Chapter Summaries

Punk used Vector’s Directional Interference to turn Audrey Linda’s shield strike against her, then wounded her with two Kinetic Cones. Audrey Linda survived the attack and charged at Punk again, still determined to punish him.

• Audrey Linda activated a life-consuming secret technique, and Punk decided to defeat her quickly rather than wait for it to wear off.
• Punk fired two Kinetic Cones at Audrey Linda, then used Vector’s Directional Interference to reverse the motion of her shield strike.
• Audrey Linda broke her arm when the shield’s direction changed, deflected one Kinetic Cone with her shortsword, and was struck in the chest by the other.
• Punk taunted Audrey Linda and prepared another spell after sensing that she could still fight.
• Audrey Linda staggered to her feet and charged at Punk, declaring herself a true knight who would punish evil.

Punk wore Audrey Linda down with repeated Kinetic Blasts, then escaped her close-range attack with Any Door and killed her using his improved Soul Devouring Swarm. Audrey Linda died believing she had come close to reaching him.

• Audrey Linda kept fighting despite catastrophic injuries, while Punk taunted her and continued attacking with Kinetic Blasts.
• Audrey Linda used potions and her remaining strength to charge toward Punk, hoping to get close enough to use her ultimate move.
• Punk activated Any Door and reappeared far behind Audrey Linda, leaving her to thrust her sword at empty space.
• Punk cast Soul Devouring Swarm, which devoured Audrey Linda's damaged soul and killed her.
• Audrey Linda's final thought was that she had been only a little short of reaching Punk.

After Audrey Linda died, Claire searched for Keisha but accidentally found Smile in a grove. Recognizing Smile from Red Roy City, Claire decided to capture her as Smile fled.

• Punk defeated Audrey Linda without being injured while Kane tracked the Third Divine Son across the Tar Tundra.
• Claire used a Master Level divination scroll and Audrey Linda’s Soul Mark to search for Keisha, but a deviation led him to Smile’s hiding place.
• Smile recognized Claire as a far more experienced fighter and ran from him, hoping Kane or Punk would return.
• Claire remembered seeing Smile beside the spellcaster in Red Roy City and concluded she was important, whether she needed rescuing or defeating.
• Claire activated the Journeyman Level Lightning Combat Technique, Lightning Acceleration, to pursue Smile.

Claire chased down Smile and captured her after her shadow energy ran out, then questioned her about the evil mage and knight. Smile pretended to be an innocent victim, but Claire kept her power sealed and decided to take her to his companion and mentor, leaving Smile trapped in his grasp.

• Claire used Lightning Acceleration to catch up with Smile as her shadow energy dwindled.
• Claire tackled Smile, sealed her shadow energy with battle qi, and demanded to know whether she was an accomplice of evil.
• Smile feigned fear and claimed two thugs had abducted her and forced her to open her family's treasury.
• Claire loosened his hold but kept Smile's wrist restrained and her shadow energy sealed.
• Claire told Smile he would take her to his companion and then to the meeting place with his mentor.
• Smile forced herself to laugh at Claire's plan but could not break free.

Punk and Kane returned to the grove to find Smile abducted, forcing them to reconsider how to pursue the Divine Sons while preserving their limited use of Filthy Foresight. Punk’s divinations identified Claire as Smile’s captor and suggested Smile was alive, but the pair had no clear way to track her, and Punk feared the River of Fate had only begun to interfere.

• Punk and Kane found the grove damaged by battle and discovered that Smile had been taken while they were away.
• Punk cast a series of Divination Spells and concluded that Audrey Linda’s apprentice Claire had captured Smile, who was likely still alive and unharmed.
• Punk proposed preparing to sacrifice Audrey Linda’s corpse, accounting for Smile’s possible death, and hunting down Claire for clues or revenge.
• Kane complained that the River of Fate seemed to be arranging their misfortunes, while Punk sensed that greater trouble from the Deity Competition Mechanism remained ahead.

Punk discovered that a concealed Master Level expert was approaching their grove, likely targeting the Third Divine Son as part of the Deity Competition Mechanism. Punk and Kane prepared to fight while protecting their captive, and Punk suspected they might be the new enemy’s life-or-death crisis.

• Punk repeatedly used Divination Spells and confirmed that a concealed Master Level expert was rushing toward the grove.
• Punk refused Kane’s suggestion to split up, placed the unconscious Third Divine Son in an Arcane Cage, and said one of them had to protect him.
• Kane blasted craters into the grove to prepare the battlefield and vent his frustration while Punk set magical traps.
• Punk warned Kane not to underestimate the newcomer and reasoned that the River of Fate would also put the enemy in mortal danger.

Punk and Kane prepared to protect the Third Divine Son from a hidden Master Rogue, while worrying that Smile remained beyond their reach. When the rogue sent a huge, spell-protected beast swarm toward them as cover for an ambush, Punk identified the tactic and countered with Plague Spread.

• Kane said Smile's blocked mark left them unable to tell whether she was alive, but Punk ordered him to focus on the approaching enemy.
• A swarm of thousands of beasts charged toward Punk and Kane from the sky, ground, and underground.
• Punk used Divination to determine that their enemy was a Master Rogue, not a druid, and recognized the beasts' Life Barrier protection and Greater Beast Call.
• Punk explained that the rogue intended to hide in the swarm and ambush the Third Divine Son while the beasts distracted their protectors.
• Punk cast the Master Summoning Spell Plague Spread at the charging beasts.

Punk and Kane wiped out the beast horde with Plague Spread but realized the rogue attacking them was still hidden nearby. They staged a chaotic assault and moved away from the Arcane Cage to bait the rogue, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Punk cast Plague Spread, which spread through the beasts’ Life Barriers and killed the horde within seconds.
• Punk detected no trace of the rogue’s shadow energy, while his Divination Spell confirmed the enemy was still present.
• Kane tried to lure the rogue out with talk of peace, but the hidden enemy stayed concealed.
• Punk and Kane unleashed attacks across the battlefield and moved farther from the Arcane Cage containing the Third Divine Son.
• Punk and Kane used the Third Divine Son as bait, waiting to see whether the rogue would risk approaching.

A hidden rogue tried to steal the Third Divine Son from the Arcane Cage, but Punk used an Any Door to put Kane in the attacker’s path. Kane intercepted the rogue’s supposedly unbeatable strike, though the fight remained unresolved.

• A rogue used Shadow Hand to reach through a shadow opening and seize the Arcane Cage containing the Third Divine Son.
• Punk opened an Any Door beside Kane and ordered him to stop the rogue rather than risk close combat himself.
• Kane realized Punk had maneuvered him into the rescue and rushed through the Any Door despite his anger.
• The rogue accelerated his attack, but Kane intercepted the strike for the first time.

Kane stopped the rogue from reaching the Arcane Cage, severed his arm, and forced him to flee the exchange badly wounded. Kane took an emerald bracer engraved with “Annie-Medoeli” and taunted the rogue while Punk prepared a spell.

• The rogue tried to touch the Arcane Cage, but Kane blocked his attack with his lance.
• Kane struck with a knife and severed half of the rogue’s arm.
• The rogue used Shadow Dodge and Shadow Burst to escape, but Kane’s attack left him with torn internal organs and severe soul exhaustion.
• Kane removed an emerald-green bracer from the severed arm and stored it in his ring.
• Kane read the name “Annie-Medoeli” on the bracer and taunted the rogue about its significance while Punk prepared a spell.

Kane provoked the rogue by insulting Annie, briefly breaking the assassin’s composure and giving Punk the opening he needed. Punk used the Ruby Necklace’s Legendary Level spell Flash to close the distance and strike the rogue, who crashed onto the tundra with his escape seemingly ended.

• Kane mocked the name Annie engraved on the Verdant Bracers, and the rogue angrily shouted at him.
• The rogue quickly suppressed his rage and focused on escaping, unaware that his brief lapse had created an opening.
• Punk activated the Ruby Necklace’s stored Legendary Level Abjuration Spell, Flash, and crossed more than two hundred meters in an instant.
• Punk attacked the rogue with Kinetic Flash Blade, Mana Compression, Dual Casting, and Shadow Seal Magic Rune.
• The rogue was struck, lost the ability to use his final burst of secret magic, and crashed onto the tundra.

Punk captured the infiltrator alive and sealed his soul, hoping to learn the Fourth Divine Son’s location and find Smile. After Kane agreed to give Punk the Divine Spell bracer in exchange for answering a question, he asked whether Ktarolan, ruler of the construct empire on Dolush’s Eye, was sentient.

• Punk severed the infiltrator’s limbs, sealed his shadow energy, and trapped his soul in a heavily warded gemstone.
• Kane questioned whether Punk could safely extract information from a Master Level expert’s soul.
• Punk proposed finding Smile and summoning the Filth Bird projection with Audrey Linda’s corpse, then raised the issue of dividing the spoils.
• Kane agreed to give Punk the Divine Spell bracer in exchange for answering a question.
• Kane asked Punk whether Ktarolan, the construct empress on Dolush’s Eye, was a sentient being.

Punk refused to answer Kane’s questions about Dolush’s Eye, then summoned Filthy Foresight to seek the missing Smile. The Filth Bird arrived unusually quickly, and Punk asked it to reveal where the First Divine Son had gone.

• Punk recognized Dolush’s Eye and knew about its ruler, Krolanka, but decided the information was too valuable to share with Kane.
• Kane tried to coax an answer from Punk, then gave up and helped him arrange the summoning site.
• Punk cast Filthy Foresight with ease and noticed that the Filth Bird’s consciousness projection arrived faster than before.
• The Filth Bird greeted Punk and Kane with its usual praise of chaos, then Punk asked it to locate the missing Smile.

The Filth Bird offered Punk and Kane information about Smile and the Third and Fourth Divine Sons, then demanded that they deliver a cryptic message to the chairman of the Silent Alliance after reaching Legendary. It left them with a warning about the River of Fate and a wheel already turning.

• The Filth Bird praised Punk and Kane as promising Master Level creatures nearing Legendary.
• The Filth Bird offered to reveal Smile's location and the whereabouts of the Third and Fourth Divine Sons as a gift.
• Punk recognized that the Filth Bird's gift came with an unavoidable price, though he could not promise repayment.
• The Filth Bird demanded that Punk and Kane provoke the River of Fate once within ten thousand years of advancing to Legendary.
• The Filth Bird ordered them to tell the Silent Alliance's chairman that the ripples had spread, the tide was about to surge, and the flickering wheel had begun to turn.

Filth Bird told Punk that he must deliver secret intelligence to the Silent Alliance within ten thousand years, though Punk remained undecided about the danger. It also revealed that Smile would return at dawn and that the Fourth and Fifth Divine Sons were already in Punk’s possession.

• Kane asked Filth Bird about the intelligence, and Filth Bird said Punk would have to join the Silent Alliance and challenge “it” to learn its meaning.
• Punk asked to postpone delivering the message, but Filth Bird insisted it had to be delivered within ten thousand years and threatened the consequences of refusal.
• Filth Bird lamented that few of the Master Level professionals it had gifted ever advanced to Legendary or dared to provoke the River of Fate.
• Punk asked Filth Bird where Smile and the divine sons were, as maintaining the projection had nearly exhausted his magic power.
• Filth Bird told Punk that Smile would return when Mira’s first glimmer appeared and that the Fourth and Fifth Divine Sons were already in his hands.

Claire discovered that Audrey Linda had died and broke down in grief while holding Smile captive in the Tar Swamp. As Claire’s battle energy grew increasingly unstable, Smile realized she had to find a way to save herself before his madness killed them both.

• Claire entered Audrey Linda’s barrier with Smile and found the crystal containing his mentor’s Soul Mark shattered.
• Claire realized Audrey Linda’s Soul Mark had vanished and collapsed into hysterical grief over her death.
• Smile tried to break free, but Claire’s instinctive battle energy seal held firm and his grip bruised her wrist.
• Smile recognized that the Divination Shielding Formation would keep Punk and Kane from tracking her, while Claire’s worsening madness made him dangerous to them both.
• Smile decided she had to save herself before Claire’s unstable battle energy killed her.

Smile tried to calm Claire after Mentor and Lina’s deaths left him on the verge of madness. Claire accepted a brief escape from his grief in Smile’s lap, unaware that danger still surrounded him.

• Smile recognized that Claire’s volatile battle energy threatened her soul and decided to comfort him quickly.
• Smile gently invited Claire to talk, and he mourned Mentor’s kindness and the suffering of Mentor and Lina.
• Claire smashed a tree and the ground with his fists, then collapsed as bloody tears ran down his face.
• Smile embraced Claire, wiped his face, and soothed him with a lullaby and a lap pillow.
• Claire chose to rest without thinking, unaware that he could not escape the malice and death of reality.

Smile killed Claire while he slept, reclaiming her shadow energy and taking his greatsword. She set out to return by the route Claire had used, hoping to escape the Tar Swamp before Sian and the others grew impatient.

• As Claire slept with his head in her lap, Smile recalled betraying a boy who had once helped her and drove a poisoned needle into Claire's skull.
• Smile kicked Claire's corpse away, regained her shadow energy, and laughed at how easily she had exploited his trust.
• Smile took Claire's greatsword and mutilated his corpse before deciding to leave the Tar Swamp.
• Smile used her wilderness training to identify Claire's route back and began following it.

Punk kept the captured rogue sealed in a Soul Gem and realized the Divine Sons had been competing until only one survivor remained. With the Red Sands God's bloodline complete, he prepared to claim the divinity, and Smile returned to the ruined grove, bringing the group closer to opening the treasure.

• Punk watched the rogue's soul inside the Soul Gem while Cain complained about waiting for Smile.
• Punk concluded that the rogue was the fused Fourth and Fifth Divine Son, completing the set of Divine Sons under their control.
• Punk reasoned that the Deity Competition Mechanism ended with competitors devouring one another until a survivor could become a god.
• Punk decided that the preparations for his advancement to Legendary were complete and resolved to open the treasure and claim the divinity.
• Cain sensed Smile returning to the grove, and Punk and Cain headed toward her.

Punk and Kane reunited with Smile after she escaped Claire, then confirmed she was unharmed. With the three Divine Sons ready for Smile to absorb and the gate to Legend nearing its opening, Punk began preparing for the final step toward Legend.

• Kane and Punk inspected Smile carefully and confirmed that her soul and body were unharmed.
• Smile complained about Claire’s rough treatment and revealed that she had killed the Journeyman Level Peak Knight.
• Kane told Smile they had three Divine Sons, and she recognized the gemstone Punk held as containing the Fourth and Fifth Divine Sons.
• Smile’s hunger for the Divine Sons surged, so Punk cast Soothe Spirit to help her suppress the urge to devour them immediately.
• Punk prepared to help Smile absorb all three Divine Sons, saying the gate to Legend was about to open.