Chapter Summaries

Kano ordered Hydra to withdraw and leave Taylor alone as Thor, Gwen, and the Ghost Rider battled at the goat slaughterhouse. Taylor arrived with Hulk and three Achilles Warriors, turning the fight into chaos before assigning the warriors to greet approaching guests.

• Hydra reported the battle to Kano, who ordered all forces to withdraw and not disturb Taylor.
• Gwen, Thor, and the Ghost Rider continued fighting as Gwen's power grew and hellfire goats attacked them.
• Taylor arrived through a portal with Hulk and three Achilles Warriors, and Hulk joined the battle at Taylor's direction.
• Hulk rampaged among Gwen, Thor, and the Ghost Rider, while Taylor watched from the air.
• Taylor heard that guests had arrived and ordered the three Achilles Warriors to welcome them.

Three newly conscious Achilles Warriors encountered Blackheart and his elemental demons, whom Taylor identified as enemies. The Warriors opened fire and wounded the demons, then attacked Blackheart as he charged them.

• Three Achilles Warriors reflected on their new consciousness and swore loyalty to Taylor as they patrolled the land.
• Blackheart and three elemental demons appeared, and Blackheart tried to claim the Warriors for his new Hell.
• The leading Achilles Warrior warned the newcomers to leave, but Taylor used telepathy to identify them as devils from Hell.
• The Achilles Warriors opened fire, badly wounding the earth, wind, and water demons while Blackheart rose unharmed.
• Blackheart charged the Warriors, who enchanted their Chainswords and slashed at the core of his black wind.

Blackheart attacked the Achilles Warriors and discovered their weapons could badly wound him. After transforming into his true form, he fought their leader, who injured him with a Chainsword and Bolt Pistol before Blackheart struck back and hurled his trident at him.

• Blackheart charged the Achilles Warriors, ignored their Chainswords, and was cut across the chest when their blades pierced his defenses.
• The Achilles leader sent two warriors after the elemental devils and challenged Blackheart to fight alone.
• Blackheart transformed into his true form and attacked the leader with his Hell demon iron trident.
• The leader dodged the trident, wounded Blackheart’s ankle with his Chainsword, and was stabbed through the thigh in return.
• The leader used his Bolt Pistol to shatter Blackheart’s kneecap, but Blackheart struck him away and hurled his trident at him.

Taylor's battle ended with Hulk defeating Thor, Ghost Rider, and Gwen, leaving all three unconscious. Taylor collected Thor and Ghost Rider for study and wondered why Asgard had not come to retrieve Thor.

• Taylor knocked Gwen unconscious with one heavy punch, and Thor's Thor-Force surged in response.
• Hulk overpowered Thor and Ghost Rider with his enchanted warhammer until Thor collapsed from exhaustion.
• Sunlight restored Ghost Rider's human form, and he and Thor lay unconscious while Hulk celebrated his victory.
• Taylor examined Thor's divine power and the Spirit of Vengeance's bond with its host, deciding he would need specialized equipment to separate them.
• Taylor stored Thor and Ghost Rider in a separate Spatial Storage Ring and wondered whether trouble in Asgard had kept its people away.

Loki’s plan to lure the Frost Giants into Asgard and kill Laufey with Gungnir backfired when Laufey seized the Casket of Ancient Winters and froze him. Laufey realized Loki had tried to use him as part of a scheme, then shut down the Bifrost and left with his warriors.

• Loki opened the Bifrost and welcomed the Frost Giants, expecting to kill their king and claim Asgard’s throne.
• Laufey arrived and dismissed Loki’s claim to be Asgard’s All-Father, while Loki struggled to contain his anger.
• Laufey used the Casket of Ancient Winters to disarm and freeze Loki before Loki could strike him with Gungnir.
• Laufey noticed Loki’s skin turning blue and understood that Loki had been manipulating him, so he spared Loki and left with the Frost Giants.
• Laufey pulled Gungnir from the Bifrost and tossed it aside, shutting down the bridge before it could endanger the Frost Giants’ planet.

Taylor left the war in Asgard to Ancient One, gathered blood and other research materials, and prepared for a return to the Wizard World. Back in his Wizard tower, he planned to register with the White Tower Alliance, study his gains, and recruit an apprentice.

• Taylor drew two vials of Thor's blood and handed Thor to Ancient One, while giving Barbossa to Kano to serve as his deputy.
• Kano used Barbossa to discipline subordinates, suppress corruption, and stir conflicts within his organization.
• Taylor refused Tony's request to visit the Wizard World because Tony was not yet an official Wizard, then left him guarding Silver Castle with Hulk and two squads of Achilles Warriors.
• Taylor returned through a portal to his Wizard tower and put away his belongings, instruments, and books.
• Taylor planned to register his information with the White Tower Alliance, research his collected materials, recruit an apprentice, and share knowledge with other Wizards.

After discovering the immense folded spaces and towers that made up the White Tower Alliance, Taylor joined its internal system through the Knowledge Repository. He gained second-level privileges and a White Tower mark, and saw the vast ranks of wizards already enlisted.

• Taylor used his bloodline perception to see that the White Tower Alliance consisted of countless folded planes, each containing towers and a Platinum Tower.
• Taylor entered the Knowledge Repository, updated and verified his information, and applied for elemental and spatial knowledge.
• The Knowledge Repository offered Taylor a place in the White Tower Alliance’s accelerated recruitment program, with privileges in exchange for completing a task every ten years.
• Taylor accepted the offer, leaving his soul power in the contract and receiving a White Tower mark on his wrist.
• Taylor saw his golden star join a star sea of more than ten thousand wizards, with countless silver-white stars below it.

Taylor exchanged a large amount of knowledge to raise his White Tower Alliance authority, then spent most of his new points on research materials and advanced knowledge. He left the Knowledge Repository with decades of research ahead of him and a reminder that he still needed to train apprentices.

• Taylor chose thunder-element knowledge and lamented that he could not acquire everything in the Knowledge Repository.
• Taylor submitted much of his stored knowledge to the Knowledge Repository, causing his points to surge.
• Taylor spent nearly eighty percent of his points on rare materials and ten pieces of knowledge, including seven at the third-tier lifeform level.
• Taylor reflected that his acquisitions could support decades of research and strengthen his standing among third-tier Wizards.
• Taylor recalled the Knowledge Repository's reminder that he had yet to recruit apprentices or train promising Wizard talent.

Taylor reviewed the knowledge and materials he had accumulated, decided to focus on research and eventually train an apprentice, then hurried to the Knowledge Repository to host a Wizards’ exchange meeting. He began the gathering by presenting methods for combining lightning and fire runes, leaving the assembled Wizards ready to discuss the new techniques.

• Taylor assessed the resources he had collected and planned to pause Plane explorations so he could concentrate on research.
• Taylor considered training an apprentice for the White Tower Alliance but worried that his research and other commitments would leave too little time.
• Taylor remembered the scheduled Construct and lightning-fire research meeting and traveled to the Knowledge Repository, where more than thirty Wizards had gathered.
• Taylor greeted the attendees, arranged the meeting’s seats with spatial sorcery, and officially opened the exchange.
• Taylor began explaining how mixed lightning and fire runes and enhanced folding runes could improve the power and properties of their sorcery.

Taylor's ten-day knowledge exchange meeting drew Wizards into intense discussions of runes, elements, space, and construct puppets. He ended the meeting near dawn on the tenth day after gaining new ideas and resolving several problems in his research.

• A second-level Wizard shared research on lightning's penetrating properties, and Taylor exchanged a Thunder Rune for two runes derived from a third-level thunder serpent's scales.
• Other Wizards brought forward their research topics, sparking broad discussions and a flood of knowledge sharing.
• Taylor presented runes from Thor's blood and other sources, gaining fresh insights into Lightning-Fire Runes, elemental runes, and spatial knowledge.
• The Wizards continued exchanging ideas for ten days and nights, despite exhaustion and involuntary mental hibernation.
• Taylor announced that the meeting was over near dawn on the tenth day, after resolving several difficult research problems.

Hawkes searched the White Tower Alliance’s apprentice records for promising students suited to Taylor and selected three candidates to report to his master. He left the middle-aged clerk monitoring them so no other Wizard would claim them first.

• Hawkes asked the apprentice-library clerk for records of promising new Wizard apprentices.
• Hawkes reviewed the files of more than three hundred apprentices, then requested records from the west, south, and north.
• After studying information on eleven hundred apprentices, Hawkes chose a puppet-loving second-level apprentice and two siblings with partial elf blood, one of whom had a talent for spatial magic.
• Hawkes gave the clerk the three candidates’ files and ordered him to monitor them and keep other Wizards from taking them.
• The clerk noted that the best talents had already been claimed and wondered why Taylor had waited until becoming a second-level Wizard to seek apprentices.

Wizard Taylor reviewed three apprentice profiles and sent Hawkes to bring the candidates to his tower for assessment. Hawkes found Maken and Sally, then confronted Sally’s brother Kidd when he tried to stop him.

• Taylor decided to meet the three apprentices Hawkes had recommended and assess them himself.
• After failing repeatedly to improve his fire Elemental Puppet, Maken was summoned by Hawkes to Taylor’s Wizard Tower as a potential apprentice.
• Maken followed Hawkes and wondered whether the armored figure was a puppet.
• Hawkes found Sally and told her he was taking her to meet Wizard Taylor.
• Kidd rushed out with a wizardry item and crude wand to protect Sally, and Hawkes challenged him to prove his courage.

Hawkes tested Kidd and Sally Valen’s courage before telling them they had been chosen by Wizard Taylor for further study. At Taylor’s tower, the siblings and Maken were transported into the Mirror Dimension, where Taylor proposed that he, Kano, and Bobby train apprentices and compete to see whose students did best.

• Kidd stood between Hawkes and Sally, and Sally joined him when Hawkes drew his Chainsword to test them.
• Hawkes sheathed his weapon and told Sally Valen and Kidd Valen that Wizard Taylor had chosen them to study at his tower.
• Hawkes led Maken and the siblings to Taylor’s wizard tower, where they entered and were transported into the Mirror Dimension.
• Kano and Bobby questioned Taylor about summoning them to watch the three young apprentices.
• Taylor said he was fulfilling the White Tower Alliance’s quota and challenged Kano and Bobby to train apprentices so they could compare their students.

Taylor assigned the three potential apprentices among himself, Bobby, and Kano according to their talents and personalities. They agreed to train the children and assess their progress before formally registering them with the Knowledge Repository.

• Bobby and Kano reluctantly considered taking apprentices because Taylor treated the three children as independent individuals.
• Taylor assigned the spatially gifted child to himself, the puppetry prodigy to Bobby, and the timid, kind-hearted girl to Kano.
• Taylor proposed training the children for a year or two and evaluating their progress before formally taking them on as apprentices.
• Bobby suggested having Lunna teach his apprentice, while Kano agreed to teach the girl practical knowledge and help temper her personality.

The Puppet Mass-Production Factory produced a growing army of enchanted iron puppets, where Maken’s interest in their construction led Bobby to leave him with Lunna for instruction. Meanwhile, Kano taught Sally fire magic, Taylor put Kidd through an intense training schedule, and Taylor continued to conceal his special means of traveling to the Marvel Universe.

• The Puppet Legion built more than ten thousand iron puppets from refined Energy-Conducting Iron, enchanting them for durability, strength, and resistance to magic.
• Maken admired the puppets’ craftsmanship, so Bobby handed him over to Lunna to improve his puppet-making skills.
• Bobby left Lunna to supervise Maken and went to enjoy the spring scenery, despite Lunna’s frustration at being left with the work.
• Kano taught Sally to alter a flame’s properties, and she successfully changed its brightness without changing her magical output.
• Taylor trained Kidd in Wizard fundamentals, spatial perception, and meditation, while he, Bobby, and Kano had examined their apprentices’ souls for possible threats.
• Taylor relied on his supernatural ability rather than the Wizard Tower’s teleportation array to travel to the Marvel Universe, keeping its power hidden.

After more than two years of training and research, Taylor received a White Tower Alliance mission to guard a resource-rich plane. The chapter ended as he prepared to begin his first mission.

• Taylor and Kano continued developing their forces while their apprentices advanced under their teachers’ guidance.
• Taylor tested Kidd’s knowledge and confronted him over a short, incomplete paper on creating a Spatial Storage Ring.
• A White Tower Alliance mission appeared for Taylor to guard Plane No. 325895580 for three years.
• Taylor traveled to the Platinum Tower and read that the plane’s Earth Copper resources and proximity to the Abyss made it strategically important.

Taylor learned more about the White Tower Alliance’s vast holdings before preparing for a three-year assignment on a plane near the Abyss. Kano warned him about the plane’s key figures and planned to gather resources in Maple City while Taylor reported to the governor.

• Taylor obtained a teleportation badge and detailed information about the plane where he would serve for three years.
• Kano identified Musta, Keloqi, and Ustan as important figures on the plane, warning Taylor especially about Ustan and his local alliance.
• Taylor and Kano decided to travel to the plane with their apprentices and send them to Bobby if danger arose.
• Taylor planned to report to Keloqi while Kano infiltrated Maple City to gather resources.
• Taylor placed Hawkes and the Achilles Warriors in his spatial ring because the plane was near the Abyss.

Taylor arrived on Plane No. 325895580 with his two apprentices and Kano, where the Governor planned to appoint him Chief Inspector and hand over the plane’s administrative work. The Governor eagerly prepared to welcome Taylor so he could return to his research.

• Taylor used his improved spatial teleportation array to bring Kidd, Sally, and Kano to Plane No. 325895580.
• Taylor and his companions left the teleportation tower and admired the plane’s orderly, prosperous surroundings.
• Sally and Kidd relaxed as they saw the welcoming city and stayed close to Taylor and Kano.
• The Governor noticed Taylor’s arrival, stopped his experiment, and set out to greet the new Wizard.
• The Governor looked forward to assigning Taylor the Chief Inspector’s duties so he could focus on his research.

Taylor arrived on the plane and was appointed Inspector General by Governor Keloqi, taking charge of its operations, inspections, and finances. While Keloqi hurried off to his experiment, Musta dismissed concerns that the unusually capable laborers might signal trouble.

• Keloqi greeted Taylor and offered him the post of Inspector General, with authority over the plane’s operations and finances.
• Keloqi promised Taylor a share of surplus resources, and Taylor agreed to take the position and choose his own subordinates.
• Keloqi issued Taylor’s transfer order and announced his appointment, surprising the plane’s Wizards and White Tower Alliance representatives.
• Musta continued directing Earth Copper mining while a gray-robed Wizard warned that recent laborers were unusually strong and well-trained.
• Musta dismissed the warning, confident that ordinary laborers posed no threat to the White Tower Alliance.

Taylor took on the Governor’s administrative duties instead of leaving them to Kano, balancing his experiments with work as he became Chief Prosecutor. After several weeks in office, he ordered an investigation of the increasingly mysterious city-state centered around Maple City.

• The Governor flew away to his Wizard tower, and Taylor refused Kano’s offer to handle the universe’s administrative affairs himself.
• Three weeks later, Taylor processed a mountain of documents while Kano ran an intelligence network and carried out inspection duties as assistant prosecutor.
• Taylor ordered two Wizards to stop fighting and flirting, then told Kano to pressure shops that had stopped paying business tax.
• Taylor read Kano’s report that Maple City’s region had grown xenophobic, developed a faith-like movement, and gained more transforming Knights.
• Taylor ordered Hawkes to send a tactical squad to investigate two cities on Maple City’s outskirts, with intimidation and possible suppression as objectives.