Twisted Baworm to gauge Angel’s talent, and Sanders answered that he did.

Gloria prepared a Twisted Baworm for Sanders while Angel met Toby, her seabird pet, and learned about her Genesis spell. The chapter ended with Sanders explaining that Gloria’s Genesis reshaped existing materials to produce life rather than creating it from nothing.

• Gloria wondered whether Angel’s talent was connected to the Nightmare Realm, then set aside her doubts and prepared the Twisted Baworm Sanders requested.
• Toby flew in and landed on Angel’s head, and Gloria enthusiastically embraced both him and Angel.
• Sanders revealed that Toby was likely a Magic Beast produced by Gloria’s Genesis, surprising Flora with evidence of Gloria’s growing power.
• Gloria used Genesis to transform strange materials into a dark, multi-segmented worm.
• Angel asked whether Genesis created life, and Sanders explained that Gloria’s spell relied on complex principles rather than creation from nothing.

Angel prepared to leave the Bauhinia and begin a new journey after Sanders told him Flora would collect him in the morning. As he packed and went to visit the Alan siblings, he reflected on the helplessness of the weak in the wizarding world and found Moro already with them.

• Sanders told Angel to pack his luggage and said Flora would pick him up the next morning.
• Angel returned to the Bauhinia, ignored the Gifted's questions, and spent the night reflecting on his departure and the wizarding world.
• Angel decided to leave his two chests of books with the Alan siblings because he could not carry them.
• Angel heard Irene sobbing as Alan comforted her, then knocked and entered their room, where he found Moro as well.

Angel said goodbye to Moro after explaining his choice to become Sanders's apprentice and promised to honor his earlier commitment once he became a Level 2 wizard apprentice. Later, Gloria visited the Bauhinia to trade for Angel's Morning Dew After Rain and revealed that she had another request for him.

• Angel comforted Irene after she injured her feet, while Alan learned Angel would soon leave and agreed to take the books Angel offered.
• Angel apologized to Moro for choosing Sanders, and Moro accepted his decision; Angel promised to visit White Coral Floating Island Academy after advancing to a Level 2 wizard apprentice.
• Gloria arrived aboard the Bauhinia with Toby and asked Angel to trade her some Morning Dew After Rain.
• Angel directed Gloria to Moro, who gave her all the tea he had and received a pouch of magic crystals in exchange.
• Gloria told Angel she had one more thing to ask of him.

Gloria entrusted Toby to Angel while she left the Southern Region to seek what she needed to advance as a Gourmet Wizard. Before departing, she recognized Alan's potential and offered Moro a path to send him to the Candy House, leaving Moro to weigh his grandson's future.

• Gloria explained that Toby was a unique, intelligent Magic Beast and asked Angel to care for him while she traveled beyond the Southern Region.
• Angel agreed to look after Toby, who flew to his usual place atop Angel's head, and Gloria gave Angel a spatial soft pouch containing Toby's necessities and his reward.
• Alan entered the room, and Gloria questioned Moro about the change seen during Alan's talent test.
• Gloria suggested that Alan had talent as a Gourmet Wizard and offered Moro her Candy House badge so he could send Alan there.
• After Gloria left, Moro worried that the gourmet path might leave Alan weak or make him another wizard's cook.

Angel arrived on the Cloud Whale, where Flora explained alchemical familiars and offered to help him make Toby into one. Angel refused to consider it, determined to keep his promise to Gloria and protect Toby.

• Angel left Alan and his sister and landed on the Cloud Whale's grassy back.
• Flora greeted Angel and said she would take him to see Mentor that night, since his experiment involved dangerous light radiation.
• Flora grabbed Toby and threatened to dissect it, but Angel rescued the frightened bird and tucked it into his shirt pocket.
• Flora introduced her alchemical familiar, Aisha, and explained how familiars served as a wizard's eyes and ears.
• Flora offered to refine Toby into an alchemical familiar, but Angel decided he would never do so because he had promised Gloria to care for Toby.

Angel grew wary of the sinister atmosphere on the Cloud Whale and guarded himself against becoming dependent on Gloria and Sanders. Gloria led him to his tent, where Angel settled in and waited to learn why Sanders had accepted him.

• Angel sensed blood and decay and felt watched as Gloria led him through the pasture, making him question the safety of the Savage Cave.
• Angel reflected on the danger of letting anxiety and kindness distort his judgment, then became more formal and reserved toward Gloria.
• Gloria showed Angel his ordinary tent, and he noticed it stood close to Sanders's luxurious tent despite the long detour she had taken to reach it.
• Angel asked Gloria why Sanders had accepted him, and she said she wanted to know too and suggested he ask Sanders that night.
• Angel unpacked, decided not to use the Holographic Tablet while on the Cloud Whale, and sat with nothing to do.

Angel met Nausicaa, who explained the Nine-Cabin Blood Fight and warned him that its victors resented his exemption from the trial. That night, Flora came to take him to see Sanders after he finished an experiment.

• Angel woke from a nap when Nausicaa tossed pebbles through his window and started a conversation with her.
• Nausicaa explained that Savage Cave selected gifted individuals through the deadly Nine-Cabin Blood Fight and revealed that she had won her cabin by fighting.
• Nausicaa warned Angel that the other cabin victors might resent him for avoiding the trial, though he could leave his tent because it lacked a forbidden array.
• After dinner, Flora appeared and told Angel that Sanders had finished his experiment and was ready to see him.

Angel studied books about the Eternal Night Kingdom and wizard meditation, then Flora warned him that Sanders might expect something in return for sharing his knowledge. Angel panicked over what Sanders wanted from him, while Flora privately admitted she had exaggerated the books’ value to tease him.

• Angel read about the Eternal Night Kingdom, its wizard organizations, and the meditation methods described in Sanders’s books.
• Flora questioned Angel about his talent and learned how Sanders had welcomed him and opened the library to him.
• Flora warned Angel that Sanders’s generosity might require an equivalent exchange, leaving Angel to wonder what Sanders wanted from him.
• Angel’s worries spiraled until he collapsed, while Flora secretly watched and enjoyed her prank.
• Flora reflected that she had exaggerated the books’ worth out of resentment before leaving, and Sanders appeared where she had been and sighed.

Angel woke from a frightening dream and opened the spatial pouch Gloria had left for Toby, discovering a huge wardrobe and a payment of magic crystals. Toby chose a new outfit and hat, while Angel kept the crystals and was left suspecting the bird was teasing him.

• Angel awoke in a cold sweat after dreaming that a shadow attacked and killed him.
• Toby urged Angel to open the single-use spatial pouch Gloria had left behind, wanting new clothes.
• Angel crushed the pouch and found a large pile of Toby's outfits and belongings, including a little wooden bed.
• Angel opened a pouch marked "For Angel" and found over thirty magic crystals, which he tucked into his clothes.
• Toby dressed in a black suit and top hat, and Angel suspected he had chosen the hat to mock him.

Angel continued reading foundational books and developing his own understanding of what a wizard was, while Sanders tested his thoughts. As the Cloud Whale traveled toward the Prosperous Continent, Sanders praised Angel’s choice of reading and questioned him about becoming a wizard apprentice.

• Angel read foundational books and formed his own vague image of a wizard, deciding that each person had to build their understanding for themselves.
• Angel told Sanders that becoming a wizard was difficult and admitted he still did not know what a wizard was; Sanders told him to keep searching.
• The Cloud Whale continued its weeks-long journey over the vast ocean toward the Prosperous Continent.
• Sanders told Angel that not knowing was the best answer and praised him for studying the fundamentals.
• Angel explained that a wizard apprentice used a mental power model to stabilize magic power, and that a Guidance Method could construct such a model.

Sanders explained to Angel how mental models, magic power reflux, and magic sources formed the foundation of wizardry. He warned Angel that he would soon choose a Guidance Method, leaving the decision for their next discussion.

• Sanders told Angel they would reach the Guman Kingdom in about ten days and asked him to meet the following night to discuss a Guidance Method.
• Sanders showed Angel the Triangle Guidance Method, dismissed it as crude, and destroyed the booklet.
• Sanders explained that mental power built a Guidance Method's mental model, which stabilized magic power reflux and established a magic source.
• Angel asked whether a mental power value of at least 10 determined wizarding talent, and Sanders agreed.
• Sanders explained that a wizard's magic source grew in capacity through advancement and needed to sustain a first-level spell for its user to qualify as a formal wizard.

Sanders guided Angel to understand why so few wizard apprentices became official wizards: their mental models often failed to suit them, slowing magic power circulation and growth of the magic source. Angel learned that finding a compatible Guidance Method was essential, though why people differed in compatibility remained unknown.

• Sanders asked Angel why most gifted individuals remained apprentices, and Angel first blamed flaws in the Guidance Methods.
• Sanders explained that common Guidance Methods were stable and had produced many official wizards, prompting Angel to reconsider.
• After watching Sanders write runes with a quill beside a fountain pen, Angel realized that some models fit certain people while others could only make do.
• Sanders confirmed Angel's reasoning and explained that a compatible mental model increased magic power reflux and was key to advancing.
• Sanders said compatibility might relate to each person's source code, and that poor model choices explained why so few apprentices became official wizards.

Sanders explained compatibility and offered Angel three paths to obtain a Guidance Method: Savage Cave's core method in exchange for a hundred-year contract, creating a model himself, or seeking a mysterious method in the Nightmare Realm. Angel returned to his tent troubled, with ten days to decide and Sanders's warning about the Nightmare Realm's dangers weighing on him.

• Sanders explained that special Guidance Methods guaranteed minimum compatibility and that a score above 95 was needed to guarantee becoming a wizard.
• Sanders offered Angel Savage Cave's Montos Octafaceted Guidance Method in exchange for a hundred-year contract, the option of creating a model himself, or a method found in the Nightmare Realm.
• Angel considered the choices and rejected the contract as well as creating a model, which Sanders had described as extraordinarily difficult.
• Angel recalled that Sanders repeatedly remembered the mysterious method in the Nightmare Realm but forgot it whenever he returned to the wizarding world.
• Angel lay in his tent, thinking over his decision and Sanders's warning that even formal wizards faced grave danger in the Nightmare Realm.

Angel recognized that Sanders wanted him to choose the Nightmare Realm path, though he remained unsure what his talent was or what the choice would mean. He researched the elusive plane in Sanders's library and ended with more questions about its dangers and appeal.

• Angel concluded that choosing anything other than Sanders's third option might risk disappointing or angering his mentor.
• Angel decided to sleep and research the Nightmare Realm in Sanders's library the next day.
• Angel read books about other planes and learned about the many strange worlds recorded by Basil and Feiwenda.
• Angel found that the Frost Moon Alliance's records first mentioned the Nightmare Realm two hundred years earlier and described it as dangerous, elusive, and accessible only through random spatial holes.
• Angel learned that fewer than ten wizards had returned from the Nightmare Realm intact, and those who had returned were both wary of it and eager to enter again.
• Angel finished Feiwenda's books and found his sole description of the Nightmare Realm: “Project reality, shine into illusion, and give rise to truth.”

Angel searched Sanders’s library for “Initial Glory” as a possible guide to creating his own mental model, but a violent thunderstorm struck the Cloud Whale. He awoke hours later to find the storm still raging and the pasture devastated.

• Angel reflected on his obligation to enter the Nightmare Realm and decided he might still try Sanders’s option of creating his own mental model.
• Angel searched the ancient scrolls on bookshelf 3 and found “Initial Glory,” then began reading it.
• A sudden thunderstorm engulfed the Cloud Whale, battering Angel with deafening thunder and violent lightning.
• Lightning struck animals and trees in the pasture, starting fires, while the tents remained untouched.
• Angel fell asleep while waiting for the storm to pass and awoke at eight at night to find it still raging.