Chapter Summaries

Minister Diaz attended Earl Cruz’s gathering in Ossenburg and arranged to show a performance in the gladiator arena after the matches. As Axe Executioner and Spike Knight began their warm-up fight, Diaz prepared to reveal a production that needed no actors.

• Minister Diaz watched four heavily armored knights prepare for a gladiator match and judged their Magic Mechanical Devices cumbersome and vulnerable.
• Earl Cruz excitedly introduced the armor prototypes and assumed Diaz had come to discuss importing Steel Country technology.
• Diaz told Earl Cruz that he wanted to stage a performance in the arena and asked him to dim the Source Crystal Stones.
• Earl Cruz explained that Axe Executioner and Spike Knight were warming up before the favored second match between Dragon Breather and Eternal Sleep Priest.
• Axe Executioner and Spike Knight entered the arena, and the gladiator match began as flowers fell from above.

Dorothy attended a Gladiator match in Ossenburg, where Minister Diaz screened a trailer for Avatar that captivated Earl Cruz and the nobles. After the match, Dorothy downloaded Minecraft and joined Foya’s online game world, where other players recognized her as a newcomer.

• Needle Knight defeated his opponent, while Dorothy tried to endure Etke’s attention and wished she could return to her games.
• Earl Cruz allowed Minister Diaz to show a ten-minute Avatar trailer in the arena, and the film’s futuristic airships and machines fascinated the crowd.
• Earl Cruz asked to see the full movie, but Diaz explained that he had brought only the trailer and that the complete version was available at his theater.
• Dorothy noticed a network signal, downloaded Minecraft, and joined Foya’s multiplayer world.
• Flower of Falosi asked who Dorothy was, and Foya identified her as a new player.

Tylinn’s Sacred Tree completed its first transformation, changing the Hall of Silence and improving the Magic Net’s transfer speed. Joshua received a mysterious crystallization from the tree that appeared to enable fast wireless transfers.

• Joshua and Ciri waited outside the Hall of Silence while Tylinn’s Sacred Tree transformed.
• The vines withdrew, and Joshua entered the overgrown hall to find Tylinn with a more divine aura and the white cat grown more lifelike.
• Joshua tested a video transfer without the World Tree’s Leaf and found it was faster than before but still slow.
• Joshua explained to Tylinn and Ciri that Magic Net users could eventually create and share their own websites and videos.
• The white cat gave Joshua a green crystallization of the Sacred Tree, and Ciri immediately received the video, suggesting the crystal enabled fast transfers.

Joshua spent his day off playing Minecraft with Ciri and Foya, where they met a new player, Dorothy. When Dorothy left to attend the premiere of "Avatar" in Steel Country, Joshua learned that the film had drawn a large crowd and entered a packed theater.

• Joshua and Ciri discussed taking weekends off and logged into their Minecraft server to see the new player Dorothy mining with Foya and Galolie.
• Dorothy said she was leaving to attend the premiere of "Avatar" in Ossenburg, and Joshua and Ciri celebrated the film's successful debut in Steel Country.
• Dorothy saw a long line outside the shabby theater and heard that all four screening rooms were full, with more tickets unavailable for an hour and a half.
• A man offered Dorothy triple the ticket price, but she refused to sell it and entered the theater.
• Dorothy received a message from the Flower of Falosi wishing her an enjoyable movie, then watched the screen light up.

Shael uncovered evidence that Frost Country’s history of the war against demons had been falsified and considered whether an alliance with the Demon Realm could be possible. He used a photograph of demons allied with Falosi to build confidence in peace, then prepared to show the generals a movie as the theater came to life.

• Shael learned that the previous king had ordered records of Frost Elf history and the early alliance with the Holy Church Country destroyed.
• Shael concluded the Holy Church Country’s reasons for invading the Demon Realm were false, but worried that Frost Country’s citizens would not accept peace with demons.
• The Dark Elf showed Shael a photograph of a Chaos Demon shaking hands with a Falosi man, evidence that humans and demons could form an alliance.
• Shael resolved to stop the Judges from entering the Demon Realm and took the Source Crystal Stone to show the generals the New Movie.
• Marshal Amut and General Levko discussed waiting in a theater for Shael’s announcement, and the dim room suddenly brightened as text appeared on the wall.

General Levko and Marshal Amut watched a film about a human infiltrating the Na’vi, while their reactions revealed their hostility toward elves and their eagerness to use force. As the Na’vi accepted the protagonist into their settlement, the maid watching beside Marshal Amut quietly hoped the conflict would not become a war.

• General Levko mistook the Na’vi for Frost Elves and imagined using Magic Mechanical Devices to destroy their homes.
• Marshal Amut let a maid sit beside him to watch the film, and she became absorbed in the protagonist’s adventure.
• General Levko recalled being wounded by a Frost Elf and expected the Na’vi to attack the protagonist, but one of them saved him.
• The protagonist learned the Na’vi’s ways while secretly reporting information to the human mercenaries.
• General Levko and the other commanders favored crushing the Na’vi with force, while the maid clasped her hands and seemed to pray against a war.

Shael and the Dark Elf watched the humans devastate the Na'vi's home, then saw the male lead escape and rally the Na'vi to resist. The audience, including Marshal Amut, roared in support of the Na'vi as the battle began.

• Shael asked the Dark Elf whether the humans or the Na'vi were right, and the Dark Elf said she sided with the humans because the Na'vi were weak.
• The Dark Elf listened to the audience's reactions and told Joshua that she and the human generals were unlikely to change their views before the movie ended.
• The Dark Elf grew angry as the male lead joined the Na'vi, but softened when he chose to stand with them and the humans destroyed their Home Tree.
• A female soldier helped the male lead and his companions escape prison, and the male lead returned to his Avatar and tamed the Toruk.
• The male lead rallied the Na'vi to fight the human invaders, and Marshal Amut and the audience roared in support of them.

After the screening of Avatar, Frost Country’s leaders argued over the film before Shael ordered them back to their military duties. The Dark Elf reported the reaction to Joshua, who explained that the film could entertain people across nations and serve as an “invasion tool” by making them embrace films.

• Frost Country’s audience split into factions over whether humanity’s actions in Avatar were justified, and Shael ended the argument by ordering the soldiers to prepare for battle in three hours.
• The Dark Elf watched Marshal Amut and the other generals discuss their coming attack on the Demon Realm during a war council.
• Joshua told the Dark Elf that the audience’s desire to defend characters they liked meant Avatar had succeeded, even though the film had not ended Frost Country’s warlike feelings.
• Joshua described Avatar as a work of art and a powerful commercial tool that could make people in any country accept films and become attached to entertainment.
• The Dark Elf wondered whether the generals would agree to watch Avatar 2.

Laisa completed the Prophet’s alchemy examination as Joshua visited the Agricultural Club to discuss plans for Alchemy Workshops and Magic Net access in the Demon Realm. The Prophet examined a Source Crystal Stone from the Frost Elves’ World Tree, which Joshua said could enable Magic Net connections beyond Nolan.

• The Prophet tested Laisa by asking her to brew a Growth Potion and Grass Dew Essence, and she passed.
• Joshua visited the Prophet and said the Kriya Merchant Guild had agreed to help establish Alchemy Workshops in the Demon Realm.
• The Prophet cautioned that the Demon Realm first needed a complete educational system, while Joshua said Cecily had started building an academy expected to be finished in one month.
• Joshua told Laisa and Krot they were ready to return to the Demon Realm and reassured Laisa that travel between there and Nolan was quick.
• Joshua showed the Prophet a Source Crystal Stone, and she recognized runes resembling those on World Tree leaves and ruins beneath Nolan.
• Joshua explained that the crystal could provide Magic Net coverage over a limited area and that Tylinn’s World Tree could grow more of them.

Joshua brought the Prophet and her apprentices to watch Avatar, whose immense popularity had filled Nolan’s theaters, then headed toward a new Hearthstone tavern. A message from his sister Foya revealed that she wanted to share Hearthstone with Dorothy and could not leave the royal capital because their father would not allow it.

• The Prophet objected to joining Joshua’s outing, but he took her and her three apprentices to the White Thorn Flower Theater to see Avatar.
• Joshua arranged VIP seats for the Prophet and her apprentices after White Thorn Flower Jazz explained that Avatar’s premiere had overwhelmed the theaters.
• Joshua left the theater and walked toward Madam Ma Linna’s new Hearthstone tavern on Commercial Street.
• Foya messaged Joshua to ask how to share Hearthstone with Dorothy, and Joshua promised to send Dorothy a copy.
• Joshua asked Foya whether she wanted to visit Nolan, and she replied that their father would not allow her to leave.

Dorothy calculated how little time remained before her trading company went bankrupt and planned to seek World Tree's Leaves in Nolan to restore its reputation. As she prepared for a new Hearthstone download, her father told her that Lord Etke had come to see her.

• Dorothy reviewed the trading company's losses and concluded that it had no chance of recovery in Ossenburg.
• Dorothy considered using the unclaimed World Tree's Leaf in a wooden box and traveling to Nolan to find more Leaves.
• Dorothy accepted a gift download of Hearthstone: Naxxramas Shadows and read that Nolan's Teleportation Portal would open on the first day of next month.
• Dorothy's father announced that Lord Etke, Earl Cruz's eldest son, had arrived with flowers and urged her to make herself presentable.

Joshua visited the new Hearthstone tavern and learned that its rough atmosphere and rowdy Dwarf customers kept some nobles away. With visitors from around the world due in Nolan in a month, he decided to hold a Hearthstone tournament and prepare new content.

• Joshua met Xie Li'er at the tavern and told her that someone might visit Nolan to buy her book.
• A boy's mother dragged him out after finding him skipping inscription class to play Hearthstone.
• Xie Li'er told Joshua that nobles sometimes considered Hearthstone a low-class activity because of the tavern's rustic decor and boisterous Dwarves.
• Joshua decided to hold a Hearthstone tournament in Nolan before the Teleportation Portal opened in a month.
• Joshua said he would rush to prepare more Hearthstone content, and Xie Li'er cautiously asked whether he was releasing new packs or an adventure.

Joshua worked on new Hearthstone cards and an adventure while preparing a Nolan tournament, and Dorothy won her first match against Foya just as the tournament was announced. The announcement gave Dorothy a reason to focus on Hearthstone instead of the Earl’s eldest son’s courtship.

• Joshua used meditation to speed up programming a new Hearthstone card pack and adventure, which he planned to finish within a month.
• Ciri offered to draw the card art, and Joshua planned to post an announcement for a Hearthstone tournament in Nolan.
• In Ossenburg, Dorothy considered whether marrying Mr. Etke could restore her family’s merchant association, but she did not want to owe him or spend the night with him.
• Dorothy defeated Foya for the first time after twenty-three consecutive losses, winning with Grom Hellscream.
• As Mr. Etke began confessing his feelings, Dorothy saw the announcement for the Nolan Hearthstone Open Tournament on the Spellcaster Forum.

Dorothy escaped her father’s plan to marry her to Lord Etke’s son and set off for Nolan to compete in the Hearthstone Open Tournament, hoping to win a World Tree branch. She left Ossenburg through the Teleportation Portal just as her father caught up with her.

• Dorothy defeated Nefarian on Hero Difficulty and told Foya that she had won.
• After learning about the Nolan Hearthstone Open Tournament and its World Tree branch prize, Dorothy decided to enter and seek a World Tree Leaf.
• Dorothy changed into men’s clothes and told Foya she would compete for her after Foya said she could not attend.
• When her father and the maid urged her to meet Lord Etke’s son, Dorothy used a Levitation Spell to jump from her second-floor window and flee.
• Dorothy passed the portal enforcers’ inspection and stepped into the Teleportation Portal as her father hurried after her.

Dorothy arrived in Nolan to enter the Hearthstone Open Tournament, which she needed to win to obtain a tender branch of the World Tree. After seeing the tournament's widespread advertisements, she reached Hearthstone tavern, overcame her unease around the Dwarves, and followed I Nuo to register.

• Dorothy returned to Nolan and saw an Avatar poster and a short film promoting the tournament featuring the black dragon Nefarian.
• Dorothy noticed advertisements for the Nolan Open Tournament throughout Commercial Street and found the tavern's registration address on the magic net.
• Dorothy took a carriage to Hearthstone tavern despite the driver's warning that it was Dwarf territory.
• The Dwarves in the tavern drew Dorothy's attention and made her uneasy, but she recognized I Nuo and explained that she had come to compete.
• I Nuo led Dorothy to the registration table, where she felt relieved to see that the person behind it was not a Dwarf.

Dorothy, a newcomer from Steel Country, tried to build a real Hearthstone collection so she could enter the Nolan Open Tournament, but the cost of cards nearly drove her to give up. After pulling a Golden Legendary Firelord Ragnaros with her last gold coin, she eagerly asked about buying more packs, as the Dwarves watched in amazement.

• Joshua told Dorothy that her Magic Web cards did not count as a real collection and gave her a Source Crystal Stone with beginner cards.
• Dorothy spent ten gold coins on Card Packs, then learned that Legendary Cards had roughly a one-percent chance of appearing and that individual Legendary Cards could cost thousands of gold coins.
• After deciding to spend her last gold coin on one more pack, Dorothy drew a Golden Legendary Firelord Ragnaros.
• Joshua supported Dorothy when her legs weakened, and Dorothy asked whether she could exchange Bismarcks for more gold coins.
• The Dwarves behind Dorothy stared at her Golden Legendary card, while Joshua suggested that some customers might help her exchange currency.

Dorothy achieved thirteen consecutive Hearthstone victories, earned the right to register for the tournament, and fled after spotting an attendant from her family’s trading company. Joshua learned from the Dark Elf that Dorothy was the daughter of a Steel Country merchant who had bought Magic Network Source Crystal Stones, then noted the merchant would struggle to sell them without a network.

• Dorothy sold her Golden Legendary Firelord, bought over seventeen hundred card packs, completed several decks, and won twelve matches in a row.
• Dorothy defeated a top-thousand-ranked player, reached thirteen consecutive victories, and qualified to register for the tournament.
• Dorothy spotted an attendant from her family's trading company, hid her red hair, and left the tavern after the attendant departed.
• The Dark Elf returned to Joshua and identified Dorothy as the daughter of the Silver Crest Flower trading company’s owner in Steel Country.
• Joshua learned that Dorothy’s father had bought Magic Network Source Crystal Stones to resell, and observed that they would be difficult to sell without a network.

Joshua discussed expanding the magic network into the Steel Country using Tylinn’s World Tree crystal, while learning of the High Elves and their sky city, Aserkelo. He planned to acquire the Silver Crest Flower merchant association to help Dorothy, a talented Hearthstone player, and asked the Dark Elf to arrange follow-up coverage of the tournament.

• Joshua told the Dark Elf that someone was spreading the magic network without charge, but their method had problems.
• The Dark Elf revealed that the High Elves lived in the sky city Aserkelo, which was said to be accessible only to dragons, though they might have gone extinct.
• Joshua explained that Tylinn’s World Tree had produced one Source Crystal Stone, which could extend network coverage, and planned to place it in the Steel Country rather than the Demon Realm.
• Joshua said he intended to acquire the Silver Crest Flower merchant association, which had brought network clients to Steel Country cities but had not laid the cables.
• Joshua explained that he wanted to help Dorothy, who was his younger sister’s playmate and a talented Hearthstone player, and asked the Dark Elf to have veteran reporters cover her after the tournament.

After earning thirteen consecutive Hearthstone wins, Dorothy overheard a noblewoman scolding her daughter Qiong Naxi for visiting the tavern and worried that Hearthstone would draw unwanted attention to her own family. At her inn, Dorothy joined her Movie Club chat and agreed to a possible gathering, resolving to restore her trading company's reputation through the upcoming competition.

• Dorothy heard a Gmod Family mother berate Qiong Naxi for spending time at the Hearthstone tavern and dismiss Hearthstone as an unrefined game.
• Dorothy left without confronting the woman, found an inn near the tavern, and worried that the Nolan Open Tournament might attract her father's notice.
• Dorothy told the Movie Club group chat that she had won thirteen consecutive games at the Hearthstone tavern.
• Flower of Falosi said she wished she had gone with Dorothy, while Kindler of the Flame teased her about losing weight.
• Light Chaser proposed an offline gathering, and Dorothy agreed while deciding she needed to do her best in the competition.

Joshua oversaw the Hearthstone tournament while the Purple-robed One told him the Council of Sages had approved his proposed prize as the Skjerrona Award and wanted its ceremony broadcast on television. After she left, Joshua wondered whether Tylinn’s World Tree could help the ailing Sage and asked Tylinn if she wanted to hold a concert.

• Madam Ma Linna told Joshua that elders from Nolan’s three major Dwarf clans had gathered for the tournament, then left to manage the other Hearthstone branch.
• Joshua asked Ciri why she had given up the chance to advance, and Ciri explained that the Purple-robed One had told her to go into seclusion because her magic power was nearing a critical stage.
• The Purple-robed One told Joshua that the Council of Sages had approved his proposed award as the Skjerrona Award and hoped its ceremony would be broadcast on television.
• The Purple-robed One allowed Ciri to remain at the tournament for the day and said she would consider moving her classes near Tylinn’s World Tree after Joshua suggested it might ease her weakness.
• Joshua asked Tylinn whether the World Tree could treat the Sage, and then asked Tylinn if she wanted to hold a concert.