Chapter Summaries

Evan used Milan’s divination ritual to see Anita Garratt fighting on Pirate City’s wall, but the vision ended as a juvenile sea dragon attacked her. Milan’s spiritual exhaustion left Evan unable to learn whether Anita survived.

• Evan recognized his sister Anita Garratt, now a powerful Peak Knight, fighting monsters on the city wall.
• The juvenile sea dragon approached Anita’s section of wall, and Edward Teague ordered the cannons to fire at it.
• The sea dragon’s water spell deflected most cannonballs, but several struck it before it charged beneath the wall and leaped toward Anita.
• Evan’s three-minute vision ended just as the dragon attacked, leaving him back in Milan’s manor with no way to intervene.
• Evan gave Milan a Full Moon Spirit potion, and Milan said he could not perform another divination until at least the next day.

Anita fought the juvenile sea dragon that attacked Pirate City’s wall and killed Donald. She unleashed the Dragon Slayer Sword Siegfried and pursued the wounded creature, leaving it dead beneath the wall.

• The juvenile sea dragon attacked Anita on the city wall and killed Donald, enraging her.
• Pirate City’s Musketeer Squad fired at the dragon, but its scales shrugged off their bullets.
• Anita revealed the Dragon Slayer Sword Siegfried and used Full Body Liberation with Dragon Slaying Swordsmanship to slash the dragon.
• The wounded sea dragon fell from the wall, and Anita plunged after it through the monsters and tides.
• Anita struck the dragon through the chest and killed it, then returned to the wall with her sword clean.

After Milan’s divination suggested that Anita had become a Grand Knight, Evan accepted that his sister was alive and continued his first mission as captain of the Silver Conch. On the return route, he recognized Leopold on the nautical chart, a town tied to his past.

• Milan’s attempt to divine Anita failed when the target’s power overwhelmed the crystal ball, leading her and Evan to conclude that Anita had advanced to Grand Knight.
• Evan sailed the Silver Conch on a routine coastal patrol and mail-delivery mission, relieved to know Anita was temporarily safe despite their distance.
• As the ship began its return journey, Navigator Adrien showed Evan a chart listing the route through Campalan, Tourst, Wiskol, and Leopold.
• Evan paused at the name Leopold, which was deeply familiar to him.

Evan’s routine patrol aboard the Conch turned dangerous when a huge school of flying fish fled from a pack of Gun-Spike Toothed Fish. He ordered the crew to fire grapeshot, wounding the creatures, but they struck the hull from underwater.

• Evan studied the Conch’s patrol route with Adrien as the ship passed near his old home of Leopold.
• A vast school of flying fish surfaced around the Conch, and Evan ordered Level Three combat readiness.
• Evan spotted five Gun-Spike Toothed Fish pursuing the school and ordered the port cannons loaded with grapeshot.
• Evan ordered the crew to fire at the approaching fish, and the barrage wounded them and drove them underwater.
• Two impacts from below made the Conch’s hull shudder as the Gun-Spike Toothed Fish attacked.

Evan used his newly created Siren's Song and Alchemy Musket to defeat five Gun-Spike Toothed Fish attacking the Conch. After the crew recovered the bodies, Evan found an Extraordinary Characteristic in the leader fish and realized it was a perfect match for Gary.

• Evan dropped Siren's Song into the water, driving the Gun-Spike Toothed Fish to the surface so he could shoot them with his Alchemy Musket.
• The leader fish launched ten spikes at Evan, but he deflected two with his sword before the infrasound weakened the creature enough to make it float belly-up.
• The sailors hauled all five demonic fish aboard, and Evan ordered one prepared for a crew meal and the rest salted for later.
• Evan stopped the sailors from cutting open the leader fish and pulled a blue-glowing Extraordinary Characteristic from its mouth.
• Evan checked Gary's attributes and decided the Extraordinary Characteristic was a perfect match for him.

Evan returned to Leopold aboard the Conch after completing a patrol mission and went ashore with Gary to revisit his old home. He reconnected with familiar townspeople and surprised Sangi at the White Stone Apothecary.

• The Conch arrived in Leopold, where its crew delivered sailors’ letters, money, and goods to the townspeople.
• Evan told Bogg that Leopold was his hometown and went ashore with Gary.
• Evan greeted familiar neighbors, who were astonished by how much he had changed since joining the Navy.
• Evan visited the White Stone Apothecary and found an unfamiliar woman serving at the counter.
• Sangi hurried out from the storeroom, recognized Evan, and celebrated his return and new rank as a Naval Officer.

Evan reunited with Sangi, Grem, and Lord Nabuli after returning to Leopold, finding his old potion shop thriving and his friends settled into new lives. He accepted Lord Nabuli’s invitation and headed to City Hall to meet Viscount Andrea.

• Evan gave Sangi a silver pocket watch as a belated wedding gift, and Sangi handed him the shop’s earnings from the past year.
• Sangi introduced his wife Sharon, and Evan learned that Sangi had kept the potion shop running successfully.
• Grem arrived in his City Guard uniform, explaining that he had joined for his family after his son was born, and collected wound medicines from Sangi.
• Lord Nabuli arrived and invited Evan to visit Viscount Andrea, who had heard that Evan had become the Conch’s new captain.
• Evan accepted the invitation, said goodbye to his friends, and rode with Gary and Lord Nabuli toward City Hall.

A year after Evan’s first visit, he reunited with Viscount Andrea, whose ship had been seized by pirates as part of a political plot. The Viscount hinted that Evan should help recover it, and Evan weighed the risks before fixing his gaze on the old man.

• Evan returned to Leopold City Hall and met the visibly aged Viscount Andrea, who praised Evan’s rise to Navy Captain.
• Evan thanked the Viscount for the letter of recommendation that had helped launch his military career.
• The Viscount’s butler reported that pirates had seized the Double Tail Fish and were apparently trying to capture its crew alive.
• The Viscount accused a rival in Wiskol City of using pirates to target him and ordered that the ship be reclaimed before the Navy found its cargo.
• Evan realized the Viscount had been speaking so he would intervene, considered his duty to his crew and Navy Headquarters, and stared at the Viscount.

Evan gave Viscount Andrea a bottle of Immaculate Holy Blood and received a powerful figurehead in return, while the Viscount appointed Grem acting captain of the City Guard's Third Squad. Evan installed the Monsoon Goddess figurehead aboard the Conch and prepared his crew for a new mission.

• Evan presented Viscount Andrea with a bottle of Immaculate Holy Blood, and the Viscount promised to keep it secret.
• The Viscount summoned Lord Nabuli and appointed Grem acting captain of the City Guard's Third Squad, with Nabuli's approval.
• A guarded carriage delivered a large, canvas-wrapped cargo to the Conch as part of Evan's deal with the Viscount.
• Evan revealed the cargo as the Monsoon Goddess figurehead, which could passively increase the ship's speed when wind was present.
• Evan ordered Bogg to gather the crew and took Gary to install the figurehead aboard the Conch.

Evan installed the Monsoon Goddess figurehead on the Sea Conch, then led the crew to pursue pirates who had hijacked a merchant vessel. The figurehead boosted the ship’s speed, while the pirates aboard the Iron Bone waited for a noble to fulfill a deal and release their first mate.

• Evan replaced the Sea Conch’s ordinary figurehead with the Monsoon Goddess, which enveloped the ship in a subtle sorcery fluctuation.
• Evan rallied the sailors with a lawful patrol mission and promised rewards from Viscount Andrea, then ordered the Sea Conch to sail after the pirates.
• Vede and Tracy measured the Sea Conch’s speed and found it had risen from about six knots to nearly eight.
• Evan decided to share basic knowledge of the extraordinary world with his crew so they could grow into a capable team.
• Iron Bone William checked that the people aboard the Double Tail Fish were being treated well, and his young subordinate questioned whether a noble would release their first mate.
• Iron Bone William confidently insisted that the noble would keep his promise.

Evan’s warship confronted Iron Bone William’s pirates and recovered the Double Tail Fish without a battle. His seabirds then revealed that the ship carried twenty retired Sessaly Kingdom Navy cannons, exposing the dangerous contraband at the heart of Viscount Andrea’s scheme.

• Iron Bone William ordered his pirates to prepare for rain and wait, while Evan’s Sea Conch spotted them and advanced into battle position.
• William recognized that the navy had arrived earlier than expected, ordered his crew off the Double Tail Fish, and sailed away rather than risk a fight.
• Evan waited until the Iron Bone was far off before sending sailors to inspect the recovered merchant ship.
• Evan’s seabirds found twenty retired military Ship Cannons in the hold, revealing the scale of Viscount Andrea’s illegal trade.

Evan discovered Iron Bone William aboard the Double Tail Fish and rushed to confront him before the pirate could attack the boarding sailors. Their fight began on the rain-soaked deck, where Evan’s Data Vision identified William as a Veteran Level knight skilled in Cesi Scimitar Art.

• The seabirds’ final search revealed Iron Bone William standing on the Double Tail Fish, and Evan ordered the boarding sailors to retreat.
• Evan ran across the waves to the merchant ship and told his sailors to leave William to him.
• William dismissed Evan as a young naval officer, and Evan taunted him about being abandoned by his pirate crew.
• William drew his twin blades and attacked, and Evan met him with his Hand-and-a-half Sword.
• Evan exchanged blows with William and used Data Vision to reveal William’s attributes and swordsmanship.

Evan fought Iron Bone William aboard a merchant ship until William escaped with a previously unknown flying technique and warned him that a powerful figure had arrived in the waters. After rescuing the merchant crew and escorting their ship to safety, Evan set course for Gabreid through the Outer Sea.

• Evan used his swordsmanship and agility to hold off Iron Bone William, who was surprised by the young officer's skill.
• As the Conch approached, William ended the fight and escaped by gliding over the sea with his Extraordinary Esoteric Truth, Wind Return.
• William warned Evan that a powerful figure had arrived in the waters, leaving Evan concerned about what might happen next.
• Evan and Gary freed the merchant ship's tied-up crew while Evan ordered his sailors not to inspect the cabins.
• The Conch escorted the Double Tail Fish merchant ship to safe waters, then Evan chose the Outer Sea route back to Gabreid.

Evan continued developing his seabird reconnaissance force and tested whether he could control a Black Feather Frigatebird to perform knight swordsmanship, but the experiment failed. Through the birds’ reconnaissance network, he spotted a White Egret Merchant Guild ship being attacked by pirates and recognized it as belonging to his family’s enemy, Earl Wright.

• The Sea Conch’s officers examined the Monsoon Goddess figurehead, and Evan asked them to keep its powers secret.
• Evan reviewed the abilities and limitations of his modified seabirds, including the reconnaissance flock, Black Feather Frigatebirds, and Great Albatrosses.
• Evan tried to control a Black Feather Frigatebird to perform an Extraordinary sword technique, but its different breathing and body structure made the attempt fail.
• Evan spotted a White Egret Merchant Guild armed ship exchanging cannon fire with a pirate vessel and preparing for a boarding battle.
• Evan recognized the merchant ship as Earl Wright’s property and decided not to help his family’s enemy.

Evan watched Black Sail Pirates attack a White Egret Merchant Guild ship and discovered that they served the Pirate King Harkins and included Heimer Raymond, Gell’s former fellow officer. Heimer used his Exiled Prisoner power as the pirates withdrew, leaving the merchant sailors exposed to the spreading ripples.

• Evan decided not to intervene directly and sent birds to scout the battle between the Black Sail Pirates and the armed merchant ship.
• The pirates overwhelmed the merchant crew, and Evan’s reconnaissance revealed their hidden insignia identifying them as Harkins’s subordinates.
• Evan recognized Heimer Raymond among the pirates and learned that Heimer had joined Harkins and followed the Exiled Prisoner path.
• Heimer ordered the pirates to retreat, then unleashed dim yellow ripples that triggered wildness in the merchant sailors.

Evan reported a gathering of elite pirates to the Third Fleet, whose orders to pull ships back to port played into Pirate King Harkins’s plan. Harkins gathered a fleet of more than two hundred ships and cloaked it in a mysterious light, leaving its next destination unknown.

• Evan suspected that Pirate King Harkins was involved in the pirate activity and sent a messenger swallow to the Third Fleet Headquarters.
• The Third Fleet Headquarters confirmed that pirates had gathered near the coast and ordered most warships back to port while warning merchant ships to stay put.
• Heimer reunited with Harkins and reported that the navies had withdrawn from the sea routes, including those near the Tulip Alliance.
• Harkins caught a giant shark while his flagship led a fleet of more than two hundred pirate ships.
• Harkins touched the figurehead of the Eternal Imprisonment Icon, and a gloomy light covered the fleet before it vanished from the sea.

Ambrose and the Iron Wall Knights found White Whale Port unprepared for the pirate threat, and a massive fleet launched a devastating assault that turned the city into a massacre. As pirates flooded the streets, Ambrose led the knights to face them.

• Ambrose criticized Commodore Buller’s neglect of White Whale Port’s defenses and took the Iron Wall Knights to shelter at the local church.
• After ten days without signs of the pirates or improvements to the city’s defenses, Ambrose began writing a warning letter to Bishop Benedict.
• A pirate fleet attacked White Whale Port, sinking its outer warships and bombarding the coast as Ambrose finished his letter and summoned the Iron Wall Knights.
• Tens of thousands of pirates poured into the undefended city, breaking its guards, looting and burning buildings, and slaughtering residents.
• Octopus Ghost Harkins watched the massacre from the burning pier as the Iron Wall Knights charged against the pirates, their divine art shining white.

Pirates under the Pirate King ravaged White Whale Port while the city's naval commander fled and residents struggled to survive. A young mother hid her daughter in a barrel and drew pirates away, as holy voices and light appeared nearby.

• Akelawa used his bone flute to unleash mutant Poisonous Bees while pirates and Extraordinary people slaughtered and terrorized White Whale Port's residents.
• Commodore Buller ordered his carriage to the White Egret Merchant Guild, intending to blame Earl Wright for the city's lack of defenses and communications.
• A young mother hid her daughter in a wine barrel and ran off to lead pursuing pirates away from her.
• The girl wept and prayed for the Goddess before a thunderous voice spoke of facing danger and protecting the weak, and holy light illuminated the barrel.

After Octopus Ghost Harkins slaughtered White Whale Port to empower the Sea Monster Mother and pursue the Extraordinary Peak, the Iliya Kingdom faced pressure to retaliate. The king withheld the weakening Stormy Sea Tide from battle to preserve the kingdom’s remaining years and turned to a Naval Rising Star Project to answer the pirates.

• Harkins told Heimer that the port’s wealth was merely bait and that the massacre would help him create a Sea Monster Army.
• Heimer pledged himself to Harkins’s cause as news of the massacre spread and nations demanded action.
• Crown Prince Yellen urged the king to send Stormy Sea Tide after the pirates, but the king refused to risk the Guardian’s remaining strength.
• The king revealed that Iliya had only four or five years left under the Guardian’s protection and that Grand Knights were being guided in a secret realm.
• The king vowed to punish Harkins, the pirates, and kingdom officials who had delayed the response, and announced that the Tulip nations had agreed to his Naval Rising Star Project.

Evan learned that the Iliya Kingdom and the Tulip Alliance had launched the Naval Rising Star Project to train young naval talents and punish the pirates behind the White Whale Port Massacre. After hearing that a Golden Compass was among the prizes, Evan decided to compete for one of the six positions.

• Milan brought Evan the Naval Rising Star Project documents and explained that candidates would be ranked by the bounties of pirates involved in the White Whale Port Massacre.
• Evan read that the project offered major rewards, while Iliya would fund much of the effort and provide each Rising Star with a Beast Breath potion.
• Milan told Evan that the prize list included a Golden Compass, a rare Gift of the Gods that Evan recognized as deeply important to his family.
• Milan said Naval Headquarters supported a harsh mobilization against the pirates and offered to register Evan.
• Evan told Milan to register him and resolved to claim one of the six Naval Rising Star positions.