Chapter Summaries

An Kai fled Chaos City Outer City after the Orc Twenty-Eighth Prince sent two Tier Four Orcs after him, planning to finish the Mage Tower’s tasks. He reviewed the gains from his secluded cultivation and summoned his Lesser Succubus to carry him onward.

• An Kai escaped Chaos City Outer City and cursed the Orc Twenty-Eighth Prince for sending powerful pursuers after him.
• An Kai checked his status and noted that he had gained 372 attribute points in a year and a half, bringing his Intelligence to 386 and leaving him 14 points short of the Mage Tower’s third-task requirement.
• An Kai reflected on how reaching spell level Lv20 had improved his meditation, casting speed, Fireball, Freezing Spell, and Mage Armor.
• An Kai recognized that he lacked foundational magical knowledge and resolved to study it if he had the opportunity.
• After running ten li beyond the city and checking that no one was nearby, An Kai summoned his Lv20 Lesser Succubus and ordered her forward.

An Kai returned to the Mage Tower after killing the Orcs gathered by the lake, then began meditating to reach 400 Intelligence and unlock the third floor. Hanks and Widow Wang left Chaos City Outer City for a prepared hiding place, planning to return after the danger passed.

• An Kai rode the [Junior Succubus] toward the Mage Tower and slapped her when she tried to sway seductively.
• Hanks explained to Widow Wang that he was leaving Chaos City Outer City to escape danger and later return, though he also planned to keep the profits they had made.
• Hanks, Widow Wang, Reed, and the three Warriors left the city by carriage and headed north toward Hanks's hiding place.
• At the lake, An Kai sent the [Junior Succubus] toward the Orcs, then killed the Orcs and her with ten [Fireballs] and recovered her Tier Two Magic Core.
• An Kai entered the Mage Tower, froze its first floor, and began meditating toward his goal of 400 Intelligence.

Sally Bukelin and Will-Bukelin killed two Tier Four Orcs in the Desert, while An Kai later discovered reports linking the attack to black-robed figures and suspected the missing Necromancer. After monitoring the side stories for two and a half months, An Kai opened the latest update, leaving the outcome unknown.

• Sally Bukelin and Will-Bukelin ambushed and killed two Tier Four Orcs traveling toward Chaos City Outer City.
• Sally warned Will not to mention An Kai in town and praised Hanks, unaware that Hanks and An Kai were the same person.
• An Kai increased his Endurance, prepared enhanced hind leg meat, and read side stories reporting that the Town of the Dead had devoured a city and black-robed beings had attacked the Orcs.
• An Kai suspected the black-robed attackers were the missing Necromancer, but could not determine whether they had acted for him or by coincidence.
• An Kai monitored side stories for two and a half months, raised his Intelligence to 401, and opened the newly refreshed reports.

An Kai learned that Dong Lin had been behind the Town of the Dead’s attacks and continued to regard him as an enemy. He spent skill points to raise all five spells to Lv21, gained a level in Mage’s Body, and began testing the doubled spell effects.

• An Kai learned that Dong Lin had caused the Town of the Dead’s actions, though Dong Lin had forgotten An Kai and did not consider him a threat.
• An Kai used 3,000 skill points to raise Meditation, Fireball, Freezing Spell, Summoning, and Mage Armor to Lv21.
• An Kai discovered that spell proficiency now required twice as much, while each proficiency point cost ten skill points.
• An Kai absorbed a mana tornado and raised Mage’s Body to Lv3, gaining 50 attribute points and doubled spell effects.
• An Kai distributed the attribute points evenly, ate after hunger struck, and began testing Meditation.

An Kai tested his newly upgraded Meditation and discovered that his spells had reached Superior- quality, strengthening their effects and granting him the Elite NPC identity. After examining his upgraded spells, he summoned a useless Burrowing Worm and headed to the Mage Tower’s third floor.

• An Kai raised Strength after Meditation Lv21 reduced the time needed to gain an attribute point to ten hours.
• Meditation reached Superior- quality and gave An Kai the Elite NPC identity, which let him suppress lower-ranked enemies alongside his talent’s suppression of talents below Lv3.
• An Kai tested Fireball and found that it had grown larger, become more powerful, and reached Superior- quality.
• An Kai discovered that Freezing Spell now created a moving defensive zone around him and that Mage Armor had absorbed fire mana elements; both spells reached Superior- quality.
• An Kai summoned a Burrowing Worm that complained about hunger and hard ground, then killed it and headed to the third floor of the Mage Tower.

An Kai reached the third floor of the abandoned Mage Tower and discovered that its former owner was Lazell, a legendary blacksmith who had left a final inheritance test. The test required An Kai to become a blacksmith and forge enhanced equipment, and the chapter ended with the system asking whether he would learn the class.

• An Kai found that his upgraded Summoning skill could summon two creatures and let him hear some of their thoughts.
• An Kai climbed to the third floor, where a recorded message introduced Lazell as one of the Wasteland Region’s five legendary blacksmiths.
• Lazell explained that passing the third-floor test would grant An Kai the Mage Tower and urged him to pursue blacksmithing.
• An Kai entered the third floor and received requirements to raise all four attributes to 500, acquire the blacksmith class, and forge +6 equipment.
• The system asked An Kai whether he was willing to learn blacksmith as a secondary class.

An Kai learned the [Blacksmith] secondary class and used its supreme [Forging] skill to enhance a Water-Breathing Pearl. Meanwhile, Hanks returned to Chaos City with his companions, and An Kai took their arrival as a sign that Hanks was gathering resources for him.

• An Kai accepted the [Blacksmith] sphere, received a brief demonstration from Lazell, and gained the complete secondary class instruction.
• An Kai maxed out [Forging] and enhanced a Water-Breathing Pearl, extending its underwater breathing effect from one hour to two.
• An Kai searched the third floor, stored the portable forging bench, and began enhancing equipment while aiming to complete the Mage Tower's +6 task.
• Hanks, Widow Wang, Reed, and their companions entered Chaos City after learning that no other forces had moved in during their absence.
• Deputy City Lord Polpi rushed to greet the returning party, and Reed stepped forward when Hanks cleared his throat.
• The next day, An Kai read that Reed and the three Warrior Deputy City Lords had reappeared with Hanks, and assumed Hanks had returned to gather resources for him.

An Kai failed to enhance his equipment to [+6] and turned to Meditation, while the king of the Shak Kingdom prepared Wayne and a royal expedition to recover the Mage Tower. The chapter ended as An Kai received four unexpected attribute notifications.

• An Kai failed fifty-three enhancement attempts, stopped spending Lower-grade Magic Stones, and gained one Intelligence point through Meditation.
• The king of the Shak Kingdom ordered Wayne to lead an expedition to the Desert and retrieve Ancestor Lazel's Mage Tower, but Wayne had not heard him.
• The king assigned the Shak Kingdom's sole Tier Five [Assassin] to protect Wayne and secretly arranged royal guards and mages to accompany him.
• The king summoned his trusted aides to discuss whether to repel external threats or quell internal unrest.
• An Kai was about to enhance the [Beast Meat Refining Station] when four [Attribute +1] notifications appeared.

An Kai gained 43 attribute points as Will-Bukelin was forcibly advanced by Dong Lin after more than a hundred thousand people in a frontier city were turned into skeletons. Will rejected Dong Lin’s claim that he had saved the people, and An Kai later read the incident in the Side Story before resuming his training.

• An Kai received 43 attribute points from Will-Bukelin’s rising strength and divided them among his four attributes; the emblem on his palm turned half grayish-brown.
• In Shak Kingdom, Dong Lin used more than a hundred thousand lives to advance Will-Bukelin to Tier Five, while Sally Bukelin was restrained and Will could not control his body.
• Dong Lin claimed he had freed the city’s people from suffering by turning them into skeletons, but Will recalled An Kai’s words and firmly told Dong Lin he was wrong.
• Dong Lin struck Will with a giant bone fist, then disappeared with the skeletons as enormous bone hands dragged Will and Sally underground.
• The next day, An Kai read the Side Story account of the Town of the Dead’s attack, decided to avoid Dong Lin, and began training toward his goal of reaching 450 in every attribute.

After a year and a half in seclusion, An Kai raised his spells and Forging to level 23 but remained unable to enhance equipment to +6. He discovered the requirement called for an Elite magical beast’s core, while the Orc Twenty-Eighth Prince considered the Mage Association’s role in the Desert’s growing unrest.

• An Kai spent his remaining skill points upgrading his spells and Forging, then reviewed his improved attributes and abilities.
• An Kai realized that enhancing equipment to +6 required an Elite magical beast’s magic core and used Summoning to call a creature.
• An Kai summoned an Armor-Piercing Beetle, found it had no magic core, and killed it in frustration.
• The Orc Twenty-Eighth Prince, guarded by tier four and tier five professionals, worried that refugees were turning the Desert into the center of the surrounding Seven Kingdoms.
• The Orc Twenty-Eighth Prince noticed the Mage Association’s presence whenever unrest began in the Seven Kingdoms.

An Kai traced the turmoil in the Seven Kingdoms to Dong Lin and envied Hanks’s gains in Chaos City Outer City. Hanks considered fleeing the Wasteland Region with Widow Wang, while An Kai’s latest summoning produced a Lord-quality creature.

• An Kai linked the crises in the Seven Kingdoms to the Mage Association and suspected Dong Lin was behind them.
• An Kai tallied the protection money Hanks owed him and planned to collect eight shares after leaving the Mage Tower.
• Hanks told Widow Wang he wanted them to leave the Wasteland Region, but she refused because she could not leave the place where her first man died.
• An Kai gained sixteen attribute points over ten days and summoned Nurnexius, a level 23 creature of Lord quality.

An Kai summoned Nurnexius, a [lord]-grade beast who claimed to be a dragon but lacked a Magic Core, and postponed killing him in exchange for a promise to summon edible underlings. The next day, Master Lazell's Mage Tower emerged from the desert before Wayne's party, whose mage leader mistook its appearance for an enemy attack.

• An Kai discovered that Nurnexius was a talking [lord]-grade beast and prepared to kill him for his Magic Core and meat.
• Nurnexius begged for his life, revealed that he had no Magic Core, and offered to summon his underlings instead.
• An Kai spared Nurnexius until the next day and asked him to explain the Dragon Clan.
• Wayne told the fourth-tier mage that someone inside the Mage Tower had caused the lake to disappear, but the mage dismissed his claim.
• The Mage Tower emerged beneath the dune, and the fourth-tier mage ordered Wayne's party to prepare for an enemy attack.

An Kai completed the enhancement of his Meditation Staff and claimed Lazell's Mage Tower, then left seclusion to reclaim his resources in Chaos City Outer City. Outside, he detected hidden malice as a Tier Four mage ordered an attack, unaware that An Kai had seen through the Tier Five assassin Malken's disguise.

• Nurnexius summoned an Elite magical beast, and An Kai used its Magic Core to enhance his Meditation Staff to +6.
• An Kai completed the trial quest, deeply bound Lazell's Mage Tower, and learned that it offered concealment, defense, research, storage, and a place for secluded training.
• An Kai reviewed his improved attributes and spells, disguised himself as Hanks's father, and merged the Mage Tower into his body before leaving seclusion with Nurnexius.
• An Kai sensed concealed malice near a dune, while Malken checked his detector and found An Kai registered as Tier One, First Level with high danger.
• The Tier Four mage leading the group ordered an attack on An Kai, intending to seize the Mage Tower and take control from Wayne.

An Kai attacked a hostile group on a dune with powerful [Fireballs], while Wayne recognized him as a genius and argued with Malken over whether An Kai should receive Master Lazell's Mage Tower. The battle ended with the Shak Kingdom's mage leader dead, and Wayne learned that the Shak Kingdom's First Prince was present.

• An Kai donned [Mage Armor], unleashed his pressure alongside Nurnexius, and bombarded the people atop the dune with [Fireballs].
• Nurnexius stayed out of the fight and edged away from An Kai, while Wayne excitedly praised An Kai's magic as the work of a true genius.
• Wayne told Malken he would rather give An Kai the Mage Tower, but Malken insisted that retrieving it for the Shak Kingdom was his duty.
• The Tier Four water mage revealed that the Shak Kingdom's First Prince was there before a mysterious figure killed him, and An Kai's [Fireball] engulfed him.

An Kai survived Malken’s assassination attempt and trapped the Tier Five assassin while seizing Prince Wayne. He threatened to kill Wayne unless Malken released Nurnexius, then counted to three.

• Malken attacked An Kai, but layers of ice, [Mage Armor], and Lazell’s Mage Tower stopped his dagger.
• An Kai used [Fireball]s to restrict Malken’s movements and rushed toward Wayne, whom he recognized as the First Prince of the Shak Kingdom.
• An Kai grabbed Wayne by the throat and conjured an ice blade as Malken realized he could not rescue the prince.
• Malken seized Nurnexius to use him as leverage, but An Kai threatened Wayne and told Malken to strangle Nurnexius in return.
• An Kai tightened his grip on Wayne and shouted, “Three!”

An Kai held Wayne hostage while Malken offered his life to save the First Prince of the Shak Kingdom. Wayne instead asked to become An Kai’s apprentice, offering his spell research, and An Kai became interested in his work on Wind Blade.

• Malken released Nurnexius and threw down his dagger after An Kai threatened Wayne.
• Malken offered his life in exchange for Wayne’s release, and An Kai swore to free the prince if Malken died.
• Malken prepared to cut his own throat, but Wayne stopped him to ask An Kai about the spell that created his ice blade.
• Wayne pleaded to become An Kai’s apprentice and promised that Malken would serve as his guardian.
• Wayne revealed that he had lowered the level needed to learn Wind Blade, and An Kai’s eyes lit up at the prospect of his research.

An Kai accepted Wayne as his apprentice and made Malken his Guardian after they signed a contract, then tasked Wayne with breaking down Wind Blade. Five days later, Hanks and Widow Wang spotted a man they recognized approaching Chaos City with a Big Black Rat.

• An Kai learned Wayne was pursuing the [Scholar] class by researching how to break down spells, and decided to spare him and take him as an apprentice.
• Malken gave An Kai a [Contract Scroll], and Wayne and Malken signed an apprenticeship agreement and a contract naming Malken An Kai's Guardian.
• An Kai signed the scroll, which bound Wayne and Malken to their promises, then put away his ice blade and accepted Wayne as his apprentice.
• Wayne learned that An Kai had formed his ice blade with a Tier One Freezing Spell and saw An Kai's three-meter, three-dimensional defense.
• An Kai assigned Wayne the task of breaking down Wind Blade so Apprentice Mages could use it.
• Five days later, Widow Wang spotted a man approaching Chaos City with a Big Black Rat and told Hanks she thought she had seen his dad; Hanks recognized the man and reacted with alarm.

An Kai returned to Chaos City Outer City and found it changed, with refugees facing growing hostility from the original residents. He planned to reshape the city and assert his authority, but Hanks greeted him with nine chests of gold and a ledger of his saved share.

• Hanks recognized An Kai and hurried back to the City Lord's Manor with Widow Wang, bringing the records of protection money he had collected.
• After four days of answering Wayne's questions about [Freezing Spell], An Kai entered Chaos City Outer City with Wayne and Nurnexius.
• Nurnexius punished a new vendor who tried to sell An Kai fake legendary armor, breaking the man's arms after An Kai stopped him from killing the vendor.
• An Kai observed tension between the city's original residents and refugees from the Seven Kingdoms, and decided he would intervene because the refugees could supply him with resources.
• An Kai entered the Evergreen Gang's headquarters intending to demonstrate his strength, but Hanks presented nine chests of gold and a thick ledger, prompting An Kai to greet him warmly.

An Kai returned to Chaos City Outer City and decided to settle there, aiming to rebuild the city into a stable source of resources. He began planning trade routes and drew Hanks and Wayne into his scheme, leaving Hanks uneasy about what An Kai expected him to do.

• An Kai inspected Hanks's records and confirmed that nine chests contained 11,235 gold coins.
• An Kai told Hanks he would stay in Chaos City Outer City and planned to restore trade, establish rules, and collect taxes.
• An Kai learned that the city had roughly four thousand residents and asked Wayne to lend him his Shak Kingdom royal identification plaque to open trade routes.
• Wayne, the First Prince of the Shak Kingdom, promised that the kingdom would stop pursuing Hanks's past offenses, making Hanks suspect An Kai had a task in mind for him.

An Kai persuaded Hanks to lead a mission to restore trade between Chaos City Outer City and the Seven Kingdoms, promising him a permanent share of the city's tax revenue and Malken's protection. Hanks departed with a fifty-man party, while Malken returned to An Kai after secretly accompanying them for several hours.

• An Kai reminded Hanks of the food shortage in Chaos City Outer City and asked him to reopen trade routes with the Seven Kingdoms.
• Hanks hesitated because the Seven Kingdoms were in civil unrest, but An Kai offered Malken as his guard and promised him ten percent of future tax revenue for life.
• Hanks accepted the mission, motivated by the chance to secure a future for Widow Wang and help the city's residents.
• The next day, Hanks assembled Reed's Four-Man Group and other fighters into a party of over fifty people and set off for the Seven Kingdoms with Malken.
• After the party had traveled for several hours, Malken reappeared in the Evergreen Gang's main hall and confirmed to An Kai that they had gone.