Chapter Summaries

Anvis arranged for the Cromier Merchant Guild to help acquire ownership of almost all of the Empire’s Cursed Lands, aiming to control most of its known Cursed Ore production. After leaving the acquisitions to the Olivenndi Merchant Guild, he wondered whether to attend the Katchi Party that night.

• Anvis met Pekala and asked her to negotiate the acquisition of every Cursed Land except the locations marked on her map.
• Pekala said the White Rose Merchant Alliance could immediately transfer its twelve Cursed Lands and would try to acquire the other fifty-five, though some owners might be too powerful.
• Anvis told Pekala to pass information about any lands they could not acquire to the Olivenndi Merchant Guild.
• Pekala left the meeting reflecting on the Four Great Families’ power, then embarrassed herself by cheering for the Cromier Merchant Guild in public.
• Anvis informed the head of the Olivenndi Merchant Guild about the acquisitions and turned his attention to Harvey’s invitation to the Katchi Party.

After declining Harvey’s invitation to a Katchi Party, Anvis recognized that its secretive, invitation-only structure could suit his need to organize people without attracting outside attention. He decided to propose a faction to Duke Carlos and provisionally named it the Mysteries Society.

• Anvis learned how Katchi Parties used disguises, potions, and protected venues to keep attendees’ identities secret.
• Anvis destroyed Harvey’s invitation because he decided not to attend the party.
• Anvis realized that an invitation-only organization could help him evade the many people watching him and keep members’ identities confidential.
• Anvis planned to ask Duke Carlos for a secret communication Artifact and propose his organization when the family questioned his recent actions.
• Anvis provisionally named his organization the Mysteries Society.

Anvis explained to Duke Carlot that he had deciphered ancient plates revealing how to cultivate a powerful Cursed Plutonium Dragon, which required large quantities of cursed ores. The duke questioned the dragon’s name, leaving Anvis’s proposal awaiting his response.

• Anvis showed Duke Carlot ancient metal plates and demonstrated how cursed ore revealed hidden inscriptions and writing.
• Anvis explained that he had bought up Cursed Lands to test the plates’ reaction to cursed ores.
• Duke Carlot reflected that Anvis’s talent could not overcome Fiona’s superior atavistic bloodline and considered compensating him another way.
• Anvis described the Cursed Plutonium Dragon’s cultivation process, growth, and potential strength to Duke Carlot.
• Duke Carlot asked whether Anvis had invented the term “cursed plutonium.”

Anvis persuaded Duke Carlot to fund his plan to raise Cursed Plutonium Dragons, gaining three Black Dragon Eggs and ritual materials. After securing the resources, he recalled how his past-life Player memories had taught him to decipher the ancient plates and traced the method to Next Door Boy’s account of a hidden-quest discovery.

• Anvis explained the name and potential of Cursed Plutonium Dragons to Duke Carlot, who approved three Black Dragon Eggs, Secret Art Ritual materials, and purchases of Cursed Lands, exhausting Anvis’s free resource quota until next year’s Radiant Moon.
• Anvis asked the Duke for a special Artifact for group communication so he could establish his own faction.
• After their communication ended, Anvis considered using the eggs to raise a Cursed Plutonium Dragon and reflected that controlling the circulation of cursed ore was his real purpose.
• Anvis remembered deciphering the metal plates through knowledge from his previous life as Lucky Silver Hand, a Player who had completed the unique quest for the Dark Moon Staff.
• Anvis recalled that Next Door Boy had discovered the deciphering method during an expedition into a cave, where he found cursed ruins and a damaged construct that gave him the A-rank hidden quest Inheritance of Civilization.

Anvis used his status to obtain the Yaqiu Civilization’s Cursed Plutonium Dragon cultivation method and left the Two Metal Plates in his residence to attract curious intruders. After sending a letter to the Last Dragonborn, he was shown gathering with five Players whose game IDs all began with White Light Arena.

• The chapter described how the Yaqiu people bred the Cursed Plutonium Dragon, whose destructive power helped bring the Dragons’ wrath down on their civilization.
• In his previous life, Next Door Boy entered Pamir Academy as a service worker, borrowed the Two Metal Plates, learned the cultivation method, and traded it to the Burns Family.
• Anvis bypassed the quest’s main obstacle with his status, claimed the Two Metal Plates, and left them in his academy residence to lure someone in.
• Anvis decided to seek more information about Yaqiu inheritances from Next Door Boy and wondered how the Last Dragonborn had fared.
• Anvis sent a sealed letter to the Last Dragonborn, who stood near Manerqinke Fortress with five Players bearing the White Light Arena prefix.

The Last Dragonborn recruited White Light Club players to intercept a shipment of secret supplies linked to the missing Heavy Sword Mercenary Group. After learning that the shipment could arrive in Marnachenko that night, the group prepared to act on his intelligence.

• The Last Dragonborn told Nyarlathotep and the other White Light Club players that the Blood Lion Mercenary Group might bring the secret supplies to Marnachenko that night.
• The Last Dragonborn completed the Tracking quest, earned 250,000 Experience Points, and triggered the B-rank quest Veiled Cloud to find the Heavy Sword Mercenary Group.
• The Last Dragonborn received an anonymous warning telling him to stop investigating, and he deduced that the sender was likely a noble or someone from the Empire's regular army.
• The Last Dragonborn secretly investigated the Black Market and Mercenary Guild, then concluded that the missing mercenaries were connected to an incoming shipment of secret supplies.
• The Last Dragonborn asked his former White Light Club colleagues for help, and they gathered to intercept the shipment and uncover the larger quest behind it.

Last Dragonborn explained an ambush plan for a well-guarded transport convoy, then the Professional Players waited in hiding near the trade road. Rabbit Ji spotted the convoy approaching, and the group prepared to act.

• Last Dragonborn outlined a plan to distract the convoy's mages, inspect its cargo, and attack its elite guards while warning everyone to prepare consumables and escape tools.
• Jin Yin Tong Lv questioned the complicated plan, and Last Dragonborn explained why attacking the convoy directly would be risky and why valuable goods were likely carried in Spatial Pouches.
• Last Dragonborn teased Jin Yin Tong Lv about his height, and the Dwarf secretly put one point into Intelligence on the way to the ambush site.
• The Professional Players took positions on a concealed hill and chatted through their temporary party channel while waiting for the convoy.
• Nyarlathotep wondered why the goods were not sent through a Teleportation Array, and Last Dragonborn guessed that a special restriction or high cost prevented it.
• Rabbit Ji spotted the transport convoy emerging along the dirt road.

Last Dragonborn’s party attacked a White Rose Legion convoy and discovered it was smuggling Radiant Crystal, losing five Players while helping him escape with a crate. Anvis realized the raid had triggered a dangerous quest and that Last Dragonborn could report the discovery to him through Elf’s follower identity.

• Rabbit Ji identified the approaching convoy as belonging to the Blood Lion Mercenary Group, and Nyarlathotep told the Players to attack when their Magic trap was triggered.
• The Players detonated a disguised boulder beside the convoy and launched an ambush.
• Anvis read a letter explaining that Elf’s group had raided a White Rose Legion supply convoy and uncovered its smuggling of Radiant Crystal.
• Five Players died while covering Last Dragonborn’s escape with a crate containing about ten units of Radiant Crystal.
• Anvis concluded that Last Dragonborn’s quest included an option to report the smuggling to the person he served.

Anvis used Last Dragonborn’s intelligence about the White Rose Legion to complete a faction-unlocking quest, then rewarded him with equipment and Olyvendi faction contribution. Last Dragonborn survived the ordeal and discovered the powerful items available in the Olyvendi faction shop.

• Anvis arranged for his forces to protect Last Dragonborn and deliver him a Communication Crystal Ball so the Elf could report the intelligence.
• Last Dragonborn contacted Anvis, claimed the White Rose Legion intended to rebel, recounted his pursuit, and handed over most of the Radiant Crystals.
• Anvis pretended to be shocked, bought the Radiant Crystals for twenty thousand Gold Coins each, and gave Last Dragonborn Vienne's Ring and an Olyvendi resource quota.
• Anvis saw through Last Dragonborn's Player Panel that he had 150 Olyvendi Faction Contribution points and Friendly reputation.
• Last Dragonborn examined the Olyvendi faction shop and was astonished by its selection of high-quality equipment.

Anvis offered the Last Dragonborn a choice between surrendering Vienne's Ring for information about the Heavy Sword Mercenary Group or keeping it in exchange for a special quest. The Elf chose the quest, and Anvis arranged for him to travel to the Royal Capital, where he would learn its details.

• Anvis distributed the rewards and ordered family guards to protect the Last Dragonborn on his journey to the Empire's Royal Capital.
• The Last Dragonborn asked Anvis to investigate the Heavy Sword Mercenary Group, which had transported secret supplies for the White Rose Legion.
• Anvis said the Elf could give up Vienne's Ring to fund the investigation, and the Last Dragonborn agreed after explaining that he wanted to learn the fate of a dead woman's family.
• Anvis noticed the Elf's rapid rise in strength and offered a third choice: keep the ring while carrying out a special quest.
• The Last Dragonborn accepted the third choice, and Anvis promised to tell him the quest details once they met in the Royal Capital.

Anvis prepared his laboratory and began the Cursed Plutonium Dragon Transformation Ritual on three Black Dragon Eggs. The eggs started absorbing the dark-blue transformation fluid as the ritual activated.

• Anvis told Duke Carlot about suspicious delays in the reinforcements sent to the Last Dragonborn.
• Anvis entered his renovated basement laboratory, which he had equipped for cultivating Cursed Plutonium Dragons and researching Mass-Energy Conversion Weapons.
• Anvis drew the Mystic Ritual Array in an Anti-Magic Metal pool and placed three inscribed Black Dragon Eggs at its center.
• Anvis activated Seer Silver and ordered it to fill the pool with transformation fluid, then contained the Cursed Force Field with a shield.
• Anvis activated the ritual with a Super Magic Crystal, and the dragon eggs began drawing in the fluid as its level slowly fell.

Anvis replenished the Mana Conversion Pool as it processed the Cursed Plutonium Dragon, then began researching Cursed Metal for a Mass-Energy Conversion Weapon. He activated the High-Order Element Stripping Device and placed eight Cursed Metal samples inside to isolate their elements.

• Anvis ordered Seer Silver to analyze the culture fluid and replenish the Mana Conversion Pool, then set automatic resupply intervals for the months-long conversion.
• Anvis left the pool to study Cursed Metal after secretly acquiring control of sixty-seven Cursed Lands through the Olyvendi Family.
• Anvis examined eight purified samples spanning the low-, mid-, and high-grade Cursed Metals produced by those lands.
• Anvis reasoned that a Mass-Energy Conversion Weapon required a rare isotope rather than ordinary Cursed Metal, and that mana could alter familiar physical laws.
• Anvis activated the High-Order Element Stripping Device and placed the eight Cursed Metal samples in separate positions inside it.

Anvis expanded Seer Silver’s Element Stripping device to process a massive supply of Cursed Metal while he waited for the work to finish. Two days later, the Last Dragonborn arrived in Palosia and prepared to meet Anvis, whose status within the Olyvendi Family remained unknown to him.

• Anvis left his laboratory after starting a new element-stripping task and spent a quiet afternoon reflecting on autumn’s end.
• The next day, Anvis sorted thirty-nine Cursed Metal samples and activated Seer Silver’s complete form to begin deep stripping at maximum power.
• Anvis checked the dragon egg in the conversion pool before leaving the laboratory.
• Two days later, the Last Dragonborn reached a basement in Palosia with an Olyvendi Family guard after escaping the White Rose Legion.
• The Last Dragonborn asked about Anvis’s identity, then hurried off to change clothes before their meeting.

Last Dragonborn dressed in Charisma-boosting clothing and accessories to influence Anvis during their meeting. Anvis recognized the tactic from his own past as a Player and countered it by changing the elf’s clothes and removing his intoxication and perfume effects.

• Last Dragonborn searched his servant’s room, then equipped several items that boosted his Charisma.
• The guard reacted strangely to Last Dragonborn’s alluring outfit as the elf entered Anvis’s study.
• Anvis recalled once changing clothes to persuade an NPC merchant to lower the price of a Storm Crystal Raw Stone.
• Anvis replaced Last Dragonborn’s outfit with a long black dress, removed his Slight Intoxication, and raised a barrier against his perfume.

Anvis introduced himself to Last Dragonborn as the son of Duke Carlras and gave him the investigation dossier on the Greatsword Mercenary Group. The records revealed the group had served as a White Rose Legion deputy commander's covert force, while its leader Jet had sought a path to escape being used as a scapegoat.

• Anvis explained that the illusion covering his formal clothes did not change their actual appearance and used a recording crystal ball while meeting Last Dragonborn in a rune-protected study.
• Anvis formally introduced himself as the ruler of Carlas Province and Duke Carlras's son, and Last Dragonborn examined his powerful attributes and traits.
• Anvis gave Last Dragonborn the investigation materials and told him the Greatsword Mercenary Group had been wiped out in an accident.
• Last Dragonborn learned that the Greatsword Mercenary Group had been the White Rose Legion deputy commander's private force for covert operations.
• The dossier described how Jet, the group's leader, feared being made a scapegoat and believed reaching Seventh Rank was his only escape.

The chapter revealed how Jet betrayed the White Rose Legion to steal Radiant Crystals, hoping to use his share to attempt a Seventh Rank breakthrough. After Jet and his confidants poisoned the mercenaries and stole the supplies, the Legion traced the Heavy Sword Mercenary Group and found Jet dead at the Empire’s border.

• Jet learned that the Radiant Crystals were destined for hostile nations and noble descendants, and his resentment toward the Legion and Empire overcame his hesitation.
• Jet agreed to split the stolen crystals with a mysterious man’s organization, which promised to obscure the Thread of Fate and help him escape to the Iter Kingdom Federation.
• Jet told his vice commander and two trusted confidants about the plan, then diverted the Mercenary Group to a canyon in the Fallen Star Mountain Range.
• Jet gave the mercenaries poisoned wine and food, and his confidants killed the few who survived the poison as their deaths disrupted the Thread of Fate.
• The White Rose Legion investigated the group’s altered route and found Jet’s stripped corpse near the Empire’s border, with a dagger buried in his back.

After learning that the Heavy Sword Mercenary Group had been destroyed, the Last Dragonborn accepted Anvis’s research quest and followed him to a hidden family laboratory. Anvis restrained him and began examining his body, but the initial scan revealed no obvious abnormalities beyond the Lament Set.

• The Last Dragonborn received a quest to visit the Heavy Sword Mercenary Group’s final battlefield and learned that the White Rose Legion regarded him as a mortal enemy.
• Anvis asked Rivers to cooperate with research into his Special Constitution, and Rivers accepted the quest despite its warning of unknown consequences if he refused.
• Anvis led Rivers through a concealed spiral staircase to a high-grade Olyvendi Family laboratory beneath the room.
• Anvis instructed Rivers to lie on an inscribed stone bed, where magical restraints secured him as the laboratory scanned his body.
• Anvis found that Rivers’s physical structure and attributes matched ordinary Elves apart from the Lament Set growing on his body.

Anvis’s tests found no unusual bloodline traits in Rivers, the Last Dragonborn, and failed to explain the Players’ nature. He persuaded Rivers to undergo more dangerous research by offering a powerful staff and rewards, then ordered him to undress.

• Anvis tested Rivers’s blood and hair, but the samples appeared ordinary and a cultivated duplicate lacked the Players’ Lament Set.
• Anvis concluded that his available equipment could not detect the abnormalities in Rivers’s body and completed the Secret Research quest, raising Rivers to level 60.
• Anvis proposed more in-depth research, and Rivers tried to refuse, fearing the experiments would become dangerous.
• Anvis offered Rivers Noi’s Moon Staff and 150,000 Gold Coins’ worth of resources, convincing him to accept the research.
• Anvis released Rivers’s restraints after the elf accepted the Secret Research II quest, then told him to remove all his clothes.

Anvis dissected the Last Dragonborn’s Pants of Sighs to investigate his unusual constitution, but a Magic Mirror shattered when it revealed an endless starry sky beneath them. The discovery reminded Anvis of other starry skies he had glimpsed and led him to suspect he had encountered a manifestation of the world’s rules.

• The Last Dragonborn told Anvis he could not remove the Pants of Sighs, and Anvis restrained him with Magic Shackles before preparing a scalpel.
• Anvis cut a slit in the Pants of Sighs while Life Mana restored the Last Dragonborn’s health, then used a recording Crystal Ball and Magic Mirror to examine inside.
• The Magic Mirror shattered under an irresistible force, and Anvis felt a sharp spiritual backlash.
• Anvis saw an endless starry sky beneath the Pants of Sighs and recognized it as distinct from two similar skies he had encountered before.
• Anvis concluded that the starry sky was most likely a manifestation of the world’s rules, a power associated with Ninth Rank Experts.

Anvis tested whether the Last Dragonborn’s Pants of Sighs could be mystified and whether the space beneath them had unusual time effects. He then used a Shadow Python in an experiment, confirmed only he could see the “starry sky,” and sent Rivers away with his contribution points and Noi's Moon Staff.

• Anvis successfully used Mystic Art on the Last Dragonborn’s Pants of Sighs, but it caused no special change.
• Anvis inserted a testing rod beneath the Pants of Sighs and found no difference between the rod’s watch and his pocket watch.
• Anvis summoned a Hegman Shadow Python and used it to test the “starry sky” while the Last Dragonborn struggled helplessly.
• Anvis concluded that only he could see the “starry sky,” while the Last Dragonborn had lost health and the python remained unharmed.
• Rivers pretended to be too weak to leave, but stood up when Anvis offered no extra reward.
• Anvis gave Rivers Noi's Moon Staff and told him his contribution points had been transferred and he could leave.