Chapter Summaries

Rayne defeated Marius in a brutal Mak'gora by enduring his attacks and outlasting his Blood Rage, forcing the chieftain to surrender. The Makragge people accepted Rayne as the victor and loudly celebrated him across Astartes.

• Rayne and Marius fought an evenly matched duel, trading powerful blows as Rayne's wounds healed far faster than Marius's.
• Marius faltered after realizing Rayne could outlast him, and Rayne charged while Marius's defenses were weakened.
• Marius activated Blood Rage and struck Rayne with a devastating sword blow, but Rayne evaded his follow-up attacks until the effect wore off.
• As his strength faded, Marius threw aside his sword, knelt before Rayne, and declared his surrender.
• Rayne raised his warhammer as the Makragge people and war drums filled Astartes with cheers for him.

After defeating Marius in the Mak'gora, Rayne recruited twenty-nine Makragge and transformed them into Extreme Warriors, bringing the Legion to sixty members. He began organizing and training them, then flew with four experienced hunters to search the plateau for a suitable base site.

• Marius accepted his defeat and agreed to let Rayne recruit twenty-nine Makragge, while Rayne healed his injuries.
• Rayne screened more than a hundred applicants and selected twenty-nine Intermediate Warriors, including Marius's former guard Duran.
• The recruits swore Loyalty Blood Oaths, became Advanced-Tier Extreme Warriors, and joined Rayne's Legion of sixty.
• Rayne used the Will of Truth to quiet the thoughts of his symbiotes and outlined plans to organize the Legion into five squads.
• Rayne sent Isou, Sikarius, and Tyrien with several Extreme Warriors to escort the airship back to the Empire, while he flew off to find a base location.
• Kronuan pointed out hidden valleys northwest of the Astartes as possible sites for the base.

Rayne found a secluded valley near King Kong Peak and established it as the site of his future base, King Kong Fortress. After taming four Fire Dragons for the Extreme Warriors, he spotted distant Mount Karl and decided to search there for the Storm Giant rumored to live nearby.

• Rayne inspected a hidden valley beneath King Kong Peak and chose it as the base site, naming it King Kong Fortress.
• Rayne planned the fortress layout, assigning the valley's cliffs for Wyvern nests, its inner end for the camp and Teleportation Array, and its open end for training.
• Rayne searched the surrounding region for suitable mounts, killed two attacking Venom Drakes, and eventually found and tamed four Fire Dragons.
• Rayne looked west toward Mount Karl, recalled the report of a Storm Giant there, and decided to fly to the mountain before returning.

Rayne failed to find the Storm Giants on Mount Karl and abandoned his search, but he encountered a Dwarf and a Great Earth Bear being chased by Bronze Wild Horses. He rescued them and learned the Dwarf was Bramit of the Copper Ring Clan.

• Rayne searched Mount Karl and the Soklod Corridor for Storm Giants but found no trace of them, so he decided to return to Astartes.
• As Rayne traveled east, he saw a herd of Bronze Wild Horses pursuing a Dwarf riding a Great Earth Bear and flew to help.
• Rayne opened an Any Door in the bear’s path and used Light Burst to blind the horses, allowing the Dwarf and bear to escape through it.
• The Great Earth Bear shrank into a small bear, and the Dwarf introduced himself to Rayne as Bramit of the Copper Ring Clan of Molten Keep.

Rayne met Bramit, a dwarf hunter and archaeologist, after rescuing him from Bronze Wild Horses on the Thane Plateau. While discussing the horses and Rayne’s plans to build a stronger mounted force, Rayne asked Bramit about Storm Giants near Mount Karl, and Bramit reacted uneasily.

• Bramit introduced himself as the greatest dwarf hunter and archaeologist, then recognized Rayne as the Count of Glamorgan and a councilor of Wezelan Floating City.
• Bramit explained that Bronze Wild Horses possessed Bronze Body, Wind Wings, and the herd-strengthening ability Wild Stampede, making them powerful and difficult to tame.
• Rayne and Bramit camped together, where Bramit described his failed efforts to tame the horses and Rayne considered capturing some for a future military force.
• Bramit impressed Rayne with his extensive archaeological knowledge as they talked late into the night.
• Rayne asked Bramit whether Storm Giants had been seen near Mount Karl, and Bramit asked why he was searching for them.

Rayne sought a Lightning Affinity Demon Soul, but Bramit warned him that Mount Karl’s Storm Giants were led by a dangerous Titan Elder and offered to ask him for help. Rayne then found a herd of Bronze Wild Horses and began capturing some, escaping into the sky with several as the herd pursued him.

• Rayne admitted he wanted a Lightning Affinity Demon Soul, and Bramit warned him against hunting the Storm Giants of Mount Karl because their leader was a Titan Elder.
• Bramit offered to ask the Titan Elder for information, then rode toward Mount Karl while Rayne set out alone to find the Bronze Wild Horses.
• Rayne located the herd, observed its rare Elements, and approached under invisibility after masking his scent.
• Rayne stunned several Bronze Wild Horses, knocked two unconscious, and attached alloy collars to two others while the Fire Dragon carried off two more.
• The Bronze Wild Horses pursued Rayne through the air, but he used Light Burst repeatedly and escaped above the clouds.

Rayne accepted Bramit’s invitation to meet the Titan Elder Solim and traveled with him to hidden Storm Giant ruins on Mount Karl. There, Bramit activated a Planar Teleportation Array, and Rayne followed him through its Portal to another world.

• Rayne tamed two Bronze Wild Horses, marked their collars so he could find the herd again, and returned them to his Taming Space.
• Bramit told Rayne that Solim had invited him to meet the Titan Elder, and Rayne agreed to go.
• Bramit asked to buy or learn how to tame a Fire Dragon, but Rayne refused to reveal his method or sell one.
• Bramit warned Rayne to avoid Lone Peak, where the Ancient Red Dragon Ivarna slept, so Rayne took a safer route to Mount Karl.
• Bramit led Rayne through hidden ruins to a buried Storm Giant palace and activated its Planar Teleportation Array.
• Rayne followed Bramit through the Portal to another world.

Rayne arrived at the Storm Temple in the Storm Plane, where Bramit introduced him to the Storm Giant guardian Lodar and led him through the ancient palace complex. They reached the central palace, where its Lightning-Forged Colossi recognized Rayne as a guest and an unseen voice invited him inside.

• Rayne traveled through the Astral Plane and arrived at the Storm Temple in the Storm Plane.
• Lodar challenged Rayne as an outsider, then welcomed him after Bramit explained that Elder Sorim had invited him.
• Bramit carried Rayne on Great Earth Bear through the Storm Temple and described its history and dwindling Storm Giant population.
• Rayne saw Storm Giants training and meditating, including a powerful Titan Giant, and noticed many abandoned and ruined buildings.
• The Lightning-Forged Colossi guarding the central palace stirred as Rayne approached, then settled after recognizing him as a guest.
• A deep voice from within the palace invited Rayne to enter.

Rayne met the Titan demigod Solim in the Storm Giant palace, impressed him by accurately guessing his age, and received a Lightning Rune Stone. Solim then asked Rayne to collect Source Crystal for trade, leaving Rayne eager after seeing the valuable items on Solim’s exchange list.

• Rayne entered the palace with Bramit and paid his respects to Solim, a Titan demigod who recognized Rayne’s Will of Truth.
• Solim challenged Rayne to guess his age, and Rayne estimated 3,950 years, earning a Lightning Rune Stone as a reward.
• Solim asked about Rayne’s standing in the Aurelian Empire and proposed making trades with him.
• Solim showed Rayne a piece of Source Crystal, which Rayne examined and suspected could power the enormous furnace beneath the hall.
• Solim gave Rayne a trade list offering goods in exchange for Source Crystal, and Rayne grew excited at its contents.

Rayne examined Elder Sorim’s catalog of Titan treasures and learned the prices of legendary weapons, the Titan Forge, and other secrets in Source Crystals. Sorim gave him a lead on finding Lightning Affinity in the Yismu River Valley, charged him twenty pounds of Source Crystals for the information, and Rayne and Bramit returned to Aerenus.

• Rayne studied the catalog and was astonished to find Annum's Dragon Slaying Sword listed for fifty thousand pounds of Source Crystals.
• Rayne asked Sorim whether the Lightning-Forged Colossus and Titan Forge could be traded, and Sorim added them and Titan Rune Technology to the catalog at enormous prices.
• Rayne asked Sorim how to find Source Crystal Ore, and Sorim gave him a booklet explaining it.
• Rayne asked about Lightning Affinity, and Sorim directed him to the Yismu River Valley in the Death Forest Sea, then charged him twenty pounds of Source Crystals for the information.
• Rayne pulled Bramit from the palace, and they returned to Aerenus through the Teleportation Array.

Rayne and Bramit traveled to the Death Forest Sea to search for Source Crystals and reached the Yismu River Valley. There, a pack of Long-snouted Demon Crocodiles attacked them, and Rayne blinded the creatures so the Extreme Warriors could charge.

• Rayne and Bramit returned from the Storm Temple, and Rayne read Solim's booklet about locating and refining Source Crystals.
• Bramit decided to join Rayne on a hunt in the Death Forest Sea, and the five Fire Dragons carried them northeast to the Yismu River Valley.
• Rayne's group searched the valley from the air but could not see the ground through the dense canopy, so they landed on a riverbank.
• More than a dozen Long-snouted Demon Crocodiles emerged from the river and attacked the group with poisonous gas.
• Rayne used the Arcane Torrent Staff to blind the crocodiles, and the four Extreme Warriors charged in with their greatswords.

Rayne and Bramit searched the Yismu River Valley for Lightning Affinity creatures, with Rayne’s heightened perception guiding them through the forest. On the fourth day they found a vast flock of Thunderbirds nesting on a cliff, just as a thunderstorm began.

• Rayne and the Extreme Warriors killed a group of Long-snouted Demon Crocodiles, then sent Kronuan and Badish to escort the Fire Dragons through the forest.
• Rayne used his hearing and perception to locate creatures in the forest, repeatedly outperforming Bramit’s hunting senses.
• Over several days, Rayne’s group found many Lightning-type Magical Beasts, but none possessed the Lightning Affinity element.
• In the valley’s central region, Rayne and Bramit discovered thousands of Thunderbirds nesting across a cliff and its opposite slope.
• A storm gathered over the valley, and lightning began striking the Thunderbirds’ nesting cliff.

Rayne infiltrated the Thunderbirds’ cliff during a storm to search for Lightning Affinity and found it in a High Tier Thunderbird. Before he could act, the flock attacked the arriving Fire Dragons, forcing them to crash into the forest near Bramit while Rayne remained missing.

• Rayne entered the river and used Soul Eye to identify hundreds of Thunderbirds, but none possessed Lightning Affinity.
• Rayne climbed the cliff under Invisibility Spell and Blink, then hid among the abandoned nests to inspect the flock at closer range.
• Rayne identified a High Tier Thunderbird with Lightning Affinity, Electric Claw, Thunder Cloud Technique, Wind Thunder Wings, Strength, and level-five Swiftness.
• The Thunderbirds spotted five approaching Fire Dragons and swarmed them with lightning spells.
• The Thunderbirds overwhelmed the Fire Dragons, which crashed into the forest near Bramit and the two Extreme Warriors, and Kronuan anxiously asked where Rayne was.

Rayne lured a flock of Thunderbirds away, killed a High Tier Thunderbird with Lightning Affinity, and obtained its Demon Soul. After fusing with it, he reached Level 8 Wizard.

• Rayne and the others used the Rambo's Guns and Bramit's Soul Gun to hold off the Thunderbirds before retreating through a Portal.
• Rayne drew the flock away with repeated Any Doors, then trapped and killed a banished High Tier Thunderbird and extracted its soul.
• Rayne returned to the group with the Lightning Affinity Demon Soul, while the remaining Thunderbirds found only their leader's corpse.
• Rayne and the others rested in a forested valley, and Rayne fused with the Demon Soul.
• Rayne announced that he had reached Level 8 Wizard.

Rayne fused with the High Tier Thunderbird, gaining new lightning spells and deciding to focus on Wind Thunder Wings as a way to compensate for the limits on improving his Swiftness. Later, Bramit offered decades of service in exchange for the secret of Rambo's Gun, but Rayne refused and suddenly seized a figure hiding in the darkness.

• Rayne fused with the High Tier Thunderbird and gained Brawn, Swiftness, Lightning Affinity, Electric Claw, Thunder Cloud Technique, and Wind Thunder Wings.
• Rayne tested Wind Thunder Wings on himself and Bramit, finding it boosted speed and allowed gliding, and decided to prioritize improving it.
• Rayne reflected that his high Brawn made further Swiftness growth difficult, and concluded that spell-enhanced speed could make up for the conflict.
• Bramit offered to work for Rayne for twenty years, then fifty, in exchange for the manufacturing method of Rambo's Gun, but Rayne refused.
• Rayne cast Electric Claw into the darkness beyond the camp and dragged a hidden figure back.

Rayne captured Laurina, a Soul Hunter scouting near his camp, and questioned her about what she had overheard and why her team had come to the Yismu River Valley. Her elite teammates arrived, led by a Legendary Iron Guard captain, and cautiously asked who Rayne and his group were.

• The lightning claw dragged Laurina into camp, where Kronuan and another Extreme Warrior restrained her with their greatswords.
• Rayne threatened Laurina to find out what she had heard about Rambo's Gun, then let her go after she swore she had heard little.
• Rayne offered Laurina juice and asked about her journey and Demon Soul gains in the Yismu River Valley.
• When Rayne asked whether her team had a Demon Soul with Lightning Affinity, Laurina reacted anxiously and refused to reveal details before her hunt ended.
• Rayne told Laurina that her teammates were approaching, and an elite Soul Hunter Team arrived with a Legendary Iron Guard captain and five High Tier Transcendents.
• The captain warily asked Laurina who Rayne and the others were.

Rayne met Captain Swift’s elite Soul Hunter Team and discovered that their Halberd Great Horned Beetle Demon Soul had Lightning Affinity. He offered five thousand Gold Shields for it, but the team’s rule against selling it remained unresolved.

• Laurina introduced Rayne to Captain Swift and the Soul Hunter Team, who joined him at his campfire.
• Rayne observed the team’s elite members as they introduced themselves, then learned that they had traveled from Deep Harbor City to Death Forest Sea.
• Rayne asked Swift about a Demon Soul with Lightning Affinity, and Swift revealed that the team had hunted a Halberd Great Horned Beetle with one but could not sell it under their rules.
• Swift let Rayne inspect the Soul Stone, and Rayne found that its Demon Soul also possessed level 3 Critical Annihilation.
• Rayne offered Swift five thousand Gold Shields for the Demon Soul.

Rayne bought the Soul Hunter Team’s Halberd Great Horned Beetle Demon Soul for ten thousand Gold Shields, then learned from Laurina that they planned to hunt a young Green Dragon named Monagas. The chapter ended when another woman called to Rayne from outside his tent as he stopped Laurina from going further.

• Rayne raised his offer for the Halberd Great Horned Beetle Demon Soul to ten thousand Gold Shields, and Swift agreed to sell it.
• Rayne paid the Soul Hunter Team, and the group shared a lively meal before settling in for the night.
• Laurina visited Rayne’s tent and revealed that Swift’s team planned to hunt the young Green Dragon Monagas near the Yismu River Valley.
• Laurina said the team had considered inviting Rayne to join the dragon hunt, though Hamlin feared Rayne would take most of the spoils.
• Rayne stopped Laurina from going further, and an alluring voice outside the tent asked whether he was asleep.

Rayne avoided getting caught between Laurina and Sonya, then followed the Soul Hunter Team after learning they were heading to slay a young Green Dragon named Monagas. He watched the team approach the dragon’s lair and recognized the fire meant to draw away its guards as a trap.

• Sonya interrupted Laurina in Rayne’s tent, and the two women traded insults until Rayne ordered them out and had Badish guard the entrance.
• After the Soul Hunter Team left camp, Rayne followed them with Bramit, revealing that they were going to slay Monagas and that a Green Dragon spy was among them.
• Rayne tracked the team for several days and scouted the Green Dragon’s lair, spotting its Gnoll, Harpy, and Cyclops guards.
• A fire broke out near the lair, drawing the guards away, and Rayne realized the Green Dragon had likely set a trap.
• Swift led the Soul Hunter Team toward the lair while Rayne watched from the air.

Swift and the Soul Hunter Team carried out their plan to slay the Green Dragon Monagas, defeating her after a fierce battle. As Swift tried to claim her Dragon Soul, her corpse vanished and a sinister shadow wrapped around him, leaving him immobilized as a commotion erupted behind him.

• Swift led the Soul Hunter Team through the Gnoll tribe and defeated two Cyclops guarding the Green Dragon's lair.
• The Green Dragon Monagas emerged from her lair, took flight, and attacked the team with her poisonous breath.
• Swift endured the breath with his enchanted armor and Palmers's Faith Shield, then wounded Monagas with his Bloodflame Greatsword.
• Hamlin trapped Monagas in a Fabricated Gravity Field while the team bombarded and attacked her; Swift ultimately drove his sword into her heart.
• Swift tried to extract Monagas's Dragon Soul with a Soul Stone, but her corpse vanished and a sinister shadow wrapped around him and immobilized him.