Chapter Summaries

Linsey and Red mined crystals in Crystal Valley, where Linsey discovered a source-infused Blue Crystal Cluster and crafted a Blue Lightsaber and Sapphire Glasses. A tremor collapsed part of their tunnel, leaving them hearing Lizard Dragons roaring and Eyeless People crying out in despair.

• Linsey and Red dug through Crystal Valley, collecting ordinary crystals in several colors before finding a Blue Crystal fused with source essence.
• Linsey learned the special crystal could make a Blue Lightsaber, gathered the materials he already had, and crafted one.
• Linsey tested the lightsaber and found that it consumed source essence rapidly, then used the remaining crystal to craft Sapphire Glasses.
• Linsey put on the glasses and saw Red's emotional aura darken when a tremor collapsed part of their tunnel.
• Linsey and Red heard Lizard Dragons roaring and Eyeless People crying in despair through the breach.

Linsey and Red joined the Eyeless People’s fight against the invading Lizard Dragons, turning the battle but facing a fierce air-current defense. As the Eyeless People sacrificed themselves to break through it, Linsey urged Red to attack.

• Linsey stopped digging after learning that the Eyeless People had helped him earlier, and he and Red entered the battle against the Lizard Dragons.
• Red killed a Lizard Dragon with her Wood Poison Javelin, while Linsey used a surprise arrow to kill another; together they quickly brought down five.
• The remaining Lizard Dragons unleashed chaotic hot and cold air currents, disrupting Red’s attacks and preventing Linsey from safely charging in.
• The Eyeless People recognized Linsey and Red as the elder’s guests and rushed the Lizard Dragons, sacrificing themselves to tear openings through the air currents.
• Linsey drew his Iron Horn Great Bow and shouted for Red to move as the Eyeless People created an opening for a final attack.

Linsey and Red killed the last two Fifth Stage Lizard Dragons, but their battle drew the Lizard Dragon Leader’s attention. They fled into the Crystal Valley, where its scorching attack was harmlessly dispelled by the crystals.

• Red killed one Lizard Dragon with her Wood Poison Javelin, and Linsey killed the other with two Black Feather Arrows.
• Linsey collected materials from the Lizard Dragon corpses while Red guarded him among the fallen Eyeless People.
• The Lizard Dragon Leader sent a scorching airflow toward Linsey and Red while it fought the Eyeless People elder.
• Linsey grabbed Red and rushed with her into the Crystal Valley to escape the attack.
• A golden light flashed through the crystals and dispersed the Lizard Dragon Leader’s airflow before it could reach them.

Linsey and Red explored Crystal Valley, where a mysterious golden light protected the valley and destroyed Red’s pickaxe at a crystal barrier. Linsey recognized golden markings inside a blue crystal as writing from his hometown, leaving the pair with a possible clue to the valley’s secrets.

• Linsey and Red entered Crystal Valley after realizing its golden light had erased the Lizard Dragon Leader’s attack.
• Linsey appraised ordinary crystals at the entrance, then he and Red ventured deeper as the terrain grew rougher and the temperature rose.
• Linsey and Red reached a vast Crystal Wall sealing off the valley’s center, and a golden glow shattered Red’s Iron Pickaxe when she struck it.
• Linsey appraised the Crystal Wall and read warnings in its description about buried things from old times.
• Red found golden markings inside a blue crystal, and Linsey recognized them as writing from his hometown.

Linsey and Red uncovered broken crystals in Crystal Valley bearing ancient golden writing, including references to a Righteous Walker and an Exterminator. When the inscriptions triggered Red’s painful memories of someone stabbing a sword into her, Linsey knocked her unconscious and continued searching alone for clues.

• Linsey read an incomplete inscription mentioning the Righteous Walker and realized the Expedition Team’s records did not explain who had left it.
• Linsey appraised the crystal as ordinary ore but suspected its golden writing was connected to other manifestations of golden light.
• Linsey and Red found more inscribed crystals, piecing together passages that named Ryan Olma and threatened an Exterminator.
• Red collapsed after Linsey read an inscription declaring that the place would be where the Exterminator was buried, and she remembered someone stabbing a sword there.
• Linsey knocked Red unconscious to stop her painful memory awakening, laid her down, and searched the crystals alone for a way to help her.

Linsey searched for a way through the Crystal Wall and used scattered crystal fragments to deduce where it had been breached before. With the battle’s tremors suddenly stopping, he rushed toward the suspected opening carrying the unconscious Red, only to discover the purple crystal was an illusion and plunge into the wall.

• Linsey found golden-threaded words in the Crystal Wall and concluded they had been left by a Righteous Walker or Law Knight, but he could not find a way inside.
• A crystal fragment containing the word “overlord” surfaced from the mud, and Linsey fitted it into a broken crystal to confirm that the crystals had shattered from within recently.
• Linsey mapped scattered fragments and deduced that the Dragon Beast had escaped through a breach in the Crystal Wall, then identified the likely location of the opening.
• The fighting between the Lizard Dragon Leader and the Eyeless People elder fell silent, and Linsey feared the Lizard Dragon Leader had won.
• Linsey carried Red toward the breach and swung his Meteorite Pickaxe at a purple crystal, which proved to be a virtual image; unable to stop, he plunged into the Crystal Wall.

Linsey and Red searched the Crystal Wall’s inner ruins for something that could help them face the Lizard Dragon Leader, while Red revealed fragments of her recovered memories. At the ruins’ center, they found a humanlike figure surrounded by golden radiance whose overwhelming will restrained them as the light surged toward them.

• Linsey ran through the Crystal Wall with Red over his shoulder, and her head struck a crystal hard enough to wake her.
• Red admitted she remembered a Righteous Walker piercing her heart and identified Orma as a former collaborator, but she had no memories of the Crystal Wall.
• Linsey and Red followed the pattern of shattered rocks toward the center of what Linsey deduced was an explosion site.
• Linsey and Red spotted a humanlike figure in golden radiance, but its will immobilized them before they could approach.
• Golden arcs inscribed with writing surged toward Linsey and Red, and Linsey realized they had no time to act.

The Dragon Beast refused to leave Black Mountain to confront the power awakening in Crystal Valley, while Linsey and Red faced a lethal golden attack beneath the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest. Linsey’s Story Performance activated dormant protection left by Alvitte, saving them from the attack, though its limits remained uncertain.

• The Dragon Beast sensed a Willpower surge from the west, and its subordinate urged it to stop the threat tied to Crystal Valley.
• The Dragon Beast refused to leave Black Mountain, insisting it needed to pursue an Eighth Stage breakthrough, while its subordinate warned that even its forces could not defeat a Crown’s corpse.
• A golden arc overwhelmed Linsey and Red, and Red urged Linsey to use his abilities to escape alone.
• Linsey activated his Game Player Awakened art, Story Performance, and a Righteous Walker’s voice declared that he would be kept safe.
• A withered page absorbed the golden arc, and Linsey recognized the protection as power left by Alvitte, though he could not determine its other uses.

Linsey and Red investigated the Righteous Walker’s corpse while the Lizard Dragon Leader attacked the Crystal Wall from outside. Red recognized the dead man as the one who had killed her, and after his corpse crumbled to ashes, strange cracking sounds came from the surrounding rocks.

• Linsey connected the Word of Law phrase “In the name of Human Wisdom” to the pages he had seen, but could not work out what it meant.
• The Lizard Dragon Leader attacked the Crystal Wall, and Red led Linsey toward the figure in the rocky ruins rather than wait for the defenses to fail.
• Linsey and Red found a long-dead man whose lingering power had resisted the Lizard Dragon Leader’s attacks.
• Red told Linsey that the dead Righteous Walker was the one who had stabbed her to death.
• The next attack shook the ruins, causing the Righteous Walker’s corpse to collapse into dust and leaving Linsey with only a handful of worthless ashes.
• Strange cracking sounds came from the rocks around Linsey and Red, as though something trapped inside them was about to break free.

With his source essence exhausted, Linsey dug a hidden refuge beneath Crystal Valley while Red fought the revived skeletons. They sealed themselves underground after Linsey sent a seed outside to cause more trouble.

• After the Righteous Walker's dissolution awakened the buried dead, Linsey crafted an Iron Pickaxe, gave it to Red, and began digging underground with his Meteorite Pickaxe.
• Red crushed two attacking skeletons, but more undead emerged from the rocks and threatened to overwhelm them.
• Linsey dug a cave and used stored resources to restore the rocks, sealing the entrance around himself and Red.
• Before closing the final gap, Linsey told Red to activate a seed and throw it outside, then sealed them underground.

The Lizard Dragon Leader broke through the Crystal Wall and discovered a man-eating flower battling countless skeletons in Crystal Valley. While the creatures above clashed, Linsey and Red dug sideways underground to escape.

• The Lizard Dragon Leader shattered the Crystal Wall after its golden defenses faded.
• The Lizard Dragon Leader saw the man-eating flower devouring skeletons and mistook it for the treasure it had come to claim.
• The man-eating flower attacked the Lizard Dragons, and the Lizard Dragon Leader smashed its Vine aside to protect its subordinates.
• The rescued Lizard Dragons were caught in a three-sided battle when the skeletons turned on them.
• Red asked Linsey what was happening above, and Linsey used his Map Skill to glimpse the chaotic battlefield.
• Linsey told Red to dig sideways and leave while the Lizard Dragons, flower, and skeletons fought above.

Linsey and Red dug through Crystal Valley while the Lizard Dragon Leader battled the Carnivorous Flower above them, and Linsey uncovered a rare Purple Crystal composite. After escaping the immediate danger, Linsey unlocked the Decryption Game module and saw that the revived corpses killed by the spores had advanced his Hunting Notes tally.

• Linsey and Red dug onward as the Carnivorous Flower devoured revived corpses and fought the weakened Lizard Dragon Leader above them.
• Linsey reached the Crystal Wall and found a Large Purple Crystal Cluster, then examined the equipment he could eventually craft with it.
• Linsey claimed the Mystery of Origins reward and unlocked the Decryption Game module with its Clue Collection ability.
• Linsey checked the Hunting Notes and found a new Revived Ones entry recording 73 of 150 kills.

Linsey and Red escaped their underground tunnel after the Lizard Dragon Leader defeated the Carnivorous Flower, which had killed 143 Revivalists. They encountered Eyeless People marching toward the victorious Dragon Beast and continued toward the surface, with Linsey acknowledging that some risks had to be taken.

• Linsey claimed the Revivalist Killer achievement and received an Emergency Respirator, whose crafting formula required many items.
• Linsey and Red finished digging through to a cavern and followed his planned escape route, with a backup tunnel prepared in case of collapse.
• Linsey and Red encountered Eyeless People heading toward Crystal Valley, and Linsey noticed that the battle sounds and Revivalist kill count had stopped at 143.
• The Lizard Dragon Leader roared after defeating the Carnivorous Flower, while the Eyeless People declared they would rather fight than submit to the Dragon Beast.
• Red said the Eyeless People were going to die, and Linsey led her onward, saying that some things had to be done even if going to Black Mountain meant death.

Linsey used his newly unlocked Decryption Game skill to spot clues and perceive source essence as he and Red searched for a route back to the surface. They chose to continue through a nearby battle, hoping to avoid drawing the Lizard Dragons’ attention.

• The furious Lizard Dragon Leader found no treasure in Crystal Valley and burned several of its own Lizard Dragons in its rage.
• Linsey activated Clue Collection, identified the left tunnel as the route toward the surface, and discovered he could see source essence around Red.
• Linsey and Red heard fighting ahead and found footprints suggesting the Eyeless People had encountered more trouble.
• Linsey chose to continue along the shortest route, with a plan to dig upward if fighting blocked their way.
• Linsey and Red reached a battle between fleeing Eyeless People and bat-like magical beasts, whose fighters hoped to claim living space beyond the Lizard Dragons’ control.

Linsey and Red fought off the Cave Bats, parted from the Eyeless People, and finally emerged from the underground. Just after they escaped, the Dragon Beast’s power crushed the entire underground region, leaving them to wonder why the attack came only after they had reached the surface.

• Linsey and Red defeated the attacking Cave Bats, and Linsey stopped Red from pursuing the survivors.
• Linsey claimed the Bat Sonar reward and told the Eyeless People that he and Red intended to leave the underground.
• An Eyeless Person asked Linsey about Ku Cang Ka, and Linsey and Red parted from the group as the Eyeless People planned to migrate north.
• Linsey and Red pushed through vines and reached the sunlit surface.
• The Dragon Beast’s power repeatedly struck the underground, crushing its caves and tunnels into solid earth.
• Linsey and Red recognized the attack as the Dragon Beast’s power and wondered why it had waited until they escaped.

Linsey and Red continued traveling through the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest without being attacked by the Dragon Beast, then considered why it had sealed Red away and whether she could be its weakness. They remained determined to confront the danger rather than flee, though Linsey warned that going straight to Black Mountain could be a trap.

• Linsey set up camp, checked the Handheld Radar, and studied the Sky Compass synthesis route and the materials it required.
• Red returned from hunting with a pheasant, and she and Linsey discussed the Dragon Beast's lack of pursuit during their month-long journey.
• Red realized the Dragon Beast's power might depend on her survival, and Linsey agreed that it may have sealed her away to protect its weakness.
• Linsey suggested the Dragon Beast had sent Red far from Black Mountain because something nearby could threaten it, while Red proposed they attack it directly.
• Linsey warned that the Dragon Beast might have found a way to remove Red as a weakness and said a direct approach could be a trap.
• Red challenged Linsey not to give up the fight, and Linsey reaffirmed that he had come to confront the Dragon Beast.

Linsey and Red struggled through the Dragon Beast’s worsening wind and blizzard, then dug an underground shelter to prepare water, fuel, and food. Linsey spotted several moving Red Dots on his map, leaving their identity unknown.

• Red asked whether the Dragon Beast was afraid and whether Linsey had a secret move, and Linsey admitted he had no plan to kill it.
• A week of gale and falling temperatures gave way to a blizzard, making travel and gathering food and fuel difficult for Linsey and Red.
• Linsey and Red dug an underground cave beneath the snow and sealed its entrance against the storm.
• Linsey replenished their water, grew fuel with the Forest Brooch, and planted resource-converted crops in underground Farmland.
• After checking his map, Linsey saw several Red Dots moving across the distant surface.

Linsey gained the Hand of Construction ability and tested its power to excavate and place materials from a distance. While searching for magical beasts in the blizzard, he encountered red-marked humans and hid, uncertain whether they were survivors or enemies.

• Linsey's Survival Construction ability advanced to level four, granting him Hand of Construction.
• Linsey tested the ability and found that it worked on tools within two meters, with five meters as its current maximum range.
• Linsey excavated the cave entrance, then used the new ability to seal it with a block of dirt before heading into the blizzard.
• Linsey followed the map's red markers and discovered that they belonged to humans rather than magical beasts.
• Linsey concealed himself in the snow, prepared his bow, and waited to learn whether the approaching humans were hostile.

Linsey discovered three strangers in the blizzard and realized their shortened strides meant they were surrounding him. After attacking first and surviving their counterattack, he took their wounded companion hostage and demanded that the other two surrender their weapons.

• Linsey overheard the strangers speaking an unfamiliar language and followed them through the blizzard to learn more.
• He noticed their footprints showed they had slowed and spread apart, then realized they had detected him and were forming an encirclement.
• Linsey shot one stranger with an Armor-Piercing Arrow, and the other two charged him with a blade and a spear.
• He raised an earthen wall to block their attack, escaped beneath the snow, and blasted the two attackers with a Flame Bomb.
• When Earth Escape forced him to surface, Linsey seized the wounded stranger and held a weapon to his head, ordering the others to surrender.

Linsey fought two inhuman enemies in the snow and killed them both after realizing they showed no concern or emotional response. He remained wary of their origins as he moved on through the blizzard.

• Linsey knocked one enemy unconscious and confronted the swordsman, whose exposed skull revealed a monstrous body beneath his human form.
• The swordsman asked Linsey which school he belonged to, but Linsey killed him with two daggers before he could explain.
• The spear-wielding enemy attacked Linsey, who escaped behind an earth wall and used arrows to draw the spearman toward him.
• Linsey struck the spearman with a gunshot carrying the force of a Wolf Tooth Club, pinned him down, and killed him with a blade.