Chapter Summaries

Xia Nan examined the Dreamweaver Corridor terminal and kept its unusual attributes secret while Vior tried to buy it from Luca. Lawson began hunting for the missing treasure in Molten Scale Town, ordering Rotten Toe to search the town and dispose of the bodies.

• Xia Nan examined the Dreamweaver Corridor terminal, found that it had little energy and needed a dynamic password, and concealed what he learned from Hai An.
• Vior could not identify the terminal but suspected it was connected to Sava’s future, so she offered to buy it from Luca.
• Xia Nan interrupted Vior’s offer and said he was interested in the terminal too.
• In Molten Scale Town, Lawson questioned Rotten Toe about the missing inherited treasure and learned that a powerful Professional had killed two thugs.
• Lawson ordered Rotten Toe to investigate suspicious Adventurers and the dead thugs’ associates, then told him to feed the corpses to the casino dogs.

Terry William investigated the disappearance of three people and tightened surveillance on Lawson while Xia Nan and Vior spent their final day of rest in Molten Scale Town. Vior struggled with her fear of Xia Nan, and the chapter ended as they spotted the casino where Sava and Luca had gone.

• Terry William learned that Rotten Toe had brought three bodies back from an alley and that they had been chopped up and fed to dogs.
• Terry William suspected Lawson might have the Molton Family heirloom and ordered his men to watch Lawson, guard the town exits, and monitor suspicious adventurers.
• Xia Nan bought a dragon-scale-patterned waterskin and offered Vior skewers, which she accepted despite their strange taste.
• Vior recalled her past-life terror of Xia Nan and wished to finish the mission quickly so she could distance herself from him.
• Xia Nan and Vior learned that Sava and Luca had gone to the casino, then spotted it ahead.

Luca lost his wages gambling at Golden Flow Roulette, while Xia Nan and Vior watched a confrontation between three thugs and a skilled young man. After the young man defeated the thugs, Lawson recognized a familiar fighting move and seized him by the shoulder.

• Luca lost all the Gold Coins he had brought to Golden Flow Roulette, then left the table and spent his last chip on a drink.
• Xia Nan and Vior joined Luca at the casino, where the three of them noticed a young man sitting alone as three drunken thugs approached him.
• The young man broke one thug’s arm and stomped another’s knee, defeating all three without being injured.
• Lawson saw the young man’s fighting stance, grabbed his shoulder before he could leave, and said he thought he had seen the move before.

Lawson recognized Grove as a Molton Family knight and captured him, while Terry William led the family knights in an attack on Lawson’s casino. As the two men confronted each other, Xia Nan’s party prepared to leave Molten Scale Town early to avoid the brewing conflict.

• Lawson identified the young knight’s defensive stance as a technique unique to the Molton Family, then subdued him and had him taken to the casino’s inner room.
• Xia Nan recognized the captured knight as one of Terry William’s men and decided his group should leave the casino; Luca went to fetch Sava.
• After learning Grove had been exposed, Terry William equipped his knights and led them to the casino, ending their attempt to stay hidden.
• Lawson ordered Rotten Toe to kill Grove after the knight refused to talk, but Terry William’s arrival interrupted the execution and sparked a confrontation over the stolen Dragon Nest treasure.
• Xia Nan sensed movement nearby, and Wood moved the party’s departure from the next morning to that afternoon as they prepared to leave the Resting Dragon Nest.

Xia Nan’s group was trapped in Molten Scale Town while Terry William and Lawson fought over a secret treasure, and Xia Nan briefly sensed an unseen presence watching them. After Terry William rushed past, Lawson killed three Knights and slipped toward the town exit, planning to draw Terry into open ground.

• A Knight told Wood that Terry William’s forces had sealed the town exits and that travelers would face a strict search, so the group considered staying overnight.
• An explosion sounded in town, and Xia Nan sensed a presence on a nearby rooftop that vanished after a sudden sting of killing intent.
• Terry William raced across the crowded street in silver-lit Heavy Armor, and Wood ordered the group to leave town while they could.
• Lawson appeared from concealment and killed three Molton Family Knights before using his [Blood-Seeking Veteran] ability to disappear again.
• Lawson headed for the town exit, intending to lure Terry William into open ground, and recalled Xia Nan’s gaze before dismissing it as a coincidence.

Terry William gained the upper hand against Lawson by trapping him with Silver Lock Prison and weakening him with a magic scroll. Lawson crushed a red crystal that summoned a furious dragon from the storm clouds, leaving Terry frozen as the downpour began.

• Terry William struggled against Lawson, who outmatched him in their duel despite Terry’s Silver-Plated Knight abilities.
• Terry provoked Lawson by revealing Duke Molton had considered him an untrustworthy wild dog, driving Lawson into a rage.
• Terry sprang Silver Lock Prison from the ground and used a fourth-circle Curse Descent scroll to weaken Lawson.
• Lawson broke free of the silver cage but found his strength diminished, while Terry gained the advantage.
• Lawson crushed a red crystal, summoning a furious dragon whose roar shook the clouds as a torrential downpour began.

Xia Nan and Vior brought down a High Cliff Griffin, and the escort party continued through the Red Dragon’s territory while discussing the Molton Family’s stolen heirloom. A crimson beam drew the furious Red Dragon Klaogbari to them, and its Dragon Breath descended on the exposed party.

• Vior used Wind Dance to ground a High Cliff Griffin, and Xia Nan killed it with a single sword strike.
• Wood directed the party to collect valuable Griffin parts, and the six Adventurers left the corpse behind as they continued onward.
• Sava, Wood, and Hai An discussed the Molton Family’s lost heirloom and questioned whether Terry William could retrieve it from the Red Dragon.
• A crimson light rose beyond a distant ridge, and the party recognized it as the signal that had previously lured the Red Dragon from its nest.
• Klaogbari shattered the party’s Alarm Spell barrier, froze them with Dragon Might, and unleashed its Dragon Breath upon them.

Xia Nan and the escort squad faced Klaogbari’s Dragon Breath, and Hai An’s barrier—reinforced by Vior—kept most of them alive. After spotting the Dreamweaver Corridor Terminal, the furious Red Dragon stopped its second breath, landed before the survivors, and trapped them face-to-face.

• Xia Nan chose to run toward Hai An’s emerald barrier as Klaogbari swept the escort squad with Dragon Breath.
• Most of the squad reached the barrier, but Luca fell short and was incinerated, leaving the Dreamweaver Corridor Terminal behind.
• Klaogbari’s Dragon Breath cracked Hai An’s barrier, but Vior strengthened it with her Magic Staff long enough for the flames to pass.
• The barrier broke after the Dragon Breath ended, and the survivors found themselves surrounded by scorched, molten ground.
• Klaogbari spotted the Dreamweaver Corridor Terminal, halted its second Dragon Breath, and landed before the squad.

Xia Nan and the escort squad faced the Adult Red Dragon Klaogbari, who demanded to know where they had found the silver oval metal. Vior revealed a powerful spell that would banish the dragon and herself beyond the Material Plane, then began casting as Klaogbari lost control of its body.

• Klaogbari landed before the escort squad and asked in Dragon Tongue where they had found the metal.
• Xia Nan recovered from the Dragon Might and realized neither fighting nor fleeing offered a chance of survival.
• Vior told Klaogbari that the metal had been found in Molten Scale Town and linked it to Terry William.
• Vior instructed the squad to guard her, avoid attacking Klaogbari, and wait for her return while she cast a spell.
• Klaogbari tried to crush Vior but found itself bound by invisible chains as she began Extra-Dimensional Banishment.

Vior used an unfamiliar banishment spell to remove herself and the adult red dragon Klaogbari from the battlefield, leaving Xia Nan and the others to wait in the rain. When Sava rushed to claim the Dreamweaver Corridor left behind, an unseen attacker stabbed her through the neck.

• Vior cast a powerful banishment spell that held Klaogbari immobile while Xia Nan and the others guarded her.
• After five tense minutes, Vior and Klaogbari vanished, leaving the group exhausted and the Dreamweaver Corridor in the mud.
• Sava asked whether they should wait for Vior, while Wood proposed waiting only half an hour before leaving.
• Xia Nan noticed the Dreamweaver Corridor and moved to retrieve it, but Sava rushed ahead, recognizing its likely importance.
• As Sava reached for the Dreamweaver Corridor, an unseen attacker stabbed her through the neck with a rapier.

Lawson used a Signal Crystal to lure the Red Dragon Klaogbari and seized the Silver Metal Block after killing Sava. As Lawson attacked Xia Nan’s party, Terry William struck Xia Nan with a silver needle that pierced his armor and left him collapsing from a strange, silvery poison.

• Lawson activated a Signal Crystal to draw Klaogbari toward him, then followed the dragon over a hill after it landed out of sight.
• Lawson found the Silver Metal Block and killed Sava with a single rapier thrust before taking the treasure.
• Lawson fought Xia Nan and Wood, using stealth to bypass them, but Xia Nan saw through his concealment and intercepted him with Grey Sword.
• Terry William attacked from a nearby hill with a silver needle that pierced Xia Nan’s armor and body.
• Xia Nan noticed his blood had turned silvery, weakened, and collapsed.

After Terry William’s betrayal left Xia Nan badly wounded and the others at his mercy, Xia Nan tried to find a way to survive as the fight for the Molton Family’s treasure escalated. He used the [Fate Coin] to enter a dynamic password into the [Dreamweaver Corridor], and silver-white light began to rise.

• Xia Nan used [Tear of Spring Breath] to suppress the toxin in his chest, but realized that healing would take too long and considered activating its stronger spell.
• Terry William saw Lawson holding the silver metal block and secretly decided to keep the treasure and kill everyone who knew about it.
• Terry William attacked Hai An and Wood, striking Hai An through the chest and knocking Wood unconscious after severing his arm.
• Terry William broke Lawson’s cage, stopped his escape, and cut off the hand holding the metal block, sending it rolling to Xia Nan.
• Xia Nan threw the [Fate Coin] and, after its “Miracle” made success certain, entered randomly shifting characters into the [Dreamweaver Corridor].

Xia Nan activated the Dreamweaver Corridor’s experience log for Tooth Hunt and relived Grom Wind-Eater’s memories of observing the black Winter Wolf Kalosh. After Kalosh avenged its pack by killing the centipede Magical Beast, Grom completed the combat skill Tooth Hunt.

• The Dreamweaver Corridor verified Xia Nan’s password and displayed his four combat skills, but only Tooth Hunt had enough energy to activate.
• Grom Wind-Eater recalled how his mixed heritage left him weaker than other Barbarians but helped him master combat skills and seek recognition from his tribe.
• Grom observed a black Winter Wolf cub named Kalosh, whose mother died when a centipede Magical Beast attacked the pack, leaving Kalosh isolated and eventually driven away.
• Grom followed Kalosh as it learned to hunt alone, and he used its explosive ambushes as inspiration for a new combat skill.
• Kalosh returned two years later and led Grom to the centipede Magical Beast’s lair, where it killed the monster and then disappeared into the snow.
• Kalosh’s final hunt gave Grom the inspiration to complete and name the combat skill Tooth Hunt.

Xia Nan emerged from the [Dreamweaver Corridor] with a greatly enhanced [Tooth Hunt] and the new feat [Night Mother's Gaze]. He returned to the battle, where Lawson unleashed a fatal Combat Skill and Xia Nan killed him before turning his attention to Terry William.

• Xia Nan completed the dream of Grom and Kalosh, raising [Tooth Hunt] to level five, upgrading [Meteor Blade Hunt], gaining attributes, and unlocking [Night Mother's Gaze].
• Xia Nan recovered from his injuries, found [Dreamweaver Corridor] transformed into a Silver Ring, and rejoined the fight against Terry William.
• Terry William badly wounded Lawson and believed he had won, but Lawson stabbed himself with a Short Dagger and activated [Setting Sun Blood Will].
• Lawson struck Terry William with a rapier, and Terry used a Healing Potion while preparing to outlast Lawson's temporary power.
• Terry's thoughts froze as the Black Wolf took Lawson's head, then Xia Nan appeared and finished Lawson with his longsword.
• Terry William felt suffocating fear as Xia Nan faced him beneath the phantom Wolf Head.

Xia Nan defeated Terry William in the rain after Terry’s fear left him fighting on instinct, then killed him as he fled. Terry’s severed head rolled to a stop at the feet of someone wearing an Off-white Robe.

• Terry William’s fear of Xia Nan and the looming Wolf Beast overwhelmed him as he tried to face Xia Nan.
• Terry struck at Xia Nan’s exposed-looking flaw, but his greatsword hit a reddish-brown barrier and left him open to a counterattack.
• Xia Nan cut off Terry’s right arm, dodged his left-handed strike, and severed his other arm.
• Terry fled in terror, but the Wolf Beast caught and killed him.
• Terry’s head rolled through the mud and stopped beside the small leather boots beneath an Off-white Robe.

After banishing the Red Dragon, Vior returned to find Sava dead and the worldline deviation rate far higher than expected. She discovered Xia Nan had killed the remaining enemies, but the sight of Terry William's severed head made her faint; Xia Nan saved Hai An and treated the wounded.

• Vior used [Vior's Extra-Dimensional Banishment] to send the Red Dragon away, then returned to the Material Plane exhausted and alone in the rain.
• Vior found Sava dead and discovered that her death had raised the worldline deviation rate by 0.3%.
• Vior followed a Wolf Howl around a hill and found Xia Nan in human form beside the bodies of slain enemies, including Terry William.
• Vior saw Terry William's severed head at her feet and fainted from exhaustion and shock.
• Xia Nan checked Vior's breathing, gave her a potion, and hurried to save Hai An with the Healing Potion Wood threw him.
• Xia Nan confirmed Hai An had survived, then treated Wood's missing arm as the battle ended.

Xia Nan assessed the spoils from the battle and considered Vior’s strange fear of him while the injured survivors recovered in a hidden cave. Wood insisted the group could not return to Molten Scale Town, so they planned to continue across the mountains toward Sticky Tree Territory despite their injuries.

• Xia Nan recovered [Kuli Bee Needle], [Oath of Molton Loyalty], a silver ingot, and other spoils, while leaving Terry William’s damaged armor behind.
• Wood and Hai An gave Xia Nan their shares of the spoils, and Xia Nan wondered whether Vior’s fear of him stemmed from [Night Mother's Gaze].
• Xia Nan asked whether the group should return to Molten Scale Town or cross the Molten Scale Mountains.
• Wood refused to return, warning that Terry William’s missing subordinates and the wounded survivors could draw suspicion and bring the Molton family’s Knights and town guards after them.
• Xia Nan questioned whether Wood and Hai An could endure the journey, but Wood said crossing the mountains was their only option and hoped they would reach Sticky Tree Territory safely.

After escorting Hai An and Wood safely to Sticky Tree Territory, Xia Nan collected his mission pay and considered how to handle the dangerous relics and the Dreamweaver Corridor’s unknown Key and depleted energy. He planned to return to Valley Town to retrieve his commissioned shield, then stopped when he spotted a familiar figure waiting ahead.

• Xia Nan crossed the Molten Scale Mountains with Hai An and Wood, and the party reached Wellgrove Town without further attacks.
• Hai An paid Xia Nan 630 gold for the escort and Sava’s relics, and Wood explained that he and Hai An would stay briefly in Sticky Tree Territory.
• Xia Nan worried that selling Terry William’s identifiable sword could attract the Molton Family’s attention, and considered the risks of sharing the Tear of Spring Breath’s healing effect.
• Xia Nan realized the Dreamweaver Corridor needed a lost Key and a way to recharge its energy, and decided to return to Valley Town for his Snake Scale Arm Shield.
• Xia Nan reached the agreed meeting place and saw a figure in an Off-white Robe with a chestnut ponytail react to his gaze.

Vior reviewed how her actions had raised the Worldline Deviation Rate and negotiated with Xia Nan over the Molton Family heirloom that had bound itself to him. She gave up claiming the item in exchange for learning its general effects and securing Xia Nan’s help with a future expedition to the Red Dragon’s treasury, then waited for his answer.

• Vior concluded that Xia Nan’s breakthrough and the Red Dragon’s banishment had helped raise the Worldline Deviation Rate from 0.05% to 0.3%.
• Xia Nan approached Vior and began discussing the mission’s spoils, including the heirloom that had become a ring on his hand.
• Vior acknowledged that Luca had first found the heirloom and that the item had likely bound itself to Xia Nan, so she decided not to contest his ownership.
• Vior proposed two conditions for giving up her claim: Xia Nan would explain the item’s general effects and grant her a favor at least three years later.
• Vior specified that she might ask Xia Nan to help raid Klaogbari’s treasury, with the treasury’s profits handled separately, and waited for his reply.

Xia Nan accepted Vior’s conditions and learned about a possible lead that could help him return to River Valley Town. As their arrangements concluded, he asked why she seemed so afraid of him, leaving Vior frozen in panic.

• Xia Nan judged Vior’s conditions acceptable and agreed to explain the [Dreamweaver Corridor] while promising a favor for clearing a Dragon Nest at least three years later.
• Xia Nan described how the [Dreamweaver Corridor] granted Combat Skill Proficiency through dreams, and Vior gave him a Communication Crystal for contacting her about the Red Dragon’s lair.
• Vior warned Xia Nan that the Molton Family might have sealed the route near the mountain canyon, then offered a location where he might find something useful.
• Xia Nan accepted Vior’s request in exchange for the location, and the two finished arranging the spoils and their next steps.
• Before leaving, Xia Nan asked Vior why she seemed afraid of him, and she trembled, unable to answer.