Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xu and Antinoa questioned the White Dragon Cerus about how it had gained extra Sorcerer levels, uncovering its visit to an abandoned temple of Tiamat. Cerus revealed that the temple’s statue depicted Tiamat as a single-headed Black Dragon, leaving Zhao Xu deeply shaken.

• Antinoa demanded that Cerus swear to kill Tiamat, but Cerus begged her to change the oath rather than risk provoking the Dragon Queen.
• Zhao Xu and Antinoa realized Cerus had gained two Sorcerer levels through difficult multiclassing, suggesting it had encountered an unusual opportunity.
• Antinoa pressed Cerus about a temple of Tiamat in the Icefield Mountains, threatening to turn it into a specimen if it lied.
• Cerus admitted it had entered an abandoned temple and gained a Sorcerer level and increased intelligence after encountering Tiamat’s statue.
• Cerus said the statue portrayed Tiamat as a single-headed, purebred Black Dragon, shocking Zhao Xu.

After Selrus revealed that a black dragon had been connected to Tiamat, Zhao Xu suspected the dragon that killed him in his Previous Life had been Tiamat’s incarnation and renewed his resolve to make her pay. The group headed toward Olu, where Zhao Xu revealed that he was the incoming president of the Starfall Town Mage Association branch.

• Zhao Xu suspected that the black dragon from his Previous Life had been an incarnation of Tiamat, and he clenched his fist as his anger returned.
• Antinoa made Selrus Vivian’s mount and ordered it to help with construction in Starfall Town and lead an expedition to Tiamat’s temple.
• Antinoa cursed Selrus with Dragon Death Enslavement, allowing her to kill it by speaking an activation command in Draconic.
• The group met Freyll, who offered to use his connections in Olu to help them reach the Northern Alliance Mage Association branch.
• Zhao Xu told Freyll that he was Midsummer and would become president of the Starfall Town Mage Association branch, leaving Freyll and the guards speechless.

Zhao Xu met Freyll, who recognized him as Midsummer, the Wizard tied to the Palace of Aizhu and its divine artifact. The conversation turned to Commander Tang De’s murdered nephew, and Zhao Xu realized that he and Vivian had killed the man Freyll wanted help identifying.

• Freyll recognized Zhao Xu as Midsummer and invited him and his four companions into his carriage.
• Fre yll warned the guards not to speculate about the Palace of Aizhu while the Alliance, Mage Association, and churches investigated.
• Zhao Xu discussed the Dusk Forest incident with Freyll and hinted that he understood why the Alliance had withdrawn its guards.
• Fre yll asked whether Zhao Xu possessed Divine Breath and offered a reward for help finding the killer of Tang De’s nephew.
• Zhao Xu remembered that he and Vivian had killed Tang De’s nephew and his companions outside the Mutant Scorpion nest.

Freyll traveled with Zhao Xu, Antinoa, Vivian, and Cerus while weighing the Northern Alliance’s political struggle and trying to learn about Zhao Xu. Their carriage was stopped by an Ancient Great Dragon searching for Cerus, and Cerus offered all its treasure if Zhao Xu drove the dragon away.

• Freyll considered the contest over Tang De’s eventual successor and tried to persuade Zhao Xu to use a divine artifact, but Zhao Xu said it had ascended with the Palace of Aizhu.
• Antinoa, Vivian, and Cerus introduced themselves to Freyll, who mistook Antinoa for Zhao Xu’s lover and was overwhelmed by her beauty.
• The carriage stopped when guards spotted a group of white dragons, including an especially huge one.
• An Ancient Great Dragon called Cerus outside and demanded that it come out, while Cerus hid and admitted it could not face the dragon.
• Zhao Xu demanded Cerus’s treasure in exchange for dealing with the Ancient Great Dragon, and Cerus finally offered all of it.

Zhao Xu and his companions faced a group of white dragons that had come for Cerus, while Antinoa and Vivian prepared protections against their attacks. The Ancient White Dragon sensed a Dragon Pearl’s aura among them and turned its fury toward Zhao Xu’s group.

• Cerus warned Zhao Xu and his companions that the white dragons would attack them, but Antinoa claimed her spells could protect the group from dragonkind.
• As the white dragons unleashed Fearsome Presence, Vivian used Aura of Courage and Zhao Xu cast Lionheart to resist the fear.
• Zhao Xu led the group out of the carriage and found the guards incapacitated by the dragons’ fear aura.
• Zhao Xu and his companions saw more than ten white dragons gathered across the snowfield, and he teased Cerus about provoking them.
• The Ancient White Dragon recognized the aura of a Dragon Pearl among Zhao Xu and his companions and roared at them.

Antinoa confronted an Ancient White Dragon and its kin after they demanded an explanation, and her many Dragon Pearl auras convinced them she was an overwhelming threat. The Ancient White Dragon tried to flee and then begged Antinoa to spare the Icefield Mountains’ White Dragons under the Ancient Covenant.

• The Ancient White Dragon sensed Dragon Pearl auras on Antinoa linked to every known dragon kind, including legendary dragons, and questioned who she was.
• Antinoa implied the dragon had recognized her, prompting the Ancient White Dragon to order the other White Dragons to run.
• Antinoa warned that every White Dragon in the Icefield Mountains could die, stopping the dragons from fleeing.
• The Ancient White Dragon recognized Antinoa and softened its tone, explaining that its lineage had not knowingly offended the Mage Association.
• Antinoa invoked the Ancient Covenant, which forbade dragons from flying over citizens of the Magic Empire, and the Ancient White Dragon asked how it could persuade her to spare them.

Antinoa used the Ancient Covenant and the Legendary Spell Dragon Assault to bind more than ten White Dragons to a one-time reinforcement Zhao Xu could summon with a gemstone. She warned him that the journey ahead might be dangerous enough to cost him several Resurrection Stones.

• Antinoa asked Zhao Xu whether he wanted the White Dragons destroyed or assigned a mission, and Zhao Xu chose a single reinforcement but questioned how he could ensure their obedience.
• The Ancient White Dragon refused to obey a weak Wizard, while Cerus explained that Zhao Xu had earned its submission by proving his strength with a powerful Fireball.
• Antinoa revealed that she had drafted half of the Ancient Covenant and cast part of Dragon Assault, binding the White Dragons to a delayed summons without violating its rules.
• Antinoa gave Zhao Xu a gemstone that would complete the spell and summon the White Dragons to attack when he crushed it.
• Antinoa explained that Dragon Assault could summon more than ten dragons, then told Zhao Xu to prepare to spend several Resurrection Stones on the dangerous journey ahead.

Zhao Xu reached Auru City with Freyll’s party after his display against the white dragons made the guards and players fear and admire him. He restrained the white dragon Cerus for its insolence and threatened to permanently transform it, but the carriage stopped before he could continue.

• The players discussed their terror during the white dragons’ attack and praised Zhao Xu for driving the dragons away.
• Antinoa left the party after giving Zhao Xu a gem containing the remaining power of her Legendary Spell, Dragon Assault.
• Freyll promised Zhao Xu protection in Auru City, while Cerus mocked him and offered to take him to the city’s red-light district.
• Zhao Xu used Lesser Chill Touch to reduce Cerus’s Dexterity to zero and warned the helpless dragon to behave.
• Zhao Xu threatened Cerus with a Malicious Shapechange scroll that could turn it into a toad permanently, but the carriage stopped.

Zhao Xu entered Auru City with Freyll and witnessed tensions between Ducaro’s retainer Si Ye and Freyll, then crossed paths with Tang De’s daughter Frey. The chapter ended with an unseen speaker threatening to expose Zhao Xu’s actions at Falling Star Lake unless he came that night.

• Si Ye blocked Freyll’s convoy and taunted him, but moved aside after Freyll drew his sword and ordered his guards to draw theirs.
• Zhao Xu reflected that he had chosen Freyll as his way into Auru City and hoped to find a notebook connected to Tang De and Graz’zt.
• Frey rode up, questioned whether Zhao Xu was the key to winning the coming Dragon Seizing War, and continued toward the residence without being introduced to him.
• An unseen voice called Zhao Xu a liar and ordered him to come that night or it would reveal what he had done at Falling Star Lake.

Zhao Xu arrived in Auru City under the protection of Freyll, while Frey recognized his earlier disguise and secretly summoned him to Blazing Red Lips. She warned him that he was in danger and proposed a deal, leaving Zhao Xu uncertain whether his hidden defenses would be enough.

• Freyll failed to arrange a meeting with Commander Tang De but promised to take Zhao Xu to the Mage Association and an alliance banquet the next day.
• Zhao Xu told Vivian to keep Cerus confined while he went out alone to visit someone privately.
• A maid secretly gave Zhao Xu a note naming Blazing Red Lips and using the code phrase Cleric Feng.
• Frey met Zhao Xu in the shadows and explained that her Rogue skills had exposed his disguise and that she had learned he was the Midsummer Mage through Freyll's guards.
• Frey warned Zhao Xu that his situation was dangerous and offered him a deal.

Frey warned Zhao Xu that revealing himself as a reserve Mage Association president had left him vulnerable to assassination, then offered him protection in exchange for killing Kuroze. Zhao Xu questioned her motives and asked her to explain why she wanted revenge so badly.

• Frey explained that Auru City’s factions could learn Zhao Xu’s identity and that he would be especially vulnerable to assassins before officially taking office.
• Frey revealed that she had grown up scheming and fighting within a thieves’ organization, despite Zhao Xu’s mistaken assumptions about her.
• Frey offered to use her influence and residence to protect Zhao Xu if he helped her kill someone.
• Frey named Kuroze, the powerful crime boss who ruled Auru City’s underworld, as her target.
• Zhao Xu argued that killing Kuroze would make the underworld hunt him and asked Frey to tell him why she wanted revenge.

Frey told Zhao Xu how Blazing Red Lips had exploited her and her mother, and explained that she sought revenge against the entire trafficking network. After learning Kuroze was inside the estate, Zhao Xu went to attack Blazing Red Lips despite Frey’s warning.

• Frey revealed that the whole district belonged to the Alliance’s underground network and asked Zhao Xu to kill Kuroze.
• Frey recounted how her mother sacrificed herself to help her escape Blazing Red Lips, then died in a fire.
• Frey explained that she had returned to Tang De’s side to gain power and planned to take revenge on everyone involved in trafficking her mother.
• Frey warned Zhao Xu that attacking Kuroze could expose his abilities and draw the city’s dark powers against him.
• Zhao Xu confirmed that Kuroze was inside, reassured Frey, and hurled two golem statues into the sky as he began his assault on Blazing Red Lips.

After word spread that Midsummer was preparing to establish the Mage Association in Starfall Town, players doubted he could make a serious impact in Auru City. Zhao Xu then summoned two Gargantuan golems outside Blazing Red Lips and ordered them to destroy everything before them, accepting that his actions would push him toward Chaotic alignment.

• A guard’s forum post revealed that Midsummer was the Mage Association president in Starfall Town and described his group’s encounter with Winter Wolves and a white dragon, prompting debate over his power and plans.
• Zhao Xu’s classmates discussed Midsummer’s arrival in Auru City, where Zhang Qi defended him and Li Tiange doubted he could cause any real trouble.
• Zhao Xu transformed two golem statues into Gargantuan golems, whose landing shook the street and drew the attention of Blazing Red Lips’ guards, nearby residents, and the patrol.
• Zhao Xu dismissed Frey’s question about a divine artifact, raised his scepter, and received a warning that his actions would shift him toward Chaotic alignment.
• Zhao Xu ordered the two golems to destroy everything in front of them.

Zhao Xu led two golems through Blazing Red Lips, killing its guards and guests as he searched for Kuroze. The chapter ended with him breathing fire on the City Guard and the establishment’s guards, while his alignment shifted to Chaotic Good and his Godhead of Death fragment began unlocking.

• The Adamantine Golem trampled a tower-shield guard as the two golems smashed into Blazing Red Lips.
• Zhao Xu used an empowered Dragon’s Breath to kill a group of courtyard guards, then used Minor Spell Immunity to block Wizards’ Fireballs while the golems killed them.
• Zhao Xu killed several guests who challenged him and continued through the burning establishment, asking where Kuroze was.
• The Mithril Golem killed the alliance’s financial officer after Zhao Xu found him hiding with an attendant and turned away from his plea for mercy.
• When City Guard and Blazing Red Lips guards blocked his path and refused to tell him where Kuroze was, Zhao Xu killed them with Fire Breath; his alignment became Chaotic Good and his Godhead of Death fragment began unlocking.

At the end of her cleric training, Zheng Xinyun received a mysterious divine blessing in Sacred Heart Cathedral. Artoria appeared through a Gate of Another World and declared Zheng Xinyun an official cleric.

• The elderly instructor told the apprentice clerics that they had completed their training, while Tina and Ji Tongxue discussed their Alignment Faith and Zheng Xinyun planned to leave the church for her friend Qiqi's guild.
• Zheng Xinyun said a mysterious person had inspired her to enter the game, prompting Tina to speculate that he was Cleric Midsummer, also known as Midsummer Mage.
• A white glow surrounded Zheng Xinyun as a heavenly prayer sounded, and the elderly cleric recognized the blessing as powerful but doubted it came from the Goddess.
• A Gate of Another World opened above the prayer room, and Artoria appeared as a seraphic divine attendant.
• Artoria tapped Zheng Xinyun on the forehead and declared her an official cleric.

Zhao Xu fulfilled the third line of the first chief god prophecy and learned that following its path would bring him power. After the Blazing Red Lips massacre, he used Scrying and Locate Creature to find Kuroze, then prepared to take Frey to him with Misty Step.

• Zhao Xu realized the prophecy described his journey through time, his use of Lux, and his shift to Chaotic Good.
• Lux advised Zhao Xu to keep spreading magic, and said establishing the Mage Association would advance him to level 8.
• Frey warned Zhao Xu that high-ring Wizards were on their way, but Zhao Xu insisted on finding Kuroze that night.
• Frey gave Zhao Xu a strand of Kuroze's hair, and Zhao Xu used Scrying to see him hiding in a stone-walled room.
• Zhao Xu used Locate Creature to find an underground passage beneath a burning pavilion, then took Frey's hand and cast Misty Step.

Zhao Xu and Frey teleported into Kuroze’s underground hiding place, where Frey confronted him over his past crimes. Kuroze’s magical defenses stopped her dagger, and he tried to bargain for his life with a hidden fortune.

• Mage Dima questioned the guards and players after Zhao Xu and Frey escaped, then explained that Wizards could not cast any spell at will.
• Zhao Xu and Frey appeared in Kuroze’s secret chamber, where Frey confronted him and Zhao Xu silenced him with his Ring of Silence.
• Frey stabbed Kuroze, but Zhao Xu used Chill Touch to stop him from attacking her.
• Frey’s dagger failed to pierce Kuroze’s magical defenses, so Zhao Xu stopped her and prepared to handle them as a Wizard.
• Kuroze tried to bargain for his life by offering the fortune he had buried.

Zhao Xu helped Frey confront Kuroze, the underground syndicate leader responsible for trafficking and abusing countless people, and repeatedly healed him so she could name and avenge his victims. After Frey finally chose to end the punishment, Zhao Xu cast Soul Bind on Kuroze.

• Kuroze offered to reveal the syndicate’s vast hidden fortune in exchange for his life, but Zhao Xu refused to spare him.
• Zhao Xu dispelled Kuroze’s protective spells and let Frey stab him while she named the people he had victimized.
• When Kuroze lost consciousness, Zhao Xu healed him so Frey could continue her vengeance.
• After nearly a hundred stabs, Frey said she had released the burden of the dead and asked to kill Kuroze with one stroke.
• Zhao Xu pressed his Necromancy Staff to Kuroze’s forehead and cast Soul Bind.

After the Blazing Red Lips was destroyed, Forn and the search party looked for missing underworld leader Kuroze and discovered him turned into a zombie in a sealed chamber. A blood-written message on the ceiling warned Graz'zt that the Abyss was watching him.

• Forn ordered investigators and Wizards to search for secret passages while Mage Dima questioned the Security Department's response.
• The search party found three secret passages and focused on a sealed chamber after ruling out an unused passage leading to a nearby residence.
• Forn, Dima, Tollby, and others entered the chamber and found Kuroze chained to a wall as a zombie.
• Forn examined the blood on the floor and ordered his subordinates to remove Kuroze's clothes.
• A drop of blood fell from the ceiling, where Dima deciphered an Infernal Tongue message: “The Abyss is watching you, Graz'zt.”

Mage Nash determined that Kuroze had died under a ninth-ring Soul Bind, while Zhao Xu returned to Freyll's residence with a mysterious treasure location and warned Cerus that armed troops might be guarding it. Freyll then urgently called for Zhao Xu from outside his room.

• Mage Dima summoned his mentor, Mage Nash, to examine the blood-written name of Graz'zt in the chamber.
• Mage Nash inspected Kuroze's wounds and concluded that a ninth-ring Soul Bind had intercepted and permanently imprisoned his soul.
• Zhao Xu returned to Freyll's residence and told Cerus and Vivian that he had found a mysterious treasure location they needed to reach quickly.
• Zhao Xu warned Cerus that heavily armed troops would probably ambush them at the treasure site, and Cerus wondered if Zhao Xu was the Goddess of Magic's illegitimate son.
• Freyll knocked urgently at Zhao Xu's door and announced that something terrible had happened.