Chapter Summaries

Lord Hogg continued preparing the Bloodclaw Clan for the coming Black Blight while using the warriors to hunt vampires and secure rewards. After curing his poison and acquiring a strange undead hand from Lameclaw, he decided to provoke the Bonechewer gnolls and draw the warriors into new battles in the Filthy Swamp.

• Hogg managed the Bloodclaw Clan’s work and taught its pups a history that separated Transian gnolls from their Dark Mountain kin.
• Hogg brought Lameclaw twenty-five vampire hearts collected by the warriors and demanded payment and a cure for his poison.
• Lameclaw cured Hogg and let him take equipment from the laboratory, including a Thief’s Hand that Hogg hoped to use as a reward for the warriors.
• Nash told Hogg that the warriors had nearly cleared Smuggler’s Wood of enemies and were discussing their rewards.
• Hogg ordered Nash to provoke the Bonechewer gnolls, steal their treasures, and lure them into the woods so he could give the warriors new quests.

Murphy discovered that Hogg had provoked the Bonechewer gnolls to draw players back to Smuggler’s Wood, then ordered Hogg to provide direwolf mounts as compensation. Murphy decided to open a full campaign into the Filthy Swamp and arrange new monster-filled zones for the players, leaving Dorothy to prepare another Night of the Ghouls event.

• Players reported that Bonechewer Clan brutes had attacked Smuggler’s Wood, and reinforcements rushed to defend the Bloodclaw Clan while players hunted for direwolf mounts.
• Murphy deduced that Hogg had stirred up the conflict because Smuggler’s Wood had run out of monsters and he wanted to draw players back.
• Hogg admitted acting without orders, and Murphy demanded that he provide at least twenty Vanguard Direwolves; Hogg agreed and planned to steal pups from Plaguebane Town.
• Murphy decided to send his warriors into the Filthy Swamp to scout and attack the Plaguebane Clan, and he ordered Dorothy to prepare the sealed ghoul caverns for another Night of the Ghouls event.
• Dorothy reminded Murphy that Westwood City held hundreds of thousands of undead, and she agreed to stage the ghoul crisis as a warning about the gnoll shamans before the swamp campaign.

New players arrived in Transia as the Demon Eight recruited What the Heck, but their sewer patrol uncovered a massive ghoul outbreak. Dorothy alerted players to the returning Ghoul Night, and Murphy and Little Rich Guy headed to the sewers to fight.

• The new players arrived in Scarlet Castle while veteran players were occupied with the Bitebone Clan Incursion in Smuggler's Woods.
• Thunder Demon Zhong Su recruited What the Heck into the Demon Eight and led him through the sewers on a scouting mission.
• Moon Demon Jue Lan and the Demon Eight discovered ghouls and vengeful spirits pouring into the sewers, triggering a surge of undead and forcing them to retreat with five members lost.
• What the Heck escaped to the surface and raised the alarm as the Blood Rats and Kademan People's Army began defending the sewer line with Molotov cocktails.
• Dorothy issued a citywide event alert for Ghoul Night, calling players to defend Scarlet Castle until reinforcements arrived.
• Murphy took Little Rich Guy to join the fight, telling his apprentice it was time to test his summoning skills.

Murphy joined the fight against the ghouls in Scarlet Castle, then revealed his plans for the players’ campaign against Plague Town and the coming Black Calamity. A forged letter sent Touching Your Poverty toward the Filthy Swamp, while Murphy and Dorothy discussed the growing threats and the Thieves’ Guild.

• Murphy helped drive the ghouls back through the sewers, impressing the new players with his swordsmanship and directing wolves and soldiers into the fight.
• Murphy told Triss that raid instance 003 would begin in a month and assigned Femis to lead the players against Plague Town while he prepared Transia’s defenses.
• Touching Your Poverty and the Scorpion Lion killed five undead gnoll brutes, and Touching Your Poverty found a forged letter pointing toward a lost treasure in the Filthy Swamp.
• Dorothy told Murphy that the letter had reached a player and would draw the warriors toward Plague Town and the Plaguebane Clan’s undead army.
• Murphy discussed the unresolved threats at West Creek City and warned Dorothy to be cautious as she pursued a connection with the Thieves’ Guild.

Happy Stick and thirty other Scarlet Hammer and Sickle Corps players began their final Winged Lancer trial by entering the Ancestral Forest to seek Shadowmane warhorses. Stick found a mount whose challenge was to ride it to the forest shrine before dawn, and prepared to try again after it kicked him away.

• Knight Varland and Knight Sunny explained the Shadowmane pact trial to the recruits, who then entered the misty boundary into the forest spirit realm.
• Happy Stick explored alone and thought about how Meliya Colando Lasombra was recovering her strength through their bloodkin bond.
• Meliya used a psychic scouting technique to spot a Shadowmane and advised Stick to approach it with carrots.
• The Shadowmane ate Stick’s carrot, then kicked him more than ten meters when he tried to mount it.
• Meliya told Stick the horse’s challenge was to ride it to the forest shrine before dawn, and Stick picked up another carrot to try again.

Happy Stick and his brothers completed the Winged Cavalry trial, received powerful forest blessings, and took a mission from Countess Sheryl to recover stolen Secomel family grave goods. As they set out to meet Meow King and track the tomb robbers, Little Rich Guy reported a possible treasure trove in the Filthy Swamp and joined the hunt.

• Happy Stick tamed the Shadow King, the legendary warhorse of the Secomel family, and the successful recruits received the forest spirit's blessing and powerful new talents.
• Countess Sheryl told Happy Stick that tomb robbers had stolen grave goods from the first Secomel count's tomb and asked him to recover them before Granny Mountainfoot harmed herself.
• Happy Stick questioned Meow King, who denied involvement and directed him toward Batasin, where Yansang was tracking the tomb robbers.
• Happy Stick left failed recruits to retry the trial, accepted a Winged Cavalry armor quest with his twenty-one promoted brothers, and headed to meet Meow King.
• Little Rich Guy told Happy Stick about clues to the Bone-Biting King's treasure in the Filthy Swamp, then joined the effort to track the tomb robbers with his manticore.

Murphy learned that player interaction could collect racial template data and discussed racial conversion with Triss, who urged him to address Adele’s feelings while hinting at troubles she was hiding. Later, the players uncovered the identities and route of the tomb robbers and prepared to hunt them down.

• Murphy received mountainfolk template data after Brother Bang and the others became Descendants of the Mountainfolk, then visited Triss to discuss racial conversion experiments.
• Triss told Murphy that Adele’s feelings for him were growing and urged him to return them or force her to drink the source blood; Murphy refused to divide his affection.
• Murphy tried to search Triss’s drawer while she slept, but she stopped him, and he promised to protect her from harm.
• Happy Stick, Little Rich Brother, and the others learned that the Snegov mafia family had robbed Earl Xike’s tomb and planned to pass through Batasin City disguised as a Northern merchant caravan.
• Meow Brother and his companions prepared to hunt down the tomb robbers that night in the name of Avalon.

Meow Brother and the Transian avengers attacked Joel’s Snegov tomb-robbing crew after Avalon’s divine punishment implicated them in the desecration of Count Xike’s tomb. After the robbers were defeated and the grave goods recovered, Young Countess Sheren decided to put Vam the Beheader back into use and opened a contest to choose its wielder.

• Yansang scouted the Snegov camp and coordinated Meow Brother’s group, Little Hands’s poisoning, and Brother Bang’s winged cavalry interception.
• Joel admired the legendary Vam the Beheader and discussed the Thieves’ Guild’s commission to steal the weapon, armor, and the first count’s remains.
• Joel discovered his soup was poisoned, but Frostfang's Claw killed his tattooed subordinate as the avengers stormed the camp.
• Yaya fought Joel while Frostfang's Claw condemned the tomb robbers, and the winged cavalry joined the assault.
• Young Countess Sheren thanked Meow Brother and Brother Bang, recovered Vam the Beheader, and announced that the bravest warrior could wield it until the black calamity ended.
• Meow Brother accepted the resulting competitive quest, while Brother Bang declined and Meow Brother promised to confess his earlier wrongdoing to Sheren.

Meow Brother’s team began its assignments in the Siko domain while Iron Fist Turner investigated the Twilight’s corruption on the first Count Siko’s remains. Murphy arranged for Turner and the Shadow Sect to travel to Kafhoka and investigate the Snegov family, leaving the hunt for Twilight spies in Transia underway.

• Meow Brother and his companions accepted Little Count Sherron’s tasks to escort mountain folk and clear undead from Siko City, with the Vam Beheader lent to their team.
• Brother Black Silk proposed charging aspiring Berserkers for a trip to the Temple of Vam, while Meow Brother prepared to lead the mountain folk toward the Saxon forests.
• Iron Fist Turner examined the first Count Siko’s remains and found that the Twilight had marked them for transformation into an undead thrall.
• Knight Varland told Turner that the remains would be taken to the Temple of Vam in Ice Bay for cleansing, and Turner agreed to remove the Northern Wind God’s aura.
• Murphy sent Turner to investigate the Snegov family in Kafhoka with support from the Thorn clan and the Shadow Sect, while Count Andre took charge of the Thieves’ Guild lead.

Triss confirmed that the grave-robbing operation was tied to the Source, then showed Murphy her successful experiments with interworld chemistry. Murphy planned to expand access to the players’ information platform and prepare a race-change feature, leaving Triss eager to explore the other world’s knowledge.

• Triss told Murphy that the Source or one of her servants had marked Count Seeko’s remains, and she expected Lord Payn’s support to help address the threat in Seeko City.
• Murphy imagined making an Astral Plane rescue quest while Triss watched, then followed her to the cleared section of the Blood Vulture Corridor.
• Triss detonated explosives to open a collapsed passage and revealed that she had made picric acid using knowledge from the players’ world.
• Triss asked to browse the players’ information platform, and Murphy agreed while proposing access for Mirian, Femis, and Maxim as well.
• Murphy suggested rewarding Lumina by testing a race-change feature and said they would need a drop of moon-elf blood, which Maxim might help obtain.

After returning to Transia during the pandemic lockdown, Lumina entered the game and learned that Murphy and Triss had prepared an experimental elf race change as her birthday gift. She chose to become a moon elf and began the risky procedure, touched by Murphy’s birthday wishes and friendship.

• Lumina arrived home, contacted her family and friends, and began a month of quarantine at a designated hotel.
• Lumina entered True Otherworld and received rewards for helping Madam Triss develop Otherworldly Alchemy, including the title Warrior of Cavendina.
• Murphy analyzed Lady Leannia’s blood and used the results to prepare a moon elf or shadow elf form-change experiment with Triss.
• Lumina chose the moon elf form despite its low success rate and volunteered to undergo the experiment.
• Murphy began the procedure and wished Lumina a happy birthday, leaving her feeling that he and Transia were real friends and not merely part of a game.

Murphy and Triss tested a race-conversion ritual on Lumina, changing her into a Half-Elf: Moon Elf/Human despite having only limited Moon Elf information. Lumina awoke to a new character-creation feature and eagerly began designing her appearance.

• Murphy used the administrator system to begin converting Lumina into a Moon Elf, while Triss guided him through the psychic ritual.
• Triss criticized Murphy's psychic skills and ordered him to begin special training, then took over sculpting Lumina's appearance.
• Murphy stopped Triss before she shaped Lumina's face and proposed letting Lumina customize it herself, prompting Triss to explain how players could use psychic weaving to alter their appearances.
• Triss handed control of the psychic weave back to Lumina, and the system announced that her conversion had succeeded and offered her three rare appearance templates.
• Lumina rejoiced at the new character-creation feature and decided to design herself a new look as a birthday present.

Lumina became a half-elf through a test race conversion, and Murphy assigned her to help research other races. Her appearance customization drew attention across the player community, while Murphy warned that full race conversion would remain unavailable until Transia survived the Black Calamity.

• Lumina converted into a half-elf, gaining elven traits but losing the human talent Human Spirit while leaving two Moon Elf talents locked.
• Lumina first chose a face resembling Murphy, angering him and lowering his favorability; she changed her appearance to a blend of Lady Laenelia's template and her own features, restoring his favorability.
• Murphy gave Lumina the special quest “Diplomatic Duties” to gather information on other races and their templates.
• Murphy told Lumina to report any unusual effects and keep the experiment confidential, then explained to Triss that he would delay race conversion for other players until after the Black Calamity.
• Yansang and his companions saw Lumina's forum post about race conversion and appearance customization, and reacted excitedly to her Murphy-inspired appearance.

Murphy and Triss completed the human racial templates, allowing players to choose among the Xilan, Nord, Kate, and Hillfolk talents through appearance customization. Murphy then went to speak with the awakened spirit in Uncle Bella's workshop about its future in Transia.

• Lumina's appearance-customization video went viral, and Administrator Alpha's announcement explained the feature's limits, costs, and risks, including Lumina's lost favorability with Murphy.
• Triss proposed using the opportunity to collect human racial data so players could choose ancestral human groups and gain their talents, and Murphy agreed.
• Murphy collected and analyzed blood from Nords, Kate people, and Hillfolk, completing the human racial template data.
• Murphy discovered that players could now select human subraces and unlock their distinct racial talents through appearance customization.
• Adele told Murphy that the strange spirit in Uncle Bella's workshop had awakened and wanted to discuss its situation and future, so Murphy went to meet his second warrior.

Murphy met with Lady Bernice and watched A Feng accept that Transia was real and agree to serve as Murphy's Warrior. A Feng asked to join the coming Filthy Swamp operation to claim the grimoire that could protect his spirit, and Murphy agreed while telling him to wait until the operation began next month.

• Lady Bernice told Murphy she could teach his warriors to control lesser undead but not to become Netherworld knights, and she agreed to visit the fight club.
• Goudan's teleportation spell sent him into the Astral Plane, where Zhou Lan and the other Eight Demons pulled him back and helped kill the soul-devouring squid he brought with him.
• Murphy watched Pants-Ripper dissect a gnoll corpse as Bella praised his skill and invited him to study the mysteries of the Netherworld.
• A Feng told Murphy he understood that Transia was real and thanked him for saving him, then asked Murphy not to bring more unfortunate people into the world until their situation was understood.
• Murphy admitted he had used A Feng to gain warriors but granted him the title of Murphy's Warrior; A Feng asked to join the Filthy Swamp operation and pursue the grimoire, and Murphy agreed while telling him to wait until next month.

Marshal Loren briefed the Pioneer Legion officers heading to Transia, warning them about Governor Murphy and the need to protect the kingdom’s interests. In Transia, Mirian reported worsening clashes with northern thugs and asked Murphy for more workers as the chapter ended.

• Marshal Loren ordered the officers to preserve their command authority, gather intelligence, and choose an independent campsite in Transia.
• General Soros dismissed the former border troops as criminals and told the expeditionary force to hand them over to Murphy.
• Second Lieutenant Bob asked whether the force should seize Scarlet Castle if Transia fell into chaos, prompting Loren to privately warn Colonel Fraser about Murphy’s strength and the kingdom’s strategic interests.
• Loren asked Fraser where he planned to station his troops after discussing the group’s lack of battlefield experience.
• Murphy teased Mirian about her personal life and her administrative skills during her weekly report.
• Mirian reported that kobolds had killed more than thirty northern thugs during another clash and asked Murphy to seek additional workers from Marshal Loren.

Murphy welcomed the Plantagenet Kingdom’s 60,000 prisoners as badly needed laborers, while Transian officials began receiving and sorting them. The chapter ended as Brick Hauler proposed making the 50,000 border guards build their own prisoner-of-war camp, with winged cavalry standing by nearby.

• Marshal Loren sent ten thousand armed blood thralls, fifty thousand border guards, and prisoners from East Prussia toward Transia, and Murphy looked forward to receiving them as laborers.
• Maxim told Colonel Fraser that the Pioneer Legion’s soldiers would stay where Transia assigned them until the two sides reached an agreement.
• Colonel Flanders reunited with Major William Scott and invited the returning blood thralls to join the People’s Army, serve as militia, or settle in Transia, including in the planned Dalong County.
• Professor Malcolm received the roster for the fifty thousand border guards, while Brick Hauler proposed dividing them into labor groups to build roads.
• Brick Hauler suggested the border guards build their own prisoner-of-war camp, and he noted that Knight Varland’s winged cavalry were waiting nearby.

Murphy directed his officials to integrate fifty thousand Plantagenet aid workers by promoting proven workers as foremen and assigning priests to the prisoner camp. He also prepared Lady Palian’s diplomatic mission to the Genoa Peninsula and announced plans for a military operation in the Filthy Swamp.

• Mirian and the administrators debated how to use the fifty thousand new arrivals, with Porter advocating hard labor and Shaw proposing to provoke and suppress troublemakers.
• Murphy ordered five hundred high-performing workers from the southern front made model workers and apprentice foremen, then sent them to lead construction at the northern prisoner-of-war camp.
• Porter endorsed Murphy’s plan to use the northern foremen to manage the Plantagenet workers, while Mother Jules offered armed priests to serve at the camp.
• Murphy announced that he would lead troops to the Filthy Swamp by next month and assigned Porter responsibility for security as forces redeployed.
• Murphy and Mirian briefed Lady Palian on her mission to the Genoa Peninsula, including the five hundred children and her escort, and Palian said her daughters would remain in Transia.

The Ashman arrived at the prisoner-of-war camp troubled by Delia and Mia’s ultimatum, then joined Bricklayer in confronting Plantagenet soldiers who had attacked Masons’ Guild foremen. Bricklayer’s deadly game of Russian roulette escalated the standoff, and Maxim arrived to force the soldiers to face its consequences.

• The Ashman told Bricklayer that Delia and Mia had demanded he choose between them or they would leave with Lady Palen for the Genoa Peninsula.
• The Ashman and Bricklayer discovered that Plantagenet border guards had provoked a fight with Masons’ Guild foremen at the camp.
• Bricklayer challenged the soldiers to a game of Russian roulette and killed himself with a goldburn round.
• The Ashman loaded five bullets into the revolver, survived his turn, and dared the Plantagenet soldiers to play.
• Maxim arrived carrying the heads of deserters and ordered the frightened soldier to take the gun and face his fate.

Colonel Fraser reviewed the Plantagenet officers’ views on Transia and warned them to cooperate with the Transians against the Black Calamity while studying their military methods. He revealed that the Kingdom might eventually fight Transia, then left for Scarlet Keep to meet Governor Murphy and Councilor Mirian.

• A bound troublemaking soldier faked a seizure to avoid being shot, and Maxim’s display of force sent the rebellious soldiers back to their barracks.
• The arrival of the Valandian knight commander with three hundred Winged Cavalry and the new Blood Eagle Clan’s main force ended plans for a larger camp rebellion.
• Colonel Fraser convened his officers and heard Reno Delakan, North Lusen, Dunn, Roberts, and Bird discuss how the Plantagenet forces should deal with the Transians.
• Fraser ordered the officers to prevent clashes with locals and help the Transians prepare for the Black Calamity, while also observing their strengths and weaknesses for a possible future war.
• Dunn teased Fraser about his rumored connection to the Scarlet Councilor and gave him cologne before Fraser departed for Scarlet Keep.