Chapter Summaries

Punk met the Chairman of the Silent Alliance and delivered the Filth Bird’s cryptic message. The Chairman acknowledged the message’s value and offered Punk a choice of three rewards.

• The Chairman appeared in Punk’s laboratory as a humanoid projection and introduced himself as the Silent Alliance’s third Chairman.
• Punk explained that the Lord of Chaos had arranged their meeting and relayed its message about spreading ripples, rising tides, a meaningless “brand-new chapter,” and the turning “wheel of flickering extinction.”
• The Chairman reacted with quiet delight but declined to discuss the message’s meaning with Punk.
• Punk reminded the Chairman that the Filth Bird had described him as generous and true to his word.
• The Chairman confirmed that Punk’s information deserved a reward and offered him three options to choose from.

The Chairman offered Punk a choice of three rewards from the Silent Alliance: information about the River of Fate’s Interference Mechanism, Legendary Equipment, or future help from The Executors. After weighing their value, Punk chose the information and asked to learn the recommended response method.

• The Chairman presented Punk with three reward symbols and explained what each one represented.
• The Chairman said the eye symbol offered information about Punk’s coming Interference Mechanism and a reasonable way to respond to it.
• The Chairman explained that the hammer symbol offered Legendary Equipment from The Forgers, while the staff symbol offered one future rescue from The Executors.
• Punk considered the Silent Alliance’s power and dwindling membership, then compared the value of the three rewards.
• Punk chose the first reward and asked the Chairman to explain the Interference Mechanism and its reasonable response method.

Punk chose intelligence about the Interference Mechanism as his reward, and the Chairman assured him the Silent Alliance would honor it whether or not he joined. The Chairman explained the alliance’s rules and tolerance, leaving Punk to consider its invitation.

• Punk rejected the offers of Legendary Equipment and a favor, choosing intelligence about his next Interference Mechanism instead.
• The Chairman said Lady Eternal Sleep Eye needed time to divine the intelligence and claimed the Silent Alliance could provide information, guidance, and trustworthy companions.
• The Chairman began describing the Silent Alliance, prompting Punk to ask whether he would still receive his reward if he declined to join.
• The Chairman promised the Silent Alliance would keep its word and would not force anyone to join.
• The Chairman explained that the alliance welcomed different factions, required members to settle disputes privately, allowed members to leave without revealing or harming the alliance, and punished traitors.

Punk hesitated over joining the Silent Alliance, wary of its secrecy and his lack of information. The Chairman gave him a projection crystal for a future meeting, then revealed the Silent Alliance’s strategy for dealing with the Interference Mechanism: shifting disaster onto another.

• Punk told the Chairman he would consider joining the Silent Alliance, since he needed to investigate it before making a decision.
• The Chairman gave Punk a projection positioning magic crystal and explained that the Alliance’s next collective meeting would take place in four thousand years.
• Punk stored the crystal and asked the Chairman to explain his promised method for dealing with the Interference Mechanism.
• The Chairman named the strategy Interference Transfer Mode, commonly known as shifting disaster onto another.

The Chairman explained how Legendary professionals could transfer an Interference Mechanism to someone of equal or greater rank, gaining a chance to resist when it returned in a more dangerous form. Punk questioned whether the River of Fate had deliberately left this loophole, and the Chairman urged him to keep pursuing knowledge and power despite the uncertainty.

• The Chairman explained that an active Interference Mechanism could not be stopped, but the Silent Ones had developed a way to transfer it to a Legendary powerhouse of equal or higher rank.
• He said the transferred mechanism would return in a more unusual and dangerous form, but the target could then resist it without provoking an immediate new mechanism.
• The Chairman added that a Legendary professional resisting a returned mechanism could invite helpers who would not suffer the River of Fate's wrath.
• Punk concluded that transferring a mechanism exchanged greater danger for a chance to resist and possibly gain rewards, then asked whether the River of Fate had deliberately left the loophole to cultivate resistance.
• The Chairman acknowledged the uncertainty and told Punk that they had to keep exploring and growing stronger, since the River of Fate might be raising tigers that would eventually bring disaster upon it.

Punk arrived near Glimmer Town to begin preparing for the Interference Mechanism Transfer Experiment, using a prophecy supplied by the Silent Alliance. He reread Ms. Eternal Sleep Eye’s cryptic warning before committing to a plan with no return.

• Punk concealed his aura with Legendary Magic and flew above the Glimmer Hills overlooking Glimmer Town.
• Punk confirmed that this was the Glimmer Town closest to the Hartke Kingdom’s border.
• Punk examined the Legendary parchment delivered by the Silent Alliance, which contained Ms. Eternal Sleep Eye’s preliminary prophecy about the Interference Mechanism.
• Punk carefully reread the prophecy’s poetic, metaphorical passages before beginning the experiment.

Punk read a prophecy about Ganatica leading a revolt that would bring down the Hatak Imperial Nation, then considered how the country’s corruption and his own absence could make such a collapse possible. Confident he could redirect the coming Interference Mechanism’s disaster elsewhere, he left the empire’s internal problems for later.

• Punk dismissed the Prophetic Epic as badly written and burned the parchment.
• Punk reconsidered the prophecy after realizing his long periods of research could leave the Hatak Imperial Nation without his supervision.
• Punk recognized that the empire’s lack of an army and the Hartke family’s corruption made it vulnerable to rebellion.
• Punk decided to deal with the Interference Mechanism first and send its disaster toward another empire.

Punk secretly took the sleeping Ganatica from Glimmer Town and sent him to the Scott Imperial Nation, hoping the boy would cause trouble for Aimoda Flameclaw. After confirming Ganatica had genius-level warrior talent, Punk began planning how to keep the boy alive and set his growth in motion.

• Punk chose Aimoda Flameclaw as the target of the Interference Mechanism Transfer Mode because Aimoda and Punk were both newly promoted to Legendary tier and Aimoda neglected the Scott Imperial Nation.
• Punk put Glimmer Town’s residents and animals to sleep, then entered Ganatica’s home unnoticed.
• Punk examined Ganatica’s soul and confirmed that the ordinary boy had genius-level warrior talent.
• Punk used Long-Distance Spatial Teleportation to send the sleeping Ganatica into a dark alley in the Scott Imperial Nation.
• Punk prepared to arrange Ganatica’s next steps so the boy would not starve or derail the plan.

Punk created Pandora One, a humanoid Flesh Golem, to accompany Ganatica in the Scott Imperial Nation and guide him while minimizing Punk’s direct involvement. He sent Pandora through a portal to meet Ganatica, leaving the plan to unfold without revealing his existence.

• Punk decided he needed a covert way to guide and monitor Ganatica without contacting him frequently.
• Punk awakened Pandora One and found her artificial soul somewhat sluggish, though she had absorbed the necessary information.
• Punk instructed Pandora to pose as a girl from Iron Bucket City, protect Ganatica, conceal Punk’s existence, and contact the magic tower only in a major emergency.
• Punk sent Pandora through a portal to the Scott Imperial Nation, where Ganatica would awaken at six the next morning.
• After the portal closed without incident, Punk reflected that Pandora could pass as an Apprentice Level rogue while secretly possessing Formal Level combat strength.

Ganatica woke up in a freezing alley in Iron Bucket City after being transported there overnight, and Pandora introduced herself as his future boss. The frightened boy burst into tears when she pulled him to his feet.

• Ganatica woke in pain on the frosty ground of an unfamiliar alley and realized he was no longer at home.
• Ganatica looked around Iron Bucket City, confused about how he had ended up there.
• Pandora appeared, claimed the alley as her territory, and told Ganatica that he was now her underling.
• Pandora introduced herself and pulled the frostbitten Ganatica off the ground.
• Ganatica began crying and called for his mother.

Pandora calmed Ganatica after he realized he could not return to the Hatak Imperial Nation, then insisted that they would have to beg for food. The chapter left Ganatica shocked by the prospect of begging as Pandora continued trying to guide him and fulfill her mission.

• Pandora explained that Ganatica could not leave Lord Horn's territory and return to the Hatak Imperial Nation as a commoner.
• Gანatica mourned his sudden displacement and struggled to hold back his tears.
• Pandora suppressed her sympathy and reminded herself to complete her mission by guiding Ganatica.
• Pandora pulled Ganatica to his feet and told him they would beg to get dinner.
• Ganatica recoiled at the idea, but Pandora confirmed that begging was how they would survive.

Pandora and Ganatica struggled to survive as beggars through Iron Bucket City’s winter, and Ganatica worried about the homeless drifters around them. Pandora used his compassion to begin questioning him about why hardworking people remained poor, leaving him wondering about the causes of poverty.

• After a month of begging, Pandora and Ganatica sheltered together in a freezing shack as winter settled over Iron Bucket City.
• Pandora gave Ganatica her piece of spoiled bread, and he ate it despite initially refusing because he thought she needed it.
• Ganatika worried that Old Anton and Mr. Dunk would not survive the coming blizzard.
• Pandora felt ashamed of deceiving Ganatica but used his concern for the drifters to ask why hardworking people could not earn enough to feed themselves.
• Ganatika recalled that herb pickers in his hometown had also gone hungry despite gathering valuable medicinal herbs.

Pandora explained to Ganatica that greedy nobles' taxes caused the poor to suffer, then deliberately fueled his anger to guide him toward confronting them. Ganatica resolved to organize protests and became convinced he needed to grow strong enough to protect himself.

• Ganatika asked Pandora why hardworking farmers and poor laborers still went hungry despite producing enough food.
• Pandora blamed the nobles' heavy taxes for impoverishing the poor, while withholding her more nuanced thoughts to follow Punk's orders.
• Ganatika angrily declared that the poor deserved to keep the fruits of their labor and should protest against greedy nobles.
• Pandora warned that nobles could send professionals after protesters, then urged Ganatica to become a powerful professional who could defend himself.
• Ganatika embraced Pandora's encouragement and continued believing that conviction and effort could make him strong.

Punk began researching the mushroomfolk fungal core from the Stewed Fragrant Mushroom Cluster recipe, hoping to deepen his alchemical knowledge and find ideas for combat golems. He discovered psionic soul gold inside the core and realized the recipe might use it, giving his research a promising direction.

• Punk set aside the Interference Mechanism and began a new alchemical study based on the Stewed Fragrant Mushroom Cluster recipe.
• Punk dissected a Formal Level mushroomfolk warrior and found its body consisted almost entirely of fungi centered on a fungal core.
• Punk considered whether a single-material liquid golem could gain flexibility and regeneration from a structure like the mushroomfolk’s.
• Punk removed the fungal core and discovered dark golden psionic soul gold fused with its hyphae.
• Punk recognized that the magical delicacy might involve psionic soul gold and decided the discovery could make his research fruitful.

Punk interrupted his potion research to answer Pandora One’s unexpected communication and heard that Ganatica’s Mutual Aid Guild had spread through many cities. He ordered Pandora to keep helping Ganatica stir up unrest, then learned the guild had run out of money.

• Punk received Pandora One’s communication request and reprimanded her for contacting the Mage Tower without a major crisis.
• Pandora One reported that Ganatica had founded the Mutual Aid Guild, which had gained a foothold in cities across the Scott Imperial Nation.
• Pandora One explained that Ganatica planned to represent impoverished people in negotiations with the king and nobles for rights and tax reductions.
• Punk dismissed Ganatica’s peaceful approach but ordered Pandora One to keep building the guild and encouraging chaos.
• Pandora One told Punk that the Mutual Aid Guild was out of money.

Pandora received a ring full of gold from Punk to support Ganatica’s Mutual Aid Guild, but her growing affection for Ganatica clashed with her identity as a golem bound to Punk’s mission. In Iron Bucket City, Ganatica faced a funding crisis as famine victims overwhelmed the guild, and a prominent young man confronted him over how its money was being spent.

• Punk sent Pandora a storage ring filled with gold coins, far more than she had requested, to help Ganatica and advance his plans against the Scott Imperial Nation.
• Pandora felt happiness at the thought of easing Ganatica’s worries, then agonized over her conflicting feelings and her duty to Punk’s mission.
• After more than fifty years, Ganatica had become a formal level warrior and built the Mutual Aid Guild into a major support network for the poor.
• A famine brought a hundred thousand needy members to the guild, exhausting its funds while Ganatica continued trying to provide free food and clothing.
• A young man burst into Ganatica’s shack and objected to spending the guild’s development funds on famine victims.

Akto confronted Ganatica over spending the Mutual Aid Society’s funds on famine relief, while Ganatica insisted that helping the poor was worth the sacrifice. As Akto accused him of lying, an unseen speaker entered the argument and claimed that the promised money was real.

• Akto entered Ganatica’s office and protested that the Society’s funds had been spent without his knowledge.
• Ganatica defended using the money to feed famine victims and told Akto to leave if he wanted wealth and glory.
• Ganatica said Pandora had found a secret chamber containing her family’s treasure and promised that the Society would soon have enough money.
• Akto angrily accused Ganatica of squandering the gang’s savings and turning its members back into beggars.
• A cheerful voice from the doorway declared that Ganatica was not a liar and that the promised money was real.

Pandora returned to Iron Bucket City with sacks of gold coins, silencing Akto’s accusations and rescuing Ganatica’s Mutual Aid Society from its financial troubles. After Akto left, Ganatica’s quiet reaction unsettled Pandora, but he soon thanked her and reaffirmed their plan to save more people.

• Pandora arrived at Ganatica’s cabin and dumped sacks of gold coins onto the floor, proving Akto’s accusations false.
• Pandora rebuked Akto, who left in defeat while inwardly consumed by jealousy of Ganatica.
• Ganat​​ica questioned Pandora about the gold, and she claimed it came from her family’s hidden wealth and that the secret chamber had destroyed itself.
• Ganat​​ica turned away in silence, making Pandora consider confessing her identity and guilt.
• Ganat​​ica interrupted Pandora, thanked her for the money, and said they could use it to save more people.

A three-year famine devastated the Scott Imperial Nation as nobles hoarded food and the poor starved. Convinced he could save lives by taking grain from the rich, Ganatica led the Mutual Aid Society toward a great noble’s estate, despite growing unease about the nation’s strange silence.

• Three years of failed harvests caused famine, mass deaths, and soaring grain prices across the Scott Imperial Nation.
• Ganatica believed he was called to save the poor and turned his anger toward nobles hoarding food.
• After the market’s last food was sold, Ganatica led the Mutual Aid Society on a secret raid toward a large estate outside Red Valley City.
• Ganatica rejected a smaller target and planned to seize all the stored food at the great noble’s estate.
• Though noble professionals had gone quiet and Ganatica sensed something was wrong, he brought the Society’s capable fighters and prepared to raid the estate.

Ganatica and the Mutual Aid Society prepared to raid Mosenkai Manor for grain, despite its unexpectedly strong defenses. He chose to proceed to help the starving civilians, leaving the team poised to attack.

• Ganatica's team learned that Mosenkai Manor was guarded by at least three Formal Level warriors.
• Pandora and the rogues debated whether the manor's defenses hinted at a hidden secret, while Ganatica sensed something uncanny.
• Ganatica asked Pandora what to do, and she advised acting because the starving civilians could not wait.
• Ganatica ordered a frontal feint, assigned three warriors to attack the guards, and sent himself, Pandora, and Dice to find the grain.