Chapter Summaries

Xipei saw the memory of Mel’s deceased teacher, Archmage Yamier, and learned how much his warm guidance had meant to Mel. After Mel showed Xipei their room in the tower, Moli discovered the tower had no internet or cell signal, and Mel admitted he had deliberately blocked electronic signals.

• Anna excitedly recognized Moli as a fan, but Mel angrily trapped Anna in the wall for writing explicit jokes.
• Xipei encountered the lingering memory of Archmage Yamier carrying an injured cat, and Mel greeted his former teacher respectfully.
• Mel explained that Yamier’s memories remained in the tower and that the teacher’s questions about his practice encouraged him.
• Mel showed Xipei his room and said they could make the ceiling transparent to view the sky.
• Moli screamed after discovering the tower had no Wi-Fi or cell signal, and Mel revealed he had blocked electronic signals to keep the apprentices focused.

The narrator and Mel settled into life in the mage tower while their apprentices struggled with its stairs and got into mischief. Lusien visited with druid enhancement potions and news about the government’s slime-transformed director, while the narrator stayed in the tower awaiting Angela’s return.

• The narrator and Mel discussed restoring the ancient teleportation array so their apprentices would not have to climb the tower’s stairs.
• Moli complained about the stairs, while Anna freed herself from the wall and made a deal with Moli over pudding that alarmed the teachers.
• Lusien visited the tower and gave the narrator and Mel enhancement potions developed by the Druid Southern Sect.
• The narrator learned that the five-star director remained a slime and had become an online sensation as the “gross-cute director.”
• Lusien explained that the narrator could remain in the tower until Angela returned from her investigation.

Xipei and Mel confessed their love during a Hellfire lesson and kissed, but Xipei stopped Mel from going further because it felt too soon. Mel explained that Anna had told him physical intimacy was part of making a confession official.

• Xipei and Mel taught Anna and Moli about Hellfire on the mage tower observatory.
• Mel confessed his love to Xipei, and Xipei returned his feelings.
• Anna urged Mel to kiss Xipei, and the two kissed while Anna and Moli left them alone.
• Mel and Xipei kissed passionately until Xipei stopped him from unfastening her belt and questioned the speed of things.
• Mel said Anna had told him that confessing without making a physical move was immoral, and offered Xipei his entire book collection as a gift.

Xipei and Mel consummated their relationship and woke the next day feeling happy and close, with the butler bringing them a bath. After officially becoming partners, they prepared to leave on an adventure with Lady Angela, though Xipei found her legs weak and worried she might become addicted to being with Mel.

• Xipei agreed to establish a relationship with Mel, and they spent the night together.
• Xipei and Mel slept until the sun was high, then the butler brought them hot water and bathing supplies.
• Mel told Xipei he had learned martial skills from the dark elves, and they agreed they were partners.
• Xipei and Mel anticipated studying magic and traveling together, including their upcoming adventure with Lady Angela.
• After packing, Xipei said her legs felt weak, and she hurriedly assured Mel she only needed a little rest.

Mel and the narrator enjoyed a lavish dinner in the mage tower, then realized Anna and Moli had been gone since morning and had not returned. Lusien arrived with a nervous courier and a suspicious parcel, warning the two archmages that it might be connected to something important.

• Mel carried the narrator to the dining room, where Mr. Butler served a feast and displayed two singing water sprites as a chandelier.
• Mel and the narrator noticed Anna and Moli were missing, and Mr. Butler wrote that they had left for town that morning.
• Mel and the narrator grew concerned when the apprentices had not returned by nearly midnight and prepared to track them.
• Lusien forced his way through the tower's wards with a courier, then explained that he had brought the man and his parcel because they might be connected to an urgent matter.
• The courier handed over a securely wrapped package, and Mel and the narrator noticed that its wrapping had been treated to block spiritual perception.

A bomb delivered to Madsen’s tower confirmed Lusien’s suspicion that Anna and Moli had been kidnapped to target their teacher. The group connected the attack to the cyborgs who had previously tried to assassinate Madsen, but the responsible military company remained unidentified.

• Lusien recognized the package as a bomb, but Xipei restrained him and destroyed it with Hellfire.
• Lusien questioned the courier, and Xipei and Mel confirmed he was telling the truth before Xipei teleported him away.
• Lusien explained that the Shield of the New Star had intercepted a kidnapping letter addressed to Anna and Moli.
• Xipei and Lusien concluded that the kidnappers had targeted the apprentices to get to Madsen.
• Lusien linked the threat to the cyborgs who had tried to assassinate Madsen and said their military company was still unknown.

After Anna and Moli were kidnapped and their captors demanded the Shield of the New Star’s equipment data, Mel and Xipei traced the apprentices and prepared to rescue them. They joined Lusien and Priest Luolan at the airship station, where they waited for the final member of their team.

• Lusien showed Mel and Xipei a photo of Anna and Moli in an electrified cage and a demand for the Shield of the New Star’s equipment data and design drafts.
• Mel calmed down after his anger shook the mage tower, then he and Xipei admitted they did not know how to email the kidnappers.
• Lusien taught Mel and Xipei to register email accounts, and they sent half the requested data before using tracking magic to locate Anna and Moli northeast of the capital.
• Lusien proposed meeting Lord Angela early to rescue the apprentices, and Mel and Xipei packed supplies before setting out.
• Lusien and Priest Luolan met Mel and Xipei at the capital’s central airship station and explained that the team would travel discreetly to the rescue site.

The party set out by airship with Chairman Reynold accompanying them to assess the attack on the Federation’s leadership. During the trip, Xipei and Mel grew closer while the others reacted to their teasing and affection.

• Lusien explained that Chairman Reynold had been assigned to advise the party, while Mel called him fragile and marked his coat with a flame-drawn shipping label.
• The group boarded an airship, and Mel changed seats to block Reynold from Xipei after Reynold tried to speak to him.
• Xipei checked Moli’s condition and joked with Mel that Anna and Moli might be troubling their kidnappers.
• Lusien reassured the group that anything the captive apprentices did would count as self-defense, and Luolan teased him until he left the compartment.
• Xipei fell asleep in Mel’s arms, then woke to find their hair tangled together and kissed him.

Xipei and Mel became intimate aboard the airship while their companions slept or watched, then cleaned up as the vessel approached a major industrial center in the dwarven Gray Mountain Kingdom.

• Xipei and Mel checked on the sleeping apprentices and found no danger beyond Moli's swelling.
• Mel and Xipei kissed and touched each other while Lusien and Priest Luolan slept and Reynold watched in shock.
• Mel wrapped Xipei and himself in black mist, and they continued their intimate encounter.
• Xipei and Mel finished, cleaned up, and prepared for the airship's next stop in the dwarven Gray Mountain Kingdom.

The group arrived in Gray Mountain City, where they explored its steam-powered streets and bought a gift for Anna and Moli. After Lusien struggled to escape a crowd of curious dwarven women, he checked Angela’s message and asked for directions to Mining Platform No. 8.

• The group landed in Gray Mountain City, and Lusien awkwardly carried the sleeping Luolan off the airship.
• The narrator described the city’s mining trade, steam technology, and close ties with the Osland Federation.
• The group bought a rainbow-steam music box for Anna and Moli, while Mel and the narrator joked about dyeing their hair rainbow-colored.
• Dwarven women crowded around Lusien and Luolan, asking questions and requesting a photograph, while two passing elven knights watched them.
• Lusien checked his communicator and saw that Angela wanted them at Mining Platform No. 8, prompting Reynold to urge the group to hurry.
• Lusien asked a dwarven traffic officer how to reach Mining Platform No. 8.

Xipei, Mel, Lusien, and their companions hurried toward Mining Platform No. 8 after learning it had collapsed and been cordoned off. During the flight, Xipei and Mel discovered that their understanding of magic and their abilities were far beyond the standards of modern mages.

• A dwarf warned Xipei and the others that Mining Platform No. 8 had collapsed and was restricted because criminals were nearby.
• Lusien led the group toward the mine by air while Mel concealed them, and Luolan woke up and teased Reynold about looking mage-sick.
• Reynold revealed that he had graduated first in his class from the Royal Magic Academy of the Osland Federation, but admitted he could not cast Flight Spell because it was an eighth-level spell.
• Xipei and Mel explained their outdated system of spell grading and their ability to cast ancient forbidden spells, leaving Reynold stunned.
• Lusien explained that modern mages were ranked by the level of spells they could cast, and Xipei realized modern spell grading did not account for unfamiliar or newly created magic.

The group learned that Doug remained a hungry green slime, and Reynold asked Xipei to turn him into a sheep instead if she transformed him again. They arrived at Mining Platform No. 8, where dwarf miners were evacuating and Federation scientists were examining the site.

• Moli said Meteor Fire Rain was a level-six spell, and Xipei and Mel reacted with disbelief.
• Reynold realized Xipei had been capable of using the Flight Spell, while Mel praised her and Lusien called them living legends.
• Lusien told Xipei and Mel that Doug was still a green slime and might die because the hospital did not know how to care for him.
• Reynold asked Xipei to turn him into a sheep rather than a slime if she transformed him again.
• Luolan brought the group to Mining Platform No. 8, where dwarf guards managed an evacuation and Federation scientists examined the mining equipment.

Xipei and her companions investigated an attack at a dwarf mine, where an injured miner claimed demons had entered the tunnels. As Xipei descended into the dark mine, the darkness brought back memories of her years in a bunker, and someone caught her hand to steady her.

• Xipei and her companions overheard that the injured dwarves had wounds like those caused by cyborg magitech weapons.
• An injured dwarf shouted that demons had defiled the Heart of the Mountain Range and were inside the mine.
• Luolan and Reynold doubted that real demons had appeared, while Lusien questioned what the miner had actually seen.
• Xipei decided they needed to investigate and flew down into the dark mine.
• The darkness triggered Xipei's memories of her seven years in the bunker, and warm hands caught her wrist and held her fingers.

Xipei recovered from a traumatic memory while Mel comforted her, and the pair’s playful affection left Reynold visibly distressed. As the group continued through the dark mine, Luolan used a ring, leaving everyone stunned.

• Mel held Xipei and illuminated the tunnel while she recovered, then Xipei insisted she was ready to continue.
• Xipei clasped Mel’s hand, and the two teased and kissed, embarrassing Lusien and upsetting Reynold.
• Mel took Xipei’s hand and led the group farther into the mine as Reynold walked awkwardly ahead.
• Lusien stopped the group at a dark passage and asked how Luolan knew it was clear.
• Luolan turned a ring on his finger, and everyone stared in astonishment.

Luolan revealed that he was a dark elf priest who had been disguising himself and teasing Lusien, then led the group through the mine. After they found destroyed cyborgs and fragments of Lady Angela’s mecha, they followed a trail of blood deeper into the tunnels.

• Luolan revealed his dark elf appearance and admitted that he had deceived Lusien for fun.
• Lusien refused to let Luolan lead from the front, insisting that a knight had to protect the spellcasters.
• The group found scattered remains of cyborgs, and Reynold vomited before the narrator calmed him.
• Lusien identified a metal feather as a fragment of Lady Angela’s mecha and worried that she had fought the enemy.
• Luolan spotted blood leading farther into the mine, and the group followed it in search of Lady Angela.

The group found Ms. Angela in the mine and discovered that she was a powerful druid who attacked them before surrendering. The chapter ended with Lusien revealing that he already knew she was a druid and asking whether they knew she was a destroyer.

• The group followed bloodstains through the filthy mine and found signs of a brutal fight, including a withered human limb.
• Lusien stopped the group when Ms. Angela emerged from the shadows, but the narrator and Mel immediately attacked her.
• Ms. Angela used vines and transformed into a giant wolf, while the narrator and Mel restrained and overpowered her.
• Ms. Angela returned to human form and surrendered, and Lusien rushed to protect her.
• The narrator warned that Ms. Angela was a druid, and Lusien said he already knew because she could pilot the crow mecha.
• Mel asked Lusien whether he also knew Ms. Angela was a destroyer.

The narrator and Mel discovered that Angela was a Mourner rather than a Druid Destroyer, and learned that modern society had found a regulated use for Destroyers. Angela explained that she worked for the Federation because it let her legally indulge her love of torturing prisoners, despite human-rights groups’ objections.

• The narrator identified Angela as a possible Druid Destroyer, but Angela insisted she was not one and let the narrator and Mel sense her mental domain.
• The narrator and Mel recognized Angela as a Mourner, apologized, and explained the differences between ordinary druids, Destroyers, and Mourners to Lusien and the others.
• Angela corrected the narrator’s outdated claims, explaining that Destroyers were detained and supervised while working at garbage treatment plants.
• Angela said she was a Mourner who worked for the Federation to relieve stress by using her destructive power legally.
• Angela admitted that she loved torturing prisoners and remained undeterred by human-rights organizations accusing her of abuse.

The party followed the invading cyborgs through the mine while Ms. Angela eagerly attacked them, leaving the others to travel on Lusien’s shoulders in crow form. After Angela nearly swallowed a cyborg’s kidney, the group stopped to eat and learned she had gone three days without a proper meal.

• Ms. Angela explained that she was a druid mourner and had used the cyborgs as an outlet for her urges, while Lusien asked whether she had been injured.
• The mages and Luolan transformed into crows and perched on Lusien as the party continued deeper into the mine to investigate the attackers.
• Ms. Angela repeatedly rushed ahead to kill cyborgs, while the others followed without fighting.
• Lusien and the others stopped Angela from swallowing a cyborg’s kidney and returned to human form to restrain her.
• Angela admitted she had not eaten properly in three days, so Lusien shared compressed biscuits and nutrient solution with the group.

The group encountered a terrifying half-machine, half-flesh beast in the dwarven mine, and the narrator recognized it as an Artificial Demon created through Black Magic, alchemy, and sacrifices. The monster’s arrival left the group facing a threat tied to the narrator’s grim past.

• Angela offered to buy Mel and his companion matching digital watches, then reacted with horror when she learned the mage tower blocked phone signals.
• The narrator worried that restricting Moli and Anna’s access to phones and the internet could turn them against their teachers, and resolved to arrange an internet cable.
• Luolan sensed a large creature approaching through the tunnel, and the group prepared for an attack.
• A beast charged them, overpowering Angela in bear form before Lusien and the others intervened and illuminated the darkness.
• Luolan identified the creature as something that had transmigrated, while the narrator recognized it as an Artificial Demon like the monsters from the narrator’s teacher’s laboratory.

Xipei confronted the cyborg demons and remembered the years in the bunker when she studied magic to kill her second teacher. As the group fought its way through waves of demons, they discovered they had been lured into a trap and sealed inside the mine passage.

• Xipei used Absolute Protection to shield Lusien, Angela, Reynold, and Luolan while Mel fought the cyborg demons with Shadow Dance.
• Reynold recorded the battle to warn the Federation, while Mel protected him despite his own bleeding arm.
• Lusien and Angela retreated after defeating the first cyborg demon, and the group struggled as more demons attacked.
• Lusien realized they had been tricked after the group encountered many cyborg demons lying in wait.
• Mechanical doors dropped at both ends of the passage, trapping the group as the demons crowded against Xipei's shrinking Absolute Protection.