Chapter Summaries

Richard asked Ruth to translate a folk song from the former Black Spirit Empire, but her demands for a humiliating plea turned their exchange into a confrontation. He stopped her magical attack and threatened to cut her clothes, leaving Ruth exposed and defiant.

• Richard asked Ruth about the Black Saint Mountain Kingdom's inherited culture and requested her help translating a song.
• Ruth insisted Richard beg more sincerely, and he threatened her with a dagger when she refused to help.
• Ruth attacked Richard with several spell tools, but her magic veered away and he remained unharmed.
• Richard used Wind Agility to reach Ruth and pressed his dagger to her neck, demanding her cooperation.
• Ruth argued that Richard would not kill her because he needed her help, so he began slicing open her clothes.

Richard tried to persuade Princess Ruth to help him, but her refusal led him to restrain her and use Minor Dehydration Spell on her. Ruth realized what he had done, though she remained trapped in the chair.

• Richard asked Ruth to help him and offered to apologize and compensate her, but she stubbornly refused.
• Richard stepped away, and Ruth mistook his retreat for surrender and tried to leave.
• Richard grabbed Ruth, forced her into a chair, and repeatedly held her down when she tried to rise.
• Richard kept Ruth seated until the spell’s effects made her shift uncomfortably and tremble.
• Ruth demanded to know what Richard had done, and he explained that he had cast Minor Dehydration Spell on her.

Richard forced Ruth to help translate a ballad from the Black Spirit Empire, which she identified as an old song from the Black Saint Mountain Kingdom about a captain who died after a perilous voyage. He concluded that the ballad held key information about the White Stone Tower and the Black Spirit King, and began to suspect the secret involved a dead captain.

• Richard used the Minor Dehydration Spell to torment Ruth until she agreed to help him with the ballad.
• Richard recited the song’s rhythm and approximate lyrics, but Ruth initially claimed she did not recognize it.
• Under continued pressure, Ruth recalled the old ballad her mother had sung to her and translated its verses about a captain’s safe return and death.
• Richard silenced Ruth while he considered how the ballad’s tune and lyrics might reveal the secret of the White Stone Tower and the Black Spirit King.
• Richard focused on the song’s dead captain and wondered whether the secret was connected to him.

Richard connected the folk song about a captain’s grave to Alex’s ancestor and opened a hidden passage beside the grave marker. Meanwhile, Alex negotiated a glass-tube order for Richard and arranged to pocket part of the payment.

• Richard recalled Alex’s story about his legendary captain ancestor and learned that the translated song was called “Father Captain Alex.”
• Richard let Ruth leave, then went to Alex’s ancestor’s grave in the cemetery.
• Alex persuaded Koba to supply five hundred medium-quality glass tubes at an inflated price and arranged for Koba to return one silver coin per tube.
• Richard used Earth and Stone Control beside the grave marker, revealing a passage underground.

Richard descended into the tomb beneath the cemetery, where successive waves of increasingly tough Black Beetles attacked him. After fighting off three batches, he heard the rustling begin again, suggesting another wave was emerging.

• Richard entered the passage beneath the cemetery and followed it down to an underground corridor.
• Richard reached a large hall and prepared his custom greatsword when he heard rustling from the pitted ground.
• Black Beetles emerged, and Richard killed the first batch with swordsmanship alone.
• Silver-Line Beetles appeared next, and Richard slaughtered them before a third batch of Double Silver-Line Beetles emerged.
• Richard activated Wind Brute Force on Ring No.1 to cut through the tougher beetles, then cleaned his sword and replenished his fluids.
• As Richard wondered whether a fourth batch would appear, more beetles began to emerge.

Richard fought through increasingly powerful beetles in the underground cemetery before a massive swarm forced him to retreat to the surface. He sealed the entrance and left the cemetery, having decided how to deal with its treasure.

• Richard defeated the fourth batch of Silver Shell Beetles after using enhancement magic and a Spartan Warrior Potion, then replenished his energy.
• Richard saw hundreds or thousands of beetles, including a Golden Beetle, emerge and recognized that he could not face the swarm head-on.
• Richard hurled a White Jade Shard inscribed with Meteor Flame Burst, killing more than a hundred beetles, then used more explosions and Wind Repulsion to retreat.
• Richard escaped through the passage, and the beetles stopped pursuing him and returned to the tomb.
• Richard restored the underground entrance with Earth and Stone Control, then left the cemetery after deciding how to deal with its treasure.

Richard planned to improve his Magic Rune Rings for another graveyard expedition while Pandora kept breaking laboratory glassware. Alex delivered replacement test tubes and brought Richard a mysterious small box.

• Richard considered adding Magic Rune Rings and adapting spells to address the weakness of his close-combat style against large groups of enemies.
• Pandora shattered nearly all the test tubes and began breaking beakers while washing them.
• Alex delivered two crates of glass test tubes and claimed they were premium quality.
• Richard inspected the test tubes, challenged Alex's price, and said they were worth only one to one and a half silver coins per crate.
• Alex ran out to his carriage and returned carrying a Small Box.

Richard recognized a red powder Alex had brought as a valuable medicinal material and bought it along with glassware. Pandora accidentally smashed half the newly delivered test tubes, leaving Richard to order another thousand from Alex.

• Alex gave Richard a box of assorted powders, claiming the dyes had come from the Glass Factory.
• Richard tested the red powder and confirmed it was a valuable material that could save lives.
• Alex confessed that he had gotten the dyes from a poor debtor, and Richard paid him for the box and glassware while placing a new order.
• Pandora carried the test tubes toward the laboratory, but the box broke and half of them shattered.
• Richard told Alex to add another thousand Glass Tubes to the order, and Alex hurried away.

Richard prepared two new Magic Rune Rings and a battle plan before returning to the tomb to continue his expedition. He entered the First Hall, altered the corridor to create narrow chokepoints, killed a group of Black Beetles, and waited as Double Silver-Striped Beetles emerged.

• Richard completed Ring No.3 for long-range attacks and Ring No.4 for area-of-effect spells, then set out for the tomb.
• Richard used Dark Vision to travel through the underground corridor and reshaped it into three narrow chokepoints.
• Richard entered the First Hall and killed more than a dozen Black Beetles with his greatsword.
• Richard waited in the hall, where a second group of Double Silver-Striped Beetles emerged.

Richard used spells and a specially modified passage to stop the beetle swarm, trapping it in a narrow area and setting it ablaze. By the end, at least a thousand beetles lay charred in the passage, while the larger swarm continued to press forward.

• Richard used Double Chain Explosion to kill the first Double Silver-Striped Beetles and alert the full swarm.
• Richard fired Ice Shards while retreating through the three-section gourd passage, slowing and bunching the advancing beetles.
• Richard cast Greasy Swamp in the passage, trapping beetles and coating others in oily liquid.
• Richard ignited the swarm with Chain Explosion, causing flames to spread through the oil-coated beetles.
• Richard cast Greasy Swamp again to revive the weakening flames, leaving at least a thousand charred beetle corpses before him.

Richard used a series of narrow checkpoints and fire spells to wipe out the Zerg Army, then explored deeper into the tomb. In Hall No.2, he encountered scorpions that resisted his spell and transformed into demonized Double-Tailed Golden Scorpions.

• Richard held off the Zerg Army with Greasy Swamp, fire, and other spells while the beetles destroyed the first checkpoint and dug around it.
• Richard retreated through the gourd-shaped passage to the second and then third checkpoints, burning the beetles until the army was wiped out.
• Richard entered Hall No.1 and continued through a wider passage into the empty Hall No.2.
• More than a dozen brown scorpions crawled into Hall No.2, and Richard tested them with Double Chain Explosion.
• The scorpions survived the blast, revealed their second tails, and turned gold, revealing themselves as demonized Double-Tailed Golden Scorpions.

Richard defeated the demonized Double-Tailed Golden Scorpions in Hall No.2 and entered Hall No.3, where he faced a huge Three-tailed Crystal Giant Scorpion. He discovered that its body was less durable than the other scorpions, but its relentless attacks left him struggling.

• Richard used Winter Has Come to freeze the Double-Tailed Golden Scorpions, then used Chain Explosion to shatter them.
• Richard crossed Hall No.2 and entered Hall No.3, where a Three-tailed Crystal Giant Scorpion attacked him with its tails.
• Richard dodged the scorpion's physical attacks and realized it did not spray acid.
• Richard struck the scorpion's tail and back with his greatsword, confirming its defenses could be damaged.
• The Three-tailed Crystal Giant Scorpion intensified its attacks, and Richard struggled to keep up while clashing with its three tails.

Richard killed the Three-tailed Crystal Giant Scorpion by activating the Blood of the Gods, then discovered a vast mushroom forest whose spores infected him and left him coughing blood. He realized the fungal spores were the tomb’s real deadly trap, but the chapter ended with a mock League of Legends commentary interrupting the story.

• Richard drank the Blood of the Gods and gained enough strength to sever the Three-tailed Crystal Giant Scorpion’s tails, decapitate it, and split its body in two.
• Richard found mycelium inside the scorpion’s mouthparts and suspected mushrooms were sustaining the tomb’s ecosystem.
• Richard entered a vast hall filled with bizarre mushrooms and saw a mature mushroom burst, scattering spores and mycelium.
• Richard’s coughing worsened, and he realized fungal spores in the air were the real deadly design.
• A mock esports commentator described Richard stepping on a Teemo mushroom after defeating Scorpion, while both players reported each other for cheating.

Richard realized that deadly mushroom spores had infected his lungs, made a simple mask, and weighed whether to seek treatment or find an antidote in the tomb. When a second Zerg Army charged from the Mushroom Forest, he abandoned the exploration and retreated to the laboratory.

• Richard recalled the Tutankhamun Tomb deaths and concluded that germs could explain the supposed Pharaoh's Curse.
• Richard covered his mouth and nose with cloth, recognized that mushroom spores had infected his lungs, and considered returning to the laboratory or searching for an antidote.
• A second Zerg Army emerged from the Mushroom Forest, with beetles bearing green, red, and purple shells.
• Richard's worsening symptoms and the advancing swarm forced him to retreat, ending his second exploration.

Richard developed severe pneumonia from mushroom spores and isolated himself in the laboratory to protect Pandora. He considered producing penicillin but realized that obtaining enough effective medicine could take far longer than he had to live.

• Pandora finished washing test tubes in the laboratory when Richard rushed in wearing a mask and sent her to wait in the courtyard.
• Richard sealed the laboratory, removed his mask, and recognized that his pneumonia symptoms were rapidly worsening.
• Richard identified his illness as a serious spore-caused pneumonia resembling Mushroom Lung and considered antibacterial medicine as treatment.
• Richard recalled how penicillin was discovered and the long process required to extract and increase its production.
• Richard realized that even with a lucky discovery of Penicillium, making enough penicillin could take a month or possibly a year, likely too late to save him.

Richard abandoned Penicillin and took Bailang Duoxi as an alternative treatment for his illness, recognizing the red dye Alex had sent as a medicine that could produce Sulfonamide in the body. As Richard continued his treatment in the laboratory, Pandora stayed outside and began carving a stone figure.

• Richard concluded that Penicillin would be unreliable against his illness and chose Sulfonamide as a better option.
• Richard recalled that Bailang Duoxi broke down into Sulfonamide in the body and remembered the red dye Alex had sent him.
• Richard went to retrieve the Bailang Duoxi, then drank a strange liquid and continued his auxiliary treatment in the laboratory.
• Pandora tried to check on Richard, but he told her to stay in the courtyard and not worry about him.
• Pandora kicked away a stone, then began carefully carving it into a human figure as night fell.

Richard recovered from pneumonia but remained exhausted and orange-red from his medicine while Pandora worked in his laboratory. When Alex arrived with more test tubes, Richard went to receive the delivery and ordered Pandora to finish generating electricity before she could wash them.

• Richard emerged from the laboratory looking orange-red and exhausted, and Pandora asked if she could bite him because he looked delicious.
• Pandora gave Richard a roughly carved stone gift, which he struggled to identify before putting it in his Space Iron Ring.
• Several days later, Richard continued working while Pandora turned a crank to generate electricity, wishing she could wash test tubes instead.
• Alex arrived with a delivery, and Pandora eagerly asked Richard to let her wash the new test tubes.
• Richard told Pandora to finish her electricity-generation quota before washing anything, then left to meet Alex.

Richard received glassware, iron canisters, salt, and other supplies from Alex, then sent Pandora away from the glassware to meet her electricity-generation quota. That night, Richard continued his biological research and worried that expanding his laboratory could become a burden if he had to leave White Stone City.

• Alex delivered Richard's requested supplies, including glassware, heavy iron canisters, and a huge quantity of salt, and Richard paid him the remaining balance.
• Pandora rummaged through the boxes for glassware, but Richard ordered her to finish her electricity-generation quota before handling test tubes.
• That night, Pandora secretly admired the glass shards she had collected in boxes beneath her bed.
• Richard cultivated Blood of the Gods colonies and Mushroom Pneumonia Spores while testing molds for penicillin production.
• Richard considered expanding the Biological Laboratory but worried that the mysterious organization connected to Somen and Mu Keni might force him to leave White Stone City.

After recovering from the mushroom-spore infection, Richard prepared a large supply of Chlorine Gas for his third attempt at Alex’s ancestors’ grave. Rather than explore its traps again, he opened the sealed passage and flooded it with Chlorine Gas to destroy the dangers inside.

• Richard used electrolysis of saturated saltwater to test a method of producing Chlorine Gas, then refined the process over several days to make a large supply.
• Richard’s orange-red skin discoloration faded, and Pandora stopped staring at his arm as though she wanted to bite it.
• Richard returned to Alex’s ancestors’ grave, recalling how the Zerg Army had driven him back on his first visit and mushroom spores had infected him on his second.
• Richard opened a passage into the grave with Earth and Stone Control and released pressurized Liquid Chlorine, which vaporized into Chlorine Gas and poured inside.

Richard repeatedly released chlorine into the underground tomb in the cemetery, then waited for the gas to kill its inhabitants before beginning the next stage of his plan. Alex later arrived at Richard’s laboratory with several carriage loads of the requested white powder.

• Richard released canister after canister of chlorine into the cemetery tomb, planning to kill its creatures and corrode its machines.
• Richard returned to his laboratory, produced more chlorine, and repeated the operation on many nights until the tomb filled with gas.
• Richard waited to ensure the tomb’s inhabitants had died, then prepared to begin the next step of the disinfection operation.
• Alex brought several carriages of sacks to Richard’s laboratory, and Richard had the laborers move them into the courtyard.