Chapter Summaries

Moss treated Aaron and Shirley, freed the captive children, and offered them work after they worried about having nowhere to go. She warned them that any benefit would come at a price.

• Aaron and Shirley thanked Moss after she treated them and sent them into the Kin Space.
• Moss told the children that the slave merchants were dealt with, offered to take them to Hill City, and gave them food and shelter until dawn.
• The children worried that they had nowhere to go and discussed asking Moss for help.
• Royte approached Moss, and she offered the children work; they eagerly agreed and asked whether they would be paid.
• Moss warned the children not to agree so readily and said they would have to pay a corresponding price for any benefit.

Moss offered the rescued children food, education, and eventual freedom in exchange for five years of work after adulthood, warning that the contract could cost them their lives. Thirty-five children accepted and were teleported to Regis, who enrolled them in his organization, Lost Children.

• Moss warned the children about the dangers and consequences of signing her contract, and thirty-five of them, including Royt, agreed.
• Moss sent the children to the Kin Space with Storage Ring and instructed it to deliver them to Regis.
• Storage Ring teleported the children to Regis's study in Hornsbit City and told him to take care of them.
• Regis had the children press their fingerprints onto a contract, then added his own fingerprint to complete it.
• The contract marked the children with numerical tattoos, and Regis welcomed them to Lost Children and told them to forget their names.

Moss freed the children, returned to the Green Vine Flower Inn, and received an invitation from First Captain Korelinus to a banquet. She discovered that Umeilu’s Magic Power was reshaping her while she slept, suggesting she was evolving, just as someone knocked at the door.

• At daybreak, Moss left the children with money and told them to seek help from the Adventurer's Guild if they wanted to pursue power.
• Moss secretly had small rats watch the children for signs of the Underground Slave Merchant's accomplices, then returned to the Green Vine Flower Inn.
• Rowan told Moss that a young man dressed in black had left her a letter inviting her to a banquet hosted by First Captain Korelinus.
• Moss wondered whether the invitation was connected to Jahari Ligu Esyin, the Imperial News Propaganda Department, or the First Prince, but decided she could not be sure.
• Moss checked on the still-sleeping Umeilu and found that her active Magic Power was reshaping her body, possibly causing her to evolve.
• Someone knocked on Moss's door.

Moss learned that the First and Second Princes were using the subjugation campaign as a political wager, weakening the force sent to protect civilians. After Novi declared that she would stay in the mission to pursue a count’s title, Moss became interested in how the Second Prince might corrupt the empire’s nobles.

• Celia served Moss and Novi Honey Glazed Carrot Pan-Fried Meat, and Moss revealed that she had expected Novi to visit after seeing a letter.
• Novi told Moss that the Second Prince was involved in the subjugation campaign and explained that the princes’ rivalry was tied to the succession and their ducal allies.
• Novi said six of the ten squads had withdrawn, leaving the First, Third, Fourth, and Eighth Squads to participate; Fred of the Eighth Squad supported the First Prince, while the Third Squad remained neutral.
• Moss decided to join the campaign to collect progress-bar energy in case she needed to escape danger.
• Novi said she would remain in the mission because she needed a count’s title, and she asked Moss to help her.
• After Novi left, Moss wondered how badly the Second Prince would taint the empire’s nobles.

Moss recovered her sight and discovered that the little mice’s prayers had restored her soul through a newly revealed Power of Faith effect. After learning of these changes, she went to meet Cole Howarth, who had arrived to escort her to a banquet.

• Moss found that her recovered eyes enhanced her vision and improved her Mana Control and Swift Casting talents, while revealing the unsealed Pitch-Black Demonic Eye.
• Moss realized that Aaron and Shirley had taught the little mice to pray, and their worship had sent warmth through her contract and repaired her soul.
• Moss saw that the Kin panel had gained a sixth effect called Power of Faith, though its details remained unreadable.
• Moss watched Cole Howarth arrive at the inn and left with him for the banquet after greeting him.

Moss traveled aboard Novi’s Floating Ship toward the Nanxi Hill Rock Mountain Range while recalling the banquet at the City Lord’s residence, where she questioned Korelinus about First Squad’s loyalties. After a clash erupted outside, Moss went after the commotion with pastries in hand.

• Moss asked Novi for breakfast aboard the ship and watched another Floating Ship bearing the Fourth Squad insignia approach.
• Moss recalled arriving at the City Lord’s residence and observing the rival squads’ tense gathering before entering the castle hall.
• Korelinus greeted Moss, and Moss asked whose side First Squad represented; Korelinus said it represented the Emperor.
• Moss pointed out that a fight had broken out in the front courtyard, and Korelinus hurried outside to intervene.
• Moss grabbed pastries and followed Korelinus toward the commotion, eager to watch the fight.

Fred and Northus fought fiercely in the courtyard until Korelinus intervened with her puppets and ordered them to stop. She accused Fred of hiding his true motives and warned that no one could die before the mission ended.

• Fred attacked Northus, blaming him for murdering their clansmen, while Northus mocked Fred and fought back with his blood-coated sword.
• Molly watched the duel with Novi, ate pastries, and cheered for Fred as other spectators shouted bets and encouragement.
• Korelinus entered the battlefield and surrounded the fighters with armed puppets, forcing Northus to surrender.
• Fred threatened Korelinus and insisted he would kill Northus, but she accused him of scheming and reminded him that the emperor was in power.
• Korelinus warned Fred that she would fight him if he continued, and ordered that no one be killed before the mission ended.

Fred ended his confrontation with Korelinus and left after exchanging tense words with Hezley, while Moss watched Hezley and Northus with interest. After eating at Korelinus’s outdoor banquet, Moss gave Novi two powerful new products from her merchant guild: Mana Furnace and Life Baptism.

• Fred put away his greatsword, greeted Hezley de Franklin, and warned that the conflict between their families was not settled.
• Fred left, and Korelinus returned to the hall while Novi identified Hezley as a representative of the Franklin family and Northus as a formidable fighter.
• Novi discovered Moss had left the balcony to join the outdoor banquet, where Moss watched Hezley and Northus and murmured that they were interesting.
• After finishing a huge meal, Moss gave Novi two bottles as payment and introduced Mana Furnace, which restored magic power, and Life Baptism, which rapidly healed injuries.

Moss offered Novi powerful Concentrated Gel potions, but their discussion was interrupted when they saw General Angsa’s army caught in an explosion. As the commanders debated whether to provide artillery support without locating the Rockscale Dragon, Moss warned that the Boundary God Cult’s weak-looking force was a feint.

• Moss offered Novi two bottles of Concentrated Gel and said she had plenty of the ordinary version, while her merchant guild had not yet been named.
• Moss and Novi spotted a mushroom cloud in the mountains, and Novi recognized General Angsa’s army at the border.
• Novi learned from Korelinus that the intelligence force had lost contact and suspected the enemy had laid a trap.
• Fred and Hezley urged the Floating Ship to support Angsa, but Novi warned that firing its cannons would weaken its shield while the Rockscale Dragon remained unlocated.
• Korelinus ordered a new intelligence force to investigate, and Moss argued that the Boundary God Cult’s weak fighters were drawing their attention as a feint.

Moss recognized the enemy’s attack as a feint and warned that the Rockscale Dragon was not nearby, but a Blood Sacrifice Ritual soon flared in the Rocky Mountain Region. While Korelinus and the squads headed to stop it, Angsa ended the battle with the Heretics, and the blood-red pillar continued to brighten.

• Moss said the Rockscale Dragon was absent and cautioned that the enemy might be delaying them, just before a red pillar of light appeared in the distance.
• Novi identified the light as the Boundary God Cult’s Blood Sacrifice Ritual and urged the squad leaders to stop it.
• Heretics repeatedly detonated themselves to stall the army, while Fred’s ship fired on them despite Hezley urging the squads to head for the Rocky Mountain Region.
• Korelinus halted Fred’s bombardment, ordered the Floating Ships toward the ritual, and instructed Angsa to join them after reinforcements arrived.
• Angsa used Lion King: Tremor Slash to sweep away the Heretics’ attacks, then ordered his soldiers to clear the battlefield as the red light grew brighter.

Novi’s Floating Ships bombarded the Blood Sacrifice Ritual, disrupting it and destroying the monsters emerging from the World Gates. As a powerful attacker appeared and Moss intercepted its strike, Moss recognized the resurrected Aster, who had just awakened and claimed to be displeased at meeting her again.

• Novi ordered the four Floating Ships to fire on the blood-red barrier surrounding the ritual, while Moss watched from the deck.
• The first barrage failed to break the barrier, but a second bombardment disrupted the pillar of light and made the Rockscale Dragon struggle.
• Novi explained that the ritual’s scattered Magic Power had unlocked nearby World Gates, and the ships blasted the newly emerging monsters for nearly five minutes.
• Moss’s familiars secretly collected magic cores as monsters continued pouring through the gates, while Moss and Novi watched the battle.
• A violet flash struck from the mountains, and Moss redirected the devastating attack before it could hit the Floating Ships.
• A winged figure appeared before Moss, and she recognized it as Aster, the person she had burned to ash.

Moss fought Aster in a brutal aerial duel while the Floating Ships reached the basin where the Boundary God Cult’s Blood Sacrifice Ritual held the Rockscale Dragon. The ritual shattered, releasing the Giant Beast and setting the larger battle in motion.

• Moss left Novi to face Aster and flew away as his God's Spear pursued her.
• Moss shattered Aster's light spear, then traded hundreds of blows with him in a fierce aerial battle.
• Novi and the ship's crew watched the duel as Korelinus ordered them to prepare for combat.
• The Floating Ship reached the basin, where the Blood Sacrifice Ritual binding the Rockscale Dragon broke apart.
• The freed Rockscale Dragon crushed Boundary God Cult members with stone spikes, and Novi prepared for the battle as Moss and Aster's fight reached its climax.

Moss fought Aster through a storm as he questioned her rapidly increasing strength and unleashed his Heavenly God's Lightning. She absorbed the attack with her Flesh Modification Glutton, then revealed she had been holding back and prepared to kill him again.

• Moss and Aster traded powerful attacks in the sky, and Moss taunted him as he grew angry.
• Aster wondered who Moss really was and used his Heavenly God's Lightning against her.
• Moss let the Lightning Spear pierce and destroy her hand, then devoured its Magic Power and restored herself.
• Moss said the rain favored her, activated Limit Break and Pitch-Black Demonic Eye, and challenged Aster with Sorcerer Expansion.

Moss used Flowing Water Style to evade Aster’s attacks and turn their close-range fight to her advantage. After baiting Aster into an opening, she struck him with Rat Tail Whip, sending him falling toward the ground.

• Moss vanished from Aster’s lightning attack, crushed him against a mountainside with gravity, and battered the collapsed slope with Explosive Pierce: Flowing Remnant Light: Thousand Stars.
• Aster charged Moss with his Lightning Spear, but she used flowing water around her leg to block its lightning and repeatedly kick him.
• Moss’s kicks knocked Aster’s spear off course and put him at a disadvantage in their close-range fight.
• Moss kicked Aster’s Lightning Spear aside three times, then spun to strike his face with Rat Tail Whip after he attacked the opening she had deliberately exposed.

Moss used her newly tested Magic Eyes to overpower Aster and burn him to death. She stood unharmed in the rain as his remains dissolved into Mana Essence, contemplating the eyes’ power.

• Moss struck Aster into the ground and prepared to test the Magic Eyes as distant explosions and a draconian roar urged her to hurry.
• Aster summoned the power of the gods, but Moss interrupted his attack and slammed him into the earth with Explosive Water Style: Thousand Leaf Shatter: Ripple.
• Moss’s pupils shifted from sky blue to crimson, and she unleashed Overheat Blast, scorching the battlefield and destroying Aster’s wings.
• Moss restrained Aster with distorted gravity, ignored the superheated steam with Observation Veil, and burned him to a skeleton.
• Aster’s remains disintegrated into Mana Essence as Moss stood in the rain and marveled at the Magic Eyes.

Moss discovered that her Magic Eye could convert one element into another with little energy, though the ability entered a ten-second cooldown. When she returned to the battlefield, the Rockscale Dragon had destroyed a Floating Ship and wounded Fred, and Moss flew toward Novi as the battle continued.

• Moss tested her Magic Eye’s Elemental Transmutation and noted its ten-second cooldown.
• Moss returned to find the Rockscale Dragon fighting the four captains and four Floating Ships despite having lost a third of its Magic Power.
• The Rockscale Dragon attacked a Floating Ship, bit it apart, and hurled its broken halves into the mountains, killing the crew aboard.
• Fred wounded the Rockscale Dragon’s right foreleg with a Sword of Severing, then was struck into a mountainside by the dragon’s stone pillars.
• Moss judged the Rockscale Dragon difficult to defeat and flew toward Novi on a distant mountaintop.

Novi and her team struggled to contain the rampaging Rockscale Dragon as monsters poured from the mountain gates and the beast turned its attack toward their Floating Ships. Just as Novi faced the dragon’s fall, Moss unleashed a freezing spell to restrict it.

• Moss returned to Novi after completing her task, and Novi explained that their attacks had barely affected the Rockscale Dragon.
• Novi shot a monster climbing onto the mountaintop while noting that unsealed World Gates were flooding the mountains with more monsters.
• Fred emerged from the rubble and announced that he would act as bait, then leaped toward the Rockscale Dragon.
• The dragon shattered a mountain with its tail, sending a storm of rocks toward Novi and the First and Third Ships; Novi blasted the stones apart with repeated explosive arrows.
• The Rockscale Dragon changed direction and plunged toward the Floating Ships, leaving Novi unable to stop it as Fred shouted over the communication crystal.
• Moss appeared beside Novi, froze the surroundings, and cast Artful Frost of Freezing.

Moss used an enormous ice tree to repel the Rockscale Dragon and save Novi, though she suspected the attack had not ended and sensed concealed killing intent. The ships retreated while Moss wondered who was hiding near the First and Fourth Captains.

• Moss raised a giant ice tree that struck the Rockscale Dragon and hurled it into a mountain, saving the battlefield forces.
• Hezley recognized Moss's freezing magic as Flame Magic, while Korelinus realized the ice tree had consumed the mountain through Mana Conversion and suspected Moss possessed the Unique Skill 'Magecraft.'
• Novi opened her eyes beneath the ice tree, thanked Moss for helping her, and heard Moss regret that she had used too much force and sent the dragon flying.
• Moss noticed that the Rockscale Dragon seemed at least twenty percent lighter than expected, while Novi ordered the ships to retreat thirty kilometers and attack only from long range.
• Moss sensed that the Sacrifice Ritual was still active and wondered who was concealing murderous intent near the First and Fourth Captains.

As the Rockscale Dragon thrashed helplessly, Korelinus coordinated the captains’ attacks and prepared Novi to strike its head. Moss unleashed ancient ice magic while Novi fired her charged arrow, leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• The Rockscale Dragon spun and lashed its tail, scattering rocks and forcing Novi to evade both debris and multiplying monsters.
• Korelinus regrouped the team and told them to focus their attacks on the Rockscale Dragon’s head, while Fred’s sword strike only made the beast thrash faster.
• Novi charged a Magic Power arrow as Korelinus asked Moss to restrain the Rockscale Dragon during the attack.
• Moss summoned ancient magic that turned the rain into enormous falling icicles, while Northus watched with a cold expression and murmured about Divine Favor.
• Novi released her Hunting Demon Arrow toward the Rockscale Dragon as the ice pillars crashed down.

Novi, Moss, Korelinus, Hezley, and Fred combined their attacks to freeze and badly injure the Rockscale Dragon. Just as victory seemed near, a thousand-meter World Gate rose from the beast’s body, leaving the fighters stunned.

• Novi struck the Rockscale Dragon with a powerful Magic arrow, stopping its spinning charge.
• Moss froze the Rockscale Dragon with an Ice Pillar and freezing mist, and Korelinus ordered the second phase of the attack.
• Korelinus and her puppets unleashed a barrage, Hezley cast Crimson Nova, and Fred attacked with his Severing Sword as the three Floating Ships joined the assault.
• Moss sensed something was wrong, descended to the ground, and watched as a thousand-meter World Gate rose from the Rockscale Dragon’s body.