Chapter Summaries

Xia Nan warned the Moon Goddess Church that the [Ram Deer Figurine] might be an evil object, but Priest Isidor dismissed his concern and purified the visitors with divine light. Isidor later discussed the figurines with Cornell, who revealed that he had one and showed interest in studying it, while both men remained convinced it was harmless.

• Priest Isidor assured Jeff and the others that Newm was protected by the Goddess, then suggested Xia Nan might be suffering from Adventurer-related mental strain.
• Isidor led the group through a purification, and Xia Nan used [Heart's Sight] to perceive a strange pattern in the silver light before the skill caused him pain and increased his [Gravity Control] proficiency.
• The Goddess's silver light replenished Xia Nan's mind as the group received the purification and left the church.
• Isidor met Cornell, who had a wooden [Ram Deer Figurine] and agreed with Isidor that it showed no sign of being an evil object.
• Cornell asked to borrow the figurine and confirmed that he had prepared the materials for a resurrection ritual before the Moon Feast, but Isidor refused to lend him the carving.

Xia Nan arrived at Harriet’s home to investigate her report about her neighbor, Barker, returning from Hunting Day early and behaving strangely. Harriet recounted hearing a monstrous cry from Barker’s house and feeling a creature watch her through the door before it fled from night-patrol guards.

• Xia Nan left Jeff’s house and went to the Adventurers Association mission address on Crowbeak Street.
• Harriet opened the door in fright, then apologized and explained that her neighbor Barker had returned from Hunting Day after only about fifty days, injured but apparently able to move normally.
• Harriet recalled hearing unnatural roars and tearing sounds from the Barker home during a storm and going to investigate despite her fear.
• Harriet knocked on Barker’s door and sensed something staring at her from inside until passing night-patrol guards startled it into fleeing through a back window.
• Harriet told Xia Nan that guards later found bloody footprints less than half a foot from the door, confirming that something had watched her.

Xia Nan questioned Harriet about the massacre of the Barker family and inspected their abandoned home, where he found a large claw mark. He left with a new lead: the Sheriff had suspected the killings were connected to Beastification Syndrome.

• Harriet told Xia Nan that she had found the Barker family dead and that Barker's body was missing.
• Xia Nan learned that the Sheriffs had barely investigated the case, so he decided to inspect the Barker home himself.
• Harriet led Xia Nan next door, where he examined the bloodstained rooms and asked what the Sheriffs had learned from the bodies.
• Xia Nan spotted a large, five-toed claw mark on a shattered window's sunken sill.
• Harriet recalled that the Sheriff had said the massacre might be connected to Beastification Syndrome.

Xia Nan followed clues about Barker’s Beastification Syndrome to the Iron Barrel Toad tavern, where he recognized a familiar man. Meanwhile, Walker carried a strange horned statue and left the tavern, unaware that the Grey Badger Gang was following him.

• Xia Nan connected Barker’s disappearance and violent attack on his family to Beastification Syndrome and decided to find and kill him.
• Harriet told Xia Nan that Barker often visited the Iron Barrel Toad, and Xia Nan went there to search for clues.
• Xia Nan ordered lunch and recognized a middle-aged man in black leather armor sitting in a quiet corner.
• Walker ran out of money after drinking and remembered the horned object wrapped in black cloth inside his clothes.
• The Grey Badger Gang’s leader kicked Walker and ordered him off the street, while the gang mocked his drinking and followed him as he left.

Xia Nan reunited with Wood in Newm City and learned that Hai An was Hai An Wickliff, the young master of the city’s ruling family. Wood and the tavern owner helped Xia Nan pursue information about Barker, and the chapter ended as Wood pointed out a group of tattooed thugs who might lead him to Big Ben.

• Xia Nan found Wood eating alone at the Iron Barrel Toad and told him he had recently advanced to a Profession Level.
• Wood revealed that Hai An was Hai An Wickliff, whose personal safety was currently secure despite trouble within the Wickliff Family.
• Xia Nan told Wood about his mission to find Barker, and Wood introduced him to the tavern owner, Stubborn Donkey.
• Stubborn Donkey said Barker’s former teammate, Colander Big Ben, might know what had happened to Barker and offered to ask around for him.
• Wood pointed out a group of tattooed thugs entering the tavern, led by a bald man carrying a bloodstained black bundle.

Xia Nan and Wood questioned Iron Head about the adventurer Big Ben and made him lead them to the Grey Badger Gang. Iron Head took them to a sewer entrance in the slums, where Wood arranged their positions before they descended.

• Wood asked Iron Head whether he knew Big Ben, and Iron Head admitted he had helped Big Ben on jobs for the Grey Badger Gang but did not know where he lived.
• Iron Head offered to pass along a message or take Xia Nan and Wood to meet the gang boss, and Wood ordered him to lead the way.
• Iron Head guided Xia Nan and Wood through the slums to a hidden sewer entrance, explaining that the gang used the sewers as a concealed base.
• Wood stopped Xia Nan from entering first and ordered Iron Head to go between them, with Wood leading and Xia Nan bringing up the rear.
• Wood warned Xia Nan to be careful and stay focused before they went underground.

Xia Nan and Wood followed Iron Head through Newm’s sewers toward the Grey Irrigation Gang’s lair, where an enormous rat attacked them. Xia Nan used gravity to yank the rat into his sword, killing it as they reached the gang’s base.

• Iron Head led Xia Nan and Wood through the sewer and warned them about its dangers and easy-to-miss forks.
• The three reached the Grey Irrigation Gang’s underground lair and found the guards, rotten teeth and Urinal, missing from their post.
• A huge gray-furred rat rushed at the group from the darkness.
• Xia Nan used gravity to pull the rat by its tail onto his Beheading Longsword, piercing its chest.

Xia Nan and Wood followed Iron Head to the Grey Badger Gang’s base, where a swarm of Gray Fur Rats had trapped the gang in an abandoned reservoir. After judging that the rats might be manageable, Xia Nan charged through them with his sword and [Whirlwind Slash], carving a path across the swarm.

• Xia Nan killed a Gray Fur Rat that attacked him, and Iron Head explained that the rats became more aggressive around the approaching Moon Feast.
• Wood found rat tracks, bloodstains, and scraps of clothing, suggesting people had already been attacked deeper in the Pipe Corridor.
• Iron Head ran toward a human roar, and Xia Nan and Wood followed him to the Grey Badger Gang’s besieged base.
• Eight Fingers called for Iron Head to fetch help, while Xia Nan saw the gang surrounded by Gray Fur Rats and weighed whether to intervene.
• Xia Nan and Wood chose to face the swarm, and Xia Nan raced through the rats with a powerful sword strike that left a path of corpses behind him.

Xia Nan and Wood rescued Eight Fingers and the Grey Irrigation Gang from a Gray Fur Rat swarm, with Xia Nan using the battle to improve his Combat Skills. After the rats fled, Eight Fingers approached Xia Nan while Xia Nan wondered whether the rat corpses had any value.

• Xia Nan carved through the Gray Fur Rats with [Tooth Hunt], rapidly increasing its proficiency as Eight Fingers watched in shock.
• Iron Head told Eight Fingers that Xia Nan and Wood had come looking for him, and Eight Fingers prepared a box from under his bed.
• Xia Nan tested [Gravity Etching], detonating its ochre-red energy among the rats and raising its proficiency to 62 points.
• The remaining Gray Fur Rats fled into the sewers, and Wood joined Xia Nan after helping at the edge of the battle.
• Xia Nan found no obvious value in the rat corpses, while Eight Fingers led the rescued gang members toward him.

Xia Nan and Wood accepted Eight Fingers's compensation for saving the Grey Irrigation Gang and learned that Big Ben's address could be reached with Iron Head's help the next morning. After they left, Iron Head showed Eight Fingers a figurine he had taken from a drunk.

• Eight Fingers gave Xia Nan a money box containing more than fifty gold and several stones, while Wood declined a share.
• Eight Fingers said he knew little about Barker but could guide them to Big Ben the next morning through Iron Head.
• Xia Nan asked why the Gray Fur Rats had attacked despite the gang's preparations, and Eight Fingers said they had ignored fire and light as if provoked.
• Eight Fingers sent Wry Neck to guide Xia Nan and Wood out of the Sewer.
• After Xia Nan and Wood departed, Iron Head gave Eight Fingers a bloodstained bundle containing a palm-sized sheep-and-deer figurine taken from a drunk.

Eight Fingers learned that Iron Head had taken the Ram Deer Figurine from Walker and ordered him to dispose of Walker, while considering using the statue to gain influence at the upcoming Moon Feast. Xia Nan parted ways with Wood and returned to Jeff’s house, preparing to meet Big Ben “Colander” the next morning.

• Iron Head told Eight Fingers how he had obtained the Ram Deer Figurine from Walker, and Eight Fingers ordered him to feed Walker’s body to Gray Fur Rats.
• Eight Fingers decided the figurine could help him gain favor with powerful guests at a Moon Feast banquet and rewarded Iron Head for bringing it to him.
• Wood warned Xia Nan about dangers in the slums and explained how the Moon Goddess Church might help, then advised him to avoid contact with the young master unless necessary.
• Xia Nan offered to help Wood and the young master in the future, and Wood hinted they might have a favor for him after some time.
• Wood mentioned that the Association offered additional rewards to Professionals, leaving Xia Nan curious about his advancement mission.
• Xia Nan and Wood parted at a street fork, and Xia Nan returned to Jeff’s house to await a Grey Badger Gang guide to Big Ben “Colander” the next morning.

At a Moon Feast banquet in Newm, Cornell waited for the moon phase that would let him revive his dead teammate while avoiding unwanted entanglements among the city’s powerful. Near the end of the feast, gang leader Eight Fingers brought him a Ram Deer Figurine, leaving Cornell stunned by the unexpected gift.

• Cornell declined a young woman’s invitation to dance because he was wary of getting caught up in the city’s political troubles.
• Cornell spoke with Isidor, shared fruit wine with him, and waited for the banquet to end.
• Eight Fingers approached Cornell and Isidor, introducing himself as the operator of Grey Shrub and offering them a package.
• Cornell used a magical hand to unwrap the package and recognized the Ram Deer Figurine he had once seen with Isidor.

Xia Nan visited Big Ben "Colander" in the Slums to ask about Barker, whose family had died and whose whereabouts remained unknown. Big Ben offered few leads, so Xia Nan began asking about the accident that had injured Barker during Hunting Day.

• Madam Daisy prepared Xia Nan a special breakfast, and he left Jeff's home to meet Iron Head.
• Iron Head led Xia Nan through the Slums to Big Ben's house, explaining that Big Ben had spent his savings and relied on former teammates for help.
• Big Ben tried to shut the door when he saw Xia Nan, but Xia Nan used [Gravity Control] to stop him and entered to explain that the Association had sent him.
• Xia Nan asked Big Ben where Barker might have gone, and Big Ben recalled Barker's childhood in the Slums and his visits to the Iron Barrel Toad.
• Xia Nan remembered Harriet's account that Barker had returned to Newm injured during Hunting Day and prepared to ask Big Ben about the accident.

Big Ben told Xia Nan that a strange darkness during a forest attack had caused him to flee and leave Barker behind, possibly exposing Barker to the source of his Beastification Syndrome. Xia Nan gained no clear lead on Barker’s whereabouts, but Iron Head offered the Grey Badger Gang’s help before an unknown cloaked passerby brushed past him and left behind dark-red crystals.

• Big Ben recounted how a supernatural darkness and a shrill cry drove him to abandon his companions, and he later realized he had shoved Barker down while escaping.
• Big Ben said Barker returned to River Valley Town the next day, badly injured, and Xia Nan suspected the attack may have caused Barker’s Beastification Syndrome.
• Xia Nan learned the other members of Barker’s party lived outside Newm and could offer no further leads, so he left with Iron Head.
• Iron Head offered to have the Grey Badger Gang search the slums for Barker, and Xia Nan accepted the help.
• Iron Head collided with a cloaked passerby in a narrow alley, who walked away while tiny dark-red crystals fell from Iron Head’s clothes.

Xia Nan found that Big Ben had been killed by the same clawed attacker who murdered Barker’s family, confirming that Barker was alive and infected with Beastification Syndrome. A clue about Iron Scab Moss led Xia Nan to suspect Barker was hiding in Newm’s sewers, so he set out to ask the Grey Badger Gang for help locating him.

• Xia Nan changed course to investigate Barker’s former home and followed a squad of guards into the slums.
• At Big Ben’s collapsed house, Xia Nan found Big Ben’s corpse and heard a witness describe a powerful hooded attacker who had smashed into the house.
• Xia Nan discovered claw marks identical to those at Barker’s home and concluded that Barker, afflicted with Beastification Syndrome, had killed Big Ben.
• Back at Jeff’s house, Xia Nan overheard Lilina and Mrs. Daisy discuss plants gathered from sewers and remembered Iron Scab Moss from Iron Head’s gang base.
• Xia Nan suspected Barker was hiding in Newm’s sewers, drank Mrs. Daisy’s Cream Mushroom Soup, and rushed out to seek Iron Head and Eight Fingers’s help.

Xia Nan and Iron Head searched Newm's sewers for Barker, a person infected with Beastification Syndrome, and found the Grey Irrigation Gang's base slaughtered. They arrived as a cloaked figure with glowing beast eyes killed Eight Fingers.

• Iron Head boasted in the Iron Barrel Toad about Xia Nan's strength, and Xia Nan's arrival abruptly stopped his bragging.
• Xia Nan examined Iron Hernia Moss in the sewers and followed Iron Head toward the Gray Fur Rats' nest, where they suspected Barker was hiding.
• Xia Nan smelled blood and found two dead Grey Irrigation Gang guards, prompting Iron Head to rush toward the gang's base.
• Xia Nan and Iron Head reached the burning base and found the gang members dead among the wreckage.
• A cloaked figure snapped Eight Fingers's neck, revealing frenzied beast eyes that glowed green in the darkness.

Xia Nan fought Barker in the sewer, wounded him, and pursued him into an abandoned slum clearing, where Barker began transforming beneath the full moon. Elsewhere, Isidor prepared to resurrect a blond Elf while Cornell fixated on a strange blue-black statue.

• Xia Nan attacked Barker with Whirlwind Slash and Gravity Control, but Barker unleashed a burst of blood arrows that forced Xia Nan to retreat.
• Barker decided he could not defeat Xia Nan in the sewer and fled through its tunnels, with Xia Nan following cautiously.
• Xia Nan followed Barker through the sewer and climbed out after him into an abandoned clearing in Newm City’s Lower City District.
• Barker stopped running, healed his wound, and grew more beastlike as moonlight and stardust gathered around him beneath the full moon.
• Isidor asked Cornell if he was ready to begin resurrecting the blond Elf, while Cornell stared at a strange blue-black statue in his hand.

Cornell and Isidor attempted to resurrect the dead Elf Windstring during the Moon Feast, but the ritual ended strangely and Windstring awakened with an emotionless gaze. He destroyed Cornell’s magical protections, took the wooden statue from him, and staggered out of the church.

• Cornell prepared costly spell materials and confirmed that Isidor would attempt to revive Windstring, whose body lay on the altar.
• Isidor drew down the Moon Feast’s sacred light and began the resurrection ritual while Cornell watched a spirit descend toward Windstring’s corpse.
• As the ritual ended, the wooden figurine distracted Cornell, and he missed the moment Windstring’s soul returned to his body.
• Windstring sat up with vacant eyes, then turned toward Cornell as silver light protected the unconscious Isidor.
• Windstring’s gaze destroyed Cornell’s enchanted defenses and runes, after which he took the figurine and staggered out through the shattered stained-glass window.

Barker completed his transformation into a gigantic Brown Bear and attacked Xia Nan, who used his speed and swordsmanship to wound him. As Xia Nan prepared to continue the fight, a familiar Elf arrived at the edge of the field.

• Xia Nan threw two Fire Oil Bombs at Barker, but the moonlight extinguished the flames and healed his burns.
• Barker explained how debt, the Grey Badger Gang, and the deaths of Sarah, Kylie, and Little Daphne had driven him into rage before he fully transformed into a Brown Bear.
• Barker charged Xia Nan, who used [Tooth Hunt] and [Whirlwind Slash] to evade him and cut his back.
• Xia Nan assessed Barker's strength and planned to exploit his lower speed with [Gravity Control] and [Gravity Etching].
• A familiar tall figure with long golden hair and pointed ears appeared at the edge of the field, and Xia Nan recognized an Elf.

Xia Nan encountered a strange, vacant golden-haired Elf who froze him and Barker before stripping Barker down to a skeleton. Forced to recite the Ram Deer Figurine’s true name, Xia Nan vanished as space twisted around him.

• Xia Nan recognized the approaching golden-haired Elf as a high-level Professional he had seen at the Adventurers Association.
• The Elf stopped Barker mid-charge with a glance, then stripped away the bear’s flesh and left only its skeleton.
• The Elf’s power also froze Xia Nan, who feared he was being subjected to the same gruesome attack.
• The Elf revealed a Ram Deer Figurine and tried to speak, but the sound caused his neck to explode and destroyed Xia Nan’s armor.
• Xia Nan understood the Elf’s utterance as a command to recite the figurine’s true name, and the voice forced him to say it.
• Space twisted around Xia Nan, and he vanished from the grounds.