Chapter Summaries

Ian and Gaga broke into the room of the shadow wizard spying on Ian and found an emblem that might be connected to the Eye of Twilight. After escaping undetected, Ian began planning how to counter the threat through High Tower rules, carefully revealing his potion research and building an intelligence network.

• Ian used Silent Dust to create a blind spot in the building’s protections, then entered through a ventilation duct with Gaga.
• Ian found a seal imprint in the shadow wizard’s room whose shadow-and-eye design reminded him of the Eye of Twilight.
• Gaga warned Ian that someone had returned, and Ian and Gaga escaped before the shadow wizard entered his room.
• Ian rejected Gaga’s suggestion to kill the wizard and considered how to counter the threat without exposing himself or acting without proof.
• Ian planned to reveal limited progress on the Starlight Potion, guide attention toward the shadow wizard, and use Gaga and Kenna’s group to gather intelligence.

At Ian’s direction, Gaga secretly planted alarmist slips across Shadowmoon Tower claiming the Eye of Twilight had infiltrated it. The warnings spread into rumors and suspicion, and someone on the highest floor angrily crushed a newly submitted slip.

• Gaga planted Ian’s slips in hidden spots throughout the Core District without being detected.
• A female apprentice found a slip and told her companion, then a Potion Master dismissed his copy but kept watching the abandoned meditation tower.
• A First-Level Wizard from the Council of Stewards found a slip and passed it to a superior.
• Rumors spread among apprentices and wizards, raising tension and suspicion throughout the High Tower.
• Someone in a room on the highest floor crushed a newly submitted slip in fury.

Ian revealed his improved [Starlight Potion] to Herman, who confirmed its exceptional potential and offered support while warning him to keep the results secret. Ian left with access to the Potion Department’s core library, while Blake’s hostility toward him intensified after Ian destroyed his research drafts.

• Ian used Mental Power to destroy Blake’s potion research drafts after Blake mocked his work, then warned him that careless research had consequences.
• Ian presented the [Starlight Potion] to Herman and explained that it improved Mental Power condensation while adding a mild activity-stimulating effect.
• Herman tested the potion, found a major improvement in condensation efficiency and signs of Rule Resonance guidance, and praised Ian’s breakthrough.
• Ian concealed the potion’s key ingredients and methods, and Herman warned him that outsiders might watch him more closely and advised him not to reveal the potion’s data.
• Herman gave Ian a credential for core reading access in the Potion Department, and Ian left knowing Herman would temporarily support him.

Ian researched ways to counter Abyssal Rules and devised a plan to plant a tiny fragment as bait for shadow spies. He successfully got a new spy to collect it, establishing a hidden connection that began to affect the spy as he returned with the sample.

• Ian searched the High Tower Library archives and found a theory for using an Order Mark to filter chaotic rule fragments.
• Ian reasoned that he could reverse the method and use a disguised Abyssal fragment to connect to whoever collected it.
• Gaga warned Ian that a new, concealed spy was inspecting the area near his residence.
• Ian hid outside his courtyard and planted an Abyssal-infused crystal fragment on his window frame as the spy examined the Protective Runes.
• The shadow wizard collected the fragment, unknowingly establishing a subtle rules-level connection that began to influence his senses.

Ian used an Abyssal Rules Fragment to erode Gray Falcon’s thoughts while the shadow operative surveilled him, making him increasingly confused and impulsive. Julian suspended Gray Falcon’s missions and ordered an examination, but Gray Falcon returned to the fragment as Ian decided to let the erosion deepen.

• Three days after Ian’s plan began, Gray Falcon experienced disturbing visions during meditation and took a reserve potion to suppress them.
• Gray Falcon reported Ian’s activities to Julian, who ordered increased surveillance and a chance to obtain a potion sample.
• As Ian passed Gray Falcon’s hiding place, an impulse pushed Gray Falcon to attack him, but Julian stopped him through a communication crystal.
• Julian confronted Gray Falcon over his erratic behavior, suspended his missions, and ordered a full medical examination.
• Gray Falcon went to his storage locker and fixated on the fragment, while Ian recognized that its Abyssal erosion was distorting Gray Falcon’s thoughts.
• Gaga asked whether to keep distributing fragments or wait, and Ian chose to let Gray Falcon’s erosion deepen.

Ian recruited Kenna, Wade, Monica, and Robert to build an intelligence and resource network for him, making them his subordinates. After they left to organize the network, Ian returned to brewing the Starlight Potion and considered the Gray Falcon’s approaching critical point.

• Ian summoned Kenna and his companions and offered them work gathering information, acquiring materials, and handling errands in exchange for rewards and protection.
• Kenna, Wade, Monica, and Robert pledged to serve Ian, and he gave them rules, instructions for sending intelligence, and gray stones to use in emergencies.
• The four left excited about their new opportunity, and Kenna reminded them to call Ian “Lord Ian” and follow his orders.
• Ian told Gaga that Kenna’s team suited his needs because they were capable and depended on him.
• Ian returned to the potion room to brew the Starlight Potion and noted that the Gray Falcon’s corrosion was nearing its critical point.

Ian impressed Herman and Alivia by developing the Starlight Potion, a First Order meditation potion that increased Mental Power condensation efficiency by more than eighty percent. After Shadowmoon Tower began offering it to the Potion Department, Ian gained attention and a promising connection to the Rune Department.

• Herman and Alivia tested Ian’s Starlight Potion and confirmed its unusually high efficiency and stable production, while Ian reported a thirty percent yield rate.
• Ian proposed an internal release at seventy-five High-grade Magic Stones per vial and requested reliable material procurement and a larger laboratory consumables quota, which Herman approved.
• At the Potion Department’s exchange meeting, Herman announced the Starlight Potion, and the gathered wizards reacted with surprise and interest.
• Blake recalled mocking Ian and felt embarrassed as other Potion Masters admired Ian’s achievement.
• Kevin offered Ian access to Abyssal Rune Stones, and Ian arranged to discuss those materials and etched Magic Iron powder with him.

Gray Falcon transformed into a mass of Abyssal flesh and shadow, triggering the High Tower’s defenses and attacking nearby wizards. The wizards struggled to contain it as its wounds rapidly regenerated and its corrosive slime spread.

• Gray Falcon’s body transformed into dark purple flesh, and he used Shadow Sorcery as part of his new form.
• The creature’s aura froze living beings across the northeastern district, triggering the High Tower’s Eye of Shadowmoon defense beam.
• The creature tore up its building and foundation, then hurled itself toward the nearest Wizard Tower.
• A First-Level Liquefaction wizard tried to stop it with a shadow curtain, but the creature pierced the barrier and infected him with its tentacles.
• A fire faction wizard attacked with Fireballs, while Herman supplied Purification Potions and Kevin struck the creature with a Palm Thunder Rune.
• The creature regenerated rapidly and sprayed corrosive slime, forcing the Liquefaction wizards to scatter rather than surround it.

After Julian destroyed the Abyssal Contamination Entity before it could expose its secrets, Morton ordered a tower-wide investigation. The search uncovered three suspicious wizards connected to Gray Falcon and evidence pointing to the Eye of Twilight.

• Julian’s silver-white beam weakened the Abyssal Contamination Entity, but he destroyed it with shadow spikes just as it tried to speak his name.
• Julian declared the incident an accidental outbreak, ordered the injured treated, and told the Enforcement Squad to collect the remains and investigate.
• Herman found the entity’s fragments suspiciously clean, while Kevin questioned Julian’s swift response and Herman told him to follow orders.
• Morton convened Shadowmoon Tower’s leaders and ordered every faction to investigate Abyss-related contacts, with results due in three days.
• The Enforcement Squad found no other infected wizards but traced Gray Falcon’s contacts to three suspicious wizards whose possessions included coded letters, forbidden knowledge, and tokens bearing the Eye of Twilight’s symbol.

After the Eye of Twilight agents were exposed, the Shadow Department lost its dean and much of its influence, and Ian returned to quiet cultivation. While practicing the Starry Sky Rite, he discovered that his Status Panel purified energy drawn through the Abyssal Soul Pact and turned it into a small increase in spiritual power.

• The Enforcement Squad and the Tower Master's office uncovered more Eye of Twilight agents, while Julian was taken away and the Shadow Department dean position was suspended.
• Gaga told Ian that the Library showed no sign of the suspected First-Level Wizard, and Ian stored his Starlight Potion and warned Gaga to keep watching.
• Ian resumed his routine and practiced the Starry Sky Rite, drawing Stellar Force into his Mental Sea through the forming star map.
• The Abyssal Soul Pact responded to the Rite's rule fluctuations and connected Ian to the Abyssal Will.
• Ian's Status Panel purified the corrupting energy, allowing the harmless remainder and a tiny fragment of rule information to increase his spiritual power.

Ian advanced his meditation and training, improved Spirit Recovery Potion through a Limit Break, and opened Starlight Apothecary as a legitimate outlet for his Rank Zero potions. The shop gained customers through its unusually effective products, while Kenna and the others took on key roles in running it.

• Ian used the Abyssal Soul Pact's recurring influx of chaotic energy to strengthen his meditation, gaining about fifty proficiency points in Starry Sky Rite overnight.
• Ian pushed Spirit Recovery Potion past its Limit Break and gained the Fast Acting effect, then continued practicing his spells and tempering his body with purified bloodline essence.
• Ian approved Kenna's proposed shop location and named the store Starlight Apothecary.
• Ian opened the shop with Rank Zero potions, and Kevin became its first familiar customer by purchasing Concentration Potions and Spirit Recovery Potions.
• Word spread that the shop's potions were unusually effective, customers increased, and Kenna, Wade, Monica, and Robert took charge of its operations.

Ian Limit Broke Invisibility and gained Mimicry, while continuing to strengthen his spells, body, and potion business. After Kenna reported a surge in demand for rule-type materials, Ian wondered whether the Tower Master had learned something and remained wary of threats beyond Shadowmoon Tower.

• Ian Limit Broke Invisibility, gaining Mimicry that let him match the colors and textures of nearby surroundings while invisible.
• Kenna and the others became Advanced Apprentices as Ian completed the first stage of improvements to the Collapsing Starburst model and continued tempering his body.
• Ian refined Blood Essences from a First Order Wind Harrier, fed two to Gaga, and used the third to strengthen himself.
• Ian brewed twelve successful Starlight Potions, and Kenna reported that the workshop had earned five hundred High-grade Magic Stones in net profit after three months.
• Kenna told Ian that demand and prices for rule-type materials had surged in Shadowmoon Tower, and Ian ordered him to monitor the market without getting involved.

After discovering that their suppliers had been intimidated and one had been murdered, Ian confronted a Violet Orchid Guild assassination squad in South Alley. He defeated the attackers, learned that the contract came through an intermediary at Nightingale Bar, and set out with Robert to investigate.

• Kenna told Ian that all three suppliers had cut them off, including one whose shopkeeper had been murdered and marked with the Violet Orchid Guild's brand.
• Ian examined the corpse and detected a tracking anchor, realizing that the killers knew he and his companions were at the scene.
• A masked leader and seven black-robed attackers ambushed Ian, Kenna, and Robert, while two powerful First-Level Wizards watched from behind.
• Ian killed several attackers with Frost-Ember Ray and his Floating Crystal Guards, then used an improved Collapsing Starburst to destroy the shadow tentacles and drive off the masked leader.
• Ian forced a surviving attacker to reveal that the employer's intermediary was Red Sparrow at Nightingale Bar, then killed him.
• Ian healed Kenna's poisoned arm with a Greater Healing Potion and left with Robert to find the intermediary.

Ian learned that Ashes and Jackdaw of the Withering Council were behind the threats against him and were staying at the Old Oak Inn. Refusing to flee or surrender, he sent Robert to secure his people and headed toward the Black Market's southeast corner to deal with the threat himself.

• A masked man reported that his mission had failed and requested evacuation through a Communication Crystal.
• Ian paid Red Sparrow at the Nightingale Bar for information about the people who had hired an intermediary to target him.
• Red Sparrow identified the employers as Ashes and Jackdaw, core deacons of the Withering Council, and said they were staying at the Old Oak Inn.
• Red Sparrow warned that the Withering Council would target Ian's resource channels and that killing its core members could bring Second- or Third-Level Wizards after him.
• Ian paid Red Sparrow, ordered Robert to tell Kenna to close the shop and keep everyone at the residence, then headed toward the Old Oak Inn.

Ian traded [Starlight Potion] for First-Order Essence Blood, purified it into Blood Essence, and used it to cultivate the [Forge Body Tempering Art]. The chapter ended as he swallowed a second pellet to continue tempering his body.

• Ian offered [Starlight Potion] for First-Order Essence Blood at the High Tower's monthly Wizard Exchange Meeting, and several wizards agreed to trade.
• Ian refused a senior Liquefaction wizard's offer of help and exchanged potions for the gathered Essence Blood after the meeting.
• Ian used [Bloodline Purification Art] to refine the Essence Blood into more than two hundred pellets of Blood Essence.
• Gaga returned, begged for Blood Essence, and received two golden-red pellets after promising to stay safe and avoid wandering.
• Ian swallowed a pellet and used the [Forge Body Tempering Art] to endure an hour of painful cultivation, raising his proficiency from 355 to 360.
• Ian swallowed a second pellet of Blood Essence and continued his cultivation.

Ian improved Collapsing Starburst by building a miniature gravitational field into its model, creating a devastating new witchcraft he named Gravity Collapse Ball. With his body tempering and other defenses also strengthened, he prepared to draw the hidden Withering Council into the open, though he still needed suitable bait.

• Ian studied advanced material in the High Tower's Central Library and repeatedly tested new models for Collapsing Starburst.
• Ian's Forge Body Tempering Art reached the proficient level, greatly strengthening his skin and physical power.
• Ian completed the redesigned witchcraft model and formed a gray energy sphere that he could hold for up to fifteen seconds before releasing it.
• Ian tested the sphere in the practice room, where it annihilated everything across a twenty-meter area and carved a deep depression into the floor.
• Ian's Collapsing Starburst proficiency rose to mastery, and he named the improved witchcraft Gravity Collapse Ball.
• Ian assessed his combat preparations and concluded that he needed weighty bait to lure the hidden Withering Council out of hiding.

Ian left Shadowmoon Tower to draw the Withering Council into an ambush near an Abyssal Rift, using a rune stone as bait. As three enemies closed in on his abandoned watchtower, Ian and Gaga prepared to strike from concealment.

• Ian chose the Dark Hills Abyssal Rift as his destination because it might provide the Abyssal Rune Stones he needed for his Starlight Potion.
• Ian had Wade spread word that he was running low on materials and planned to leave, drawing the Withering Council's attention.
• Ian traveled to an abandoned watchtower with Gaga, planted Shadow Eyes nearby, and took potions that enhanced his strength and abilities.
• Jackdaw, Ash, and Curse Eye tracked Ian to the watchtower and split up to surround him.
• Ian hid in the tower while Gaga's Shadow Eyes relayed the three enemies' movements to him.

Ian used his newly created Gravity Collapse Ball to kill Curse Eye, then fought Jackdaw at close range while his Floating Crystal Guards and Gaga killed Ash. Jackdaw survived and began a blood-powered ritual that drove her aura beyond Peak First Order toward Second Order.

• Ian activated the Gravity Collapse Ball and used it to erase Curse Eye in a single strike.
• Jackdaw attacked Ian with venomous snakes and a death ray, but Ian endured her magic and struck her hard enough to cave in her chest.
• Ash escaped the Floating Crystal Guards as black mist, but Gaga hit him with Eye of Omen and the guards pierced him to death.
• Jackdaw, still alive, swallowed a pitch-black heart-shaped object and began a ritual that drained her blood as her aura surged upward.

Ian and Gaga defeated Jackdaw after she used a sacrificial summoning to unleash deadly death magic, though both were badly wounded. After treating their injuries, Ian discovered letters revealing that the Cursebound team would arrive within ten days and that the Crimson Court was investigating a secret transmission, then carried Gaga away.

• Jackdaw used Death Chains and Death Wither against Ian, while Gaga shielded him and distracted her with the Eye of Omen.
• Ian formed a Gravity Collapse Ball and struck Jackdaw; Gaga escaped into the shadows, and the blast killed Jackdaw while injuring Ian and Gaga.
• Ian treated Gaga's wounds with potions, then tended to his own injuries.
• Ian searched Jackdaw's remains and found letters stating that the Cursebound team would arrive within ten days and that the Crimson Court was seeking a secret transmission.
• Ian burned Jackdaw's remains and useless belongings, reflected on the danger of desperate secret arts, and carried the recovering Gaga away.

The Withering Council investigated the deaths of Jackdaw, Ashes, and Curse Eye and suspected Ian Marcus might be involved, while a Cursebound squad headed toward Shadowmoon Tower to find the murderer and the Eye of the Gazer. Starlight Apothecary reopened, and Morton told the Enforcement Squad to reply to the Council while keeping the Sleeping Catacombs selection open to competition.

• An old guardian discovered that the contracts of Jackdaw, Ashes, and Curse Eye had been severed, and the Withering Council ordered an investigation into their deaths and the Eye of the Gazer.
• A five-person Cursebound squad received orders to investigate the deaths and headed toward Shadowmoon Tower.
• Kenna, Robert, Wade, and Monica reopened Starlight Apothecary, where customers returned and Kevin again asked Ian Marcus to sell him Starlight Potion.
• Morton heard the Enforcement Squad captain's account of the scene, including traces of powerful death energy and a destructive force that had erased part of the ground.
• Morton ordered a polite reply to the Withering Council and decided that candidates for the Sleeping Catacombs would be selected under the old competitive rules.