Chapter Summaries

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.

The players fought Blood Eagle traitors in Batassin as Lady Adele, Maxim, and other elite allies turned the night battle in their favor. Little Ashina then attempted her first solo Elite Hunt, revealing that the game offered her freedom from the limits of her real-life ALS.

• Meow Brother and the players held a street against the Blood Eagle traitors until Lady Adele and six vampire descendants joined the fight.
• Maxim and Raveno entered the battle, while Necessary Evil flew off to hunt stronger vampires and inspired Meow Brother to pursue a hidden weapon quest after his Black Iron Trial.
• Little Ashina ignored her companions’ warnings and shot a fleeing Black Iron-tier vampire with a special daylight round.
• Little Ashina jumped from the platform and ran to finish the wounded vampire, using Gloom Steps that Lumina had taught her.
• Lumina explained that Little Ashina had ALS and valued the game because it let her move and fight freely, so the girls went to watch over her.

Little Ashina fought and defeated an elite vampire to complete her Black Iron Trial, drawing on her memories of losing her ability to walk. Murphy arrived just in time to save her from another vampire and promised she could always return to True Otherworld before she passed out.

• Little Ashina used combat scrolls and prepared weapons to hunt the wounded elite vampire, then fought her with illusions, gunfire, and a final knife strike to remove her heart.
• Sister Pomegranate tried to intervene, but Orchid and Lumina stopped her so Little Ashina could finish her trial herself.
• As pain and exhaustion brought back memories of her ALS diagnosis, Little Ashina pushed herself up and killed the vampire with her last bullet and a boning knife.
• A second vampire attacked the exhausted Little Ashina, but Murphy swooped in and killed it before it could reach her.
• Little Ashina cried to Murphy that she loved the world and feared losing access to it, and Murphy promised she could keep enjoying it as long as he remained.
• Little Ashina made Murphy seal the promise with a pinky vow, then passed out; Murphy carried her to Sister Pomegranate and called her his warrior.

Meow Brother and the students learned that Little Ashina had earned the server’s first achievement by defeating an elite vampire with expensive ammunition. Meanwhile, Murphy captured the White Mountain Count, discovered he was Nordtov’s queen’s half-brother, and knocked him unconscious after deciding to use him as bait.

• Meow Brother saw the server-wide announcement that Ashina Female Sword Saint had completed the first achievement by defeating an elite, while the students learned she had spent heavily on Vampire’s Dirges to do it.
• Meow Shark praised Little Ashina’s marksmanship, and Meow Brother’s group decided to try hunting an elite ghoul or astral beast in the sewers.
• Maxim left Lady Adele to guard the prisoners and search Batassin City for more Blood Eagle traitors while she arranged for the city’s merchants to clean up before sunrise.
• Murphy questioned the White Mountain Count about the fighting in Batassin, and the count explained that Hettem had contacted the Thorn Clan while claiming the Blood Eagle elites had died in Cadman City.
• The White Mountain Count revealed that he was Andrei Alexei Romanov, the illegitimate half-brother of Nordtov’s queen, and tried to persuade Murphy to treat the conflict as a minor disagreement.
• Murphy declared that he would use Andrei as bait, then struck him unconscious and picked up his sword.

Murphy trained with Necessary Evil, learned that the traitors in Batasin City had been eliminated, and questioned a group of captured vampires. Mary revealed that Baroness Cecilia had led thousands of Blood Vulture defectors who helped destroy Cadman City, leaving Murphy to confront the connection between Cecilia and Femis.

• Murphy practiced swordsmanship against Necessary Evil with Frostfang and received Maxim's report that the traitors in Batasin City had been eliminated.
• Murphy learned that a captured vampire claimed to be an old friend's ally, then identified Count Andrei Alexei Romanov Torez and discovered that Su, the Winter Wolf God, had noticed him.
• Murphy met the imprisoned vampires in Batasin City and heard Mary explain that her lover, Mox, had once given him extra relief supplies.
• Mary told Murphy that at least three thousand Blood Vulture members had defected to the Wolfsbane Clan and shut down the Serenade Barrier before the astral disaster.
• Mary named Baroness Cecilia as the defectors' leader, and Murphy recognized her as Femis's mother.

Mary told Murphy about Cadman City's fall and revealed that a mysterious voice had promised he would save her, prompting him to suspect a connection to the Midnight Matriarch. Murphy sent Mary and the prisoners toward Scarlet Castle while he returned ahead, and Batashin awoke to a new order under Palien, who was negotiating a crucial grain deal.

• Mary recounted how Mox was killed during the betrayal in Cadman City and how Old Joel abused her and allied with the Thorn Clan.
• Murphy confronted Mary over omissions in her account, and she explained that a layered voice had told her he would rescue her.
• Murphy suspected the voice might be connected to the Midnight Matriarch and ordered Mary to return to Scarlet Castle for Triss and Femis to decide her fate.
• Murphy left Batashin with Reveno while Adele stayed to help Palien take control of the city.
• Batashin's residents learned that Murphy had executed Old Joel and purged his followers, while Palien gathered evidence and began forming a governing organization.
• Palien urged the five leading merchants to secure a grain deal, warning that failure could bring another massacre.

Ashina Sword Saint returned to the game with a Black Iron Body, new traits, and two quests from Murphy, then planned how to obtain Baroness Mirian’s special weapon blueprint. Meanwhile, Happy Stick and Cat Swordsman’s companions prepared to attempt the Black Iron Trial, while Cat Swordsman set his sights on learning Maxim’s sword technique.

• Ashina Sword Saint saw her improved attributes and new traits after passing the Black Iron Trial, and received Murphy’s Champion quest and a quest to view Baroness Morland’s Hammer Guard.
• Lanhuahua warned Ashina Sword Saint to keep Murphy’s champion-selection criteria secret and explained that she might need Friendly standing with Baroness Mirian to view the weapon.
• Ashina Sword Saint decided to ask Murphy to accompany her to Baroness Mirian, and Lanhuahua agreed the plan might work.
• After Lumina posted an account of Ashina Sword Saint’s trial, Happy Stick resolved to lure an elite ghoul into traps and pass his own trial that night.
• Cat Swordsman vowed to learn Maxim’s evasive sword technique, while Maxim sensed that something troublesome had its eyes on him.

Banzai Happy Stick used an oil-and-fire trap to defeat an elite ghoul and became the second player to pass the Black Iron trial. Murphy then ordered Vesta to tell the Thorn Clan that Count André had been captured and to find someone important enough to secure his rescue within three days.

• Banzai Happy Stick and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry prepared an oil trap in a sewer dead end for his solo Black Iron trial.
• Happy Stick lured the elite ghoul boss into the trap, ignited the oil, and fought it in the flames while his fire-resistant armor protected him.
• Murphy learned that Happy Stick had passed the trial and considered assigning him a heavy-shield defender class among the Tomb Guards.
• Murphy told Vesta to report Count André's capture to the Thorn Clan and bring back a high-status rescuer within three days.

Players returned from Batasin as their Black Iron Trial strategy drove demand for alchemical supplies, and Murphy persuaded Triss to train players to produce them. Triss then revealed what she had learned about the players and their world, and Murphy urged her to keep that knowledge private and avoid contact that might endanger them.

• Players returned to Scarlet Castle after witnessing the Batasin Massacre, while Happy Stick's strategy helped more veterans complete the Black Iron Trial and depleted Triss's stock of fire oil.
• Triss demanded that Murphy stop the players from overwhelming her Alchemy Hut, but Murphy proposed that she teach player apprentices to make fire oil and Vampire's Lament bullets.
• Triss gave Murphy a box she had prepared and warned him to study her psionic notes, then revealed that she had learned the players' language and understood that they called themselves players and the locals NPCs.
• Triss described her observations about the players' beliefs, education, and behavior, and said she was curious about their world and its history.
• Murphy warned Triss that the players' world possessed immense destructive power and asked her to keep observing them privately without initiating cultural exchanges.

Leading Pigeon organized players for an alchemy quest while Murphy received new weapons and planned for the coming player influx. At the Fortress of Krym, the Thorn Grand Duchess learned of Count Cadman’s request and ordered a visit to Scarlet Keep, while suspending the White Mountain faction until Andre proved himself.

• Leading Pigeon recruited players, including Lumina, to make Flame Gel and Burning Oil at Triss’s Alchemy Hut.
• Murphy examined Triss’s bladed whip, bound himself to the Frostfang Blade, and planned a Blood Eagle Clan welcome ceremony for players who passed the Black Iron Trial.
• Vesta reported to the Thorn Grand Duchess that Count Cadman had demanded a high-ranking Thorn Clan member within three days.
• The Thorn Grand Duchess ordered Vesta to accompany her to Scarlet Keep after nightfall and dissolved the White Mountain faction until Andre could prove he was fit to lead it.

Triss recruited players as alchemy apprentices and gave Lumina a hidden quest to bring her knowledge from another world. Meanwhile, Murphy prepared to expand his territory before winter, then met the Grand Duchess of Thorns, who asked him to take her to the man who had humiliated her.

• Triss praised the apprentices’ fire gel and burning oil, then recruited nine players into the Alchemy Apprentice class and assigned them potion-making tasks.
• Triss privately asked Lumina about a centrifuge, and Lumina’s explanation triggered a hidden quest to bring her knowledge from another world in exchange for treasury keys.
• Lumina told Triss about her world’s periodic table, and Triss described the Alchemical Sage’s Stone Tablet of twenty-eight elements.
• Murphy reviewed Lumina’s quest and the rapid rebuilding of the outer district, then found that seven villages and Batasin had earned him thirty provisional player slots.
• The Grand Duchess of Thorns arrived at the ruins, identified Murphy as Count Cadman, and asked him to take her to the man who had humiliated her.