Chapter Summaries

Edwina questioned Alice about the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact she had swallowed and warned her about the dangers of advancing without rituals. After Alice left, Edwina wrote to Klein about Alice’s unusual stability and her alarming description of exam-oriented education, leaving Klein to wonder whether sending her to school would make things worse.

• Edwina asked Alice about the artifact’s grade, origin, Pathway, and Alice’s Sequence when she swallowed it.
• Edwina explained the dangers of consuming a High-Sequence potion or Beyonder Characteristics without proper preparation, but Alice cut her off and left.
• Edwina wrote to Gehrman Sparrow asking for details about Alice and suggesting a church school or sealing in Lümborg.
• Edwina also asked Klein about the exam-oriented education Alice had described, including its long study hours and few days off.
• Klein read Edwina’s letter while volunteering, dismissed the school and sealing suggestions, and worried that Alice might spread school uniforms to Lümborg.

Alice searched the ship for something to occupy herself and ended up with Edwina, who told her the history behind Death's Key. The chapter left them at Edwina's collection room, where she was about to show Alice the key and its connection to a lost Giant royal court.

• Alice found Yodson fishing, made a fish splash him, and laughed before fleeing when he asked about her clothes.
• Alice went to Dunn and threatened to find something for him to do, prompting him to send her to Edwina's collection room.
• Alice told Edwina she loved hearing stories about treasures of the sea and explained why she would now question why they remained undiscovered.
• Edwina told Alice that Death's Key likely belonged to Giants and pointed toward the lost royal court of a tribe that had sailed away in search of it.
• Edwina led Alice to the collection room and began to open the door.

Alice explored Edwina's collection room, examined Death's Key, and read the unfinished Groselle's Travels. She left the room frustrated by the book and began plotting how she might obtain the collection's treasures.

• Alice examined Death's Key and glimpsed a frozen dusk surrounding an ancient building complex.
• Alice recognized Groselle's Travels, tried unsuccessfully to tear it, and learned from Edwina that it was a novel whose final pages could not be opened.
• Alice read about Groselle and its companions, then cursed the unfinished story and its author.
• Edwina showed Alice a Fourth Epoch Solomon Empire gold coin and offered to sell it if the price was right.
• Alice considered getting Amon to rob the Church of the Lord of Storms, then sensed something and looked toward it.

Alice read a handwritten story about Cassandra and recognized it as a tale from a civilization that should not exist in the current world. When she could not divine its origins, she revealed that she came from before the First Epoch, and Edwina tried to recruit her to stay aboard the ship.

• Edwina showed Alice a handwritten story about Cassandra, whose prophecies went unheeded after Apollo cursed her.
• Alice recognized the story’s names and content as Greek or Roman mythology, then tried to divine who had first written it down.
• Alice’s divination failed because an unknown power concealed the story’s origins.
• Alice told Edwina that she came from before the First Epoch, had awakened in the Second Epoch, and had only recently woken again.
• Edwina eagerly invited Alice to stay aboard the treasure-hunting ship, and Alice refused to share her knowledge unless Edwina converted to her faith before withdrawing the offer.

Edwina questioned Alice about Roselle’s Travels, then took her to the dining hall, where Alice copied her movements as a game. Alice settled down to eat aboard the ship, giving Edwina more time to keep her there and gather information.

• Edwina asked Alice why she had not suspected Roselle wrote Roselle’s Travels, and Alice said Roselle would have bragged about it and the book was badly written.
• Alice claimed to admire Emperor Roselle, leaving Edwina puzzled about what Alice knew of him and the world before the First Epoch.
• Edwina showed Alice the ship’s yogurt and dried fish, but Alice kept copying how much food Edwina took.
• Alice explained that she was playing Wooden Men and continued imitating Edwina because it was fun.
• Alice took a plate and sat across from Edwina to eat, while Edwina unknowingly kept her on board longer to gather information.

Alice enjoyed an unnamed deep-sea fish and spent the evening with Edwina, who invited her to a bonfire party and offered her books. The chapter left Alice eyeing the stack of novels and fairy tales while wondering whether books might taste good.

• Alice asked Edwina whether she could name the delicious unnamed fish and called it the Deep Sea Delicious Fish.
• Alice and Edwina discussed what the crew did after dinner, and Edwina invited Alice to a bonfire party the following night.
• Edwina showed Alice her room and asked whether she would damage any books she borrowed.
• Alice demonstrated how Restart restored her torn sleeve, then learned that Edwina was a Sequence 5 Mysticism Teacher.
• Edwina brought Alice a thick stack of fairy tales and novels, and Alice wondered if she could learn by eating books.

Klein checked in with Alice about her behavior, and she later joined Edwina and the Golden Dream’s crew for breakfast and a day off. When Edwina asked what she thought of a book, Alice revealed that she had tasted it, leaving Edwina confused.

• Klein reassured Alice that she had behaved well, and Alice called him an old fossil before fleeing.
• Alice woke when Edwina knocked, then went with her to breakfast.
• Alice watched Edwina test the Golden Dream’s crew and considered how she might cheat on a future exam.
• Edwina gave the crew the day off because a Bonfire Party was planned for that evening.
• Edwina asked Alice about Roselle Gustav: Life and Lies, and Alice described its taste and texture.
• Edwina stopped and asked Alice what she meant by “Texture? Taste?”

Alice admitted that she had tried eating a book to absorb its knowledge, and Edwina explained a Church spell that let people learn by drinking enchanted ink. Their conversation led Edwina to question Alice about the civilization before the First Epoch, and Alice revealed that people there awakened powers at eighteen and were conscripted as Superpower Users.

• Edwina pressed Alice about the book’s texture and taste until Alice confessed she had tried eating it to gain knowledge.
• Edwina explained that a Church Saint had devised a spell to put knowledge into ink, which someone could learn by drinking, though the knowledge left when the ink was expelled.
• Alice guessed that Edwina’s ability to imitate Extraordinary Abilities depended on thoroughly understanding them, and Edwina considered how Alice’s intuition might work.
• Edwina asked Alice about her oath gesture, and Alice described it as a Boy Scout gesture from an unknown country.
• Edwina inferred that a civilization with many countries had existed before the First Epoch and asked whether its children enlisted.
• Alice said that everyone awakened strange powers at eighteen and was conscripted, and that they were called Superpower Users.

Alice stayed aboard the Golden Dream after Edwina told her Gehrman would not restrict her freedom, then joined a disguised Beyonder gathering in Bayam with Dunn. There, a mysterious attendee’s ocean-blue book stirred Alice’s spirituality and awakened an unfamiliar craving as the gathering began.

• Edwina told Alice that Gehrman would let her leave the Golden Dream if she wished, and Alice agreed to stay.
• Edwina reported Alice’s information about the civilization before the First Epoch, then saw Alice disappointed that she did not look troubled at the bonfire party.
• After the Golden Dream returned to Bayam, Dunn brought Alice to a Beyonder gathering after insisting she disguise her face and figure.
• Alice noticed a mysterious attendee carrying an ocean-blue book whose presence stirred her spirituality.
• Alice became absorbed in the book’s cover and developed a craving for it just as the gathering organizer announced its start.

Alice felt an irresistible pull toward a mysterious book held by a masked woman at a gathering and sold the woman a clue to the Marauder Sequence 7 potion. After the woman paid 750 pounds, Alice wondered why she seemed unconcerned about the high-Sequence item’s negative effects.

• Alice recognized that her craving for the woman’s book came from her spirituality and secretly asked Dunn to stop her if she acted strangely.
• The masked woman requested the Sequence 7 Marauder potion formula, and Alice offered a clue to the Cryptologist potion instead.
• Alice negotiated a price of 750 pounds, arguing that Marauders were rare and her clue would reliably lead to advancement.
• Alice told the woman that the Amon family’s mausoleum contained what she sought and handed the clue to the attendant.
• The woman checked the clue with her book before paying, and Alice wondered why she showed no concern about the item’s negative effects.

Alice followed the hooded Mysterious Person after a secret gathering, heard her prophesy that they would meet again, and returned to Backlund to send Amon a letter about a Swindler seeking a Cryptologist Potion Formula. Amon read the letter, recognized Alice was asking for help, and began wondering what the Swindler wanted.

• Alice secretly followed the Mysterious Person out of the gathering and heard her predict that their paths would cross again.
• Alice sensed that the Mysterious Person's words were a Prophecy and remarked that they would have met again if her book came from a Soothsayer.
• Alice returned to Backlund and wrote Amon a letter about a Swindler seeking a Cryptologist Potion Formula, suggesting that Amon lure her to his mausoleum.
• Alice enclosed 50 pounds and drawings of a Worm of Time and Fried Worm of Time, then sent the letter and drawings to Amon through a ritual.
• Amon ignored the letter's unusual greeting and drawings, questioned whether to return the money, and deduced that Alice wanted his help with the Swindler.

Alice went to a Bayam bar to find out whether rumors about her and Klein had spread, but found Dunn drunkenly telling people that she was Gehrman Sparrow’s lover. After tormenting and restoring him with her abilities, she threatened him with even worse bad luck and complained about the bar’s poor construction.

• Alice returned to the Golden Dream for breakfast, found the dining room empty, and decided to investigate rumors about herself in Bayam.
• Alice went to the Black Forest Bar and heard Dunn tell the patrons that she was Gehrman Sparrow’s lover.
• Alice used Restart and a series of disasters to frighten Dunn, then restored him, his chair, and the chandelier without leaving him injured.
• Alice sat beside Dunn and warned him that the next mishap might involve a falling meteorite.
• Alice overheard patrons discussing a prophecy about St. Folsen, then muttered that she might collapse the bar’s ceiling instead.

Alice silenced rumors that she was Gehrman Sparrow’s lover by claiming she was a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact in his care, then left the tavern and encountered a newly advanced Beyonder she recognized. Her thoughts turned to the Mercury Serpent and the danger of running into it, before she secretly returned to smack Dunn on the head.

• Alice told Yodson and the others that she was a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact entrusted to Gehrman Sparrow, and warned Dunn not to spread rumors about her again.
• Alice left the tavern by concealing herself and walking out, then recognized a disheveled black-haired, blue-eyed gentleman entering to gamble as someone she had met before.
• Alice worried that the Law of Convergence might draw the Mercury Serpent to her and imagined being swallowed, then stopped herself from hitting her own head.
• Alice sneaked back into the Black Forest Bar and struck Dunn on the head, making him cry out.

Alice learned that Mr. Fool's birthday was approaching and considered writing a new Faceless installment of her diary series, then questioned whether her retrieval of a Uniqueness had been a belated birthday present. At the Tarot Club, she asked about the Giant King's Court and Cassandra before returning to her plans for Roselle's Diary.

• After receiving Klein's message, Alice realized Mr. Fool's birthday was coming that Friday and considered writing and selling a Faceless diary installment.
• Alice remembered that she had retrieved the Uniqueness on February 5 and wondered whether the date had been chosen as a birthday present.
• At the Tarot Club, Alice showed Derrick buildings within Solidified Twilight, and he identified them as the Giant King's Court.
• Alice asked the Tarot Club about Cassandra, and Cattleya recounted a story about the soothsayer Cassandra of Troy.
• After the Tarot Club, Alice considered how a Faceless could imitate Emperor Roselle's tastes and began writing his diary.

Alice prepared a birthday gift for Klein, distributing forged Roselle diary entries before surprising him with a midnight celebration. As he made a wish, her Fortune Accessory shattered and showed her two brief messages in Pinyin.

• Alice wrote scandalous diary entries about Roselle and Zaratul, copied them, and distributed them around Bayam and nearby islands.
• Alice put the diary in a decorated gift box with flowers from Mr. Fool's prayer ritual.
• At midnight on March 4, Alice woke Klein and wished him a happy birthday, then gave him the diary and prepared cake and candles.
• Alice sang the birthday song while Klein lit the candles and made a wish.
• A sound of shattering interrupted Alice, and her Fortune Accessory glowed before revealing the Pinyin phrases 'bú yào chéng shén' and 'shēng rì kuài lè'.

Alice realized the Key of Light had arranged her birthday gift and her path toward godhood, then told Klein that the Key’s true owner had treated her like a toy. She asked for an Artisan to remake the Fortune Accessory as a Monocle, and the chapter ended with her smearing cake on Klein’s face.

• Alice recognized that her birthday message and reclaimed Uniqueness had been arranged by the Key of Light, and she completed the Winner potion and Misfortune Mage ritual.
• Alice told Klein that Fate had given her a belated birthday present, and he realized the warning had come from her past self.
• Alice asked Klein whether he knew an Artisan and said she wanted the Fortune Accessory remade to look like a Monocle.
• Alice explained that the Key of Light’s first and true owner was the castle’s owner, while its inheritors only had permission to use it.
• Alice grabbed her dinner plate and slapped the Cream Cake onto Klein’s face.

Alice returned to Backlund and received an unfamiliar prayer from a young man seeking fortune, courage, and success with a potion. After startling him into fleeing, she searched his study and found a paper with her honorific name and another set of mysterious titles.

• Alice fled Klein after smashing the cake and returned to Backlund, where she avoided thinking about the Apocalypse and fell asleep.
• At dawn, Alice remembered her ritual was complete and noticed an unfamiliar prayer addressed to the Slumbering Goddess of Fate.
• Alice answered the young man's prayer by asking how she was supposed to grant him courage, frightening him into fleeing and smashing his potion.
• Alice followed the man home, searched his study, and found a paper bearing her honorific name and the titles "Cassandra's Phantom, Eyes Gazing Upon Despair, Seeker of Hope."

Alice traced two mysterious honorific names to a possible Soothsayer and wondered about the Ocean Blue Covered Book, while Klein opened Alice’s supposed Roselle’s Diary gift and realized she had fabricated its outrageous entries. The chapter left Alice hearing Klein’s calm prayer asking her to show him the originals, which she had already sold.

• Alice used her authority to trace the honorific names but found her divination blocked by a sound of turning pages, which reminded her of the Ocean Blue Covered Book and Cassandra, the Soothsayer.
• Alice memorized the honorific names, restored the note, interfered with divination results, and left.
• Klein waited until morning to open Alice’s gift, then read diary entries claiming Roselle had turned into a woman and found being one enjoyable.
• Klein read a second entry about a Faceless, tore the pages in half, and concluded Alice had invented both entries.
• Alice heard Klein pray and ask her to show him the originals, while she thought that she had already sold them.

Alice agreed to stop writing and selling diary entries, then asked Klein to let her use Bilt's Third Death Item Creation Opportunity to smash a Fortune Accessory and a Marionettist Beyonder Characteristic. At class, she asked Edwina about Crow-Shadow Serpents and Misfortune Phantoms, revealing that she needed a serpent's blood and heart or an unwanted Misfortune Mage.

• Klein made Alice agree not to write new diary entries or sell the two pages she had written.
• Alice asked Mr. Fool to let her use Bilt's Third Death Item Creation Opportunity to smash the Fortune Accessory and the Marionettist Beyonder Characteristic, and Klein agreed.
• After disconnecting Alice, Klein told her to sleep early; Alice angrily vowed to grow two meters tall in her next life before falling asleep.
• Alice went to class and asked Edwina whether Mystical Items could have Honorific Names and what Misfortune Phantoms and Crow-Shadow Serpents were like.
• Edwina described Crow-Shadow Serpents' misfortune aura, predictive abilities, hiding places, and tendency to flee from fatal threats.
• Alice admitted she needed a Crow-Shadow Serpent's blood and heart and asked Edwina whether she knew any Misfortune Mages she disliked.

Alice learned that Misfortune Phantoms were the creatures whose ingredients she needed for her Potion, and Edwina explained how they afflicted areas with doom. The chapter ended with Alice wondering how to present the Internet to the God of Wisdom.

• Edwina suggested that Alice interfere with the Fate Beyonders’ judgment of danger, then asked what compensation Alice could offer for information about Misfortune Phantoms.
• Alice proposed prayer as an exchange, and Edwina eagerly asked for Alice’s Honorific Name and the ritual required to pray to her.
• Alice questioned Edwina about the Church of Knowledge’s faith, and Edwina said that Readers believed in knowledge and that only the living could gain more of it.
• Edwina explained that Misfortune Phantoms attached themselves to areas, spreading doom and impairing the reason of people nearby, and could seem to exist throughout the entire area at once.
• Alice realized she had learned what her Potion’s Main Ingredient was and wondered how to pitch the Internet to the God of Wisdom.