Recaps

Murphy changed his second class to Summoner, gained astral summoning abilities, and tested their effects on his astral giant wolf, George. He then raced Raveno toward the survivors’ camp, where he planned to preside over the celebration and give Meow Brother’s group a surprise during the grand prize round.

• Murphy studied Triss’s summoning notes in an abandoned tower and changed his second class from Psionic Apprentice to Summoner with Astral Creature Specialization.
• Murphy summoned his astral giant wolf, discovered that he could understand it through beast speech, and named it George after its enhanced projection grew stronger.
• Raveno arrived with word that Mirian was waiting for Murphy to preside over the survivors’ celebration, then killed an astral bunting Murphy summoned to scout.
• Murphy bet Raveno a dog bone against a nest in a race, secretly summoned more than ten astral buntings to distract it, and flew toward the camp.
• Murphy checked his notebook and decided to give Meow Brother’s six-person group a show during the grand prize round.

Murphy prepared a celebration to honor Cadman City's survivors and remember the dead, while arranging new roles and rewards for his allies. The players respawned at their new hideout, received quest rewards that included a loot box, and Murphy secretly added the complainers to his Book of Grudges.

• Murphy and Maxim watched the survivors prepare a victory celebration, and Murphy urged Maxim to say goodbye before his Embrace.
• Adele reported that 122 people had left and explained her wish to establish her territory near the Filthy Swamp, where her half-elf people lived.
• Murphy gave Adele the Miser's Seal and tasked her with managing the Blood Eagle Clan's affairs and training warriors in the path of shadows.
• The players respawned at the Midnight Hideout, retrieved their equipment, and gathered to claim rewards for completing the prologue quests.
• Murphy announced the players' rewards and a new celebration quest, while Meow Brother's group complained that their main reward was a loot box.
• Murphy overheard the complaints and added the six players to his Book of Grudges.

Murphy rewarded the sixty young players with Blood Eagle uniforms and let them draw equipment from the clan’s treasure vault. Meow Brother drew a hidden weapon-design quest instead of useful gear, while Banzai Happy Stick pulled a gargoyle vehicle, leaving Meow Brother with a lead that required earning an audience with the Blood Eagle Grand Duchess.

• Lady Adele distributed the stylish Midnight Hunter uniforms, and the players changed into them before joining the treasure draw.
• Ge Bao drew a commander-grade halberd and passed it to Meow Shark, while A-Cha drew a wingblade suited to his dual-blade style.
• Pomegranate Sister drew a heart that could summon a rideable gargoyle, and the Chosen Construction Worker drew a cracked combat gargoyle heart that needed repair.
• Meow Brother drew a box containing a hidden weapon-design quest, and Murphy told him to prove his worth before seeking the Blood Eagle Grand Duchess’s help.
• Murphy hinted that the design could lead to a lesser living blade, and Meow Brother accepted the prospect of pursuing it.
• Banzai Happy Stick drew a gargoyle heart and teased Meow Brother and his five brothers, who had drawn weapons they could not use.

Murphy and Triss prepared rewards for the players, who celebrated in the square and collected enchanted loot boxes. The chapter ended with the women struggling to wear Triss’s evening gown and Xiao Weiming suggesting they invite Madam Shui to join them.

• Lumina played music at the square, and the players performed to earn reputation with the Cadman Self-Defense Army and the survivor camp.
• Murphy overheard Meow Brother’s anxious thoughts about his luck and hurried to Triss’s workshop to prepare rewards for him and Little Ashina.
• Triss reluctantly gave up her treasured evening gown, and she and Murphy handed out enchanted loot boxes and other quest rewards to Meow Brother and Little Ashina.
• Meow Brother and Little Ashina celebrated their powerful loot, while Murphy learned they had been gossiping about him and Triss.
• Murphy said he would not give Mirian a blood initiation because he had a binding contract with her.
• Pomegranate Sis, Lumina, and Lan Hua found Triss’s evening gown difficult to wear, and Xiao Weiming proposed inviting the fashion designer Madam Shui to join the game.

Meow Shark and Coo-Coo Chicken reflected on their bonds with Cadman City's people while Maxim prepared to become one of Murphy's blood descendants. Murphy began Maxim's Embrace, named him Knight-Commander of the Long Night and Baron Lim, and chose an Elite inheritance template for him.

• Sister Jules gave Meow Shark her father's hunting rifle as thanks for helping her.
• Coo-Coo Chicken shared food and candy with children he had rescued, then declared he would protect them from monsters.
• Maxim reassured the children that he would become a vampire and continue protecting them, then left his guards to attend the Embrace ceremony.
• At the Hall of Progeny, Maxim accepted Murphy's invitation to become a vampire and pledged to serve his cause.
• Murphy declared Maxim Knight-Commander of the Long Night and Baron Lim, then used his blood to begin the Embrace.
• Murphy chose the Elite inheritance template for Maxim despite the greater cost to himself.

Murphy weakened himself by giving Maxim an elite vampire Embrace, then held a ceremony to grant Adele and Mirian positions and authority in Transia. Mirian accepted Murphy’s offer of a title and territory, leaving her formally bound to his cause without becoming a vampire.

• Murphy gave Maxim half his blood, granting him enhanced vampire traits, Blood Wings, and three inherited abilities, while Maxim returned attributes and talents to Murphy.
• Murphy, weakened by the Embrace, was supported by Adele and drank blood before continuing the ceremony.
• Adele pledged herself to Murphy and was named Shadow Baroness and Shadow Steward under Count Cadman.
• Murphy called Mirian forward and offered her the title and territory of Baroness of Morland and authority as Scarlet Governor.
• After struggling with the offer, Mirian knelt and accepted Murphy’s cause.

Murphy announced that the players could join the Blood Eagle Clan as vampires, but the Alpha 2.0 update would delay the choice for 48 hours. Before the shutdown, he rewarded his 16 earliest players with family signets and special recognition, then sent all the warriors to rest as he prepared for the next version.

• Mirian accepted the title and lands of Baroness of Morlan, and Murphy announced the optional quest to join the Blood Eagle Clan.
• The players received the Call of Midnight quest and learned that the test server would shut down for 48 hours for the Alpha 2.0 update.
• Meow Brother, Good Pigeon, and 14 other original players stayed behind to meet Murphy and receive Blood Eagle signet rings and the offer of Murphy as their nominal elder.
• Murphy unlocked the Lord Murphy's Recognition achievement for the 16 veterans, while Meow Brother hesitated because he was already an Oak Apprentice.
• Murphy escorted the players to the Midnight Chamber, arranged their bodies on the stone platform, and wished his friends from another world a good night.

Mirian reflected on becoming Cadman City's Crimson Governor and a baroness, then discussed her future in Transia with Major Fraser. They exchanged weapons as tokens of friendship before Mirian rode away, while Fraser recognized her promise and watched her leave.

• Mirian celebrated her new title and fiefdom, then spoke to her late mother while holding her mother's silver bracelet.
• Major Fraser interrupted Mirian, noticed the bracelet, and explained his family's historic ties to Transia and its noble lineages.
• Mirian and Fraser discussed her career prospects, and Mirian explained why serving Murphy offered her the best chance to use her administrative skills.
• Mirian told Fraser how the Astral disaster had changed her life and refused his offer of a future position in the Plantagenet Kingdom.
• Fraser gave Mirian his dwarven trench gun, Iron Hammer, and Mirian gave him her Crimson hand cannon in return before riding away under guard.

The testers read the Alpha 2.0 announcement, which promised a new main quest, administrative and manufacturing professions, vampires, sleep-connected play, and a mysterious expansion. While the players celebrated and planned to meet Meow Brother for dinner, Sister Cement became suspicious of the sleep technology and considered signing up to investigate it.

• Car struggled with game withdrawal while waiting for the update, and his roommates decided to exercise before Coo-Coo Chicken spotted the announcement.
• The testers read that Alpha 2.0 would unlock Chapter One, new professions and crafting, the Vampire race, sleep connection, and clues to a mysterious expansion.
• Good Pigeon and Bionic Snail celebrated the extra game time, while Meow Shark questioned whether connecting through brain waves was safe.
• A-Cha told the group that Meow Brother had invited them to dinner with Sister Pomegranate, Niu Niu, Kachi, and Nige Luda You, and Good Pigeon agreed to go.
• Sister Cement called the sleep connection explanation fraudulent, then decided she wanted to inspect the game and considered having someone else test it first.

Players debated the vampire race’s strengths and drawbacks, including its powerful stats, daylight curse, and restricted reputation and quest options. The discussion ended with Niu Niu explaining that Pomegranate Sis had been caught browsing the forum at work by her boss and was negotiating her resignation.

• Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car shared screenshots and a recording of the vampire template, prompting players to debate its high stats and racial traits.
• A-Cha'en warned players about the Curse of Daylight, while Meow King argued that vampires’ low Charisma and isolated reputation system would limit their quests and interactions with other races.
• Deadly Orchid said translated lore supported Meow King’s analysis, and players considered whether vampires would suit solo play, min-maxing, and PvP.
• A Tiger Climbs a Tree revealed he was in the Middle East and might get a headset after returning, while Banzai Happy Stick said he had invited him to help build a guild.
• Mud Truck Iai proposed that increasing Lord Murphy’s territory population could bring more test invites, suggesting players recruit residents in-game.
• Chen Dian Niu Niu Not Afraid of Difficulty told A-Cha'en that Pomegranate Sis was safe, but her boss had caught her browsing the forum at work and she was negotiating her resignation.

Sister Shiliu confronted her young boss after he shut down his failing company and exposed the employees who had been cheating him. She helped him deal with his betraying driver and persuaded him to join her friends in the game, where the chapter left him still grieving but curious about playing.

• The young boss told Sister Shiliu he had deregistered the company and fired its employees after following her report.
• Sister Shiliu explained how the company had been mismanaged, while the young boss described confronting employees over leaks, theft, and fraudulent hiring.
• The young boss offered Sister Shiliu two years of severance pay and warned her that the former employees might retaliate.
• Sister Shiliu revealed that Xiao Liu had been taking bribes to alert employees whenever the young boss visited, then drove off after confronting him.
• Sister Shiliu invited the young boss to join her gaming group, rejected his awkward romantic advance, and assured him the game was fun.

Natalie Fennockia Lawson discovered a recording her dying father, Fennock, had hidden for her, revealing the truth about his devotion and the mysterious Dusk. After hearing his final words, she began to recover and resolved to reconnect with Avalon and confront Twilight.

• Amber, Norman, and Porter worried that Natalie had shut herself away and stopped eating after Fennock's death.
• Natalie found an arithmetic orb hidden in the scabbard of the holy blade Watcher and played Fennock's recording.
• Fennock revealed that the Dusk had helped orchestrate the Church rebellion and Ten-Year War, and told Natalie to find the holy blades Punisher and Arbiter.
• Fennock explained that he had devoted himself to his faith because of a Holy Grail Vow made to protect Natalie and her mother, and that Natalie had been born through a divine miracle.
• After the recording ended, Natalie wept, ate the food Amber had brought, and resolved to rebuild her connection with Avalon and oppose Twilight.

Murphy planned Cadman’s reconstruction and met Natalie, offering the Witch Hunters refuge and a place in Transia. Natalie left without accepting, and Murphy and Triss turned to the next steps for the territory.

• Murphy decided to seal off the Astral Wound-threatened inner city and use it as a place for players to explore.
• Natalie visited Murphy to ask whether her father had mentioned Dusk, and Murphy denied knowing the name.
• Murphy urged Natalie to honor her father and offered citizenship, land, and a possible barony to the surviving Witch Hunters.
• Natalie took Murphy’s offer to discuss with her companions but left without accepting it.
• Triss said she had never heard of Dusk, and Murphy concluded that he had given the former Blood Eagle members a fair chance before pursuing other measures.

Murphy appointed administrators and commanders to govern Cadman City's devastated domain, then invited them to propose ways to secure trade, food, people, and weapons. The meeting ended with new trade envoys assigned and Frank Shawen tasked with obtaining military equipment.

• Murphy and Lady Adele announced appointments for Mirian, Maxim, Professor Winston Malcolm, Philro Portman, Frank Shawen, Sister Jules, and Blanche Palien Fedo.
• Murphy outlined plans for the baronies of Morland, Lim, and Gloom, including reviving commerce, attracting refugees, and leasing mineral deposits.
• Professor Winston Malcolm proposed trading Gloom's minerals for grain from the Kingdom of Nordtov, and Blanche Palien Fedo suggested contacting northern merchants through her connections.
• Mirian appointed Blanche Palien Fedo as trade envoy to the northerners, while Philro Portman proposed using his cousin to trade with the West Sera tribes in Ice Bay.
• Frank Shawen revealed his brother-in-law's weapons-smuggling connections, and Murphy ordered him to obtain rifles and ammunition, promising a pardon and possible knighthood if he succeeded.

Murphy warned his retainers that the Black Calamity would reach Transia within six months and urged them to prepare rather than flee. He inspired them with promises of a new, inclusive city called Crimson Keep, then asked whether they would stay and help build it.

• Mr. Porter proposed crossing the border to abduct farmers, but Murphy rejected the plan after Professor Malcolm warned against provoking the northerners and emphasized preparing for war refugees.
• Professor Malcolm urged Murphy to restore order and secure food supplies, and warned that the Plantagenet Kingdom and Nordtov would soon send envoys to negotiate Transia’s future.
• Murphy revealed that the Black Calamity was brewing and would return within six months, alarming the retainers who had hoped to take government posts and titles.
• Murphy told the meeting that the Blood Eagle Clan would face the calamity and argued that Transia could gain independence and resources if it survived.
• Murphy promised Mirian, Professor Malcolm, Frank Xiaowan, Sister Jules, Mrs. Palen, and Mr. Porter a city shaped around their ambitions, including equality, law, religious freedom, wealth, and desire.
• Murphy named the planned city Crimson Keep and challenged his retainers to choose whether to stay and help build it or run away.

Murphy uncovered the Blood Eagle Clan’s hidden armories and reorganized plans for Transia’s soldiers while limiting the vampire population. He also activated a rally stone that turned battle memories into repeatable dungeon trials, leaving him eager to expand the system.

• Murphy explained to Maxim that he had motivated Porter by revealing how his ambitions could be fulfilled, then recruited a skilled foreman to oversee reconstruction in Lim Village.
• Murphy and Maxim inspected the storeroom’s weapons and armor, and Murphy assigned Maxim to build the Cadman People’s Army, train village militias, and manage the territory’s military supplies.
• Murphy ordered the recovered equipment catalogued and planned to search for the Blood Eagle Clan’s two hidden armories, while stating that vampires should remain about one percent of Transia’s population.
• Triss finished tuning the rally stone, and Murphy installed the Morland Village Defense Battle snapshot and adjusted its dungeon rules.
• Maxim completed the trial and received Recruit Badges, prompting Murphy to explain how tokens would let warriors earn and exchange equipment.
• Triss warned Murphy not to let warriors mistake illusions for real progress, then agreed to help create more rally stones in exchange for fine wine.

Murphy summoned ten new players and gave the veterans a choice of joining the Blood Eagle Clan or serving him while keeping their daylight blessings. He launched the Black Iron Trial and several new quests, sending the players toward dangers and reconstruction projects across the Cardman Earldom.

• Murphy summoned ten newcomers and welcomed the returning players as the new version began.
• Leading Pigeon and the students agreed to join the Blood Eagle Clan, while Meow Brother and his group chose to keep their blessings of daylight and serve Murphy.
• Murphy gave level-10 players the Black Iron Trial, requiring them to challenge Black Iron enemies alone to advance their strength and rank.
• Murphy directed the players to report to Baron Lim, Lady Adele, Viscountess Mirian, or Grand Duchess Triss for quests involving sewer ghouls, secret troubles, village reclamation, and astral creatures.
• The players received five new quests and celebrated the many tasks awaiting them.

Happy Stick and Meow Brother organized the newly arrived players while the Lion, Tiger, Wolf, and Dog brothers welcomed Cat Hero and watched him demonstrate his swordsmanship. Baron Maxim gave Cat Hero a hidden quest to spar with him, and their fight began.

• Happy Stick planned to take a group of melee players into the sewers, while Mud Truck took the inexperienced newcomers to the survivor camp.
• Meow Brother arranged for the Lion, Tiger, Wolf, and Dog brothers to look after Cat Hero, who received their spare armor and weapons.
• Cat Hero defeated River East Lion Roar in a spar and advised him to focus on sound swordsmanship rather than brute force.
• Maxim offered the group a mission to investigate the ruined Lim Village, then challenged Cat Hero to a spar that triggered the hidden quest “A 'Monster's' Trial.”
• Maxim and Cat Hero drew their swords and began fighting in the corridor as the four brothers watched.

Meow Brother’s group tried to help Mo Niqiong level up, but he froze when faced with a monster and later stumbled upon a baby manticore while fleeing an Astral Tiger. After the group killed the tiger, Mo Niqiong adopted the cub and asked them to find someone who could teach him to raise it.

• Meow Brother told Mo Niqiong he would have to fight monsters himself to gain levels, but Mo Niqiong froze when a Despair Spawn attacked and Old Qu shot it down.
• Meow Brother offered to return Mo Niqiong’s deposit and gave him a swordsmanship manual, but Mo Niqiong declined and said he would play on his own.
• Mo Niqiong messaged Meow Brother after encountering a huge tiger, and the group found him trapped atop a stone pillar with a bleeding leg.
• Meow Brother attempted to fight the Black Iron-tier Astral Tiger alone, failed, and joined his companions in defeating it.
• Mo Niqiong climbed down holding a baby manticore, which he said he had found in the ruins and wanted to raise.
• Mo Niqiong told Meow Brother to find someone to teach him how to care for the manticore and said money was no problem.

Murphy arranged for Rich Bro Touching You Poor to pursue a summoner apprenticeship so he could bond with a newly hatched astral scorpion-lion, while also assigning Meow Brother an escort quest. Rich Bro gathered the rare materials almost immediately, and Murphy was left wondering how he had acquired them so quickly.

• Triss sent Murphy a newly hatched astral scorpion-lion that warriors had found in the inner city, and Murphy examined it when Meow Brother and Rich Bro brought it to him.
• Murphy explained that the scorpion-lion could not normally be tamed, but offered to teach Rich Bro to become a summoner and bond with it if he gathered rare materials.
• Murphy gave Meow Brother an escort quest to help the territory's quartermaster travel to Battasin, and suggested he visit Adele for secret work.
• Lumina offered Rich Bro seven materials from his list, then learned that Shiliu-jie had sent her money to cover their cost.
• Rich Bro arrived outside Murphy's office with all the required materials, astonishing Murphy with how quickly he had obtained them.

Rich Bro learned how to raise his baby manticore, while Meow Shark joined the convoy escorting Lady Palien to Batashin and hunting Blood Eagle traitors. The players killed two vampires at a village mill, but the badge they found suggested another vampire clan was recruiting them.

• Rich Bro got advice from Murphy on feeding and bonding with his baby manticore, then told Meow Shark that more eggs might be found in the inner-city sewers.
• Meow Shark abandoned his plan to search for a manticore and joined the convoy escorting Lady Palien to Batashin, where Meow Brother organized searches for vampire traitors and villages that had not sworn allegiance.
• The players discovered two vampires hiding in a village mill and broke in to attack them near dusk.
• Pomegranate and the other players killed both vampires, and Pomegranate found a bloodstone badge bearing a different clan's emblem.
• Lady Palien warned the village chief to swear allegiance to Count Murphy as the players reported that another vampire clan might be recruiting traitors.

Murphy learned that the Thorn Clan was recruiting Blood Vulture traitors in Transia and consulted Triss about the clan and how to respond. He sent Adele and Maxim to Batasin to punish the traitors and capture the Thorn Clan intruders, while the players discovered a Thorn vampire who had attacked a villager.

• Murphy received Meow Brother's report about the Thorn Clan gathering Blood Vulture traitors and asked Triss about the clan's history and motives.
• Triss explained the Thorn Clan's past and told Murphy he could negotiate with them or punish their agents for violating vampire law.
• Murphy ordered Adele to bring Maxim and their progeny to Batasin, preparing crosses for the traitors and cages for the Thorn Clan guests.
• A-Cha and the other players captured Blood Vulture traitors, then Sister Pomegranate reported that a Thorn Clan vampire had bitten a village girl.
• Meow Brother told the players to capture the Thorn vampire alive, and Orchid asked them to prepare a cross for a solarization execution.

The players carried out a solar scorch execution and helped Lady Adele turn the villagers’ gratitude toward Count Cadman. Meanwhile, Thorn vampire Vesta ordered Blood Eagle traitors to attack the players, then learned that his young prince was heading to Batasin to join the coming war in the Dark Mountains.

• The players watched the Thorn vampire burn to ash at sunrise, and the murdered woman’s husband pledged loyalty to Count Cadman after Lady Adele urged the villagers to do the same.
• A-Cha and the other players discussed their equipment, instance dungeons, and the possibility of having vampire progeny as they traveled toward the next village.
• Vesta rebuked the Blood Eagle traitors for allowing humans to kill his progeny and ordered them to bring the players’ heads before departing for the Thorn Principality.
• Vesta’s young prince told him that Grand Duke Shani was heading to Krim Fortress and ordered him to gather the troops in Batasin for a journey to the Dark Mountains, where the Black Calamity was coming.

Lady Palien returned to Batasin to arrange trade deals for Count Cadman while the players and Murphy’s vampires prepared to hunt the vampires gathered there. As Murphy interrogated the captured Thorn Vampire Vesta, the Count of White Mountain arrived and challenged him, setting the stage for a fight.

• Lady Palien reached Batasin, settled at the Horseshoe Inn, and thanked Meow Brother and the players for escorting her.
• The players divided their reward, then planned to eat and hunt the blood thralls watching them before nightfall.
• Murphy, Lady Adele, Maxim, and the other vampires teleported near Batasin and prepared to attack the gathered vampires at dusk.
• A convoy carrying the Count of White Mountain approached Batasin after hearing explosions and learning that Vesta could not be contacted.
• Maxim brought the injured Vesta before Murphy, who questioned him about the Thorn Clan’s presence in Blood Eagle territory.
• The Count of White Mountain entered and ordered Murphy to release Vesta, and Murphy challenged him to fight.

Murphy and Maxim fought Count Baisan and his Thorn vampires after demanding their surrender, then defeated them when night gave the Blood Eagles the advantage. Murphy spared the wounded count as bait and sent Necessary Evil to hunt the Blood Eagle traitors, leaving Count Baisan unconscious in his custody.

• Count Baisan demanded that Murphy release his wounded servant, but Murphy refused and challenged him over the Thorn Clan’s support for the Blood Eagle traitors.
• Murphy used Night Bat Swiftness, Death Grip, psychic attacks, and Necessary Evil to overwhelm Count Baisan, while Maxim fought the count’s retainers with Ravnos and George.
• Count Baisan unleashed a freezing spell and escaped the estate with Vesta, but Murphy and Maxim pursued them once night fell and Maxim defeated the two guards.
• Necessary Evil struck down Vesta and stabbed Count Baisan, but Murphy stopped the blade before it could kill the count.
• Murphy ordered Necessary Evil to hunt the Blood Eagle traitors and took Count Baisan captive, revealing his identity and saying the count would serve as bait.