Chapter Summaries

Lister asked Wang Yue to obtain special potions from the royal treasury, and she used her ability to impersonate Count Drew to arrange the removal of a large share of its contents. By the time the royal guards began searching the city, Lister was already heading back to the Duchy of Will with the stolen goods.

• Wang Yue told Lister that nobles were discussing his sudden transformation and suspected he had concealed his abilities, though she did not believe he had become someone else.
• Lister asked Wang Yue to repay her debt by obtaining special potions from the royal family, and she admitted she had no theft arts but could still help.
• Wang Yue transformed into Count Drew, who had access to the royal treasury, and arranged for clerks to move its contents to a location Lister chose.
• The next day, the royal treasury was discovered robbed, with about a third of its reserve strategic potions and over half of its military reward items missing.
• Lister left for the Duchy of Will with thousands of potions and valuable items while Count Drew and his family were arrested.

Lister returned to Weier Main City and found the Duchy of Will engulfed in a civil war after Duke Will II had been killed. Quint explained that Will II had targeted the Conner Family and Quint over the duchy's turquoise vein and a shortage of Class Holders for the kingdom's conscription, leaving Quint and the Seven Great Families to contest the duke's seat.

• Lister returned to Weier Main City and found corpses outside the gates as Duke Will's army fought Quint's newly recruited troops, reinforced by the Conner Family.
• Lister reached the inner city and reunited with Quint and the heads of the Seven Great Families, then learned Duke Will II was dead.
• Quint told Lister that Count Connor had moved the Merick Family to safety and that Will II had killed Lawson Conner, prompting Count Connor to kill the duke.
• Quint revealed that Will II had also targeted him after discovering the turquoise vein in his territory and facing pressure to supply 2,000 Class Holders for the kingdom's war.
• Lister learned that Hughes's task had been intended to secure elite Class Holders from the Seven Great Families, since the duchy could not meet the conscription quota alone.

After Will II’s death, Lister promised to help Quint pursue the dukedom, but learned that Morey Will was a powerful rival commanding the opposing army. As battle resumed, Morey charged the allied forces and reflected their spells, sending a fireball toward Lister.

• Count Connor explained that Will II’s assassination had sparked open conflict between the Seven Great Families and the duchy, leaving the Conner Family in danger.
• Lister told Quint he would stay and help him win the dukedom, while Quint warned him that Morey Will had nearly killed Count Connor and commanded the opposing army.
• Lister assured Quint that he would deal with Morey, though Quint doubted Lister could match him.
• Ryan Carlson cast a holy-light buff on the allied forces as Morey, a level-40 shield warrior with grade B overall strength, stepped forward.
• Count Connor rejected Nian Lexington’s offer to fight Morey, who charged through the allied forces’ spells and reflected them, sending a fireball toward Lister.

Lister intervened in the battle for the Duchy of Will and demonstrated strength that rivaled Morey's, drawing both armies' attention. With all five of the duke's heirs gathered before him, he prepared to settle the conflict.

• Lister easily split an incoming fireball with his sheathed blade, surprising Quint and the nearby family heads.
• Count Connor attacked Morey with magic, but Morey withstood the lightning and countered, driving off the count's shield warriors and piercing his rock armor.
• Lister stopped Morey's sword with one hand and knocked him flying with a knee strike, then agreed to lead the attack with Count Connor's support.
• Valen Will confronted Lister and offered him a chance to leave, while Quint defended the Merick Family's right to choose its allies.
• Both armies paused as the five heirs, Quint, and the family heads watched Lister; he noted that everyone had gathered and that this would save him trouble.

Lister devastated the opposing army, killing the five heirs with a single Iai Slash, then refused offers to rule the Duchy of Will. He left Quint to claim the ducal title and warned that Quint and the Seven Great Families still had to meet the Kingdom of Lucian’s conscription demand for 2,000 Class Holders.

• Lister used Killing Intent Release to kill thirty percent of the enemy Class Holders and leave most of the rest unable to fight.
• Lister cut down Morey and the other four heirs with an Iai Slash that also killed the prone soldiers in its path.
• Lister told Quint to handle the survivors and returned to the tent, where Count Connor and Quint later offered him leadership and the ducal title.
• Lister declined to rule the duchy and reminded Quint that he had to gather 2,000 Class Holders to satisfy the Kingdom of Lucian.
• Count Connor agreed to persuade the Seven Great Families to send Class Holders into battle and help Quint secure the title.

After the Duchy of Will’s civil war ended, Lister watched the Seven Great Families assemble two thousand Class Holders while testing whether he could teach skills to ordinary people. The Act Two expansion then reopened the game, placing players in the Kingdom of Lucian as it prepared for war and giving Lister a new Main Quest.

• Quint and the Seven Great Families restored order in the Duchy of Will and assembled a force of two thousand Class Holders, with Count Connor’s family contributing nearly a thousand.
• Erica Connor visited Lister daily and asked him to teach her saber techniques, but Lister eventually told her to stop coming for now.
• Lister trained Tim in the Merrick Saber Technique and found that Tim learned slowly and had little potential.
• The system announced that maintenance had ended and introduced Act Two, with players spawning in the Kingdom of Lucian.
• Lister accepted the Main Quest to contribute to the Kingdom of Lucian’s coming war of unification, while players began discussing the expansion in public chat.

Lister used a Crystal of Extreme Transcendence to raise his Merrick Saber Technique to A-rank, then began his second class advancement quest. Zone 71 replaced his original alchemy-ruin quest with a much harder task to register the current civilization with the Galactic Federation, leaving him unsure how to proceed.

• Players spent their first-act reward experience on the Merrick Saber Technique, causing Lister's experience to rise.
• Lister used a Crystal of Extreme Transcendence to upgrade his Merrick Saber Technique from B-rank to A-rank and checked that his attributes had reached their level cap.
• Lister accepted his second class advancement quest and received an initial assignment to find an alchemy technology ruin, kill 100 types of alchemy technology creatures, and record 1,000 types of alchemy technology creations.
• Zone 71 intervened after detecting Lister as an alien-universe life-form, rejected the original quest, and independently issued a harder advancement quest.
• Zone 71's new quest required Lister to register the current civilization with the Galactic Federation, and Lister wondered whether completing it would prevent the Federation's invasion.

Lister found no useful records about the Galactic Federation or the alchemical civilization, so he planned to search the ruins himself. After hearing a rumor about a female ghost near Duke Will’s castle, he suspected it was Ghost Bride Anna and decided to direct players toward her for experience and training.

• Lister searched books for information about the Galactic Federation but found no useful records about the alchemical civilization.
• Lister called Tim, who reported that strangely dressed adventurers had been arriving in the city.
• Tim told Lister a rumor that the souls of soldiers killed in the duchy’s civil strife had formed a female ghost in a white wedding dress.
• Lister suspected the ghost was Anna and decided players could hunt her while improving the Merrick Saber Technique.
• Lister began teaching skills outside the Merick Family’s castle and issued players a side quest involving Anna.

Lister prepared to leave the Duchy of Will and search the alchemy ruins for clues to his second class advancement quest. When Erica insisted on joining him, Lister sensed something was wrong, discovered she was a level 40 Faceless Person, and confronted the impostor as Wang Yue.

• Lister checked his progress, found that his passive skills had reached level 60 and his overall rating had returned to S rank, but he still had no leads on his second class advancement quest.
• Lister told Tim he was leaving to search the alchemy ruins, and Tim reported that his luggage and farewell gifts were ready.
• Erica visited Lister and insisted on accompanying him when he said he was going traveling.
• Lister sensed that Erica was acting strangely and used the system to identify her as a level 40 Faceless Person.
• Lister locked onto the impostor with his aura and asked Wang Yue whether this was amusing.

Lister confronted Wang Yue after discovering she had impersonated Erica, and she asked to travel with him in search of another world. He agreed to consider taking her as a teammate after she explained her hidden past, which ended with her revealing that a childhood friend had rejected her as a monster.

• Lister pinned Wang Yue with his aura and demanded an explanation for her impersonation of Erica.
• Wang Yue said she wanted to follow Lister because she believed his strength and knowledge came from a world beyond Lucian, and she had arranged for the delegation to return without her if necessary.
• Lister said he might take Wang Yue to the alchemy ruins but demanded to know her true past before accepting her as a teammate.
• Wang Yue revealed she had been born without a face, been abandoned, and been secretly raised by an old man whom the village chief's men killed.
• Wang Yue confessed she had killed the village chief's youngest daughter and taken her place, then explained that she had lured a demonic beast tide to the village using corpses.
• Wang Yue said she had hoped her childhood friend would survive the beast tide, but he called her a monster after she told him what had happened to her.

Lister and Wang Yue found a concealed entrance to the Alchemy Ruined City beneath the Lost Land and broke through its energy shield. After they entered, the mastermind detected Wang Yue as a special alien universe life-form and delayed the next act’s scene.

• Lister and Wang Yue searched the western riverbed of the Lost Land for an entrance to the ruins.
• Wang Yue found charred blast marks on a rock face, and Lister recognized them as likely the work of Carven Dill.
• Lister opened the blocked passage, and he and Wang Yue uncovered a descending route beneath the sand.
• They found an energy shield with a weak point, which Lister broke open before jumping into the darkness with Wang Yue.
• The mastermind detected their premature entry, identified Wang Yue as a selected special alien universe life-form, and repaired the shield without starting the next act.

Lister and Wang Yue entered the underground alchemy ruins and encountered a contaminated mechanical dog outside the ruined city. Lister killed it and discovered that its energy crystal could be reused, though it was contaminated.

• Lister and Wang Yue arrived in the desert outside the Alchemy Ruined City and surveyed the abandoned machinery scattered around them.
• A level 74 Contaminated Alchemy Type C Machine (Canine Type) emerged from the sand and charged at them.
• Lister severed the mechanical dog's teeth with one saber strike, then killed it with Iai Slash.
• Lister removed the dog's energy crystal and found that it was depleted, contaminated, and reusable two more times.

Lister and Wang Yue reached District Forty-Nine of the Alchemy Ruined City, where they received resident permits and encountered lifelike humanoid machines. The city’s first warning told them to keep left, and Lister inferred that Carven Dill was still inside because their identification tags were numbered 002 and 003.

• Lister explained the alchemical machines and followed the depleted energy crystal’s faint signal toward the ruined city with Wang Yue.
• Over two days, Lister killed the machines they encountered while Wang Yue’s level rose from 42 to 43 without fighting.
• Lister and Wang Yue entered District Forty-Nine through its tungsten-gold gate after its scanners confirmed they were not contaminated life-forms.
• Two rank B humanoid machines gave them residence permits for Districts 20 through 49 and identification tags 002 and 003.
• Lister inferred that Carven Dill remained in the city, then received a warning from the machines to keep left while walking.

Lister and Wang Yue visited District Thirty-Seven’s desire experience center, where a sex robot identified Wang Yue as female, then headed to District Thirty-Five to investigate its information archive. Wang Yue wondered why the city was green everywhere if alchemy civilization’s humans preferred red.

• Lister and Wang Yue walked through District Thirty-Seven, where sex robots tried to entice them into desire centers.
• At the largest desire experience center, a robot used behavioral and visual data to identify Wang Yue as female and offered her male models to choose from.
• Wang Yue asked why the robots’ outfits favored red, black, and white; the robot reported that humans preferred red and disliked green.
• Lister and Wang Yue left without trying the services because they had no energy coins, and Lister led them toward District Thirty-Five’s information archive.
• At the archive, Wang Yue noticed the city’s green appearance and asked Lister why it contrasted with humans’ preference for red.

Lister learned that the Alchemy Ruined City had become a center of alchemy machinery, but the archive offered no clues about its connection to the Galactic Federation. He and Wang Yue headed for the central districts, where Lute offered them an authorization assessment to gain entry.

• Lister and Wang Yue entered the information archive and searched its crystals for answers.
• Lister learned that the alchemy civilization had focused on alchemy equipment and independent mechanical life-forms, and that the city had become its new royal capital.
• After finding no information about the Galactic Federation, Lister decided to head for the central districts with Wang Yue.
• At district 20, Lute denied them passage because they lacked authorization and offered them an assessment involving arena duels against combat robots.

Lister entered the Twentieth District and chose a public B-level assessment, where mechanical lifeforms bet energy coins on his fight. His opponent emerged as a contaminated Level 71 combat robot, and the battle began with Lister blocking its gunfire and lasers.

• Lute explained that public assessments drew an audience and bets, while humans were forbidden from betting under an ancient law.
• Lister selected a public B-level assessment and confirmed he would accept the risk of death.
• In the central stadium, Lute reported that most spectators had wagered heavily on the combat robot rather than Lister.
• A contaminated humanoid combat robot emerged from a prison cart, and Lister scanned its Level 71 strength and A-rank combat skills.
• The robot opened fire with bullets and lasers, and Lister deflected the shots, but the lasers notched his tier-three saber.

Lister defeated a contaminated eighth-tier combat robot, earned B-grade clearance, and granted clearance to Wang Yue. As they began exploring newly opened districts, Lister told Wang Yue that their real goal was to find information about the Galactic Federation.

• Lister dodged the combat robot's ranged attacks, disabled its weapons, and destroyed its energy crystal with a series of saber strikes.
• After the fight, Lister learned that his B-grade clearance let him travel through districts three to twenty, then granted clearance to Wang Yue as number 003.
• Lister and Wang Yue entered the second district, where Wang Yue noticed that the mechanical life-forms seemed more purposeful.
• Lister split up their exploration, assigning himself the left side and Wang Yue the right, and told Wang Yue to contact him through their identity plates.
• When Wang Yue asked what they were searching for, Lister said their ultimate target was the Galactic Federation, not the history of the Alchemy Civilization.

Lister and Wang Yue explored the Alchemy Royal City’s central districts and learned that Hoffman had created the city and its mechanical lifeforms. In District 4’s birth facility, they encountered a lifelike Alchemy Type C Doll, which opened its eyes and looked at them.

• Lister explored the central districts, discovering the energy coin mint, the ruined shelter, and factories that served the city’s mechanical population.
• Wang Yue met Lister outside District 4 and told him that Hoffman had created the Alchemy Royal City, though she found no information about the Galactic Federation.
• Lister and Wang Yue toured District 4’s protected assembly lines, where mechanical lifeforms were built and fitted with energy crystals before disappearing into a shrouded final area.
• Wang Yue spotted a green-haired figure near the shrouded area, and Lister scanned him as a level 70, C-rank Alchemy Type C Doll.
• The doll opened his eyes and looked at Lister and Wang Yue with apparent curiosity.

Lister and Wang Yue entered District Three, where they found an exceptionally lifelike alchemical puppet whose scan showed an S-rank potential and many unavailable skills. Lister defeated it in combat, but it revived, broke his saber, and left him facing an unexplained threat.

• Lister and Wang Yue explored District Three and found rows of alchemical puppets behind transparent energy shields.
• Lister scanned a green-haired puppet and discovered it was a Level 71 Alchemical Type S Puppet with an overall rating of B-rank to S-rank.
• The puppet awakened and attacked Lister, who blocked its advance with Iai Slash and fought it at close range.
• Lister knocked the puppet back and struck it with successive saber attacks, apparently killing it with a critical hit to the neck.
• The puppet seized Lister's saber, resisted his attempts to pull it free, and broke the blade before Lister could retreat.

Lister and Wang Yue defeated Hoffman’s alchemical puppet, then learned that Hoffman had turned himself and others into puppets and survived in the Galactic Federation. They passed into the next area of his home, where Wang Yue began reading a diary.

• Lister struck the puppet, killing it and transferring true damage to the unknown Overlord Tier existence controlling it.
• The puppet spoke through Hoffman, who introduced himself as the creator of the Alchemy Ruined City and said both he and the puppet were made from his human body.
• Hoffman confirmed that he had made the other puppets from real people and told Lister that Carven Dill had been waiting for him for over a year.
• The puppet shut down, and the pair received A-rank clearance to enter Area One as the ruins opened a new passage.
• Lister and Wang Yue entered Hoffman’s home, where the mechanical butler Tia greeted them and Wang Yue found a diary crystal.