Chapter Summaries

Hobart told the Tarot Club how he and the Creator’s forces helped stop the Backlund Great Smog, then revealed the Royal Family’s ties to slave traders and George III’s ambition to become a god. The gathering ended with Klein introducing Emlyn as the new member, Mr. Moon.

• Hobart welcomed Bishop Dick’s delegation to Jeffrey Town, where the locals gave the clergy a cold reception.
• Hobart enjoyed dumplings with Fors and Donna, then prepared to attend the Tarot Club gathering while Donna worked on tax rules for Jeffrey Territory.
• At the gathering, Audrey praised the Fool and World for helping stop the Primordial Witch’s awakening and the True Creator’s attempted descent, and Hobart described his own near-fatal battle during the Great Smog.
• Hobart showed the members the East End’s devastation and warned that the Royal Family’s ongoing cooperation with the Demoness Church and Aurora Society could cause further disasters.
• World identified Baron as a slave trader in Backlund who had met with a Royal Family loyalist, and Hobart revealed that George III wanted to become a god.
• Hobart declined to explain the full conspiracy, charged Emlyn two thousand pounds to learn more, and Klein introduced Emlyn as Mr. Moon.

At a Tarot Club gathering, Derrick described how Silver City escaped a cycle and revealed clues about the Kings of Angels. Hobart sold the group information about the eight Kings, including the origins of several who became gods, and left them realizing Adam and Amon were descendants of the Ancient Sun God; the author then added a note about update requests.

• Fors provided three pages of Rosell's diary entries, and Klein read them before opening the gathering.
• Derrick thanked the Fool and Hobart for help that let Silver City resolve its cycle after two attempts, then recounted the mural of the Redemption Rose and the clues about Uroboros and Amon.
• Audrey, Derrick, Alger, Fors, and the World pooled 5,000 pounds to buy Hobart's information about the other six Kings of Angels.
• Hobart named Sasrir, Aucuses, Leodero, Herabergen, Adam, and Medici, then revealed that Leodero, Aucuses, and Herabergen became the Storms, Sun, and Knowledge and Wisdom gods.
• Hobart explained that Amon and Adam were descendants of the Ancient Sun God, and the members inferred that they had been born to remove excess Extraordinary Characteristics.
• The author explained that extra chapters depended on available time and promised to try to write and update more.

Hobart traded information and Beyonder materials at the Tarot Club, including details about the Kings of Angels and a major offer to the Sanguine. He then revealed to Klein and Audrey that Adam, leader of the Twilight Hermits Society, was preparing to become a True God.

• Hobart explained that Adam and Amon were born as Kings of Angels, described Medici and Sasrir, and had members forget information about Adam and Amon after the transaction.
• Emlyn arranged to seek an Elder Tree fruit for Audrey and admitted that he was a pure-blooded Sanguine.
• Hobart offered Emlyn several Sanguine-related Extraordinary Characteristics and persuaded him to present the deal to the Sanguine higher-ups.
• Audrey and World paid to learn about the Twilight Hermits Society, and Hobart identified Hermes and Rosell as members.
• Hobart revealed that Adam was preparing to advance to True God, shocking Klein.

At the Tarot Club, Hobart explained Adam’s plans, the Twilight Hermits Society, and the pressures behind George III’s bid for godhood, while Klein arranged contact with Sharon. After the gathering, Klein completed the exchange with Hobart, who counted his profits and awaited Little Sun’s promised materials.

• Hobart revealed that Adam needed 0-08 to become a god, that Hermes was alive and connected to the Psychological Alchemy Society, and that George III’s bid for godhood was supported by Adam and tied to a coming torrent of the times.
• Hobart described how industrial overproduction and widening inequality were fueling conflicts, declined to explain George III’s role, and told Audrey she could eventually reach Sequence 1 of their pathway.
• Hobart hypnotized Audrey and The World to make them forget the information about Adam, then The World gave Hobart instructions for contacting Sharon through Bravehearts Bar.
• Alger persuaded the Tarot Club to abandon Little Sun’s proposed prayer gesture, and Klein ended the gathering.
• Emlyn considered the possible Sanguine purchase of Hobart’s Extraordinary Characteristic, while Klein hypnotized himself, completed Hobart’s payment and Bestowal Ritual, and prepared to travel to Pritz Harbor.
• Hobart counted 5,000 pounds from the gathering and arranged to receive thirty-two Extraordinary Materials from Little Sun over the coming week.

Hobart strengthened his control over Jeffrey Territory, began planning a timber operation, and proposed using the Gnostic Society to help the Earth Mother Church eliminate the Blood Worshipping Sect in exchange for a path to demigodhood for Bishop Simpson. Meanwhile, Selena’s family arrived at Bokelon Manor despite a mysterious warning, and Selena finally recognized that something was wrong as sinister laughter filled the hall.

• Hobart confirmed that Full Moon Lake was free of pollution, sent Bishop Dick’s delegation away, and later welcomed Bishop Simpson to discuss cooperation.
• Hobart led the Jeffrey Army against pirate groups on Shipyard Island, found a promising logging site, and returned with fish and modest spoils.
• Hobart proposed that Bishop Simpson cooperate with the Gnostic Society to defeat the Blood Worshipping Sect’s demigod and secure the Sequence 4 Devil’s Extraordinary Characteristics as a promotion opportunity.
• Selena and the Wood family heard a warning not to visit Bokelon Manor, but they continued there and Selena noticed the manager’s unnatural, puppet-like expression.
• Selena forgot what had alarmed her at the manor, then saw the hall agent’s exaggerated smile and heard sinister laughter rising around her.

Selena discovered that her nightmare about the strange guests and living fog had left clues at Bokelon Manor, where Harold warned her to flee. After learning that Selena was contaminated, Hobart traveled to the manor, obtained a mysterious Sealed Artifact, and entered under a false investigation pretext to find her.

• In Selena’s dream, a living fog chased her through the woods, but she awoke in the reception hall and found snow and mud on her shoes.
• Selena spotted two snowmen resembling the figures from her dream, found Harold, and heard him warn her to escape the manor and cross the Pine Forest to a village.
• Hobart told Helen that the Earth Mother Church would cooperate with the Gnostic Society if it helped kill a demigod, then received Selena’s letter and learned she was contaminated by something bearing a Seer’s scent.
• Hobart traveled to Bokelon Manor, where a severed hand gave him a bracelet that could create lethal dream monsters, and he used the Goddess of the Night Church’s police identification to enter the manor.
• Hobart claimed he was searching for a disguised swindler and named Gehrman Sparrow as one of the criminal’s aliases.

Hobart investigated Bokelon Manor, discovered that hidden contamination covered the estate, and learned that Selena and other guests had been drawn back after fleeing in their dreams. As the Red Gloves investigated the manor’s hot spring and lake, Hobart followed the Hunting Squad into the pine forest and found two huge cocoons after their contamination began to recede.

• Hobart spoke with Harold, who warned him to flee the manor and pointed him toward the Public Hot Spring, the Pine Forest, and the lake as places with strange activity.
• Daly and the Red Gloves arrived at the manor, and Leonard confronted Hobart; Hobart shared what he knew before escaping with the oil painting when Leonard suspected him of being the contamination source.
• Hobart entered the Country of Disorder, saw white-mist contamination covering the manor and woods, and decided to search for Selena while cleansing himself every hour.
• Hobart joined a monster-like Hunting Squad and learned that Selena, Vina, and others had dreamed of chasing one another through the forest before being pulled back.
• Leonard investigated the Public Hot Spring, where a seaweed-covered creature paralyzed the guests with toxins before vanishing into the water.
• Hobart watched gray moths cover the Hunting Squad and feed on their contamination, then followed a distress whistle into the pine forest and found two huge cocoons on a tree.

Hobart joined the Red Gloves to investigate the contamination at Bokelon Manor, rescued two team members, and killed a monster in the hot spring that described a strange fog and a village beyond the mountain. The group moved on to the lake, where Hobart flew into the mist to investigate a child's cry and found a monstrous fish with a little boy growing from its head.

• Hobart rescued two unconscious Red Gloves members, and the team learned that Selena had gone missing.
• Daly agreed to cooperate with Hobart after Leonard recognized the Oil Painting he carried, and Hobart proposed investigating the suspicious locations one by one.
• Hobart and Leonard lured the hot-spring monster out; Hobart defeated it and learned that a strange fog had changed people, some of whom later returned from a village beyond the mountain.
• Leonard suspected the contamination came from a corrupted Seer pathway Saint or Angel using Spirituality Threads, and Hobart agreed to avoid confronting its source until reinforcements arrived.
• At the lake, Hobart flew into the mist in response to a child's cry and discovered a monstrous fish with a little boy growing from its head.

Hobart and the Red Gloves traced the contamination at Bokelon Manor to the Mist Demon Wolf, then fought its moths and learned it had spread contamination through the region. Hobart drove off the Mist Demon Wolf, rescued Selena, and recognized that the white mist responsible was the Mist of Uncertainty.

• Hobart and the Red Gloves learned from a strange fish that a wolf-shaped presence in the white mist had caused the contamination, and identified it as the Mist Demon Wolf.
• At the manor, Hobart and the Red Gloves killed two moth monsters that had once been their missing companions, then found a forest filled with cocoons and gray moths.
• Hobart, Daly, and Leonard fought a giant illusion-casting moth and confronted the Mist Demon Wolf, who revealed that it had transferred its contamination to people and that Selena was still wandering nearby.
• Hobart and Daly used the oil painting and 1-068 to disrupt the Mist Demon Wolf's escape, but it switched places with a moth and fled; Hobart then went to search for Selena.
• Hobart found Selena and recognized a symbol she had drawn as the Mist of Uncertainty, realizing that the white mist had contaminated the Mist Demon Wolf and that the same-origin mist had nourished his Country of Disorder.

Hobart made a deal with Daly to stop the Mist Demon Wolf’s marionettes in exchange for their Extraordinary Characteristics, then drew the Mist of Uncertainty’s projection into the Country of Disorder and destroyed it. After the Night Church asked the Goddess of the Night to cleanse the surviving tourists’ contamination, her reply directed them to Hobart, leaving him responsible for treating them.

• Hobart returned to the manor with Selena and agreed with Daly to stop the marionettes in exchange for their Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Hobart used the Creator’s power to drain the marionettes’ white mist, killing them and crushing the Mist of Uncertainty’s projection inside the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart collected ten Extraordinary Characteristics and four Extraordinary Materials, while Daly and Leonard emerged from the reception hall.
• A tourist began transforming from contamination, and Leonard killed him before Daly gathered the others to pray to the Goddess of the Night.
• The Goddess of the Night answered Daly’s prayer through spilled coffee, telling her that Hobart should remove the contamination because he already had her blessing.

Hobart cleared the Mist of Uncertainty’s contamination from the travelers and moths at Bokelon Manor, then negotiated with Daly and Leonard about resuming trade with the Red Gloves. Back at his territory, he examined the spoils and inferred that Tamara and her family might be connected to the Mist of Uncertainty, before learning that Little Sun had repaid Emperor.

• Daly received a message from the Goddess of the Night instructing Hobart to remove the contamination, and Hobart agreed to help her and Leonard.
• Hobart drew the contamination from the travelers and moths, while the Mist Demon Wolf sensed the loss and fled.
• Hobart acknowledged his identity to Daly and Leonard, arranged to trade Extraordinary Characteristics through the Red Gloves, and left them his messenger’s summoning method.
• Hobart inspected the spoils in the Country of Disorder and found a demigod-level Demon Hunter characteristic among the marionettes’ characteristics.
• Hobart analyzed the Mist of Uncertainty and the Tamara Family, concluding that Tamara might still be a Sequence 2 Balancer and that her family might serve as an Outer Deity’s forward base.
• Hobart received a notification from The Fool that Little Sun had paid the debt and compensation owed to Emperor.

Hobart learned the identities of his Extraordinary Materials, managed Jeffrey Territory’s growing population and reorganized its administration, while Derrick’s unusual weapon raised Colin’s suspicions. In Bayam, Raft joined Tony Manor as a tutor but found himself repeatedly unable to leave at night.

• Hobart received Edwina’s chart and letter, asked her to identify five types of Extraordinary Materials, and later sent her a notebook of Fourth Epoch anecdotes in thanks.
• Derrick claimed he had won the Provocation Warhammer in battle, and Colin gave him extra merit before discovering the weapon’s stains wiped clean and deciding to let him act freely.
• Hobart arranged land, housing, and work for newcomers to Jeffrey Territory, appointed Conrad town chief, and assigned new administrative roles to Philip, Roy, and Allen.
• Raft passed the tutor assessment at Tony Manor and gained Master Tony’s approval, intending to use the position to cover his criminal plans and advance his potions.
• After nightfall, Raft repeatedly tried to leave Tony Manor for Bayam but inexplicably returned to his room, unable to remember what felt wrong.

Hobart established the Special Operations Department, recruited Extraordinary members from the Tudor Family and the Gnostic Society, and negotiated over valuable Extraordinary Characteristics. After a Tudor elder’s attempt to intimidate him failed, Hobart demonstrated his resources to the new recruits, leaving them impressed by the rewards he could provide.

• Hobart explained to Dennis how a Town Government, controlled through finances and appointments and checked by a Supervisory Agency, could administer Jeffrey Territory.
• Angus returned with eight Tudor Family Extraordinary members and an elder, and Hobart outlined the team’s pay and merit system.
• Wayne and Captain Dean delivered construction materials, while Hobart learned that bandits still threatened traffic along the Taidi Jie River.
• Hobart rejected Bunier’s demand to buy his Extraordinary Characteristics at half price and threatened him with his Punishment Knight Sealed Artifact.
• Hobart received Kelly’s Black Jade Sword from Jessica and sent back payment and materials for further weapon experiments.
• Hobart visited the newly established Special Operations Department and displayed ten Extraordinary Characteristics, convincing the Tudor and Gnostic Society members of his ability to fulfill his promises.

Hobart established the Special Operations Department’s authority and resources in South Colson, then entered Fauvety’s dream and discovered that the Goddess of the Night had left a message about thwarting a plan on Takwell Plain. After arranging a visit to Aputon, Hobart returned to the dream, where Fauvety revealed that Fregera had badly misinterpreted a divination about the Fool and Hobart.

• Hobart showed the Tudor Family members the department’s Extraordinary Characteristics, weapons, potions, and Sealed Artifacts, and explained its merit and spoils rules.
• Hobart declared that the Special Operations Department was the only lawful Official Extraordinary organization in South Colson besides the Earth Mother Church, and announced a joint operation against Demons and the Aurora Society.
• After meeting Albert, Hobart used a dream-entering Sealed Artifact to reach Fauvety’s dream and saw a message saying that the arrangements on Takwell Plain had been destroyed.
• Hobart received Aputon’s letter confirming that construction materials had been purchased and requesting help because an Extraordinary organization was following him.
• Hobart cleared snow from the construction site, fell asleep, and returned to Fauvety’s dream, where Fauvety asked whether the newly appeared Fool was Fregera.
• Hobart denied that the Fool was Fregera, and Fauvety revealed that Fregera had mistaken a divination about the Fool’s future power and Hobart’s assistance as a prophecy of his own resurrection.

Hobart gave the Goddess of the Night an invisible artifact tied to Concealment, learned about Mist of Uncertainty’s projections, and received confirmation that She would keep assisting Fauvety. After The Fool alerted him to the Sanguine’s proposed trade, Hobart took Fors to investigate the gang targeting Aputon and prepared to wipe it out.

• Fauvety handed Hobart an invisible artifact for Amanises and explained that it could help locate the Eternal Dark River and stabilize her anchors.
• Hobart asked Fauvety about Mist of Uncertainty, learned how its projections spread contamination, and heard that two projections remained unaccounted for.
• Hobart sacrificed the artifact to the Goddess of the Night, who promised to continue helping Fauvety with Concealment.
• The Fool informed Hobart that the Sanguine leadership had agreed to the Emperor’s deal, and Hobart arranged to discuss the trade at the next Tarot Club gathering.
• Hobart invited Fors to help investigate the Beyonder organization targeting Aputon, and the pair traveled to Connat City.
• Hobart identified the gang’s base and told Aputon they would wipe out the gang immediately.

Hobart and Aputon traced the Judgment Group’s Connat City operations to Gale and attacked a gathering of its members at Balan Fisheries Company. Hobart’s Sealed Artifact threw the meeting into chaos, and he ended the chapter striking down Gale.

• After killing the gang members, Hobart learned through Spirit Communication that the Judgment Group’s Vice Leader Gale operated in Connat City, and Aputon identified him as the power behind Balan Fisheries Company.
• Hobart, Aputon, and Fors traveled to Balan Fisheries Company, found Gale’s office empty, and burst into a crowded meeting room where Gale and many Judgment Group members had gathered.
• Hobart used Corrosion and released the sealed artifact “1-103,” causing the room’s furniture, glass, trees, and walls to attack the Judgment Group members.
• As Gale used Dawn Light to fight back, Hobart killed two lower-ranking Beyonders and then attacked a trapped Werewolf before Gale intervened.
• Hobart used Lightning Strike to pressure Gale, opened a Bronze Gate that let pallid hands seize him, and stabbed Gale through the heart with his Black Knife.

Hobart and his allies defeated the Judgment Group’s forces in Connat City, and Hobart used Gale’s spirit to uncover links between the group and the Intersea Mutual Aid Society. After clearing the group’s final stronghold, Hobart and Fors set off to enjoy the beach.

• Hobart killed Gale, the Judge, the Pyromaniac, the Bribor, and the trapped Werewolf, then helped Aputon and Fors stop the remaining fighters from escaping.
• Hobart used Spirit Communication with Gale to learn about the Judgment Group’s leaders and its economic and operational cooperation with the Intersea Mutual Aid Society.
• Hobart searched Gale’s safe, and the three divided the spoils before traveling to the Judgment Group’s last stronghold and eliminating its remaining Sequence 8 and Sequence 9 members.
• Aputon gave Hobart two Sequence 8 Extraordinary Characteristics, and Hobart offered to sell him the Arbiter and Warrior Potion Recipes for two hundred pounds each.
• Fors asked to visit the beach, and Hobart agreed to return to Connat City with her after they put away the spoils and changed clothes.

Hobart and Fors vacationed in Connat City, where Hobart drew a crowd with a guitar performance and encountered people who recognized his identity. After a relaxing day together, Fors wished she could set aside her worries and travel with Hobart, and he reassured her that she could do what she wanted with him.

• Punisher Boton investigated the strange massacre at Balan Fisheries Company and insisted it was revenge despite the mysterious message left at the scene.
• Hobart and Fors explored Connat City, and Hobart borrowed a guitar to perform “Sound of Silence” for a large crowd.
• Fors introduced Hobart to the bestselling author Lin, and Hobart called himself Fors’s fiancé.
• A bounty hunter recognized Hobart and tried to extort him, but Elizabeth’s family arrived and the bounty hunter left after Dominia intervened.
• Dominia told Hobart that Mr. Ulysses could arrange a new identity and respectable job for him in Tingen City.
• Hobart and Fors spent the afternoon at the beach, where Fors said she wanted to pause her worries and travel, and Hobart promised she could do what she wanted with him.

Hobart managed his territory, arranged several purchases and sales of Beyonder materials, and set up a medicine order with Emlyn before attending the Tarot Club. The gathering ended with Hobart arguing that humans had ruled the world after the Second and Third Epochs, linking his claim to the first Blasphemy Slate.

• Hobart assessed the spoils from his battle, bought Fors's share, and received correspondence about language charms and Secret Supplicant characteristics.
• Hobart arranged permanent Ruen Language charms for the Balk Family, sold Secret Supplicant characteristics to Leonard, and appointed Corwin Human Resources Knight.
• At the Tarot Club, Hobart scheduled a trade with Emlyn near Harvest Church and ordered one hundred doses each of medicine for colds, chills, and diarrhea.
• Hobart bought World's Faceless Man Extraordinary Characteristic for 4,000 Pounds and offered to check whether he had Six-Winged Gargoyle eyes.
• When Emlyn and Derrick disputed whether Sanguine or human nobles had titles first, Hobart argued that humans had become the world's rulers and connected his speculation to the first Blasphemy Slate.

Hobart revealed that the first Blasphemy Slate appeared in the Second Epoch, before the Eight Ancient Gods formed through a brutal, unsystematic struggle with Extraordinary Characteristics. The Tarot Club pooled money for his account of the gods, and the chapter ended with Derrick asking whether the Giant King's subordinate Harvest Goddess was the later Earth Mother.

• Hobart sold Emlyn intelligence that the first Blasphemy Slate had appeared in the Second Epoch, and explained that the Ancient Gods became divine by surviving after devouring many Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Hobart described how the Blasphemy Slate helped establish Sequences in the Third Epoch and said humanity's nobility system may have influenced the vampire race's ranks.
• Audrey organized a group purchase of Hobart's intelligence about the Eight Ancient Gods, and Emlyn reluctantly joined after Hobart offered a gift about the vampire progenitor.
• Hobart named the Eight Ancient Gods and revealed that Giant King Olmir's son Bardhair later became the God of Combat.
• Derrick asked whether the Giant King's subordinate Harvest Goddess was the Earth Mother, prompting the Tarot Club members to turn toward Hobart for an answer.