Chapter Summaries

Lin Mo and his team hunted Cat Demons, and his impressive fighting revealed how much his skills had improved. After the team defeated 14 Cat Demons and camped for the night, Lin Mo realized his weak Constitution could not keep up with his growing strength and speed.

• Lin Mo killed a Cat Demon and fought with such skill that Cody reevaluated him, while the team defeated the remaining monsters.
• The group continued hunting Cat Demons, with Lin Mo and Cody often taking out targets quickly, and Miriam collected their claws.
• Near evening, Miriam counted 14 Cat Demons for the day, and Bern decided the team would camp and resume the mission tomorrow.
• At camp, Lin Mo noticed his body was sore and trembling after fighting at full power, and he considered how to improve his Constitution.
• Lin Mo went to sleep, and Bern took the first watch while checking the traps around their deeper campsite.

Lin Mo and his squad were ambushed at night by a fast, powerful Tattooed Cat Demon, and Lin Mo realized their limited vision left the group at a serious disadvantage. After the creature attacked Bern and dodged the squad’s counterattack, it struck Miriam from behind.

• Lin Mo heard a branch snap, woke Bern, and helped the squad prepare after one of their traps sounded an alarm.
• A Tattooed Cat Demon lunged at Evan, but Lin Mo blocked its claws with the Wolfbone Sword.
• Bern recognized the attacker as a Tattooed Cat Demon, which vanished into the darkness before Lin Mo could counterattack.
• The Tattooed Cat Demon attacked again, and Bern knocked it back with Shield Bash while Cody threw a shortsword and Miriam fired an arrow.
• Lin Mo warned Miriam to watch out, but the Tattooed Cat Demon pierced her throat from behind.

Two Tattooed Cat Demons ambushed the adventurers, leaving Miriam with a grave throat wound before the group drove them off. A Life Potion saved her life, and as dawn approached, Lin Mo and his companions defended against another attack and wounded both demons.

• A second Tattooed Cat Demon appeared during the ambush, and Miriam was pierced in the throat while the group fought back.
• Evan used a Life Potion on Miriam, stopping her bleeding and restoring her consciousness, though her wound remained serious.
• Bern, Cody, and Lin Mo surrounded Evan and Miriam and waited for the demons to attack again as dawn neared.
• Lin Mo sensed a Tattooed Cat Demon approaching, blocked its claws, and wounded it with his sword.
• The other Tattooed Cat Demon attacked Cody, but Bern struck it with Shield Bash and sent it flying.

Lin Mo and his companions survived the Tattooed Cat Demons’ ambush, then recovered around the campfire as Bern shared Evan and Miriam’s past. Bern revealed that one injured demon could be tracked, and Cody proposed pursuing it in daylight.

• Lin Mo, Cody, and Bern repelled the Tattooed Cat Demons’ ambush and kept watch until sunrise, when the monsters retreated.
• Miriam stabilized after taking a Life Potion, and Lin Mo prepared breakfast while the group rested.
• Bern recounted how Evan protected and supported Miriam from childhood, eventually becoming an adventurer to help her.
• Lin Mo mentioned that killing a Tattooed Cat Demon would complete their mission, and Bern said the wounded one could not have gone far.
• Cody joined them and urged the group to pursue the injured Tattooed Cat Demon during daylight.

In Roland Town, adventurers discussed the growing goblin threat while civilians struggled to survive. In Lorraine Forest, Lin Mo and his companions followed the wounded Tattooed Cat Demon’s blood trail into the Deep Forest Area and found their target ahead.

• Adventurers in Battora Tavern discussed the increasing goblin numbers and the risk of another large-scale siege.
• Cody led Bern and the others along the wounded Tattooed Cat Demon’s blood trail toward the Deep Forest Area.
• Bern explained that the group could safely continue a short distance farther, while Lin Mo noticed they had encountered no other magical beasts.
• Cody spotted the Tattooed Cat Demons ahead, and the group readied their weapons and crept toward them.

Lin Mo and his companions ambushed and killed two Tattooed Cat Demons, bringing their mission close to completion. After spotting a strange crack in a tree, they discovered what Bern believed was an entrance to a secret realm, and Lin Mo asked what lay inside.

• Lin Mo approached the resting Tattooed Cat Demons in Stealth and coordinated with Cody to lure their attention away.
• Lin Mo killed the injured Tattooed Cat Demon, and the group worked together to kill the other one as it tried to escape.
• Evan and Miriam collected the demons' claws and teeth, while Evan also preserved their hearts for sale.
• Bern said they needed claws from 16 more Common Cat Demons to complete the mission and hoped they could return that day.
• Lin Mo spotted a crack in a nearby tree, and Bern identified it as a possible secret-realm entrance.
• Bern explained that secret realms were places where this world overlapped with other worlds, and Lin Mo asked what they contained.

Lin Mo and the others avoided entering the secret realm, but realized the Tattooed Cat Demons may have emerged from it and entered territory controlled by another threat. They were surrounded by over a hundred Goblins and three Mutated Goblins, including one far larger than any Lin Mo had seen before.

• Bern warned Evan that secret realms were dangerous and that even the Legendary Adventurer Lorenz Varania had disappeared inside one, so Evan abandoned his hopes of entering.
• Lin Mo asked whether secret realms contained monsters, and Bern explained that they did and that some monsters on the continent had come from them.
• Lin Mo noticed that a Tattooed Cat Demon had tried to flee toward the secret realm's entrance and realized the cat demons might have come from there.
• The group recognized that they had encountered almost no monsters on their way through the forest and wondered whose territory they had entered.
• More than a hundred Goblins emerged from the grass and surrounded the party alongside three Mutated Goblins.
• Lin Mo saw that the Mutated Goblin ahead of them was far taller than the one he had previously fought.

A carriage bearing the Lawrence name arrived in Roland Town, where Lady Eunice ordered a commoner killed after the driver struck him. Meanwhile, Lin Mo and his companions faced a Goblin horde and chose the rift into a Secret Realm as their only chance to survive, but Lin Mo stayed behind briefly as Bern entered.

• The blond Lawrence youth drove a carriage into Roland Town and killed a commoner on Lady Eunice's order.
• Witnesses recognized the carriage as belonging to the Lawrence Family and whispered that it carried Viscountess Caroline's daughter.
• Bern, Cody, Evan, Miriam, and Lin Mo were surrounded by an adult Mutated Goblin, two adolescent Mutated Goblins, and more than a hundred Normal Goblins.
• Lin Mo suggested entering the nearby Secret Realm, and Bern agreed that it was their only chance to survive.
• Cody entered the rift first, followed by Evan carrying Miriam, while Lin Mo told Bern to go ahead because he still had something to do.

Lin Mo entered the Secret Realm after killing twenty Goblins, then reached the requirements to become a class-holder. Inside the castle-like realm, he became a level-one Warrior and examined his new skills.

• Lin Mo killed twenty Goblins with repeated sword strikes and entered the Secret Realm just before a Mutated Goblin could reach him.
• Lin Mo reunited with Bern, Evan, and Cody inside a dim, castle-like dungeon, where the group looked around cautiously.
• Lin Mo’s Slash reached its maximum level, evolved into Cross Slash, and granted him additional Strength.
• Lin Mo met the advancement requirements and became a level-one Warrior, gaining six attribute points and the class skill Warrior’s Heart.
• Lin Mo inspected Cross Slash and noted that his low Constitution might not support its stamina cost before turning to examine Warrior’s Heart.

Lin Mo and the adventurers prepared to explore the dungeon after the Secret Realm sealed its entrance, while Lin Mo gained a skill that improved his endurance. The group advanced cautiously through the trapped passage, with Bern and Cody watching for danger.

• Lin Mo gained Warrior's Heart, which increased his endurance and reduced the stamina cost of his skills.
• Bern determined that the sealed Secret Realm was likely a dungeon and that the group would need to reach its end to find an exit.
• The party rested and ate before setting out, while Miriam and Evan discussed his hopes of learning skills and becoming a professional.
• Bern led the group through the narrow passage, with Cody scouting ahead and Miriam, Evan, and Lin Mo following.
• Cody spotted traps along the way, and Bern blocked an arrow and protected the party from other hazards.

The group reached a dark chamber and fought a band of Goblins, where Lin Mo displayed his newfound strength. Bern recognized that Lin Mo had advanced, and Lin Mo confirmed he had become a classed adventurer.

• Bern carefully opened the door at the end of the passage, and rats rushed out before Goblins emerged and attacked the group.
• Evan, Miriam, Bern, Cody, and the others fought the Goblins while Lin Mo used Cross Slash to kill six of them at once.
• The group collected the Goblins' left ears, and Bern sat in thought after witnessing Lin Mo's attack.
• Bern asked Lin Mo if he had advanced, and Lin Mo confirmed that he had become a classed adventurer that day.

After becoming a Classholder, Lin Mo helped his party defeat seven Cat Demons in the Secret Realm, bringing their quest progress to 21/30. The group entered the next chamber and found recent human remains, while Evan spotted something nearby.

• Evan reacted with envy when he learned Lin Mo had become a Classholder and hoped to find a Warrior Skill Scroll.
• Bern led the party through a Goblin living chamber, and the group chose the right-hand passage by flipping Cody's Silver Coin.
• Bern opened the next door, and the party fought seven Cat Demons; Lin Mo killed four and raised Cross Slash to Level 2.
• The party collected the Cat Demons' spoils, bringing the quest progress to 21/30, then entered a chamber containing recent human bones.
• Evan called the others over after spotting something in the chamber.

Lin Mo and the group found coins and daggers in a treasure chest, then realized the Secret Realm was a maze with an uncertain route to an exit. They chose the middle path and reached a blue-gray door.

• After the red beast-shaped mark faded, Evan opened the chest, and Lin Mo found fifty Silver Coins and two Iron Daggers inside.
• Bern explained the main theories about how dungeons formed, and Lin Mo kept the daggers while the others split the coins.
• The group discovered three paths beyond the next chamber, and Lin Mo and Bern concluded the Secret Realm was a maze.
• Lin Mo, Bern, and Cody used rock-paper-scissors to choose the middle path, which Bern led them down.
• At the end of the path, the group came upon a blue-gray door.

Lin Mo and his team entered a sealed chamber and faced a Minotaur, with Lin Mo blocking its powerful charge so the others could attack. The Minotaur shrugged off their wounds and grew more furious as the battle continued.

• Lin Mo discovered a magic barrier had sealed the path behind the team, leaving them no choice but to open the bluish-gray door.
• Bern smashed the door open and revealed a Minotaur waiting inside the torchlit chamber.
• As the Minotaur charged, Lin Mo rushed forward and used Slash to block its axe with the Wolfbone Sword.
• Bern rallied the others, and Miriam, Cody, Bern, and Evan attacked while Lin Mo held the Minotaur in place.
• The team's attacks caused only minor wounds, and the enraged Minotaur became even more violent.

Lin Mo and his companions defeated a Minotaur in a hidden room, but they could not open the bronze treasure chest they found there. After resting, they chose a new passage and ran into a group of Cat Demons.

• Lin Mo used Cross Slash and the help of Bern and Evan to kill the Minotaur, though the battle left Evan injured.
• Bern cut off the Minotaur's horns and gave them to Lin Mo, who also kept its Great Axe.
• Cody found a bronze treasure chest whose red mark remained unchanged, and Lin Mo could not open it.
• The group rested for about half an hour, then Miriam carried the chest as they continued onward.
• Miriam chose the far-right path at a four-way fork, and the group encountered a pack of Cat Demons along the way.

Lin Mo and his companions navigated the maze-like Secret Realm and found a rift, only to be ambushed by a fully grown Tattooed Cat Demon and a horde of Cat Demons. As Lin Mo helped turn the battle in their favor, familiar drumbeats sounded behind them.

• Lin Mo killed four Cat Demons in the corridor while Miriam and Cody finished off another, and the group discovered the passage had split into a crossroads.
• Bern recorded the forks on his parchment, and the group continued onward until they reached another secret room with a rift at its far end.
• A fully grown Tattooed Cat Demon ambushed Cody, but Lin Mo blocked its claws and knocked it back.
• More than a dozen Cat Demons attacked, and Bern shielded the group while Evan protected Miriam and Cody fought from the flank.
• Lin Mo repeatedly struck the Cat Demons and kept the Tattooed Cat Demon at bay, easing the pressure on Bern.
• Familiar drumbeats suddenly sounded from behind the group.

Lin Mo and his companions were trapped between a pursuing Minotaur and the Cat Demons as they tried to reach the Secret Realm’s exit. Miriam threw herself in front of Evan to save him, leaving her fate unclear.

• Lin Mo realized the Minotaur’s secret room had contained a second Minotaur, which had followed the party and joined the Cat Demons in attacking them.
• Bern ordered everyone to flee, but Cat Demons blocked their path while the Minotaur struck Bern and sent him crashing to the ground.
• Lin Mo let the Tattooed Cat Demon wound him so he could counterattack with Cross Slash and free himself from the fight.
• The Minotaur raised its axe to strike Evan, and Miriam lunged toward him, recalling how they had met and grown close.
• Miriam smiled at Evan as the axe descended toward him.

Miriam sacrificed herself to save Evan, and Lin Mo fought to get his companions out while battling the Minotaur and Cat Demons. After defeating the Minotaur, Lin Mo noticed that Miriam’s body was intact despite the force of the blow.

• Miriam shoved Evan out of the Minotaur’s path and was struck by its Great Axe, leaving Evan devastated and badly wounded.
• Lin Mo cut down Cat Demons to protect Bern, who dragged Evan toward the Secret Realm’s exit.
• Lin Mo warned Cody to get down, then used the thrown Great Axe to injure the Tattooed Cat Demon and nearby Cat Demons.
• Lin Mo leveled up Cross Slash and overpowered the Minotaur, then used Stealth and another Cross Slash to sever its spine.
• Lin Mo collapsed and noticed that Miriam’s body had not been cleaved in two despite the Minotaur’s blow.

Lin Mo escaped the Secret Realm with the badly injured Miriam and used his Life Potion to stabilize her. After the group made camp, he opened a treasure chest and found a Knight skill scroll for Tenacity, though he could not yet understand how to learn it.

• Lin Mo found Miriam alive after the Minotaur's axe struck the treasure chest on her back, then collected the room's materials and brought her out of the Secret Realm.
• Evan, Bern, and Cody recovered from their injuries in Lorraine Forest while they waited for Lin Mo to return.
• Lin Mo emerged carrying Miriam, and Evan rushed to her as Bern warned that she needed treatment soon.
• Lin Mo gave Evan his unused Life Potion, and Evan applied it to Miriam, making her breathing steadier.
• The group moved away from the rift and made camp, while Bern and Cody set traps and Lin Mo opened a treasure chest.
• Lin Mo found a Knight skill scroll called Tenacity and struggled to understand its instructions.

After saving Bern’s party, Lin Mo asked Bern about the Tenacity Skill Scroll and learned that physical skills relied on circulating Blood Qi. He quickly recognized the energy he already used when casting skills, then appeared to understand the scroll almost immediately.

• Bern thanked Lin Mo for saving the party, and they agreed to the mission split while Lin Mo claimed extra loot, including the bull horns and Great Axes.
• Lin Mo showed Bern the Tenacity Skill Scroll and asked what circulating Blood Qi meant.
• Bern explained that Blood Qi was energy produced by the body and that physical professions used it to release skills.
• Lin Mo tested Slash with his Wolfbone Sword and felt the warm current of Blood Qi flowing through him.
• Lin Mo studied the Tenacity scroll and announced that he was done, leaving Bern stunned by how quickly he seemed to grasp it.