Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xu visited Shen Nian’s stall, recognized her faulty alchemy, and discovered that a bronze griffin statue she had been tricked into accepting was a magic item. The chapter ended with Zhao Xu learning that the statue was magical.

• Zhao Xu approached Shen Nian’s stall and recalled her and her brother Shen Ze’s future prominence in Winter City.
• Zhao Xu examined Shen Nian’s antitoxin and identified that she had forgotten to add Holly Herb, which could make the potion poisonous.
• Zhao Xu advised Shen Nian to make a color chart for her alchemical products, and she considered the suggestion.
• Zhao Xu rejected Shen Nian’s unstable Blazing Glue and inspected a bronze griffin statue she had received as collateral from a scammer.
• Zhao Xu used Detect Magic and his Automaton Goggles to confirm that the bronze griffin statue was a magic item.

Zhao Xu learned that the Bronze Griffin statue was a worthless scam and discovered that his novice guide had inspired Shen Ze to become a Paladin. A newsboy then announced that a mysterious Third-ring Mage had defeated Volan’s group, leaving Zhao Xu to hear of the incident’s aftermath.

• A Wizard player warned Zhao Xu that Detect Magic would not uncover bargains in the heavily screened general goods market.
• Shen Nian and the neighboring Wizard player explained that Zhao Xu’s Bronze Griffin statue was a damaged counterfeit designed to deceive buyers.
• Shen Nian revealed that her brother Shen Ze had reached level 2 as a Paladin and had been conscripted to Falling Star Lake.
• Shen Nian said Shen Ze had deleted his Sorcerer character after reading Zhao Xu’s Ten Commandments for Novices, which urged players willing to sacrifice themselves for their faith to choose Paladin.
• A newspaper-selling child announced that a mysterious Third-ring Mage had wiped out Volan’s group with one Fireball and that the group had revived and taken refuge in a temple.

Zhao Xu gave Shen Nian a damaged Bronze Griffin statue and its command word before disappearing from General Goods Plaza. When Shen Nian activated it, the statue transformed into a gigantic golden griffin, drawing the entire market’s attention.

• Shen Nian and the Mage Apprentice discussed Volan’s gang being wiped out after attacking a powerful Third-ring Mage, and speculated that the gang had mistaken a player for an easy target.
• The Mage Apprentice told Shen Nian that Griffin Eggs were expensive, and Zhao Xu gave her the prices for eggs, juveniles, and training.
• Zhao Xu reassured the Mage Apprentice that she could become a generalist Wizard, then explained that Shen Nian’s Bronze Griffin statue could animate a griffin despite being damaged.
• Zhao Xu handed Shen Nian the statue and a note with its command word, then left General Goods Plaza before she could ask his name.
• Shen Nian spoke the command word, and the statue transformed into a huge golden griffin as merchants and customers stared in amazement.

Zhao Xu registered at the Mage Association in Winter City and learned that Falling Star Lake was becoming the focus of an investigation into disappearances. He used Divination Spell to ask whether going there would help him find the target portal, and received an auspicious answer despite his reluctance to enter the coming battle.

• Zhao Xu reached the Winter City Mage Association under an Invisibility Spell and registered for a free double-room stay without revealing his Mithril Shine badge.
• Zhao Xu met Sudden Rain Night and two Mage Apprentices in his assigned room, where they discussed disappearances and an investigation at Falling Star Lake.
• Zhao Xu entered the meditation room and cast Divination Spell using marked sticks, incense, Holy Water, and his holy symbol.
• Zhao Xu asked whether teleporting to Falling Star Lake would help him find the target portal, and the spell answered “auspicious.”
• Zhao Xu remained wary of going to Falling Star Lake because he knew a brutal battle was about to take place there.

Zhao Xu’s divination confirmed that going to Falling Star Lake would help him find the portal, and he discussed the Wizard class with three players in Winter City. When news arrived that mine owners at Falling Star Lake were trafficking slaves and had killed protesting players, Zhao Xu prepared to join the coming revenge, realizing the conflict had begun three days early.

• Zhao Xu interpreted the Divination Spell’s “Weal” result as a sign that he should travel to Falling Star Lake to search for the portal.
• Zhao Xu sat with Sudden Rain Night and two Mage Apprentices, who discussed leveling as Wizards, their equipment, and healing potions.
• A Mage Apprentice reported that mine owners at Falling Star Lake were trafficking slaves and had killed players who resisted.
• The three players sprang up in anger, while Zhao Xu picked up his great scythe and prepared to act.
• Zhao Xu realized that his actions had brought the conflict beneath Falling Star Lake forward by three days.

Zhao Xu summoned Seraphic Attendant Artoria and completed Spirit Possession, gaining a massive boost in power while retaining control of himself. He left the chapter ready to act against the slave-trading war, believing his new strength could prevent the loss of human lives.

• Zhao Xu used a Prayer Candle, Holy Water, and a thousand gold coins to summon a Seraphic Attendant with Spirit Possession.
• When the Gate of Another World began to falter, Zhao Xu sacrificed his teleportation key to the Positive Energy Plane, and Artoria emerged.
• Zhao Xu introduced himself as Midsummer and asked Artoria to Attune with him so he could personally kill the slave traders.
• Artoria activated Spirit Possession, and Zhao Xu used Potential Points to emulate the Clear Divine Attachment feat.
• Zhao Xu completed the ritual without losing himself and found that his abilities had grown dramatically while Artoria slept within him.

Zhao Xu gained Artoria’s mental attributes and full Cleric abilities through Spirit Possession, giving him powerful auras, spell-like abilities, and twentieth-level spellcasting. While Winter City’s players prepared for the coming battle, he began praying to prepare spells for his planned ambush.

• Zhao Xu reviewed his enhanced attributes and skills, noting that he had inherited Artoria’s mental abilities but not her physical strength.
• Zhao Xu left the meditation chamber and tested his Aura of Protection, which defended allies nearby and blocked lower-level spells.
• Zhao Xu examined Artoria’s spell-like abilities and automatically active spells, including True Sight Spell, and considered how he might use them.
• Zhao Xu realized his Wisdom let him use Artoria’s full twentieth-level Cleric spellcasting, including Ninth-ring spells.
• As Winter City’s players organized for the battle at Falling Star Lake, Zhao Xu sat down to pray and prepare spells for his ambush.

Zhao Xu disguised himself as a Cleric and joined the players rallying against the slave trade at Falling Star Lake, where he assessed their poverty and the danger behind their failed uprising. He encountered Zhang Qi and classmates, then spotted a Fireball and realized the attack was a setup.

• Zhao Xu disguised himself in conjured plate armor as a Cleric and headed to the civic plaza with a great scythe.
• Players and witnesses described the slaves’ suffering at Falling Star Lake, while residents asked the adventurers to find their missing children.
• Zhao Xu noticed the players had little magical equipment and recalled that the mine owners’ slaves had been buried alive after the players’ defeat.
• Zhang Qi approached Zhao Xu with several classmates, mistook him for someone else, and apologized.
• Zhao Xu saw a Fireball flying nearby, recognized it as a setup, and rushed forward.

Zhao Xu secretly neutralized a Fireball aimed at civilians in Winter City, then joined his classmates as they prepared to investigate the slave-trading scandal at Falling Star Lake. He offered to travel with them that night, intending to draw out the Mining Association and locate the portal.

• Zhao Xu recognized that the Fireball could frame him and intimidate the crowd, then used Swift Haste and his Aura of Protection to erase it before it exploded.
• Zhao Xu concealed his actions and returned to Zhang Qi, who praised how quickly he had moved.
• Feng Ge said she wanted to help rescue the victims and avenge Xiaoya, and Zhang Qi agreed to go with her to Falling Star Lake.
• Fang Xiyue told the group that players from several classes planned to set out that night, while Du Nan reported that some players opposed getting involved.
• Zhao Xu offered to travel with his classmates as a Cleric assigned to investigate Falling Star Lake, hoping the Mining Association would approach him and lead him to the portal.

Zhao Xu joined Cui Lu’s party heading out to investigate the slave-trafficking incident and recognized Frey, a future ally and the daughter of Northern Alliance leader Tang De. After Frey mistook him for the bodyguard her father had sent, Zhao Xu accepted the role and invited her to speak with him at camp.

• Zhao Xu agreed to follow Fang Xiyue’s group and waited at the city gate for the party to depart.
• Cui Lu introduced Wizard Mu Tong, adventurer Frey, and a grieving father to Zhao Xu before taking the lead out of the city.
• Zhao Xu recognized Frey from his Previous Life and noticed that her equipment lacked the magical protections expected for Tang De’s only descendant.
• Frey privately asked Zhao Xu whether Tang De had sent him as her bodyguard, and Zhao Xu confirmed it.
• Zhao Xu told Frey he was a genuine Cleric and asked her to come to his room after they made camp.

Zhao Xu’s group traveled through the wilderness at night, and their choices of lighting revealed stark differences in wealth and equipment. When Zhao Xu sensed something in a pile of rocks, he suspected the restless ghost from Falling Star Lake had appeared ahead of schedule.

• Frey agreed to meet Zhao Xu at midnight as the group began traveling through the wilderness after dark.
• Mu Tong used a Bullseye Lantern, Frey brought out an Illumination Staff, and Du Nan relied on his Half-Orc Darkvision while Zhang Qi urged everyone to stay alert.
• Zhao Xu took out his heatless Immortal Torch, and Feng Ge noticed it was unusual and told Zhang Qi.
• Zhang Qi learned that the Immortal Torch cost 110 gold coins, including the Wizard’s casting fee, and the group reacted to the expense.
• Zhao Xu stopped and looked into a pile of rocks, suspecting the restless ghost buried at Falling Star Lake had appeared early.

Zhao Xu explained the Spirit World to Cui Lu's party and used Immortal Bright Flame to turn their torches into valuable Immortal Torches as rewards for protecting him. After testing that he could cast the spell repeatedly for free, he faced the approaching wraith.

• Zhao Xu described the Spirit World's properties and warned the group that a wraith was about to arrive.
• Zhao Xu asked Cui Lu's party to protect him during the attack and offered their torches as collateral for a quest reward.
• Zhao Xu transformed more than a dozen ordinary torches into Immortal Torches with repeated castings of Immortal Bright Flame.
• Feng Ge spotted the wraith behind Zhao Xu, and Zhao Xu told it he had been waiting for it.

Zhao Xu trapped a wraith inside his protective aura and enabled Zhang Qi to destroy it with an enchanted sword. The team was left stunned by the wraith’s sudden defeat.

• Zhao Xu cast Energy Protection while Cui Lu warned the team about the wraith’s abilities.
• Feng Ge enchanted Zhang Qi’s greatsword, and Zhang Qi charged the wraith as ordinary attacks failed to harm it.
• Zhao Xu released his Aura of Protection after the wraith approached, trapping it and shielding everyone nearby from possession.
• The wraith tried to possess Du Nan, then attempted to escape the six-meter circle, but Zhao Xu’s aura repelled it both times.
• Zhang Qi struck the trapped wraith with his glowing greatsword and destroyed it, leaving the team astonished.

After Zhao Xu secretly destroyed the wraith, he explained how he had used Trigger Spell and Swift Burst to cast Axiom Hammer while the others credited Zhang Qi. Frey then showed him an emblem she wanted him to search for, and Zhao Xu recognized it from both notebooks that had fused into his Spellbook.

• After the wraith vanished, the expedition camped for the night, and Zhao Xu gave his classmates Immortal Torches.
• Zhao Xu reflected that he had tested his classmates during the battle and had secretly destroyed the wraith with Axiom Hammer triggered through Swift Burst.
• Zhao Xu decided to visit the Legendary Library to find a way to become less passive in battle without Quicken Spell.
• Frey entered Zhao Xu's tent at midnight and explained that Leader Tang De had sent her to learn when he would return.
• After Zhao Xu asked about the mysterious tomb, Frey gave him a parchment bearing an emblem she wanted him to watch for.
• Zhao Xu recognized the emblem from Andy's ancestor's notebook and the wraith ancestor's notebook, which had fused into his Spellbook.

Zhao Xu used clues from Frey’s notebook and Andy’s Ancestor’s notes to determine that the mapped tomb location was a devilish warning, not a real route. Back in the Legendary Library, he discovered a way to turn Unruly Heroic Aura’s temporary Potential Points into restored Spell Slots, leaving him able to keep his slots full during synchronization.

• Zhao Xu compared the two notebooks’ tomb clues with an atlas and realized Andy’s Ancestor had arranged the locations into an inverted triangle symbolizing a devil.
• Zhao Xu returned to the Mage Association dormitory in Winter City and connected to the Legendary Library from a safe location.
• Ludo explained that Divine Metamagic could use Dispel Undead uses to pay for metamagic costs, allowing spells to last twenty-four hours.
• Zhao Xu read about Divine Metamagic, then used Miracle to cast Unruly Heroic Aura and gained one temporary Potential Point each round.
• Zhao Xu spent a Potential Point just before it vanished to restore his exhausted ninth-ring Miracle Spell Slot.

Zhao Xu learned to exploit Divine Metamagic with Potential Points, turning short-duration spells into 24-hour effects and restoring the turning uses needed to fuel the process. After reading late into the night at the Legendary Library, he woke in his dormitory at noon, exhausted from excessive consumption.

• Zhao Xu used Potential Points to simulate Spell Endurance and combine it with Divine Metamagic.
• Zhao Xu made Ghost Strike last 24 hours, allowing his great scythe’s melee attacks to ignore armor and shield bonuses.
• Ludo warned Zhao Xu that the Arthurian World had agreed to stop spreading Spell Endurance and its shortcuts after the Great Cataclysm.
• Zhao Xu spent Potential Points to restore his Turn Undead uses, replenishing his dispels and preparing to use Divine Metamagic again.
• Zhao Xu tested Spell Endurance on other spells, read in the Legendary Library, and eventually fell asleep.
• Zhao Xu woke in his dormitory at noon on Saturday, feeling exhausted from excessive consumption.

Zhao Xu discovered that using Potential Points may have affected his body on Earth and briefly brought a game ability into reality. He returned to Arthur, prepared for battle, and teleported to the front lines at Falling Star Lake.

• Zhao Xu woke dizzy and weak, went to the campus hospital, and learned that he was anemic and malnourished.
• Zhao Xu wondered whether using Potential Points had affected his body on Earth, then caught his falling keys with impossible speed.
• Zhao Xu heard that players had suffered heavy losses against the mine owners’ organized guards at Falling Star Lake.
• Zhao Xu returned to Arthur, prayed, restored his spells with Potential Points, and layered himself with melee-enhancing magic.
• Zhao Xu activated Miracle to simulate Greater Teleportation and headed for the battlefront at Falling Star Lake.

Zhao Xu teleported to Falling Star Lake and prepared his great scythe with powerful spells before joining a battle between players and the Mining Association’s guards. He left the battlefield after killing two Martial Artists in swift, seemingly impossible strikes, terrifying everyone nearby.

• Zhao Xu teleported to a hill overlooking a battle between poorly equipped players and the Mining Association’s trained guards.
• Zhao Xu used Greater Enchant Weapon, Miracle, and other spells to enhance his great scythe and movement.
• Zhao Xu teleported into the melee and attacked the guards fighting a player Wizard and Cleric.
• Zhao Xu killed the Martial Artist leader with a strike that seemed to miss, then used Cleave to kill another Martial Artist.
• The remaining fighters watched in terror as Zhao Xu’s great scythe appeared to kill without touching its victims.

Zhao Xu used his enchanted massive scythe to slaughter the Miners' Association's private guards, turning the battle against the players into a rout. After killing all seventy guards, he stood bloodied before the players as they recoiled from him.

• Zhao Xu explained how Ghost Strike and Greater Mighty Blow made his attacks seem to kill enemies from a distance, while he sensed the portal taking shape in his mind.
• Zhao Xu used Misty Step to appear among the guards, shattered two spears with his Starfall Cloak, and killed nearby opponents with precise scythe strikes.
• A guard captain ordered the guards to surround Zhao Xu, but Zhao Xu used Cleave and spent a Potential Point to kill eight men in one round, including one by decapitation.
• The guards panicked and fled as Zhao Xu pursued them with Misty Step, killing all seventy who had been alive when he entered the battlefield.
• Zhao Xu stood facing the players with blood dripping from his scythe, and the nearest players stepped back from his shadow.

Zhao Xu revealed himself to the ambushed players as the Level 4 Wizard Starry Reflection, demonstrating his power and encouraging them to believe Wizards could surpass expectations. He then prepared for a nighttime infiltration to recover Falling Star Lake records, relying on spells that could guarantee a perfect attack.

• Zhao Xu confirmed to the players that he was a player and the Level 4 Wizard Starry Reflection, stunning them with his strength and teleportation.
• Zhao Xu told the players they could become as strong as him, then disappeared and left them discussing his power.
• Zhao Xu waited beside a campfire and planned to use his public image and clues about Falling Star Lake as contingencies related to the God of Death.
• Zhao Xu reviewed how Select Fate and Song of Sorrow had raised his critical-hit chances during the battle.
• Zhao Xu prepared Wave of Fortune for the nighttime infiltration, intending to guarantee a perfect attack against someone he needed to watch out for.