Chapter Summaries

Xia Nan led Sea Thorn Squad in a fight against an ambushing pack of Night-Stalker Wolves, while Veris and Kash struggled to hold off the unusually powerful alpha. After Xia Nan killed the other five wolves, Mint struck down the alpha with a sword through its throat.

• Xia Nan ordered Veris and Kash to keep the alpha occupied while Mint supported them and he dealt with the other wolves.
• Xia Nan threw Fire Oil Bombs to scatter the pack, then Veris and Kash attacked the alpha from opposite sides, but its moonlight power repelled them.
• Xia Nan killed the five ordinary Night-Stalker Wolves in succession while Mint used control and healing magic to aid the others.
• The alpha healed its wounds and fought off Veris and Kash, but Mint pinned it to the ground with a longsword through its throat.

Xia Nan killed the Night-Stalker Wolf alpha and Sea Thorn Squad finished their mission before returning to River Valley Town. A month and a half later, Kash and Veris discussed their search and their suspicions about Xia Nan, then abruptly acted friendly when he arrived.

• Xia Nan killed the Night-Stalker Wolf alpha with a surprise strike, leaving him uncertain why the beast had frozen before he attacked.
• Mint hurried over to offer healing, while Veris and Kash exchanged a knowing look; Kash urged the squad to process the wolves and return to camp.
• Sea Thorn Squad harvested the wolf corpses, then returned to River Valley Town after completing the mission.
• A month and a half later, Veris met Kash at the White Tit Tavern and told him she had found Myconid Rot Poison for their preparations.
• Kash and Veris discussed their lack of progress, Xia Nan's strength and vigilance, and their plan to leave after one final mission; Kash suggested taking Mint with them.
• When Xia Nan arrived at the tavern, Kash and Veris dropped their serious expressions, and Veris warmly called him over.

Xia Nan reflected on his growing wealth and combat skills after six weeks of missions with Sea Thorn Squad, while noticing the squad’s wariness and Mint’s unexplained secrecy. As they prepared for a longer mission to investigate Beastmen in the eastern forest, Mint appeared to slip up while watching him.

• Xia Nan counted his increased savings and Points, reviewed his combat-skill progress, and noted that his armor had survived the missions with little damage.
• At the tavern, Xia Nan joined Veris and Kash, considered how the squad had grown more cautious around him since he killed the Night-Stalker Wolf leader, and listened to Kash describe other Association branches.
• Mint arrived late from the Herbal Shop, and Xia Nan remained curious about her hidden abilities and background despite seeing nothing suspicious in her behavior.
• Kash reviewed the squad’s plan to set out the next morning on a longer mission to investigate Beastmen in the eastern forest.
• Xia Nan noticed Mint watching him and asked if anything was wrong after her expression briefly changed; Mint denied it haltingly.

A girl from Maple Breath Village was bitten by a strange black creature and gradually transformed, eventually waking beneath a full moon amid the burning village with blood on her lips. In the present, Xia Nan and the Sea Thorn Squad visited Green Wheat Village to investigate Beastmen attacks, and Kash found the person they were seeking.

• The girl described growing up in Maple Breath Village, where her family collected maple sap for their livelihood.
• She followed a bird cry into the woods, approached a strange black creature, and was bitten when it fled.
• After falling ill, she developed animal-like senses, appetites, and instincts, then dreamed of living as the black creature.
• She awoke at the village entrance under a full moon, surrounded by flames, with blood and flesh on her fingertips.
• Xia Nan tried old Conch Bee honey while traveling with the Sea Thorn Squad, and Kash advised him to try maple syrup from Climbing Cloud Province instead.
• The Sea Thorn Squad went to Green Wheat Village to ask about Adventurers suspected of Beastman attacks, and Kash announced that they had found the person.

Xia Nan and Sea Thorn Squad questioned Kelly in Green Wheat Village and learned that a three-person Adventurer squad fleeing Thin Mist Forest had included “Colander” Big Ben, linking their investigation to Barker’s Beastification Syndrome. After identifying a Bearman as the likely enemy, the squad planned to enter the forest the next morning, while Xia Nan rested over Kelly’s mushroom stew until a sudden scream broke the quiet.

• The village chief led Sea Thorn Squad to Kelly, who recalled three uninjured Adventurers arriving in fear after leaving Thin Mist Forest.
• Kelly remembered that one of the Adventurers was called “Colander,” prompting Xia Nan to connect the squad to Big Ben and Barker’s infection.
• Xia Nan told his teammates about his encounter in Newm, and Kash concluded that a Bearman was likely responsible for the Beastmen attacks.
• Sea Thorn Squad decided to stay overnight in Green Wheat Village and search Thin Mist Forest the next morning.
• Xia Nan paid Kelly to make him mushroom soup and ate it alone in the squad’s lodging house.
• A sudden scream interrupted Xia Nan’s quiet meal.

Xia Nan investigated a Beastman’s attack on Mint and found a tuft of its mane, while noticing Kash and Veris reacted to the discovery with suspicious excitement. Kash and Veris privately revealed they had been hunting the Beastman and discussed what to do if Xia Nan uncovered their intentions.

• Xia Nan rushed to Mint’s collapsed house, where Veris and Kash joined him as Mint described being attacked by a shadow-shrouded Beastman.
• Xia Nan used Heart's Sight to find a tuft of black mane, and Mint identified it as belonging to the attacker.
• Xia Nan noticed Kash and Veris shared matching expressions of shock and delight when they saw the mane.
• Kash decided the party should stay together overnight and postpone pursuing the Beastman until morning, then sent Xia Nan to take Mint to his room.
• After Xia Nan and Mint left, Veris and Kash admitted they had recognized the Beastman and discussed how to handle Xia Nan if he discovered their plan.

Xia Nan learned from Mint that Beastification Syndrome affected both the body and soul, and that advanced cases could not be cured with [Remove Curse]. Sea Thorn Squad tracked the Beastman’s trail from Green Wheat Village toward Thin Mist Forest.

• Xia Nan noticed Kash and Veris had become more eager to continue the investigation after the Beastman attacked Mint.
• Mint explained that Beastification Syndrome was a curse that could corrupt a person’s soul and drive them into savagery if treatment was delayed.
• Kash and Veris returned after informing Green Wheat Village’s chief, and Sea Thorn Squad began searching around the village for the Beastman.
• Xia Nan and the others found a mangled sheep corpse surrounded by footprints like the Beastman’s, which abruptly vanished.
• Sea Thorn Squad discovered more slaughtered animals and followed the trail toward Thin Mist Forest.

Sea Thorn Squad entered Thin Mist Forest and faced repeated attacks from beasts as they searched for a safe place to camp. That night, Kash told Xia Nan a story about his Grey Stone Spear, but Veris revealed that he had told several different versions, leaving Xia Nan to wonder what the weapon’s real history was.

• Xia Nan suspected that the Beastman had left the sheep carcasses to lure Sea Thorn Squad into Thin Mist Forest, but the squad continued with its planned investigation.
• Kash led Sea Thorn Squad through the forest, where the members fought off numerous beasts before stopping to make camp.
• Xia Nan asked Veris whether she could determine when the discovered carcasses had died, but she said she could not.
• Kash hinted that people recognized him by his Grey Stone Spear, then told Xia Nan that it had come from an adventurer who had killed his family.
• Veris mocked Kash’s story, saying she had heard at least four different versions of the spear’s history, and explained why magic accessories were especially expensive.

Xia Nan and Sea Thorn Squad kept watch at their camp in Thin Mist Forest, where a triggered trap led them to discover a massive gathering of hostile beasts. As countless creatures closed in from every direction, Kash shouted for the group to prepare for battle.

• Xia Nan noticed Mint's earring and learned it had come from a close friend she planned to visit after the mission.
• During the night watch, Veris described the dangers of the Underdark and its giant spiders to Xia Nan.
• A warning trap sounded, and Veris killed a Horned Deer that had rushed into the camp.
• Xia Nan sensed that more attackers were nearby and warned the squad to hold their formation.
• A Long-Haired Wild Boar charged from the forest as countless beasts surrounded the camp, and Kash shouted for the squad to prepare for battle.

Sea Thorn Squad fought off a relentless beast horde in the Thin Mist Forest, but the strain forced Kash to order a retreat. As the party fled, Xia Nan was struck by a huge monster with an owl’s head and a giant bear’s body.

• A Black Panther ambushed the party, but Xia Nan beheaded it with his iron-gray sword before it could reach Mint.
• Xia Nan fought to hold the formation together as beasts attacked from every side, while Kash and Veris revealed powerful Combat Skills.
• Veris warned Kash that the beasts were acting strangely and asked whether they should retreat; seeing Mint and Veris weakening, Kash ordered the squad to contract its formation and withdraw.
• Kash hurled Fire Oil Bombs into the forest, and Sea Thorn Squad rushed through the flames with Kash leading, Mint in the center, Veris roaming, and Xia Nan bringing up the rear.
• A massive creature struck Xia Nan with tremendous force and hurled him into the forest; through the fog and pain, he saw its owl head and giant bear body.

Xia Nan and Sea Thorn Squad fought a charging Owlbear, but their attacks barely injured it and it overwhelmed the party. The chapter ended with Mint flung into the forest after the Owlbear struck her.

• The Owlbear charged Xia Nan and sent him flying, but [Tidal Shaping] helped him land without serious injury.
• Kash dodged the Owlbear's attack, while Veris failed to pierce its hide and suffered a severe shoulder wound before drinking a Healing Potion.
• Mint used thorn magic to slow the Owlbear as Xia Nan struck its thigh, but the wound did little to hinder it.
• The Owlbear ignored attacks from Xia Nan, Kash, and Veris and charged Mint.
• The Owlbear struck Mint and flung her into the forest with her chest caved in.

When Mint was struck down by the Owlbear, Kash and Veris set the beast on fire and fled instead of joining Xia Nan in an attack, and Xia Nan escaped after them. Alone in the forest, Xia Nan questioned the strange events and planned to leave Thin Mist Forest by a different route.

• The Owlbear knocked Mint away, and Kash and Veris abandoned their attacks as Xia Nan prepared to fight beside them.
• Kash threw Fire Oil Bombs at the Owlbear, then used his Stone Spear to flee; Veris had already vanished into the thicket.
• Xia Nan used [Tooth Hunt] to escape, picked up Mint's broken staff, and outran the pursuing Owlbear through the forest.
• Xia Nan stopped to consider whether Mint, the Beastman, or another hidden cause was behind the attacks, and concluded the Investigation Quest could not continue.
• Xia Nan found that he had escaped without serious injury and decided to leave Thin Mist Forest by a wide detour.

Kash escaped an Owlbear and reunited with the wounded Veris, and the two suspected Xia Nan might be connected to the Beastman and the forest’s beast attacks. As they prepared to pursue their target, Xia Nan appeared before them, covered in blood.

• Kash used Fire Oil Bombs and his spear’s Combat Skill to escape the Owlbear in Thin Mist Forest.
• Kash suspected Xia Nan had ties to the Beastman and the beasts attacking them, then found Veris wounded and waiting for him.
• Veris told Kash the Beastman had ambushed her, and the two exchanged suspicions about the Beastman’s control of the beasts and Xia Nan’s involvement.
• Kash and Veris treated her wound but chose to continue pursuing the Beastman despite their injuries and the Owlbear.
• Xia Nan emerged from the bushes, bloodied, and greeted Kash and Veris.

After reuniting with Kash and Veris, Xia Nan suspected they had abandoned him during the Owlbear attack and prepared to defend himself, but agreed to pursue the poisoned Beastman. As the Beastman collapsed in a forest clearing beside a pendant glowing with life, a blade suddenly swept toward Xia Nan from beside him.

• Xia Nan found Kash and Veris, noticed their strained reactions, and stayed wary of them after they explained Mint's death and Veris's injury.
• Kash and Veris said a Beastman had ambushed Veris and urged Xia Nan to help track it before it escaped.
• The three followed the Beastman through Thin Mist Forest, with Xia Nan keeping his distance and watching his teammates.
• The poisoned Beastman emerged and attacked Kash, who wounded it with his Stone Spear before it fled into the forest.
• Kash and Veris chased the wounded Beastman to a clearing, where it lay dying beneath an Oak Tree beside an emerald pendant.
• As Xia Nan noticed the pendant, a blade suddenly flashed toward him from beside one of his teammates.

Veris and Kash prepared to kill Xia Nan and take the valuable magic accessories, but Veris’s Fear Gaze backfired when Xia Nan resisted it. The chapter ended with Xia Nan’s sword killing Veris.

• Veris and Kash revealed their history of exploiting and abandoning adventurer teammates for profit.
• Veris spotted the magic accessories on the beastman’s corpse and decided to eliminate Xia Nan before dividing the spoils.
• Veris prepared an Observer Beholder’s Fear Gaze, Shadow Bind, and poisoned daggers for a sudden attack on Xia Nan.
• Xia Nan’s Gaze into the Abyss feat made Veris’s Fear Gaze rebound, stunning and harming her.
• Xia Nan struck Veris with his Iron-Gray Longsword, and her headless body fell to the forest floor.

Xia Nan survived Veris and Kash’s ambush, killing both with his sword and using Gravity Control to turn Kash’s charge against him. After the fight, he noticed the Beastman corpse’s emerald light but instead faced a presence approaching through the forest.

• Xia Nan sensed Veris’s attack and resisted her mind-control ability with [Gaze into the Abyss], leaving her stunned.
• Xia Nan beheaded Veris with [Whirlwind Slash] and used the [Dead Line] ring’s Deflection Force Field to block Kash’s spear barrage.
• Kash evaded Xia Nan’s thrust with Wave-Tip Step, then threw his Stone Spear and prepared to charge with his short blade.
• Xia Nan used [Heart’s Sight] and Gravity Control to alter Kash’s trajectory, making him fly into the Beheading Longsword and die.
• Xia Nan recovered, noticed the Beastman corpse’s emerald light, and turned toward footsteps approaching from the forest shadows.

Mint recounted how she became a beast, how Renee healed her and was later killed by two adventurers, and how she planned revenge in Thin Mist Forest. After using Xia Nan to help kill the adventurers, Mint reclaimed Renee’s Thorn Necklace and embraced her beast nature to attack him.

• After the massacre in Maple Breath Village, Mint lost her memories and gradually became a beast, until Renee healed her and gave her wild mint.
• Mint secretly watched Renee, then followed her when she left with two adventurers and rescued her corpse after they mortally wounded her.
• Mint fled from the two adventurers, learned to control thorns and beasts, and devised a revenge plan in Thin Mist Forest under the name Mint.
• Mint joined the adventurers’ party and changed her plan after sensing Xia Nan’s dangerous swordsmanship, using him to help kill the two adventurers.
• Mint revealed that the corpse by the oak tree was a thorn dummy, reclaimed Renee’s Thorn Necklace, and transformed as beasts and thorns surrounded Xia Nan.

Xia Nan fought Mint after identifying her as the source of the beasts and thorns attacking him. He used Gravity Control to disrupt her balance and landed a force-field-enhanced strike that severed her arm and blasted her chest.

• Xia Nan decided to attack Mint rather than flee, cutting through the thorns and charging at her with Whirlwind Slash and Tooth Hunt.
• Mint transformed into a powerful humanoid Bear Beast and dodged Xia Nan’s first sword strike before counterattacking with her claws.
• Xia Nan evaded Mint’s attacks and tested her defenses with Fire Oil Bombs, but the flames barely scorched her mane.
• Xia Nan weighed his hidden Gravity skills and limited Gravity Etching uses, then resolved to end the fight quickly before more monsters arrived.
• Xia Nan used Gravity Control to shift Mint’s center of gravity, struck her as she lost her footing, and severed her left arm.
• Gravity Etching’s red force-field energy erupted across Mint’s severed arm and chest.

Xia Nan badly wounded Mint with Gravity Etching, but her Water-Drop Earring rapidly healed her and she counterattacked with a thorn-vine decoy. After losing his longsword and being thrown past her, Xia Nan used Tidal Shaping and Gravity Control to close in and struck the back of Mint’s head with his final Gravity Etching cast.

• Xia Nan used Gravity Etching and Gravity Control to sever Mint’s left arm and inflict severe wounds to her chest and neck, but he dodged her claw and retreated into a guarded stance.
• Mint’s Water-Drop Earring healed her wounds and restored her stamina as her bestial rage intensified.
• Xia Nan charged again and pierced what appeared to be Mint’s chest, but the body proved to be a thorn-vine decoy, and Mint attacked him from behind.
• Mint’s claw struck Xia Nan’s longsword and wounded his right arm, so he dropped the weapon, drew Green Pine, and fought on at close range.
• Mint knocked Xia Nan away, but he slowed his flight with Tidal Shaping and pulled himself behind her with Gravity Control.
• Xia Nan struck the back of Mint’s head with the final cast of Gravity Etching.

Xia Nan defeated Mint after she became a Bearman, drove off the remaining beasts, and searched the battlefield for salvage. He discovered that Kash’s Grey Stone Spear was a Tidal Surge Lure Rod, then planned to return to River Valley Town for treatment for the Beastification Curse.

• Xia Nan killed the transformed Mint with a fist strike enhanced by [Gravity Etching], ending her control over the vines and beasts.
• Xia Nan drank half a Healing Potion, recovered his swords, and drove the surviving beasts away from the clearing.
• Xia Nan checked his injuries and damaged armor, then decided he needed to return to River Valley Town to seek a way to remove the Beastification Curse.
• Xia Nan searched Veris’s belongings and collected her daggers, money, medicine jars, and the spent eye-shaped item.
• Xia Nan found Kash’s crushed body and discovered that his Grey Stone Spear was a Tidal Surge Lure Rod with an unusual fishing effect.