Chapter Summaries

Anvis rejected Madam Mandel’s attempt to recruit him, warned her against interfering with his illusions, and decided to alert Landon that Freya’s brother was in her hands. On leaving the castle, he encountered Players promoting the Construct Network across the Federation and stopped one to ask what was happening.

• Madam Mandel showed Anvis how she treated her Youth servant and offered to protect Anvis if he became her servant after the Embers Organization was destroyed.
• Anvis removed his hood, then left Madam Mandel’s castle after declining her offer and warning her through an illusion not to make trouble for him.
• Anvis recognized that the Youth might be Freya’s brother and decided to write Landon a letter about Madam Mandel holding him.
• Players repeatedly approached Anvis to promote the upgraded Construct Network as he walked through the city.
• Anvis stopped a promotional Player and asked what was going on.

Anvis explained to Rivers that Silver Blue Esports was promoting the Construct Network to help its Prophet-backed faction gain influence before the Federation’s looming war. He then offered Rivers a task in exchange for the information.

• Players and rival esports clubs wondered why Silver Blue Esports was spending so heavily to promote the Construct Network, while their attempts to uncover its motives failed.
• At Little Cat Tiramisu’s request, Rivers contacted Anvis after completing his Class Advancement Quest and reaching level forty-three.
• Anvis answered the crystal ball wearing a black cloak, and Rivers hurriedly hid his identity and praised him before asking about the Construct Network’s expansion.
• Anvis revealed that High-rank Prophets were competing for a chance to break through, with the Construct Network, the Glory Alliance, and the Resistance Organization backed by rival Prophet factions.
• Anvis explained that the Rebel Army’s gains and the coming failure of the Patikala Agreement threatened to slow the Construct Network’s spread, making time crucial for its backers.
• Anvis told Rivers that the information came at a price and said he had a task for him.

Anvis ordered Last Dragonborn to deal with Silver Blue - Zero Recharge, whose efforts had rapidly expanded the Construct Network, and unsettled him with questions about Outsiders’ real bodies. After Last Dragonborn passed the revelations to Tiramisu, Anvis sent him a specific plan through Pigeon.

• Anvis asked Last Dragonborn about his recent breakthrough to the Fourth Rank, then assigned him to keep Silver Blue - Zero Recharge from appearing for a while.
• Last Dragonborn was alarmed by Anvis’s detailed file on Zero, which included players’ real names, and Anvis claimed Outsiders had provided some of the intelligence.
• Anvis asked whether Last Dragonborn could arrange for an Outsider’s real body to be killed, but Last Dragonborn explained the legal risks and how a target could fake an assassination.
• After Anvis ended the conversation, Last Dragonborn contacted Tiramisu and shared the secrets he had learned.
• Anvis summoned Pigeon and had it deliver Last Dragonborn a specific method for dealing with Zero.

Last Dragonborn relayed Anvis’s information about Zero to his father, causing Zero to disappear from the game and Silver Blue Club to lose influence over the Construct Network. Anvis then prepared to meet Leo, the rebel leader, as a representative of the Truth Circle.

• Last Dragonborn called Qian Ran’s father and read him the letter’s instructions about his son.
• Zero vanished from the Yar Continent, and Door in the Pupil replaced him as Chief Officer while Silver Blue Club’s plans and compensation suffered a setback.
• Anvis recalled Zero’s strained relationship with his father and decided that forcing Zero to follow his father’s wishes was a good deed.
• Anvis donned a disguise bearing the Silver Truth Circle Emblem and headed out.
• Leo learned that a visitor from the Truth Circle wanted to meet him and ordered his subordinate to show the visitor in.

Anvis visited Leo through a harmless projection and warned him that the Rebel Army would be abandoned and destroyed once the Patikala Agreement was lifted. He offered the Circle of Truth’s help and left Leo to consider an alliance.

• Anvis entered Leo’s study and revealed that he was speaking through a noncombat projection from the Circle of Truth.
• Anvis asked whether Leo accepted the Rebel Army’s role as a disposable weapon and described the consequences of the Patikala Agreement being lifted.
• Anvis warned that Leo could be blamed for the war, executed, and turned into an undead creature, while suggesting he might betray the Rebel Army to gain a place among the rulers.
• Leo attacked Anvis with his Ninth Rank aura, but Anvis evaded the pressure without changing his expression.
• Anvis invited Leo to contact him at the Dawn Tavern and offered the Embers Organization as the Circle of Truth’s first token of sincerity before vanishing.
• Leo watched the place where Anvis had disappeared and clenched his hand behind his back.

Anvis arranged for Garol to tell Leo that the Man in the Mirror had defected to the Glory Alliance and would betray the Resistance, then offer to bring Embers Organization forces into the Spark Organization. After Leo agreed, Anvis contacted Madam Mandel and accepted her proposal on the condition that they form a cooperative relationship.

• White Falcon searched Dawn Tavern for a Circle of Truth member but instead met Garol, who asked to see Leo with urgent intelligence.
• Garol told Leo that the Man in the Mirror had joined the Glory Alliance and planned to attack him during the war.
• Garol asked to bring his subordinates into the Spark Organization and said he might persuade two other senior members to join; Leo agreed to take them in.
• Anvis watched Garol's meeting with Leo and reflected on using the Embers Organization's remaining value to strengthen the Spark Organization and preserve the Resistance's forces.
• Anvis contacted Madam Mandel and accepted her proposal, asking to establish a cooperative relationship.

Anvis negotiated for the Embers Organization to join the Glory Alliance as an independent member, while Madam Mandel planned to use the deal to bring him under her control. Months later, the Construct Network’s expansion began changing how ordinary people across the Federation accessed information and knowledge.

• Anvis refused to become Madam Mandel’s subordinate and proposed that the Embers Organization join the Glory Alliance as a regular member after attacking Spark and Pride of the Sun.
• Madam Mandel accepted the proposal, requiring the Embers Organization to pay a sufficient price for the Alliance’s protection, while secretly planning to make Anvis submit later.
• After ending the call, Anvis entered meditation, intending to prevent the High-rank Prophets from achieving their breakthrough.
• Several months later, on the fourth day of Flowing Gold Month, the Construct Network had reached 36.34 percent of the Federation’s population.
• The Construct Network let ordinary people access distant news and purchase or earn knowledge through virtual services, spreading information through the populace as the High-rank Prophets continued promoting it.

Anvis helped the Glory Alliance spread rumors that slowed the Construct Network’s expansion, earning Fate Feedback and moving closer to breaking through to Eighth Rank. He then waited for news about Freya’s younger brother while teasing Madam Mandel, and sensed that the news had arrived.

• The Glory Alliance used folk Bards and Players to spread claims that the Construct Network controlled its users, slowing its expansion and prompting Parliament to hunt the rumor-spreaders.
• Anvis rewarded Wallace and explained that he had helped the Glory Alliance to preserve balance and gain Fate Feedback, raising his standing among Prophets to fourth.
• Anvis visited Madam Mandel’s office and teased her over tea while waiting for news about Freya’s younger brother.
• Anvis turned toward the door when he sensed that the news he had been waiting for had arrived.

Lainer and Freya visited Madam Mandel to find Freya’s missing brother, whom she had bought at an underground auction. They were reunited, but Lainer’s offer to redeem him for one and a half times the purchase price changed the mood in the room, while Anvis sensed a turning point in fate.

• Madam Mandel allowed Lainer and Freya, members of the Spark Organization, into her study while Anvis stayed to watch.
• Lainer explained that Freya had been separated from her younger brother and asked whether Madam Mandel knew where he was.
• Madam Mandel confirmed that she had bought Freya’s brother at an underground auction and offered to show him to them.
• Madam Mandel brought Freya’s brother out from beneath her desk wearing a collar, and Freya angrily confronted her over his condition.
• Lainer thanked Madam Mandel for saving him and offered to redeem Freya’s brother for one and a half times the price she had paid.
• Anvis sensed the aura of a turning point in fate as the room’s atmosphere shifted.

Landon and Freya tried to bargain with Madam Mandel for the release of Freya’s younger brother, but she set humiliating conditions. After Anvis intervened and revealed information about Heros’ Infinite Grimoire, Madam Mandel offered them a new deal: retrieve a book from ruins in the Mivila Basin to win the youth’s freedom.

• Madam Mandel refused to transfer Freya’s younger brother and demanded that Landon become her servant instead.
• Madam Mandel offered to release the youth if Landon and Freya knelt and kissed her toes, while the youth crawled toward her under her command.
• Landon refused the demand and prepared to leave with Freya to seek help from his influential mentor.
• Anvis stopped them and privately sent Madam Mandel information about Heros’ Infinite Grimoire.
• Madam Mandel identified Anvis as the Man in the Mirror and tasked Landon and Freya with retrieving a book from the Ancient Ruins in the Mivila Basin in exchange for the youth’s freedom.

Anvis told Madam Mandel that the Heros' Infinite Grimoire would surface in the Mivila Basin and sent Landon and Freya to retrieve it, prompting Madam Mandel to suspect a trap and plan to follow them. Landon returned to Spark headquarters with Freya and reported the mission to Xiute Jialuo, who questioned him about the captive and Anvis's involvement.

• Madam Mandel questioned Anvis about the reliability of his information, and he claimed only a few High-rank Prophets might know of the coming ruins.
• Madam Mandel recalled the Heros' Infinite Grimoire's origins and powers, then suspected Anvis had sent Landon and Freya to face danger for his own benefit.
• Anvis joked about buying the Grimoire for one gold coin before leaving, and Madam Mandel decided she might follow Landon and Freya to the ruins.
• Madam Mandel discovered Anvis had eaten all her Crystal Nuts and turned to her Youth pet for a role-playing game.
• Landon and Freya returned to Spark headquarters, where Landon told Xiute Jialuo what had happened.
• Xiute Jialuo frowned and asked whether Landon's companion's younger brother was in the poisonous snake's hands and whether Man in the Mirror had been there.

Landon reported that Madam Mandel had sent him to retrieve a strange book from the Ruins, and Leo identified it as Heros' Infinite Grimoire. As Anvis watched the Mivila Basin, he reflected on how his secret control of kingdom leaders had helped the Rebel Army bring more than thirty percent of the kingdoms under its influence.

• Landon told Garo that Madam Mandel had changed her mind after receiving a message and ordered him to retrieve a skin-covered book with an eyeball embedded in it.
• Dark Raven identified the book as Heros' Infinite Grimoire and urged Landon to obtain it, then offered to teach him the Power of Wither to strengthen him.
• Garo reported Landon's account to Leo, who identified the Grimoire and said he would personally prevent it from falling into another organization's hands.
• Garo warned Leo that the Man in the Mirror's side might be problematic, but Leo said he had already prepared for any choice the man made.
• Anvis surveyed the Mivila Basin and considered how his Master-Subordinate Contracts secretly placed kingdom leaders under his control, bringing the Rebel Army's influence over kingdoms past thirty percent.

Anvis prepared to use the Ruins as a trap for the people drawn to Heros' Infinite Grimoire, then watched the black pyramid emerge in the Mivila Basin. As the Ruins stabilized, Landon chose to enter despite warnings, and Leo offered to lead anyone who wished to go inside safely.

• Anvis explained that the Ruins had formed from the remains of the entity that fought Heros and planned to use them to lure his targets.
• Anvis released Mana bearing Landon's power signature into the ground, and the Mivila Basin began to shake beneath a spiraling storm.
• A massive black pyramid rose from the basin, absorbing and corroding the Spiritual Power of those who tried to probe it.
• Leo and Freya warned Landon not to enter, but Dark Raven urged him to investigate, and Landon decided to go in.
• After the pyramid's activity settled, Leo invited those who wished to enter to accompany him.

Leo led eager Rebel Army members into the Black Pyramid, while Madam Mandel brought Spirit Princess Bovalis to seek Heros' Infinite Grimoire. From a nearby hill, Anvis used Abyss Blood to awaken the Ruins' core, turning the pyramid dark red and tempting the Professionals watching it.

• Leo noticed a same-rank arrival, then led his team into the Black Pyramid.
• Madam Mandel told Spirit Princess Bovalis that Heros' Infinite Grimoire was hidden deep inside the pyramid, and Bovalis warned that the Ruins were dangerous before entering with her.
• Bovalis's soul attack shattered Anvis's Magic Telescope and killed two Professionals watching from nearby.
• Anvis observed that three Ninth Rank Experts had arrived, then poured Abyss Blood onto the pyramid to awaken the Ruins' core.
• The pyramid turned dark red, and every Professional looking at it felt a strange temptation.

Anvis realized that using the necklace himself could entangle him in the Federation’s fate, so he planned to have Landon activate it and transfer some of the consequences through a ritual. Meanwhile, Landon’s party reached the ruins’ Core Hall, where a blood-red barrier concealed the chamber’s center.

• Anvis sensed that pouring blood onto the pyramid had made him a villain in Landon’s fate, and reconsidered his plan to use the necklace himself.
• Anvis decided to find a durable, lower-ranked Rebel Army member to activate the necklace, then chose Landon as his target.
• After waiting a day or two, Anvis observed Landon, Leo, and their group venture deep into the ruins while Landon’s sense of the Alien Power helped them avoid dangers.
• Landon’s group reached the Core Hall and found a dark-red spherical Force Field, a dead mage with a Staff, and a turning blood-red eye on a magic book.
• With the Dark Crow silent, Landon asked his black dog, Little Black, what it thought of the scene.

Leo and Landon’s groups were caught in the ruins’ blood-red magic array, which trapped them in visions and drained their power. Landon woke with Dark Raven’s help and secretly took the corpse and book before three Ninth Rank Experts attacked the barrier, triggering the pyramid’s defenses.

• Leo entered the hall, activating the magic patterns and a force that pulled everyone into a strange space.
• Leo found himself alone beneath a dark starry sky as bizarre music drained his Spiritual Power.
• Landon experienced an idealized life until Dark Raven’s warning woke him from the illusion.
• Dark Raven told Landon to collect the corpse and book, and Landon secretly stored both in his Space Ring.
• Three Ninth Rank Experts awoke and attacked the Blood-colored Barrier while Leo dispelled his subordinates’ abnormal states.
• The Ruins Pyramid shook as pitch-black magic Tentacles burst from the walls and attacked everyone.

Landon escaped the collapsing Ruins after a monstrous figure began emerging from a dark vortex, but a Ninth-Rank Spellcaster trapped him on the way out. Dark Crow told Landon to stall and prepare to release the corpse when signaled.

• The three Ninth-Rank Lords shattered the barrier, but Dubit noticed that the corpse had vanished, and Bovalis suspected the mist concealed the true location of the relics.
• The red mist formed a vortex that absorbed the black Mana mist as a massive figure began emerging, prompting Leo and the other Lords to order their forces to flee.
• Landon followed Dark Crow through a hidden passage from the ninety-ninth level to the eighteenth level, avoiding traps and falling debris.
• A Ninth-Rank Spellcaster trapped Landon in a Force Field, and Dark Crow warned him to stall until he was told to release the corpse.

Landon used the corpse’s Death Finger to drive off Ocean Vortex Bloom, but Anvis returned disguised as Bloom and took Heros' Infinite Grimoire from him. After sending Landon to safety, Anvis went back into the Ruins Pyramid to investigate whether the Old Days Secret Scripture needed the remains of the ancient being at its core.

• Ocean Vortex Bloom trapped Landon and demanded his storage items, so Landon pretended to surrender while releasing the corpse at Dark Raven’s signal.
• The corpse’s Death Finger struck Bloom, but a life-saving Amulet let him escape before Landon could retrieve his belongings.
• Anvis returned disguised as Bloom in an Isolation Cloak and threatened Landon, while Dark Raven found he could not make the corpse attack again.
• Anvis took Heros' Infinite Grimoire from Landon, returned his other items, and sent him to the Ruins Surface; Dark Raven fell asleep after urging Landon to report to the Spark Organization.
• Anvis returned to the Ruins Pyramid to consider whether the Old Days Secret Scripture required the remains of the ancient being at its core.

Anvis explored the Ruins after the Ninth Rank Professionals left and used the Old Days Secret Scripture to seal their remains. Back in Silver Moon City, he visited Landon and Lia, then offered Landon power.

• Anvis waited until the weakened Ninth Rank Professionals had left the Ruins, then descended to its destroyed core.
• Anvis discovered the Old Days Secret Scripture could absorb power from across the Ruins, despite complaining that the remains were impure and stale.
• Anvis used the tome’s final page to seal the entire Ruins.
• Anvis visited Landon under his Vio identity, explaining that a patient had told him how to find Landon and that he wanted to check Lia for aftereffects.
• Landon told Anvis that a powerful person had taken something important he found in the Ruins, and Anvis produced an amulet and asked whether Landon craved power.

Anvis used a magical amulet as a hypothetical to persuade Landon that gaining power was necessary to protect himself and those he cherished. Landon activated it, fulfilling the prerequisite for Anvis's Ritual as fireworks bloomed and the Continental Web of Fate rippled.

• Anvis asked Landon whether he would activate an amulet that promised power at the cost of plunging the Federation into war, and Landon initially refused.
• Anvis changed the hypothetical to put Lia and Freya in danger, arguing that kindness without strength left Landon unable to protect them.
• Landon admitted he might choose power despite feeling guilty, and Anvis encouraged him to seek strength rather than leave his fate in others' hands.
• Anvis gave Landon another chance to choose, and Landon accepted and activated the amulet.
• The amulet released a rainbow beam that burst into a vast Silver Leaf Rose firework, and Anvis observed that the prerequisite for the Ritual had been fulfilled.