Chapter Summaries

After a Bard was found dead without any visible injuries, Zhao Xu and the others learned that they could no longer safely log out and suspected the legendary Corpse Demon had returned. Zhao Xu proposed that the killer might have used a death effect, leaving the group facing an unseen threat in the Wasteland Ruins.

• A Bard was found dead by the bonfire, and Vivian confirmed that he had been dead for over an hour despite everyone having sat nearby.
• Players discovered that the Safe Logout option had vanished, while Ten Steps One Sword and Bloodbath argued over who should lead the investigation.
• An autopsy found no wounds or signs of poison, and adventurers identified the suspected killer as the Corpse Demon, a murderer who had vanished from the Wasteland Ruins ten years earlier.
• Zhao Xu learned the Corpse Demon's victims had died without injuries or signs of struggle, while Vivian explained that her succubus nature made her vulnerable to all four alignment word spells and bane weapons.
• Zhao Xu suggested that a death effect could explain the Bard's silent, woundless death.

Zhao Xu used Speak with Dead to investigate the Bard’s sudden death while explaining how Bards could advance their careers. The corpse could not identify the killer, but it recalled seeing the same mysterious pattern found in the graveyard and notebook.

• Zhao Xu entered the tent with Vivian and examined the dead Bard as other adventurers followed.
• Zhao Xu taught the player Bard that Bards advanced by dealing with people and following their convictions, citing Didalaner as his source.
• Zhao Xu cast Speak with Dead, and the corpse told him it had become sleepy before suddenly losing consciousness.
• The dead Bard recalled seeing a pattern of lightning striking the earth and water curling around blazing flames.

Zhao Xu connected the deaths in the Wasteland Ruins to joy and dreams, then used Distilled Joy on Vivian to create bait for the suspected Corpse Demon. As he set the bottle down, a hand reached out of the void.

• Zhao Xu wondered how the Bard’s death was connected to the mysterious notebooks and asked the corpse what he had dreamed about.
• The Bard’s corpse said he had dreamed of returning home to propose to the person he loved.
• A middle-aged man died after falling asleep, leading the adventurers to fear that sleep itself was deadly.
• Zhao Xu concluded that joy or dreams might make people targets and asked Vivian whether she felt joyful.
• Zhao Xu cast Distilled Joy on Vivian, collected her happiness in a bottle, and set it out as bait.
• A hand reached out from the void as Zhao Xu stood by the bottle.

Vivian drove off a mysterious dream-invading creature in the Wasteland Ruins, and Zhao Xu continued toward the Northern Alliance while postponing his investigation of a mysterious tomb. Back at home, Nan Xiao Wei persuaded Zhao Xu to attend her Arthur-playing classmates’ gathering, where he planned to show off his expertise.

• Vivian used Evil-Breaking Slash to sever the creature’s hand, and Zhao Xu and Vivian identified signs that it was an evil being resembling a demon or devil.
• Zhao Xu gave Vivian the vial of celestial delicacies, and the group resumed traveling after the creature disappeared.
• After two more days, Zhao Xu and Vivian left the Wasteland Ruins, while a figure with a massive instrument of torture and a regrowing hand remained in the fog.
• At home, Nan Xiao Wei asked Zhao Xu to attend a KTV gathering with her classmates, who played Arthur, and help her impress them.
• Nan Xiao Wei sent Zhao Xu Arthur guide links to study, but Zhao Xu deleted them because he already knew the information.

Zhao Xu revisited his hometown and noticed Arthur’s growing presence on Earth before mistaking a cosplayer for Antinoa. After he left, Antinoa and May discussed the approaching catastrophe, revealing that the Earth Human Rebirth plan had been moved forward and only about four months remained.

• Zhao Xu rode through his hometown, reflected on his old schools, and saw Vivian featured on an Arthur poster.
• Brother Guang offered Zhao Xu an Arthur collector’s edition and explained his own character’s Talent Point start.
• Zhao Xu spotted a woman in mage robes, chased her downstairs, and realized she was only a cosplayer.
• After Zhao Xu left, Antinoa and May appeared at the anime center, and May revealed they had used Suggestion to obtain an Arthur headset and game disc.
• Antinoa explained that the transmission channel’s resonance had shortened the timeline for the Earth Human Rebirth plan to about four months.

Zhao Xu joined Nan Xiao Wei and her friends at a KTV, where they questioned his claimed status as a high-level Wizard. He used his real connections to Mystra and the Floating City to answer their challenges, leaving the group stunned when he said he knew Wang Ningwei.

• Zhao Xu arrived at the KTV and sat beside Nan Xiao Wei while her friends sang and watched footage of the Falling Star Lake Battle.
• A girl asked Zhao Xu about his level and class, and he claimed to be a level-three Wizard.
• When Xiao La challenged his claim with questions about a spell-components shop, Nan Xiao Wei tried to warn him, but Zhao Xu answered vaguely and said he stayed in the Floating City.
• Xiao La asked whether Zhao Xu knew the famous Wang Ningwei, and Zhao Xu said he had chatted with her privately the day before before deciding not to show the message on his phone.

Zhao Xu used his friendship with Wang Ningwei to deflate Xiao La’s challenge before Antinoa and a mysterious hooded woman summoned him to a VIP room. Antinoa gave him a life-saving pin and warned him that he had four months left, while the mysterious woman whispered an incantation she could reveal only on Earth.

• Zhao Xu showed Xiao La that he and Wang Ningwei were close friends, undermining Xiao La’s faith in her idol and revealing her resentment toward Dongcheng Ling.
• A waiter led Zhao Xu to an emptied VIP floor, where he found Antinoa and a mysterious hooded woman waiting.
• Antinoa explained that they were projections at Legendary Spell level and hinted that others had realized Arthur was real.
• Antinoa handed Zhao Xu a pin that could save his life and said Earth was becoming more dangerous.
• Antinoa told Zhao Xu he had four months left, and the mysterious woman whispered an incantation she could only tell him on Earth.

After learning that humanity’s crossing into Arthur had been moved forward by four months, Zhao Xu resolved to reach Level 10 and rely on high-end individual combat power to protect people despite their reduced strength. As he and Vivian camped in the valley, she explained Lady May’s plans for her combat training before an earthquake interrupted them.

• After returning to the game, Zhao Xu reflected on the shortened timeline and how players would have less time to grow and use their Resurrection Stones.
• Zhao Xu asked Vivian what she thought would happen when players arrived in Arthur, and her answer led him to conclude that powerful individuals could deter the world’s rulers even if ordinary players were weak.
• Zhao Xu raised his goal from Level 9 to Level 10 so he could learn Raise Dead, while Vivian set up a tent for the night.
• While Zhao Xu studied and copied spells, Vivian told him that Lady May had taught her to open battles with Evil-Breaking Slash and planned to develop her turning abilities, God-Bestowed Power, and possibly the Bone Knight advancement.
• The ground shook violently and a thunderous rumble sounded as Zhao Xu was about to ask Vivian more about the Bone Knight.

Zhao Xu and Vivian discovered two enormous mutant insects fighting near fleeing civilians, and Vivian teleported in to rescue the injured. Vivian began confronting the monsters while Zhao Xu watched from the slope.

• After sensing a heavy impact, Zhao Xu cast Insightful Combat Method to detect and counter nearby spells.
• Zhao Xu and Vivian left their tent and saw a Super Giant Variant Scorpion and a Super Giant Variant Spider battling beside the fleeing crowd.
• Vivian asked Zhao Xu for permission to help the injured civilians, and he told her to go.
• Vivian used Greater Teleportation to appear between the two monsters, drawing cheers from nearby civilians.

Zhao Xu saved a child from the Mutant Spider, but a Super Giant Variant Scorpion ambushed him and the two giant insects coordinated their attacks. After escaping upward with enhanced flight, Zhao Xu faced the scorpion appearing directly above him, poised to seize him and crush him in a fall.

• The Mutant Spider trapped the civilians in a giant web and lunged at a child, but Zhao Xu blocked its bite with Aegis of the Wing.
• Vivian struggled free and recognized Zhao Xu's spell as Aegis of the Wing.
• A Super Giant Variant Scorpion appeared beside Zhao Xu and struck him, sending him flying until his Starfall Cloak negated the nonmagical attack.
• Vivian confronted the two giant insects as they coordinated their attacks on Zhao Xu.
• Zhao Xu used Divine Step and Swift Fly to rise beyond the insects' reach, but the Mutant Spider leapt after him and the scorpion vanished.
• The Variant Scorpion reappeared above Zhao Xu and lunged to seize him, threatening to crush him in a fall.

Zhao Xu defeated the Mutant Scorpion and Mutant Spider, then accepted a locked chest from the fleeing group as payment for saving them. Inside, he discovered a wooden staff he recognized from the lost Itel Dynasty’s treasure vault.

• Zhao Xu used Chill Touch to drain the Super Giant Variant Scorpion’s Dexterity, escaped its grasp, and cast Feather Fall to slow its descent before it could crush civilians.
• Zhao Xu empowered Chill Touch to incapacitate the Mutant Spider, and nearby adventurers attacked both helpless creatures until they were killed.
• The fleeing group regrouped, and an elder offered Zhao Xu a brass chest the two mutant insects had fought over as payment for rescuing them.
• Zhao Xu detected magic on the chest, dispelled its Arcane Lock with Knock, and deciphered its combination lock.
• Zhao Xu cautiously opened the chest and found a wooden staff that he recognized from the lost Itel Dynasty’s treasure vault.

Zhao Xu learned that the Rune Staff of Power had been created by Ernest and decided to investigate the Mutant Scorpion nest where it had been found. He prepared to search for the nest and build himself into a formidable melee combatant despite his limited spell slots.

• Zhao Xu explained the Rune Staff of Power’s spells and combat abilities to Vivian after returning to his tent with the Brass Treasure Chest.
• Vivian revealed that Ernest had made the club-shaped versions of the staff, prompting Zhao Xu to decide that they should explore the Mutant Scorpion nest.
• Zhao Xu proposed using Locate Object to track the other treasure chests and search for the adventurers’ route to the nest.
• Vivian warned Zhao Xu that the nest might contain many Mutant Scorpions, and he replied that Wizards could fight sustained battles.
• Zhao Xu cast Energy Protection and prepared to combine his spells and melee abilities to overcome the Mutant Scorpions’ defenses.

Zhao Xu stacked Knowledge and combat spells to make his attacks nearly certain to hit Mutant Scorpions and greatly increase his damage. After Vivian found the Mutant Scorpion Lair, Zhao Xu enhanced his Rune Staff of Power and entered the cave with her.

• Zhao Xu raised his Knowledge (Nature) skill with two spells and used Knowledge Piety to gain attack and damage bonuses against Mutant Scorpions.
• Vivian warned that Zhao Xu's wooden club dealt little damage, and Zhao Xu calculated how much damage his attacks could inflict.
• Zhao Xu and Vivian located the Mutant Scorpion Lair through the treasure chest's location and Vivian's Search skill, then found a cave entrance and confirmed the nest with scorpion droppings.
• Zhao Xu cast Greater Mighty Blow and Rhino's Charge, then used Self-Enhancement Weapon to add the Intrepid enchantment to his Rune Staff of Power.
• Zhao Xu entered the cave with Vivian after increasing his potential charging damage enough to kill a Giant Mutant Scorpion with two swings.

Zhao Xu and Vivian explored a mutant scorpion nest, where they found the remains of its prey and fought a small scorpion. Zhao Xu sensed Life Energy from the kill and then faced a mass of scorpions blocking the tunnel.

• Zhao Xu and Vivian flew through the nest’s rough passages, realizing they had taken a different route from the adventurers who stole the treasure chest.
• Vivian spotted a pit filled with the remains of humans and beasts, and Zhao Xu explained that the scorpions had left behind bones they could not swallow.
• A small mutant scorpion tried to burrow into the earth, but Zhao Xu cut it in half with the blade aura from his Blade Cloud spell.
• Zhao Xu sensed a flicker of Life Energy drifting from the dead scorpion and explained his thoughts about experience and leveling up to Vivian.
• Zhao Xu and Vivian encountered more than a hundred mutant scorpions filling the tunnel, and Zhao Xu watched them without alarm.

Zhao Xu used Burning Hands to kill nearly a hundred Small Mutant Scorpions, then discovered two players hiding nearby. After forcing them to surrender, he recognized them as the adventurers who had stolen a treasure chest and revealed that he had their +2 Intrepid Staff of Power.

• Zhao Xu flew toward the Small Mutant Scorpions and killed nearly a hundred of them with Burning Hands.
• A hidden Fighter and Ranger discussed Zhao Xu’s power and speculated about his level while watching from a mound of dirt.
• Zhao Xu considered farming the scorpions for Life Energy but decided not to risk greed, and Vivian pointed out that the scorpions had been pursuing the hidden players.
• Zhao Xu threatened the mound, prompting the Fighter and Ranger to crawl out and surrender.
• Zhao Xu recognized the two players as the ones who had stolen a treasure chest and showed that he had taken their +2 Intrepid Staff of Power.

Zhao Xu led Vivian, Warrior Beiguo, and Ranger Swordfish back to the Mutant Scorpion nest, hoping to claim more Brass Treasure Chests. He found the scorpions fleeing with the chests, killed them with a Fireball and his staff, and secured another chest.

• Zhao Xu learned that Warrior Beiguo and Ranger Swordfish could not return to their refugee party, and Beiguo offered to guide him to the remaining chests for several dozen gold coins.
• Warrior Beiguo described the nest’s layout and monsters as the group approached, but Zhao Xu found the path clear and heard a commotion inside.
• Zhao Xu saw Mutant Scorpions fleeing through a hole with the Brass Treasure Chests and fired a Fireball into their escape route.
• Vivian attacked the surviving scorpions while Zhao Xu struck down an oversized Mutant Scorpion carrying a chest with his Ink-black Staff.
• Warrior Beiguo and Ranger Swordfish watched Zhao Xu’s melee attack in disbelief, and Beiguo decided he would make a Wizard character again.
• Zhao Xu picked up the fallen Brass Treasure Chest and placed it in his backpack.

Zhao Xu and Vivian fought through the Mutant Scorpion swarm to recover the Brass Treasure Chests, but emerged from the passage exhausted and surrounded by the force controlling the nest. The two young leaders demanded the chests and ordered their cavalry to kill them.

• Vivian paid Warrior Beiguo and Ranger Swordfish for guiding them, and the two players decided to withdraw rather than follow Zhao Xu and Vivian.
• Zhao Xu used his heavy-damage charges to slaughter Mutant Scorpions at the cave entrance while Vivian joined him, and they entered the tunnel to pursue the Brass Treasure Chests.
• Zhao Xu and Vivian fought their way through the scorpion-filled passage, where Zhao Xu intercepted the second chest, but the swarm repeatedly blocked their route and left them exhausted.
• Zhao Xu cast Lightning Bolt to clear long stretches of the passage, then he and Vivian flew out of the cave.
• Zhao Xu and Vivian found a cavalry force and enormous Mutant Scorpions surrounding them, and Zhao Xu realized that the two young leaders controlled the nest.
• One young leader demanded the Brass Treasure Chests back, while the other ordered the cavalry to kill Zhao Xu and Vivian and take the chests from their corpses.

Zhao Xu and Vivian uncovered evidence of an Evil ritual in the scorpion nest, then fought the cavalry who tried to silence them. By dawn, the patrol force and two young leaders lay dead, and Town Domain City tightened inspections as rumors spread about the outsider who had killed the alliance leader’s nephew.

• Zhao Xu and Vivian flew above the cavalry’s attack, and Vivian told Zhao Xu that the nest appeared to have been used for an Evil ritual.
• Zhao Xu confronted the two young men about the corpses in the nest, and they unleashed the Mutant Scorpions on him.
• Zhao Xu fought the cavalry and the two young leaders through the night, leaving them and the patrol force dead.
• A butler and a scarred commander arrived at dawn, found the dead cavalry and the two young men hanging from a tree, and the butler mourned the Second Young Master.
• Refugees crowded into Town Domain City, where guards inspected arrivals closely after a notice reported the killing of Tang De’s nephew.
• A patrol soldier asked Zhao Xu and Vivian for identification as they reached the city gate.

Zhao Xu and Vivian entered Town Domain City by posing as mages, then headed for its Black Market to replenish their magical equipment. Zhao Xu remained wary of the secrets behind the previous night’s battle and hoped to find items that could strengthen both of them.

• Zhao Xu presented his Mage Association posting letter and Mage Emblem, and the guards let him and Vivian into the city.
• Zhao Xu explained that the regular troops they had fought the previous night had attacked despite recognizing their power, suggesting the corpses and treasure chests at the nest concealed a major secret.
• Zhao Xu reviewed the magic items he had obtained, including a Monk Belt that improved his defenses, while Vivian declined the available equipment because of her restrictions.
• Zhao Xu decided to take Vivian to the Black Market to seek useful magic items, especially equipment for her and a Ring of the Wizard for himself.
• Zhao Xu told Vivian to communicate telepathically inside the Black Market and reflected on his limited funds and the people for whom he still wanted to buy items.

Zhao Xu and Vivian sought entry to Town Domain City’s Black Market by visiting a shabby magic-material shop and following its buyer screening ritual. Zhao Xu identified an unusual arcane tome and offered seventy gold coins for it, leaving the deal unresolved.

• Zhao Xu explained to Vivian that the Black Market traded in goods with unclear origins, including treasures dug from tombs and ruins.
• Zhao Xu used a code phrase to prove his buying power to the old shopkeeper, who required him to choose an item before taking them to the Black Market.
• Zhao Xu inspected the shop’s goods carefully and chose an old arcane tome, making the shopkeeper place it in a box before he handled it.
• Zhao Xu examined the tome with his Spellcraft skill, noticed something unusual, and offered seventy gold coins for it.
• Vivian asked what kind of book the tome was, but its writing remained mysterious to her.