Recaps

Velin entered the Deep Illusion Realm in a dream, gave his virtual gaming helmet to a Dream Spirit, and chose a mysterious blue light in return. He awakened the Soul Skill Life-Death Cycle and spent the next half month exploring its powers and how to develop it.

• Orlando chose Hebrew to accompany the lord to a banquet and pinned him down when he objected, saying he would train him until he could win.
• Belder and the other eleven selected Doxius and Cassius for intensive training and arranged many-against-one sparring to improve their fighting skills.
• Velin recalled an old tale about Keglachi and mysterious beings, then fell asleep while holding his virtual gaming helmet.
• In the Deep Illusion Realm, Velin met a Dream Spirit, gave it his helmet, and chose the blue ball of light as his return gift before waking the next morning.
• Velin discovered he had awakened the Soul Skill Life-Death Cycle after casting a spell that rapidly grew and withered a plant, while his virtual gaming helmet no longer worked.
• After half a month of experimentation, Velin determined that Life-Death Cycle drew energy and life force from its target, and planned to separate its powers of life and death to heal creatures quickly.

Velin traveled to Gute Territory for a banquet celebrating his uncles’ elevated titles, while also hoping to find suitable marriage prospects for twelve of his Guardian Knights. After settling into the manor, he reunited with his cousin Cowell, who took him to tour the territory.

• Velin and his companions crossed famine-stricken noble territories and arrived in Gute Territory, where a knight welcomed them and guided them to their manor lodging.
• Velin assigned the manor’s maids their duties, stopped Hebrew from behaving improperly, and asked Doxius and Cassius to keep an eye on him.
• Velin considered his goals for the banquet: congratulating his uncles, demonstrating his strength, and gathering information about potential spouses for his twelve Guardian Knights.
• Cowell visited Velin the next morning, and the cousins set out on ordinary horses to tour the towns and villages of Gute Territory.
• Olcott heard that Cowell was showing Velin around and felt gratified.

Velin visited Gute Territory and learned how Olcott planned to expand it by exchanging land with neighboring Barons. At the Banquet, he reunited with his grandparents, while Ignatius revealed new family privileges and duties to Olcott and Edgar.

• Velin learned that Olcott intended to exchange territories with the seven Barons bordering Gute Territory, while Velin planned to claim and develop the ownerless land around his own territory.
• Velin arrived at the Banquet and was led into the Manor's core room, where he found his grandparents, Ignatius and Clotilde.
• Ignatius explained that he had come in Velin's father's place because Olcott and Edgar had been promoted to Viscounts.
• Ignatius told Olcott and Edgar that their descendants could study under Counts with family support, and that their families could select a renewable resource for a pillar industry.
• Ignatius began briefing Olcott and Edgar on upper-tier markets and overseas trade channels, while Clotilde took Velin to the garden and teased him about growing up.

Velin listened to Clotilde and Ignatius recount their travels, then received a belated coming-of-age gift before his grandparents mysteriously departed. Back at home, he studied the ring’s books and identified its fruits and seeds.

• Clotilde told Velin about her and Ignatius’s adventures, including their fight against the Corrupting Cult and the Fairy Dragon who wanted Ignatius’s children.
• Ignatius gave Velin an exquisite Spatial Ring as a belated coming-of-age gift, then he and Clotilde vanished.
• Velin met Olcott and Edgar outside the courtyard and told them Ignatius and Clotilde had left.
• Kyle reported that Sir Brian and another noble had visited while Velin was away.
• Velin studied the books in the ring, found an improved Breathing Technique and a Gold-rank combat skill, and identified six types of fruit and thirteen packets of seeds.

Velin prepared to improve his territory’s food supply, then attended a noble gathering where he offered Baron Wisk trade opportunities in exchange for suitable recruits. He later joined Brian and other young nobles to discuss the exhibition duels, which Velin said he would not enter himself.

• Velin stored the seeds, fruit, and book in his Space Ring before resting for the night.
• The next morning, Velin learned that Hebrew, Doxius, and Cassius were preparing for the exhibition duels, then went with his companions to the banquet site.
• Velin greeted Baron Wisk Grovna and offered his family Ice Blue Magic Potion distribution rights and Azure Purple Horse purchase quotas in return for recommending promising people.
• Kyle called Velin away to meet Brian, who introduced him to Modred Barrit among the young nobles gathered in a pavilion.
• Velin joked about entering the exhibition duels, then clarified that he would leave the competition to others.

Olcott and Edgar celebrated their promotions to Viscount with a banquet and exhibition duels attended by Cadro Province’s nobles. Qixing Territory’s knights won several matches, and the chapter ended as Hebrew faced the veteran Temple Knight Dexhil in the final match of the first stage.

• Olcott and Edgar thanked their allies and celebrated their promotions to Viscount before the assembled nobles.
• Cowell and Alick opened the exhibition duels, where Olcott’s Silver Knight defeated Viscount Moncas’s knight.
• Cassius of Qixing Territory defeated Felicia, and Doxius also overwhelmed his opponent, raising Qixing Territory’s reputation.
• Dexhil entered to cheers from lower nobles, and Alick introduced seventeen-year-old Hebrew as his opponent.
• Hebrew and Dexhil attacked at full strength, and Dexhil announced that he would speed up.

Hebrew lost to Devonshire in the exhibition duel but accepted the defeat as motivation to improve. The next day, Velin watched the Silver duels, learned more about Devonshire’s past, and remained determined to recruit him as a knight instructor.

• Devonshire defeated Hebrew and sent him out of the dueling grounds, while Hebrew realized Devonshire had held back.
• Velin visited Hebrew and learned that he had accepted the loss and planned to train until he could defeat Devonshire.
• Hebrew rose early the next morning to practice before Velin and the others returned to watch the duels.
• Devonshire defeated Isius after two hundred exchanges, and Velin decided he wanted to recruit him as his chief knight instructor.
• Brian explained Devonshire’s background and selfless service to the Church, but Velin said he would still try to recruit him.

Velin returned to Lake of Star Prayer, reviewed his estate’s resources, and organized a three-month Winter Training Plan to strengthen the Standing Army. The training began with 3,600 soldiers gathered at a camp west of Star Prayer Town, where Velin warned that those who failed to improve would be transferred to the militia.

• Velin tried to recruit Devonshire at the Banquet, but Devonshire refused to leave the church or become an instructor.
• Velin returned to Lake of Star Prayer and received Landov’s report on livestock, tea, and wine, then ordered supplies distributed to workers, farmers, and soldiers.
• Velin issued orders for the Winter Training Plan and sent troops from Blue Gauze Town and Orlando Town to the camp near Star Prayer Town.
• Velin assembled the 3,600 soldiers from his castle and three towns, announced three months of training, and threatened to remove those who failed to improve from the Standing Army.

Velin began a winter training program for his 3,600 soldiers and prepared to travel to the Duchy of Lightend to secure land before a natural Spatial Channel appeared. After reaching Cadro Province, he sent his knights to investigate Devonshire and planned to continue to Maple County Town.

• Velin organized the 3,600 soldiers into six battalions and assigned them to train as Shield Warriors, Spearmen, Swordsmen, or Archers.
• Velin instructed Cassius, Isius, and Iden to assess soldiers and find promising candidates, and promised a reward for each candidate who passed his assessment.
• Velin gave Kyle Glowing Wine and Black Tea Leaves to share with Iden, then told Kyle to select six Bronze Knights.
• Velin left Lake of Star Prayer with Kyle and six others, carrying nearly fifty thousand Gold Notes, and reached the Provincial Capital of Cadro Province eight days later.
• Velin declined to attend the upcoming Slave Auction and told Kyle to gather information quickly so they could reach Maple County Town before the available land was taken.

Velin brought his group to the Duchy of Lightend, where a three-day anomaly of relentless rain ended when Duke Lightend and his wife drove the clouds away. Velin then hurried toward Maple County, while the duke's party began investigating the disturbance.

• Velin learned about Devonshire, ordered his group to travel to the Duchy of Lightend, and paid to teleport them there.
• After resting in Lightend City, Velin recognized the torrential rain as an anomaly and studied a map to plan the journey to Maple County.
• The rain flooded the inn for three days before Duke Lightend and his wife dispersed the clouds with a roar.
• Velin ordered his group to leave Lightend City for Maple County before the duke began investigating the anomaly.
• The Silver Dragon landed at a mountain castle and transformed into an elf, where a young man asked her and Lilith what they had discovered.

Velin arrived in Maple County ahead of the search for the Spatial Channel and began quietly acquiring property and gathering intelligence. He settled into one of his new residences while his knights surveyed the city, preparing for the channel’s appearance and the opportunities it might bring.

• Lightend learned that the phenomenon was related to the ancient Spatial Channel, then flew northeast with Salalina while Lilith and another woman coordinated the response.
• Velin saw the silver dragon overhead and urged his eight subordinates to reach Maple County quickly.
• In Maple County’s city, Kyle learned that Rhine Architecture House sold property, and Velin inspected its catalogues.
• Velin bought three city residences and arranged for Kyle to register them in his own name so Velin’s identity would remain concealed.
• Velin moved into one residence and sent his six Bronze Knights to gather intelligence across the city while he planned his next arrangements.

Velin planned to establish businesses in Maple City and sent six Bronze Knights there undercover to open competing shops. He then traveled with Kyle to the impoverished Draesir Family’s territory and arranged to stay in Maishi Village.

• After investigating Maple County, Velin chose magic potions, inns, scouting pets, dining, and taverns as possible businesses while avoiding industries that could threaten the duke’s interests.
• Velin gave Kyle and six Bronze Knights money and assignments to establish businesses under different names, ordering the knights to operate separately and promising to help them reach Silver rank.
• The six Bronze Knights began opening businesses in Maple City, while Velin bought three shops registered under Kyle’s name.
• Velin and Kyle left Lightend City and traveled to Calid Province, where Velin saw poverty and abuse in the Draesir Family’s territory.
• Velin and Kyle reached Maishi Village, where Kyle paid the village chief three silver coins for their stay.

Velin and Kyle investigated Old Tom, the village chief of Maishi Village, after suspecting he was a deathsworn guarding a secret tied to Devonshire. Their inquiries pointed to Old Tom’s missing children, and after Old Tom died overnight, Velin and Kyle set out for Kandela.

• Velin questioned Old Tom about events from thirty years earlier, but Old Tom denied knowing anything and Velin identified him as a deathsworn guarding a secret.
• Velin sent Kyle to investigate Old Tom’s family, and Kyle learned that two of Old Tom’s children had vanished after reportedly falling into a river and that their bodies were never found.
• Kyle reported a rumor that the village midwife left Maishi Village with her family the day after delivering Old Tom’s eldest daughter.
• Velin suspected the missing eldest daughter held the key to the mystery and decided to travel to Kandela the next morning.
• A Red-headed Crow flew toward the northern mountains that night, and the next morning Velin and Kyle learned Old Tom had died before leaving for Kandela.

A young girl in a hidden valley learned that her adoptive father, Old Tom, had died after warning her that traitors had found him. In Kandela, Velin investigated Devonshire and noticed a growing number of spies, deciding to leave the city and see whether they followed.

• A Red-headed Crow delivered Old Tom’s Blue Jade Bamboo Letter to the young girl, who learned that her adoptive father was gone and told Muller not to inform her sworn younger brother.
• Velin and Kyle arrived in Kandela, where Velin waited for the Guidance of Fate and learned of three Mermaid Pearls hidden near Jolika Town.
• Kyle found that Kandela’s common rumors claimed Devonshire had left after an affair with Frederick Draesir’s mistress, and Velin dismissed the story as false.
• Over the next few days, Kyle identified eight spies in Kandela and drew their portraits for Velin.
• Velin refused Kyle’s offer to capture and interrogate the spies, and planned to leave Kandela in two days to see whether they followed.

Velin and Kyle left Kandela after several forces began watching them, then encountered a three-way battle in the mountains. The factions appeared to have set an ambush for them, but they attacked one another first.

• A nobleman ordered his spy to keep watching Velin and went to report to his elder brother.
• A Black Robe suspected Velin and Kyle were investigators or bait and decided to report to Lord Muller before acting.
• The Gloomy Man ordered his subordinate to keep watching the pair, then fed a Ghoul and vowed it would remain by his side.
• Velin and Kyle left Kandela as three different forces set their plans in motion.
• Three days later, Velin and Kyle saw the Draesir Family's Black Raven Unit, Shadow Stalkers, and Withering Cult followers clash in a clearing.

Velin and Kyle escaped the growing three-way battle, disguised themselves, and returned to Kandela to continue planning a kidnapping from the Draesir Family. Kyle began gathering information on noble offspring by listening to street thugs, while the aftermath of the battle was quietly exploited by Lord Kashk.

• Velin and Kyle abandoned their plans for revenge when reinforcements enlarged the battle, then disguised themselves and returned to Kandela.
• The army ended the three-way melee, and the surviving fighters withdrew after suffering heavy losses.
• Lord Kashk ordered the Cultist corpses burned and the Ghoul corpses collected for a reward, treating the dead as Cultists to avoid investigating their identities.
• Velin and Kyle bought a house in Kandela and agreed to scout for a Draesir Family kidnapping target the next morning.
• Kyle mingled with thugs near the noble district and listened as they discussed Lord Quade, Alexandre, and the nobles' affairs.

Velin and Kyle kidnapped Quade from his manor and fled Kandela City before anyone noticed. They brought him to a remote stream and began interrogating him about Devonshire, but Quade refused to cooperate.

• Kyle gathered rumors about nobles in Kandela City, and Velin chose Richard as a potential kidnapping target before switching to Quade when the opportunity arose.
• Count Kaohsiung Frederick ordered the Black Raven Unit to hunt down the remnants and gave its leader command of the city guard and younger family members.
• Velin and Kyle abducted Quade from his manor, leaving the other two captives in an alley, then disguised themselves as merchants and left Kandela City.
• After distributing their Bean Potatoes among nearby beggars and Poor Folk, Velin and Kyle traveled to a remote stream with Quade.
• Kyle tied Quade to a tree and stabbed his thigh, and Velin demanded to know what Quade knew about Devonshire; Quade refused to answer.

Velin tortured Quade for information, then used the Soul Snatching Technique to question his soul. He learned why Devonshire left the Draesir Family and why the family had tried to kill the investigators, but the chapter ended before Velin identified the surviving remnants’ leader.

• Velin and Kyle beat Quade repeatedly and kept him alive with Ice Blue Magic Potion, but Quade refused to answer their questions.
• Velin read the Soul Snatching Technique in the Druid's Book and sent Kyle to capture a bear to serve as the spell’s medium.
• Velin painted patterns on his face with the bear’s blood, healed Quade with Cycle of Life and Death, and pulled Quade’s soul from his body.
• Quade’s soul told Velin that Devonshire had left the family after accidentally killing his sister, brother-in-law, and niece during a purge thirty years earlier.
• Quade’s soul revealed that the Black Raven Unit was hunting the surviving remnants’ leader and that the family had ambushed the investigators to prevent them from exposing events from two hundred years ago.

Velin and Kyle left Kaohsiung Territory and traveled to the eastern coast, where they discovered several magically locked chests while searching the sea. They also found three Mermaid Pearls, which Velin planned to give away despite wanting to keep them.

• Velin questioned Quade with the Soul Snatching Technique, but the technique ended before Quade could reveal the Black Raven Unit's code phrase, and Quade later died from its effects.
• Kyle killed a Boar Bear with a boulder containing Black Crystal Stone, then buried the beast and Quade together.
• Velin and Kyle left Kaohsiung Territory before it was sealed off and traveled to Jolika Town in Sinna Province.
• Velin and Kyle found an iron chest beneath the sea, and Kyle was knocked into the water when he tried to remove its magical lock.
• Kyle spotted three more similarly locked chests, which Velin stored in his Spatial Ring.
• Velin and Kyle searched the reefs at night and found three Mermaid Pearls, which Velin decided not to keep.

Velin caught a blue-haired thief who had stolen a ledger sought by the Patrol Team, then kept her with him after learning she had been stealing to help her husband. The Patrol Team recovered a ledger from elsewhere in the inn, and the next morning Velin accepted the inn’s apology as the woman joined him and Kyle for breakfast.

• Velin subdued the blue-haired woman who climbed into his room, and Kyle tied her up while Velin discovered a coded ledger among her stolen goods.
• Velin questioned the woman, who said she had taken the ledger by accident while stealing gold and silver for her husband, and he told Kyle to hide it and keep her with them.
• The Patrol Team searched the inn but avoided Velin and Kyle’s rooms after the steward warned them about their horses, then left with a ledger found elsewhere.
• Velin stayed in his room while Kyle brought the bound woman there, and she fell asleep under a rug after realizing the two men were important.
• The next morning, the inn steward apologized to Velin and promised fodder for his horses, while Kyle brought the woman downstairs in her tight outfit and Velin teased him about his hobby.

Velin took Kelt and Eleanor into his care after learning that Kelt had sacrificed his cultivation and lifespan to restore his wife's soul. After traveling to Cadro Province, the group found the capital unusually quiet and heavily guarded.

• Velin and Kyle followed Eleanor to her home, where they met her sickly husband, Kelt Tulem.
• Kelt told Velin that he had given up his cultivation and lifespan to complete Eleanor's soul and save her from Soul Deprivation Syndrome.
• Velin offered Kelt and Eleanor a stable home in his territory, and Kelt agreed to repay him by compiling his knowledge into books.
• Velin, Kyle, Kelt, and Eleanor gathered their belongings and began traveling toward the Provincial Capital of Xina Province.
• Half a month later, the group reached the Provincial Capital of Cadro Province and noticed fewer residents and many more guards.
• Kyle displayed the Noble Banner of Qixing Territory, and the soldiers let the carriage pass through the city gate without inspection.

Velin traveled toward Lake of Star Prayer and accepted the Doslan Family’s invitation, learning about the difficulties they faced under their patron. He offered to help recruit their descendants and received a mysterious Ancient Magic Device as a gift.

• Velin met Kuk, Gregory, and Rachel, learned that all twenty candidates they had traveled with joined the 16th Knight Order, and accepted an invitation to the Doslan castle.
• At the banquet, Coliver Doslan told Velin that the Doslan Family struggled under the Freelan Family’s patronage.
• Velin promised to ask his aunt to recruit some of the Doslan descendants.
• Coliver had the Butler bring Velin an antique that glowed faintly and resembled an Ancient Magic Device, and Velin stored it in his Spatial Ring.

After returning to Lake of Praying Stars, Velin reviewed messages and reports from Belder, choosing a mage squad as his reward for the recovered Gift Moonlight Flowers. He left Belder to manage trade negotiations and ordered the cultivation of Azure Sun Fruit around Blue Gauze Town.

• Velin returned to Lake of Praying Stars and had Kyle settle Kelt and his wife while notifying Belder to report to the castle.
• Belder told Velin that the Sixteenth Knight Order had awarded him four hundred contribution points and wanted to buy five thousand bottles of Ice Blue Magic Potion each year; Velin set a lower price range and delegated negotiations to Belder.
• Velin read Windsor Castle's letter and chose a spellcaster squad of nine mages as his reward for providing information about the Gift Moonlight Flowers.
• Belder reported that noble caravans had signed trade agreements and that Blue Gauze Town's administration and population census were progressing.
• Belder told Velin that Holly Wheat and Azure Sun Fruit seeds had achieved a sixty percent survival rate, and Velin ordered Azure Sun Fruit saplings planted around Blue Gauze Town under Andrew's supervision.

Velin reviewed the Winter Training Camp’s results and reorganized the Standing Army into three camps assigned to defend Star Prayer Town, Orlando Town, and Blue Gauze Town. After the troops departed for their defense zones, he brought the Ancient Magic Device and four locked treasure chests to Aljettah for help.

• Velin visited the Winter Training Camp and learned that it had produced twenty-six Mid-Bronze Tier Warriors and more than five hundred Bronze Low-Tier Warriors; Cassius said tripling the Blackskin Pork supply could make the whole army Bronze Warriors within a year.
• Velin agreed with Cassius’s proposed army structure and decided to divide the 3,600 soldiers into three camps under the town governors’ authority.
• Cassius, Isius, and Iden completed the reorganization, with Cassius commanding the Star Prayer Camp, Isius commanding the Second Camp, and Andrew commanding the Third Camp while Iden served as deputy.
• Velin promised Iden that he would become the Third Camp’s commander once he reached Silver Warrior rank.
• After the winter training ended, the three camps departed for their defense zones, and Velin took the Ancient Magic Device and four locked treasure chests to Aljettah, bringing four thousand Gold Coins for his help.

Velin visited Aljettah to have him process Green Vine Sap, but learned that Aljettah had used it to brew wine. Aljettah agreed to help with two tasks, then identified an Ancient Magic Device as part of a long-lost World-Destroying Artifact before opening Velin’s first treasure chest and offering to translate its books for a fee.

• Velin tasted Aljettah’s wine, learned it was brewed from the Green Vine Sap, and bargained with Aljettah to complete two tasks for him.
• Aljettah became fascinated by Velin’s Ancient Magic Device and explained that it was a component of a World-Destroying Artifact built by thirty Legendary High-Tier Arcanists sixty thousand years ago.
• Velin gave the Ancient Magic Device to Aljettah, who said he wanted it for researching the artifact’s history.
• Aljettah unlocked Velin’s first treasure chest, which contained thirty books written in an Arcanist script.
• Aljettah offered to translate the books, and Velin ordered Common Tongue, Dwarvish, and Elvish versions for ninety thousand Gold Coins.