Chapter Summaries

Bai Lu confronted the Wolf Pack Club’s Pack Leader on Li Wen’s instructions, and Li Wen used information about the Rebirth Pebble to keep the giant wolf from attacking her. The chapter then explained the Pack Leader’s damaged spirituality and began describing the Rebirth Pebble’s alchemical origins, leaving its full nature unresolved.

• Bai Lu told the casino manager she had come for something important and demanded that the Alpha Wolf meet her, invoking the Platinum Council.
• The manager transformed into the Pack Leader, who recognized that Bai Lu was acting as a puppet and demanded to meet the person behind her.
• Li Wen told Bai Lu to reveal that they had information about the Rebirth Pebble, making the Pack Leader pause and question her.
• Bai Lu presented a wolf-fang-shaped bone, and the Pack Leader destroyed the room’s furnishings before asking what Li Wen wanted.
• Li Wen recalled that the Pack Leader’s failed advancement had damaged his spirituality and considered the Rebirth Pebble as a way to restore it.
• The chapter described how alchemists’ ideas of killing and rebirth led to the Rebirth Pebble, then began to introduce the answer discovered during the Silver Age.

Bai Lu relayed Li Wen’s claim that a Rebirth Pebble would appear at Black Raven Port, prompting Wolf Leader to consider investigating while remaining cautious. After Bai Lu left the Wolf Pack Club, Li Wen found her and praised how she had handled the meeting.

• Li Wen explained that Rebirth Pebbles restored spirituality and had become extremely rare since the Silver Age.
• Li Wen told Bai Lu to inform Wolf Leader that a Rebirth Pebble would appear at Black Raven Port, and Bai Lu passed on the message.
• Wolf Leader weighed the claim against reports of a Silver Age ruin discovered by Arthur’s Royal Fleet, but asked how Bai Lu could prove it.
• Bai Lu left the Wolf Pack Club and waited until Li Wen found her on the road.
• Li Wen praised Bai Lu and explained that Wolf Leader would trust its own investigation more than direct proof from them.

Li Wen used Poem of Paradise to kill the supernaturals who ambushed her and Bai Lu, then tracked Pack Leader through the spell attached to Bai Lu. She and Bai Lu fled into Leicester’s Old Town while Li Wen considered how to keep using Bai Lu and pursue the secret treasure.

• Li Wen told Bai Lu that her casino raid had made her famous and warned her to deal with the supernaturals who had followed them.
• Five or six supernaturals surrounded Li Wen and Bai Lu to take their money.
• Li Wen used Poem of Paradise to freeze the attackers and killed them with the Crow Feather Dagger.
• Li Wen and Bai Lu avoided Investigation Bureau routes and entered Leicester’s Old Town.
• Li Wen used the tracking spell on Bai Lu to record Pack Leader’s etheric signature and located Pack Leader in the Red Oak District.
• Li Wen decided to keep Bai Lu alive because she could help her contend with other factions for the secret treasure.

Alfred Lagoven hosted a banquet for a distinguished royal guest while clashing with Investigation Bureau director Jeffrey over crimes tied to the Lagoven Family. Alfred confronted his son Owen about the missing guest and the family’s dangerous outsiders, leaving Owen pleading against taking them in.

• Alfred Lagoven dismissed the deaths of Leicester citizens and argued with Jeffrey about the Investigation Bureau’s investigation.
• Jeffrey considered the royal guest’s sudden arrival and the terrifying thing reportedly passing through Leicester.
• Alfred searched the crowded banquet for His Highness and found Owen Lagoven drunk and unable to say where he was.
• Alfred scolded Owen for abandoning his task of watching His Highness, then said Jeffrey had raised the matter of Owen’s subordinates’ crimes.
• Owen denied carrying out the ritual himself and warned Alfred that the outsiders had murdered Investigation Bureau investigators, asking whether the family would really take them in.

Alfred considered how the rapidly advancing outsiders might benefit the Lagoven Family, while worrying their arrival foretold renewed conflict. Li Wen and Bai Lu went to Muen Abbey seeking help with purification, where Li Wen sensed something strange upon entering.

• Alfred asked Owen how quickly the outsiders had advanced and learned their leader was preparing for Stage Two.
• Alfred warned that the outsiders were driven by profit and might betray the Lagoven Family, but considered drawing them closer with shared benefits and goals.
• Alfred saw Jeffrey arrive with a blonde girl, an old priest, a scarred soldier, and a knight, then told Owen to greet Her Highness Victoria.
• Li Wen failed to find a suitable supernatural being to purify the powerful effect afflicting them, so she chose to seek help at Muen Abbey.
• Li Wen and Bai Lu entered Muen Abbey, where Li Wen sensed something strange.

Li Wen and Bai Lu sought help from Pastor Laon at Muen Abbey, but Bai Lu vanished when the abbey’s lights went out and strange children’s hymns filled the hall. Laon could not explain where she had gone, leaving Li Wen to suspect Bai Lu had been forced to log out of the game.

• Li Wen learned that Pastor Laon was absent and that the abbey’s other pastors had gone to a funeral, so she and Bai Lu waited inside.
• Li Wen and Bai Lu entered Muen Abbey’s ceremonial hall, where Li Wen explained that the abbey cared for children and trained some to serve Radiance.
• Every stained-glass window shattered and every candle went out, and Li Wen discovered that Bai Lu had vanished.
• Invisible children sang in the dark hall until several pastors arrived and prayed; afterward, Laon remained to speak with Li Wen.
• Li Wen told Laon that Bai Lu had disappeared, but he could not explain what had happened, so Li Wen considered whether Bai Lu had been forced to log out.

Li Wen learned that Saint Floran had followed the Path of Light Chasing and that the monastery had a connection to her. Father Laon led Li Wen to see Saint Floran’s admonition, where she noticed the ancient altar looked newly built.

• Li Wen realized Bai Lu had likely been forcibly logged out after reaching the game’s forty-eight-hour limit and told Laon she was leaving.
• Laon recognized Li Wen’s Spell-less Arc Light and explained that Saint Floran had founded the monastery and walked the Path of Light Chasing.
• Laon told Li Wen that Saint Floran had taken everything related to her Path with her to Canaan, but offered to show her an admonition beneath the monastery’s altar.
• Laon led Li Wen through the monastery and across the rainy grounds to a white stone altar, explaining that Saint Floran had refused to let people erect a statue of her.
• Li Wen noticed that the altar looked newly built despite Laon saying it dated back to before the Kingdom of Arthur was founded.

Li Wen gained the Dedication to Light and Fire ability after encountering Saint Floran’s altar, then discovered that the old Muen Abbey had become the Abbey of Divine Grace. After logging off, she read forum posts to learn about events and players elsewhere in the game world.

• Li Wen read an inscription on the altar, and a swarm of moths engulfed her before bursting into harmless flames around her.
• Li Wen gained the status “Moths Would Never Devote Themselves to Fire” and learned the Dedication to Light and Fire ability.
• Li Wen found the altar and surrounding plants transformed, then saw that the abbey had become a larger, active church and seminary where no one knew Priest Laon.
• Li Wen left the abbey and reasoned that Muen Abbey had disappeared into the past and been replaced by the Abbey of Divine Grace.
• After logging off, Li Wen browsed the game forums and read a player’s account of escaping slavery in the Earthsea and becoming a Demon Warlock.

Li Wen discovered that a forum post had revealed the time and nature of Leicester’s upcoming treasure scramble, including that its prize was the Sage’s Ovum Sheath. He headed to Artificer’s Hand to make preparations, but a High Elf and her knight stopped him in the Red Oak District.

• Li Wen read a forum post predicting that a treasure ship would arrive at Black Raven Port and carry the Sage’s Ovum Sheath, then wondered who had posted the information.
• Li Wen logged into the game, failed to find Bai Lu on the Magic Map, and decided to head to Artificer’s Hand before the scramble.
• Li Wen flew from the abandoned warehouse, drank Granny Marsha’s Agility Potion, and traveled to the Red Oak District.
• Li Wen asked for directions to Middletown Academy and was approached by a High Elf accompanied by a knight of the Third Knight Legion.
• Li Wen asked the High Elf what she wanted.

Li Wen searched Middletown Academy’s old library for the hidden Spellbook rumored to lead recruits to Artificer’s Hand, then used Leonart’s Second Solution to trigger the magic protecting it. She was teleported to Marymana and an unfamiliar certified mage, leaving the library’s shelves toppled and its books vanished.

• Li Wen entered Middletown Academy and used the Magic Map to locate Artificer’s Hand’s old library.
• A librarian told Li Wen the rumor of a hidden Spellbook that could take its finder into the world of magic.
• Li Wen reasoned that the Spellbook was protected by trigger magic and prepared Leonart’s Second Solution to activate it.
• The ritual caused every bookshelf in the library to topple and every book to disappear as Li Wen was teleported away.
• Li Wen arrived beside Marymana and a strangely dressed mage wearing a Magic Committee certification badge, who called her over.

Li Wen met Marymana and Selwyn at the Artificer's Hand Society, then asked them about the Sage's Ovum Sheath. Marymana demanded to know how Li Wen had learned of it, leaving the question unanswered.

• Marymana welcomed Li Wen to the Artificer's Hand Society, where Selwyn praised her skill as a ritual mage.
• Marymana showed Li Wen around the Society and explained that it had 327 members, including 145 magic apprentices.
• Li Wen encountered Moria, who explained that Marymana had told him to remain in Talanis while Li Wen handled her business.
• Selwyn brought Li Wen, Marymana, and Moria to a reception room and prepared tea.
• Li Wen asked what the Sage's Ovum Sheath was, startling Marymana and Selwyn; Marymana grabbed Li Wen and demanded to know where she had heard of it.

Li Wen warned Marymana and Selwyn that hundreds of supernatural beings were heading to Black Raven Port over a likely false rumor about the Sage's Ovum Sheath. Princess Victoria arrived at the society, and after Moria and Li Wen left, she spoke with Selwyn and Marymana without yet revealing her purpose.

• Li Wen told Marymana and Selwyn that a ship would pass through Black Raven Port with the rumored Sage's Ovum Sheath and that hundreds of supernatural beings planned to pursue it.
• Marymana concluded the rumor was a trap and prepared to alert Goodmer, while Selwyn stopped her when new guests arrived.
• Princess Victoria entered with her attendant, recognized Li Wen from their earlier meeting, and met Moria before he left.
• Li Wen also left, telling Marymana she had said all she could, while Victoria explained that she had come to Leicester to see the world and regretted missing Mr. Echiborn.
• Selwyn told Victoria that Mr. Echiborn was away at a symposium, and Victoria said her mother would worry if she stayed away too long.

Victoria asked Marymana about Master Gudmel before revealing that she had been ordered to retrieve the Sage's Ovum Sheath. Meanwhile, Moria warned Li Wen that the matter was dangerous, and the two went to Gospel Grand Cathedral after learning that Nasha had vanished.

• Victoria asked Marymana whether Master Gudmel was well and mentioned her mother's order to retrieve the Sage's Ovum Sheath.
• Moria told Li Wen he would delay returning to Canaan to investigate the Sage's Ovum Sheath and asked her to stay near him.
• Moria visited Halik and learned that Nasha had disappeared after leaving behind a letter that said only, "Goodbye."
• Moria decided to visit Gospel Grand Cathedral to obtain a new sword and deliver items to the Secret Church, and Li Wen went with him.

Li Wen and Moriah visited Leicester Gospel Cathedral, where Li Wen asked a nun about Saint Floran and Muen Abbey while Moriah met Bishop Caro in secret. Moriah recounted what happened in the Black Dragon Territory and called his actions wrong, while Caro argued that Oles Dee’s sins had helped save many lives; their discussion remained unfinished.

• Moriah led Li Wen through a hidden passage from the Artificer's Hand back to the streets of the Red Oak District.
• At Leicester Gospel Cathedral, Moriah asked Bishop Caro to receive him and had Li Wen wait in the rear hall.
• Li Wen questioned a nun about the Most Holy Monastery, Saint Floran, and Saint Floran Muen Abbey, then made small talk until Moriah returned with Caro.
• After Li Wen left, Moriah entered a concealed sanctuary inside the cathedral and met Bishop Caro.
• Moriah told Caro about Oles Dee’s laboratory, the Great Blood, and the remnants of Dee’s miracle, and said he believed his own actions had been wrong.
• Caro argued that Dee had saved countless lives and would atone to everyone, but said this would not happen before the anointing ceremony.

Moria discovered that the Great Blood he had brought back was a fake and went to investigate Nasha, while Li Wen learned that Marymana would travel to Black Raven Port for Princess Victoria. The chapter left Moria questioning Halik about Nasha’s past and Li Wen secretly planning to pursue the Sage’s Ovum Sheath.

• Bishop Caro took the Great Blood from Moria, but it crumbled into dust, revealing that someone had replaced it with a fake.
• Moria and Li Wen returned to the Artificer's Hand, where Moria went to question Halik and Li Wen spoke with Marymana.
• Marymana told Li Wen that she was going to Black Raven Port on Princess Victoria’s commission, and Li Wen pretended she would stay behind.
• Halik told Moria that he had met Nasha at a Wild Mage gathering a year earlier and had suspected she was new to magic.

Players at the Leicester Security Bureau prepared a ritual to obtain a divine artifact after killing the Peacekeepers there, while Bai Lu agreed to bring a group of younger players along. The mission had been exposed on the forum, leaving the studio wary of interference as the ritual began.

• Sting-sword Man and the Highland Race player killed the Peacekeepers at the Old Town Branch, and the elf scolded them for leaving no living sacrifices.
• The elf warned that the mission had leaked onto the forum, then used a rare scroll to spread Gray Mist and ordered the others to capture living sacrifices.
• Sting-sword Man and the Highland Race player agreed to follow the original plan after learning that the Guild Leader would address the leak.
• Bai Lu saw the forum post and, after a group of younger players begged her to take them along, reluctantly agreed.

Edward Harriman infiltrated Leicester’s sewers in search of Black Raven Port and the Sage's Ovum Sheath, hoping to evade the Kingdom Army and Investigation Bureau. After hearing investigators nearby, he transformed into a giant rat and recognized two familiar agents, leaving him confident he could sneak past them.

• Edward disguised himself and entered Leicester’s sewers to reach Black Raven Port without crossing the city’s watched streets.
• Edward heard someone strike flint and realized Investigation Bureau personnel were nearby, possibly guarding the route to the port.
• Edward activated his Stage Two Ratkin ability and transformed into a large gray rat.
• Edward spotted two Investigation Bureau investigators, recognized them as familiar partners, and judged he could slip past them without a direct confrontation.

Edward killed two Investigation Bureau investigators to protect his plan to get money for his family, then entered Black Raven Port to meet his contact. He found the port deserted and saw an eerily empty Royal Fleet warship arrive, leaving him to approach it despite his fear.

• Edward transformed from a dying rat and killed the scar-faced investigator and his bald companion, then grieved briefly before continuing toward Black Raven Port.
• Edward crawled through a sewer into the deserted port and waited, imagining moving his family to Viana and finding treatment for his daughter.
• Edward recognized the scent of an approaching four-masted warship flying Arthur's Royal Fleet flag.
• Edward sensed no living crew aboard the docked warship, but approached it because retrieving the object was his only option.

Edward retrieved a black stone egg from the Ghost Ship but was poisoned and attacked by a player posing as a Voodoo Practitioner. Li Wen searched the Artificer's Hand library for clues about Saint Floran and found that learning more would require a journey to Canaan.

• Edward showed a badge to the slime-like monster, which expelled a black stone egg before dissolving into a puddle.
• A Voodoo Practitioner confronted Edward, who swallowed the egg; the player poisoned him and approached to finish him off.
• Top White Star Studio players arrived and demanded that the Voodoo Practitioner surrender the mission, but Edward revealed he had only pretended to be incapacitated and swept through them.
• Li Wen learned that Moria had already left and then searched the Artificer's Hand library for records about Leicester City's history.
• Li Wen found evidence that Muen Abbey had stood where the Most Sacred Abbey now stood, but its records and even its name had been erased.
• Li Wen concluded that she would need to go to Canaan to learn about Saint Floran and the Path of Light Chasing, then noticed the Ancient Sun Chronicle in the library.

Li Wen connected Saint Floran’s admonition to the ancient sun god and considered how the insight could guide her advancement on the Path of Light Chasing. When a strange mist spread through Old Town ahead of the Sage’s Ovum Sheath treasure hunt, she joined Moria to investigate and approached a chaotic clash at the local Security Bureau.

• Li Wen reasoned that Saint Floran’s admonition referred to the complete Old Days before the Three Births, and saw this as a clue to advancing on the Path of Light Chasing.
• Li Wen decided she would gain the experience she needed by hunting supernatural beings during the treasure hunt, while considering whether to wait or observe the contest firsthand.
• Moria returned to the Artificer’s Hand and told Li Wen that strange Gray Mist was spreading from Old Town; Li Wen chose to accompany him.
• Li Wen and Moria walked through the aether-tainted fog, and Moria’s Mana Tracking spell failed to identify its source.
• Li Wen spotted a crowd and signs of conflict at the Old Town Security Bureau on her Magic Map, so she and Moria headed there.
• White Star Fang, the chief strategist of Top White Star Studio, was introduced as chaos unfolded inside the Old Town Security Bureau.