Chapter Summaries

Yu Sheng'an used the Prophecy Godhead to plan Internet services for Phoebus and analyze the Light Authority within his Contract Godhead, gaining new abilities that strengthened his personal combat power. Meanwhile, Dwarf King Cort entered the Kevil Empire disguised as a job seeker to steal the Dragon Factory’s firearm technology.

• Yu Sheng'an proposed a free Weather Forecast service to draw users into the Internet and offered Phoebus a Knowledge Q&A section with shared profits.
• Phoebus accepted the Knowledge Q&A role and then pestered Yu Sheng'an about the Birth Eight Characters and Marriage Matchmaking services.
• Yu Sheng'an used the Prophecy Godhead to analyze the Contract Godhead’s Light Authority, spending 86 percent of his Source Essence reserves.
• Yu Sheng'an discovered that Light Authority could manipulate objects with Optical Tweezers and tested several other light-based abilities.
• Dwarf King Cort traveled to the Kevil Empire to learn the God of the Internet’s firearm technology and got a probationary job at the Dragon Factory.

Dwarf King Cort was overwhelmed by the Dragon Factory’s industrial machinery as he began work there, while the Kevil Empire’s mission arrived in Gregg City with a parade promoting Bicycles. Legate Detweiler told Duke Bacon that the mission had come to convey friendship and deliver warmth.

• A Dragon Factory officer warned the new workers not to touch Master Asheff’s valuable property before leading them inside.
• Dwarf King Cort saw the factory’s enormous steam-powered production line and realized he had no idea how to learn its technology.
• The Kevil Empire’s mission entered Gregg City with Magic Knights, carriages, Bicycles, and Virtual Screens showing Bicycle advertisements.
• Legate Detweiler watched Gregg’s citizens follow the parade and recalled that the Empire had ordered the mission to expand its promotions after Dragon Factory began selling Bicycle Production Lines.
• Duke Bacon questioned Legate Detweiler about the mission’s conspicuous arrival, and Detweiler said they had come to convey friendship and deliver warmth.

Kevil’s envoy Detweiler used Bicycle trade to begin opening the Gregg Grand Duchy’s market, while the Goddess of Wisdom confronted Yu Sheng'an over the Internet’s expansion. Their meeting ended with both gods avoiding war and preparing to negotiate.

• Detweiler told Duke Bacon and Pope Rudolph that Kevil sought Mithril and had brought Bicycles, but Rudolph and the Duke delayed the trade discussions.
• Detweiler promoted Bicycles, expecting Gregg nobles to buy them and eventually create demand for Kevil’s components and imports.
• The Goddess of Wisdom recognized the Internet’s commercial infiltration and summoned Yu Sheng'an outside Gregg City.
• The Goddess of Wisdom threatened to turn Kevil’s forests into Treants if Yu Sheng'an encroached on her missionary zone, and he challenged her threat.
• The Goddess of Wisdom softened her tone and asked what Yu Sheng'an wanted, as neither god wished to risk war while the Five Great Gods remained a threat.

Yu Sheng'an negotiated with the Goddess of Wisdom, trading half a bicycle production line for access to trade in the Gregg Grand Duchy. After deciding how to exploit Dwarf King Cort's theft, he agreed to promote Light Magic at Felix Magic Academy's opening ceremony and learned Dendall intended to make Lucian the academy's future dean.

• Yu Sheng'an failed to persuade the Goddess of Wisdom to exchange Virtual Godheads, then offered half a bicycle production line in return for free trade rights in the Gregg Grand Duchy.
• Yu Sheng'an revealed that the production line could manufacture gun barrels for blunderbusses, and the Goddess of Wisdom agreed to inspect the goods as they completed their deal.
• Yu Sheng'an considered how to use Dwarf King Cort's presence at the Dragon Factory to seize the Dwarf Clan's interests, then gave Baird quiet instructions.
• Dendall and Lucian asked Yu Sheng'an to deliver a speech supporting Light Magic at Felix Magic Academy's opening ceremony, and he agreed.
• Dendall told Yu Sheng'an that he planned to appoint Lucian vice dean and eventually hand him the dean's seat, while Dendall aspired to become a true Magic God.

Chad surprised Geli with a bicycle bought using his Conquer All Directions rewards, but she feared their family could not afford it and argued with him. Chad defended their life in Kevil and the security the God of the Internet had given them, leaving Geli to realize she did not need to live in fear or feel unworthy of a better life.

• Chad assembled the bicycle he had exchanged his Guild contribution points for and waited for Geli to come home.
• Geli saw the bicycle and became upset when she thought Chad had spent more than thirty silver coins on it.
• Chad explained that he had exchanged Guild rewards for the bicycle, but Geli worried they could not afford such a luxury and that their security might not last.
• Chad angrily told Geli that Kevil was safe, their lives were improving, and the God of the Internet would protect them.
• Geli apologized and recognized that her fear and insecurity had made her feel undeserving of a beautiful life.

Geli rode her Bicycle with Chad, while Yvonne welcomed the transformation of her demolished home into a trading city. In the Dorphy Plane, Yu Sheng'an showed Aphnora his Gundam and chainsaw greatsword, then discussed arming their forces and the Goddess of Wisdom's possible response.

• Geli dressed up, invited Chad onto her Bicycle, and rode through the streets of Vias City.
• Yvonne told her classmates she welcomed the freedom to travel after her home was demolished, as Kevil's Magic transformed the ruins into a trading city.
• Aphnora contacted Yu Sheng'an and teleported to the Kurd Desert, where he demonstrated a giant Mud Golem mech called a Gundam.
• Yu Sheng'an explained that the Gundam was too costly and impractical for battle, then showed Aphnora a chainsaw greatsword designed for giants.
• Aphnora agreed that her Undead Demon Legion could use Yu Sheng'an's weapons and worried that the Goddess of Wisdom might equip her Wisdom Legion similarly.
• Yu Sheng'an said he welcomed the prospect of competing in an arms race, arguing that the Goddess of Wisdom would be outmatched despite controlling the Wisdom Godhead.

Yu Sheng'an explained why the Goddess of Wisdom was unlikely to make creations independently understand or improve their own production, while warning Aphnora that she might still grant intelligence to an entire plane. After reviewing the Five Great Gods’ defensive moves, he asked Aphnora to arrange a meeting with the Three Gods of Puran to make an arms deal.

• Yu Sheng'an argued that the Goddess of Wisdom could grant creations basic memories but could not make them understand how to reproduce themselves.
• Yu Sheng'an warned Aphnora that the Goddess of Wisdom might turn a whole plane into an intelligent life-form, and they considered the possibility of a hidden Zerg legion.
• Aphnora reported that the God of War was moving troops, the Gods of Death, Life, and Earth were contracting their defenses, and the God of the Sea was attacking the Puran coastline.
• Yu Sheng'an explained that the Five Great Gods' purges of Internet users could spread awareness of the Internet and create hatred among their subjects.
• Yu Sheng'an asked Aphnora to arrange a meeting with the Three Gods of Puran so he could make an arms deal.

Dwarf King Cort, unable to learn the God of the Internet’s industrial methods, stole Duke Mallory’s custom Production Line from Dragon Factory and escaped through spatial teleportation. Yu Sheng'an watched him vanish, pleased that he now had a just cause.

• Dwarf King Cort learned that the God of the Internet had sold cheaper blunderbusses to the Three Gods of Puran and feared the Dwarves would lose the weapons market.
• Cort overheard that Duke Mallory’s custom Production Line was stored in Warehouse No. 2 and decided to steal it rather than copy it by observation.
• Cort finished his shift, used his Invisibility Cloak to reach Warehouse No. 2, and slipped inside among the workers.
• The warehouse’s alarm exposed the intrusion, but Cort used his Spatial Equipment to take the crates containing the Production Line.
• Cort scattered artifacts to interfere with detection and teleported away from the Aizeya Prime Plane as the warehouse staff shouted.
• Yu Sheng'an watched Cort’s escape through Divine Perspective and smiled, believing he now had a just cause.

Phoebus’s Q&A Community drew a surge of Source Essence, and Yu Sheng'an summoned Phoebus and Aphnora after Dwarf King Cort stole a bicycle production line from the Dragon Factory. In Kazadum, Cort’s dwarves marveled over the machines until Yu Sheng'an addressed their king, who set off to confront the God of the Internet.

• Phoebus gained abundant Source Essence from his Q&A Community and received Yu Sheng'an’s summons to Dorphy Temple.
• Yu Sheng'an told Phoebus and Aphnora that Dwarf King Cort had stolen a bicycle production line, and they agreed to go to Kazadum.
• Phoebus suggested using the production line to pressure the dwarves, while Aphnora proposed spreading the Internet among them.
• Yu Sheng'an brought Aphnora and Phoebus to Kazadum, where Cort’s dwarves argued over which tribe would decipher the production line.
• Yu Sheng'an’s voice addressed Cort, and the Dwarf King led his people to meet the God of the Internet.

Yu Sheng'an confronted Dwarf King Cort over the Dwarves' theft of his Production Line technology and demanded submission or annihilation. After the Dwarves mocked his threat and refused to submit, he attacked Kazadum and ordered the Devils to slaughter its inhabitants.

• Yu Sheng'an entered Kazadum with Aphnora and Phoebus and accused Dwarf King Cort of stealing his Production Line technology.
• Dwarf King Cort offered gold and Magic-Breaking Blades as compensation, but Yu Sheng'an rejected the offer and demanded submission or annihilation.
• Dwarf King Cort and the Dwarf chieftains mocked Yu Sheng'an and boasted that the Dwarves would reproduce and improve upon his technology.
• Yu Sheng'an unleashed the World-Destroying Strike on the Dwarf palace, turning it into lava as Cort and surviving chieftains escaped aboard Giant Worms.
• Yu Sheng'an ordered the Devils to kill every living thing in the Underground World, while Aphnora and Phoebus watched in shock.

Yu Sheng'an explained why war against the Dwarves could bring wealth, industrial growth, and new markets, then proposed an airborne operation to overcome Kazadum’s defenses. He left the practical details of the new strategy to be discussed.

• Aphnora and Phoebus warned Yu Sheng'an that attacking Kazadum would be costly and offer little benefit.
• Yu Sheng'an said Dwarf King Cort's rejection had led the Dwarves to choose war, and argued that their accumulated wealth could fund the campaign.
• Yu Sheng'an explained that war orders would stimulate industrial growth, expand the Internet and magical education, and create markets for mass-produced weapons.
• Aphnora raised logistical and military obstacles, including Kazadum's tunnels, supply lines, teleportation costs, and the limits of available legions.
• Yu Sheng'an announced that he would address the obstacles with a new mode of warfare: an airborne operation.

After Conquest opened Kazadum as a plunderable instance linked to Internet Bank, impoverished player Justin rushed to join the expedition. Meanwhile, Dwarf King Cort rallied his people for war, only for the God of the Internet’s forces to arrive at Lonely Mountain as the Fourth Calamity descended.

• Justin focused on Conquest after being accepted into Magic Academy, and he grew tempted by a forum discussion about robbing Dwarves.
• Conquest announced that players could enter the Kazadum instance to plunder Dwarf wealth and exchange their finds for withdrawable money, so Justin hurried to the gathering point.
• Dwarf King Cort told the assembled Dwarves that the God of the Internet had attacked them and called on the clans to prepare for war and reproduce the stolen Production Line.
• A Mountain Keeper announced that the God of the Internet had attacked, and a projection showed a huge construct emerging above Lonely Mountain as Mud Golems descended from the sky.

Yu Sheng'an deployed the Fourth Calamity from the Floating Airship to raid the dwarves for profit, turning Kazadum’s tunnels and the dwarves’ scattered settlements against them. Dwarf King Cort ordered a counterattack after realizing the raids targeted the clan’s wealth, while Player Justin’s huge Mithril haul sparked a frenzy among the Players.

• Yu Sheng'an explained to Aphnora and Phoebus that the Fourth Calamity would use hit-and-run raids, and he demonstrated that the Floating Airship could retrieve troops with a beam.
• Aphnora questioned the Airship’s energy costs, and Yu Sheng'an explained that it relied on physical laws and Gold Coins rather than Magic.
• Dwarf King Cort ordered his forces to watch for the Fourth Calamity, but reports soon arrived that Players had looted supplies, attacked production sites, and killed isolated dwarves.
• Dwarf King Cort realized that the Fourth Calamity was stealing the dwarves’ wealth and roared for a counterattack.
• Justin looted refined Mithril from a plant, returned to the Floating Airship, and exchanged it for 116,000 Gold Coins after fees.
• Justin celebrated his windfall, and news of his haul spread across the Internet and shook the Empire.

Yu Sheng'an’s war against the dwarves brought players and Kevil’s powerful factions scrambling to profit, but he refused the Magic Gods’ plan to send Kevil mages into Kazadum outside his rules. As Dendall and the others grasped how tightly the Internet controlled the war’s rewards, the Five Great Gods began seeking an Internet substitute.

• Workers outside the Dragon Factory discussed the raid on Kazadum, the wealth players had seized, and Temple considered trying his luck with a Magic Golem.
• Lord Asheff bought Fanny’s offal noodles, drawing workers to her stall and making her business famous.
• Yu Sheng'an rode to Felix Magic Academy for a meeting with Dendall and two other Magic Gods about Kevil’s role in the war.
• Dendall proposed buying Floating Airships and sending Kevil mages to suppress dwarves, but Yu Sheng'an refused to let them enter Kazadum in person or bypass his platform’s rules.
• The Magic Gods recognized the Internet’s power to bind them, while the Five Great Gods called for an Internet substitute and suggested the Authority of the God of Death might provide one.

The Five Great Gods discussed the Internet’s growing influence and agreed to create a rival Divine Art to replace it. The God of Death revealed that he had already begun building his own Internet using the Underworld Authority, leaving the other Gods wary of how the balance among them might change.

• The God of Life raised the God of Death’s plans to replicate the Internet, and the God of Death admitted he was researching how to build it.
• The Five Great Gods discussed the Internet’s spread, the God of the Internet’s Production Lines and Floating Airships, and the ongoing war against the Kazadum Dwarf Clan.
• The Five Great Gods agreed that they needed to build a replacement Internet together to suppress the God of the Internet’s influence.
• The God of War questioned whether the God of Death had another Godhead, but the God of Death praised the Internet and explained that the Underworld Authority had inspired him.
• The God of Death revealed to himself that he had already begun building his Internet and imagined using it to strengthen his forces and establish a Fifth Calamity.
• The other four Gods exchanged uneasy looks as they realized the Multiverse had changed.

Guilds flooded Conquest of Sub-Plane to plunder Kazadum, and Yu Sheng'an added a powerful new item to the Conquest Mall. Duchel returned home praising Dudod's Guild earnings and offered to fund a Floating Airship after revealing that Source Essence could strengthen the soul and restore Dudod's aptitude for Magic.

• Yu Sheng'an added an item to the Conquest Mall as Guilds surged into Kazadum to plunder it.
• Dudod welcomed his brother Duchel home and learned that Conquer All Directions had seized sixty thousand Gold Coins in one week.
• Duchel praised Dudod's success, and the Du Family learned that Dudod had earned the money rather than spent it.
• Duchel offered Dudod two hundred thousand Gold Coins to buy the best Floating Airship.
• Duchel told Dudod that Source Essence could strengthen the soul, change aptitude, and let him return to the path of Magic.

The Goddess of Wisdom struggled to replicate the God of the Internet’s Machine Tools, then discovered that his Item Mall sold Source Essence in exchange for Merit Points. She recognized that the system could draw nobles and mages into earning Source Essence through the Internet, leaving her alarmed by its influence in her Missionary Zone.

• The Goddess of Wisdom repeatedly dismantled and copied the production line, but her replicas produced inferior parts and the line begged her not to kill it.
• A mage delivered a Corpse Guard report that the Conquest of Sub-Plane Item Mall had added Source Essence.
• The Goddess of Wisdom controlled a Ghost to enter the Internet, exchanged 1,000 Merit Points for one Standard Unit of Source Essence, and confirmed the item worked.
• The Goddess of Wisdom calculated that earning Source Essence required extensive combat and that Gold Farming Teams would mainly benefit the God of the Internet.
• The Goddess of Wisdom feared nobles and mages in her Missionary Zone would form Player Guilds and Mercenary Corps to pursue Source Essence, and learned that people there had already begun acting.

Tony arrived in Vias hoping to use his wealth to obtain Source Essence and change his weak magical talent, while secretly considering founding a Player Guild. He discovered that the city’s merchants relied on the Internet Bank for transactions, and conversations among visiting merchants hinted that its influence was spreading across the continent.

• Tony resolved to betray his family and the Church by using his resources to build a Player Guild and acquire Source Essence.
• Tony reached Vias and found the city crowded with caravans and a vast complex of shops selling Bicycle parts and other goods.
• Tony learned that most Bicycle parts had sold out and that Kevil merchants accepted only Internet Bank transfers, not cash.
• After selling refined iron and Mithril for a bank transfer, Tony sent his servants to wait in line at an Internet Bank Branch while he networked with other merchants.
• The merchants discussed currency exchange, bank deposits, interest, and the Internet Bank’s ties to the Dragon Factory as its influence spread through their trade conversations.

Tony watched five Floating Airships arrive in Vias to deliver goods, and the sight made him fear Kevil’s growing power. Caesar was admitted to Felix Magic Academy and received an Advanced Mud Golem from Parker, while Clementine returned to Willis determined to expand Internet Bank overseas and declare her allegiance to the God of the Internet.

• Tony and the merchants panicked when five Floating Airships appeared over Vias, then learned they were Kevil Merchant Caravan cargo vessels and watched them land at the Trade Distribution Center.
• Caesar enrolled in a Magic Academy after his Soul Power test earned him admission to Felix Magic Academy, and his family celebrated his success.
• Parker visited Caesar’s banquet, lent him an Advanced Mud Golem to help him live independently, and told him to thank Lord Asheff for his admission.
• Keshan welcomed Clementine back to Willis and reflected on how her work had helped Internet Bank become powerful across Kevil.
• Clementine asked Keshan to lend her the family’s hidden agents abroad so Internet Bank could expand, calling her plan a Letter of Allegiance to the God of the Internet.

Clementine returned to Willis and visited Dragon Factory with Keshan, where she met Yu Sheng'an and gave him an impressive account of her work expanding Vias Bank. Yu Sheng'an asked whether she would lead Internet Bank's expansion into the Kaman Confederation, leaving her wondering if the Church of Wisdom would allow it.

• Offal noodles became fashionable across the Kevil Empire after Asheff popularized them, and Fanny's stall drew crowds despite frequently selling out.
• Clementine and Keshan left their carriage to explore the market outside Dragon Factory, where Clementine encountered George and found that Fanny had run out of offal noodles.
• Yu Sheng'an arrived, and Fanny revealed that she had saved him a portion of braised offal; Clementine stored her noodles and followed him into Dragon Factory.
• Yu Sheng'an asked Clementine to report on Vias, and she impressed him with her account of expanding Vias Bank's branches.
• Yu Sheng'an asked Clementine to take charge of opening Internet Bank branches in the Kaman Confederation, and she questioned whether the Church of Wisdom would agree.