Chapter Summaries

Linsey and Red turned back to help Ethan, only to encounter Dark Abyss in the tunnel. As they fought him, a Dragon Beast’s wind and Dark Abyss’s domain plunged everyone into a disorienting battle space.

• Red and Linsey rejected Bo Gong’s plea to flee and turned back, but Dark Abyss emerged from the tunnel wall to confront them.
• Red struck Dark Abyss with Death Sentence, and Linsey followed with an arrow that pierced his back.
• Red and Linsey launched another combined attack, but Dark Abyss weakened their powers and spread black mist that intensified despair.
• A powerful storm erupted in the tunnel, which Linsey recognized as airflow manipulation from a Dragon Beast.
• Dark Abyss unleashed a domain that swallowed the surroundings and left everyone disoriented amid the raging wind.

Linsey was swept into the Dark Abyss’s Negative Phase, a void that blocked his detection skills, and learned that it replaced the Real World with another phase. When the effect ended, he found himself buried underground far from Icebound City and spotted a companion surrounded by Revivalists, so he hurried to help.

• Linsey found that the Negative Phase nullified his Map Skill, Handheld Radar, Decryption Game, and torchlight, leaving him adrift in darkness.
• Linsey used the Commodity Skill to identify the space as the Negative Phase, a special world phase that replaced the Real World.
• The Negative Phase ended, and Linsey activated the Mountains Crest to survive falling into soil deep underground.
• Linsey restored his map and discovered that the battle had thrown him far from Icebound City, where Revivalists were moving nearby.
• Linsey found a companion surrounded by Revivalists near the glacier and began digging toward the surface to support them.

Bo Gong fled Revivalists through Icebound City before Linsey rescued him and took him underground. As Linsey dug toward the battle between Seventh Stage powerhouses, Oma appeared near their tunnel.

• Bo Gong retreated toward a glacier while three Revivalists pursued him, and one offered him a chance to join their faction.
• Linsey emerged, killed the Revivalist confronting Bo Gong, and led him into a tunnel before setting the pursuing corpses alight with flaming arrows.
• Bo Gong urged Linsey to avoid the fight between two Seventh Stage powerhouses, but Linsey argued that hiding would not keep them safe.
• Linsey spotted a green dot approaching on his map, dug upward, and found Oma near the glacier.

Linsey learned that the glacier’s deadly cold had faded, giving Bo Gong a chance to escape, but refused to leave before finding Red. Oma chose to stay and help Linsey, while Bo Gong entered the glacier fissure alone to carry news back to Starhorn City.

• Oma emerged from a deep fissure in the glacier and told Linsey that its cold no longer attacked him.
• Linsey confirmed that the glacier had lost the power imposed on it, and Bo Gong urged him to use the opportunity to escape.
• Linsey refused to leave without finding Red and gave Bo Gong two converted Iron Pickaxes for his journey.
• Bo Gong accepted the pickaxes and promised to tell of Linsey’s deeds, but Oma stayed to help Linsey find Red.
• Bo Gong left alone through the glacier fissure.

Linsey and Oma searched underground for Red, but Linsey discovered that Dragon Beast had possessed Oma. He exposed Dragon Beast and raced toward Red while asking it to help stop their pursuers.

• Linsey and Oma dug shallow tunnels through Icebound City but could not locate Red.
• Linsey pieced together clues suggesting that Dark Abyss and Dragon Beast knew more about the Awakened group's fate than they should have.
• Linsey questioned Oma about his sensing abilities and detected that an external consciousness had taken control of his body.
• Linsey broke through to the surface and sounded the Wind Whistle, drawing the Revivalists' attention.
• Linsey revealed that he knew Dragon Beast was inside Oma and told it to help him rescue Red and stop the people who appeared next.
• Dragon Beast revealed its Seventh Stage power and asked when Linsey had discovered its possession, but Linsey fled into the street without answering.

Linsey reached Red in the transformed Sea of Silent Death while the Dragon Beast and Dark Abyss fought above Icebound City. He overcame the sea’s deadly forces and bound Red with a branch, but had not yet pulled her to safety.

• Linsey dug toward the Sea of Silent Death, relying on the Dragon Beast to keep Dark Abyss occupied above.
• Linsey found Ethan’s corpse, saluted him, and put him in his bag so he could bury him with Nan Ya.
• Linsey used the Handheld Radar to locate Red, who lay unconscious in the raging sea as silent death flooded into her.
• Linsey resisted the sea’s dizziness with the Mountains Crest, then transformed with the Ancient Tree Crest to reach Red.
• Linsey steadied himself with Willpower Source Material and wrapped a branch around Red’s body.

Linsey rescued Red from the Sea of Silent Death, but the ordeal left his arm badly injured and revealed that an ancient soul was awakening inside her. As Dark Abyss and the Dragon Beast continued fighting above, Linsey and Red prepared to confront them.

• Linsey pulled Red from the Sea of Silent Death and escaped as the waters formed a violent vortex and the tunnels began collapsing.
• Linsey appraised Red and learned she had regained her Source Material, while an ancient soul within her was awakening and might take control of her body.
• As Dark Abyss and the Dragon Beast fought above, Linsey changed back to human form and discovered that Withering Power had badly damaged his left arm.
• Red woke, thanked Linsey for saving her, and dispelled the Withering Power from his arm, though the damage remained.
• Linsey made new spears for Red, and the two prepared to face Dark Abyss and the Dragon Beast.

The Dragon Beast and Dark Abyss fought across Icebound City, destroying the glacier and forcing Dark Abyss to abandon his attempt to awaken the Extinction Crown. When Linsey and Red emerged from underground, Dark Abyss realized the awakening had been stopped and turned his full killing intent on the Dragon Beast.

• Dark Abyss tried to escape the Dragon Beast and use his emotional power to sway it, but the beast relentlessly pursued him.
• Dark Abyss trapped the Dragon Beast in a Negative Phase, but the beast tore its way free and attacked him across the ruined city.
• Dark Abyss and the Dragon Beast exchanged accusations as the beast's attacks set the glacial dome ablaze and devastated Icebound City.
• Magical beasts poured from the glacial tunnels and fought the Revivalists while Linsey and Red emerged from underground.
• Dark Abyss realized the Extinction Crown's awakening had been stopped and threatened to kill the Dragon Beast.

Linsey and Red returned to fight the wounded Dark Abyss and Dragon Beast, agreeing to each take on one enemy. After both Seventh Stage powerhouses fell amid their clash, Linsey approached the Dragon Beast with a loaded Glorious Bullet, but a raven suddenly flew toward it.

• The Dragon Beast survived Dark Abyss’s soul attack and struck back, forcing Linsey and Red to escape underground.
• Red told Linsey that Destruction Gaze could counter Dark Abyss, and they agreed to attack one enemy each.
• Dark Abyss and the Dragon Beast fought with all their strength until Black Mountain collapsed and both of their auras weakened.
• Linsey rushed toward the Dragon Beast with the Glorious Bullet loaded in his Flame Flintlock Gun, seeking a certain shot.
• As the Dragon Beast tried to bargain with Linsey, a raven flew out of the fearful mist and toward it.

Linsey joined the raven and other Black Mountain inhabitants in attacking the Dragon Beast, then used a Glorious Bullet to kill it with help from an Ancient Frostflow Elemental. Gravely injured and falling unconscious, Linsey sensed Dark Abyss’s Source Material vanish as Stone’s Breath and rising earth began to cushion his fall.

• Linsey saw green markers appear on the map as the raven attacked the Dragon Beast, and he charged with an ordinary Flintlock Gun to disguise his true weapon.
• The Dragon Beast revealed its true body and struck at Linsey, but Linsey endured its cold and scorching currents while the raven knocked aside its foreclaw.
• An Ancient Frostflow Elemental emerged from the glacier and pinned the Dragon Beast, giving Linsey time to fire a Glorious Bullet that destroyed it.
• The Dragon Beast’s death cleared the Black Mist, completed Linsey’s Dragon Slayer mission, and upgraded his RPG Module.
• Linsey’s Willpower Source Material advanced to the Third Tier as he fell, while a blaze erupted near Icebound City and Dark Abyss’s Source Material disappeared.
• Stone’s Breath released earthen aura around Linsey as the ground rose beneath him to cushion his fall.

Linsey awakened badly injured in a sheltered hollow after the Dragon Beast battle and realized his strength and attributes had increased. Worried about Red, he set out through the rain to search for her, carrying the Golden Ring in the Rhine River.

• Linsey woke beneath Black Mountain, discovered his severe burns and Death Erosion, and found that killing the Dragon Beast had permanently increased all his base attributes by five.
• Linsey inferred that uncontrolled elemental forces after the battle had caused the rain and that Stone's Breath had helped save him, though the item was now gone.
• Linsey checked the map and, unable to locate his companions, worried that Red had not come looking for him.
• Linsey discovered that his Third Tier Willpower Source Material granted him a positive enhancement when his actions embodied courage, then climbed out of the hollow.
• Linsey headed toward the Dragon Beast's remains to search for Red and inspected the Golden Ring in the Rhine River, learning of its dangerous allure and its power when returned to a river.

While riding a Snow Wolf to the Dragon Beast’s remains, Linsey examined his new abilities and discovered that Datafication had revealed the Human Wisdom Codex, a powerful wishing item bound to him. He realized the codex had secretly enhanced his Game Player ability for years.

• Linsey summoned two Snow Wolves to help him cross the broken terrain and used Create Character to restore his hair, eyebrows, and damaged skin.
• Linsey found that all eight RPG Skills were unlocked and activated the Origin Ability Datafication, which displayed precise values for his health and source essence.
• Linsey discovered the Human Wisdom Codex in his Equipment Slot and learned that it could accumulate power to grant wishes of increasing strength.
• Linsey recalled Alvitte’s words in Anville Village and the page that had protected him and Red in the Thousand Mountains Stone Forest, recognizing the codex as the source of that power.
• Linsey found that the codex had bound itself to him and enhanced his Game Player ability, explaining why his abilities exceeded those of ordinary Awakened.

Linsey searched the ruined battlefield after killing the Dragon Beast and discovered that the Teleportation Array had been destroyed. Meanwhile, Lord Ke Saiwei Lait and Mr. Han Si Ke arrived by boat and heard that a living person remained among the ruins.

• Linsey claimed the Dragon Heart, the Dragon Slayer title, and Dragon Mead from the Hunting Notes.
• Linsey confirmed that the Ancient Frostflow Elemental could revive and found an Extremely Cold Crystal beneath the glacier.
• Linsey reached the ruins of Icebound City, recognized them as the site of the unstable entity's Projection Matrix, and realized his Flame Bomb had caused the earlier explosion.
• Linsey and the Snow Wolves cleared the ruins and found the activated Teleportation Array blasted into fragments, but no other people nearby.
• Lord Ke Saiwei Lait and Mr. Han Si Ke approached Black Mountain by boat and learned that the mountain had been destroyed.
• A young man sensed magical beasts and revived undead near the ruins, then reported that one living person seemed to remain there.

After Linsey was rescued from the Revivalists, he learned that the Dragon Beast had died fighting a Seventh Stage enemy and that the survivors were returning to the Courtyard in the Forest for reinforcements. As their boat crossed the great waterfall between worlds, Linsey met the Seventh Stage wizard Ke Saiwei Lait and the Law Knight Han Si Ke.

• Linsey woke aboard a boat with rescuers from the Courtyard in the Forest, who had found him while he fled the Revivalists.
• Han Si Ke told Linsey he had slept half a day and explained that the group was returning for reinforcements because many living corpses had escaped into the Black Mountain World.
• Linsey described the battle that destroyed Black Mountain and identified the enemy's shadow, fear-fog, and Dark World abilities.
• Ke Saiwei Lait identified the enemy as an Awakened of the Absolute Darkness lineage, one of the Chaos Abyss's three great schools.
• The group reached the great waterfall, and Ke Saiwei Lait used an unseen ability to guide their boat down its vertical surface between worlds.
• Han Si Ke introduced Ke Saiwei Lait as a Seventh Stage wizard and border guardian, then introduced himself as a Law Knight.

Red arrived in the world of Nal Kebandek and forced a merchant to guide her toward its city. Meanwhile, Linsey reached the Courtyard in the Forest with Han Si Ke and Ke Saiwei Lait, where a merchant association representative recognized that Ke Saiwei Lait had visited Black Mountain and fixed his attention on Linsey.

• Red killed an Awakened bandit with a glance, then seized a merchant and learned that Nal Kebandek lay beyond Consonis Mountain.
• Red dragged the merchant up the cliff face, taking a direct route over the mountain toward the city.
• Linsey and the others descended the waterfall into the Courtyard in the Forest, where he wondered whether the Human Wisdom Codex had suppressed his Sinner's Mark.
• Han Si Ke told Linsey that factions in the City of Law were fighting to impose their legal principles, while a young man defended his decision to leave.
• A carriage arrived at the lakeside, and its purple-coated driver greeted Ke Saiwei Lait and asked whether he had been to Black Mountain, all while staring intently at Linsey.

After the Dragon Beast’s death, Kuit sought Linsey as a witness for the merchant guild, but the old wizard kept him in Lookout Point City for treatment. The wizard recognized Linsey as the Dragon Beast’s killer and warned him to hide the truth; as the group prepared to return, the forest stirred in response to events in the Black Mountain World.

• Kuit announced that the Dragon Beast was dead and that living corpses still threatened the Black Mountain World, while the group learned that the Seer Oma had died in the mist.
• Han Si Ke explained to Linsey that Kuit was a Sixth Stage merchant stationed in Lookout Point City, and Kuit asked Linsey to accompany him to Remote Yue City to report Oma’s death.
• The old wizard insisted Linsey stay in Lookout Point City for treatment, and Kuit departed after saying he would report the events to the city.
• The old wizard told Linsey he knew Linsey had killed the Dragon Beast and warned him to conceal it, then asked about the negative energy in Linsey’s left hand and his reason for fighting.
• As Linsey and the others prepared to ride back to the city, the forest’s plants began to stir, and the old wizard said he would calm the forest’s response to the events in the Black Mountain World.

Linsey returned to Lookout Point City with Han Si Ke, who explained that the forest’s strange changes came from a unified will within the Courtyard in the Forest. On the journey, Linsey considered his new goals: finding Red, securing help for the Hidden Borderlands, returning to the City of Law, and healing his left hand and Death Erosion.

• Han Si Ke took Linsey back toward Lookout Point City while the other Awakened went to calm the forest’s changes.
• Han Si Ke explained that the forest’s plants were guided by a unified subconscious will, and that its movements caused the current disturbances.
• Linsey resolved to seek Red, arrange for the passage to the Hidden Borderlands to be reopened, and eventually return to Anville Village in the City of Law.
• Han Si Ke offered to introduce Linsey to skilled physicians, and Linsey accepted help for his injured left hand and Death Erosion.

Linsey arrived in Lookout Point City with Han Si Ke and registered a free residential plot as an Awakened. As he reached his new land, Ailini arrived and said Lord Kuit had arranged for her to live nearby to help him.

• Linsey realized he had little money, but told Han Si Ke that he could sell items from his luggage and build his own home.
• Han Si Ke explained that Awakened could receive residential land without paying, then rode with Linsey to Lookout Point City, where Linsey saw the Cha Luo Race living alongside humans.
• Han Si Ke used his status as a Law Knight to help Linsey register a plot near the wizard’s home and learned that Linsey was a nineteen-year-old Game Player.
• Ailini arrived at Linsey’s plot and told Han Si Ke that Lord Kuit had sent her to buy a nearby house so she could help Linsey.

Linsey exchanged information about Black Mountain World with the merchant Ailini, who had been sent by Merchant Kuit to monitor him. After accepting her medicine, Linsey asked about Kuit’s interest in him and then asked Ailini how to travel from the Courtyard in the Forest to the City of Law.

• Ailini offered Linsey three potions, and Linsey proposed exchanging them for information about Black Mountain World.
• Han Si Ke left to handle matters and promised to contact a doctor for Linsey that night.
• Ailini settled her wagon in the courtyard and invited Linsey inside to talk.
• Linsey described Black Mountain World’s harsh winter and his journey while concealing Red’s origins and his defeat of the Dragon Beast.
• Ailini gave Linsey the potions, and he identified them as a vitality potion, an antidote, and a supplement.
• Linsey asked why Merchant Kuit was interested in him, then asked Ailini about a route to the City of Law.

Linsey learned that reaching the City of Law would require a long journey through several Teleportation Arrays, and that war there currently blocked direct access. He traded his Black Mountain goods with Ailini, earning gold coins and raising his Simulation Management level to 3.

• Ailini explained that Linsey could travel from Remote Yue City through White City and the City of a Thousand Sails, but the journey could take three to five years and the war limited access to the City of Law.
• Linsey offered his Black Mountain materials to Ailini in exchange for information about the war.
• Ailini inspected Linsey's goods, drank a Hawk Eye Potion, and was impressed by its effect and the quality of his wares.
• Linsey and Ailini bargained over the goods, and Linsey gained gold coins from the sale.
• The Game Player recognized Linsey's transaction and raised his Simulation Management level from 2 to 3.