Chapter Summaries

Murphy oversaw the newcomers’ first day, as veterans trained combat players and Madam Water changed classes and altered her uniform. While flying to meet Femis, he read A-Cha’s newbie guide and watched the players turn a forum discussion into a large hidden-quest expedition; the chapter ended with Femis returning home.

• Happy Stick led new combat players into the sewers to practice fighting, while the girls helped Madam Water become an Oak Apprentice.
• Madam Water tailored her nun’s habit, and Brother Belly demonstrated his talent for Animal Speech by calling a falcon to him.
• Madam Water was sent to take a professional skills assessment with Professor Malcolm instead of going monster hunting.
• Murphy read A-Cha’s third newbie guide, which advised newcomers on safe leveling, equipment, dungeons, and combat.
• Players recruited one another to defend a sewer location for a hidden quest, and Murphy decided to pin A-Cha’s guide and reward him.
• Murphy landed near the Gloomy Baroness’s territory and welcomed Femis as she flew over from the returning caravan.

Femis returned to Transia with aid from the Blood Alliance Knights, while Murphy learned why Adele resented her mother and felt she belonged nowhere. The chapter ended with Murphy assuring Adele that vampires shared her sense of being rejected by the world.

• Femis returned as a Silver-rank psychic master and gave Murphy control of the Count of Andmar's lands.
• Femis presented supplies, machinery, and troops sent by Lord Payen and Lady Ivette, led by Captain Leannia Galanodel Cappadocian.
• Leannia insulted Adele as a “bastard,” prompting Murphy to stay behind with her after the convoy departed.
• Adele told Murphy how her mother had been enslaved by Shadow Elves, escaped with gladiators at the cost of Adele's father's fate, and later died defending their hidden valley.
• Adele explained that she rejected her mother's family and chose her name to honor her father and the guardians who died protecting her.
• Adele confessed that she felt she belonged nowhere, and Murphy said vampires also felt abandoned by the world.

Murphy assigned Femis to explore Count Xico’s ruined lands, relocate survivors, find the winged cavalry, and investigate Blood Eagle traitors. He then inspected Baron Lim’s lands, where Maxim had been capturing elite monsters for the Fight Club, and learned Maxim was ready to confront the rude Bloodsworn Knight who had upset Adele.

• Femis proposed taking revenge on Lainia, but Triss warned Murphy and Femis not to provoke the Blood Knights and urged them to work with Lainia.
• Triss ordered Femis to lead new Blood Eagle members into Count Xico’s lands, relocate survivors, search for the winged cavalry, and investigate northern traitors; Femis chose Adele and Count Andre as her deputy.
• Murphy trained with Femis, received Salokdar’s guide to unusual weapons, and flew north to inspect the planned collective farms on Baron Lim’s lands.
• Murphy discovered Maxim had cleared the gnoll settlements and captured elite monsters for the Fight Club, then approved Maxim’s idea to pay warriors to capture arena opponents alive.
• Maxim said he would appoint five knights to administer his lands and volunteered to deal with the Bloodsworn Knight who had insulted Adele.

Players saw construction begin in Scarlet Keep and the Blood Alliance reserve knights arrive, while Maxim challenged Lady Laennia over her insult to Adele. Their duel began in the Fighting Club, where Maxim surprised her with his strength and swordsmanship before she drew her war bow.

• Survivors began moving into the outer-city ruins, where workers started building the first house under Heaven-Sent Cement Worker and Bricklayer’s direction.
• Mou Ni Qiong explained to Huozheng Tinghao that clearing the sewer ghouls had let construction begin, and Brother Qu told them that Blood Alliance Knights had arrived as reinforcements.
• Lady Laennia questioned why vampires and Witch Hunters were sharing Scarlet Keep and prepared to rest in her tent.
• Maxim confronted Lady Laennia, appointed her a special military advisor, and challenged her over her insult to Adele.
• Maxim and Lady Laennia fought in the Fighting Club, where he disarmed her with a counter and urged her to take him seriously.
• Lady Laennia drew her war bow as Maxim resolved to keep challenging her until he became strong enough to win.

Lady Laenelia ordered the Blood Oath Knights to train against the Blood Eagle Clan after her forces lost several bouts, while Meow Brother's team searched the sewers for a hidden underground cavity. Their search uncovered a vast monster-filled chamber holding captives, and Tribune Kudell plunged into it to confront the force threatening them.

• Lady Laenelia defeated Maxim, then ordered her knights and retainers to challenge the Blood Eagle Clan until they reclaimed their pride.
• Construction Worker and Bricklayer led Meow Brother's team through the sewers to investigate a hidden cavity predicted by their professor, Old Chen.
• A sentient water ghoul destroyed the group's marker, but Tribune Kudell attacked it and discovered a concealed fissure beneath the pool.
• A psychic threat warned Kudell that the captives below would be killed, but he plunged his greatsword into the fissure and was swept into the depths.
• The players found a huge chamber filled with ghouls and wraiths, spotted people among them, and hurried to report the discovery to Lord Murphy.

Cat Brother and his companions were trapped in the ancient sewers by a massive ghoul uprising and received a hidden quest from Tribune Kudel to protect children below. Murphy assembled forces to contain the outbreak, while Triss suspected someone had deliberately caused it.

• Cat Brother sensed thousands of ghouls charging through the sewers and led his companions in a retreat as they fought off the horde.
• After wraiths and water ghouls blocked their escape, Kudel conscripted the five companions as temporary retainers and ordered them to hold a tunnel while he rescued children.
• Murphy gathered his forces after learning that the newly discovered cavern was the source of the infestation, and Rhaenys agreed to help clear the first-level sewer entrances.
• Murphy planned to enter the sewers with his heroes and establish an outpost, while Triss prepared to burn the cleared passages.
• Triss warned Murphy that the necromantic disturbance might be a man-made disaster, and Murphy connected the possibility to Salokdar's warning.

As players and defenders held back a ghoul uprising beneath Crimson Keep, President Natalie rode to Morland Village to ask the Witch Hunters for aid. She found three hundred armed hunters ready to return with her, and they set out for the battlefield with Helo hoping to meet Murphy afterward.

• Happy Stick organized the players at Sewer Entrance No. 4, using shields, spears, fire, and weapons to stop the ghouls from reaching the surface.
• Mouchiniqiong took Good Job through the sewers to show him how elite players hunted the ghoul leaders.
• Natalie and Amber rode to Morland Village, where Natalie argued that the Witch Hunters had a duty to fight the ghouls regardless of who commanded them.
• Natalie found three hundred Witch Hunters preparing to depart, and Sangi and Fano said they would go because the hunt was their duty.
• Helo asked Natalie to help him find work with Murphy, and she invited him to meet Murphy after the ghouls were cleared.
• Natalie led the Witch Hunters back toward Crimson Keep, determined that they would choose their own cause and become part of their new home.

Murphy and his allies fought through the ghoul-infested sewers, where they discovered that the Plague Rat King was controlling the undead and holding hundreds of people underground. After rescuing a group of children, Murphy ordered a rescue mission and prepared to confront the Rat King.

• Natalie, Old Eugene, and the Witch Hunters purified the sewers and efficiently cleared ghouls and wraiths while players joined the fight.
• Murphy summoned a pack of astral wolves to break through the undead blockade, then Natalie used her holy blade to clear a path into the ancient sewers.
• Happy Stick found the exhausted Weapon-Fighting Group, and Cat Bro warned that Lord Kudel and others were in danger below before passing out.
• Murphy and his warriors discovered children hiding in a guarded room, and Little Ashina learned that the Rat Gang was controlling their parents in underground caves.
• Little Ashina reported that the Plague Rat King controlled the ghouls and had more than five hundred people captive, with many others fed to the undead.
• Murphy ordered the children escorted to the surface, told his allies to summon Maxim and the clan elders' guards, and prepared to confront the Plague Rat King.

During the Ghoul Uprising, Murphy assembled a force to attack the ghoul hive beneath Scarlet Keep and rescue the civilians imprisoned there. Tribune Kudel revealed that the Plague Rat King was a vampire with a bloodline like Murphy’s and that a monstrous ritual was underway; Murphy left to meet Kudel while Natalie led the assault on the creature.

• Meow Brother's crew died after breaking through a sewer wall into a cavern teeming with ghouls, while other players and guards rescued more than twenty children.
• Players reported that ghouls had begun emerging into the streets, prompting Banzai Happy Stick to organize a search for the breach.
• Murphy gathered the clan guards, Natalie, Laennia, and the players for an assault on the underground hive, assigning the players to clear a route and rescue forced laborers.
• Kudel told Murphy that the Plague Rat King was a vampire bearing the Blood Vulture crest and might be Murphy’s brother, then urged Murphy to come alone.
• Murphy sent the others to destroy the ritual creature and flew to meet Kudel while the force dropped into the hive.
• Natalie, Maxim, and Laennia found a half-formed Plague Ghoul Overlord in a corrupted blood pool, and Natalie recognized it as a chance to begin her White Knight trial.

The players rescued hundreds of drugged prisoners from the Plague Rat King’s underground settlement while Natalie, Maxim, and Laennia fought a forming ghoul overlord. Triss arrived just as Natalie unleashed a divine spell, and Murphy broke through the Rat King’s barrier after inviting Kudel to join him in protecting Transia.

• Niu Niu, Bang, and Orchid led the players through the cavern and found hundreds of prisoners, whom Ashina and the others began freeing.
• Pomegranate questioned Dorothy, who revealed that a guarded exit led past battle gargoyles and agreed to guide the rescuers there.
• Maxim, Natalie, and Laennia struggled against the ghoul overlord as its attacks and netherworld aura overwhelmed them.
• Natalie unleashed a nature divine spell just as Triss entered the cave, striking the Grand Duke with its purifying blast.
• Murphy shattered the elite ghouls and tore through the barrier hiding the Rat King, while Kudel left to escort the people out.
• Murphy urged Kudel to help protect Transia and invited him to the Blood Vulture Corridor, then prepared to confront the Rat King.

Murphy interrogated Zweig, the vampire behind the ghoul disaster, and learned that Dusk had ordered him to create a Plague Ghoul Overlord as a backup plan to poison Transia. Zweig revealed a lead in Chardo Port before an Underworld Curse killed him, leaving Murphy to face the death spirit it summoned.

• Murphy confronted Zweig in the cavern and questioned him about Dusk, the ghoul plot, and the mysterious contact who gave him orders.
• Zweig explained that Dusk had ordered him to cultivate a Plague Ghoul Overlord capable of poisoning Transia’s water and turning victims into ghouls.
• Murphy tortured Zweig until he revealed that his contact called himself Yuan and used a pearl bracelet to communicate with him.
• Murphy found and took the bracelet, while Zweig warned that Triss had other surviving descendants and would pursue her own path to godhood.
• Zweig named the Witch’s Café in Chardo Port before the Underworld Curse made him explode and summoned a death spirit to attack Murphy.
• Murphy drew Necessary Evil and prepared to fight the spirit, determined to investigate the Witch’s Café and find the people behind the plot.

Murphy and Triss defeated an Underworld Reaper and discussed the surviving progeny tied to Twilight, but Triss secretly recognized a bracelet Murphy had found. After the ghoul disaster began to settle, Huozhengtinghao spotted someone fleeing with a large bag.

• Triss sensed one of her progeny had died, left Maxim, Natalie, and Lainia to finish the Ghoul Overlord, and went to find Murphy.
• Triss bound the Reaper with a Scythe so Murphy could kill it, and Murphy collected its Soul-Reaping Scythe as a possible reward for his players.
• Murphy told Triss about Zweig and the surviving progeny, and Triss admitted she might have sired fifty to a hundred people while resisting Salokdar.
• Murphy showed Triss a pearl bracelet; she claimed not to recognize it, then privately identified it as belonging to Christine, her first progeny, whom she believed Salokdar had killed.
• Huozhengtinghao and Moniqiong prepared to leave the lair, but Huozhengtinghao spotted a sneaky figure carrying a huge bag and urged Moniqiong to pursue it.

Little Rich Bro and Good Job tracked down the ghoul puppet Plague Rat King Vladimir Zweig, defeated him, and recovered a corrupted psionic tome. Murphy then questioned the rescued former Rat Gang leader Dorothy about her connection to Zweig and her plans.

• Good Job spotted gold coins in a tunnel, and Little Rich Bro followed the trail with his manticore to find Vladimir Zweig disguised as a ghoul.
• Zweig tried to persuade Little Rich Bro to let him go by offering treasure and a grimoire, but Little Rich Bro's question about his nickname made Zweig attack.
• Good Job shot Zweig, and Stinky Treasure devoured most of him before the two players divided the loot.
• The players discovered that the corrupted Book of Midnight could unlock Trickster Apprentice or Coffin Bearer Apprentice, but they decided to turn it in to Lady Triss first.
• Murphy approved of the players' decision and resolved to discuss safeguards for the experimental class system with Triss.
• Maxim brought Dorothy to Murphy, who questioned her about meeting Zweig, her time with the Rat Gang, and what she planned to do next.

Murphy questioned former Rat Gang leader Dorothy about Zweig and the undead in the sewer catacombs, then uncovered her connection to a shocking discovery involving the Avalon Church. He sent her to report everything to the Adventurers' Guildmaster and left her chance to join the Blood Vultures dependent on her service to Transia.

• Dorothy told Murphy that Zweig had foretold the astral disaster, then forced the Rat Gang to bring survivors and corpses into the catacombs for his undead schemes.
• Dorothy described Zweig's suspicious trips to a place associated with black mine mud and distinctive perfume, giving Murphy clues about his mysterious contacts.
• When her offer to reconnect Murphy with smugglers failed, Dorothy offered to reveal the location of the first Earl of Xike's tomb and admitted she had been an adventurer.
• Dorothy revealed that her first adventuring mission uncovered Avalon Church Gray Knights desecrating an ancient holy site, after which expedition members began dying and she fled.
• Murphy ordered Dorothy to tell the Adventurers' Guildmaster everything and gather her surviving subordinates, promising that her place among the Blood Vultures depended on what she could contribute.

Murphy planned to turn the ghoul-infested third sewer level into a dungeon and recruited Kudel to lead elite warriors in a gnoll purge. Meanwhile, Dorothy and the remaining Rat Gang members were assigned sewer duties and provisional government roles, leaving them hopeful about their future.

• Murphy outlined a five-player sewer dungeon, daily ghoul quests, and a role for the Rat Gang in monitoring the lower levels.
• Murphy learned that Kudel had recovered most of his will despite lingering visions, then asked him to lead warriors in a gnoll purge ahead of the Black Calamity.
• Kudel agreed to train and command the little players, and Murphy appointed him Transia’s chief tribune and offered him a title and fief.
• Mirian assigned Dorothy and the three remaining Rat Gang members to sewer patrol, daily quests, and other government work, with their organization placed under Adele’s bureau.
• Dorothy told her underlings that the Count had recruited them and that they could earn administrative knighthood, then considered changing the Rat Gang’s name.

Mo Ni Qiong and Huo Zheng Ting Hao turned in a cursed grimoire to Triss, who rewarded them and offered Huo Zheng Ting Hao a quest to prove his aptitude as a psionicist. Murphy then consulted Triss about salvaging the ghoul overlord’s remains and learned that its original form was a Frost Dwarf who had died within the past five years, leaving the mystery of the dwarf’s identity unresolved.

• Triss identified the Book of Midnight as a dangerous handwritten copy and rewarded Mo Ni Qiong and Huo Zheng Ting Hao with Mind-Protection Rings.
• Triss offered Huo Zheng Ting Hao access to safe knowledge from the book if he brought her thirty unique bottles of fine wine for a purification ritual.
• Mo Ni Qiong warned Huo Zheng Ting Hao not to make lewd jokes about Triss, then left to continue his quests while Huo Zheng Ting Hao logged off and returned to the game.
• Murphy asked Triss to turn the ghoul overlord’s remains into useful weapons and gear, and Triss proposed salvaging nearly every part of it.
• Murphy told Triss that the ghoul overlord had been a Frost Dwarf; Triss deduced that the dwarf had died within five years and suggested Shani might help investigate, though Murphy remained wary of the risks.

Murphy honored the ashes of an unknown dwarf and unexpectedly received a blessing from Mother Earth Gaia. He then announced the next phase of Transia’s campaign against the gnolls and several new game features, while players discussed the update and pleaded for access.

• Murphy placed soil around Mr. Dwarf Victim X’s urn, which drew Gaia’s attention and earned Transia a twelve-month blessing of protection from earth-related disasters and a 10% increase in cultivation yields.
• Murphy confirmed that the players had completed the Ghoul Uprising event and posted an update advancing the main quest to Phase Two, “The Shadow of the Gnolls.”
• Murphy’s announcement introduced Kudel Feodoro Sivir Lasombra as the campaign commander and described quests and advanced skills players could obtain from him.
• The update added the Blood Rat Gang faction, the five-player dungeon “The Rat King’s Demise,” and a Fighting Club season with rewards for successful players.
• The update also teased a new class system and improved game features, prompting forum users to ask for invite codes until Alpha promised another helmet release within a month.

Murphy arranged new tester invitations and approved a fan creator’s plan to make game footage, while Meow Brother pitched a scheme to profit from the coming Black Calamity. Meow Brother and his companions began planning to raise capital and stockpile supplies before the war.

• Murphy told forum players that more helmets would be available once captured blood thralls returned to Transia, and he approved about fifty applications.
• Murphy gave Health Insurance War God Sai En permission to make fan edits without formally naming the game, and agreed to give his filmmaking friend a testing slot.
• Murphy left to practice swordsmanship with Frostfang and Necessary Evil after considering the possibility of recruiting fan creators.
• Meow Brother and the Four Great Kings met with Little Hands to review their recent earnings, which amounted to just over 10,000 yuan each.
• Meow Brother explained that clues pointed to the Black Calamity arriving around the end of the first chapter, and proposed stockpiling goods to sell at a profit.
• Little Hands and Old Qu suggested partnering with other players and Rich Bro, while Meow Brother proposed turning knowledge of modern firearms into an arms business in the game.

Dorothy organized the Bloodrat Gang’s new training stall and gave Frostfang Claw a dangerous test to prove he could become a thief. Meanwhile, Happy Stick discovered that player blacksmiths could issue quests and commissioned custom weapons, leaving him impressed by the money-making potential of crafting.

• Dorothy quieted the players crowding the Bloodrat Gang’s stall by giving them a ghoul-hunting quest, then assigned Daisy, Freeman, and Old Pete to teach different thief skills.
• Dorothy challenged Frostfang Claw to retrieve ghoul teeth and claws or steal a Rat Gang tag from the ghouls’ territory, and he immediately headed into the sewers.
• Happy Stick spotted Kind and Gentle Great Shark carrying a custom oversized blade and learned that two player blacksmiths had opened a shop near the camp.
• Happy Stick ordered fine-crafted weapons from Broken Blade Master and received the quest to collect rare materials for ten custom weapons.
• Broken Blade Master explained the crafting profession’s Craftsmanship Trial and offered Happy Stick a commemorative Kaba and a custom Napoleon saber, which Happy Stick agreed to order.

Madam Shui taught Cadman City’s tailors an improved leather-armor technique and accepted a quest to design uniforms for Crimson Castle’s administrators. As she and Orchid questioned whether True Otherworld was truly a game, Murphy decided to let their suspicions develop and wait for them to discover the truth.

• Madam Shui assessed three escaped Cadman City tailors, taught them improved half-body armor making, and earned a teaching stipend from Professor Malcolm.
• Professor Malcolm offered Madam Shui a 300-gold manufacturing quest to design uniforms for Crimson Castle’s administrators, with an additional reward tied to Count Cadman’s approval.
• Madam Shui gave her pay to Sister Pomegranate and discussed with her companions how much she enjoyed teaching and designing in the world.
• Madam Shui privately told Orchid that the world’s culture and customs seemed too authentic to be entirely virtual, and the two agreed to keep investigating while concealing their suspicions.
• Madam Shui asked Orchid to find a children’s dictionary so she could learn the local language and study the world’s history without relying on the calculation orb.
• Murphy overheard the women through the core orb, chose not to block them, and said he was waiting to see how they would react when they learned the truth.