Chapter Summaries

Punk, Kane, and Smile signed the Judgment Eye Contract and prepared to search for the Red Sands God's bloodline before Smile's limited lifespan ran out. Punk proposed using Filthy Foresight, which required a destroyed city, and chose Kane's city for the sacrifice.

• The Judgment Eye confirmed that Punk, Kane, and Smile had freely signed the contract and branded each of their souls with its mark.
• Kane removed his dagger from Smile, and she teased him by calling him "Uncle" and praising Punk's looks and temperament.
• Punk reminded Kane and Smile that they had only about one hundred and thirty or forty years to find all of the Red Sands God's bloodline.
• Kane asked whether Punk would use Divination Spell to find the bloodline, and Punk explained that Filthy Foresight required both a powerful expert's corpse and a destroyed city.
• Punk decided to use Kane's city for the ritual, and the group prepared to begin the adventure.

In a tavern in Red Roy, a Master Level female knight relaxed while her apprentices Claire and Lina cleaned her weapons after they disturbed a Slime Red-bellied Spider’s eggs. As a bard sang of a tragic Queen, the knight explained that the legend’s love story was fabricated, then a plate cracked just as she reached for it, an ominous sign in her homeland.

• The female knight made Claire clean her shield and shortsword as punishment for provoking a Slime Red-bellied Spider while he and Lina collected its eggs.
• Lina admitted that she had wanted to examine the red stones, and the female knight explained that she had fought the spider to protect her apprentices.
• The female knight and Lina listened to a bard’s song about a lonely Queen and a kingdom destroyed by disaster.
• The female knight told Lina that the Queen’s later love story was fabricated, then the plate of roast chicken cracked as she reached for it.

Punk, Kane, and Smile reached Red Roy City after Smile sensed a carrier of the God of Red Sands' bloodline there. They prepared to descend and locate the Son of God, leaving Vector to protect Smile if a fight broke out.

• Punk and Kane argued over the lack of information about Red Roy City, while Smile confirmed she sensed a bloodline calling to her from below.
• Smile said she could pinpoint the bloodline holder once they came within five hundred square meters.
• Punk agreed to a sudden descent and kidnapping plan, but worried that Smile was too weak to survive a battle's shockwaves.
• Punk assigned Vector to protect Smile and reinforced the Magic Crow with Defensive Spells.
• Kane charged toward Red Roy City first, beginning the final sprint.

Punk, Kane, and Smile descended into Red Roy City to seize the second Son of God, but Kane’s spectacular landing crashed into a noble arena and killed a gladiator. Punk worried that the destruction would bring the kingdom’s Protector expert into the operation before they could reach their target.

• Punk prepared to land and questioned Smile about the Son of God’s location, and Smile confirmed the target was near the entrance of the magnificent building.
• Kane drove his lance through the building’s roof and shattered the granite, while Punk used Dust Feather Fall to descend safely with Smile.
• Punk recognized the building as an arena and realized Kane’s landing had crushed a gladiator in front of a crowd of nobles.
• Punk scolded Kane for making their kidnapping mission more dangerous, but Kane laughed and dismissed the risk.

Punk and Kane attacked the arena, trapping the nobles while Smile searched for the Divine Son. Punk captured the Second Divine Son, but warned Kane that a nearby Master Level expert threatened their escape.

• Kane and Punk shattered the arena floor, killing the gladiators and frightening the nobles with their powerful auras.
• Punk raised a rocky wall around the arena, sealing the exits and blocking outside rescuers.
• Smile identified a boy with gold-rimmed glasses and short wine-red hair as the Divine Son, and Punk seized him with Mage Hand.
• Punk knocked the boy unconscious and placed him in a magically created cage.
• Punk sensed a nearby Master Level expert and told Kane that Red Roy City had two Master Level experts and their plan was in trouble.

Punk and Kane’s plan to abduct the Second Divine Son was threatened by two approaching Master Level powerhouses, so they decided to attack the first one to arrive. The first opponent proved to be the female knight Audrey Linda-Babers, who entered the arena and declared Kane an enemy of justice.

• Punk sensed two Master Level powerhouses approaching and concluded that their backup plan could not protect Smile from both.
• Punk decided to kill the first powerhouse to arrive, and Kane prepared to fight beside him.
• Kane deflected a blast of azure fighting energy fired through the arena wall.
• Audrey Linda-Babers broke through the damaged wall, saw the destruction and captive noble youth, and accused Kane and Punk of evil deeds.
• Audrey Linda-Babers raised her sword and shield and declared that she would fight Kane in the name of justice.

Kane fought Audrey Linda while Punk waited for an opening, but Audrey shifted to a defensive strategy to buy time for Protector Bartos to arrive. As the fight stalled, Punk and Kane heard Audrey’s apprentices trying to save someone in the chaos.

• Audrey Linda sent Claire and Lina to help the innocent people, then charged Kane with a Master Level Charge.
• Kane met Audrey’s attack, and she used her battle qi to contain the shockwave and shield nearby nobles from harm.
• Audrey recognized that she was at a disadvantage while protecting the nobles and watching for Punk, so she calmed herself and focused on defense and evasion.
• Kane and Punk realized they had to defeat Audrey within ten seconds before Bartos arrived, while carefully avoiding harm to Smile and the Second Divine Son.
• Punk and Kane heard one of Audrey’s apprentices telling Lina to press down on an injured person’s artery while she fetched a potion.

Kane attacked Claire to provoke Audrey Linda, forcing her into a furious duel while Punk prepared a spell against Lina. The chapter ended with Punk aiming a Kinetic Cone at the apprentice as Audrey and Kane fought.

• Kane taunted Audrey Linda and charged at Claire, who was treating the wounded.
• Audrey Linda intercepted Kane’s attack and defended Claire, then abandoned her plan to stall and fought him in a rage.
• Audrey and Kane exchanged rapid attacks that devastated the gladiatorial hall and injured the ordinary people nearby.
• Punk decided not to support Kane with spells and instead prepared a Kinetic Cone aimed at Lina.

Audrey Linda tried to protect Lina from Punk’s spell while fighting Kane, but Kane wounded Audrey and Lina was killed. Consumed by grief and fury, Audrey charged at Kane, determined to kill him.

• Audrey Linda recognized that Punk was aiming a spell toward Lina and used Ice Shield Barrier to defend herself against Kane so she could reach her apprentice.
• Kane pierced Audrey’s barrier with Instant Light Rapid Stab and stabbed her shoulder before she could rescue Lina.
• Lina was torn apart by the spell’s force in front of Audrey and Claire.
• Kane taunted the wounded Audrey and prepared to attack again.
• Audrey’s shield shattered, and she charged at Kane in a rage, vowing to kill him.

Kane evaded Audrey Linda’s desperate attacks while asking Punk for help, but Bartos arrived and attacked Punk’s position. Punk blocked Bartos’s strike and began assessing how to eliminate him and his guards while protecting Smile and the Second Divine Son.

• Audrey Linda used a power-boosting technique and forced Kane to evade her attacks, so he asked Punk to strike her with a Kinetic Cone.
• Punk refused to help because Bartos had arrived and was attacking his position.
• Punk cast defensive spells to shield Smile and the Second Divine Son from Bartos’s meteor-like hammer strike.
• Bartos’s attack smashed into Punk’s shield, creating a crater, but Punk and his companions survived.
• Punk judged Bartos to be a level-seventeen warrior and considered how to defeat him and his guards while keeping Smile safe.

Punk moved Smile and the cage out of danger, then provoked Bartos's guards into attacking him so they could not threaten her. After killing the first guard, Punk faced the kingdom's elite force as they charged him despite the overwhelming difference in strength.

• Punk recognized Bartos's guards as the greatest threat to Smile and ordered Vector to take her and the cage to a sheltered corner.
• Punk cast Super Speed on himself and challenged the guards to attack him.
• One guard charged, and Punk killed him with a Kinetic Blast spell.
• Bartos's guards overcame their fear and resolved to fight, driven by loyalty, obligation, and fear of punishment.
• Punk dismissed the guards as insects as they prepared to attack him.

Punk defeated the twenty-five Formal Level guards who attacked him, protecting Smile while hiding the extent of his defenses. After the battle, he sensed that Bartos had fled Red Roy City during the fight.

• Punk used his speed to evade the guards and killed the first attacker with a Kinetic Blast.
• Punk dodged the guards’ coordinated attacks and killed them one by one with precise blasts.
• After twenty-five seconds, Punk had killed all twenty-five guards and turned his attention to Bartos.
• Punk sensed that Bartos had fled the arena and was already nearly out of Red Roy City.

Bartos fled Red Roy City after realizing Punk was too powerful to fight, allowing Punk to seize Smile and the Second Divine Son and withdraw. Kane remained behind fighting Audrey Linda, while Punk hoped she would injure or kill his rival.

• Bartos used his subordinates’ charge as cover and fled Red Roy City, convinced he could not defeat Punk.
• Punk saw that the battlefield was clear enough to withdraw and grabbed Smile and the cage holding the Second Divine Son.
• Punk left Kane to fight Audrey Linda, hoping her reckless attacks would badly injure or kill him.
• Punk flew away from Red Roy City with Smile and the Second Divine Son while Kane cursed him for abandoning the rear guard.

Punk and Smile camped in the Badola Woodlands, where Punk prepared rabbit stew and urged Smile to absorb the bloodline from the Second Divine Son’s soul. Kane arrived before their deadline, interrupting their meal and Punk’s hope that he had died.

• Punk cooked rabbit stew while Smile and Vector eagerly watched.
• After eating, Punk told Smile to study the Second Divine Son’s soul and draw its bloodline into herself.
• Smile took the gemstone containing the Second Divine Son’s soul and felt an intense urge to consume it.
• Punk said they would wait until morning for Kane before removing the tracking marks Kane had placed on Smile.
• Kane arrived in the clearing, declared that he had survived, and asked for some of their food.

After reuniting with Kane and Smile, Punk learned that Kane had let Audrey Linda live and considered the danger their selfish cooperation had left behind. He warned them that he had important, uncertain information about divine offices and asked whether they had heard of the legendary “divine office competition” in the River of Fate.

• Kane arrived and eagerly ate the rabbit soup Punk had prepared.
• Punk asked Kane whether he had killed Audrey Linda, and Kane admitted he had not because she was too dangerous to fight.
• Punk reflected that he and Kane had both fled rather than risk themselves against Audrey Linda, leaving her as a potential threat.
• Punk decided to share a speculative piece of ancient information with Kane and Smile because it might concern a major future event.
• Punk told Kane and Smile that he wanted to discuss divine offices and asked whether they knew the legend of “divine office competition.”

Punk explained to Kane the rumored River of Fate mechanism that pits seekers against competitors when they pursue divinity from a fallen god. Though the danger remained uncertain, Kane accepted the challenge and vowed to continue the treasure hunt.

• Kane admitted he had heard of hidden mechanisms in the River of Fate but knew no details.
• Punk explained that the River of Fate monitored Legendary-tier events and might activate programmed mechanisms under certain conditions.
• Punk described the rumored divinity competition mechanism, which could bring obstacles and rival seekers to anyone pursuing divinity from a fallen god.
• Kane worried about the River of Fate's power, while Punk argued that its program might have loopholes and was not activated easily.
• Kane dismissed his worries and declared that he would face whatever obstacles came during the treasure hunt.

Smile began devouring the Second Divine Son’s soul to complete her bloodline fusion, while Punk and Kane planned their next move. They decided to hunt a Master Level magical creature as a sacrifice for Filthy Foresight.

• Smile proposed devouring the Second Divine Son’s entire soul to fuse its bloodline, and Kane warned her about the risks.
• Smile pressed the Soul Gem to her forehead and began devouring the soul.
• Punk told Kane they needed a Master Level creature’s corpse to use Filthy Foresight and find their next Divine Son.
• Kane suggested hunting a Master Level magical creature that had been ravaging the surrounding lands to avoid drawing the attention of the righteous gods’ clerics.

After Red Roy City was devastated by the battle, Bartos struggled to face Audrey Linda, who came to see him. Ashamed that he had fled while she fought, he ultimately decided to meet her and accept responsibility for his cowardice.

• The battle between the Master Level experts left Red Roy City in ruins, and the royal family and Bartos were left to manage the disaster.
• Bartos sought quiet after arranging a temporary palace for the royal family, but a guard told him Audrey Linda had come to visit.
• Bartos realized Audrey Linda likely wanted him to join her in pursuing the attackers and feared she would seek revenge for her slain apprentice.
• Bartos recalled fleeing the battle without helping Audrey Linda and felt guilty about abandoning his longtime friend.
• Bartos decided to meet Audrey Linda, believing he owed her an apology or compensation.

Audrey Linda brought the grief-stricken Claire to meet Bartos and demanded that he join her in pursuing Punk. Bartos warned her that Punk was too powerful, and Audrey Linda denounced him as a coward and left their relationship in bitter disarray.

• Audrey Linda tried to comfort Claire, who remained devastated by Lina’s death.
• Audrey Linda entered the temporary palace with Claire and found Bartos waiting in the hall.
• Bartos apologized to Audrey Linda, but she asked only whether he would join her in eradicating evil.
• Bartos warned Audrey Linda that Punk was a peak level 19 spellcaster and questioned whether she could face him.
• Audrey Linda called Bartos a coward and accused him of betraying justice and her, while Bartos silently admitted his fear of death.

Audrey Linda abandoned Bartos and followed her intuition south to Tar Swamp in pursuit of Punk and Cain. Unaware of her pursuit, Punk, Cain, and Smile entered the swamp to hunt the Master Level magical creature Punk had detected.

• Audrey Linda accepted Bartos's two Master Level spell scrolls, ended their friendship, and set out south with Claire to track Punk and Cain.
• Audrey Linda trusted her intuition that Punk and Cain were headed to Tar Swamp, though she had no knowledge of the River of Fate guiding her.
• Cain remained relaxed as he and Punk approached Tar Swamp, while Punk warned him that their recent success might not last.
• Cain and Smile joked with Punk about making rabbit stew, but Punk refused and led them into the swamp; Smile resumed sensing shadow energy.