Chapter Summaries

Chen Xinhe woke in the body of Baron Lister Merick and realized he might have transmigrated into the world of Divine Revelation. He learned that Lister had a duel with Quint in a month, then Anna left after delivering a box from her father and urging him to practice.

• Chen Xinhe logged out of Divine Revelation but woke in a medieval-style room, in a strong body unlike his own.
• A maid called him Baron and told him that Miss Anna was waiting downstairs.
• Chen Xinhe checked the system panel and saw that he was Lister Merick, a level 17 warrior, but found no way to log out.
• Anna gave Lister a wooden box from her father, Viscount Anbeite, saying it would help him defeat Quint in their duel.
• Anna said Lister had agreed to the duel the previous day and told him to practice the Merrick Saber Technique before Duke Will II witnessed it.

Chen Xinhe realized that he had transmigrated into Divine Revelation as Lister Merrick, the future saber master, and recognized the approaching duel with Quint as the battle that could cost him an arm. With a month to prepare, he decided to focus on strengthening his saber technique and acquiring passive skills.

• Chen Xinhe asked Lilian to find history books about the city, and Butler Anke brought him books on the Kingdom of Lucian and the Duchy of Will.
• Chen Xinhe recognized the Kingdom of Lucian as the setting of Divine Revelation’s second act and wondered if he had arrived before the game began.
• Chen Xinhe recalled that Master Merrick had lost an arm in a duel and suspected Quint was the future Duke Will III who had defeated him over Anna, the Ghost Bride.
• Chen Xinhe resolved to avoid losing his arm in the duel a month away and assessed Lister’s weak skills and attributes.
• Chen Xinhe recalled that passive skills could exceed attribute limits and decided to collect and max them out before they became scarce.

Chen Xinhe learned that the Merick Family had fallen into decline and that he was its only remaining professional. With his duel against Quint approaching, he set aside rebuilding the family for now and prepared to level up while asking Butler Anke to search for breathing techniques.

• Chen Xinhe asked Butler Anke about the Merick Family’s history with the Ambet Family and learned about Will City’s hereditary noble families.
• Butler Anke explained that the Merick Family had once been one of seven great hereditary families, but its three remaining professionals had left after Chen Xinhe inherited the title.
• Chen Xinhe concluded that he was the only professional in the family and decided not to train new ones because of the family’s limited finances and his upcoming duel with Quint.
• Chen Xinhe ordered Butler Anke to watch for breathing techniques, which Anke said were nearly impossible to buy.
• Chen Xinhe gathered his saber and had Anke prepare supplies so he could focus on leveling up before the duel.

Chen Xinhe drank Lucian's Turquoise Solution, permanently raising all his attributes, then traveled beyond the city to hunt Three-Headed Hound Knights. He killed two using his veteran combat skills, but noticed the first dropped no loot, leaving him suspicious as he continued deeper into the lair.

• Chen Xinhe opened the box Viscount Anbeite had given him, drank Lucian's Turquoise Solution, and gained one point in every attribute.
• Chen Xinhe rode out of the Duchy of Weir's main city and traveled to a Three-Headed Hound Knight lair in the hills.
• Chen Xinhe used a spinning saber strike to sever a hound knight's three heads and kill it, but received only experience and no loot.
• Chen Xinhe entered the cave and dodged a higher-level hound knight's Charge by kicking off the rock wall, then killed it with a saber strike.

Chen Xinhe defeated an advanced Three-Headed Hound Knight and discovered a cave filled with human corpses, forcing him to accept that Divine Revelation was a real world. He embraced the identity of Lister Merick and accepted a main quest to restore the Merick Family’s glory.

• Chen Xinhe fought and killed a level 21 Three-Headed Hound Knight after surviving its powerful charge.
• Two hound knights fled past Chen Xinhe as he reached the end of the cave and found a vast pile of human corpses.
• Chen Xinhe realized Divine Revelation was real and accepted that he was Lister Merick, not merely playing a character.
• Lister Merick triggered the main quest “Reforge Merick's Glory,” which offered rewards for spreading the family’s renown.
• Lister Merick accepted the quest after discovering that he had no resurrections.

Lister recovered from his injuries, upgraded his Merrick techniques, and returned to the hills to hunt Three-Headed Hound Knights before his duel with Quint. After clearing three caves, he unlocked the Merrick Saber Draw Slash and realized the monsters might not respawn in this world.

• Anke summoned Physician Blai, who examined Lister and gave him low-grade healing water; Lister chose to recover naturally and spent experience upgrading his Merrick Saber Technique to LV4.
• After sleeping nearly 20 hours, Lister refused Anke's suggestion to train at home and asked him to monitor Anna and Quint, especially Quint's activities in the city.
• Lister returned to the hills and found that the Three-Headed Hound Knights he had killed had not respawned, leading him to suspect that defeated monsters did not return in this world.
• Lister cautiously cleared three caves over three hours, gaining enough experience to raise his Merrick Breathing Technique to LV3 and his Merrick Saber Technique to LV5.
• Lister unlocked the Merrick Saber Draw Slash, a sweeping area attack that could strike nearby enemies.

Lister returned to Will City after clearing out several three-headed dog caves and learned that Quint was rumored to be an overlooked, low-ranking duke’s son. The rumors conflicted with Lister’s memories and left him suspecting the duel had been planned, while he considered why Viscount Anbet might support him.

• Lister rode into the city covered in the stench of slaughter, while townspeople discussed a professional who had cleared a three-headed dog cave.
• Butler Anke reported that Quint had not visited Anna since the duel was arranged and that Anna had stayed home to take painting lessons.
• Anke told Lister that Quint was rumored to be the duke’s least-favored son, born to a maid and excluded from major ceremonies.
• Lister found the rumors at odds with his memories of Quint’s future and wondered why Duke Will II had agreed to witness the duel.
• Lister reasoned that Viscount Anbet might favor him because marrying Anna to Quint would bring Anbet little benefit, while Lister’s family retained inherited techniques, resources, and connections.

Lister hunted Three-Headed Hounds to build his strength, reached level 20, and improved his rating to D-grade before encountering the elite Three-Headed Hound Knight. He chose to fight the stronger monster, confident that his attributes and experience could overcome its advantage.

• Lister continued hunting Three-Headed Hounds and concluded that monsters no longer respawned.
• After wiping out more than half the Three-Headed Hounds in the Kayas Region, Lister spent experience to reach level 20 and raised his basic attributes before accepting a class advancement.
• Lister upgraded Merrick's Breathing Technique, bringing his overall rating from F to D-grade.
• A Three-Headed Hound Knight charged at Lister, but he dodged and used reconnaissance to inspect the elite monster.
• Lister compared their abilities and resolved to defeat the Three-Headed Hound Knight.

Lister defeated the Three-Headed Hound Knight and arranged for the Poly Merchant Association to open a trade route through the Kayas Region to Viscount Gabriel's Territory. The chapter left President Porter considering the Merick Family's offer, while Butler Anke worried that Lister had exaggerated his claims.

• Lister dodged the Three-Headed Hound Knight's Charges, struck its weak point, and killed it for 76,641 experience points.
• Two days later, Lister met President Porter of the Poly Merchant Association at the Merick Family's castle to propose a new trade route.
• Lister told Porter the route would cross the Kayas Region, and Porter was shocked because it was known to be full of three-headed hounds.
• Lister claimed the Merick Family had cleared the hounds and said he had already agreed with Viscount Gabriel to jointly control trade along the route.
• Lister offered the Poly Merchant Association protection and thirty percent of the trade profits, while Butler Anke silently doubted Lister's claim.

Lister learned that Anna had once been involved with the painter Ruisi and began to suspect she might be using the duel to buy time to escape an arranged marriage. He asked Butler Anke to investigate Ruisi and, if the story proved true, inform Quint in hopes of ending the duel.

• President Porter pledged the Poly Merchant Association to serve the Merrick Family in exchange for its protection.
• President Porter told Lister that Anna had visited the painter Ruisi several times and that the two had been involved more than half a year earlier.
• Lister recognized Ruisi as the painter the Ambet Family had recently hired to teach Anna.
• After Porter left, Butler Anke asked whether Lister had truly cleared the three-headed dogs from the Kayas Region, and Lister assured him he had.
• Lister wondered whether Anna planned to use the duel to buy time and elope with Ruisi, then ordered Anke to investigate Ruisi and inform Quint if the story was true.

Anna and Ruisi argued over whether to elope from the Duchy of Will, while Lister searched for information about the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty and learned that Quint had not responded to his message. The chapter left Lister and his allies uncertain whether Quint was confined in the duke’s castle as the duel approached.

• Anna reassured Ruisi that they would elope on the day Lister and Quint dueled, but Ruisi worried that Viscount Anbeite had discovered their relationship and that life outside the duchy would be dangerous.
• Anna became angry when Ruisi hesitated, while Ruisi regretted the plan and recalled that Anna had manipulated events between Lister and Quint to bring about their duel.
• Ruisi calmed Anna by suggesting they practice painting, and she agreed.
• Lister searched the Merick Family library for information about the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty but found little and decided to look for information in the Kingdom of Lucian another day.
• Anke told Lister that Quint had not responded to his message and had remained in the duke’s castle since Duke Will II announced he would witness the duel.
• Anke speculated that Quint might have been confined, while Lister recognized that revealing Anna’s lover and possible elopement would disgrace both the duke’s family and the Merick Family.

On the eve of his duel with Quint Will, Lister strengthened himself with rare potions and trained, then learned that his opponent was a level 21 shield warrior. Lister judged that his own boosted strength gave him the advantage and discovered that the Will Family possessed a passive stamina skill he wanted.

• Lister drank a Remington Potion, raising his intelligence and agility by one point each as the Merick Family's savings dwindled.
• Butler Anke told Lister that Quint had left the castle, and Lister ordered someone to watch him before going to train.
• Lister practiced the Merrick Saber Technique on the family training ground to adjust to his increased strength.
• Quint secretly climbed over the Merick Family's wall and greeted Lister before their duel.
• Lister used the system to inspect Quint and learned that he was a level 21 shield warrior with the Will Family's passive stamina skill.

Quint Will revealed that Duke Will II intended to eliminate the declining Merick Family as part of a campaign against the duchy’s old professional families. Quint offered Lister protection and a future alliance if he became his follower, but Lister refused and prepared to face him in the duel.

• Quint told Lister that he had known about Anna and Ruisi’s relationship and had used Anna to keep Lister occupied.
• Quint revealed that his father, Duke Will II, wanted the Merick Family abolished, not because he sought Lister’s life but because he aimed to bring the old professional families under his control.
• Lister realized that Quint was considering an alliance with the seven professional families to strengthen his own position against his father and rival heirs.
• Quint changed his plan for the duel and offered to spare Lister serious injury if Lister became his follower, promising to restore the Merick Family’s standing.
• Lister refused to follow Quint, and Quint threatened not to hold back in the duel the next day.

Lister prepared for his duel with Quint as the city gathered to watch, while Anna arranged to flee with Ruisi in a caravan. At the dueling arena, Lister met Count Liad Connor and assessed the powerful head of the Conner Family.

• Quint Will abandoned his attempt to teach Lister a lesson and left by climbing over the wall.
• Crowds packed the dueling platform, and Anke told Lister that the city was eagerly anticipating his duel with Quint.
• Lister recognized that Duke Will II had made the duel a public spectacle to humiliate the Merick Family and decided to eat before the fight.
• Anna told Ruisi they would leave the city disguised as Irus and Lina with a caravan bound for Lias Province, unaware that Quint had arranged its leader.
• Lister reached the arena's waiting area and met Count Liad Connor, then used Detection to gauge his strength and inspect the Conner Family members with him.

Lister received a powerful healing potion from Count Connor before facing Quint in a formal duel at the Duchy of Will’s dueling platform. He easily dodged Quint’s first attacks, surprising the nobles, while Will II remained confident that Quint’s shield skills would prevail.

• Count Connor gave Lister a B-grade healing potion and publicly signaled his continued support for the Merick Family and the alliance.
• Lister saw Duke Will II arrive, then encountered Quint in heavy armor on the reinforced dueling platform as the duel was declared underway.
• Quint charged and attacked Lister twice, but Lister sidestepped both strikes with ease.
• The spectators booed the lack of action, while Count Connor and the heads of the professional families recognized Lister’s sharp combat instincts.
• Count Connor told Will II that Quint’s chances looked shaky, but Will II argued that the duel had only begun and trusted Quint’s shield defense and counterattacks.

Lister revealed the power of the Merick Family’s Iai Slash, shocking the duel’s spectators and restoring their respect for his family’s inheritance. He then outmaneuvered Quint’s shield counter and sent him crashing down, leaving Quint disarmed and his shield pinned underfoot.

• Lister used the Merick Family’s Iai Slash to knock Quint’s sword away and cut a mark across his armor and arm guard.
• Will II and Count Connor recognized Lister’s skill, while the nobles watching the duel reconsidered the Merick Family’s decline.
• Quint admitted he had underestimated Lister but relied on the Will Family’s defensive shield techniques to turn the fight around.
• Lister recognized Quint’s shield counter, dodged behind him, and kicked him into the air.
• Lister struck Quint with his saber hilt, kicked away his shield arm, and pinned Quint’s fallen greatshield beneath his foot.

Lister defeated Quint in their duel, prompting Duke Will II to abandon the confrontation and devise a way to have Lister killed in the south. He assigned Lister a dangerous mission against the Ghost-Eyed Giants and arranged for powerful professionals to accompany Quint to Lai.

• Lister overwhelmed Quint, disarmed him, and offered to stop the duel, while Quint recognized how much stronger Lister was.
• Count Connor praised Lister, and Will II declared the duel meaningless before leaving with Valen.
• Will II told Valen to make Quint the new Baron of Lai and to assign Lister a mission to exterminate the Ghost-Eyed Giants in exchange for a hereditary viscountcy and a copper mine.
• Will II privately planned to use the mission and Quint's presence in Lai to arrange Lister's death and blame it on the Ghost-Eyed Giants.
• Valen decided to send Kailina with Quint, unaware of Will II's plan.

After Lister accepted Duke Will’s mission to wipe out the Ghost-Eyed Giants in exchange for a viscount title and a red copper mine, he hosted the city’s professional families and strengthened himself with a potion. The chapter ended when Quint arrived with a chest containing the bound Anna and Ruisi.

• Anke welcomed a stream of congratulatory gifts at the Merick Family castle after Lister’s strength impressed the city’s nobles.
• Valen Will offered Lister a viscount title and a medium-sized red copper mine for wiping out the Ghost-Eyed Giants, and Lister accepted the mission.
• Lister met with representatives of the other major professional families but found none had the special breathing technique passive skill he wanted.
• Lister received a strength-enhancing potion from the Conner Family, drank it, and raised his strength from eighteen to twenty.
• Quint visited Lister and revealed that the large chest he brought contained Anna and the painter Ruisi, both bound with ropes.

Lister learned that Quint was being sent to Rai Territory, where a powerful professional might be used to kill him under the guise of a mission to eliminate the Ghost-Eyed Giants. Lister and Quint agreed to work together against their shared enemies, though Lister insisted their arrangement was a partnership rather than him becoming Quint’s follower.

• Quint told Lister that Anna and another person had been drugged and captured after fleeing Will City, and handed him the antidote.
• Lister refused to deal with Anna himself and told Quint to handle her, suspecting Quint would ultimately make her the Ghost Bride.
• Quint revealed that he would leave the next day to become baron of Rai Territory, the site of Lister’s Ghost-Eyed Giants mission, and that a near-fourth-tier professional would accompany him.
• Lister suspected the professional had been sent by Will II to kill him, and Quint admitted he intended to use Lister and the seven great families in his bid for the dukedom rather than attack him.
• Lister agreed to support Quint and seek Count Connor’s help, but corrected Quint when he thought Lister meant to become his follower, insisting they would work together as equals.

Lister agreed to cooperate with Quint in exchange for the Will Family’s breathing technique, then traveled to the Viscounty of Renekton. The chapter left him at a branch of the Poly Merchant Association, where a clerk asked him to show his token.

• Quint mistook Lister’s request for cooperation as a desire to marry one of his sisters, but Lister clarified that he wanted the Will Family’s breathing technique.
• Quint agreed to give Lister the breathing technique after they joined forces against Kailina.
• Quint left for Rai Territory feeling optimistic about his alliance with Lister and his bid for the ducal seat.
• Lister departed for the duchy’s southern territory and reached the Viscounty of Renekton after five days of travel.
• Lister entered a Porter Caravan storefront that he believed was a branch of the Poly Merchant Association, and the clerk asked him to show his token.