Chapter Summaries

Angel practiced the Thermal Fusion Method, overcoming its precise magic-power control requirements by using the Myriad Phenomena Axis to regulate his output. He successfully formed the spell and began melting Earth-Demon Blood Copper, leaving the result of the process unknown.

• A winged mass of ice carrying white-robed figures with crescent moons embroidered on their robes crossed the Pamiji Plateau.
• After recovering from spell backlash, Angel began learning the Thermal Fusion Method as his first step toward alchemy.
• Angel struggled to maintain a steady measure of magic power, then used the Myriad Phenomena Axis to create a passage that regulated his output.
• Angel refined his control until he could sustain preheating for two minutes, though he burned his finger by placing it outside the spell model.
• Angel moved a stove into the basement, formed the Thermal Fusion Method, and placed Earth-Demon Blood Copper inside it to melt.

Angel struggled to shape molten Earth-Demon Blood Copper after using the Heat Fusion Method, so he went to Promi Alchemy Shop to ask David for help. David explained that shaping required the level-zero cantrip Magic Hand, leaving Angel with the missing technique and David hopeful that Angel might help him in the future.

• Angel melted Earth-Demon Blood Copper but failed to shape it with ordinary magic power, and the cantrip model collapsed before he could set the metal.
• Angel searched his books for shaping instructions, found none, and decided to ask David at Promi Alchemy Shop.
• Angel found David sitting outside the shop while apprentices crowded the underground market for the Frost Moon Chronicle's release.
• David told Angel that his assigned mentor had died during planar exploration, though Master Promi now gave him guidance.
• David was astonished that Angel had learned the Heat Fusion Method in less than half a month, then explained that shaping required the level-zero cantrip Magic Hand.
• Angel thanked David and agreed to help him in the future if he advanced along the path of alchemy.

Angel learned Magic Hand and used it to shape Earth-Demon Blood Copper into a flawed crescent component. He decided to build an alchemy laboratory and selected tools from Promi Alchemy Shop, but their discounted price exceeded his remaining contribution points.

• Angel studied Magic Hand, learned to cast it, and tested its flexibility and tactile sensation.
• Angel used Magic Hand to shape molten Earth-Demon Blood Copper into a crescent component, but it cracked because its density was uneven.
• Angel realized he needed specialized alchemical tools and went to the underground market to see David.
• David showed Angel the dusty tools in Promi Alchemy Shop’s warehouse and offered them at half the market price.
• Angel selected more than a dozen tools, but David quoted 9,850 contribution points, more than Angel had left on his card.

Angel established a basement laboratory and practiced alchemy by crafting several weapons, then began studying enchantment as a shortcut to creating extraordinary tools before the tower climb. He learned that runic inscription was difficult but suited his approach of copying complete patterns.

• Angel bought alchemy tools and hired workers to turn his basement into a laboratory.
• Angel crafted a folding fruit knife, then spent five days forging a one-piece Chinese cleaver.
• Angel made a sword, a Tang saber, and a pair of Emei spikes as further practice.
• Angel reviewed the ways to create alchemical tools with extraordinary effects and chose enchantment for the upcoming tower climb.
• Angel studied runic inscription and learned that enchantment required carefully copying complex rune patterns with stable magic power.

Angel used the Holographic Tablet to master rune inscription and crafted a supernatural sickle, making him a beginner alchemy apprentice in less than a month. After testing the sickle’s power, he decided to craft another weapon for Nausicaa before making one for his own Sky Tower climb.

• Angel projected the Sharpness Rune with the Holographic Tablet and successfully traced it, then inscribed it on parchment; the scroll briefly worked before exploding.
• Angel learned that passive-effect runes required suitable alchemical materials and an energy source, and spent the following week practicing runes until he could draw some freehand.
• Angel used thermal fusion to make a crescent blade, inscribed it with the Sharpness Rune, and assembled it into a sickle.
• Angel tested the sickle in the forest and found that it could cut through trees and sever branches from a distance when infused with magical power.
• Angel recognized that crafting the supernatural weapon made him a beginner alchemy apprentice, then decided to make a weapon for Nausicaa before crafting his own tower-climbing weapon.

Angel finished an exquisitely carved, frost-infused Smith & Wesson Bear Claw and gave it to Nausicaa as thanks for saving his life. Nausicaa discovered its extraordinary power when the blade cut her finger and froze the drop of blood.

• Angel replaced the blade’s incompatible materials, crafted the Smith & Wesson Bear Claw with a Frost Magic Pattern, and tested its cutting power on a touchstone.
• Angel visited Nausicaa and found her talking with Aiborne, whom she sent out to order food.
• Angel told Nausicaa he planned to climb the tower soon and revealed that he had learned enough alchemy to make her a weapon.
• Angel gave Nausicaa the Bear Claw as a token of friendship and gratitude for saving him.
• Nausicaa admired the weapon’s artwork-like design, cut her finger on its edge, and realized its frost effect made it extraordinary.

Angel gave Nausicaa an enchanted knife, and she named it Single Butterfly after performing a swordsman’s weapon-choosing ritual. After preparing weapons and spells, Angel began his climb of Sky Tower, leaving Toby to familiarize himself with the arena.

• Angel explained that the Bear Claw Knife had a frost enchantment, and Nausicaa estimated it was worth at least 150 magic crystals before accepting it as a gift.
• Nausicaa named the knife Single Butterfly and performed a ritual in which it cut her wrist; she took the mark as proof that the weapon had chosen her.
• At a gathering, Serum questioned Angel about alchemy, and Nausicaa later told Angel that Hukedik had been spreading rumors about him.
• Angel decided to spend the next half month forging weapons and mastering spells before news of the Purification Garden spread.
• Angel practiced fighting Toby and developed plans to rely on alchemical weapons, defensive and control spells, and Toby against Sky Tower opponents.
• On the first day of the latter half of the Month of Spring Sacrifice, Angel went to Sky Tower and headed to the registration desk to begin climbing.

Angel registered at Sky Tower under the embarrassing title Milk Baron and drew Black Jack as his first opponent. As he waited for the match, White Bear warned him about Black Jack’s cruelty and urged him to surrender if he was not confident.

• Angel rejected several suggested titles before the clerk registered him as Milk Baron and shut him out of the registration office.
• Angel drew No. 0, matching him against Black Jack in Arena No. 7 half an hour later.
• The contestants mocked Milk Baron’s name and warned that Black Jack was a dangerous opponent.
• Angel hid in a secluded corner and began meditating while he waited for the match.
• White Bear introduced himself, explained that Black Jack tormented newcomers and could seal their throats, and advised Angel to surrender if necessary.
• Angel asked White Bear what he really wanted from him.

Angel made his debut in the arena against the popular Black Jack, whose theatrical insults and copied outfit annoyed him. Black Jack silenced Angel with a card and was wounded by Angel’s spell, but began healing before the match’s outcome was decided.

• White Bear used a divination ritual to confirm that fate had guided him to Angel, while Toby rejected his advances with a kick.
• Angel left to meditate, then received the broadcast summoning him to his first match against Black Jack in Arena No. 7.
• Black Jack taunted Angel in front of his cheering fans, and Angel mocked his outfit for copying Sanders.
• At the start of the match, Black Jack cast a card that silenced Angel, preventing him from speaking.
• Angel struck Black Jack’s arm with a streak of golden light, and Black Jack used another card to begin healing the wound.

Angel, posing as Milk Baron, defeated Black Jack in the Sky Tower arena by layering defenses and overwhelming him with golden arrows. After drawing his next match, he was approached by White Bear and then warned by Black Jack not to reveal a secret Angel did not understand.

• Black Jack healed his wound with Dawn Goddess's Garden, but Angel used his defenses and golden arrows to force him to surrender, winning 3 points and 150 contribution points.
• The spectators and contestants reacted with astonishment and greed toward Milk Baron, while Angel drew his next match against Ash Warrior in Arena No. 6.
• White Bear praised Angel's alchemical weapon and hinted that fate had brought them together, then left when Angel refused to explain himself.
• Black Jack, bandaged after the match, warned Angel not to reveal his secret and limped away.
• Angel noticed Black Jack's resemblance to Sanders and privately imagined that he might be Sanders's illegitimate son.

After winning three arena matches, Angel was followed into the woods by four contestants who wanted his alchemical weapon. He and Toby fought them, but the arrival of David and Master Promi interrupted the battle and sent the remaining attackers fleeing.

• Angel defeated Ash Warrior and a cold-flame apprentice after beating Black Jack, ending the day with three victories and 9 points.
• Angel noticed four contestants following him, led them into the woods, and prepared to confront them.
• Angel and Toby ambushed the four pursuers; Toby killed the bearded man and knocked the woman into the ground while Angel attacked the twin brothers with golden arrows.
• The twin brothers defended themselves with their Water-Fire Barrier, but Toby moved in to attack after finishing the woman.
• David called out to Toby as he arrived with Master Promi, and the twin brothers recognized Master Promi and fled in opposite directions.
• Angel declined Toby's suggestion to chase the brothers.

Angel reunited with David and Promi after killing Pundongo and Biluosi, then buried the bodies and left with Toby. Promi suspected the attackers had targeted Angel for his powerful alchemy weapon, while David worried about possible repercussions and promised to apologize for interrupting the fight.

• David introduced Angel to Promi, who noticed the corpses and praised Angel for defeating two wizard apprentices.
• Angel examined Biluosi's gruesome corpse, praised Toby's newfound destructive power, buried Biluosi and Pundongo, and recovered some of his golden arrows.
• David realized Angel had killed the formidable Dog Herder Pundongo and regretted interrupting Angel's fight with the Chloe brothers by calling Toby.
• Promi told David to apologize to Angel, then explained that the attackers likely wanted the alchemy weapon that fired golden arrows from Angel's sleeve.
• David worried that Biluosi's death could bring trouble from her associates, but Promi dismissed her influence and wondered who had crafted Angel's weapon.

Angel used his Mechanical Wrist Crossbow to win his way from Sky Tower’s first floor to the second, then visited David, who apologized for his role in the previous day’s events and warned him about Red Butterfly’s admirers. Angel asked David to appraise an alchemical weapon he wanted to sell.

• Angel replenished his Mechanical Wrist Crossbow with golden arrows and meditated before returning to Sky Tower.
• Angel won seven matches, including an easy bout against Beast King, and advanced to the second floor.
• Angel found Promi Alchemy Shop closed and discovered David waiting outside his home.
• David apologized for inadvertently helping Chloe Brothers escape and warned Angel that Red Butterfly’s other admirers might target him.
• Angel accepted David’s apology, asked him to send information about those people, and said he wanted to buy materials and sell an alchemical weapon.

Angel had David appraise his alchemy weapons, impressing him with a ranked scythe and arranging for Promi Alchemy Shop to sell the weapons later. Angel then climbed Sky Tower to its third floor, where he encountered tougher opponents after winning his matches on the second floor.

• Angel showed David his three Chinese-style weapons, and David judged them valuable enough to sell through Promi Alchemy Shop for a ten-percent cut.
• David discovered that Angel's scythe had a Sharpness magic pattern and was already ranked, making it worth over a hundred magic crystals.
• Angel asked David to sell the weapons a month and a half later, and David examined Angel's Mechanical Wrist Crossbow on Master Promi's behalf.
• On his third day at Sky Tower, Angel reached the second floor and defeated Lord of Darna by firing a barrage of golden arrows.
• Angel earned forty points in three days and advanced to the third floor, where he ran into trouble in the preliminary matches.

Angel defeated Li Zhixi Liu after she fell asleep during their match, but her ability to transform water into substances with different properties left him baffled. After watching Nausicaa win a difficult fight and researching elemental mimicry at home, Angel was summoned by his lord.

• Angel fought Li Zhixi Liu, whose water ribbon became a shield, blade, and oil; after she fell asleep, he bound her and won the match.
• Angel won three other matches that morning, then watched Nausicaa struggle through a close fight before she won and left Sky Tower.
• Angel fought one more match and returned home at dusk, still wondering how Li Zhixi Liu had altered the water's properties.
• Angel searched books on elemental mimicry but found no explanation for Li Zhixi Liu's transformations or unusually sturdy water shield.
• Gude arrived at Angel's courtyard and told him that his lord requested his presence.

Sanders reviewed Angel’s Sky Tower matches, warned him about stronger opponents, and explained Li Zhixi Liu’s rare innate Water Transmutation trait. He gave Angel a notebook of basic illusion spells after recognizing that Angel’s self-created Dust spell showed the first signs of the Path of True Knowledge.

• Sanders showed Angel footage of his Sky Tower match, and Angel became embarrassed by his exaggerated fighting persona.
• Sanders warned Angel that bloodline apprentices on the tower’s final floors could overwhelm his defenses, and Angel recalled how Li Zhixi Liu’s water-to-oil technique had nearly defeated him.
• Sanders explained that Li Zhixi Liu was born with the mystic trait Water Transmutation and had poisoned the other contestants during Flora’s Nine-Cabin Blood Fight.
• Sanders handed Angel a notebook of basic illusion spells, saying Angel’s defensive spells showed signs of his true self and that he would not test him.
• Sanders identified Angel’s Dust spell as an early step onto the Path of True Knowledge, and Angel explained that he had rearranged the Dust Removal Spell’s configuration.

Sanders taught Angel the foundations of illusion magic and told him to read the latest Frost Moon Chronicle for news about the Nightmare Realm. Angel found an account suggesting Gloria had been swept into a Nightmare Realm passage, leaving her fate uncertain.

• Sanders explained illusion magic and advised Angel to understand reality and adapt illusions to their surroundings.
• Angel joined Sanders for dinner, then learned the new Frost Moon Chronicle contained news that might interest him.
• Angel searched the chronicle and found a report of an expedition party's total annihilation after entering a Nightmare Realm passage.
• Angel discovered that Gloria and Sprout had been swept into a passage preliminarily identified as leading to the Nightmare Realm after their failed ambush of Granny Deer-Ape.
• Angel worried that Gloria might be in grave danger in the Nightmare Realm.

Angel practiced basic illusion arts and played a prank on Toby by making the house windows appear open when they were shut. He apologized by playing Castle in the Sky through an Echo Flower, then offered to make Toby a music box in exchange for a promise.

• Angel kept Gloria's disappearance from Toby and continued climbing the Sky Tower, winning all eight of his matches that day.
• Angel studied basic illusion arts, quickly creating a convincing cavern illusion and learning to avoid flaws by building on places he had experienced.
• Angel spent several days refining his illusions, then changed the apparent position of his courtyard windows to prank Toby.
• Toby struck its head on the supposedly open windows, and Angel revealed the illusion and apologized by offering a feast.
• Angel played Castle in the Sky through an Echo Flower, astonishing Toby, and offered to make a music box in exchange for two Echo Flowers and a promise.

Angel worked on a music box for Toby in his spare time while climbing Sky Tower, but his slow progress toward the summit threatened his chance to reach the Purification Garden in time. He persuaded Melansha Yada to shorten the interval between his matches to five minutes, leaving him ready to accelerate his ascent despite the danger of the upper floors.

• Angel brought Toby’s Echo Flowers to the laboratory and began studying how to use them in a music box that could reproduce notes perfectly.
• Angel kept climbing Sky Tower while studying alchemy and redrawing his music box plans, reaching the fifth floor after a week.
• Worried he would not reach the summit before the Purification Garden opened, Angel asked Sky Tower staff to shorten the interval between his matches.
• A staff member sent Angel to Director Melansha Yada, who recognized that he was trying to reach the summit for the Purification Garden.
• Melansha warned Angel that the final three floors would be dangerous, then agreed to reduce his match interval to five minutes, and Angel accepted.

Angel climbed to the tenth floor of the Sky Tower and faced Saka, the powerful soul-lineage apprentice known as Soul of the Stars. After Angel pierced Saka’s Soul Chain with an armor-piercing arrow, Sylvia’s Soul Siphon failed to affect him, leaving both Saka and the spectators astonished.

• Melantha agreed to shorten the interval between Angel’s matches to five minutes but forbade him from voluntarily forfeiting unless he was about to concede defeat.
• Angel spent a week climbing to the Sky Tower’s tenth floor while conserving his magic power against increasingly dangerous opponents.
• Angel drew Soul of the Stars, whose true name was Saka, a second-level apprentice and disciple of Nis Byron.
• Saka’s soul, Sylvia, bypassed Angel’s defenses, while Angel’s ordinary attacks could not break Saka’s Soul Chain.
• Angel fired an armor-piercing arrow that shattered Saka’s Soul Chain and wounded his shoulder.
• Sylvia unleashed Soul Siphon, but Angel felt only a brief prick of pain and asked whether that was the attack.