Chapter Summaries

Joshua and the Bone Duke finished recording the score for Cat and Mouse despite repeated interruptions by the Black Dragon Duke. The Bone Duke learned that the dragon she once knew had lost his ability to speak and now thought like a young child, leaving her stunned.

• The Bone Duke repeatedly stopped the Ghost Orchestra to correct its performance as Joshua replayed parts of Cat and Mouse.
• The Black Dragon Duke eavesdropped outside the concert hall, broke a window, and was trapped in the Bone Duke’s magical cage before escaping.
• The Bone Duke resumed the recording, completed the score, and prepared to confront the Black Dragon Duke, who fled again.
• The Bone Duke told Joshua that the Black Dragon Duke had visited her castle more than a decade earlier, claiming to have been the World Tree’s Guardian.
• Elder Enya revealed that the Black Dragon Duke could no longer speak and now thought like a six- or seven-year-old child, leaving the Bone Duke in shock.

Joshua and Elder Enya tried to awaken the emotions of the gray-mist-corroded black dragon, Lord Redri, by showing him Cat and Mouse with live music from the Ghost Orchestra. The performance stirred a response from him, and he asked for the next episode.

• Elder Enya explained that the gray mist had devoured many of Lord Redri’s emotions and that they hoped to awaken positive ones.
• Joshua and Elder Enya watched as Lord Redri became absorbed in a Cat and Mouse sample episode.
• The Bone Duke’s butler told Joshua that the score was not perfect, then arranged for thirty-six Ghost Musicians to perform it live in the garden.
• Joshua replayed Cat and Mouse while the Ghost Orchestra performed, and Lord Redri watched until the episode ended.
• Elder Enya and Joshua heard Lord Redri speak his first clear words: “The next episode.”

Reyek prepared Yevirk Serpent for a hunt while waiting with Luo Na for the new episode of "Monster World" to air. A brewing fight between Frostwood Shield and Black Gold stalled when all the mercenaries turned to watch an unexpected broadcast featuring a running mouse.

• Reyek sharpened his old axe and set out with Yevirk Serpent to hunt a Spark Dragon for "Monster World."
• Reyek found Luo Na watching television at the Mercenary Guild and learned the new episode would begin in ten minutes.
• The Guild manager asked Reyek to settle a dispute between Frostwood Shield and Black Gold, but Reyek refused.
• Frey's remarks about Frost Country's tournament loss and Master Foya drove the rival groups' captains toward a fight.
• When the broadcast began, the mercenaries turned from the confrontation and saw a mouse running across all three projection screens.

A screening of Nolan Television Station’s Cat and Mouse interrupted a standoff between Frostwood Shield and Black Gold, and the mercenaries became eager for more episodes. Reyek and the Yevirk Serpent archer hoped the animation could help Hulis with her Gray Mist-related temper, while the archer rallied the guild to demand a replay and new episodes.

• The Black Gold leader sheathed his sword after the mercenaries became distracted by Cat and Mouse, and the Frostwood Shield leader abandoned his threat and led his group away.
• Ke Ya arrived and mistook the animation for Monster World until Luo Na explained that it was a new official program from Nolan Television Station.
• Reyek said Hulis could watch Cat and Mouse to help with her emotional control, and Luo Na explained that Hulis’s irritability might be an aftereffect of the Gray Mist.
• Ke Ya asked for a replay and new episodes on the program’s official thread, then gathered mercenaries in the hall to demand updates.

Joshua weighed whether to keep the unstable Black Dragon Duke in the Demon Realm or send him to Aserkelo for treatment, while Cat and Mouse continued restoring his memories. After meeting Nogs and seeing the dragon’s dangerous behavior, Joshua leaned toward sending him back to Aserkelo and making it safe for children.

• The Grand Duke of Blood and Elder Enya debated whether the Black Dragon Duke should be treated in the Demon Realm or returned to Aserkelo, while Joshua considered how Cat and Mouse might help him recover.
• Joshua gave Nogs a Source Crystal Stone containing Cat and Mouse footage, but the Black Dragon Duke rushed over and demanded the next episode.
• Nogs grew wary of the young elf until the Grand Duke of Blood explained that he was the Black Dragon Duke, who had lost his memories after sleeping for nearly eleven years.
• The Black Dragon Duke lunged at Nogs, then swallowed the Source Crystal Stone Joshua handed him and again demanded the next episode.
• Nogs left after warning Joshua to be careful of the Black Dragon Duke, and Joshua considered sending the dragon back to Aserkelo and making it suitable for children.

Wen Enna visited Aurelian at the Black Pigeon News Agency and told her that life in Aserkelo was becoming more accepting of outsiders. Aurelian stayed in Nolan to build her music career independently, while Wen Enna warned her that Joshua planned to demolish the Forgotten Land and build an amusement park.

• Wen Enna brought bear-shaped cookies to the Black Pigeon News Agency and learned that Aurelian was composing music in the Hall of Silence.
• Wen Enna found Aurelian writing music and told her that more High Elves were learning new skills and accepting outsiders.
• Aurelian said she would not return to Aserkelo yet because she wanted to improve and prove she could become popular through her own songs and performances.
• Wen Enna told Aurelian that Joshua planned to demolish the Forgotten Land and build an amusement park, a plan the elders opposed.

Zhi Ye told Elder Capeas that the Magic Web had given her mystery novel, Buried Deep Under the Tree, thousands of readers and bookmarks. She invited the wary elder to try the Magic Web, leaving his response uncertain.

• Zhi Ye celebrated reaching three thousand bookmarks for Buried Deep Under the Tree while writing in Aserkelo's library.
• Elder Capeas interrupted her and asked what she meant by three thousand bookmarks.
• Zhi Ye admitted that she had written her new novel on the Magic Web and showed him the Immovable Library page, with more than twenty-three thousand views and three thousand and three bookmarks.
• Zhi Ye explained how the Immovable Library let users publish stories, find readers, and earn royalties.
• Zhi Ye invited Elder Capeas to try the Magic Web.

Elder Queitoan learned that the Hall of Inquisition had destroyed Aserkelo and found that Elder Capeas also intended to leave and seek revenge. As the two began preparing to preserve Capeas’s stories on the magic net, the World Tree ordered them to go to the Forgotten Land.

• Queitoan practiced archery to vent his anger after discovering the Hall of Inquisition’s role in Aserkelo’s destruction.
• Capeas asked Queitoan to help him record the stories he had never finished writing on the magic net.
• Capeas revealed that he planned to leave Aserkelo and pursue revenge against the Profaners.
• Queitoan agreed to help preserve Capeas’s stories and said he also had blood debts to settle.
• The World Tree ordered Queitoan and Capeas to go to the Forgotten Land, and Capeas said he wanted to speak with the Chaos Demon.

Joshua explained that the Hall of Inquisition planned to create a destructive gate on the Frost Plains and rallied Aserkelo’s High Elves to oppose them. The High Elves prepared for a fight, while Joshua also recruited them to help build Aserkelo Theme Amusement Park.

• Queitoan and Capeas told Joshua they planned to take revenge on the inquisitors, and Aurelian objected when she learned Queitoan intended to go himself.
• Joshua informed the elders that the Inquisition’s headquarters had already been destroyed and that finding the secretive organization would be difficult.
• The Blue Robe explained how a gate was forming on the Frost Plains, and Capeas revealed that a similar gate had released the gray mist that destroyed Aserkelo.
• Joshua told the gathered High Elves that the inquisitors intended to repeat Aserkelo’s destruction, and they raised their hands and vowed to oppose them.
• Joshua urged the High Elves to strike the inquisitors and invited them to help build Aserkelo Theme Amusement Park as a kind of battle fortress.

Joshua left the command room while the Blue Robe explained the enemy gate to the High Elves, then met Earl Cruz’s construction team to travel to Aserkelo and begin planning its amusement park. The engineers passed through the portal under security checks, and Earl Cruz entered last.

• The Blue Robe told Elder Capeas that ordinary magic could not destroy the growing gate, while Joshua left to meet the arriving construction team.
• Earl Cruz and Marshal Amut traveled through Nolan’s underground Dwarf city with engineers from Steel Country and Frost Country.
• Joshua welcomed the team to Aserkelo’s ticket gate alongside Frost Axe and a Sin Demon.
• Frost Axe led the group to his territory, where Joshua activated the Teleportation Portal to Aserkelo.
• Zennas inspected the arriving engineers while Dark Elves watched them, and Earl Cruz entered the portal last.

Earl Cruz and the alchemy engineers arrived in Aserkelo’s ruined Forgotten Land to begin planning an amusement park, while Joshua organized the first steps of its renovation. The chapter ended with Joshua outlining the entrance’s security measures and asking the engineers how many movies they had watched.

• Earl Cruz arrived in Aserkelo and found ruins instead of the magnificent sky city he had imagined.
• Joshua led the group toward the Hearthstone tavern, where Elder Enya brought the young elf Lord Redri and Joshua kept his identity as a black dragon from the others.
• Earl Cruz and the alchemy engineers met Aserkelo’s elf elders and began mapping the Forgotten Land.
• Earl Cruz reported that many ruins could be renovated, and Joshua marked the Teleportation Portal as the amusement park’s entrance and planned ticket and security checkpoints.
• Joshua asked the alchemy engineers how many movies they had watched.

Joshua planned a movie-themed amusement park in the Forgotten Land and sent the alchemical engineers to watch Beauty and the Demon before they began construction. Meanwhile, the Black Dragon Duke ignored the High Elf elders’ attempts to restore her memories and asked to see the next episode, eyeing the white bird as food.

• Joshua told the construction team that the Forgotten Land would become an amusement park with areas themed around movies, and asked how much visitors would pay to experience Pandora.
• Marshal Amut and Earl Cruz agreed that people would pay to visit convincing movie settings, so Joshua chose Beauty and the Demon as the first, simpler area to build.
• Joshua sent the alchemical engineers to watch Beauty and the Demon together before they started work on its themed area.
• Elder Queitoan and Elder Capeas pleaded with the Black Dragon Duke to remember her past, while Elder Enya explained that she had lost her memories.
• The white bird appeared on Joshua’s shoulder, and the Black Dragon Duke approached it and asked for the next episode before Joshua warned that she seemed ready to eat it.

The Black Dragon Duke ate the World Tree’s white-bird Avatar, causing the Forgotten Land’s rock walls to open and sunlight to return. The World Tree revealed that Redri’s memories had mostly been erased and that he needed healing and guidance, while the black dragon lunged for another Avatar.

• The Black Dragon Duke grabbed and ate the white-bird Avatar as Joshua and the High Elf elders watched.
• The Forgotten Land trembled, and Elder Queitoan and Joshua saw its rock walls draw apart to let in sunlight.
• A new white-bird Avatar explained that Redri’s return gave the World Tree greater control over the city, then the Black Dragon Duke ate another Avatar.
• The World Tree told Joshua and Elder Enya that Redri’s body could be healed by diluting the gray mist, but his memories had mostly been erased.
• Joshua pulled the Black Dragon Duke away from the window as he tried to catch another white bird, but the dragon suddenly leaped again and feathers fell.

Joshua watched Frost Axe’s dwarven crew demolish an abandoned tower in the Forgotten Land while discussing the gray mist and ancient ruins beneath Nolan. Frost Axe revealed that strange people had appeared in the ruins and food had gone missing, leaving Joshua to suspect that someone still lived there.

• Frost Axe’s dwarves demolished the old tower as Elder Queitoan asked Joshua whether the gate inside Lord Redri could be suppressed.
• Joshua said the World Tree might know more and noted that Cat and Mouse’s ability to speak again was a good sign.
• Joshua explained the gray mist’s effects to Frost Axe, who described ancient technology and moving Magic Automatons found in Nolan’s underground ruins.
• Frost Axe reported that strange people had appeared in the ruins and food had been stolen from the mines.
• Joshua recalled meeting a human covered in blue runes and finding a strange stone tablet, then chose to leave the mystery for later and focus on the demolition.

Joshua accompanied Ciri to her illusion spellcaster examination and met the Prophet at the Nolan Spellcaster Association. The Prophet showed him new potions made with Sin Abyss materials, and Joshua discovered that one tasted like Cherry Cola.

• Ciri practiced illusion magic late into the night before her fourth-level spellcaster certification examination and admitted that exams had always been difficult for her.
• Joshua sat beside Ciri while she studied, then accompanied her to the Nolan Spellcaster Association the next day.
• Joshua met the Prophet and her six apprentices at the association, where the apprentices were taking spellcaster rank tests.
• The Prophet explained that she needed alchemist certification and safety inspections before selling her Sin Abyss potions through Magic Web Shopping.
• Joshua sampled a mildly acting healing potion and found that its taste resembled Cherry Cola.

After Ciri passed the Fourth Level Illusion Spellcaster test, she joined Joshua and the Prophet at the Kriya Alchemy Workshop to develop a new drink using Sin dust. The Prophet began brewing Joshua’s improvised recipe, and the mixture gave off a rich, unusual fragrance.

• Ciri returned from her test with a Fourth Level Illusion Spellcaster badge awarded by the Purple-robed One, who said she might take the fifth-level test in another year or two.
• The Purple-robed One told Joshua and Ciri that their next lesson would be announced on the Mage Network, then left to attend Gray Robe’s Go tournament.
• Ciri invited Joshua for a walk, but the Prophet arrived, and Ciri jokingly called their plans a trial run for a family of three.
• Joshua explained that he and the Prophet planned to test a new drink, and Ciri joined them at the Kriya Alchemy Workshop.
• Joshua mixed Sin dust with water and, after searching for suitable ingredients, abandoned his attempt to follow a cola recipe and told the Prophet to add syrup and fruit and plant juices.
• The Prophet stirred the bubbling dark green mixture, which began to give off a strange, rich fragrance.

Joshua refined a dark green drink with the Prophet and Ciri until it tasted almost exactly like cola, then invited Earl Cruz to try it. Earl Cruz had arrived with two alchemy engineers to discuss the construction plans for Beauty and the Demon.

• The Prophet and Ciri tasted Joshua’s first mixture of Sin Dust and syrup, and Joshua recognized its flavor as close to the cola he remembered from Earth.
• Joshua asked the Prophet to make another batch while he considered additional ingredients, and Earl Cruz arrived with two alchemy engineers to discuss his construction plans.
• Ciri suggested Water Wormwood and Sour Heart Fruit juice, and she and Joshua adjusted the drink’s flavor as the Prophet confirmed it was non-toxic.
• Joshua tasted the glowing mixture and decided it closely matched cola, then offered a bowl to Earl Cruz.

Joshua introduced Earl Cruz to Sin Cola, and Ciri enchanted a batch with frost to make it chilled. After Earl Cruz praised the drink and Joshua announced plans to produce it in a factory, they turned to discussing construction of the Beauty and the Demon district.

• Earl Cruz drank Sin Cola despite its alarming appearance, overcame its stinging taste, and asked for another serving.
• Earl Cruz praised the drink but said it was missing something at room temperature, so Ciri used a Frost Inscription to chill it.
• Joshua and Ciri drank the iced Sin Cola, and Earl Cruz predicted it would be popular during the hot season.
• Joshua announced that he planned to build an assembly-line factory to produce Sin Cola.
• Joshua set aside his other food ideas and began discussing construction of the Beauty and the Demon district with Earl Cruz.

Joshua negotiated with Earl Cruz to build the castle and amusement facilities, then asked the Prophet to prioritize a Sin Cola factory. He tried to cook dinner at the Hearthstone tavern but gave up after a White Flame Chicken nearly set the kitchen ablaze.

• Joshua suggested using bronze instead of precious metals for the castle decorations and signed a construction contract with Earl Cruz.
• The Prophet warned Joshua about the amusement park's costs and offered a succubus inn as a cheaper way to make humans happy.
• Joshua asked the Prophet to give the Sin Cola factory the highest priority, and she agreed to report the request to Cecily.
• Joshua invited everyone to celebrate at the tavern and said he would cook dinner himself.
• Joshua removed a muzzle from a White Flame Chicken, which breathed fire and escaped its ropes.
• Ciri knocked the chicken unconscious, and Joshua left its preparation to the tavern's chefs.

Joshua’s new fried chicken burgers brought a rush of Dwarf customers to the Hearthstone tavern, while he made hot pot for dinner upstairs. The meal was interrupted by Herolia and Shael, who arrived to discuss the Judges, and Joshua left negotiations for after everyone ate.

• Frost Axe tasted Joshua’s fried chicken burger, bought ten, and prompted the Black Rock Clan Dwarves to order dozens more.
• Madam Ma Linna worried that Joshua had overcharged Frost Axe, but the kitchen became overwhelmed by the sudden demand for burgers.
• Joshua prepared hot pot upstairs and shared it with Ciri, the Prophet, Tylinn, and the Dark Elf Thousand Faces.
• Herolia arrived with Messiah and offered Joshua information about the Judges, but he refused to hear her out.
• Shael revealed himself as the honored guest and warned Joshua that the Judges were more troublesome than expected.
• Joshua gave Shael, Herolia, and Messiah bowls and chopsticks, telling them to eat before they talked.