Recaps

Murphy viewed Avalon’s message and learned that the Holy Grails were part of an ancient pact against the Warp, while Triss was caught by the message and Murphy jolted her back to her senses. At the boxing championship, Niu Niu lost to a mysterious monk of the Winter Wolf Church, whose arrival stunned Count Andre.

• After returning to the Bloodrat Gang headquarters, Murphy examined the light Avalon had entrusted to the Valand Knight while Triss guarded him.
• Murphy saw gods gather in the Astral Realm, send Grails to a world, and warn him to find the Epoch Pact and join the fight against the Warp.
• Triss secretly peeked at Avalon’s message and fell under its influence, so Murphy used Omega to wake her with a series of smacks.
• At the championship, a hooded fighter defeated Niu Niu with ease and sent him out of the ring.
• The victor revealed his monk’s robe and frost-wolf emblem, prompting Count Andre to identify him as a celibate monk of the Winter Wolf Church.

After the Winter Wolf monk Turner became the tournament’s surprise contender, Natalie and Murphy’s group investigated the monks’ arrival and learned that Turner had a hidden past and likely a private purpose in Transia. Murphy decided to use the tournament to draw Turner’s attention and see what he was after.

• Niu Niu’s eleven-match winning streak ended when the Winter Wolf monk defeated him, and the tournament paused until the next day as the monk’s odds and popularity rose.
• Old Eugene warned Natalie that the Winter Wolf Church might challenge Avalon’s influence in Transia, but Natalie urged him not to provoke a religious conflict.
• Natalie joined Murphy, Triss, Mirian, and Count Andre, who explained that the mysterious fighters were ascetic monks rather than ordinary Winter Wolf warrior monks.
• Adele identified five monks from the remote Wolf God’s Eye monastery as observers sent to witness events in Transia, not to spread their faith.
• Adele revealed that the tournament fighter, ‘Iron Fist’ Turner, was a former Winter Wolf Legion scout captain and Silver-rank monk who had crossed into Western Saharan territory and might be a Frostwolf Chosen One.
• Murphy concluded that Turner had come for a private purpose and decided to wait for Turner to approach him while using the tournament to draw out another opportunity.

Turner separated from Sheriff and Zack after revealing his hunt for the Dusk cultists and his need to get close to Murphy. Later, Sister Pomegranate challenged Turner to avenge Niu Niu, but he defeated her and pointed her toward the Shadow Sect.

• Turner learned that the Blood Rat Gang had offered Sheriff, Zack, and the other men a place in Transia, and he urged them to build new lives without following him.
• Turner showed Sheriff and Zack his Winter Wolf Legion badge and explained that he was pursuing a dangerous mission tied to the Dusk and Murphy.
• Niu Niu spoke with Sister Pomegranate, who promised to help him get even with Turner; he then described her martial-arts background to his roommates.
• Sister Pomegranate found Turner in the sewer hideout and challenged him, but Turner used his monk techniques to defeat her.
• Turner told Sister Pomegranate that the Winter Wolf path did not suit her and recommended the Shadow Sect, then demonstrated three shadow techniques and knocked her unconscious.

After Transian fighters repeatedly failed to defeat Sir Turner, Sister Pomegranate decided to bring her grandfather into True Otherworld, while Niu Niu warned her against involving him. Their search for a martial arts teacher led them to Uncle Li, whose skill convinced the group that real martial artists existed and left them hoping to recruit him into the game.

• Niu Niu, Sister Pomegranate, and Cat each challenged Sir Turner in the sewers and were swiftly defeated, while Cat identified him as a powerful Silver-rank Winter Wolf monk.
• Sir Turner recognized Transia’s warriors as unusually talented and suspected the region would shape the continent’s coming upheaval.
• Sister Pomegranate drove Niu Niu to their hometown to involve their grandfather, and Niu Niu accidentally struck her throat with a technique he had learned from Sir Turner.
• Niu Niu warned Sister Pomegranate not to drag their elderly grandfather into True Otherworld, but she had already called him; their grandfather instead celebrated her boyfriend and gave them Uncle Li’s number when Niu Niu asked for a boxing teacher.
• Sister Pomegranate tested Uncle Li with her new techniques, but he blocked her with chopsticks and effortlessly countered her, impressing Niu Niu and Young Master Fu.

Niu Niu, Sister Pomegranate, and Little Rich Bro convinced Teacher Li to consider joining the game by showing him Pomegranate’s description of its martial arts and sparring with him. After approving four new applications, Murphy anticipated that the newcomers would soon challenge Iron Fist Turner.

• At a roadside food stall, Teacher Li told Niu Niu, Sister Pomegranate, and Little Rich Bro about his martial arts training, his challenges against Old Master Niu, and the car accident that injured his leg.
• Niu Niu explained the lifelike game to Teacher Li, and Sister Pomegranate demonstrated the Frostwolf Monk’s techniques to show him what she had encountered in the game.
• Teacher Li sparred with Niu Niu, repeatedly outmaneuvering him and explaining that Niu Niu left himself open when attacking.
• Sister Pomegranate urged Teacher Li to enter the game, and he agreed to apply after hearing that he could explore martial arts and the Path of Qi there.
• Murphy reviewed the new applications, approved those submitted by Fireworks Beef Pot, Star Soul Eagle, Fun Seeker Arin, and Iron Gauntlet, and looked forward to seeing them challenge Iron Fist Turner.

Murphy proposed holding monthly events to keep Transia’s people and growing warrior population engaged, and Mirian agreed to test the idea at the upcoming Blood Festival. Meanwhile, four new players joined the game, including skilled martial artists whose real-world training gave them unusually strong starting classes, and the group began discussing a guild for them.

• Murphy asked Mirian about Transia’s festivals and argued that monthly events would keep his warriors active and improve local morale.
• Murphy showed Mirian a list of festivals and event themes, and she agreed to use the Blood Festival as a trial run.
• Sister Pomegranate scolded Niu Niu for recruiting Arin, while Cat Bro arrived with an older relative who had taught him swordsmanship.
• Murphy summoned four new players, and two older martial artists introduced themselves as Smoky Beef Pot and the Iron Fist.
• Niu Niu discovered that Teacher Li had started as a level-one monk, while Cat Bro’s relative began as a weapon expert, thanks to their real-world skills.
• Sister Pomegranate proposed a Transian Martial Artists Association, and Drive Fast suggested calling it the Shadow Tracks Sect.

The Shadowstep Sect players challenged the Iron Fist Society at the Sewer Club, while Master Yang and Teacher Li demonstrated their martial arts against the Northern fighters. The chapter ended with Turner learning that his side had lost forty matches without a win.

• The players formed the Shadowstep Sect and headed to the Sewer Club to challenge their rivals, while Niu Niu invited Star Soul Eagle to cook a feast after the matches.
• Murphy watched the fights through the Core Orb as Master Yang defeated two Northern thugs with ease and prepared to face another opponent.
• Teacher Li warned Meow Brother that Master Yang seemed to be suppressing resentment, though he believed Yang could still control himself.
• Teacher Li faced Zack of the Iron Fist Society and knocked him unconscious with a single strike.
• A subordinate told Turner that the Iron Fist Society had lost forty matches to the players without winning once.

Teacher Li defeated Iron Fist Turner in a technique-only duel, earning a sealed scroll for Sister Pomegranate and attracting the attention of Transia’s important figures. After Turner left, Teacher Li admitted how exhausting and dangerous the fight had been.

• Niu Niu and Sister Pomegranate’s fighters defeated the Iron Fist Society, while Smokehouse Beef Pot hesitated over whether to let his comatose son A-Feng try the brainwave method.
• Cat Bro told Smokehouse Beef Pot about Xiao Weiming, then decided to learn his family’s techniques so he could become strong enough to court Sister Pomegranate.
• Turner challenged Teacher Li to a duel, offering a sealed scroll if he lost and requesting Teacher Li’s boxing styles if he won.
• Teacher Li adapted to Turner’s changing techniques, broke his rhythm with an Iron Mountain Shoulder Strike, and defeated him with a Spirit Severing Strike.
• Turner conceded, gave the sealed scroll to Sister Pomegranate, and left with his subordinates; Teacher Li then admitted the fight had nearly overwhelmed him.

Teacher Li's discovery gave the players a rare monk inheritance, while Murphy met Turner and learned that Twilight had orchestrated the attack that killed Lord Lathir. Murphy brought Turner into Transia's fight against Twilight and ordered him to train its monks.

• Sister Shiliu appraised Teacher Li's manuscript and found it could teach several monk traditions and special qi techniques.
• Turner prayed after losing the tournament, then Murphy appeared and questioned him about his hunt for Twilight.
• Turner revealed that Twilight had arranged the ambush that killed his comrades and caused a near-war between Nordtov and the frost dwarves.
• Murphy told Turner that the plague ghoul overlord had been made from the remains of a gold-rank frost dwarf, whom Turner identified as the former High Lord Lathir.
• Turner asked to retrieve Lathir's ashes and find the missing sacred spear Winter's Strike, and Murphy recruited him to work with Lady Natalie and Adele while training Transia's monks.

Murphy invited Turner to become a guest instructor for the newly founded Shadow Fist school after revealing the champions’ otherworldly origins, while Turner agreed to explore Transia for signs of subspace corruption. At the players’ banquet, Teacher Li asked Little Weiming about the game’s effects on her disabled body, and Master Yang overheard their conversation while considering help for his own son.

• Murphy gave Turner Lord Latier’s urn and asked him to join the Shadow Fist school as a guest instructor; Turner said he needed to consult Master Yuri first.
• Murphy revealed that his champions came from another realm and could resist the Dusk’s influence, then promised to support the Winter Wolf monks settling in Transia.
• Triss warned Murphy about the dangers of religious Chosen, and they reviewed a report about a significant discovery in the Filthy Swamp before leaving for the players’ banquet.
• At the banquet, the players discussed the feast and the absence of Meow Brother and Brother Bang, who were recovering after trying to cross the game’s invisible boundaries.
• Teacher Li asked Little Weiming whether the game affected her real body, and she suggested he contact Brother Fa about getting his wheelchair-bound friend into the game.
• Master Yang overheard Teacher Li’s conversation and decided to wait before seeking help for his wheelchair-bound son.

Murphy arranged a voluntary game-test invitation for Teacher Li’s wheelchair-using friend, a former lawyer, and encouraged Teacher Li to recruit other martial artists. Teacher Li visited his friend to persuade him to try the game, but the friend remained wary as the chapter ended.

• Murphy carried the drunken Triss to bed, then replied to Teacher Li’s request about inviting his friend to join the game test.
• Murphy approved a special application route for Teacher Li’s friend and offered Teacher Li invitation slots for vetted martial artists.
• Murphy read forum updates about the King of Fighters tournament and the Torrent Knight Order’s efforts to find and transport 2,300 refugees.
• Teacher Li visited his wheelchair-using friend, a former promising lawyer, and told him about the virtual reality game and its need for legal expertise.
• The friend rejected the idea of escaping into a fantasy world, but Teacher Li urged him to apply and help investigate the game.

Wang Xiao received his True Otherworld helmet and entered the game, where Natalie recruited him as an Adventurers' Guild errand runner. Their conversation ended with Wang Xiao asking Natalie to explain the Avalon God’s faith, leaving open whether he would become a believer.

• Wang Xiao examined the helmet delivered to his home and put it on to launch True Otherworld.
• Amber and Natalie discussed Eugene’s fanaticism and the strange doctrines players were spreading in the Cato region.
• Natalie entered Blood Vulture Corridor to report the players’ activities to Murphy and encountered the newly arrived Wang Xiao, known as the Raven.
• Natalie gave Wang Xiao an Oracular Orb and a psionic ID tag, and he activated the orb’s translation feature.
• Natalie offered Wang Xiao an Adventurers’ Guild errand-runner job, and he accepted while asking her to tell him about the Avalon God.

Raven told Old Li that Natalie’s doubts and emotional struggles suggested the people in Crimson Castle were real, and he planned to investigate the world by learning its language. Meanwhile, Murphy unlocked race conversion after Transia’s population passed one hundred thousand and decided to introduce player strongholds in the next update.

• Raven met Old Li after speaking with Natalie and described her crisis of faith and the possibility that the game’s NPCs were real people.
• Raven warned Old Li that the authorities might already be monitoring the players, then asked him to find a children’s dictionary so Raven could study the local language without relying on the translation orb.
• Murphy overheard Raven’s conversation and considered recruiting him as another hero before an administrator notification announced that Transia’s population had reached 100,057 and unlocked race-template collection and conversion.
• Murphy realized Triss could help players change races, potentially allowing Lumina to become an elf, but chose to keep the feature secret until a suitable moment.
• Murphy planned to use the population achievement to introduce player-run strongholds in the next update and reduce Miriam’s administrative workload.

Miss Peachy stopped Mirian’s carriage to discuss Fraser, but their conversation revealed Peachy’s doubts about her future and Mirian’s admiration for her. Mirian invited Peachy to stay in Transia and lead its warriors, leaving Murphy disappointed that their encounter was no lovers’ quarrel.

• Miss Peachy and Lady Liwen blocked Mirian’s carriage after work, and Mirian invited Peachy inside to talk about her fiancé, Fraser.
• Mirian assured Peachy that she and Fraser were only friends, while Peachy explained that she had questioned her arranged future after seeing Mirian’s example.
• Peachy admitted she felt unsuited to Mirian’s political path and offered to step aside, but Mirian rejected the idea that either woman should define herself by Fraser.
• Mirian praised Peachy’s courage and invited her to stay at Scarlet Castle as a potential successor to her grandfather among Transia’s warriors.
• Peachy answered with confusion, while Murphy, listening nearby, lamented that the conversation had not become the romantic rivalry he expected.

Biji decided to remain in Transia and fight in the war against the Black Disaster, but Kudell angrily forbade her from joining. Murphy proposed that she prove her strength by winning the Transian Boxing Championship under the alias Xiwei.

• Biji told Liwen she wanted to stay in Transia, and Liwen questioned her reasons and warned that the Capets might not allow it.
• Kudell gave Biji enchanted armor as a parting gift and ordered her to leave for Nantes the next morning.
• Biji announced that she would stay and fight, prompting Kudell to seize her ear and scold her for treating war like a fantasy.
• Murphy intervened and suggested that Biji win the Transian Boxing Championship to prove she could protect herself.
• Murphy told Biji to compete under the alias Xiwei and seek Femis's help changing her appearance.

Murphy persuaded Kudell to keep Biqi in Transia and assigned him to oversee a defensive line before Transia’s forces invaded the Filthy Swamp. At the arsenal, Loyal Bro reviewed players’ improvised weapons and put several of them on his watchlist for their dangerous skills.

• Murphy argued that Biqi would be safer and better trained in Transia, and Kudell reluctantly accepted that she should stay.
• Murphy told Kudell that construction of the defensive line between the Dark Baronies and the Filthy Swamp would begin the following week and assigned him to lead it.
• Murphy planned to take Transian forces into the Filthy Swamp after the King of Fighters tournament and fight alongside the Bloodsworn Knights in the Dark Mountains.
• Nightmare Bat Puppet showed Loyal Bro a cast gun barrel, and Loyal Bro directed him and Barrett to test it while arranging for more barrels to be made.
• Legendary Hero presented Loyal Bro with homemade black-powder blasting caps, and Loyal Bro decided to test them and put him on the watchlist.

Loyalty’s team welcomed investigator Meng Haha and discovered that her friend Terra Nova had drawn their attention, prompting the agency to investigate her. Terra Nova then contacted Sister Cement, who revealed her research into the game’s advanced quantum communication and prepared to involve Terra Nova while pursuing her own experiments.

• Loyalty and Jie Weichi Ke discussed their team’s intelligence work, their recruits in Transia, and plans to control a third-party Real Otherworld platform.
• Meng Haha arrived at the airport and explained that her friend had invited her into the game; Loyalty’s team watched her reunite with Niu Shiliu and Little Rich.
• Loyalty ordered his team to investigate the player ID Terra Nova after Meng Haha sent it to him.
• Terra Nova panicked after discovering the investigation and called Sister Cement to quit the assignment before she had even entered the game.
• Sister Cement urged Terra Nova to admit she had been forced to investigate, promised to manage the fallout, and continued developing a device to study the game’s quantum communication system.

Meng Haha warned Little Rich Guy and Sister Pomegranate about an unnatural flu outbreak, then discovered Alpha's delivery service had tracked her space-based address to deliver a game helmet. Murphy welcomed her into the game and watched Transian smiths unveil their first locally made psionic alloy, leaving Sharon to consider how to develop its uses and take charge of the arsenal.

• Meng Haha told Little Rich Guy and Sister Pomegranate that an unusual flu outbreak was spreading and urged them to stay indoors and stock up on food.
• Meng Haha found a game helmet delivered to Sister Pomegranate's apartment and realized Alpha had tracked her real-time location despite the space-based address she provided.
• Murphy reviewed Meng Haha's exceptional research and spatial talents, accepted the risk of her being an official, and headed toward the fight club.
• Master Broken Blade and Hundred-Forged Horse revealed Sico Steel, a psionic alloy they had developed, while Sharon confirmed it could store psionic energy inefficiently.
• Murphy encouraged Sharon to find uses for the alloy in high-end firearms and asked her to take charge of the arsenal; Sharon agreed to consider it after the tournament.

Taipal led the Stormrush Knights in escorting refugees and learned that new player slots and a possible stronghold were coming soon, prompting him to recruit more members and redouble their efforts. After returning from a seven-day absence, Happy Stick met Meliya Corando, who called him her Master, leaving Meow Brother convinced Brother Fa had given him a cyber wife.

• Taipal announced the deaths of three members of the 24th Patrol Squad and praised the survivors for bringing refugees safely to camp.
• The Stormrush Knights handed 427 registered refugees over to winged cavalry and learned that Commander Fording was recovering from a broken leg.
• Tiger Leopard Cavalry · Lin told Taipal to recruit candidates for mounted training and said new player slots and a possible stronghold were coming soon.
• Taipal ordered the Stormrush Knights to recruit more players and bring Lord Murphy over ten thousand refugees before the portal opened.
• Meow Brother and Happy Stick returned to Transia after seven days away, and Meliya Corando welcomed Happy Stick as her Master.
• Meow Brother demanded to know why Brother Fa had given Happy Stick a cyber wife and insisted that he wanted one too.

Happy Stick learned that his blood pact with Melia Colando had made her his first blood descendant and granted him new abilities, while also assigning him ongoing testing duties. After Meow Brother posted about it, vampire players rushed to pursue blood descendants of their own, and Alpha pointed them toward a newly released major update announcement.

• Happy Stick read the quest notices confirming his pact with Melia Colando, his combat bonuses, and his obligation to submit weekly observations.
• Happy Stick argued with Meow Brother about his new blood descendant, then left with Melia and her sister to talk privately.
• Meow Brother posted pictures and details of Melia on the forums, prompting vampire players to plan trips to the Kato region to find blood descendants.
• Ashina Female Sword Saint organized a group to pursue blood descendants, while other players discussed targeting weakened vampires and Winnie.
• After Happy Stick posted more pictures with Melia, forum users competed over Melia and Winnie, and Meow Brother asked Alpha to intervene.
• Alpha reassured Meow Brother that the Kato vampires had been strengthened and announced that the latest version update was likely the final major closed-test update.

Murphy published the Alpha 3.0 update, announcing player strongholds, guild-based tester recruitment, administrative roles, and a coming expansion tied to Transia’s defenses. Players reacted to the news, while Loyal Brother began preparing to move his organization into the game.

• Murphy posted a major update announcement after Happy Stick’s controversy distracted players from the notice.
• The update awarded Riptide Fort and Maginot Line to player guilds and outlined stronghold development, recruitment, and administrative systems.
• The announcement described a new public social platform and revealed that the expansion The Black Calamity Returns would shape the next stage of the story.
• The testing team warned vampire players against pursuing blood descendants early and clarified that Happy Stick’s blood pact feature had appeared by mistake.
• Happy Stick complained that caring for poisoned Melia gave him a debilitating Anemia debuff, while players discussed the new strongholds.
• Loyal Brother told Ziwei to register a guild and prepare to bring their organization into the game.

The players debated the stronghold awards, and Alpha’s census figures showed why the Surge Knights had earned one. As players discussed challenge quests and plotted to fight Murphy, he listened in, planned a brutal showdown, and returned the upgraded Scorpio to Meow Brother.

• Alpha shared census figures showing that the Surge Knights had found 9,714 displaced people, more than the other listed guilds combined, and Taipal explained their focused search effort.
• Meow King and Lumina Sunscar argued over competing for the remaining stronghold, while Alpha reminded players that other contributions could earn the Administrative Office’s favor.
• Sister Pomegranate Uproots the Willow and other players explained the difficult recommendation-letter challenges required to unlock a quest to fight Murphy.
• Murphy listened to the players discuss challenging him and decided he would show no mercy if they assembled a team to fight him.
• Murphy returned the upgraded demonic sword Scorpio to Meow Brother and told him that it was still incomplete.

Meow Brother completed the next stage of his hidden quest and obtained an enchanted flying replica of Necessary Evil, while Murphy planned to use the weapon to attract players to the Blood Eagle Clan. The newly appointed village chiefs then headed to their farms to begin developing their territories, with Taipal proposing an alchemy-herb business for Newbie Village.

• Meow Brother identified the Scorpio magic blade, bound it psychically, and learned from Murphy that damage to the flying sword could injure its wielder; he left to boast about it and consult Master Broken Blade.
• Murphy watched Meow Brother depart and hoped the weapon would draw envious players toward the Blood Eagle Clan.
• Taipal rode toward the third collective farm with Arcane Master Marlin and Goblin Tax Collector Goldflash, naming it Newbie Village and proposing that its villagers grow alchemical herbs for sale.
• Marlin and Goldflash questioned Taipal's plan and his willingness to force villagers to obey, but Taipal insisted that strict orders would bring prosperity and later earn their respect.
• The Wandering Scholar Zhou and his roommates planned to prospect for ore, while Pink Kitty Bunny prepared to build an inn on a trade route and coordinated with Village One's chief, Huozhengtinghao.
• Huozhengtinghao criticized the development plans drafted by his four secretaries and ordered them to revise their proposals.

Huozhengtinghao rejected his secretaries’ low-risk plan for Village One and proposed building prosperity by attracting northern merchants to a casino. He ordered them to prepare a cautious lottery trial while he sought help from the Bloodrat Gang.

• Huozhengtinghao told the Four Golden Flowers that Village One needed to pursue rapid development rather than depend on the Stonecutters' Brotherhood.
• Chenyu Luoyan and the other secretaries proposed making Village One a casino town aimed at merchants arriving from the north.
• Huozhengtinghao directed the secretaries to research casino operations and produce a plan within three days.
• Chenyu proposed testing local tolerance for gambling with a small-scale lottery, and Xiuhua suggested scratch-off tickets.
• Biyue advised involving locals and building ties with the authorities, while Huozhengtinghao agreed to approach the Bloodrat Gang and proposed forming the Transian Entertainment and Leisure Industry Guild.

Taipal took charge of Farm Three, renamed it the Starting Village, and promised its residents a more prosperous future. Meanwhile, Old Huo enlisted the Bloodrat Gang to help launch a scratch-off gambling business, and Dorothy agreed to hear his proposal.

• Taipal inspected Farm Three, learned that 27 residents were away seeking apprenticeships, and spoke with militia captain Godem Jon Portman about the farm and its incoming blood thralls.
• Taipal addressed the villagers, pledged to improve their lives, and renamed Farm Three the Starting Village, though many residents remained wary of him.
• At Farm One, Good Job distributed relief grain to villagers, then received a message from Kitty Bunny about renaming Farm Two Lion's Pride and developing postal routes.
• Old Huo told Kitty Bunny's envoy he would help find investors for the logistics venture, then met with Lady Dorothy to propose a scratch-off business.
• Dorothy questioned Old Huo about the venture's risks and potential returns, and Good Job insisted they proceed to business.