Chapter Summaries

After the Olyvendi Family decided to keep observing Fiona, Anvis returned to the academy and learned that Duke Carlot would take him to the upcoming meeting of the Three Great Empires. Anvis practiced his new Dream World abilities before traveling to the Olyvendi estate, where the duke prepared to take him to the secret venue.

• Pomona argued that the Olyvendi Family should harvest Fiona, but Duke Carlot defended her, and the family chose to maintain the status quo and keep observing her.
• Anvis returned to the academy, ignored princes’ and princesses’ attempts to recruit him, and learned that the Three Great Empires’ heads-of-state meeting would soon take place.
• Duke Carlot told Anvis he would bring him to the meeting as his companion, explaining that the gathering would give him experience and a chance to develop his prophetic abilities.
• Anvis practiced using the Desire Seed, accidentally suppressed Harvey’s interest in women, then restored his desires after improving his control.
• Anvis used a mass of strange color to create a controllable mirror-image avatar, then traveled to the Olyvendi estate before the meeting.

Anvis accompanied Duke Carlot to the Three Great Empires’ meeting and demonstrated that he could detect powerful surveillance magic. As the conference began, Anvis sensed that an event of great importance to the continent was about to unfold.

• Duke Carlot gave Anvis a rune-engraved Amulet and teleported him and two Family Mages to the meeting venue in another plane.
• Anvis noticed the venue’s hidden surveillance, and Doulter and White Crow realized that the Fifth Rank Anvis had detected their spells.
• Dark Raven warned Landon that Anvis was a prodigy and urged him to work harder while they waited for a message from Paola.
• Duke Carlot presented his Black Gold Invitation and led Anvis into the Gloria Empire’s waiting area.
• Anvis sensed that something momentous would happen during the meeting, and the nobles entered the Conference Hall when it opened.

The leaders of the Three Great Empires and the Magic Council discussed the spreading Overlapping Zones and the danger of Dream World entities reaching the Main Material World. While Anvis observed the meeting, he noticed the player Last Dragonborn, whose character Rivers was serving Princess Paola.

• Saint Messiah III proposed that the nations set aside internal conflict and cooperate against the Overlapping Zones, but Gloria III and the Federal Speaker doubted they could enforce such an agreement.
• Saint Messiah III, the Federal Speaker, and Gloria III reported the zones’ spread in their territories and the lack of an effective way to eliminate them.
• The leaders agreed that they needed to curb the zones’ growth and find a way to clear them before powerful Dream World entities invaded the Main Material World.
• As noble descendants lost interest in the meeting and resumed socializing, Anvis spotted the player Last Dragonborn serving Princess Paola as Rivers.

Anvis noticed a threat connected to Princess Paola and followed her and Last Dragonborn toward a storage room, where his instincts warned him not to enter. A massive eruption then destroyed the waiting area, and a gigantic Yellow-Robed Figure appeared in the ruins as the leaders watched through a projected image.

• Princess Paola introduced herself to Anvis and explained that Last Dragonborn, disguised as Sifri, had joined her after she rescued him from bandits.
• Anvis sensed that a major fate-changing event involving Paola was imminent and decided to follow her and Last Dragonborn away from the viewing area.
• Federal Speaker Lolan XV raised the threat posed by the Circle of Truth, prompting the gathered leaders to support extermination actions.
• Anvis found that Paola and Last Dragonborn had vanished, and his spiritual senses warned him away from a storage-room door connected to Last Dragonborn's Crystal Ball.
• A massive Mana eruption destroyed the waiting area and Anvis's Avatar, and a projected image showed a gigantic Yellow-Robed Figure floating above the rubble.

The Unknown Yellow-Robed Being’s image caused widespread mental and physical mutations among the viewing area’s descendants, while the Ninth Ranks found themselves trapped by distorted spatial laws. As the factions prepared to confront the nearby entity, Anvis sent an avatar toward the battlefield to investigate the princess.

• The Unknown Yellow-Robed Being’s projection triggered mutations among the weaker attendees until Saint Messiah Pope blurred the image and stopped the effect from worsening.
• The Ninth Ranks discovered they could not open spatial passages, and arguments broke out over whether to flee or fight.
• Saint Messiah III and Gloria III led their people toward the destroyed Federation resting area, while most Federation councilors chose to stay behind and protect the descendants.
• Lolan XV invited willing councilors to join the fight, but only a small minority followed him and Orvanni.
• Anvis split off an avatar to investigate the battlefield and search for traces left by the princess.

Anvis found Landon, Princess Paola, and the Last Dragonborn hiding in Landon’s Subspace after a half-burned book summoned a terrifying entity. He took the book to investigate while the Ninth Rank behind the incident believed the witnesses were dead and expected the empires to turn on one another.

• Princess Paola opened a box containing a scorched book, and Landon pulled himself, Paola, and the Last Dragonborn into Zero Point Space when he sensed danger.
• Anvis entered the Subspace, learned that the book’s symbol had glowed, and took the box and book from Landon.
• Paola explained that her father had sent her to deliver the item to White Crow and that her clan uncle had given her the box.
• Anvis told them that the Ninth Ranks of the Three Great Empires were fighting the entity summoned by the book, then left to check on Duke Carlot.
• A hidden Ninth Rank revealed that the crisis was a conspiracy to summon the Nameless King and provoke suspicion among the powers, believing Paola and White Crow had died.

Anvis's avatar investigated the distorted battlefield but could not activate the Fragmented Scroll, so he disguised himself as the Last Dragonborn to escape and return the box to his main body. Touching the book revealed the Web of Fate to Anvis, who saw the box trigger a clash among the Ninth Ranks and a Fate Line leading back to the battlefield's center.

• Anvis's avatar examined the Fragmented Scroll at the battlefield's center but failed to activate it.
• Anvis disguised himself as the Last Dragonborn and escaped the battlefield, alarming Burning Sun Flame, who recognized the box he had given Princess Paola.
• The Last Dragonborn handed the box to Anvis's main body, and touching it awakened his perception of the Web of Fate.
• Anvis saw Fate Lines predict a series of Ninth Ranks seizing the box from one another and fighting over it.
• Anvis noticed that the Fate Line extending from the book led toward the center of the battlefield.

Anvis watched the Yellow-Robed Being approach the viewing area and discover the Fragmented Scroll, which restored itself into a mysterious book. The book vanished beyond the ninth-rankers’ control, and Anvis sensed that it had gone to Landon.

• Anvis saw Fate Threads link the box and a golden-haired youth to the battlefield’s core.
• The Yellow-Robed Being survived the clash with the ninth-rankers and turned toward the viewing area.
• A ninth-ranker threw the box and Fragmented Scroll toward the Yellow-Robed Being, which intercepted them.
• The Fragmented Scroll touched the Yellow-Robed Being and restored itself into a complete tome as the phantom faded.
• The book vanished despite several ninth-rankers trying to stop it, and Anvis sensed Landon at the other end of its Fate Thread.

Anvis altered the Fate Thread of Landon's book, redirecting a branch toward Auttomo Blackfeather and learning about his ties to Paola and hostility toward White Crow. The intervention helped Anvis break through a bottleneck on the Prophet's path, and he foresaw Auttomo eventually obtaining the book.

• Anvis touched the book's Fate Thread, causing it to branch toward Auttomo Blackfeather after Anvis kept its first strand from reaching him.
• Anvis approached Auttomo and learned that Paola Blackfeather was his younger sister and that he resented White Crow, whom he believed relied on a powerful Artifact.
• Anvis saw that Auttomo's fate was unusually entwined with Paola's and that his connection to Landon's book had begun to change.
• Anvis realized that interfering with the book had helped him break through a bottleneck and set foot on the path toward becoming an Eighth-Rank Limit Prophet.
• Anvis foresaw that Auttomo would eventually obtain the book, giving him a chance to borrow it for research.

After the mysterious book triggered a fight among ninth-rankers, Saint Messiah III sought an explanation, but Gloria III and the other empires’ representatives chose to leave. The meeting ended with the Pope disillusioned by their priorities, while rumors of the upheaval spread across the continent.

• Saint Messiah III questioned the hostile ninth-rankers about their fight over the book, and the Federal Speaker apologized for their actions.
• Saint Messiah III demanded to know who had brought the book into the venue, but the ninth-rankers refused to cooperate.
• Grand Duke Fray urged the assembled leaders to leave, and Duke Magna and the other Gloria Empire nobles supported him.
• Gloria III told Saint Messiah III that the Gloria Empire would leave, and the Pope restored everyone’s ability to teleport away.
• The Federation and Gloria Empire representatives departed, leaving the Pope and Archbishop Gormore behind as the Pope resolved to remove remnants of the old era.
• The meeting’s upheaval spread through the continent as Overlapping Zones continued shrinking under the High-Ranked Professionals’ management.

Anvis returned to academy life after learning to influence the Web of Fate more precisely, and he used the Heros' Infinite Grimoire to help launch the Black Ring Construct Terminal. The terminals became a popular new way to browse and order goods, though Anvis still had to solve how to keep their network secure.

• Anvis read about the meeting in the Empire Morning News and realized its coverage had increased his influence over the Continental Web of Fate.
• Anvis decided to make use of the Heros' Infinite Grimoire's power as he began laying plans for the continent.
• The Black Ring Merchant Guild introduced its portable Construct Terminal, offering remote orders and item teleportation at different membership tiers.
• Anvis connected Heros' Infinite Grimoire with Bohemia to create a primitive online shopping platform, and the terminals sold well.
• Anvis considered how to protect the terminals from people who might trace their connection and capture them.

Anvis protected the Black Ring Terminal from divination and popularized it throughout the Federation, drawing attacks that his defenses repelled. The Eighth Prince then invited Anvis to join the Eternal Gold Club, but revealed that they wanted control of the Mysteries Society as the price.

• Anvis linked the Black Ring Terminal's Fate Line to the Old Days Secret Scripture so divinations targeting the terminal would be diverted.
• Anvis promoted the Black Ring Terminal through customer rewards, Construct bundles, Player commissions, discounts, and daily giveaways, rapidly spreading it across the Federation.
• Unknown attackers tried to use the Web of Fate against the Black Ring Terminal, but Anvis's defenses stopped them and made the guild seem more mysterious to the Federation's kingdoms.
• Prince Lanno warned Anvis that the Eternal Gold Club was targeting him because the Mysteries Society had affected the development of their outlander forces.
• The Eighth Prince visited Anvis and offered him an invitation to join the Eternal Gold Club in exchange for opening the Mysteries Society to become its public intelligence agency.

The Eighth Prince tried to pressure Anvis into joining the Eternal Gold Club and sharing control of the Mysteries Society, but Anvis refused. The prince returned to the Club and organized attacks on Anvis’s forces to test his confidence.

• The Eighth Prince offered Anvis protection for his forces and merchant caravans if he joined the Eternal Gold Club, but Anvis rejected the invitation.
• The Eighth Prince said the invitation would remain open for half a month and advised Anvis to stay away from Lanno before leaving.
• The Eighth Prince replayed his meeting with Anvis for the Eternal Gold Club’s core members, who debated whether Anvis had understood the threat.
• The Eighth Prince assigned Ivanna, Bandi, and other members to target the Mysteries Society, while Luo Lin, Richard, and others would attack the Eternal Gold Crown Merchant Guild and its caravans.

Anvis’s organizations came under coordinated pressure from the Eternal Gold Club and its allies, but he judged those groups to be expendable compared with his true core forces. He sent out a list of hostile forces and began a counterattack that left his enemies suffering mysterious disasters.

• Anvis received reports that bandits, price wars, rumors, and official fines were damaging the Eternal Gold Crown Merchant Guild.
• Players learned that rival factions, including the Whisperers and the Dawn Council, were offering rewards for hunting Mysteries Society members, driving the Society into a defensive struggle.
• Anvis considered the sanctions and concluded that the Eternal Gold Crown Merchant Guild and the Mysteries Society were not his core strength.
• Anvis recorded the forces that had opposed him, placed the list in a magic envelope, and sent it out.
• The hostile forces began suffering ambushes, internal conflicts, and deaths in Overlapping Zones, though investigators found no clear evidence of fate interference.

The Eternal Gold Club reeled from the collapse of its private forces after its attempt to sanction Anvis failed. Harken and Laximan debated whether Anvis had a powerful Prophet or a mysterious relic behind him, and the club decided to wait for the Empire’s great lords to investigate before acting again.

• The Eternal Gold Club members gathered after their forces suffered severe trouble, and their Player organizations were destroyed by allied Mysteries Society guilds.
• Harken admitted that they had underestimated Anvis and called for a new plan toward him.
• Laximan argued that other forces, rather than Anvis himself, had caused the troubles and suggested a hidden power was supporting him.
• Ivanna and the others considered whether a high-rank Prophet stood behind Anvis, while Harken proposed that Anvis might possess an ancient Magic Curio.
• Harken urged the club to observe and wait for the Marquis Lords and the Empire’s Ninth-Rank Lords to investigate Anvis’s hidden power.

Anvis concealed his role in defeating the Eternal Gold Club’s attacks by crediting the Black Ring Merchant Guild, which had supplied the Mysteries Society with civilian Magic Constructs and secretly arranged the attackers’ deaths. Duke Carlot accepted his explanation, while two hidden observers discussed suspicions that a High-rank Prophet controlled the merchant guild.

• Nyarlathotep thanked the Black Ring Merchant Guild’s Envoy as the Mysteries Society received civilian Magic Constructs, and Anvis watched the deal conclude.
• Anvis recalled how he had used Contactees to locate Overlapping Zones and assigned former Trial-takers to kill the Eternal Gold Club’s faction leaders and their allies.
• Duke Carlot contacted Anvis, praised his success, and promised the Olyvendi Family’s support if the other side broke the rules.
• Anvis claimed Raphael of the Black Ring Merchant Guild had arranged the counterattack after Anvis gave him a list of the hostile factions.
• Duke Carlot accepted Anvis’s explanation, while two figures eavesdropping outside his residence discussed whether a High-rank Prophet secretly controlled the Black Ring Merchant Guild.

Anvis was questioned by Hughes Duman and Marquis Delaka about the Prophet behind the Black Ring Merchant Guild, but used a Fifth-Rank Avatar to conceal his true strength. Meanwhile, demand for Construct Network Headgear surged across the Itel Federation, creating a lucrative black market that Player guilds moved to exploit.

• Hughes Duman and Marquis Delaka appeared in Anvis's room and questioned him about the mysterious Prophet behind the Black Ring Merchant Guild.
• Anvis denied knowing the Prophet, and Marquis Delaka tested him with his Ninth-Rank aura before Hughes stopped him.
• After the two departed, Anvis relied on his prepared Fifth-Rank Avatar to keep his true strength hidden and resolved to stay low-profile.
• Anvis learned that commoners and Low-Rank Professionals were searching for Construct Network Headgear in hopes of improving their talent.
• Unlawful merchants began selling counterfeit headgear, while Player guilds persuaded city officials to let them sell collected headgear for a share of the profits.

Anvis’s suspicion that someone was trying to revive the Construct Network 2.0 grew as unrest spread among the Federation’s people. Meanwhile, Duke Carlot’s demand that Marquis Delaka answer for testing Anvis exposed a united front among several marquises, and Gloria III left the Empire’s affairs to a Steward while he recuperated.

• Anvis suspected that ambitious figures were stirring public support for the Construct Network to restart the Construct Network 2.0 project.
• Anvis reported Marquis Delaka’s attempt to test him to Duke Carlot, who raised the incident at the noble assembly and demanded an explanation.
• Marquis Delaka denied attacking Anvis, and Marquis Beihim, Marquis Vent, and Marquis Anlita backed him.
• Duke Carlot realized the other nobles were not supporting the Olyvendi Family, while the Head of Alfred Family called for Delaka to apologize.
• Gloria III declined to judge the dispute, announced that a Steward would handle routine affairs while he recuperated, and vanished.

With Gloria III absent, the Olyvendi and Alfred Families clashed with a coalition of Marquises, plunging the Empire into unrest. Anvis, watching from the Itel Federation, received an unexpected request from Olbins to meet in the Empire’s Royal Capital.

• Gloria III remained out of sight, and rumors spread among the nobles about his condition and motives.
• Duke Carlot found that the other ducal families would support the Olyvendi Family only if it revealed the secret of the “Star,” leaving him without their help.
• Clashes between the Olyvendi and Alfred Families and the Marquises spread across the Empire, disrupting underground organizations and prompting nobles and academy students to expand their influence.
• Anvis reflected on how his actions had shifted the Empire’s turmoil and concluded that the conflict could become prolonged.
• Olbins contacted Anvis and asked to meet him at the Magic Light Hotel in the Empire’s Royal Capital.

Anvis met Olbins at the Magic Light Hotel, where Olbins described his project to calculate the future by monitoring every variable. Olbins wondered whether the Continental Web of Fate might have begun as a similar invention, leaving Anvis to consider the possibility.

• Anvis used an avatar to meet Olbins, who deduced it through calculations and his armor’s readings.
• O lbins explained his plan to use the Eternal Core and a network of observations to calculate future events.
• O lbins described how his instrument learned to predict the short-term lives of animals in a confined forest.
• Anvis warned that a similar experiment in the Olyvendi Family’s records had failed as its calculations overwhelmed the core.
• O lbins insisted the approach could work and proposed that the Continental Web of Fate might have evolved from an invention like his.