Chapter Summaries

Colonel Fraser and Major Ron traveled to Scarlet Castle, where they saw Transia’s rapid development and recognized the strength of its people under Murphy’s leadership. Fraser then revealed that Mirian could inherit her noble family’s title and estate, but she furiously rejected him and ordered him out.

• Fraser observed Transia’s cement roadworks and lost money at Treasure Bay, where he caught three Capet trading-company heads gambling and sent them home with a report assignment.
• Ron won back Fraser’s losses at the casino, and the two officers discussed Transia’s cunning, military preparation, and prospects under Murphy.
• Murphy and Mirian welcomed Fraser and Ron to Scarlet Castle, then arranged their lodging at the Blood Vulture Inn.
• Fraser secretly visited Mirian and revealed that her true surname was Beverly and that she could inherit her late father’s title and estate.
• Mirian became furious at Fraser’s presumptuous offer and ordered him to leave her home.

Bixie explained why Mirian rejected Fraser’s attempt to woo her through her noble ancestry, forcing Fraser to confront his assumptions about bloodline and class. Fraser then prepared to negotiate with Governor Murphy, not realizing Mirian would likely lead the talks, while Murphy and Triss watched his predicament from afar.

• Major Loren found Fraser despondent after his argument with Mirian, and Bixie arrived with Knight Liv to help him sober up.
• Bixie revealed her bet on Fraser’s disappointment and told him he had misunderstood Mirian, whose achievements and independence did not depend on noble approval.
• Bixie criticized Fraser’s bloodline beliefs, warned him that Mirian would not be won through a nobleman’s pursuit, and admitted that his outlook had also damaged her respect for him.
• Fraser refused Loren’s suggestion to take Bixie away from Transia and decided to meet Governor Murphy to settle their garrison and mutual-aid arrangements.
• Loren warned Fraser that Mirian might be the one negotiating, and Fraser declared himself ready to face her.
• Murphy and Triss watched Fraser through a projected orb, and Murphy credited Mirian’s education at Shardo University with helping her defend her independence.

Murphy briefed Colonel Fraser and Major Ron on the approaching Black Calamity, the coming attack on the Filthy Swamp, and the dangers surrounding Fraser’s family before revealing a secret intelligence operation called Twilight. Meanwhile, Happy Stick began organizing construction of the Maginot Line and preparing his player guild for the war.

• Murphy told Fraser and Ron that they could establish their observation group near Lake Shurperis, warned them that gnolls and undead were already in the Filthy Swamp, and said Transia would attack within fifteen days.
• Murphy revealed that Piqi’s caravan had nearly been destroyed by mercenaries who defected to the Wolfsbane vampires, then warned Fraser about Twilight and asked him to conceal a local gnoll clan working for Transia.
• Happy Stick inspected the Maginot Line trenches and demanded permanent fortifications, underground facilities, trained troops, and more firepower for his defensive sector.
• Tiger and Leopard Cavalry urged Happy Stick to prepare field medics and told him that their former engineering-company commander wanted to join the guild with other veterans.
• Happy Stick agreed to let the old commander join on the condition that he obey orders, then urged his guild members to assert their authority and prove themselves in the coming war.

Hogg warned Flesh-Ripper that Plantagenet and Westlander forces were gathering near Transia, prompting the warlock to send Plagueblight forces to Hogg’s woodland while Murphy’s pressure plan moved forward. Murphy prepared Maxim and other allies for the coming war, including a rescue operation and military studies, as he warned that the Black Calamity would engulf the continent.

• Hogg told Flesh-Ripper that Transian defenses had grown and Plantagenet and Westlander armies were approaching the swamp.
• Flesh-Ripper ordered Hogg to harass the humans and provide information, assigning Plagueblight warlocks, necromancers, and skeletons to his woodland.
• Hogg secretly intended to make the Plagueblight forces suffer accidental deaths to increase pressure on Transia’s neighbors and strengthen his clan’s position.
• Murphy told Maxim that Hogg’s operation would draw East Prussia into the conflict and said their warriors would stage a rescue operation alongside the Rapids Knights.
• Murphy warned that the Black Calamity would threaten the entire continent and gave Maxim a computational orb so he, Femis, and Mirian could study military history and learn to act as test-group employees.

Hog led the Blight Clan's undead army toward the Andmar Hills, secretly steering the warlocks into a route chosen by Transia. After Femis's fake mage tower forced them to change course, she reported their movements to Murphy and was assigned the codename Fifi.

• Hog's commanders warned him that the undead were driving away game and burdening the Bloodclaw Clan, but he told them to endure until he led the army away.
• Hog planned to guide the Blight Warlocks into East Prussia and provoke a confrontation with Westland soldiers while appearing to obey the Meat-Ripper Chieftain's orders.
• Hog led three thousand skeletons toward the Andmar Hills, and the warlocks stopped when they discovered Femis's supposed mage tower ahead.
• The warlocks blamed Hog for failing to report the tower and chose his longer alternate route, which led them away from their target and into Transia's planned operation.
• Femis reported to Murphy that the gnolls had taken the prepared route, then accepted the codename Fifi after rejecting it.

Plaguefang’s gnoll warlocks destroyed an East Prussian outpost and advanced toward Banks City, prompting the Plantagenet forces and Transia’s Torrent Knights to mobilize. Colonel Fraser authorized Peachie’s force to join the defense, and the chapter ended as the knights rode out to face the undead army.

• Plaguefang’s warlocks annihilated most of an East Prussian outpost with a meteor spell, then marched on while Hogg arranged for survivors to call for help.
• Colonel Fraser learned that gnolls had destroyed outposts and villages, and he ordered his troops to reinforce the front as Marshal Loren’s cavalry rode out.
• Mirian offered the Torrent Knights’ rapid-response force, and Fraser accepted temporary authorization after learning Peachie commanded it.
• Peachie and Liwen prepared their knights, while Taipal rallied the Torrent Knights with a speech about fighting the undead in the Holy Light’s name.
• More than three hundred Torrent Knights rode toward the battlefield as Marin worried aloud about the danger facing the rookies.

The player groups received a story event asking them to help East Prussia’s defenders hold out against gnoll warlocks and their undead army. As the students reached the burning battlefield, they coordinated with the battered Pioneer Legion, whose surviving soldiers prepared to counterattack alongside Transian reinforcements.

• Madam Water realized the event could help Transia recruit residents for its census drive and set out with Little Ashina to join the fight.
• Leading Pigeon led the student group toward East Prussia, where they found the land ablaze and planned to extinguish the fire, rescue survivors, and target the gnoll warlocks.
• The students received Taipal’s message to prepare the Plantagenet soldiers for a counterattack and search for the gnolls’ summoning site.
• A Bloodclaw gnoll called to the flying players, while A-Cha went to deliver the reinforcements’ message to the Pioneer Legion’s defensive line.
• A-Cha met the wounded second lieutenant, who reported that only 130 of the original 540 soldiers remained but promised they would join the counterattack.

Taipal and the Torrent Knights reached Banks City to reinforce the battered Pioneer Legion, then launched a coordinated charge against the gnoll undead army. They killed Gnoll Shaman Blighttooth, though Hog’s poison had already left him near death before Miss Biji landed the final blow.

• Taipal and Uncle Fuding discussed the Pioneer Legion’s devastating losses as the Torrent Knights rode toward the battlefield, while Miss Biji ordered Taipal to observe from the rear.
• Taipal and the knights saw the bodies of fleeing villagers, then Uncle Fuding led the first charge through the undead before Miss Biji’s knights advanced in a second wave.
• A-Cha and Meow Shark guided the knights toward the gnoll shamans and used a sun bomb to destroy the undead birds attacking them.
• Hog ambushed Blighttooth with poisoned blades, slashed his throat, and retreated into the shadows as the shaman staggered and began to die.
• Miss Biji charged Blighttooth and burst his head with her lance, taking the final blow as the players noticed the gnoll shaman’s dire-wolf reins had dropped.

Madam Shui persuaded the others to let the undead ritual run its course and evacuate East Prussia’s residents toward Torrent Castle, giving the Torrent Knights a chance to gain settlers and construction points. Marshal Loren learned of the evacuation and ordered warnings and troops deployed, while fuming that Transia had again profited from a disaster.

• Cheche and Good Pigeon considered using an Astral Rift to destroy the necromantic ritual, but Madam Shui told them to wait for her arrival.
• Madam Shui argued that the ritual would soon weaken on its own and that evacuating residents was safer than using a destructive psychic spell or trying to clear every undead creature.
• Madam Shui proposed that the Torrent Knights guide nearby residents to Torrent Castle, and the group agreed to begin evacuations despite Miss Piqi’s objections.
• The Torrent Knights organized two groups totaling six hundred evacuees, while news of the undead disaster spread through nearby towns and panicked Banks City.
• Marshal Loren learned that the Torrent Knights were moving residents into Transia and ordered East Prussian towns warned of the coming Black Calamity and recruit regiments sent to destroy the remaining undead.

The Riptide Knights rescued refugees from the Marlowe disaster while Murphy assessed their growing independence and considered how to test Grand Duchess Shani’s ties to Twilight. Shani arrived in Borne to assist Turner, making clear that she resented Murphy and Triss’s test but intended to help expose Twilight.

• The Riptide Knights continued fighting the undead near Marlowe and escorted more than 800 refugees toward Riptide Fortress.
• Liwen warned Peachy that the Plantagenet Kingdom and Transia might one day go to war, but Peachy avoided choosing a side and sent Liwen to report her battlefield exploits to Fraser.
• Murphy praised the Riptide Knights’ independent handling of the crisis, while Adele estimated they might recruit up to 10,000 people from the affected region.
• Murphy suspected Grand Duchess Shani might be connected to Twilight and decided to test her by sending Turner and the Shadow Stalkers into her territory.
• Shani confronted Turner in Borne and agreed to help him destroy the Snegov family’s Twilight-linked operation, though she complained about Murphy and Triss’s test.

Cat Bro, Turner, and the Shadowfist Sect attacked the Snegov family fortress in Bernie City, where they uncovered prisoners marked for a ritual. Big Shark and the Eagle of Star-Soul entered the tower and encountered a transformed monster, while Turner identified it as a spider demon tied to the Dark World and shadow elves.

• The Eagle of Star-Soul and Cat Bro noticed that members of the Snegov family were following them and reached the Thorn Clan headquarters.
• Turner ordered the Shadowfist Sect to capture the Snegov family before it fled, while Grand Duchess Shani prepared to suppress the local Thieves' Guild.
• Sister Pomegranate and Cat Bro infiltrated the fortress as Turner and the others blasted through its gate and fought the gang members.
• Sister Pomegranate discovered prisoners with strange symbols and warned the group that the Snegov family was conducting a ritual.
• Big Shark and the Eagle of Star-Soul entered the tower, where the Snegov family godfather transformed into a monster and hurled Big Shark through the wall.
• Turner rescued Big Shark and identified the monster as a spider demon connected to the Dark World, shadow elves, and the Twilight.

Turner and the monks defeated and captured the transformed Snegov patriarch, then searched the family’s fortress for clues and valuables. They found evidence linking the Snegov family to Twilight and a spider brooch that Cat Bro associated with Lady Adele, leaving her background under suspicion.

• Cat Bro and A-Lin charged the drider but were struck by confusion spells, while Turner fought it and the other monks joined the battle.
• Turner incapacitated and froze the drider before its death curse could take effect, then sent the others into the tower to search for Twilight connections.
• Star Soul Eagle showed the group the Snegov family’s treasure and property deeds, but Teacher Li proposed returning the ill-gotten wealth to the city and keeping only what the Shado-Pan needed.
• Cat Bro explained that refusing the dirty money could earn Turner’s favor, and the group agreed to keep usable equipment while returning the rest to Lord Murphy.
• Sister Pomegranate uncovered hidden letters and a spider brooch, and Cat Bro recognized its pattern from Lady Adele’s clothing and suspected a link to her shadow elf heritage.

After the Shadow Sect brought rescued prisoners and a frozen drider back to Scarlet Keep, Murphy and Triss investigated the creature and its ties to shadow elves. Triss speculated that Avalon had been corrupted and that the Spider Lady embodied the corrupted part of her divinity, but Grand Duchess Shani’s arrival interrupted their discussion.

• Sister Pomegranate decided to take the rescued civilians to Scarlet Keep until Lady Triss could confirm they were safe, and Turner promised to train the group in the monk path.
• Adele identified the seized crest as belonging to the Mejwa family and agreed to ask Lord Bella to help decipher the letters from the Snegov estate.
• Triss began binding the frozen drider with her time-controlling ritual and explained that it was a failed version of a shadow elf transformation tied to the Spider Lady, Avalon.
• Triss told Murphy she suspected Avalon had been corrupted and that the Spider Lady represented the corrupted part of her divinity.
• Bonnie arrived to announce that Grand Duchess Shani was waiting for Murphy and Triss.

Murphy and Triss learned from Duchess Shani that the Thieves' Guild had been plundering heroes' tombs for Dusk, while Murphy revealed Dusk's undead army and its ties to other threats. Shani agreed to deepen cooperation, and Murphy proposed an anti-Dusk alliance that would let his warriors serve the Thorn Clan at Fort Klime.

• Duchess Shani reported that Dusk had corrupted most of the Thieves' Guild outpost in Borne, and that her purge had killed twenty-seven spider demons.
• Shani revealed that the guild had spent five years robbing heroes' tombs and stealing the remains of at least eight Gold-tier and thirty-five Silver-tier heroes.
• Murphy told Shani that Dusk had already fielded an undead army in Sico City, and Shani decided to investigate the Thieves' Guild headquarters and report her findings to Lord Paine.
• Murphy identified Lady Cecilia's Wolf-Griffin faction as another part of Dusk, while Triss warned Shani that Dusk might also be working with the gnolls behind the Black Calamity.
• Murphy proposed a little anti-Dusk alliance and offered to let his warriors serve the Thorn Clan at Fort Klime in exchange for reputation and clan items.

Brother Cat and Master Yang visited A-Feng at the House of the Dead, where he remained under Bella’s care while studying necromancy and training battlefield medics. As Brother Cat and Master Yang left to search for the Ghost Codex, A-Feng began teaching his students surgery with a gruesome practical lesson.

• Brother Cat reunited with A-Feng and told him that he and Master Turner had uncovered the Twilight cultists’ connection to Transia’s troubles.
• Master Yang told A-Feng that his mother’s application to visit had been approved, and A-Feng agreed to prepare for her arrival.
• A-Feng complained that Bella was making him study necromantic lore, while Brother Cat suggested he could pursue both monk and lich professions.
• Master Yang and Brother Cat decided to travel to the Filthy Swamp to search for the Ghost Codex so A-Feng could leave the House of the Dead.
• A-Feng explained that Murphy had assigned him to train medics, including teaching them amputations under the army’s prosthetics and vampire-recruitment policy.
• A-Feng demonstrated emergency surgery on an injured gnoll, frightening several students into fleeing before he laughed at their reaction.

Murphy announced True Otherworld’s first server maintenance to implement human racial talents and character customization, then forcibly logged out the players and began applying the updates. As maintenance began, he and Triss discussed the players’ paths toward Silver rank and Murphy’s own plans to study history before undertaking his Silver Trial.

• Murphy and Triss announced a two-to-four-hour server shutdown, prompting players across Transia to leave dungeons and find safe places to log off.
• Murphy planned additional save points and checked on players scattered across the region as the shutdown countdown continued.
• Murphy used his administrator privileges to log out nearly every player and began applying the collected human race templates, while leaving Pants Off A-Feng connected.
• Triss told Murphy that the new racial talents would help players pursue their Silver Trials, and they discussed whether any could reach Silver before the Black Calamity.
• Murphy boasted about how Silver-ranked heroes could change Transia’s standing, but Triss challenged him to begin his own Silver Trial.
• Murphy said he would master two more vampire sword techniques, study summoning, and learn history from Triss.

Murphy’s update introduced face sculpting and racial choices, prompting players to debate the risks of changing appearances and the new talents. Meanwhile, Old Yang prepared to leave for Jiangxi while Madam A-Mei resolved to enter the game and help Ah Feng obtain a book from a group of gnolls.

• Murphy’s Alpha 3.1 announcement revealed face sculpting, one-time human race and talent choices, new forum assistants, and bug fixes.
• Players discussed racial talents and appearance templates, then realized that changing faces could make NPCs fail to recognize veteran characters and cost them goodwill.
• Several players considered using face changes to evade consequences, while Honorary Knight Taipal and Doing It Pretty Well warned them against wrongdoing in Transia.
• Old Yang told Madam A-Mei he had to travel to Jiangxi for a family banquet and urged her to stop blaming herself for Ah Feng’s condition.
• Madam A-Mei said she wanted Ah Feng to recover and decided to enter the game to help him obtain a book from the gnolls.

After the update, Murphy watched veteran and new players return to Transia and organize around their guilds’ work. Madam Mei reunited with her son A-Feng in the Dead’s House, while Murphy reflected on the happiness he had helped bring them.

• Players woke in the Midnight Chamber after the update, and most chose racial talents suited to their existing roles and fighting styles.
• Murphy observed fifty newcomers arrive, including Sirak Fenda’s EVE veterans, Happy Stick’s retired combat engineers, and Samoyedlia, who agreed to help with Transia’s construction plans.
• Madam Mei revealed she had been pretending to customize her face while listening, and Murphy told her that A-Feng was waiting in the Dead’s House.
• Madam Mei found A-Feng in the underground passage and embraced him, apologizing for the accident that had separated them.
• A-Feng comforted his mother and welcomed her to the other world, while Murphy watched their reunion and considered recruiting the couple into his service.

Ripmeat learned that Plaguefang’s expedition had failed and sent Hogg to delay the Transians while the Plague Toxin clan pursued the Bone-Biter King’s treasure. Uneasy about danger and bound to Twilight’s aid, Ripmeat prepared to continue the search, while Hogg received deadly potions from Crippleclaw for his doomed warriors.

• Hogg reported Plaguefang’s defeat, and Fangscrape’s account confirmed that the gnolls had strayed into a Transian patrol and unleashed a Netherworld Curse near Marlow Town.
• Ripmeat ordered Hogg to attack the Transians building defenses outside the swamp, and Hogg agreed in exchange for a chance to join the Plague Toxin clan if his own clan was lost.
• Ripmeat’s divination warned that the treasure hunt could cost it its life, but it contacted Origin for help finding the Bone-Biter King’s treasure in Ningjin Nanka territory.
• Origin promised to send a subordinate to help Ripmeat find the gnolls’ symbol of civilization, while demanding that Ripmeat help her in return.
• Hogg visited Crippleclaw, who gave him a bag of rage-inducing potions and a rough recipe so Hogg’s warriors could make a final, destructive stand against the Transians.

Hogg completed his mission for Murphy and planned to expand the Bloodclaw clan into Blightplague Town, while Niu Niu and Amber’s scouting mission ended in an ambush. After Niu Niu confessed his feelings and Amber kissed him, he woke back in his own world, regretting that he had nearly died before they could talk more.

• Hogg told his guards that the Bloodclaw clan had already chosen Murphy’s side, ordered them to avoid provoking the Xilan people, and looked forward to claiming Blightplague Town.
• Amber and Niu Niu discussed their different worlds and their uncertain future as they made their way toward the extraction point.
• A purple scouting spell exposed the scouts, and a psionic lightning bolt knocked Niu Niu and Amber from the sky before gnoll warlocks and skeletons surrounded them.
• Niu Niu and Amber fought together to break through the skeletons, but Niu Niu collapsed from his injuries and the cost of Berserk.
• As Niu Niu expected to die, he confessed that he loved Amber and had rejected a girl from his own world because of her; Amber kissed him before he died.
• Niu Niu woke in his own world, realized he had nearly achieved a one-life clear, and invited his friends to barbecue.