Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xu uncovered a wraith hidden in Andy’s damaged notebook after defeating the Pit Fiend and discovering its attempt to redirect the altar. The wraith revealed its past and vanished, while Lux warned that its soul would return to Hell; Zhao Xu was left staring at a notebook identical to his Spellbook.

• Zhao Xu folded up the Dimensional Pouch and learned from Lux that her reward had raised her targeted transformation chance to 31%.
• Zhao Xu examined Naraka’s altar and copied the Pit Fiend’s ritual incantations into Midsummer’s Spellbook after learning the Devil had tried to redirect the altar toward its master in Hell.
• Lux told Zhao Xu that the notebook was ordinary but carried deathly aura from a formidable tomb, then denied deliberately leading him to the temple.
• Zhao Xu threw the notebook away from the altar, and a wraith emerged from it; Lux identified the spirit as the notebook’s hidden presence.
• The wraith confessed that he had sacrificed his soldiers after a Devil’s temptation, thanked Zhao Xu for killing the Devil, and asked him to protect the family heirloom before dissolving.
• Lux said the wraith would reassemble and be reborn as a Devil without the notebook’s protection, while Zhao Xu discovered the notebook looked exactly like his Spellbook.

Zhao Xu discovered that the ghost’s notebook was one of seven portions of a primordial tome and fused it with his Spellbook. He read the completed portion’s instructions and became Arthur’s first Level 4 player.

• Zhao Xu examined the ghost’s notebook and read how seven tomb explorers had divided a single magical notebook into seven portions.
• Zhao Xu stacked the notebook with his original Spellbook, and the two fused into one.
• Zhao Xu used Detect Magic and learned that the Midsummer's Spellbook could advance a Spellcaster one level after a minute of reading, with its completion at 2/7.
• Zhao Xu decided to read the Spellbook despite uncertainty about when to claim its level increase.
• After one minute, Zhao Xu closed the Spellbook and became Arthur’s first Level 4 player.

A level 4 Wizard triggered Arthur’s Jump-Empty Clause, shocking players and revealing that one person had far outpaced the field. The player’s identity remained unknown, though forum users suspected Dongcheng Ling, while Cui Lu wondered if the announcement could be connected to someone she knew.

• Chen Sinan discovered Zhang Qi had lost his forum coins betting that a Fighter would become Arthur’s first level 3 player.
• Chen Sinan read the announcement that a level 4 Wizard had activated the Jump-Empty Clause and that Genesis Temple had sent TC a list of level 4 and level 2 players.
• Zhang Qi and Chen Sinan saw players flooding the forum to ask who had reached level 4, while Chen Sinan posted his admiration for the player.
• Zhang Qi spotted an analysis claiming that Dongcheng Ling, the original poster of “Path of the Mage,” was the level 4 Wizard.
• Fang Xiyue told Cui Lu about the level 4 Wizard and the rumors about Dongcheng Ling, leaving Cui Lu wondering if the player was someone she knew.

Mo Xinjian and his studio discussed the mysterious Level 4 Wizard and the growing gap between early players and everyone else. After Zhao Xu reached Level 4, he gained access to Second-ring Divine Spells and considered new ways to survive powerful attacks, just as Rayne and the others arrived.

• Mo Xinjian asked Luna whether she had leads on the Level 4 Wizard, but she denied knowing who it was.
• Cheng Xu and Old Zhao debated whether the Level 4 Wizard should stay hidden or use the forum attention to build a following and make money.
• Zhao Xu reached Level 4, gaining another daily use of Dark Knowledge (Tactics) and the ability to master Second-ring Divine Spells.
• Zhao Xu realized he could learn Aegis of the Wing as a Divine Spell, giving him a way to block a potentially lethal attack.
• Lux told Zhao Xu that Rayne and the others had arrived, and Zhao Xu worried they would not believe his explanation for the Pit Fiend remains.

Zhao Xu concealed the Pit Fiend’s remains and let Rayne believe the strange magic surrounding him came from the Goddess’s favor. After the altar was secured, Rayne asked Zhao Xu how to explain the incident in his report, and Zhao Xu left the details to him.

• Zhao Xu used an Unseen Servant to collect the Pit Fiend’s residue and hid it in a Familiar Pocket.
• Rayne and the other Wizards breached the stone door with a Disintegration Spell and entered the altar hall.
• Rayne warned Zhao Xu that Resurrection Stones could be thwarted by powerful enemies who captured or imprisoned souls and bodies.
• Rayne privately contacted Zhao Xu through a Mind Link and explained that Zhao Xu’s Mind Shield had blocked the connection.
• Zhao Xu let Rayne attribute his conspicuous spells to the Goddess’s favor, and Rayne asked him how to write the report.
• Zhao Xu told Rayne to fill in the report himself, leaving the Pit Fiend’s death and the altar’s secrets concealed.

Zhao Xu learned that his Iron Will trial would take place inside a mysterious Demiplane, while Lux revealed that an artificial life-form tied to the God of Death had escaped and might eventually seek him out. After preparing for the trial, Zhao Xu logged off and found an unexpected trending post on the forum.

• Rayne told Zhao Xu that two women had been sent ahead to take the Carrion Crawler's Lair trial and explained the trial's dangers and five-day limit.
• Lux warned Zhao Xu that the trial site was likely a Demiplane, and Rayne said Andy's family had been released while some of their belongings were confiscated.
• Rayne abruptly arranged for Zhao Xu to stay at a nearby town, and Lux admitted she had taught an artificial life-form from the Land of Returning Death a severance ritual that let it relocate the site.
• Lux explained that the life-form might seek Zhao Xu because he had entered its chamber and could eventually gain the God of Death's divine portfolio.
• Zhao Xu copied several scrolls before logging off, then opened the forum and froze at the day's trending post.

Zhao Xu used his fame as forum legend Dongcheng Ling to publish guides for Clerics and Fighters, along with a post about ninth-ring spells, while players worshipped him and avoided challenging his expertise. After answering that he was male, he accepted Cui Lu’s friend request and turned down her offer of support before returning to bed to read in the Legendary Library.

• Zhao Xu posted guides to Clerics and Fighters, drawing a flood of worshipful replies from forum users who suspected he was the level-four player.
• When one user questioned his experience, the user deleted the comment before Zhao Xu could respond, and Zhao Xu later published a post on ninth-ring spell verification.
• Zhao Xu answered a popular question by stating that he was male, and players promptly turned the discussion into jokes and requests for help.
• Zhao Xu accepted Cui Lu’s friend request, and Cui Lu asked whether he was the level-four player and offered to support him financially.
• Zhao Xu told Cui Lu to study instead of chasing celebrities, then went to bed with books from the Legendary Library waiting for him.

Zhao Xu researched the dangerous Carrion Beast Den in Mystra's Legendary Library, learning that it was a secretive demiplane that granted the Iron Will Feat. Ludo revealed it had once been the place of punishment before Naraka became a god, and Zhao Xu was struck deaf by contact with a divine secret.

• Zhao Xu performed his costly bedtime ritual and sent his soul to the Legendary Library, where he reflected on Cui Lu's admiration and his plans to influence her before the Falling Star Lake Battle.
• Zhao Xu stopped studying Teleportation Ritual and borrowed a book about demiplane secrets, prompting Ludo to accuse him of looking up test answers.
• Zhao Xu learned that the Carrion Beast Den granted the Iron Will Feat, admitted no more than five people, and was concealed by Mystra because excessive entries could disrupt it.
• Zhao Xu suspected that knowing too much about the den would hinder his trial, especially since Ludo and the Association had withheld details from him.
• Ludo hinted that the Carrion Beast Den had been Naraka's place of punishment before he became a god, and Zhao Xu was struck deaf for three rounds after encountering the divine secret.

Zhao Xu prepared for the Demiplane and traveled to a manor where a hidden mine entrance led to a difficult checkpoint. After entering the tunnel, he found his torch extinguished and the passage ending at a dead wall.

• Ludo explained that Zhao Xu had been affected by Death God's hatred and could not use the secret to deafen others, then revealed that Naraka's torture and hatred had created the Demiplane.
• Zhao Xu prepared spells from his Wizard, Scroll Scholar, and Cleric tracks, checked his equipment, and rode by carriage to a manor near a mine.
• The manor's steward gave Zhao Xu a black gemstone for emergencies and warned him against teleporting inside the mine.
• After Zhao Xu entered the mine, an invisible Wizard questioned why the association had assigned him its hardest entrance, while the steward said they were there to guard it.
• Zhao Xu's Immortal Bright Flame torch went out underground, and after following the only passage, he reached a dead end.

Zhao Xu discovered that the sealed stone door required a Will Save to open, with a difficulty he could not overcome by stacking bonuses alone. He used Precognition of Luck to choose a successful performance, passed the save, and restored the path ahead.

• Zhao Xu found the entrance sealed by a stone door and realized that chanting its Draconic command phrase would trigger a Will attack.
• Zhao Xu discovered the inscription “No more than five,” which revealed the trial’s save difficulty was five points above his Will Save bonus.
• Zhao Xu used Precognition of Luck to compare two possible Will Save performances and chose the successful result of +10.
• Zhao Xu passed the Will Save, and a new entrance appeared at the end of the dark path.

Zhao Xu entered a corpse plaza where a Negative Energy Field continuously healed its Skeleton Warriors and discovered he needed to search for a hidden Portal Key. He disguised himself as an undead creature to resist the field, but a concealed spell attack struck him, and a strange power approached from behind.

• Zhao Xu read the stele and learned that he had to find a Portal Key beneath the bones to reach the Carrion Beast Den Demiplane.
• Zhao Xu realized the plaza’s Negative Energy Field would deal him 10 damage each round while rapidly healing the Skeleton Warriors.
• Zhao Xu cast Undead Veil, then used Feather Fall to descend safely into the plaza, where the skeletons mistook him for one of their own.
• The Negative Energy Field granted Zhao Xu Rapid Healing 10, but a hidden package of harmful and healing spells also affected him.
• Zhao Xu sensed a strange power approaching from behind.

Zhao Xu disguised himself as an undead creature to cross a dangerous bone-strewn plaza and used Locate Object to find the Portal Key. He discovered that an illusion hid more than twenty Mummies near the key and was left weighing how to reach it safely.

• Zhao Xu spotted a Mummy and carefully left the range of its Despair aura without revealing that he was alive.
• After escaping the Mummy's reach, Zhao Xu realized the plaza's hidden dangers and resolved to put safety first.
• Zhao Xu cast Locate Object to search the plaza for the Portal Key buried beneath the bones.
• Zhao Xu discovered that an illusion had concealed more than twenty Mummies near the key.
• Zhao Xu considered using his Fireball Eternal Wand or sneaking in to grab the key, but feared being exposed and surrounded.

Zhao Xu tried to retrieve the Portal Key from a group of mummies by using a controlled skeleton and Unseen Servants, but hidden defenses destroyed his minions and revealed a Fear Haunter. With Dimensional Lock blocking his escape, Zhao Xu prepared to fight the surrounding Undead Creatures.

• Zhao Xu found that the hanging rope was loosely secured, then used Command Undead to send a Skeleton Warrior to search the bones for a key.
• The Skeleton Warrior found a long key but suddenly shattered, so Zhao Xu teleported onto the raised platform, secured the rope, and planted a gem as an escape point.
• Zhao Xu sent an Unseen Servant to retrieve the Portal Key, then prepared to use Dimension Door to exchange places with it.
• A Fear Haunter appeared and destroyed the Unseen Servant before Zhao Xu could take the key.
• Zhao Xu tried to escape with Gem Leap, but Dimensional Lock blocked teleportation as more Undead Creatures appeared around him.
• Zhao Xu drew his Eternal Wand of Fireball and faced the Undead Creatures, ready to fight.

Zhao Xu used his knowledge and Starfall Cloak to withstand the Fear Haunters’ attacks, then faced a Ghost Touch-wielding Fear Haunter as he searched for a way to survive. Just as it raised its scythe to strike, Zhao Xu unleashed Radiant Armor.

• Zhao Xu identified the Fear Haunter’s Constitution-draining Touch of Frailty, and his Starfall Cloak nullified its attack.
• Zhao Xu remained protected by Undead Veil and Starfall Cloak while the mummies hesitated and the ordinary Fear Haunter failed to harm him.
• Zhao Xu spotted a Fear Haunter wielding a Ghost Touch great scythe, which could bypass his protection and threaten him with its supernatural attack.
• Zhao Xu learned that sunlight disabled Fear Haunters and realized he lacked the Daylight spell, while the scythe-wielding creature closed in.
• The Fear Haunter raised its scythe within striking range, but Zhao Xu erupted with holy light and cast Radiant Armor.

Zhao Xu identified a cursed-looking great scythe and a Positive Energy Plane key while surrounded by undead, then used a Fireball to blast a path toward the hanging rope. The skeletons closed in as he raced for the platform.

• Zhao Xu drove away the Fear Haunter and frightened the mummies with Radiant Armor, then identified the dropped weapon as a +1 Ethereal Great Scythe and the other item as a Positive Energy Plane key.
• Zhao Xu realized the key healed its holder but would teleport them after nine remaining rounds, and he connected the traps to spells and defenses that the checkpoint was designed to counter.
• Zhao Xu picked up the great scythe and the Positive Energy Key, then dismissed Undead Veil as the approaching undead surged toward him.
• Zhao Xu ran toward the hanging rope and cast Fireball into the gathered Skeleton Soldiers, blasting them apart and opening a path through the flames.

Zhao Xu used the Positive Energy Key to cross the bone plaza, then suppressed its growing power with a Cure Serious Wounds scroll before it could teleport him away. He reached the platform and discovered that the +1 Ethereal Great Scythe still held a secret.

• Zhao Xu killed most of the Undead Creatures with a Fireball and advanced while the Positive Energy Key healed him and kept the monsters at bay.
• Zhao Xu realized that the Negative Energy Field had temporarily sealed the key when it was left on the ground, but its rising output was about to trigger a teleportation to the Positive Energy Plane.
• Zhao Xu successfully cast Cure Serious Wounds from a scroll and used its 150 HP of damage to suppress the key's Positive Energy before putting it in his backpack.
• Zhao Xu escaped the Undead Creatures with his Teleportation Boots and landed on the platform beside a portal.
• Zhao Xu delayed entering the portal and focused on the nearly two-meter-long +1 Ethereal Great Scythe, suspecting it held a secret.

Zhao Xu examined the valuable magic scythe and used Analyze Portal to uncover the trial portal’s hidden destination and rules. He entered the portal and arrived in Winter City, where he needed to find a concealed temporary portal to reach the legendary Demiplane.

• Zhao Xu valued the +1 Ethereal Great Scythe dropped by the fleeing Fear Haunter at 8,318 gold coins, but found no unusual mechanism on it.
• Suspecting the scythe might not be the portal’s only key, Zhao Xu cast Analyze Portal using his lens and mirror.
• Zhao Xu learned that holding the scythe while entering would trigger random teleportation, and that a concealed portal lasting five days would appear at his destination and lead to the Demiplane.
• Zhao Xu discovered he could use Analyze Portal to locate the hidden portal and could return to a buried gem, though the portal would not follow him.
• Zhao Xu stepped through the portal and arrived on the busy Grand Promenade in Winter City.

Zhao Xu arrived in Winter City and sought help finding information about portals, but Lady Volan tried to take his scythe and cloak by force. The chapter ended with her ordering her guards to stop him and offering them a share of the gold.

• Zhao Xu entered Winter City, where a Halfling Rogue named Eleven Steps tried to buy his scythe for eighty gold coins, but Zhao Xu walked away.
• Zhao Xu bought empty potion bottles at the general market and went to Drunken Dreams tavern to ask about the city's best information network.
• The bartender directed Zhao Xu to Lady Volan, a wealthy player connected to the mine lords of Falling Star Lake.
• Lady Volan asked Zhao Xu to give up his scythe and cloak; when he refused and turned to leave, she ordered her guards to stop him and promised to split the gold with them.

Zhao Xu went upstairs to seek information but was threatened by Volan and her crew, who tried to rob him. He revealed his power, killed them with a Fireball, and left the tavern recognized as a Third-ring Mage.

• Zhao Xu entered the private room and found Volan and her crew surrounding him with guards and weapons.
• Volan demanded Zhao Xu's equipment and threatened to kill him repeatedly if he refused.
• A young man fired a crossbow bolt at Zhao Xu, but his cloak destroyed it with a burst of starlight.
• Zhao Xu cast Glitterdust and vanished, leaving Volan and the others blinded and panicked.
• As the group tried to flee through the locked door, Zhao Xu cast Fireball and killed everyone in the room.
• Zhao Xu walked out of the tavern, and a witness identified him as a Third-ring Mage.

After killing five players and four guards who had tried to rob him, Zhao Xu reflected on the risks of being an undocumented outsider in Winter City. He went to the General Goods Plaza to replenish supplies and search for bargains, where he spotted a Sorcerer player he recognized as a future member of the city's upper ranks.

• Zhao Xu realized the platinum coins he had received were worth nearly a thousand gold pieces and reconsidered how recklessly he had exposed himself in Winter City.
• After the tavern encounter turned hostile, Zhao Xu used Glitterdust, Invisibility, Fireball, and Magic Missile to kill five players and four guards.
• Zhao Xu reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of his spells, then returned to the General Goods Plaza to spend some of his new wealth and seek information from peddlers.
• Zhao Xu surveyed the market's sellers rather than their wares and identified a Sorcerer player who would later rise into Winter City's upper ranks.