Chapter Summaries

Evan aimed to win first place in the Naval Rising Star Project so he could advance his rank and reach the New Continent sooner. After judging most of the Conch’s crew unfit, he rebuilt the ship’s roster with promising recruits from his old intake, leaving the newly overhauled crew ready for its test at sea.

• Evan decided to pursue the Naval Rising Star title and asked Major Milan for another favor.
• Evan assessed the Conch’s crew and judged only a little over twenty of its hundred-plus members fit to remain.
• Evan arranged transfers of promising recruits from his old intake, using his records from their recruit-camp training to select them.
• Evan welcomed the recruits aboard the Conch and quickly built their loyalty to him and the ship.
• Evan filled the Conch’s complement with veteran officers and promising recruits, completing its overhaul before its coming test at sea.

Evan prepared the Conch and its crew for the Naval Rising Star pirate hunt, using a Deck Competition to appoint Gary as boatswain. As the warships dispersed to compete for recognition, Milan unexpectedly joined Evan as the Conch’s navigator, giving the mission a powerful new asset.

• The Tulip Alliance assembled more than two hundred warships for a three-month pirate hunt, and Evan’s Conch was selected as one of the Faletis Kingdom’s ten participants.
• Evan held a Deck Competition aboard the Conch, where Gary defeated the other contenders and won the crew’s support as boatswain.
• The Conch and the other selected warships left port, then separated to pursue their own chances at the Naval Rising Star title.
• Evan discovered that Milan had joined the Conch as navigator after arranging for Adrien to retire from the post.
• Milan told Evan that he was a formal-level Prophet and intended to help with the pirate hunt.

Evan and Milan planned to hunt pirates in the Nearshore waters rather than risk taking the Conch into the Outer Sea. They decided to wait along the route to Atlan, where pirates from the White Whale Port Massacre might pass, and began assessing their ship’s combat strength.

• Milan studied a detailed nautical chart and advised against taking the Sixth-Rate Ship Conch into the dangerous Outer Sea.
• Evan proposed targeting pirates heading from White Whale Port to neutral ports, and Milan identified Atlan as their likely destination.
• Milan reasoned that Evan had chosen their route to intercept pirates and agreed that waiting was better than searching aimlessly.
• Milan suggested comparing their strength with potential targets through divination, and Evan laid out the crew’s personnel and the Conch’s twenty cannons.

Akelawa and Kala Wusu argued over whether to send their treasure to the tribe, revealing their hopes and doubts about resisting the Golden-Haired Devils. When a strange fog swallowed the Spirit of the Eagle, Akelawa performed a ritual as the Conch approached under cover of the fog.

• Kala Wusu challenged Akelawa for refusing to send the treasure to the surviving tribespeople, while Akelawa argued that they had abandoned their faith and must be left behind.
• Akelawa urged Kala Wusu to keep raiding and learning from the Golden-Haired Devils so they could eventually reclaim their homeland, but Kala Wusu worried their people would be assimilated.
• The Sail Master ordered the Spirit of the Eagle to lower its sails as a vast wall of fog rolled in and engulfed the ship.
• Akelawa ordered a sheep brought to the deck and used its organs in a ritual to investigate the fog’s hidden nature.
• Milan used the Mist Silver Lamp aboard the Conch to move through the fog and close in on the Spirit of the Eagle.

Evan and Milan ambushed the Spirit of the Eagle through the fog, using divination countermeasures to conceal their warship and Scorching Bullets to blast the pirate ship’s stern. The attack continued as five bottles of High-Efficiency Voodoo Potions fell onto its crowded deck.

• Milan identified the Spirit of the Eagle and described Captain Akelawa and First Mate Kala Wusu as formidable targets.
• Evan noticed Akelawa using Viscera Divination, and Milan concealed the Conch from spiritual detection with Sorcery: Divination Counter.
• Evan ordered the Conch to approach the Spirit of the Eagle from behind through the fog while the crew used Milan’s Mind Link to see through it.
• The Conch fired ten Scorching Bullets into the Spirit of the Eagle’s stern, blasting five holes through its hull.
• Five White Gulls dropped High-Efficiency Voodoo Potions onto the pirate ship as its crew shouted that it was under attack.

Evan and the Conch crippled Akelawa’s pirate ship with poison bombs and Scorching Bullets, but Akelawa called on Avaanka to dispel the fog and reveal the navy warship. Akelawa then sent Kala Wusu and a swarm of Poisonous Bees to attack it.

• Akelawa used the silver eagle phantom to deflect most of Evan’s poison bombs, but one burst into green mist and killed several pirates.
• Akelawa’s Eagle Soul Guard deflected Evan’s Scorching Bullet, but Evan fired again and destroyed the Spirit of the Eagle’s wheel.
• Evan ordered the Conch’s gunners to bombard the pirate ship, striking its hull and flooding its cabins while the pirates’ return fire missed in the fog.
• Akelawa invoked Avaanka, whose storm scattered the fog and briefly revealed the Conch and its Tulip Alliance navy flag.
• Akelawa told Kala Wusu to attack the warship while he used an eagle-bone flute to unleash Poisonous Bees.

Evan and Kala Wusu fought across the Conch’s deck while Evan’s potion and fog countered Akelawa’s insect attack. Kala Wusu summoned two extraordinary eagles, and Evan sent his six Black Feather Frigatebirds to meet them.

• Kala Wusu cut his arms and used his eagle totem to form wings, then leaped from the Spirit of the Eagle toward the Conch.
• Evan released an insect-repelling potion that drove Akelawa’s Poisonous Bees away, while the fog weakened the swarm and scattered it.
• Kala Wusu dodged the sailors’ musket fire and charged their formation, but Evan intercepted him with his sword as Milan took command and kept firing cannons at the Spirit of the Eagle.
• Evan and Kala Wusu exchanged rapid blows, and Kala Wusu blew a bone whistle to summon two trained eagles.
• Evan called down six Black Feather Frigatebirds and ordered them to attack the extraordinary eagles.

Evan’s crew defeated Akelawa’s pirates after the ammunition depot’s sympathetic detonation destroyed their ship, and Evan killed the transformed Kala Wusu. With the Conch victorious but low on ammunition, Evan planned to resupply at the Tulip Alliance naval base on Saint Martin Island.

• The Conch’s Ironfeather Frigatebirds fought Kala Wusu’s giant eagles while the Scorching Bullets triggered the pirate ship’s ammunition depot, killing Akelawa and destroying the ship.
• Kala Wusu lost control and transformed into an Eagle Man, but Evan shot him and killed the two wounded giant eagles.
• Milan cleared the mist, and the sailors hunted down surviving pirates as Fleck retrieved a charred piece of sailcloth from the wreck.
• Milan divined from the sailcloth and confirmed Akelawa had died in the explosion, while Evan celebrated the crew’s victory.
• Evan examined Kala Wusu’s Eagle Warrior Training Method and became interested in its tattoo inscriptions for borrowing animal spirits’ power.
• Bogg reported that the Conch’s ammunition reserve had fallen below half, and Evan asked Milan about resupplying and repairing at the naval base on Saint Martin Island.

After the Conch’s crew celebrated their victory, Evan studied the Eagle Warrior training method and meditated while the ship anchored for the night. A mysterious fog spread over the ship, and two lookouts fell asleep and disappeared into it.

• Evan anchored the Conch beside an uncharted island so the exhausted crew could rest after their battle.
• The crew celebrated their victory without casualties, and the first mate arranged the night watch.
• Evan studied the Eagle Warrior training method and considered how to strip its totems of faith and spiritual influence.
• Evan continued his meditation practice, reflecting on his future path and his growing Spirit Power.
• A thick fog rose around the ship, and two lookouts fell asleep, slid down the mast, and vanished into it.

Evan woke from a supernatural attack to find the Conch shrouded in hallucinogenic fog and dragged across the sea by a Mirage Mist Starfish. With most of the crew helpless, he and Milan prepared to fight back, and Milan revealed a crate of Alchemy Bombs.

• Evan used Data Vision's warning and an antidote to break free from the attack and discovered the ship was enveloped in fog.
• Evan found Milan awake, and the two saw a Mirage Mist Starfish towing the Conch through the sea.
• Evan identified the sea monster as a wild Small Species that used hallucinogenic mist to hypnotize its prey and store them as food.
• Evan and Milan found the crew asleep and realized they were the only combatants able to defend the ship.
• Milan opened the ammunition depot and showed Evan a crate of Alchemy Bombs.

Evan turned four Alchemy Bombs into a timed explosive and used a live goat to lure the Mirage Mist Starfish into swallowing it. The blast killed the monster, and Evan returned to the forecastle with Milan, where they discussed what to do with its corpse.

• Evan dismantled two Alchemy Bombs and combined them with a pocket watch and the remaining bombs to make a timed explosive.
• Evan and Milan tied the bomb barrel to a live goat, woke it with antidote, and sent it onto the deck as bait.
• The Mirage Mist Starfish grabbed the goat and swallowed it and the bomb barrel whole.
• After sneaking to the forecastle, Evan waited for the timer to expire, and the bomb exploded inside the starfish.
• Evan confirmed the starfish was dead but found no Extraordinary Characteristic, then returned to Milan and hinted he had a better idea for the corpse.

Evan used an improved Extraction Potion on the Mirage Mist Starfish’s remains and harvested an Essence Fruit that boosted his physical and spiritual attributes. He realized that eating the fruit alongside training could accelerate his growth as the unrest at sea made him feel increasingly pressed to grow stronger.

• Evan and Milan hauled the Mirage Mist Starfish’s severed tentacles aboard as evidence and food.
• Evan used the Extraction Potion on the sea monster’s remains, producing a gem-like Essence Fruit.
• Evan gave Milan a seed from the fruit, and Milan enjoyed its taste and felt its warming, clarifying effects.
• Evan ate a seed and saw all his attributes increase, including his Spirit, through his Data Vision.
• Evan concluded that he would need to combine the remaining fruit with training to advance and keep pace with Anita.
• Evan recalled the escalating sea monsters, the clash involving Tien Kute, and the White Whale Port Massacre, and resolved to strengthen himself for the approaching crisis.

After defeating the Mirage Mist Starfish, Evan shared its Essence Fruits with Milan and prepared Gary to attempt an Extraordinary Transformation. The Conch drifted into the dangerous Outer Sea, where a massive storm approached as the chapter ended.

• Evan gave Milan twelve Essence Fruits and explained that the remaining fruits could help Formal Knights endure the weakness that followed advancement.
• Evan woke the officers, told them about the sea monster, and authorized them to inform the crew and serve an extra meal of monster meat.
• Evan asked Gary to choose whether to attempt an Extraordinary Transformation, and Gary agreed.
• Evan brewed a Black Sea Magic Potion using the Gun-Spike Toothed Fish characteristic, and Gary drank it before Evan left him to undergo the transformation alone.
• Milan determined that the Conch had drifted into the Outer Sea and was more than three days from Saint Martin Island.
• Evan ordered the crew to prepare for an unprecedented storm as the windless sea and dark clouds left the Conch without shelter.

After the Conch survived a deadly storm, Evan led his crew to a nearby island for shelter and discovered signs that it was inhabited. He recognized their supposed shipwrecked guide as a pirate and prepared to investigate the island’s ruins and its connection to the Bronze Key.

• Evan noticed the Bronze Key trembling and glowing, but rushed on deck when a lookout spotted an island.
• Evan steered the Conch into a sheltered bay, then led more than a hundred men ashore to find shelter from the rain.
• Gary captured a man hiding in the jungle, who claimed that he and his companions were shipwrecked sailors.
• Evan spotted a pirate tattoo on the captive and found that the island held wooden buildings and ruined pyramids.
• Evan ordered his Navy Soldiers to secure the people inside the buildings and confronted the captive as a shipwrecked pirate he recognized.

Evan learned that White Shark Skuk had stationed pirates to guard ancient ruins on the island, then used Milan to divine that the Bronze Key pointed to a location deep underground. After scouting and preparing, Evan entered the ruins with Milan and Gary, leaving the story at the start of their exploration.

• Evan interrogated the pirates and learned that Skuk had ordered them to guard the ruins, where previous explorers had disappeared.
• Evan recognized the Bronze Key as connected to the ruins rather than Skuk's treasure vault and asked Milan to examine it.
• Milan broke the key's anti-divination spell and determined that its destination lay deep underground on the island.
• Evan sent out scouting seabirds, arranged the night watch, and decided to explore the ruins with Milan and Gary.
• Evan, Milan, and Gary climbed to the pyramid entrance, opened a stone door, and entered the ruins.

Evan, Milan, and Gary explored the underground ruins, finding evidence of a deadly battle that had wiped out earlier pirate expeditions. The chapter left them facing a huge carved symbol on the ceiling, which Evan suspected could explain what had killed the pirates.

• Milan cast an Illumination Spell, revealing an Inverted Tree symbol carved into the ruins’ entrance wall.
• Evan led Milan and Gary down into an underground hall, where he killed a swarm of giant bats and they found pirate corpses, shattered statues, and discarded weapons.
• Evan examined the remains and deduced that some pirates had been crushed by a python-like creature while others had been struck by blunt weapons.
• Milan read an omen that warned of enemies ahead but showed no obvious sign of death, so the three continued through a corridor painted with grotesque creatures and plants.
• Evan, Milan, and Gary reached another circular hall filled with higher-ranking pirate corpses, where Evan pointed out an enormous symbol carved into the ceiling.

Evan, Milan, and Gary explored deeper into the underground ruin, where they found a cursed blue jewel and realized it might be connected to White Shark Skuk’s mutation. As living petrified roots surged through the corridor, Evan led the defense against them.

• Evan explained that the ruin’s halls followed the pattern of the Inverted Tree, and the group continued through empty halls with their guard raised.
• The group found cracks and stone-like roots covering the corridor walls, and Evan cut off a piece before they continued onward.
• In the Splendor hall, Evan and Milan stopped Gary from approaching a blue jewel radiating a curse through its light.
• Evan and Milan connected the jewel to White Shark Skuk’s mutation curse and suspected it had halted his earlier exploration.
• The roots behind them surged through the corridor, and Evan raised his sword to block their attack.

Evan, Milan, and Gary escaped the root-filled Radiance hall and encountered Frogmen in a flooded passage. Gary entered a brief berserk state and slaughtered them, so Evan decided to stop the exploration and return to the surface to assess Gary’s condition.

• Evan sent Milan and Gary through the Radiance hall with Silver Amulets while he held off the attacking roots, then followed them through the middle door to the Victory hall.
• Evan, Milan, and Gary noticed the roots would not cross into the Radiance hall and questioned the ruin’s purpose before sealing the door behind them.
• The group entered a flooded corridor, where more than thirty Frogmen rushed toward them.
• Gary suddenly transformed into a berserk state and killed every Frogman before returning to normal.
• Evan realized exposure to the Azure Orb’s light may have altered Gary during his Extraordinary Transformation and decided to suspend the exploration, though the group still had to choose whether to go forward or back.

Evan, Milan, and Gary escaped a giant lizard by diving through an underwater passage into a vast cavern filled with ancient stone caves and statues. A mysterious phantom appeared and invited them toward a spotless crown sculpture, while Evan’s spiritual sensation grew stronger.

• Evan carried Milan and Gary through the flooded corridors as a giant lizard pursued them.
• Milan divined that the exit and key lay farther below, and Evan followed his directions to an underwater passage.
• The three swam through the passage and emerged in a vast cavern connected to the outside world.
• Evan, Milan, and Gary found three tiers of ancient caves lined with decayed statues and a pristine crown sculpture.
• A tall male phantom appeared and silently gestured toward the caves, prompting Evan to ask who he was.

Evan followed a silent phantom through the Stone Cave ruins and was allowed to pass the statue warriors alone. He found the dead wizard who had guided him, and the Bronze Key led him to a matching Bronze Box, which he opened.

• Evan and his companions reached the living statues, and the warriors opened a path for Evan while blocking Milan and Gary.
• Evan left Milan and Gary behind and followed the phantom through the Stone Cave's upper levels.
• Evan explored the preserved laboratory and found the dead wizard at the cave's end as the phantom vanished.
• Evan identified the corpse's serpent tail as evidence of Bloodline Transformation and found that the Bronze Key had grown hot.
• Evan used the key to open a Bronze Box that fell from the wizard's corpse.