Recaps

After becoming a Professional, Xia Nan wondered how to raise his level and advance his unusual [Meteor Blade Hunt] class, so he planned to seek guidance in Newm. He left the tavern intending to complete an Association mission in five days and learn more about his path forward.

• Xia Nan spent the day wrapping up matters from his previous task, then ate with Abi and Adeline at White Tit Tavern as they discussed Abi's new armor and their plans as adventurers.
• Xia Nan asked Adeline about Newm because his Professional advancement quest would likely take him there, but she and Abi offered only limited information about the city.
• A mage and a human Warrior from the high-level team entered the tavern; Xia Nan sensed their strength and wondered whether they had reached Transcendent level.
• Xia Nan reflected on the Transcendent and Legendary ranks, then realized he still did not know how to raise his Profession Level or advance [Meteor Blade Hunt].
• Xia Nan decided to travel to Newm in five days to complete the Association mission, seek guidance on leveling his Profession, and gather information about class advancement.

Cornell discussed the costly aftermath of the Goblin Nest mission with the silent, heavily armored Warrior, including the dead elf’s resurrection and the strange equipment they had found. Five days later, Jimmy traveled toward Newm with his cousin and spotted Grey Sword at the courier station before his cousin warned him not to stare.

• Cornell complained that the mission’s reward would not cover the expenses and said he was arranging a resurrection in Newm for the dead elf.
• Cornell recalled the strange Goblin Priest and gravity-triggering device, then asked the Warrior to tell Master Yang Ci about them after returning.
• Cornell sought a temporary replacement for Volga and asked the Warrior whether he knew anyone suitable.
• Five days later, Jimmy and his cousin secured a place in a convoy leaving River Valley Town for Newm.
• Jimmy remembered his cousin taking a bloodstained bundle and a statue from a dead adventurer, then saw the convoy captain greet Grey Sword deferentially.
• Jimmy stared at Grey Sword’s rising and falling silver coin until his cousin slapped the back of his head and told him not to stare.

Xia Nan traveled from River Valley Town toward Newm for an Association mission, reflecting on his slow Gravity Control training, equipment plans, and growing reputation. At a roadside camp, Jimmy noticed his cousin increasingly zoning out and found himself seeing eerie beauty in a gray statue the cousin had shown him.

• Xia Nan trained [Gravity Control] during his five-day rest but gained only one point of proficiency.
• Barn told Xia Nan the Bone Rod could not be combined with the Snake Scale Arm Shield, so Xia Nan paid 500 gold for Barn to craft a separate defensive magic item.
• Xia Nan departed River Valley Town in a private carriage, carrying the mission destination of No. 32 Grey Tree Alley on Crowbeak Street in Newm.
• After seven days of travel, the convoy camped for the night, and Jimmy brought food to his older cousin, who had been staring blankly into the fire.
• Jimmy watched his cousin eat and recalled the gray statue, which now seemed to him to possess an eerie beauty.

Jimmy joined a caravan bound for Newm and became caught in a sudden night attack, where he was knocked unconscious. After the fighting ended, he found his cousin dead and took the wrapped statue from his chest, showing an eager fixation on it.

• Jimmy listened as the caravan travelers joked about Grey Sword and teased him about women, while his cousin remained absorbed in the wrapped statue.
• A Wooden Arrow killed a bearded traveler, and the caravan came under attack.
• Jimmy fled in confusion, was knocked unconscious by a mounted attacker, and heard the battle intensify before wolves appeared and the attackers began to retreat.
• Jimmy woke after the battle and discovered that the corpse he had tripped over was his cousin.
• Jimmy pushed aside his cousin's head, searched his chest, and took the bloodstained bundle containing the statue.

After arriving in Newm, Xia Nan planned to rest and gather information before beginning his mission the next day. While surveying the city, he recognized a fellow traveler working in a tailor shop just as several tattooed men entered it.

• Xia Nan reflected on how his enhanced balance and Agility made him vastly stronger than ordinary people, recalling how easily he had defeated the bandits who attacked the convoy.
• A newspaper boy tried to sell Xia Nan a paper, but a convoy guard chased him away before Xia Nan could buy one.
• The convoy reached Newm, and Xia Nan arranged for his share of the bandits’ spoils to be deposited with Boss Chapton at the White Tit Tavern.
• Xia Nan declined the convoy leader’s offer to take him back to River Valley Town and decided to find an inn before visiting his mission’s destination the next day.
• While walking through Newm, Xia Nan recognized a young fellow traveler limping around inside the Pigeon Feather Tailor Shop, then watched several tattooed men enter.

Jeff and Lilina’s new tailor shop was threatened by a gang and a customer trying to haggle, until Jeff’s old friend Xia Nan arrived and forced the gang to change its tune. The gang paid for fabric and made the middle-aged woman pay the full price she had tried to evade.

• A middle-aged woman pressured Lilina into giving her a discount and tried to leave with a bolt of green cloth.
• A bald leader from the Grey Badger Gang demanded two hundred sets of clothes in three days and threatened to smash the shop if Jeff failed.
• Jeff offered the gang leader money and hinted at his connection to Stubborn Donkey, but the leader remained wary.
• Xia Nan entered the shop, and the gang’s men made way for him; the leader recognized his influence and pretended he had come to support Jeff’s business.
• The gang members paid for fabric, and the leader ordered the middle-aged woman to pay the rest of what she owed.

Xia Nan drove the Grey Badger Gang away from Jeff’s tailor shop and accepted Jeff’s offer to stay at his home. Elsewhere, the gang’s bald leader was forced to stab a young Adventurer, then fled in terror, leaving a corpse with a strange wood carving as a newspaper-carrying figure approached.

• Xia Nan used [Gravity Control] to make the Grey Badger Gang lackeys leave Jeff’s shop and accepted Jeff’s invitation to stay with his family.
• Jeff introduced his daughter Lilina to Xia Nan, and she thanked him for saving her father.
• Jeff assured Xia Nan he could use his connections to stop the gang from targeting the tailor shop again.
• The bald leader warned his underlings to avoid Xia Nan and Jeff’s shop, then encountered a dazed young Adventurer carrying a bundle.
• The young Adventurer’s control over the bald leader made him stab the youth with his own dagger, after which the leader fled and the youth died beside a bundle containing a Grey-Black Wood Carving.
• A thin figure carrying a stack of newspapers walked past the corpse as night fell.

Xia Nan stayed with Jeff’s family in Newm and realized how his earlier rescue had preserved their happy life. At dinner, Jamie dropped a strange Ram Deer Figurine, and Xia Nan recognized that it was not the same carving he had seen before and demanded to know where it came from.

• Jeff brought Xia Nan to his townhouse, where Daisy welcomed him warmly and thanked him for saving Jeff.
• Xia Nan reflected that his past actions had spared Jeff’s family hardship and enjoyed Daisy’s cream mushroom soup as they discussed the approaching Moon Feast.
• Jamie returned from the academy, greeted Xia Nan, and hurried off to work on his school assignment.
• Jamie tripped and dropped a cloth bag, revealing a Ram Deer Figurine that made Xia Nan freeze.
• Xia Nan recognized that the figurine differed from the one he had seen at the Fairy Wind and asked Jamie where it came from.

Xia Nan investigated a wooden [Ram Deer Figurine] at Jamie’s home and suspected it was connected to the mysterious objects that had appeared in the forest. After demonstrating its potential danger, he watched Jeff take the figurine away and send his family to the Moon Goddess Church, while Jeff asked whether they would be safe.

• Xia Nan recognized that Jamie’s figurine was different from the one at Fairy Wind and warned him not to point it toward him.
• Jamie explained that the figurines had appeared without a known source in Newm City and had become popular among wealthy residents.
• Xia Nan connected their unexplained appearance to the strange buildings and objects he had encountered, then asked Jeff and Daisy about recent incidents near Newm City.
• Jamie and Jeff reported no strange effects from the figurine or Jamie’s tutor, so Xia Nan cautioned the family to avoid contact with it and demonstrated his concern by levitating a spoon.
• Jeff wrapped the figurine in his coat, told Daisy to take the children to the Moon Goddess Church, and hurried to return it to Jamie’s tutor at 35 Eagle Emblem Avenue.
• At the door, Jeff turned back and asked Xia Nan whether they would all be fine.

Little Snot brought home a strange statue taken from a dead Adventurer, while his sick sister Polly and their drunken father faced the hardships of the Lower City. At the Moon Goddess Church, Xia Nan and the others waited for purification, and Jeff returned after warning Jamie’s mentor about the statue, though the mentor had brushed off the concern.

• Little Snot brought home a statue from a dead Adventurer and planned to sell it at Griffin Department Store.
• Little Snot gave Polly a coarse nut cake and recalled how a sewage incident had killed their mother, sickened Polly, and driven their father to drink.
• Little Snot’s drunken father kicked in the door, berated him, and seized the statue.
• Xia Nan reassured Lilina at the Moon Goddess Church while she and the others waited for news about the statue’s influence.
• Jeff returned to the church and told Jamie that he had warned his mentor about the statue, but the mentor had dismissed the danger and told Jamie to finish his assignment.

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.