Chapter Summaries

Bobobo Wei Qi used potions to reach the peak of Level 3 Wizard and killed an Evolved Spider with a barrage of spells. A second Evolved Spider appeared, and Yuesefu revealed his close-combat strength by beating it to death.

• Bobobo Wei Qi drank a Cyan Potion and rose to the peak of Level 3 Wizard, stopping just short of Level 4 Wizard.
• Bobobo Wei Qi tricked the Evolved Spider with an illusion and blasted it with spells until it died.
• A second Evolved Spider charged at Bobobo Wei Qi, and Yuesefu intercepted it.
• Yuesefu petrified his skin and fought the Evolved Spider at close range, enduring its attacks while breaking its legs and smashing its body.
• Yuesefu pursued the fleeing Evolved Spider and battered it to death with his fists.

Richard froze a third Evolved Spider and several dozen Demonized Spiders with an array of Polar Ice Cold spell items, then continued exploring the ruins with Yuesefu and Bobobo Wei Qi. Yuesefu praised Richard’s rune-crafting skill and promised the Truth Society would pay him for his research materials.

• After Yuesefu recovered from his attack, a third Evolved Spider appeared with several dozen Demonized Spiders.
• Richard advanced alone and activated dozens of metal strips, freezing the creatures in place without killing them.
• Yuesefu asked whether Richard had used Absolute Ice Domain, and Richard explained that the strips had released multiple Polar Ice Cold spells.
• Yuesefu learned that Richard had crafted the spell items himself and suggested his rune skills could help him rise within the Truth Society.
• Richard reminded Yuesefu that the Truth Society still owed him payment for research materials, and Yuesefu promised to resolve the matter soon.
• Richard, Yuesefu, and Bobobo Wei Qi continued deeper into the ruins.

Richard, Yuesefu, and Bobobo Wei Qi retrieved the box from the ruins and left without further exploring. Outside, they witnessed a powerful flash and distant boom on the northwestern horizon, which left Yuesefu suspecting he recognized its source.

• Yuesefu identified the black box as their target, wrapped it in Silver-Patterned Black Cloth, and said the mission was complete.
• Richard questioned why they should leave the ruins unexplored, but Yuesefu explained that the Truth Society required approval for further exploration.
• The three left the ruins, and Yuesefu sealed its entrance with a spell.
• Yuesefu said he would report the mission in Delan and arrange for Richard and Bobobo Wei Qi to join the Truth Society.
• A brilliant flash and distant boom appeared on the northwestern horizon, and Richard and Bobobo Wei Qi speculated about a clash between Level 4 Wizards.
• Yuesefu silently stared toward the northwest and wondered what had caused the event.

Richard, Bobobo Wei Qi, and Yuesefu returned to Delan after learning that a dangerous conflict had broken out nearby. Long Mei Er ordered a search for the injured Oscar, who escaped with his guard Zong Hu and planned to cross into the Soma Alliance.

• Yuesefu contacted the organization and told Richard and Bobobo Wei Qi that they should avoid the dangerous scene and return to Delan.
• Richard suspected that Oscar was the person in trouble, but he kept his guess to himself as the three headed back to Delan.
• Long Mei Er told arriving Truth Society members that he had severely injured a Level 4 Wizard and ordered them to track the target down.
• Oscar and his wounded guard Zong Hu rested near the Southern Free Federation border after evading or fighting pursuing groups, then planned to cross the Chaos Mountain Range toward South Capital, Xia Ya.
• Oscar apologized for insisting on visiting Pompey, and Zong Hu said their mission had succeeded because they had learned information about it.
• Oscar took a flat wooden box from his robes.

Old Oscar sent a coded message asking his contact to watch Pompey, and received a warning that a hundred enemies were waiting to the north. He and Zong Hu avoided the ambush and headed northeast, while two members of the Truth Society discovered their trail and reported that they had changed course.

• Old Oscar sent a message on the Star-Pattern Paper asking his contact to watch Volcano Town in the northwest.
• The Star-Pattern Paper delivered a warning about an interception force of a hundred men to the north.
• Zong Hu sensed that a large enemy force was waiting ahead and confirmed the warning was true.
• Old Oscar and Zong Hu concealed their traces, changed direction, and headed northeast toward the Soma Alliance.
• Two members of the Truth Society found blood at the pair’s former resting place, realized they had avoided the encirclement, and reported the change of direction.

Richard’s application to join the Truth Society was approved, and Yuesefu explained the organization’s badges, Points, rewards, and advancement. Richard learned more about the time-altering box from the ruins and heard that Soma Alliance operatives had escaped after a failed pursuit.

• Richard expected that information from the Star-Pattern Paper could help Black-Faced Old Man Oscar and Zong Hu, and planned to use his success in the ruins to uncover the Truth Society’s secrets.
• Yuesefu told Richard that his and Bobobo Wei Qi’s applications to the Truth Society had been approved, then gave Richard an identity badge and a booklet explaining the Points system.
• Yuesefu said Richard had 1,000 Points and could earn more through tasks, services, and developing the organization’s influence in Galan City.
• Yuesefu revealed that the box from the ruins accelerated the growth of Spellcasting Materials and would cost at least 100,000 Points to exchange for.
• Yuesefu reported that Soma Alliance members had escaped after a Truth Society pursuit, and Richard remarked that he might have done better if he had joined it.

Richard continued investigating the Truth Society while upgrading Warplane Mode, then tested his long-range combat tactics against Bobobo Wei Qi outside Galan City. After Richard attacked from beyond ten thousand meters, Bobobo Wei Qi surrendered and swore off practicing combat with him, saying he would try to infiltrate the Truth Society instead.

• Richard supplied the Truth Society with spell tools for Points while secretly reducing production to avoid suspicion.
• Richard used his upgraded tactics to attack Bobobo Wei Qi with magic pattern arrows fired from more than ten thousand meters away.
• Bobobo Wei Qi dodged the first arrow, used his spell tool ring to block the second, and struggled to withstand further attacks with Spell Shields.
• Bobobo Wei Qi surrendered and angrily vowed never to practice combat with Richard again.
• Bobobo Wei Qi said he would return to Ash Academy and investigate infiltrating the Truth Society for its core information.

Richard recorded plans to improve Warplane Mode and its Spell Missiles before the story shifted to Shangbala Town, a squalid mining settlement west of Galan City. The town’s miners’ lives were about to be disrupted by an unexpected accident, though the chapter did not reveal what happened.

• Richard wrote down ways to improve Spell Missile range, guidance, fuses, sensing, speed, and stealth.
• The narration described Galan City’s mineral wealth and the different ways mine owners and miners regarded the resources.
• The chapter introduced Shangbala Town, where tens of thousands of miners lived in filthy conditions and earned meager wages.
• The narrator said an unexpected accident suddenly occurred in Shangbala Town but did not disclose its nature.

At Thirteen Mine, guard Hua Nuo discovered a hidden tunnel and encountered mutated rats that killed him. The creatures then poured out of the tunnel and attacked the mine guards.

• Hua Nuo entered a newly excavated tunnel to inspect it after his patrol.
• Hua Nuo heard a rustling sound, broke through a weakened section of wall, and found a hidden tunnel.
• Hua Nuo mistook the tunnel for an illegal mining passage before several green-eyed creatures approached through the darkness.
• A mutated rat attacked Hua Nuo, and he fled toward the tunnel exit after losing his dagger.
• A mutated rat caught Hua Nuo near the exit and killed him by tearing open his throat.
• The mutated rats rushed out of the tunnel and began slaughtering the guards at Thirteen Mine.

Richard received a communication crystal ball from Yuesefu of the Truth Society and realized its preset signals could be used to send clear written messages through a code. He left Yuesefu astonished after explaining the method.

• Pandora rolled off her bed in her sleep, and Richard carried her back onto it.
• After spending more than half a month on his research, Richard met Yuesefu at Blue Lake Manor.
• Yuesefu gave Richard a communication crystal ball and explained how to activate it, transmit preset signals, and shut it down.
• Richard pointed out that preset signals could not convey unexpected details and proposed using them as characters or binary symbols to encode written messages.
• Yuesefu shifted from skepticism to astonishment as Richard explained the practical communication method.

Richard considered Yuesefu’s warning that the organization might not adopt his improved communication method, but decided to investigate crystal balls himself. He began a detailed study of their magic patterns and construction in Eden Garden.

• Yuesefu praised Richard’s communication proposal but warned that the organization might resist the cost and delay adoption, then left to handle matters in the west.
• Richard said he would not settle for what was merely sufficient and went into Eden Garden to work.
• Richard found Pandora asleep on the floor again, lifted her onto the bed, and left after checking that she would stay there.
• Richard gathered several crystal balls in the Mechanical Processing Sector and began examining them using Yuesefu’s beginner’s manual.
• Richard spent hours copying the crystal balls’ magic patterns, then started sorting, testing, and interpreting them before cutting the balls open to study their internal structures.

After three days of experiments, Richard deciphered the basic principles of the Truth Society’s Communication Crystal Balls and discovered that powerful energy fields could disrupt or damage them. He recognized the effect as similar to an electromagnetic pulse, leaving him with a potential way to disable communications on a large scale.

• Richard tested five crude crystal balls and confirmed that they could transmit matching signals for different durations.
• Richard wrote down his findings that crystal balls used mana-powered energy waves to transmit information and that their range and network infrastructure remained unclear.
• Richard concluded that crystal-ball transmissions could be intercepted if their frequency and timing were known.
• Richard’s experiments showed that high-energy fields could distort or block signals and damage nearby Communication Crystal Balls.
• Richard recognized that the effect resembled an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP.

Richard considered how magical electromagnetic-pulse effects might connect to nuclear weapons, then returned to writing about the Communication Crystal Ball. Elsewhere, Yuesefu cornered a cunning Normal Rat and its Demonized Beasts, but a charging wild boar interrupted his attack.

• Richard reasoned that the Magic Breaking Pearls used by the Truth Society might produce electromagnetic-pulse-like effects and considered nuclear weapons as a way to counter them.
• Richard recognized that nuclear research depended on finding scarce radioactive materials and resumed writing his summary of the Communication Crystal Ball.
• Yuesefu pursued a Normal Rat into a forest near Shangbala Town, where mutated beasts gathered to ambush him.
• Yuesefu told the Normal Rat that he had surrounded its group, then used his Short Staff to bombard the Demonized Beasts with fireballs.
• A Demonized wild boar burst through the flames and charged at Yuesefu as he prepared another attack.

Yuesefu defeated the demonized beasts and believed his mission was complete, but then he found the Normal Rat that had lured him into the ambush. The rat exploded when he caught it, covering his clothes with far more erosion energy than he had encountered before.

• Yuesefu fought the demonized beasts, killing them one by one with his strength and magic.
• After the forest fell quiet, Yuesefu dressed and prepared to leave, believing his mission was complete.
• Yuesefu noticed the Normal Rat hiding in the grass and blocked its escape with an earth wall.
• Yuesefu caught the Normal Rat, but it swelled and exploded, splattering flesh and blood onto his clothes.
• Yuesefu sensed that the rat's remains had covered him and his favorite robe with a dangerous amount of erosion energy, leaving him unsure whether to discard it.

Richard ended his philosophy lesson with Harry and Kathy when Wizard Yuesefu arrived for a visit. Yuesefu revealed that Demonized Beast blood had contaminated him with a corrosive energy, and Richard learned the beasts had been found near Shangbala Town west of Galan City.

• Richard taught Harry and Kathy about Schopenhauer until Jia Lie announced that Yuesefu had arrived.
• Richard met Yuesefu in the reception room and sensed corrosive energy drifting from his body.
• Yuesefu explained that blood from the last Demonized Beast he killed had contaminated him, and that the energy had also affected one of his garments.
• Richard said he knew no way to remove the energy but asked where Yuesefu had encountered the beasts.
• Yuesefu told Richard he had killed the contaminating Demonized Beasts in the woods near Shangbala Town, and Richard offered him tea.

Richard detected corrosive energy on the silver tray Yuesefu had used and brought it to Eden Garden’s hazardous materials facility for testing. The test classified it as a radioactive material, prompting Richard to suspect it might be nuclear weapon raw material.

• After Yuesefu departed, Richard sensed the same corrosive energy on the silver tray that had drifted from Yuesefu.
• Richard sealed the tray in a Lead Box and told Jia Lie to close the manor gates and turn away all visitors.
• Richard carried the Lead Box to Eden Garden’s hazardous materials sector and entered its heavily secured underground facility in a Hazmat Suit.
• Richard exposed the tray to the air, triggering the facility’s warning system and decontamination spray.
• Richard saw the Type Five hazard lights and identified the tray’s energy as radiation, possibly nuclear weapon raw material.

Richard left Blue Lake Manor in Jia Lie’s care and traveled to a forest near New Shangbala Town to investigate the source of the corrosive energy contaminating Yuesefu. After finding radioactive black stones inside a Demonized Rat, he suspected they came from a nearby mine and headed for Shangbala Town.

• Richard told Jia Lie to manage Blue Lake Manor, pass along an explanation for his absence, and recruit carpenters and blacksmiths.
• Richard arrived before dawn at a forest near New Shangbala Town and examined the traces of a battle.
• Richard excavated buried Demonized Beast corpses and found that the soil around them was stained with concentrated corrosive energy.
• Richard dissected a Demonized Rat and discovered several black stones inside its stomach.
• Richard suspected the stones came from a mine near Shangbala Town, restored the clearing, and set off for the town.

Richard arrived in Shangbala Town and found its streets deserted and its tavern barricaded, but learned the townspeople were hiding from monsters. He paid the bartender to explain the recent events, and the bartender began recounting what had happened in town.

• Richard found Shangbala Town empty and forced open the tavern door, startling the people sheltering inside.
• The bartender reassured the frightened patrons that Richard was a living person, not a monster or demon.
• Richard offered the bartender a silver coin for information, and the bartender guessed he had come to buy ore.
• The bartender explained that Shangbala was no longer normal and negotiated a higher payment to tell Richard everything he knew.
• Richard agreed to pay three silver coins, and the bartender began recounting the events of the past half month.

Richard heard how rumors of demons had spread through Shangbala Town after the massacre at Thirteen Mine. Believing the attacks were tied to the Demonized Beasts and possibly radioactive ore, he sought out the mine’s owner, Hua Erzi, whom the bartender identified as the drunkard in the tavern.

• The bartender explained that a rumor about demons in the mines had become credible after guards at Thirteen Mine were massacred and further attacks followed.
• Richard concluded that the so-called demons were likely Demonized Beasts that Yuesefu had recently killed, though the townspeople remained afraid.
• Richard asked the bartender about Thirteen Mine and its owner because he wanted to investigate the mine and search for radioactive ore.
• The bartender told Richard that Hua Erzi had gone bankrupt after the massacre, compensation demands, and schemes by competitors.
• Richard spotted Hua Erzi drinking in the corner and walked over to him.

Richard sought out the disgraced mine owner Hua Erzi and asked him to take him to the dangerous Thirteen Mine. After Richard demonstrated his magical ability and promised to help Hua Erzi escape his troubles, Hua Erzi agreed to lead him there immediately.

• The bartender gave Richard a bottle of beer to offer Hua Erzi, explaining that Hua Erzi liked it and might be more receptive.
• Richard approached Hua Erzi and asked him to take him to the Thirteen Mine to investigate what had happened there.
• Hua Erzi warned Richard that the mine was deadly and refused to be persuaded by the beer alone.
• Richard used magic to stop the beer from pouring, then released it so it splashed Hua Erzi in the face.
• Hua Erzi recognized Richard as a Wizard, and Richard promised to help him if the visit went smoothly.
• Hua Erzi agreed to take Richard to the mine and left the tavern with him following.