Chapter Summaries

Punk began dissecting a Fierce Body Worm in his laboratory to study its body and potential, using newly acquired Master Level alchemy tools. The worm’s piercing screams disrupted the experiment as Punk cut open its neck.

• Punk obtained a set of Master Level alchemy equipment from Thought of Truth’s auction house at nearly the starting price after other bidders backed down.
• Punk sterilized and enhanced his scalpel, then prepared to dissect the Fierce Body Worm confined on his experiment table.
• Punk ordered Vector to fetch the Element Separator while explaining that the worm’s simplified nature made it suitable for study.
• Punk cut away one of the worm’s shell plates without using anesthesia, provoking a loud, painful shriek.
• Punk hurriedly cut open the Fierce Body Worm’s neck to silence its cries.

Punk dissected a Fierce Body Worm and discovered that its apparent innate spells were spell-like abilities encoded into its DNA and body, explaining the instability and high mana cost of the Soul Devouring Worm spell. He struggled to find a way to improve the spell without making it collapse, while dozens of costly Fierce Body Worms remained in his laboratory.

• Punk dissected a Fierce Body Worm and used Life Bloom to keep it alive as he removed its organs.
• Punk examined the worm's bones and DNA with Potent Microscopic Vision and found tiny runes encoded in its genes.
• Punk realized the Fierce Body Worm's three apparent innate spells were spell-like abilities solidified in its body rather than spell models held in its primitive soul.
• Punk concluded that the Soul Devouring Worm spell's inventor had copied the Aknir Worm's bodily spell structures, leaving the spell unstable and costly to cast.
• Punk worried that he could neither remove nor add solidified spell effects without ruining the Soul Devouring Worm spell, as Vector poked at the captive worms.

Punk reconsidered how to improve the Soul Devouring Worm spell after the Fierce Body Worms disrupted his research. Wedraxia’s lessons from conjuration history led him to focus on magnifying one effect instead of embedding many spells, and he began arranging the worms’ organs.

• Punk decided not to abandon his research or dispose of the Fierce Body Worms, since he still believed the spell improvement was worth pursuing.
• Punk reviewed Wedraxia’s knowledge of spell research and the history of conjuration magic while drinking coffee.
• Punk recalled that ancient mages’ attempts to create one spell for every purpose had failed, and that stable spell models, efficient mana use, focused effects, and brief preparation times were essential.
• Punk concluded that he should remove unnecessary embedded spells and concentrate on strengthening a single effect.
• Punk ignored Vector’s question and began arranging the Fierce Body Worms’ organs in sequence.

Punk examined the Fierce Body Worm’s tissues and found that its digestive ability and rapid reproduction could inspire a new Master Level spell. After discovering a swarm of larvae in the cage, he settled on developing a spell that would summon worms to consume matter and energy, multiply quickly, and spread poison through an enemy.

• Punk tested the Fierce Body Worm’s acid, muscle, and digestive tissue, discarding traits that seemed unsuitable for improving a Master Level spell.
• After several days of research, Punk struggled to choose which of the worm’s many abilities to use.
• Vector alerted Punk to a swarm of Fierce Body Worm larvae that had appeared in the cage.
• Punk observed the larvae hiding in their mother’s shell and recognized their fragile bodies, rapid digestion, and asexual reproduction as useful traits.
• Punk decided to explore a spell that would summon worms to consume matter and energy, multiply rapidly, and spread poison through an enemy.

Punk received fifty young orc slaves for his experiments as his six-hundred-year effort to improve a spell neared completion. He had spent more than half the wealth taken from Sosend and stood just one step from success.

• Two Journeyman Level Mage Apprentices delivered fifty chained young orc slaves to Punk's Mage Tower.
• One apprentice warned his companion to stay quiet around Punk, while the other hoped to earn a reward by making a good impression.
• Punk signed the delivery receipt and dismissed the apprentices without giving them anything.
• Punk reflected that six hundred years had passed during his research, while Grayrain Kingdom had remained peaceful and Master Korkwelen had extended his lifespan with a magical-creature bloodline.
• Punk's improved spell was nearly complete after years of experiments and more than half of the wealth he had seized from Sosend.

After six hundred years of experiments, Punk completed a promising single-target version of Soul Devouring Swarm. Frustrated by Vector’s persistent fear of bugs, Punk forced the Magic Crow into the summoned swarm to try to correct it.

• Punk tested Model No. 2254 on an orc slave and recorded its improved stability and high mana consumption.
• Punk reviewed the years and resources he had spent refining the spell model through thousands of experiments.
• Punk assessed Soul Devouring Swarm as a successful single-target spell that could devour an enemy’s energy, soul, and flesh while reproducing inside them.
• Vector complained that caring for bugs over the past six hundred years had made him hate them, and Punk warned that the fear could cause trouble in battle.
• Punk seized Vector with Advanced Mage Hand and shoved him into the Soul Devouring Swarm, claiming the worms would groom his feathers and help him overcome his fear.

Korkwelen visited Punk to ask about a letter from Kane-Bisadas, who claimed to be Punk’s close friend and requested a meeting. Though wary of the divination specialist, Punk confirmed their connection and decided to meet Kane.

• Korkwelen awkwardly asked Punk about Vector’s sickly appearance before revealing he had come on official business.
• Punk, guarding the secret of his research into the strange eyeball, questioned Korkwelen’s reason for visiting.
• Korkwelen told Punk that Kane-Bisadas, a Protector expert from a distant kingdom, had written requesting a face-to-face meeting.
• Punk recalled Kane and realized the knight could have learned his location from Korkwelen’s public praise of the branch.
• Punk confirmed that Kane was his friend and decided to meet him, curious about the knight’s unexpected request.

Kane visited Punk at the Grayrain Kingdom branch of Thought of Truth, claiming he had a lucrative opportunity for them to pursue together. After Punk secured their conversation, Kane prepared to explain his urgent and suspicious proposal.

• Kane arrived at Punk's Mage Tower just over two months after sending his letter, surprising Punk with his haste.
• Punk asked Kane why he had come, and Kane joked that they were old friends before mentioning a chance for them to get rich together.
• Kane glanced toward the closed door to signal that their conversation required security, and Punk activated his shielding magic circle.
• Punk and Kane remained wary of each other as they assessed the risks of their meeting and the difficulty of killing or escaping one another.

Kane asked whether Punk intended to pursue Legendary, then proposed they seek a god’s treasure and inheritance. Punk rejected the dangerous scheme, but Kane challenged him to prove he was not afraid to take risks.

• Kane asked Punk about his ambition to reach Legendary, and Punk declared that the path was his to claim and warned that anyone who obstructed him would become a mortal enemy.
• Kane revealed his plan to seek a god’s treasure and claim a deity’s inheritance, nearly falling when the stone chair beneath him shattered.
• Punk warned that even a dead god’s wealth was too dangerous for them to covet and refused to join Kane’s expedition.
• Kane insisted he had obtained a precious opportunity to risk reaching a god’s remains and challenged Punk by asking whether he was afraid.

Punk learned that Kane’s adventure plan involved the divine treasure of the long-dead Blood Sand God and became interested in risking the expedition to obtain divinity for his Legendary advancement potion. Kane began explaining the god’s history and powers, leaving Punk eager to hear the rest of the plan.

• Kane argued that the rewards of his adventure—divinity, a divine kingdom, and a god’s treasures—were worth the risks.
• Punk recognized that divinity could help him prepare the Redeemer's Divine Neutralizing Potion and raise his chance of advancing to Legendary, so he agreed to consider joining Kane.
• Kane revealed that his investigation identified the target as the fallen Blood Sand God, a weak divine power from the Sea of Red Sands.
• Punk assessed the god’s three limited divine offices and concluded that its small amount of authority made it weak even by Legendary standards.

Kane explained that the fallen God of Red Sands had left a divine offspring and a vast inheritance in a ruined divine kingdom, which could be opened with its bloodline. When Punk demanded to know how Kane had learned about the hidden kingdom and its entrance, Kane admitted he had found the information and summoning method in the god’s death ruins.

• Kane recounted how the God of Red Sands had controlled the sea before it fell, though its true killer had been forgotten.
• Kane explained that the god had left behind a divine offspring, hoping to return through its bloodline and the faith of its followers.
• Punk mocked the god’s resurrection plan, arguing that any supposed return would create a new consciousness rather than restore the dead god.
• Kane revealed that the ruined divine kingdom held two weak divine power portfolios, divinity, a barely usable divine kingdom, and many powerful items and materials.
• Punk questioned how Kane had learned about the kingdom and its specially positioned gate-summoning method.
• Kane said he had obtained the information and method from the death ruins of the God of Red Sands.

Kane explained that the Red Sands God's divine kingdom could only be opened by a Divine Offspring with the complete bloodline, which had split into scattered portions. He asked Punk to help reunite the bloodline, but Punk revealed that finding hidden Divine Offspring was far harder than Kane had realized.

• Kane told Punk he had found the method to summon the divine kingdom's gate and one Divine Offspring with the Red Sands God's bloodline.
• Kane explained that the bloodline was incomplete and scattered into several portions, so the Divine Offspring needed to gather and fuse them before opening the gate.
• Kane recounted how a hired divination spellcaster had tricked him into fighting Sosend in the Raging Waves Desert without finding any bloodline fragments.
• Vector protested when Kane called Sosend brain-dead, but Punk and Kane ignored the Magic Crow.
• Punk explained that Divine Offspring were concealed from most divination and could be found reliably only through another Divine Offspring or painstaking searches.
• Kane regretted his failed search and admitted he had found his current Divine Offspring only by following a family mentioned in ancient records.

Punk agreed to join Kane’s search for the scattered bloodline of the God of Red Sands after Kane offered a Legendary-tier Judgment Eye Contract to guarantee their agreement. Their negotiations were postponed when Kane said the Divine Offspring wanted to take part and led Punk to meet her.

• Kane asked Punk to use Filthy Foresight to locate the God of Red Sands’ scattered bloodline, and Punk considered the opportunity valuable to his advancement.
• Punk challenged Kane to prove his plan was honest and to guarantee that neither would betray the other or dispute the spoils.
• Kane showed Punk a Legendary-tier Judgment Eye Contract, convincing him that their agreement could be enforced.
• Punk proposed negotiating each participant’s responsibilities and dividing the spoils according to their shares of responsibility.
• Kane revealed that the Divine Offspring wished to join the negotiations and led Punk to meet her.

Punk and Kane traveled through the Kingdom of Sekarador to meet the Goddess, whom Kane had hidden in a remote city. After Punk saw the kingdom’s poverty and lawlessness, Kane warned him not to underestimate the Goddess, leaving Punk curious about her.

• Punk and Kane crossed a filthy, impoverished city in Sekarador, and Punk criticized Kane for allowing the kingdom to decay.
• Kane explained that he had left the kingdom’s politics to its nobles and did not care if the country failed.
• Punk mocked Kane for failing to keep the Goddess safe, while Vector joined in and insulted him.
• Kane warned Punk and Vector that the Goddess was clever and dangerous despite her Journeyman Level strength.
• Punk wondered what made the Goddess a strong person who had yet to grow.

Kane introduced Smile, the young heir to a fallen divine bloodline, as the guide to the legacy Punk sought. Punk threatened her with a Kinetic Cone, but Smile refused to back down and insisted that the legacy was her only chance to become strong.

• Kane introduced Alice-Saratira, who called herself Smile, and explained that she was the divine child Punk needed to find the Divine bloodline.
• Punk released his Master Level pressure and demanded that Smile obey him rather than bargain.
• Smile endured the pressure and argued that her value and willingness to take risks gave her a chance to gain what she wanted.
• Punk pressed a Kinetic Cone against Smile's forehead and threatened to kill her, prompting Kane to warn that he would fight Punk to the death.
• Smile declared that she knew what Punk sought and what her legendary ancestor had left for her, and refused to abandon her only chance to become strong.

Punk failed to intimidate or magically control Smile, who insisted on joining the negotiations over Judgment Eye’s contract. Smile revealed that her family’s legends described the God of Red Sands, buried treasures in its divine kingdom, and a divine office that could make someone powerful.

• Punk tried to threaten Smile with death and then cast Mind Control, but Smile argued that magic could not control her and remained defiant.
• Kane warned Punk that neither torture nor threats would work without risking Smile’s death, while Smile dismissed the punishments she had endured as painless.
• Punk accepted that Smile had secured a place in the negotiations and remarked on her resolve to Kane and Vector.
• Punk asked Smile about her family’s legends and ancestral teachings.
• Smile explained that the legends concerned the God of Red Sands, whose divine kingdom held treasures and a divine office, and that her ancestors trusted only Judgment Eye’s contract.

Smile used the Shalathira Family’s ancestral teachings to resist Punk’s attempts to bargain her away from the negotiations, then offered to give up every treasure except the divine office. Punk considered her request and the dangers of becoming a god, but did not explain those dangers to her.

• Punk mocked Smile for relying on knowledge inherited from her ancestors, while recognizing that their warnings had blocked his attempts to deceive her about a Judgment Eye Contract.
• Punk realized Smile was essential to finding the Divine Bloodline and that he could not simply remove her from the negotiations.
• Smile asked Punk to let her have the divine office alone and requested that a Judgment Eye contract witness their agreement.
• Smile waited nervously for Punk’s decision as Kane guarded her and Vector examined the golden hall.
• Punk called the divine office a shortcut and questioned whether it led to paradise, then reflected on how it could grant power while erasing its host’s sense of self.

Punk decided to betray Kane and seize the God of Red Sands’ treasure for himself, but Kane anticipated the attack and took Smile hostage. The chapter ended with Punk forced to stop his spells as Kane warned him not to risk Smile’s life.

• Kane brought out the Judgment Eye Contract and proposed discussing how to divide the treasure.
• Punk told Kane that he wanted to remove him from the party and prepared spells to kill him and take the treasure alone.
• Kane drew an ornamental dagger against Smile’s neck and threatened to kill her if Punk attacked.
• Punk halted his prepared spells, and Kane confronted him for trying to betray their agreement.

Punk and Kane nearly fought over Smile, whose survival was essential to Punk’s chance of obtaining divinity and advancing to Legend. Punk dispersed his spell and agreed to negotiate a Judgment Eye Contract, leaving the group preparing to sign its terms.

• Kane held a dagger to Smile’s throat, preventing Punk from attacking him without risking her death.
• Smile tried to ease the standoff, while Vector urged Punk to avoid a fight.
• Punk decided that fighting Kane would cost him the chance to obtain divinity, so he canceled his spell.
• Punk and Kane traded insults as Kane demanded they sign the Judgment Eye Contract.
• Punk used magic to form a quill and wrote his required clauses onto the contract.

Punk, Smile, and Kane negotiated the rewards for their God of Red Sands treasure adventure and signed a contract. Punk secured all the divinity and most of the magical materials, while Kane claimed the ruined divine kingdom and Smile was promised its divine office.

• Punk drafted contract terms defining the adventure and demanding all the divinity, two-thirds of the magical materials, and the divine kingdom.
• Smile accepted the adventure terms and asked only for the divine office left by the God of Red Sands.
• Kane rejected Punk's proposed division and demanded an even split, then suggested that whoever received the indivisible divine kingdom should concede other rewards.
• Punk offered Kane the divine kingdom in exchange for all the divinity and two-thirds of the materials, and Kane accepted.
• Kane revised the contract to match the agreed terms and signed it as Kane Bisadas.