Recaps

Murphy welcomed twenty-four new players to the game and sent them to help fight the Astral threat in Cadman City. After the newcomers joined their friends and explored their character traits, Murphy prepared hidden-vault rewards that he planned to pass off as random drops.

• Murphy reviewed the twenty-four applicants, including Banzai Happy Stick’s friends, martial-arts enthusiasts, and Niu Niu’s cousin Sister Pomegranate Topples the Willow.
• Triss amplified Murphy’s welcome speech with a psychic shock, and Murphy urged the new players to help rescue Cadman City before the Astral Realm consumed it.
• Banzai Happy Stick reunited with his friends and led them to buy weapons, while Meow Brother worried that Stick had assembled a powerful team.
• Sister Pomegranate beat up Niu Niu during their reunion, then discovered she had four character traits and followed him toward the city to meet Sister Lumi.
• Murphy stocked hidden vaults with equipment and prepared blood vials that would let the players open their doors, planning to present the items as random dungeon drops.

Happy Stick read A-Cha’s guide to the game’s setting, NPCs, and hidden affinity system after logging off. The guide revealed ways to build relationships with key characters and that Ge Bao had earned an alchemy notebook from Mrs. Triss.

• Meow Brother told Happy Stick that affinity with Lord Murphy might have earned him a blood vial, prompting Happy Stick to consider building a relationship with another NPC.
• Happy Stick logged off and found A-Cha’s featured forum guide, which described the game’s steam-powered technology and speculated about Lord Murphy’s plans and the future player faction.
• A-Cha explained that players could raise affinity with Maxim through combat, with Mirian through fair trades and knowledge, and with Femis through vampire relics and psionic study.
• A-Cha reported that Mrs. Triss’s random twelve-part quest established initial trust, while giving her liquor could raise affinity further.
• Ge Bao gave Mrs. Triss nearly forty bottles of liquor and received an alchemy notebook, making him the first alchemist apprentice.

Players discussed Lord Murphy's fame and the survivor camp's quests as three middle-aged players helped build the camp and recognized its growing disorder. After they sent Mirian practical management suggestions, she made them camp managers with authority to establish rules and organize development.

• Players speculated that raising Lady Triss's affinity could reveal what Lord Murphy liked and help increase his fame.
• Mud Truck brought Fully Insured Semi to the survivor camp, where they joined Bulldozer Man in construction work and discussed how poorly the refugees were being managed.
• When women began fighting over food, Bulldozer Man fired a warning shot and threatened to send rule-breakers back to the city, dispersing the crowd.
• Fully Insured Semi proposed writing camp regulations for Mirian, and the three players drafted suggestions and delivered them through a young translator.
• Mirian read their practical proposals and assigned Mud Truck, Bulldozer Man, and Fully Insured Semi a quest granting them authority to help manage and develop the camp.

After a disastrous fight in Cadman City, Sister Pomegranate challenged Maxim while Mud Truck recruited Chosen Construction Worker for camp duties. Murphy prepared to burn the outer-city ruins and told Triss he would stay in Cadman City, claim the land, and confront Salokdar over her wound.

• Maxim scolded the inexperienced players after five died in the despair spawn's counterattack, and the surviving players resolved to train and gather supplies.
• Sister Pomegranate challenged Maxim to a fistfight, while Mud Truck invited Chosen Construction Worker to the survivor camp and promised him an official position with assistants.
• Murphy monitored the players through the Calculation Orb and praised Mirian for appointing players to manage the camp.
• Triss warned Murphy that burning the outer city could worsen the astral corruption, but Murphy said the survivors needed to see the darkness driven back by fire.
• Murphy admitted he planned to build a domain in Cadman City and promised to make Triss leader of the Blood Eagle Clan if he took control.
• Murphy refused Triss's suggestion that they leave, vowed to reclaim what Salokdar owed her, and declared that they would build new lives in Cadman City.

Chosen Construction Worker received authority to design the survivor camp, while his dormmates planned to form their own player group and help Niu Niu challenge Maxim. At the camp, Mirian adopted a set of management rules and added a publicity group to reinforce order and Murphy’s authority.

• Chosen Construction Worker learned he had three days to submit a camp plan and half a month to design its next stage, then decided to adapt an existing template after Bionic Snail’s advice.
• Niu Niu told A-Cha and Ge Bao that his sister Sister Pomegranate had defeated Maxim, earned a master-level swordsmanship manual and elite knuckle blades, and wanted to hire them to help her level up.
• Niu Niu planned to challenge Maxim himself, while A-Cha proposed that the dormmates form their own group and celebrate with a dinner paid for by Chosen Construction Worker.
• Mirian reviewed the players’ proposals for curfew, survivor registration, rationing, and work points, then added a publicity group to promote camp order and Murphy’s leadership.
• Mirian summoned the camp’s leaders to discuss the new management rules, hoping the survivors would accept the system without provoking a return to harsher vampire rule.

Mud Truck, Shovel, and All-Risk Semi organized the survivor camp while Construction Worker argued that the survivors should settle in Cadman City rather than build from scratch. Murphy prepared to reclaim the city, and Adele brought word that Femis had an idea to help with his plan.

• Mud Truck, Shovel, and All-Risk Semi assigned camp staff and established rationing, records, and work plans for the survivors.
• Construction Worker explained that the camp site was unsuitable for a permanent settlement and proposed repairing Cadman City's outer district instead.
• Murphy received Mirian's request for the city's blueprints as Maxim reported that Pomegranate had defeated him in combat.
• Murphy gave Maxim authority to recruit Otherworldly fighters and said he would wait two days before burning away the creatures in the city.
• Adele told Murphy that Femis believed she could help with his plan to clear the city's shadows with fire.

Femis told Murphy that traitors had disabled Cadman City’s Serenade barrier and offered its core in exchange for his help reaching the Blood Eagle Arcade after the Astral Rift was closed. Meanwhile, Old Fenock’s Witch Hunters rested at Morland Village, where they discovered a ghoul nest and sent a squad to scout Cadman City.

• Femis showed Murphy an ancient map and explained that traitors had shut down Serenade’s seven underground hubs before the Astral Rift opened, leaving the hubs intact.
• Femis said Murphy could restore the barrier by finding its core beneath the Blood Eagle Arcade, and asked him to provide warriors to help her search there for things related to her parents.
• Murphy agreed to help Femis enter the Arcade after the Astral Rift was closed, in return for her support in stabilizing his new faction, and swore a solemn oath in Triss’s name.
• Femis handed Murphy the map and said she would leave once she had completed her business, leaving the land to him if he could hold it.
• At Morland Village, Old Norman reported a ghoul nest beneath the mass graves, and Old Fenock ordered it sealed while directing a squad to scout Cadman City and capture people for questioning.
• Old Fenock warned Major Fraser not to become too curious about Transia’s supernatural horrors, while Fraser insisted that bullets could handle even ghouls and vampires.

After three lumberjacks disappeared from the survivor camp, Murphy sent two inexperienced players to investigate, but Witch Hunters ambushed them and captured one. Murphy learned the Witch Hunters had returned and took control of the captive player’s computational orb to use him as a spy.

• Mirian investigated the disappearance of three lumberjacks, and Murphy sent Nigei Luda You and Kaqi Tuoni Tai to search for clues.
• A Witch Hunter scout spotted the players and signaled an ambush by three elite Witch Hunters.
• Nigei Luda You was killed while trying to escape, and the Witch Hunters captured the unconscious Kaqi Tuoni Tai.
• Nigei Luda You and Kaqi Tuoni Tai reported the encounter in the game chat, where Lumina Sunscar identified the attackers as Witch Hunters from the Old Church.
• Murphy learned the Witch Hunters had returned and took control of Kaqi Tuoni Tai’s computational orb to use him to gather intelligence.

Femis, Murphy, Triss, and Adele discussed the Witch Hunters’ arrival and decided to attempt contact rather than abandon Cadman City. Murphy sent the captured player Kaqi Tuonitai on a dangerous diplomatic quest, while Witch Hunter commander Finok decided to question him and ordered Natalie to consider a future beyond revenge.

• Adele told Femis that Murphy had detected a new threat, and Femis warned Adele to accept Murphy’s authority as her bloodline elder.
• Murphy reported that Witch Hunters had killed one of his warriors and captured another near their camp; the group identified the captive’s location as Morland Village.
• Adele proposed relocating the survivors to a hidden valley, but Murphy and Femis refused to leave Cadman City, and Triss suggested the Witch Hunters might be investigating Salokdar’s death rather than seeking a fight.
• Kaqi Tuonitai received the optional hidden quest “Envoy of Blood and Blades,” which tasked him with persuading the Witch Hunter leader to contact Murphy in exchange for rare equipment.
• Natalie confirmed to Finok that Kaqi was one of Murphy’s otherworldly summons, and Finok ordered her to bring the prisoner to him for questioning.
• Natalie objected to contacting a vampire, but Finok rejected her hatred as a guide and ordered her to learn to lead and consider her companions’ future.

Natalie brought Kaqi Tuoni Tai to Old Finoc, who used Mind Charm to question him and learned that Murphy’s followers numbered over a thousand and suspected he planned to form an independent faction. Finoc sent Kaqi back with a warning that the Witch Hunters would enter Cadman City in three days, then revealed to Major Fraser that Salokdar might still be alive and that he intended to settle his old feud with the Blood Eagles.

• Natalie freed Kaqi Tuoni Tai, subdued his attempted attack, and escorted him to Old Finoc.
• Old Finoc charmed Kaqi and learned about Murphy’s followers, their suspicions, and their plans for a possible rebellion.
• Finoc ended the charm and told Kaqi to warn Murphy that the Witch Hunters would enter Cadman City in three days and would not interfere with Murphy’s forces if they stayed out of the way.
• Kaqi asked Finoc to meet a player carrying a replica of the Avalon holy blade, and Finoc agreed to receive Murphy’s warriors.
• After Kaqi left with the three laborers, Finoc told Major Fraser that Salokdar might still be alive and that he wanted to settle his personal feud with the Blood Eagles.

Murphy secretly manipulated the Blood Eagle Vault rewards while players cleared the instances, and Kaqi Tony Tai reported his encounter with the Witch Hunters. Meow Brother received the next step of his hidden quest and planned to investigate their base in Morland Village.

• Ge Bao's team defeated an astral hound in the second vault, and Sister Pomegranate claimed its rare drop before the group found veteran gear and a psionic technique manual.
• Meow Brother's team found no useful loot in the first vault, while Murphy secretly prepared tailored rewards there for Mud Truck's group and punished players who spread rumors about him.
• Kaqi Tony Tai told Murphy about the Witch Hunters, embellishing his role in the encounter, and Murphy praised him and sent him to collect a reward.
• Kaqi received veteran armor and two psionic weapons, then told Meow Brother that the Witch Hunters in Morland Village knew about his sword.
• Meow Brother's hidden quest advanced, directing him to search the Witch Hunters' base for a replica of the Avalon Holy Blade and secrets of the Avalon Church, so he planned to hire help for the trip.

Murphy planned the next operation in Cadman City while Meow Brother infiltrated Morland Village to learn how to wield the imitation Avalon Holy Blade. Natalie gave him a nature figurine to begin an Old Church advancement trial, hoping his new powers would drive a wedge between Murphy and his warriors.

• Maxim reported that the outer city had been scavenged and urged Murphy to begin his plan as astral energy returned, and Murphy announced the next operation would start the following night.
• Meow Brother approached Morland Village without armor or weapons, and Natalie let him inside after he explained how his group had buried Porter and the other dead.
• Natalie and her squad beat Meow Brother, then answered his questions about the Holy Blade and the Old Church when he insisted he wanted to learn their power.
• Natalie gave Meow Brother a nature figurine and instructions for calling upon Avalon, advancing his hidden quest and providing a key class-advancement item.
• Natalie told Amber she hoped Meow Brother's trial would provoke Murphy and divide him from his warriors, while Murphy watched and dismissed any guilt he felt.

Murphy prepared to reward the players who had rescued more than 460 locals and completed a major hidden quest, while Happy Stick’s team headed toward a rumored gang hideout beneath the sewers. Lumina and the other quest-triggering players submitted their reward requests, and Murphy began arranging them before setting out to find supplies and equipment.

• Happy Stick’s team pursued rumors about a gang hideout and blacksmith’s shop beneath the seventh sewer entrance, hoping to find money and equipment.
• Lady Adele told Murphy that the survivors had been rescued from the outer district and praised the players’ efforts.
• Murphy asked Lumina what reward she wanted for completing the major hidden quest, and she explained that players should investigate the world rather than rely on NPCs for clues.
• Lumina asked for an elf-related reward, while Jie Chong and Brother Black Silk requested combat manuals and weapons, and Mud Truck and Shovel requested tools for restoring the camp’s production.
• Murphy decided to provide Lumina with a shadow-elf sword art and prepared weapons, manuals, and farming supplies for the other players.

Lumina and the other players received rewards for rescuing Cadman City's survivors, while Murphy announced a campaign to burn the Astral Shadows from the ruins. The new quest began with a 48-hour deadline, and the players planned to join after logging back in.

• Lumina, Jiechong, and Brother Black Silk arrived at the survivor camp with other players to claim the hidden quest rewards and deliver supplies.
• Mirian thanked the players before the survivors, and Mud Truck and Shovel received the deed and equipment for Nur's Farm Tools.
• Brother Black Silk and Jiechong received skill manuals and weapons, then were kissed by four women they had rescued.
• Lady Adele gave Lumina a copy of the Mejewa Family Secret Sword Manual and warned her in Elvish to avoid dangerous pursuits.
• Murphy announced Operation Great Burning and a new quest to purge the Astral Shadows from Cadman City's ruins within 48 hours.
• The players discussed joining the quest after logging in again, while Lumina remained focused on learning about Adele and elves.

Bro Stick and Meow King agreed to pause guild recruitment and build favorability with important NPCs, while Sister Pomegranate’s players began sharing swordsmanship knowledge and competing for recruits. In Cadman City, Lumina was rescued by Niu Niu and Sister Pomegranate, who asked to join her group, and Lumina offered her an IQ test before deciding who would lead.

• Bro Stick and Meow King told the players to focus on earning NPC favorability and advancing the story instead of forming guilds, while explaining how skills and character levels improved.
• Black Silk Under Keyboard described the requirements for learning advanced swordsmanship, and the group learned that Sister Pomegranate’s students had posted part of their translated manuals online.
• Meow King revealed he was pursuing a hidden class quest, while Bro Stick demanded the players share their manuals and learned that Sister Pomegranate was negotiating with another player.
• Murphy’s Great Incineration plan gathered over a hundred volunteers, and Lumina entered Cadman City alone to test alchemical fire oil on astral shadows.
• An astral hound knocked Lumina down, but Niu Niu struck it before it could kill her, and Sister Pomegranate invited Lumina to join her team.
• Lumina declined to join a guild but offered to consider Sister Pomegranate for her group if she scored over 135 on an IQ test, while Niu Niu called Lumina over to finish off the wounded hound.

Lumina completed a test of alchemical fire against astral shadows and received advice from Triss about pursuing a versatile path and finding a possible elven bard in Cadman City. Murphy retrieved the Nocturne Psionic Grand Barrier’s underground cores as the citywide burning began, while Old Finoke prepared to wait until the astral rift closed before confronting the vampires.

• Lumina burned astral shadows with fire oil, completed her quest, and traded an astral jawbone to Triss for notes on the Eye of the Wilds spell.
• Triss advised Lumina that a bard might suit her wish to combine combat skills and psionics, and mentioned a possible former elven traveler at the Bloodfang Tavern.
• Murphy returned with Maxim and Adele after retrieving the three underground cores of the Nocturne Psionic Grand Barrier, and told Triss the militia would burn the outer-city ruins over the next two days.
• Murphy reported that ghouls and water ghouls had appeared in the sewers, and Triss warned that wraiths would follow the astral shadows.
• Old Finoke saw fires in Cadman City and recognized that the vampires were deliberately burning parts of the ruins to fight the astral shadows.
• Old Finoke ordered the hunters to wait until the astral rift closed before moving against the vampires, and warned them not to harm survivors.

As the survivors burned the Astral-tainted outer city, Murphy resolved to build a city where vampires and humans could live under his rule. The Astral rift began to weaken, and Lumina and Sister Pomegranate found a group of crazed vampires emerging from it.

• Meow Brother and his companions delivered fire oil, and Meow Brother promised to attempt a class change the next day.
• Triss warned that the weakening rift could collapse and sweep away anything nearby, while Murphy sensed its energy fading.
• The survivors burned through the outer city and saw the enormous rift where Cadman City had once stood, grieving the loss of their home and its people.
• Murphy told Triss he planned to unite vampires and humans in a fairer city, and Triss urged him to find a way to arm the players.
• Lumina and Sister Pomegranate spotted a group of crazed vampire beggars crawling out of the rift and called for help.

Murphy examined the surviving Blood Eagle guards and learned from Lord Jade that Salokdar had caused a man-made disaster in the corridor. Jade offered Murphy the Grand Duke’s Seal fragment and urged him to kill Femis and help found a new Blood Eagle Clan, and Murphy agreed to serve as his hidden sword.

• Murphy and Triss went to inspect Jade and the other Blood Eagle survivors, who had escaped the inner city severely weakened and mentally corrupted.
• Femis concluded that the guards had survived by hiding from the astral pollution, but she rejected Murphy’s suggestion that other clan members, possibly her father, might still be alive.
• After Adele left, Jade revealed that Salokdar had unleashed a horror in the corridor and accused Femis of abandoning the guards during her escape.
• Jade asked Murphy to secretly give Femis a vial and kill her, offering him the crimson fragment of the Grand Duke’s Seal and a place in his planned new clan.
• Murphy identified the fragment as a miraculous artifact that could grant its bearer the title of Blood Eagle Grand Duke, then told Jade he would serve as his sword in the darkness.

Murphy confronted Femis over her secrets and demanded she choose between joining him and the Witch Hunters against Jade or dying as part of his plan to defeat Jade’s crew. The chapter ended with Adele blocking the tower’s exits as Murphy pressed Femis to decide.

• Murphy left with Jade’s offer, while Jade later ordered Maxim to drug and hide Lady Triss to pressure Murphy.
• Maxim warned Lumina about Jade’s plan, then gave her the potion and ordered the warriors to arm themselves and ambush the weakened vampires while he protected Triss.
• Murphy accused Femis of concealing her motives and her connection to the Blood Eagle Clan; Femis revealed she was not an ordinary vampire, sought the truth about her origins, and had called the Blood Covenant Knights to Transia.
• Murphy said he had already set a plan in motion and offered Femis a choice: help him and the Witch Hunters kill Jade’s followers, or die as bait for his Black Iron trial.
• Adele emerged behind Murphy armed with a rapier and hand cannon, blocking the exits as Murphy demanded Femis make her choice.

Lumina Sunscar rallied the players to defend the camp from hostile vampires while Sister Pomegranate escorted Mirian to negotiate with the Witch Hunters. Maxim took Madam Triss away from the coming danger, and Mirian and Sister Pomegranate reached the Witch Hunters, who agreed to take them to Natalie.

• Lumina Sunscar shared a time-sensitive group quest and warned that hostile vampires could overrun the camp and reclaimed outer city if the players failed.
• The players arranged a tactical briefing, planned to use camp guards and militia for support, and prepared to fight together.
• Mirian and Sister Pomegranate rode toward Morland Village, where four Witch Hunters blocked their path and sent a scout to fetch help.
• Norman returned and escorted Mirian and Sister Pomegranate to Natalie, thanking Mirian and warning her never to lie before the Witch Hunter captain.
• Maxim drove Madam Triss away from Cadman City and promised to protect her while he helped Lord Murphy face the coming danger.

Mirian negotiated with Golden Knight Finok for the Witch Hunters to help Murphy destroy Jade’s vampire force and protect the survivors. Finok assigned Natalie and several squads to the camp, while Major Fraser joined them to document the operation.

• Finok questioned Mirian about Murphy’s proposal and the Blood Eagle Clan’s sealed refuge.
• Mirian explained Jade’s arrival, Murphy’s motives, and the danger to the survivors, then pleaded for the Witch Hunters’ help.
• Natalie agreed to protect the survivors and hunt the vampire fanatics, while insisting that her feud with Murphy would continue.
• Finok placed Squads One through Five under Natalie’s command and ordered them to defend the camp and hunt the vampires.
• Major Fraser said he would accompany Natalie and record the battle for the king.

Murphy prepared Femis, Adele, and the players for a surprise attack on Jade’s group, while the players poisoned the vampires’ blood supply and organized their forces. As Femis and Adele parted ways in the sky, the players received their mission and moved out to begin the battle for Cadman City.

• Murphy reassured Femis that the Witch Hunters would help the players attack Jade’s group, explained that Jade planned to kill Femis himself, and said Triss could protect herself from Maxim.
• Murphy ordered Adele to pursue her own targets, and Adele and Femis exchanged farewells before flying in opposite directions.
• Mud Truck Iai and the players condemned Jade’s vampires for draining the camp’s residents, while Meow Brother and Lin Bei Dog Paddle mixed the Daylight Potion into a blood cocktail for them.
• Happy Stick divided the players into groups and assigned their attack positions, while Forklift Operator arranged riflemen and the city’s self-defense forces for support.
• The players received the mission “Fangs in the Dark” and charged toward Cadman City to hold off Jade’s group.

Jade’s vampires were ambushed in their hideout by Murphy’s fighters, weakened by drugged cocktails and alchemical bombs. As the battle spread outside, Femis confronted Jade while the players and Cadman City defenders hunted the fleeing vampires, and Lumina faced the last one to reach her.

• Jade and the vampires drank blood cocktails secretly mixed with a daylight potion, then Witch Hunter bombs shattered their concealment barrier and weakened them.
• Femis attacked Jade as more than thirty armed fighters charged the house, where Niu Niu and Sister Pomegranate led the players’ assault.
• A-Cha killed a vampire at close range but was then tackled and killed, while the players forced some vampires back into the house.
• The remaining vampires fled in different directions, but riflemen and Lumina’s upgraded Automatic Hunter Crossbow shot several from the sky.
• Lumina shot down more vampires with her crossbow and shotgun, then drew her sword as the last vampire reached her.

Lady Adele and the Witch Hunters fought vampires fleeing Cadman City while Maxim confronted Arthur over his betrayal and their opposing loyalties. Maxim wounded Arthur after luring him into a fight that continued into dawn, and warned him to take the duel seriously.

• Lady Adele killed a weakened vampire and continued hunting to earn the right to make a request of Murphy.
• Natalie’s Witch Hunters ambushed four high-ranking vampires in a forest illusion, while Major Fraser and Miss Mirian joined the fight with guns.
• Arthur arrived at Lady Triss’s carriage and ordered Maxim to leave, but Maxim drew his sword and challenged him at their birthplace.
• Maxim accused Arthur of sending him in his place on a dangerous mission, then explained that he now served Murphy out of loyalty rather than personal revenge.
• Maxim used the approaching dawn to turn the duel against Arthur, disarmed him, and wounded his left shoulder with a technique Murphy had taught him.

Maxim defeated Arthur and awakened his supernatural potential, while Lady Triss finished Arthur and gave Maxim his blood essence. As the young lady fought Jade over the Desire Shard, Finnock shot Jade down, leaving Murphy to confront him.

• Maxim killed Arthur in their duel, crossing the boundary from ordinary human to supernatural.
• Lady Triss stabbed Arthur from behind, turned him into a stone statue, and gave Maxim his blood essence.
• The young lady struggled to evade Jade as he pursued her through the ruins, determined to claim the inheritance.
• Finnock fired a psychic arrow that struck Jade and sent him crashing into the ruins.
• Murphy appeared before the wounded Jade and admitted that he had allied with the Witch Hunter to eliminate his rivals.