Chapter Summaries

Alger, Audrey, and Derrick dealt with the costs and consequences of the Tarot Club’s arrangements, while Klein visited Harvest Church seeking the Pharmacist Potion recipe. Bishop Utravsky connected Klein’s acquaintance with Hobart to a divine arrangement and asked him to kill his past self in a dream.

• Alger paid Emperor 2,050 Pounds, weighed whether to explore the ruins alone, and decided to search for a safer route before asking Emperor for help.
• Audrey paid Hobart 700 Pounds and considered investigating Brigadier General Christine’s connection to a Level 0 Sealed Artifact.
• Derrick planned how to obtain three Light Seeker main ingredients without drawing attention.
• Klein went to Harvest Church to ask Bishop Utravsky for the Pharmacist Potion recipe and learned that he had to kill Utravsky’s past self in a dream.
• Utravsky recognized Klein’s connection to Hobart, called him the person Mother Goddess had arranged to save him, and promised a Mystical Item as well as the recipe.

Fors reflected on the Tarot Club gathering while Hobart used his new income and considered his allies’ prayers. He told Fors and Xue that he might leave Backlund to pursue better opportunities, leaving them to prepare for his departure.

• Fors recovered from the gathering and wondered about the Stormy Sea, The Sun, and the Demon behind the serial killings.
• Hobart received 2,750 Pounds from Alger and Audrey, then sacrificed 2,600 Pounds to the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart heard Aputon report that he had returned to Connat and planned to open a Steam Engine showroom at White Rose Street 66.
• Hobart considered whether to involve Aputon in investigating John, but decided the risk was too great, and continued watching Lafite’s prayers.
• Hobart prepared a lavish dinner and told Fors and Xue he might leave Backlund, asking them to find a new rental apartment when he ended the lease.
• Fors toasted Hobart’s future, and Hobart said they could contact him through the Law Firm.

Hobart received the Extraordinary Materials Little Sun had gathered, then used Lafite’s prayers to reveal how he had once been possessed by an evil spirit. He assigned Lafite a task involving a coffin in Connat City, and Lafite resolved to undertake it despite the danger.

• Little Sun gathered the Extraordinary Materials and used The Fool’s sacrifice to pay Emperor, and Hobart sacrificed the materials to the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart and Christine saw Monlisa, Donna, and Tyrone off, then Christine asked Hobart to move back in with her.
• Hobart entered the Country of Disorder and answered Lafite’s prayer, demanding a price for his attention.
• Hobart showed Lafite how an evil spirit had possessed him and how it had been destroyed, explaining that Lafite’s bloodline had drawn his attention.
• Hobart told Lafite to retrieve a small trinket from John’s coffin at Connat Bostan Cemetery, and Lafite decided to go despite suspecting danger.

Hobart received an invitation to join Parliament’s Labor Compensation Law group and planned to bring reporters to its first meeting to publicize the debate. He then accepted Ambassador Tim’s invitation to the Feneport Embassy, where the Psychological Spoon warned him that the meeting was dangerous.

• Hobart moved some belongings to his new home while keeping his old place as a quiet space for sacrifices and Tarot Club meetings.
• Jessica told Hobart that Parliament had invited him to join its Labor Compensation Law group, and Hobart explained that wealthy lawmakers might seek rules they could exploit.
• Hobart accepted the invitation and told Jessica to contact reporters and bring them to the group’s first meeting the following Monday.
• Ambassador Tim’s butler invited Hobart to the Feneport Embassy, and Hobart agreed to go with him.
• At the embassy, Ambassador Tim greeted Hobart, and the Psychological Spoon suddenly grew hot.

Hobart resisted Ambassador Tim’s Sequence 6-level hypnosis while answering questions about the Spirituality Cult and Boton. Tim’s investigation failed to confirm Hobart’s involvement, and he chose not to risk further surveillance because he had a larger plan involving him.

• Hobart recognized Tim’s mental attack as roughly Sequence 6 and pretended that the hypnosis had taken effect.
• Under questioning, Hobart said the Spirituality Cult leaders likely had accomplices, denied killing Boton, and described finding traces of a fight at the agreed meeting place.
• Tim ended the hypnosis, and Hobart left the embassy believing Tim knew little about what had happened.
• Tim’s butler argued that an organization must have killed Boton and the others, but Tim refused to surveil Hobart because Military Intelligence Section 9 might detect them.
• Tim told his butler to inform the Judgment Group that Hobart and his companions could be ruled out as suspects, while the group continued investigating.

Hobart considered how the Judgment Group might investigate him and warned Jessica to be cautious, though she remained confident in her safety. After spotting a Puppet Show performer, Hobart thought of an application for the Country of Disorder, then learned that Christine had received three newly made Mystical Items.

• Hobart reasoned that Tim was watching him and decided he would need to create an alibi before striking back.
• Hobart summoned Jessica and advised her to watch out for the Judgment Group, and she told him she and Kelly trusted him with their hiding place.
• Hobart saw a Puppet Show performer on his way home and wondered whether the man might be a Marionettist, giving him an idea to try in the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart told Christine he would explore an Ancient Tomb with a Mercenary Team, and she advised him to beware of his teammates and possible robbers.
• Christine showed Hobart the finished Dinner Knife, wine cup, and Soup Spoon, and Hobart took the Mystical Items to his room to study them.

Hobart tested and named three Mystical Items, gaining new abilities and preparing for the next day's exploration. He arranged to carry the items in cloth loops sewn into his clothes.

• Hobart tested the Dinner Knife's Travel ability and discovered it could carry him between Queens and the Rental Apartment in seconds.
• Hobart examined the Small Wine Glass's spirit abilities, Underworld Gate, and cold-inducing negative effect, and decided it could replace his Spirit Medium Necklace.
• Hobart tested the Soup Spoon's Steel Skin and Rot abilities, then counteracted and distorted its bloodlust-inducing negative effect.
• Hobart named the items Traveler's Knife, Spirituality Connection Wine Cup, and Living Corpse Soup Spoon.
• Hobart asked the female servant to sew cloth loops into his coat and shirts so he could carry and activate the Mystical Items quickly.

Hobart experimented with using the Country of Disorder to shape Mystical Items into monsters, discovering that some could be controlled and projected into reality. After naming the creatures he created, he wondered what would happen if he used the Nation of Order’s power on the Ancient Death God’s corpse.

• Hobart shaped the Wumo Golden Horn Evil Monster’s skull with the Country of Disorder’s power and created a monster he could command.
• He tested the monster’s mental attacks, Filth Language, and powers of Order, chaos, and Distortion against the vague figure sealed in the pool.
• Hobart concluded that the golden horns could power abilities between Sequence 4 and Sequence 3, and that the monster could remain in reality for about five minutes.
• He found that Old Neil’s eye and the Spawn of Evil God’s Umbilical Cord formed uncontrolled monsters around Sequence 2, which he named the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord and the Holy Infant King; he named the golden-horned creature the Bull Demon King.
• Hobart found that the Black Emperor card and an Extraordinary Characteristic formed lifeless puppets, then considered testing the Nation of Order’s power on the Ancient Death God’s corpse.

Hobart joined Auston's team on an expedition to find an Ancient Tomb in a basin in the mountains northwest of Backlund. After Auston’s team failed to locate it during an earlier search, Hobart used a Sealed Artifact to lead them into the basin.

• Hobart traveled with Auston, Lina, and six other team members toward the mountains, agreeing to follow Auston’s orders while insisting on mutual respect.
• Auston explained that the team had identified an Ancient Tomb in a basin near East Chester County but had searched the area for over a week without finding it.
• After leaving their carriages behind, the team hiked into the basin with their equipment and supplies.
• Hobart took out the Sealed Artifact bracelet that attracted its wearer to Ancient Tombs and led the team through difficult terrain.

Hobart and Auston’s team located an Ancient Tomb beneath a small lake and dug into its passage, where they found the remains of earlier explorers. As the team advanced, a member saw something that filled him with wonder and shot himself, leaving the others facing an unknown danger.

• Hobart used his bracelet to lead Auston to the Ancient Tomb’s entrance beneath the lake.
• Lina sent a spirit to confirm that the entrance was half-open and that previous explorers had died inside.
• Lina directed the team to dig into the Tomb Passage from higher ground, and they reached it by dusk.
• Auston divided the team, then led Hobart, Lina, and three others into the passage to investigate.
• The team found old corpses and their Extraordinary Characteristics, and Auston warned everyone to stay alert.
• After passing a turn, the lead team member exclaimed that he saw a wonderful sight and shot himself with his Revolver.

Hobart led the team through a Tomb Passage trap tied to an Oil Painting and killed the monster that emerged from it. After Hobart said the passage was safe, the team noticed a human figure still visible in the landscape painting.

• Auston asked what the team had seen, and Hobart realized Lina's Spirit Vision had failed to detect the curse affecting the dead explorer.
• Auston tested the passage with his eyes closed and found that resisting the urge to look ahead let him endure its effects.
• Hobart warned the team that closing their eyes could trigger another trap and volunteered to lead the way.
• Hobart saw a landscape painting come alive, blocked the monster's Curse with his Pocket Watch Key, and fought the headless creature.
• Hobart blinded the monster with his Tang Sword and killed it, then told the team the trap was destroyed.
• The team rounded the corner and saw a human figure at the far end of the grassland in the painting.

Hobart and Auston’s group entered the Grave Owner’s Tomb Chamber, gathered burial objects, and opened the Stone Coffin despite its warning of a Curse. They found only a corpse and a dusty book, then discovered that an extra mercenary had appeared in the chamber as the temperature dropped.

• Hobart and Auston destroyed the two Stone Statues guarding the passage, and Auston collected their red eyes and the Skeletons’ Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Hobart cut an opening through the Tomb Doors, and the group entered the Tomb Chamber after Lina confirmed there were no Vengeful Spirits.
• Auston and his Subordinates gathered burial objects and found a Mystical Necklace, then discovered a warning against opening the Stone Coffin.
• Auston, his Subordinates, and Hobart pried open the coffin and found a corpse and a dusty book, but no Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Hobart noticed an extra mercenary in the Tomb Chamber, and the man called Pete ignored Auston while the guard at the door denied being called; the temperature suddenly plunged.

Hobart saved Auston from a disguised creature in the tomb and exposed Lina as an enemy agent. With powerful foes guarding the exit, Hobart planned to stay behind and fight while Auston and the others escaped.

• Hobart cut down the Human-Skin Nether Shadow before it could embrace Auston, and the group hurried toward the surface after hearing a gunshot.
• Lina stabbed at Auston, but he seized her and used Spirit Piercing and Whip of Pain to subdue her before an enemy's Dawn Sword forced him to let go.
• Pete shot Lina as she fled through the passage, while Hobart sensed several Beyonders, including a Sequence 5, waiting outside.
• Hobart persuaded Auston and the others to retreat into the tomb and rest, explaining that his Mystical Item could send them to the surface.
• Auston agreed to divide the portable spoils and flee in separate directions, but Hobart revealed that he intended to walk out and hunt the enemies himself.

Auston and his two mercenaries chose to join Hobart’s risky counterattack against the Guardian’s forces. Hobart ambushed the enemy camp, wounded a Sequence 6 Conspirator, and disrupted the Guardian with his abilities, leaving the battle underway.

• Auston decided to join Hobart’s counterattack to avenge Roy, and Pete and the other mercenary volunteered as well.
• Hobart explained his battle plan while the Guardian’s group waited outside the Tomb Passage, expecting the trapped mercenaries to emerge.
• Auston used the Teleport Stone Statue to send Hobart behind a Sequence 6 Conspirator at the enemy camp.
• Hobart stabbed the Conspirator with his Tang Sword, then summoned a massive tree with Order to block the Guardian’s attack.
• Hobart cut off several of the Conspirator’s fingers and used Loss of Control and Weaken against the Guardian and the approaching enemies.

Hobart ambushed the Guardian’s group and used Flash to isolate and kill one enemy while another lost control. After the Guardian and Conspirator cornered him, Hobart turned the fight around with Distortion, stole the Guardian’s Dawn Light, and disrupted both enemies with Frenzy and Underworld Gate.

• Hobart’s ambush weakened the Guardian, left a Sequence 7 dazed, and caused a Sequence 8 to lose control.
• Hobart used Flash to evade the Conspirator’s fireball and kill a Sequence 8 guarding the entrance.
• The Guardian and Conspirator coordinated their attacks and trapped Hobart within their range after he exhausted all five uses of Flash.
• Hobart used Distortion beneath the Order Wood to redirect the Conspirator’s whip and escape their pincer attack.
• Hobart stole the Guardian’s Dawn Light with a Pocket Watch and used Frenzy to make the Guardian miss his strike.
• Hobart distorted the Conspirator’s whip and summoned Underworld Gate, filling the Conspirator with terror.

Hobart used Underworld Gate and the Tang Sword to incapacitate Conspirator, but Guardian and a Sequence 7 kept him from finishing the fight. Auston, Pete, their allies, and Roy then turned the battle elsewhere in their favor, leaving Guardian stunned by the sudden reversal.

• Hobart summoned Underworld Gate, worsening Conspirator's Tang Sword wound, while Guardian blocked Hobart's attacks and protected him.
• Hobart withdrew Underworld Gate as his spirituality waned, leaving Conspirator unable to fight and Guardian ready to attack again.
• Hobart used Distortion to evade Guardian's slash and withstand three shots, then called for Auston and the others to act.
• Pete used an Oil Painting to curse two enemies, and he and the monster helped kill a nearby Sequence 8.
• Auston attacked Undead Instructor while Pete's companions joined the fight, and Roy appeared to weaken Undead Instructor.
• Guardian watched the battle turn against his side and was shocked by the sudden reversal.

Hobart drove Guardian and his Subordinates into retreat, then killed the remaining monsters and helped the survivors recover. The team found Virgil dead and returned to camp, where Auston discovered Lina’s corpse in a tent.

• Guardian ordered his group to retreat behind the Dawn Bulwark, and Hobart let them escape rather than risk pursuing them alone.
• Hobart killed the two monsters left on the battlefield and healed Roy, who told him that Virgil had been wounded during the camp attack.
• Hobart and the others found Virgil dead, and Auston collected his Extraordinary Characteristics while the team carried the body back to camp.
• Hobart told Auston and the others to stay at camp and move the items out of the Tomb Chamber, then collected the monsters’ Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Auston began preparing to bury his two Subordinates and discovered Lina’s corpse inside the tent.

Hobart used Spirit Communication to learn that Lina had mysteriously committed suicide and that her attackers belonged to the Intersea Mutual Aid Society. As Auston resolved to stay in Backlund, Roy left the Tomb Chamber, where the remaining candle suddenly flared green.

• Hobart found Lina dead in her tent with the words “Curse in the Dream” written in blood, and Auston identified her death as suicide.
• Hobart used Spirit Communication on a dead Sequence 8 and learned Lina had calmly reported on the Tomb Passage before later taking her own life.
• Hobart discovered that the Sequence 8 belonged to the Intersea Mutual Aid Society, and Auston decided to remain in Backlund.
• Hobart explained that Lina had used spirits to relay information to the Undead Instructor and her other companions.
• Roy and the two mercenaries finished collecting their gains and left the Tomb Chamber, after which its candle flared a terrifying green.

After surviving the tomb raid, Hobart returned toward Backlund with Auston’s group and learned that the Madness Magician had been searching for Henry’s family. He planned to stay home and at the office to avoid drawing the magician’s attention as the source of a discordance in Backlund.

• Roy and the others buried their dead companions, recovered the carriages, and traveled through the night toward Backlund.
• Auston distributed the tomb’s spoils, gave Hobart his chosen items, and asked where he could contact him for future help.
• Hobart watched the survivors sleep without signs of the Grave Owner’s Curse, then left the carriage near Henry’s abandoned family villa.
• Hobart used a Necklace to take Pete’s appearance and spoke with Mr. Polly, who confirmed that a gray-haired traveler had asked about Henry’s family.
• Hobart drew the Madness Magician’s likeness, and Polly recognized him and recalled that he had sensed a discordance whose source was in Backlund.
• Hobart thanked Polly and decided to remain at home and the office for the next few days to avoid the Madness Magician.

Hobart discovered that the Oil Painting had moved on its own and realized it was connected to a dangerous dream. He and Christine entered the painting’s Dream World and found statues of people Hobart knew, including Lina and the mercenary who had died in the Tomb Passage.

• Hobart returned home after the battle and reviewed how he could improve his use of his Extraordinary Abilities and Mystical Items.
• Hobart noticed the Oil Painting had moved to the foot of his bed and realized his sudden urge to urinate had warned him not to fall asleep.
• Hobart told Christine about the painting and the Monster in the Painting, and Christine identified it as a possible connection to a High Sequence Beyonder’s dream.
• Christine and Hobart entered the painting and used Hobart’s 'travel' to reach the black grand hall at the center of the Dream World.
• Christine shielded them from the mural monsters’ curses, then drove the monsters back into the murals with Ripples of Sleep.
• Hobart found wooden statues of himself, Auston, Pete, the Guardian, and others, along with broken statues of Lina and the mercenary, and remembered Lina’s warning about the Curse in the Dream.