Chapter Summaries

Arnold’s group abandoned plans to seize Hobart after learning that Blackthorn Security Company was protected by the Goddess of the Night Church, and decided to challenge him in court instead. Meanwhile, Hobart initiated Karl Vincent into the Justice League with a Mysticism ritual and used a Psychological Suggestion to protect the group’s secrets.

• Arnold’s subordinate reported that Hobart had gone to Viscount Glynt’s estate, and Gusata questioned Arnold about Hobart’s noble connections.
• Kenneth warned Arnold’s group that breaking into Blackthorn Security Company would be like entering the Goddess of the Night Church, so they agreed to oppose Hobart openly in court with Great Lawyer Hugo.
• Karl Vincent met Hobart, Fors, Xue, and Glaint, then confirmed that he wanted to join the Justice League.
• Hobart performed a ritual for Karl and used the Psychological Spoon to make him punish himself if he tried to reveal the Justice League’s secrets.
• Karl emerged convinced that Hobart was a master of Mysticism, while Hobart suspected Karl had seen her Mind Island.

At a Justice League gathering, Carl obtained a chance to buy an Arbiter Potion Recipe and its main ingredient, while Hobart recruited the members to support his lawsuit against Arnold. The group agreed to spread word about Arnold’s personal conduct ahead of the next day’s hearing.

• Carl introduced himself and said he wanted to become an Arbiter, so Hobart arranged for him to buy Xue’s Potion Recipe for 300 pounds and Hobart’s main ingredient for 320 pounds.
• Carl eagerly agreed to the purchase and planned to return with the money the morning after tomorrow.
• Hobart told Audrey, Glaint, and the others how he had been threatened and nearly framed, then asked the Justice League to help him win his lawsuit.
• Audrey and Glaint described their unsuccessful efforts to gain support, and Hobart advised them to present the case as Arnold’s personal misconduct rather than a class conflict.
• Hobart asked the members to spread word about Arnold among noble circles before and after the hearing scheduled for the next day.

Hobart and the Justice League members coordinated efforts to influence public opinion about the Work Injury Compensation Case while trading ingredients and pursuing new clues. Audrey’s strategy succeeded at the ball, and Earl Hall wondered who had inspired her.

• Audrey and Glaint agreed to help Hobart investigate the Work Injury Compensation Case, and Hobart called it the Justice League’s first joint operation.
• Audrey rewarded Xue and Fors for their role in exposing Qilingesi, and they agreed to trade with Hobart for the main ingredients of Sheriff and Trick Master.
• Fors offered to take Audrey to a Mysticism gathering where she might learn more about the Psychological Alchemy Society, and Audrey gave Hobart a painting he named “Shadow of the Court.”
• At the ball, Audrey and Glaint helped nobles learn that Arnold had misled them about the Work Injury Compensation Case, while Glaint spread details of Arnold’s misconduct.
• Earl Hall praised Audrey’s handling of the ball, and Audrey hinted that someone else had inspired her approach.

Hobart prepared to represent Bob in the work injury compensation trial against Arnold, while Thomas and Ikanse discussed the case’s potential to prompt legal reform. At Backlund Court, Hobart rallied public support and challenged the factory’s safety claims, leaving the trial underway after the Judge overruled Hugo’s objection.

• Hobart prepared for the trial as Thomas and Ikanse discussed his chances and Bishop Horamick’s proposal to press Parliament for worker-protection laws.
• Hobart and Bob arrived at Backlund Court to find a packed gallery, where supporters cheered them and jeered Arnold.
• Hobart opened the case by accusing Arnold of using the law to shield immoral conduct, drawing applause from the gallery.
• Hugo argued that Arnold was not responsible for factory management and called three workers to testify that the workshop was safe.
• Hobart questioned a worker about the Employee Handbook and showed that it contained no safety instructions, prompting Hugo to object before the Judge overruled him.

Hobart challenged Hugo’s defense in Bob’s work injury case, first exposing the witnesses’ attention to the factory’s lack of safety notices and then countering Hugo’s appeals to freedom and democracy. The hearing ended with Hobart accusing Arnold of inflaming public conflict to avoid paying compensation.

• Hobart presented five witnesses who testified that Arnold’s factory had no Safe Production reminders, and Hugo tested their ability to recognize or write the phrase.
• The witnesses said they could recognize the phrase, and Hugo’s questioning failed to undermine their testimony.
• Hugo argued that Arnold and Bob had freely agreed to their employment and that holding Arnold responsible would violate his rights and damage Backlund’s economic rules.
• Hobart countered that freedom had limits and that Arnold was responsible for Bob’s work injury; he also questioned whether Loen’s democracy represented workers and farmers.
• Hobart recognized Hugo’s attempt to turn the case into a class conflict and accused Arnold of publicizing the dispute to evade compensation, persuading the gallery.

Hobart won Bob’s work injury compensation case, securing compensation and workplace safety measures while keeping Arnold from criminal liability. After celebrating the victory and arranging protection and a new identity for Bob, Hobart prepared the Bribor Potion and returned home, where he needed to speak with Christine before drinking it.

• Hobart changed his defense strategy during the debate, and the judge ordered Arnold to pay Bob 860 pounds plus Hobart’s legal fees while requiring safety slogans and training at the factory.
• A law professor praised Hobart’s defense, and reporters recorded Bob’s emotional thanks to Hobart after the verdict.
• Hobart arranged for Ikanse to protect Bob and help him begin a new life under a new identity.
• Hobart gave interviews at the law firm, then returned home and found a note saying Xue and Fors had gone out to celebrate.
• Hobart obtained the reassembled Bribor Extraordinary Characteristics, bought the auxiliary ingredients, and returned to Queens to speak with Christine before drinking the Potion.

After winning his court case, Hobart chose to advance to the 'Bribor' Sequence and investigate his family’s Curse. Christine revealed that the Heller Family was actually the Trensoost family, descended from the Night Emperor, and ended by disclosing that he himself was a Tudor.

• Hobart told Christine that he had fully Digested the 'Barbarian' potion and believed he was ready to drink the 'Bribor' potion.
• Christine offered Hobart the choice of remaining at Sequence 8 with a Sealed Artifact or advancing and investigating the family Curse, and Hobart chose to advance.
• Christine revealed that the family’s true surname was Trensoost and that the Curse had appeared around the time the Night Emperor fell.
• Christine explained that surviving Trensoost family members had fled to the Southern Continent and changed their surname to Balk.
• Christine said Rex had suspected the Curse was connected to the Night Emperor’s fall and believed reaching Sequence 2 on the 'Lawyer' pathway could lift it, but he had failed to become an angel.
• When Hobart asked about Christine’s surname, Christine revealed that he was a Tudor.

Hobart learned more about the Tudor family’s mysterious Curse before drinking the Bribor potion and advancing to Sequence 7. He successfully became a Bribor and discovered the abilities granted by the new Sequence.

• Christine told Hobart that the Tudor family and the Trensoost family had set aside their old rivalry to survive, and that the Extraordinary Characteristics of past Sequence 3s who tried to resolve the Curse had always disappeared.
• Hobart chose to advance despite the unresolved mysteries surrounding the Curse and asked Christine for red wine to prepare the Bribor potion.
• Hobart drank the potion and resisted its effects, using his preparation and compatible spiritual and astral bodies to regain control of himself.
• Christine confirmed that Hobart’s advancement had succeeded and urged him to test his new abilities.
• Hobart discovered that Bribery let him weaken, charm, or make targets arrogant, and establish a connection with them.

After advancing to Sequence 7, Hobart explored his new abilities and considered how to act as a Bribor. In the Country of Disorder, he investigated the Night Emperor’s possible fate and discovered that his territory had expanded and contained rocks capable of powerful Distortion.

• Hobart found that his spirituality and physical abilities had improved, and concluded that a Bribor should actively create loopholes in rules that benefit his side.
• Hobart entered the Country of Disorder and strengthened the seal holding a blurry young man in its pool.
• Hobart considered whether the figure was connected to the Night Emperor and pondered how the Night Emperor’s attempt to become an Ancient One might have led to his fall.
• Hobart discovered he could use high-level Distortion within the Country of Disorder, including temporarily altering natural laws with lasting consequences.
• Hobart found that his controlled territory had expanded to include the lake, woods, and grasslands, where he discovered black rocks that could distort natural laws and Extraordinary Characteristics within three meters.

Hobart refined the Stones of Loss of Control, prepared to protect his memories of Adam, and finished building a grand hall in the Country of Disorder. The next day, Christine gave him a healing fork left by his biological mother and told him that his father had also left something, but his will prevented her from giving it to Hobart yet.

• Hobart decided to shape the Stones of Loss of Control as palm-sized disks engraved with the Emperor tarot image and considered using the Psychological Spoon to restrict memories of Adam to the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart completed the grand hall in the Country of Disorder, returned to the real world, and slept after meditating.
• Hobart sensed that Order Wood had grown stronger after his advancement to Sequence 7 as he prepared to leave for work with Christine.
• Christine gave Hobart the fork his biological mother had left him, and he discovered it could use Healing Art and suturing, though it made his hair and fingernails grow quickly.
• Hobart asked whether his biological father had left him anything, and Christine said she could not give it to him yet because of his father's will.

Hobart sold the Sheriff, Trick Master, and Arbiter characteristics to Xue and Fors, then traveled to Tingen City to help Mr. Fool. After visiting Ulysses, he found Klein’s grave and waited there for nightfall.

• Hobart settled Sheriff Rotor’s debt, sold the Trick Master and Arbiter characteristics to Fors and Xue, and warned them that acting according to their Potion names helped prevent Loss of Control.
• Hobart completed the final Justice League transaction with Carl, deposited most of his savings, and took a train to Tingen City.
• Leonard read about Hobart’s victory in the Work Injury Compensation Case while traveling to Winter County for training.
• Hobart visited Ulysses, who asked him to write to Elizabeth and comfort her, then went to the cemetery and waited beside Klein’s grave for nightfall.

Hobart waited at Klein’s grave until Klein resurrected, then helped him leave the cemetery and offered support. Klein mourned Dunn before the two went to a hotel, where Hobart gave him the address of his law firm in case he needed help.

• Hobart waited at Klein’s grave, where he met Azzik, who left flowers and said he was leaving Tingen City.
• After ten at night, Klein’s hand emerged from the soil, and Hobart pulled him from the coffin.
• Klein realized he had resurrected and grieved at Dunn’s tombstone before Hobart encouraged him to move on.
• Hobart and Klein left the cemetery and went to a nearby hotel.
• Hobart offered Klein money, which Klein declined, and gave him his law firm’s address.

Hobart returned to Backlund and spent the day with Fors and Xue before welcoming his siblings, Donna and Tyrone, for a visit. After Donna mistakenly assumed Xue was Hobart’s girlfriend, the group shared a meal, and Donna and Tyrone left noting how happy Hobart seemed.

• Hobart returned to Backlund, where Fors and Xue welcomed him home and Fors cooked fried squid for lunch.
• Donna and Tyrone arrived to visit Hobart, and Donna mistook Xue for his girlfriend after hearing he had been tired the previous night.
• Hobart came downstairs and corrected Donna’s misunderstanding, then introduced everyone properly and took Tyrone to help make flatbread.
• Donna chatted with Xue and Fors while Hobart and Tyrone prepared scallion pancakes, which everyone praised at dinner.
• Hobart saw Donna and Tyrone off in their family carriage, and they agreed that he seemed happier than before.

Hobart answered Elliot’s prayer about the Night Emperor and agreed to help cure Elliot’s sister, while considering whether bribery could speed Potion digestion. He also observed Lafite trying to recruit Jessica, and news of Hobart’s courtroom victory reached Daly, Elizabeth, and Selena.

• Elliot prayed to Hobart about the family’s Trensoost lineage, the Night Emperor, and his sister’s curse, and asked for her sanity to be restored.
• Hobart explained that the Night Emperor was one of the Four Emperors of the Fourth Epoch and told Elliot to prepare an altar, sacrifices, and Lawyer Potion materials for the next morning.
• Hobart observed Lafite offer Jessica the Barbarian Potion Recipe in exchange for help restoring the Pound Family, but Jessica refused after her silver-haired companion warned her.
• Elliot excitedly considered the Creator’s answer and went to ask Calvin what sacrifices to prepare.
• Daly read about Hobart’s court victory and remarked that he did have a sense of Justice.
• Selena showed Elizabeth the report about Hobart’s victory and wondered whether he would teach her Mysticism.

Klein read about Hobart defending disadvantaged workers, which made him trust Hobart and the Creator more, though he chose not to make contact yet. Hobart used the Psychological Spoon and Fork of Healing to restore Elliot’s sister Moira’s sanity long enough for her to drink the Lawyer Potion, and the Creator allowed Elliot to spread His name within the Balk Family.

• Klein read a newspaper report about Hobart winning a case for disadvantaged workers and reconsidered the Creator’s nature.
• Hobart answered Elliot’s prayer and brought the Psychological Spoon and Fork of Healing into the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart eased Moira’s madness with a Psychological Suggestion, Hypnosis, and Healing Arts, then gave Elliot time to prepare the Lawyer Potion.
• Moira recognized Elliot, drank the Lawyer Potion, and controlled its power while lucid.
• Elliot and Moira thanked the Creator, who permitted Elliot to spread His name within the Balk Family.

After Moira recovered, Elliot discovered that bribing the Creator had digested half of his Briber Potion. Hobart examined his sacrifices, then joined the Tarot Club, where Klein noticed that Emperor had changed.

• Calvin asked Elliot whether his Briber Potion had begun digesting, and Elliot sensed that half of it had been digested.
• Hobart shattered the Werewolf Extraordinary Characteristics and glimpsed the Desire Mother Tree's true body before the characteristics split into three portions.
• Hobart examined the Sealed Artifact, learned its abilities and risks, and left it in the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart spent the afternoon with Fors, then prepared for the Tarot Club gathering.
• Alger offered Klein nineteen pages of Rosell's Diary as payment for the Fool's Blessed helping eliminate Qilingesi.
• Klein began reading the diaries, while Audrey noticed that Emperor's condition seemed to have changed.

At the Tarot Club gathering, Klein shared common knowledge from Rosell's diary and charged the members for an explanation of adjacent sequences. Hobart declined to join the transaction, then offered Secret Order intelligence, leaving Klein with another potential deal to arrange.

• Audrey noticed that Hobart had advanced to Sequence 7 while she remained at Sequence 9, and she resolved to advance quickly.
• Klein told the Tarot Club that the Night Emperor had been a single High Sequence Beyonder with a long lifespan, and Hobart identified him as the emperor of the Trensoost Empire.
• Klein introduced the conservation of Extraordinary Characteristics within adjacent sequences and asked Alger, Audrey, and Derrick to trade for an explanation.
• Klein blocked Hobart's hearing while he explained adjacent sequences, and Alger understood why the Church of Storms and the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun were enemies.
• Hobart offered to trade Secret Order intelligence so the members could pay Klein's reward, making Klein's mouth twitch.

Hobart traded Audrey information about the Secret Order and revealed that he could digest a Bribor potion by bribing a god. Klein agreed to let Hobart try, provided he offered a sacrifice that satisfied him.

• Audrey chose an open transaction with Hobart and agreed to pay 500 pounds for information about the Secret Order.
• Hobart explained the Secret Order’s ties to the Zaratul Family, Antigonus, Emperor Rosell, and the Intis Republic, including its presence at the Intis Republic Embassy in Backlund.
• Audrey asked whether Mr. Fool was satisfied with Hobart’s information, and Klein affirmed that he was.
• Hobart asked to digest his Bribor Potion by bribing Mr. Fool, astonishing Alger, Audrey, and Derrick.
• Klein said he could grant Hobart’s request if Hobart offered a sacrifice that satisfied him.

Hobart sacrificed everything he knew about the Sealed Artifact 0-08 to Mr. Fool in exchange for mysticism knowledge. He warned the Tarot Club that 0-08 might soon reach Backlund, and Audrey decided to rent a Mystical Item so she could hypnotize herself and forget about it.

• Klein asked Hobart to sacrifice all his information about 0-08, and Hobart agreed to begin the Bribe process.
• Hobart explained that 0-08, also called Alesuhod's Quill, could make its written stories come true and weave anyone who learned of it into its story.
• Hobart reassured Audrey that Mr. Fool's protection kept 0-08 from detecting their discussion, then warned that its holder would likely head to Backlund soon.
• Audrey chose to rent a Mystical Item from Hobart so she could hypnotize herself and temporarily forget about 0-08.
• Hobart revealed that 0-08 constantly tried to write its holder to death, and Klein answered the sacrifice with knowledge about the Four Emperors.

Klein told the Tarot Club about the Four Emperors and helped Hobart and Audrey arrange a secret, safe way to trade a Mystical Item through a sacrifice ritual. The gathering ended with Hobart asking the others to look for Mystical Items with travel abilities.

• Klein explained that the Nether Emperor gained power surpassing the gods but went mad, and Hobart thanked him for the valuable information.
• Hobart revealed that one of the two figures connected to the Antigonus Family was still alive and ranked above 0-08, but said the details required a transaction.
• Hobart offered to rent Audrey the Sequence 6-level Mystical Item called the Psychological Spoon for 60 pounds per use.
• Klein proposed that Hobart sacrifice the Psychological Spoon to him so he could bestow it upon Audrey, and he taught them the Ritual and gave them The Fool's symbol.
• Hobart asked the Tarot Club members to watch for Mystical Items with travel abilities.