In the Ironroot Peninsula, magic is a privilege reserved for the elite. For Kaelen Voss, an orphan born with "Mana Burns"—a condition that causes magic to corrode his flesh—life is a slow death sentence. Sold to the Blackwood Mage Tower as a janitor, he scrubs the floors of history's greatest minds, destined to die in the gutter.But when the Archmage Thorne catches Kaelen spying on a forbidden ritual, he doesn't kill him. He implants a "Mana-Leach Parasite" into Kaelen's arm—a biological weapon designed to devour his life force.Left for dead, Kaelen awakens the [Alchemic Codex System]. It does not grant him the ability to cast spells. Instead, it allows him to digest the failures of others. Failed potions, corrupted mana crystals, and magical waste are his sustenance. By consuming the "Residue," he evolves the parasite, mutates his body, and forges a path of power that the "pure" mages fear.They call him a scavenger. He calls it survival.In a world of gods and monsters, Kaelen Voss will not climb the ladder. He will burn the tower down and build his throne atop the ashes.

In the frozen wastes of rural Manchuria, during the waning years of the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Baipi—known to the peasants as "Zhao the Flayer"—is the undisputed tyrant of Blackwater Village. He is a man of bottomless greed, whose wealth is built on the bones of the poor. After he brutally executes a tenant farmer and sells the man’s daughter into slavery, a dying curse calls upon the Yellow Immortal—the Weasel Spirit—to deliver justice.The spirit answers, but not with a sword. Instead, he leaves three mysterious, glowing beans on Zhao’s pillow. The rules are simple: three beans, three wishes. But for every wish granted, a piece of Zhao’s humanity must be surrendered.Driven by his insatiable appetite, Zhao makes his first wish for limitless gold, transforming his storeroom into a mountain of treasure. The second wish grants him eternal youth and vitality. Yet, with each miracle, Zhao becomes less human—his features sharpening, his eyes turning feral, his soul eroding.Finally, drunk on power and believing himself a god, Zhao makes his third and final wish: to rule over all creation. The result is not apotheosis, but a grotesque metamorphosis. Zhao is transformed into a scrawny, gray donkey—the very beast he saw in his nightmares.Forced to spend the rest of his days turning the village millstone, Zhao learns the true meaning of the spirit’s warning: "Greed will forge your saddle." It is a tale of cosmic balance, where the accounts of sin are settled not with death, but with a lifetime of servitude and regret.