Chapter Summaries

Finn brought Linsey to Anrui’s manor, where he used his skill to produce seeds from the dead Beech Tree so Anna could nurture its next life. Finn then taught Linsey about plants and Dead Language, but a woman with a bow burst into his study and demanded that Linsey come with her immediately.

• Finn asked Linsey about his reading skills and explained how Dead Language standardized the naming of species through the Volcano Codex.
• At Anrui’s manor, Finn examined the felled Beech Tree and told Anna that its life could not be restored.
• Finn used his skill to make the Beech Tree produce three seeds, which he gave Anna so she could raise its second life.
• Finn told Anrui that growing a mature Beech Tree would take at least fifty years and asked him to gather materials for special fertilizer.
• On the way home, Finn explained that awakened people often struggled to have children and then taught Linsey botany and Dead Language.
• A woman wearing a leather jacket and carrying a bow entered Finn’s study and told Linsey to come with her immediately.

Dan tried to take Linsey away early to teach him hunting after learning that he had killed an Ice Badger, but Finn insisted she get Red Moon Lady’s permission first. Linsey followed Dan to the church, where she tried to entice him with the freedoms of a hunter.

• Dan told Finn that Linsey had killed an Ice Badger with a wooden stick, astonishing both Awakened.
• Linsey said the hunt had been dangerous and that he had won by chance, while Dan explained how she found the dead beast.
• Dan argued that Linsey’s talent made him worth teaching in the forest, but Finn asked whether Red Moon Lady knew of her plan.
• Dan admitted she had not asked Red Moon Lady and agreed to take Linsey to the church to explain.
• Linsey said goodbye to Finn, agreed to return for lessons in four days, and went with Dan to the church.
• Dan chatted with Linsey along the way, promising that hunters could eat plenty of meat and enjoy freedom in the forest.

Linsey learned that Dan, Anrui, and Finn hoped to pass their skills on to him, and Dan demonstrated her remarkable hunting ability. Red Moon agreed to let Linsey spend the night at Dan’s home before their planned hunting lesson the next day.

• Linsey asked Dan why everyone was so eager to teach him, and she explained that the Hidden Borderlands had been cut off for ten years and they wanted to find successors.
• Dan told Linsey to learn from them without feeling obligated to choose any particular path, then demonstrated her skill by killing a wild rabbit with one arrow from far away.
• Linsey praised Dan’s shot and said he would study hard under her, while Dan clarified that her feat required awakening a skill with Source Essence.
• Dan asked Red Moon to let Linsey stay at her home and join her on a hunt the next day, and Red Moon let Linsey decide before approving the plan.
• Dan led Linsey away from the church, promised him a meal made from the Ice Badger, and pinched his cheeks into a smile.

Linsey visited Dan’s home, met her son Ju, and began learning what to expect from his first hunt with her. Dan explained magical beasts, the Source Material Tide, and the formidable power of the Dragon Beasts in the neighboring Black Mountain World, leaving Linsey aware of how dangerous his goal of crossing it would be.

• Linsey followed Dan to her home, where he met her son Ju practicing a water-related inherited skill.
• Dan skinned the Ice Badger and prepared its meat while explaining that Ju was practicing at home until spring.
• Linsey promised to follow Dan’s instructions in the forest, and Dan planned to have him try a practice bow that evening.
• Dan explained that magical beasts could integrate Essence and that the coming Source Material Tide made hunting more dangerous, though the area around town had been checked and was safe.
• Dan told Linsey that Dragon Beasts were extraordinarily powerful and that the beast in Black Mountain would be at least Seventh Stage by human standards.

Linsey trained his skills and went hunting with Dan and Ju, learning how to move safely through the snowy forest. At their first trap, Dan found that an animal had chewed through the rope and escaped, so she led them to check the next one.

• Linsey woke early, ate roasted wheat cakes, practiced writing, and trained until his Data Panel warned him to rest.
• Dan woke and told Linsey that she was taking him and Ju hunting for a lesson.
• Dan led Linsey and Ju through the snowy forest, teaching them to watch their footing, avoid making noise, and beware of thorny bushes.
• At the southernmost point of their route, Dan checked a Hook-and-Rope Trap and found its rope chewed through, with only traces of blood and no animal.
• Dan dismissed the failed trap and led Linsey and Ju toward the next one.

Dan’s traps yielded no prey, but she revealed that she had been tracking the animal that stole her catch and used her Awakened skill to hunt by reading the forest. The chapter left Dan, Linsey, and Ju ready to continue their winter hunt after Dan brought back a fox she had shot.

• Dan checked several traps with Linsey and Ju, but found no prey and noticed that animals had avoided them.
• Dan stopped for lunch, and Linsey warmed his greasy roasted meat over the fire.
• Dan explained that she had been tracking the animal that stole prey from her Snare Trap by reading traces through her Awakened skill.
• Dan spotted something in the forest and shot a white fox through the neck with her bow.
• Dan returned with the fox, packed it away, and told Linsey and Ju to warm up before they continued.

During a winter hunt, Dan, Linsey, and Ju found the corpse of Leize near town and discovered he had been wounded by a magical beast's Ice Cone spell. After Dan sensed source essence across the frozen river, she went to investigate and ordered Linsey and Ju to stay behind.

• Dan guided Linsey and Ju around a dangerous frozen river and carried them across its slippery log bridge.
• Dan found a body buried beneath the snow and identified the dead man as Leize, who had left town hoping to return to his hometown.
• Linsey noticed puncture wounds on Leize's abdomen, and Dan recognized them as injuries from a magical beast's Ice Cone spell.
• Dan sensed source essence across the river, armed her bow, and told Linsey to stay with Ju and run toward town if danger arose.

Linsey learned why Dan had left to hunt the magical beast responsible for a townsman's death, then faced three Ice Badgers while protecting Ju. He drew the beasts away from Ju and ran toward the frozen river, hoping to survive until Dan returned.

• Linsey comforted Ju after Dan disappeared into the forest, and Ju told him that his father had gone to try to break through Black Mountain.
• Ju explained that his parents had come from Fortnix ten years earlier, and that his father had vanished while seeking a way out of the Hidden Borderlands.
• Linsey and Ju dug the dead townsman out of the snow and propped his body against a birch tree while they waited for Dan.
• Linsey heard something approaching, hid Ju behind the corpse, and prepared to defend them with Dan's bow and knife.
• Three Ice Badgers attacked Linsey, who fired an arrow to draw their attention away from Ju and ran toward the frozen river.

Linsey used the frozen river, his archery, and a hunter’s snare to defeat three Ice Badgers alone. Afterward, he discovered that the fight had greatly improved his skills and attributes, then headed back to Ju despite his wounds.

• Linsey lured one Ice Badger onto slick ice, shot it in the belly, and was wounded by Ice Cones from the other two.
• Linsey ran through the woods to lead the remaining Ice Badgers toward a snare trap between two birch trees.
• The snare caught one Ice Badger, and Linsey killed the last one with his short knife before finishing the trapped beast.
• Linsey checked his attributes and found that Basic Archery had advanced to Proficient while his Blade Technique, Agility, and Strength had also improved.
• Linsey collected his bow and arrows and started back toward Ju, worried that Ju had been frightened by the danger.

After surviving an attack by three Ice Badgers, Linsey reunited with Ju and began returning to town to treat his wounds. They discovered the buried corpse had vanished, and it soon reappeared as a hostile creature, leaving Linsey to face it while Ju ran for help.

• Linsey found Ju searching for him on the frozen river and took back his arrows before leading him toward town.
• Linsey noticed the corpse beneath the birch tree had disappeared, so he hurried away with Ju instead of investigating.
• A black shadow attacked Ju, and Linsey shoved him aside before colliding with the attacker.
• Linsey recognized the attacker as the reanimated corpse and told Ju to run to town for help.
• Ju ran toward town while Linsey faced the corpse.

Linsey fought a reanimated corpse but could not seriously injure it, so he fled through the forest. After the corpse evolved enough to climb a tree, Linsey knocked it back down and escaped again, with the pursuit still unresolved.

• The corpse abandoned Ju and charged after Linsey, who struck its head and waist but barely damaged its frozen body.
• Linsey judged that he could not defeat the corpse while injured and ran through the forest as it rapidly gained on him.
• Linsey climbed a painted maple, but the corpse drove its fingers into the trunk and began climbing after him.
• Linsey sensed vitality in the black mist spreading from the corpse's eye sockets and realized it could evolve.
• Linsey kicked the climbing corpse in the face, dropped to the ground, and sprinted onward.

Linsey fled a relentless corpse through the snow-covered forest and discovered that it pursued sounds rather than sight, using thrown objects to buy time. As he neared Border Town with his stamina nearly gone, a red flash swept past him, which he associated with death.

• Linsey tried to stop the corpse with an arrow, his bow, and his coat, but the monster quickly shrugged them off.
• Linsey threw a knife at a distant tree and saw the corpse attack the sound instead of his motionless body, revealing how it tracked targets.
• Linsey repeatedly threw objects to distract the hearing-based corpse and recover stamina, but eventually ran out of things to throw.
• Linsey spotted the buildings near Anrui's Lord's Manor and the training clearing, then prepared to throw his shoe as the corpse closed in.
• A red flash curved around Linsey and vanished through the forest, and he thought of death.

Red Moon rescued Linsey and Ju from a revived corpse, which she identified as a dead person disturbed by Ancient Sin. After Dan rejoined them and questioned how Leize’s body had become undead, Linsey received an RPG Module upgrade and unlocked the Hunting Simulation Module.

• Ju brought Red Moon to Linsey, and Red Moon used her skill to stop the revived corpse.
• Red Moon checked Linsey’s wound, and Linsey reassured Ju that seeking help had saved them both.
• Red Moon explained that Ancient Sin had made it possible for the dead to rise, and that the School of Death dealt with such problems.
• Dan returned, apologized for leaving Linsey and Ju, and realized that Leize’s corpse had become undead.
• Red Moon suggested that the snow and cold might have preserved Leize’s body until Essence stimulated it, while cautioning that this was only a possibility.
• Linsey’s task completion upgraded his RPG Module to level 3, granted him Personal Baggage, and unlocked the Hunting Simulation Module.

Linsey unlocked Personal Baggage and the Hunting Simulation module, learning that he could only activate one module at a time and that switching modules consumed Life Source Material. After returning to the RPG Module, he went back to the Graveyard Church with Red Moon, who invited him to learn about burying Leize at midnight.

• Linsey saw his attributes and combat skills improve after fighting the Living Corpse, then unlocked Personal Baggage and Hunting Simulation.
• Linsey swapped the RPG Module for Hunting Simulation and received Hunting Notes containing records on the Ice Badger, Living Corpse, other prey, and humans.
• Linsey discovered that only one module could occupy his slot, and that removing the RPG Module also removed its bonuses and cost him Life Source Material.
• Linsey restored the RPG Module and walked back to the Graveyard Church with Red Moon after Dan carried Leize's body to his younger sister.
• Red Moon told Linsey that Leize needed a proper burial and invited him to follow her from midnight to learn the relevant knowledge.

After recovering from his ordeal, Linsey tested his Personal Baggage and joined Red Moon in burying Leize. The next morning, he visited Finn, then watched the first snow fall from the Lighthouse Clock Tower as he settled into thoughts of his future.

• Red Moon used a Bloodstone to heal Linsey's chest wound, and Linsey slept until just before midnight.
• Linsey tested his Personal Baggage, confirming that it stored items without affecting his movement and that auto-loot only worked on nearby, accessible objects.
• Red Moon taught Linsey the School of Death's burial rites, and she and Linsey prepared and sealed Leize's coffin before burying him with Anrui and the Female Hunter.
• Leize's sister chose not to summon the townspeople for mourning, and Red Moon asked Linsey to tell Finn what had happened at dawn.
• Linsey read Red Moon's Graveyard Burial Book through the night, then visited Finn and went jogging through town.
• Linsey climbed the Lighthouse Clock Tower, watched snow fall over town, and reflected on living there and his future.

On a rainy autumn day, the elderly botanist Finn prepared to teach Linsey and worried that his failing health would prevent him from finishing his research into cold-resistant crops. He considered asking the Red Moon Lady about using a traveling merchant’s technique to turn his Essence into a treasure, just as Linsey arrived.

• Finn struggled to rise and gathered study materials for Linsey, recalling how well his student had learned during three years in Border Town.
• Finn fed his aging hen, Xuan Cao, and warmed himself by the fireplace as the rain worsened his aches and cough.
• Finn thought about crossbreeding cold-resistant wild plants with food crops, but feared his remaining lifespan was too short to complete the work.
• Finn considered using a traveling merchant’s method to place his Essence in an object and wondered whether the Red Moon Lady could teach him the technique.
• Linsey knocked at Finn’s door, and Finn welcomed him inside.

Linsey visited Finn, demonstrated his progress in cultivating his Life Source Material and his studies, and helped inspect Finn’s cold-resistant crops. After lunch, Linsey stayed to read while Finn asked him to tell Red Moon Lady that he wanted to discuss Merchant’s Source Material.

• Linsey checked Xuan Cao’s coop and brought Finn the two eggs she had laid.
• Linsey told Finn that his Life Source Material had completed its First Stage and that he was satisfying his physical needs to cultivate the Second Stage.
• Finn tested Linsey’s knowledge, praised his mastery of botany, and encouraged him to awaken a Life School technique, but Linsey declined.
• Finn explained that plants should be cultivated through careful processes rather than forced to grow rapidly, citing Gustin’s failed crops in Volcano City.
• Finn asked Linsey to tell Red Moon Lady that he wanted to discuss Merchant’s Source Material, and Linsey stayed to read after lunch.

Linsey searched Finn’s books for information about entering Black Mountain and learned that a dangerous dragon beast guarded the route. After leaving Finn’s house, he met Ju, who revealed that his inherited skill had developed its first ability ahead of the Hunting Team’s outing.

• Linsey read Kewell’s Notes and learned that travelers entered Black Mountain World by following a waterfall upstream, but found no information about reaching it from the Hidden Borderlands.
• Linsey read Border Annals (VI), which said a huge dragon beast guarded Black Mountain’s entrance, and decided to verify the account with Lord Anrui.
• Linsey finished caring for Finn, then walked through town, where residents greeted him and gave him a Chrysanthemum Yam.
• Ju told Linsey that the Hunting Team would leave the next day and revealed that his Star skill had developed weak control over water currents.
• Ju asked Linsey to keep his new ability secret so he could impress his mother and the others during the hunt.

Linsey learned from Red Moon that Finn believed his death was near, and hurried to his teacher’s cabin with the Merchant’s Source Material cultivation method. Finn confirmed that this year would be his final days, then asked Linsey to preserve and pass on the Life School’s knowledge before sending him home.

• Red Moon gave Linsey the Merchant’s Source Material cultivation method and explained how awakened ones nearing death used the technique to leave something useful behind.
• Linsey raced to Finn’s cabin, where Finn inferred his distress and confirmed that his Life Instinct foretold his death that year.
• Finn told Linsey to learn to accept partings, explaining that his long life from Life Source Material would mean losing many people over time.
• Finn said Linsey would likely try to break through Black Mountain’s blockade and asked him to entrust Finn’s knowledge to scholars of the Life School if he reached Volcano City or met them.
• Linsey solemnly promised to preserve Finn’s knowledge, and Finn told him to go home so Red Moon would not worry.

Linsey used his Hunting Simulation and RPG modules to hunt alone after arriving in a foul mood, while Ju practiced his craft with the Hunting Team. The chapter ended with Linsey congratulating Ju after he awakened his first Sublimation ability.

• Dan and the hunters waited for Linsey, who arrived late and gloomy, then joined the group as they set out into the forest.
• Linsey used Hunting Simulation to track prey and RPG to shoot a grouse, then asked his companions to let him hunt alone.
• Linsey hunted six grouse, three rabbits, three squirrels, and a wild boar, pushing his Personal Baggage close to capacity.
• Linsey reached the hunter cabin and saw Ju making water circle his fingertips as the hunters celebrated his first ability awakened through Sublimation.
• Ju called Linsey over, and Linsey smiled gently and congratulated him.