Chapter Summaries

Noan hid the Blood Codex inside his body, transformed himself with black liquid, and attacked Richard and Barry. Richard struck Noan down with Death Finger, but Noan revealed his death had been a trap and failed to corrode Richard, who escaped and praised Noan’s abilities.

• Barry grumbled that Noan was an unqualified leader, and Noan stored the Blood Codex inside his chest while boasting that he had developed his own spells.
• Noan drank black liquid and poured the rest over himself, transforming his body and growing tentacles before declaring that he would lead the Ancestral Spirit Society.
• Richard attacked Noan with two Level-Four Blood Spears, but Noan healed and challenged him to use the move that had killed Jeff and Hart.
• Richard struck Noan with Death Finger, and Noan collapsed as his wounds stopped healing and his life force drained away.
• When Richard reached for the Blood Codex, Noan sprang back to life and tried to dissolve him with his corrosive tentacles.
• Richard escaped by reappearing more than ten meters away, and he praised Noan for surviving Death Finger, setting a trap, and researching Blood Spells.

Richard rejected Barry’s offer and faced Noan, who attacked him with a barrage of Energy Beams. Richard survived by reappearing unharmed, counterattacked with blood spears, and finished preparing a powerful spell as Noan realized the attack had only been a distraction.

• Barry knelt before Richard and offered the Blood Codex and the Ancestral Spirit Society’s support in exchange for Noan’s death.
• Noan refused to submit to Richard and unleashed a sustained barrage of Energy Beams.
• Noan blasted away Richard’s upper body, but Richard reappeared intact and revealed that the attack had injured him internally.
• Richard drank two potions, then struck Noan with repeated blood spears that drove him backward.
• Noan saw Richard finish preparing a powerful spell while the blood spears kept him occupied.

Richard froze Noan with an improved Level 4 Ice Spell and offered him one last chance to submit, but Noan attacked instead. Richard killed him with a potion that dissolved him at the cellular level, then explained to Barry that Noan had not been valuable enough to justify further effort.

• Richard used an improved Ice Spell to immobilize Noan and urged him to cooperate.
• Richard offered Noan one final chance to submit, but Noan lunged at him with a mutated tongue.
• Richard tore off Noan’s tongue, forced a Zeroing Potion into his mouth, and dissolved him into blood-red liquid.
• Barry emerged from hiding and asked whether Noan was dead, and Richard confirmed that he was.
• Barry said Noan might have submitted if Richard had pressured him longer, but Richard said he had no reason to waste more time on him.

Richard killed Noan, took the Blood Codex, and left the Ancestral Spirit Society with Barry bound to follow his future orders. Barry confessed the agreement to Moses, who helped him assess the Society’s precarious position as they awaited Richard’s representative.

• Richard took the Blood Codex and left Barry to deal with Noan’s remaining subordinates and fulfill the Ancestral Spirit Society’s obligations.
• Barry worried that the Society’s elders would resist following an outsider’s orders, then encountered Moses outside the Stone Tower.
• Moses questioned Barry about the deal with Richard, and Barry confessed the new conditions he had accepted.
• Moses said Richard could have demanded much more, but chastised Barry for selling out the Society’s interests.
• Moses agreed to help keep Barry’s leadership secure and said they would wait to see whom Richard sent in a few days.

Annie arrived at the Ancestral Spirit Society Headquarters to deliver Richard’s requests and prove she was his messenger. Barry and the Society agreed to cooperate, and Annie left after warning them to act promptly.

• Barry led the Ancestral Spirit Society’s upper ranks in welcoming Annie, but doubted her identity because she appeared to be a Level 1 Wizard.
• Annie triggered the lingering effects of Barry’s No. 23 Potion, making him collapse to his knees, and explained that she had advanced the relapse with a spell learned from Richard.
• Annie gave Barry a Relief Potion, which helped him regain control of his legs.
• Annie handed Barry a scroll outlining Richard’s requests, and Barry and the directors agreed to cooperate.
• Annie said she would supervise their progress, then abruptly left the Council Hall.

Annie inspected the Ancestral Spirit Society’s month-long work on a vast underground chimney built to Richard’s secret specifications. Barry and Moses accepted the assignment and its rewards, and planned to continue rebuilding the Society while the construction proceeded.

• Annie inspected the underground space and ordered Barry to have a thin support pillar reinforced.
• Barry asked Annie why Richard had commissioned the strange structure, but she refused to explain and left after approving the work.
• Moses reasoned that Annie might not know the purpose either, and that Richard’s secrecy suggested the project was either unimportant or extraordinary.
• Barry told Moses that the three Blood Spell Scrolls Annie had delivered were tested and worked like normal spells.
• Moses decided the Society should keep building and use its new connection with Richard to regain its former strength, then returned to headquarters with Barry.

Annie collected a Lead Box from Tin Wood, who asked her to remind Richard about his extra work and assured him the forest was safe. Meanwhile, a black bear found a strange honeycomb, where unusual creatures killed it and carried it away as food for their evolution.

• Annie followed a Gray Wolf through the forest and collected a Lead Box delivered by vines.
• Tin Wood asked Annie to remind Richard that he had purified one-tenth more raw materials than agreed and should receive double compensation for the excess.
• Annie relayed Richard’s warning that Tin Wood should stay alert, and Tin Wood insisted his network of trees and beasts would detect any danger.
• A hungry black bear followed a bee to a secluded honeycomb and knocked it from a tree.
• A Weird Bee stung the black bear, killing it, and ant-like creatures carried away the honeycomb and the bear.
• Tin Wood noticed that one of his distant animal scouts had gone out of contact but assumed it would return.

Bi Bi, a mysterious girl who had become the casino’s best gambler, faced mercenary leader Youka in a high-stakes game. Youka revealed a powerful hand and challenged Bi Bi to beat it, leaving her cards unrevealed.

• Bi Bi had arrived in the city months earlier, bewildered its residents with strange behavior, and eventually became fascinated with gambling.
• After losing to Bi Bi before leaving on a mission, Youka returned and learned she had become the casino’s new gambling legend.
• Youka warned Bi Bi she would lose, but she pushed all her chips forward and demanded he decide whether to match her bet.
• Youka accepted the all-in bet and revealed three Knights, two Queens, and one King, claiming only six Princesses could defeat him.

Bi Bi won a gambling match against Youka, but his mercenary group's urgent mission interrupted their plans to play again. Inspired by Youka's determination, Bi Bi decided to pursue her own mission and left her winnings guarded at the casino.

• Bi Bi revealed six Princess Cards and defeated Youka, then offered to lend him money for another game.
• A mercenary told Youka that the target who had escaped a previous mission had been spotted heading north, and Youka ordered his group to assemble and capture them.
• Youka refused Bi Bi's offers to stay, explaining that capturing the target would restore his group's honor after its earlier failure.
• Bi Bi remembered she had a mission of her own and decided to set out and complete it.
• When opportunists reached for Bi Bi's unattended chips, she hurled a stool leg into the table and warned everyone not to touch her money before she left the casino.

Richard analyzed the Blood Codex to advance his understanding of the Blood Energy Extraordinary Factor and prepared an Advanced Blood of the Gods. After drinking it, he purged much of the Void Erosion Energy from his body, though some damage remained to be treated gradually.

• Richard turned Blood Spells from the Blood Codex into mathematical models and advanced his analysis of the Blood Energy Extraordinary Factor beyond fifty percent.
• Richard spent a month developing a pink potion that combined Restoration Elixir research with properties of the Blood of the Gods.
• Richard drank the Advanced Blood of the Gods, which spread through his body and caused his heart to race and fragile capillaries to burst.
• Richard gathered the Void Erosion-contaminated blood and entered a pool of pale blue liquid to dilute it.
• After half an hour, Richard emerged with about forty percent of his Void Erosion damage recovered and no remaining hidden dangers, while the rest still required treatment.

Richard tested the effects of the Advanced Blood of the Gods and discovered that it gave him greater conscious control over his body. He realized he could already use that control to fall asleep at will, while more advanced abilities would require further doses.

• Richard made his hands lose their blood flow and turn cold, then restored them with a thought.
• Richard made his arm muscles bulge and relax without moving his arms.
• Richard concluded that the Advanced Blood of the Gods let him bypass some automatic bodily controls and directly command his body.
• Richard compared the ability to rooting a phone, giving him superuser access to his body's biological systems.
• Richard considered possible uses such as falling asleep on command, detecting illness, accelerating healing, and shedding damaged tissue, but said most would require more doses.

After the Advanced Blood of the Gods strengthened Richard and reduced the harm caused by Void Spells, he considered how to improve his energy supply and continue researching Extraordinary Factors. As he weighed whether to abandon Blood Energy research, an unfamiliar voice predicted that books would fall, and they toppled moments later.

• Richard recognized that his improved bodily control had reduced Void Spell damage and made him harder to kill.
• Richard considered ways to sustain his energy, including expanding his mana source, replicating Energy Storage Short Staffs, and absorbing energy directly from the void.
• Richard reflected that further Blood Energy research would require difficult-to-obtain spells and knowledge, and considered switching to another Extraordinary Factor.
• A voice interrupted Richard's thoughts and said, "Not necessarily!"
• Richard searched the silent Main Laboratory, then heard a thought-voice predict that books on the shelf would fall, and dozens toppled over.

Richard realized that the Advanced Blood of the Gods had given him weak prophecy by overclocking his brain, letting him rapidly calculate conclusions from gathered information. His new ability pointed him toward the Blood-colored Seal as a possible key to a near-term breakthrough in the Blood Energy Extraordinary Factor, and he began investigating it.

• Richard deduced that his potion-enhanced control over his body let him divert more energy to his brain and think in an overclocked state.
• Richard theorized that prophecy spells used a Null Brain Computing Machine to calculate outcomes from available information.
• Richard recognized that his brain had warned him the Blood Energy Extraordinary Factor might make a major breakthrough soon.
• Richard remembered that the Blood-colored Seal could keep the Blood Energy Extraordinary Factor active and realized he had neglected to study it.
• Richard summoned the Blood-colored Seal from its box and prepared to examine it closely.

Richard discovered that the Blood-colored Seal concealed a message in tiny engravings, but the message was written in Ancient Script he could not read. He decided to seek help from an acquaintance in Faro City and set out at night to find them.

• Richard stamped the Blood-colored Seal and found a clue saying Ross’s most precious possession had been displayed before him, if he was not deceived by appearances.
• Richard enlarged the seal’s engraved pattern and discovered that its tiny characters formed the clue and a much longer text.
• Richard recognized the longer text as Ancient Script, which he could not decipher without months of study.
• Richard decided to ask a reliable acquaintance in Faro City to translate the text and left Eden Garden at night.

Richard visited Female Wizard Circe to have an Ancient Script translated, and waited at her courtyard while she and her students worked. After receiving the completed translation, he left with the papers.

• Richard knocked on Female Wizard Circe’s door at night, and Nellide opened it and recognized him.
• Hai Di gave Richard the first portion of Circe’s translation and returned to help her.
• Nellide brought Richard the next portion, offered him her half-eaten melon, then distracted him with a question about a mouse and a rabbit.
• Circe brought Richard the final portion of the translation and explained that she had charged him for the work.
• Circe told Nellide to eat more quietly, and Nellide covered her mouth with the melon as she nibbled.

Richard read the translated papers and discovered they were a biography of the Legendary Wizard Tangka, prompting him to suspect Tangka’s tomb might conceal Ross’s treasure or lead to an Ancient Ruins. Circe lent Richard a handwritten book about Tangka so he could learn more.

• Richard read the translated papers and realized they described Tangka’s life rather than directly revealing hidden wealth.
• Nellide explained that Tangka Modo Philo was a famous Legendary Wizard who explored Ancient Ruins and died young under mysterious circumstances.
• Richard recalled Ross’s account of exploring dangerous Ancient Ruins with Tangka and suspected Ross’s treasure might be connected to Tangka’s tomb or the ruins.
• Richard asked Circe how he could learn more about Tangka, and she offered him a handwritten book to read at her home.
• Hai Di brought Circe’s copy of Records of Legends, and Richard opened it to the section about Tangka.

Richard researched Legendary Wizard Tangka’s life and traveled to White Valley to find his true tomb. After ruling out Tangka’s public grave and searching the region for a week, Richard asked about burial sites in Gray Wood Town, where the bartender recognized why he had come.

• Richard learned from records that Tangka had asked to be buried in White Valley, the place he found most comfortable.
• Richard left Faro City and inspected Tangka’s public tomb, confirming with Gaze of the Eye that it was empty.
• Richard searched White Valley for a week and narrowed the remaining possibilities to Black Nail Town and Gray Wood Town.
• Richard arrived in Gray Wood Town, entered its tavern, and asked the bartender about nearby burial places.
• The bartender asked Richard if he had come looking for Wizard Tangka’s real tomb, and Richard raised an eyebrow.

Richard learned that many people searched for Tangka Wizard's real tomb in the Western Mountainous Area, then began scanning the mountain soil with Gaze of the Eye. He continued searching for hours without finding the tomb.

• Richard bought a mug of the bartender's terrible beer, which the bartender drank, then asked about Tangka Wizard's Tomb.
• The bartender told Richard that the tomb was believed to be somewhere near White Valley and that many searchers headed for the Western Mountainous Area.
• Richard decided to search the mountains instead of going to Black Nail Town, despite the tomb's apparent difficulty to find.
• Richard activated Gaze of the Eye and raced through the mountains, examining shallow layers of soil for several hours.

Richard found a passage beneath a mountain and fought his way through its guardian creatures while searching for Wizard Tangka’s tomb. He killed two Black Pythons that tried to ambush him and continued toward the tomb chamber, hoping to find clues left by Blood Wizard Ross.

• Richard uncovered a hidden passage beneath the mountain and entered it protected by his One Armor state.
• Richard destroyed an arrow trap and killed the Giant Centipedes that attacked him with Blood Spears.
• Richard entered a vast cavern, where two Black Pythons lunged at him.
• Richard used experimental Micro Mental Spell Tracking Missiles to expose the Black Pythons’ feigned deaths and kill them.
• Richard stepped over the Black Python corpses and continued toward Tangka’s tomb chamber.

Richard fought through the tomb’s guardians and traps, then reached Tangka’s empty Tomb Chamber and found only powder in a Stone Box. After matching the depression in the powder to the Blood-colored Seal from Ross’s tomb, he used a liquid from a Glass Tube to make an imprint, leaving the contents of the box’s secret unresolved.

• Richard defeated a powerful beetle guardian with his Gloves of Extinction and continued through the tomb, killing other guardians and destroying traps.
• Richard broke into a marble chamber and found a Stone Box labeled Tangka on a central platform, but it contained only yellowish-brown powder and a finger-sized depression.
• Richard compared the depression with the Blood-colored Seal he had taken from Ross’s tomb and found that they seemed to be the same size.
• Richard poured transparent liquid from a Glass Tube into the depression and cooled it until it solidified into a shape.