Recaps

Tang Qi questioned Black Panther about Little Payton and learned that the Red Scarf Gang may have acted under a spell, while someone else had secretly supplied Tang Qi with stolen magic items. Using his Journal to verify his suspicions, he connected the events to Yiwu, the Dragon Egg, the Golden Country, and the Duchess, leaving him close to uncovering the truth.

• In a flashback, Little Payton told Black Panther and Nolan that he planned to get rich, quit the gang, and buy a flower shop for the woman he loved.
• Tang Qi questioned Black Panther, who recognized Little Payton's portrait but said Little Payton had been devoted to a courtesan named Ruth and had not known he was dead.
• Hope proposed that a spellcaster had used Suggestion Spell to make Little Payton provoke Tang Qi, possibly as part of an attempt to target him.
• Tang Qi wrote his theory in his Journal and confirmed that the Red Scarf Gang had been influenced by a spell and that someone had arranged for stolen magic items to reach him.
• Tang Qi connected the conflicting factions and their motives to Yiwu, then linked the Dragon Egg and Golden Country to the mechanical eye associated with the Duchess.

Tang Qi used a disguised Fair Contract to make Black Panther lead him and Hope into the Red Scarf Gang’s hidden base, hoping to investigate the [Duchess]’s connection to the magic items. Once inside, he discovered the gang was operating a vast underground fortress and supplying dangerous yaks to the dungeon’s Fourth Floor.

• Black Panther offered to guide Tang Qi to the gang’s records, and Hope produced a Fair Contract that Tang Qi and the others signed after Kuru disguised its true terms with [Illusionary Manuscript].
• Tang Qi freed Black Panther, and the group disguised themselves in the robbers’ flying squirrel suits before following him through the trapped tunnels to the gang’s entrance.
• Black Panther gave the password “Balance is eternal” and used Nolan’s short blade to get the group past the guards; Tang Qi avoided suspicion when the guard found Nolan unusually likable.
• Tang Qi saw that the Red Scarf Gang’s hideout was a reinforced fortress filled with masked members, then watched gang members drive a herd of crazed yaks through its corridors.
• Black Panther explained that the gang was taking the yaks to the Fourth Floor for adventurers to kill, leaving Tang Qi startled by the revelation.

Tang Qi learned that Deepwell’s dungeon was managed as a system by Dragon Gold City and the Red Scarf Gang, which planted treasure and manipulated adventurers to keep the city’s economy thriving. After finding a report linking Hope to the robbery of Xingchen, Tang Qi discovered she had vanished and attacked Black Panther when he tried to lead him into danger, then fled with Dawn as pursuers approached.

• Black Panther explained that the Red Scarf Gang collected stolen goods, replanted treasure, and used obstacles and monsters to control adventurers and keep Deepwell operating.
• Tang Qi concluded that the dungeon and Dragon Gold City formed a carefully managed economic cycle, with the Red Scarf Gang balancing its treasure and monsters.
• At the Archive, Tang Qi found a report stating that Little Payton’s gang had robbed Xingchen and paid Hope to guide them.
• Tang Qi realized Hope had disappeared and decided to return to the surface to investigate Xingchen through Starlight Mage Academy.
• Black Panther gave Tang Qi directions to the dungeon exits, but Tang Qi inferred that the gang was preparing an ambush and stabbed him.
• As pursuers approached, Tang Qi ordered Dawn to activate Swift Aura so they could escape.

Tang Qi, Dawn, Kuru, and Hope fled through the bunker while Red Scarf Gang members pursued them, eventually reaching a drainage channel that seemed to offer an escape route. As they prepared to leave, the Masked Lord appeared with the repaired Construct and sent it charging at them.

• A Red Scarf Gang spellcaster tried to stop Tang Qi’s group with grease, but Dawn carried Tang Qi and Kuru over it as they fled through the bunker.
• Tang Qi and Dawn fought off pursuing wanderers and damaged the Construct, but more gang members converged on them.
• Hope used [Traceless Powder] to hide the group, revealed that she had studied the bunker map, and led them to a locked escape passage.
• Hope blocked the pursuers with a Potent Force Field Bead, and Dawn helped turn the wheels that opened the drainage channel.
• A torrent of water knocked Hope away from the channel, and the Masked Lord appeared with the repaired Construct and ordered it to attack.

Tang Qi and his companions fought the Masked Lord and the Construct Guard while trying to escape through a flooded passage. Tang Qi discovered the Masked Lord was a doppelganger and used his last Poet's Inspiration to destroy three Magic Missiles, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Dawn dodged the Construct Guard's attacks while Tang Qi's insults disrupted it, and the Masked Lord cast Earth and Stone Eruption, injuring Tang Qi as Kuru froze the passage entrance.
• The Masked Lord used Control Water to break the ice and flood the room, forcing Tang Qi's group to abandon their escape plan and try to interrupt his concentration.
• Hope revealed her Magic Blast ability and knocked the Masked Lord back, but he maintained Control Water and trapped her in a crushing whirlpool.
• Tang Qi attacked the Masked Lord with Snake Kiss, but the target changed height and revealed himself as a doppelganger.
• The doppelganger fired three tracking Magic Missiles at Tang Qi, who used Guardian Sword Dance to destroy them and exhausted his last Poet's Inspiration.

Tang Qi and his companions escaped the Doppelganger and its Construct by fleeing through a pipe, with Hope revealing she had deliberately led them toward the fifth floor. As she guides the injured group toward a safe room on the way to the sixth floor, she asks Tang Qi whether he wants to pursue the Dragon Hoard.

• Tang Qi insulted the Doppelganger through several stolen forms until Hope used [Misty Step] and [Infernal Rebuke] to break its concentration and free the group.
• Tang Qi used a [Force Field Bead] to block the Doppelganger and Construct, letting the group escape into a pipe that Hope said led to the fifth floor, not the Third Floor.
• Hope admitted she had planned to take Tang Qi deeper underground, and the group slid through the pipe and landed in a crystal room.
• Tang Qi treated Kuru and Dawn while Hope explained that pursuers could follow them and led the group toward a safe room connecting the fifth and sixth floors.
• Hope told Tang Qi that a greater reward awaited them underground and asked whether he was interested in the Dragon Hoard.

Tang Qi questioned Hope about her motives, and she explained how her failed attempt to steal a Saint's Sword Sheath led her to the [Dragon Hoard]. The pair rested on the Fifth Floor cliff while Hope warned that the [Silver Medal] might reach the treasure first.

• Tang Qi and Hope chose to camp on a cliff near the [Dragon Hoard], while Dawn meditated and Kuru studied spells.
• Tang Qi asked Hope to explain her identity and goals, and she said she wanted the treasure before the Red Scarf Gang and its adventurers claimed it.
• Hope recounted how the [Collector] hired her to steal a [Saint's Sword Sheath] from [St. Andrew's Cathedral], but other adventurers launched the [Cathedral Raid] before she could take it.
• Hope traced the sheath's journey to Dragon Gold City and said she had joined Tang Qi's group because she could not explore the Deep Well Dungeon alone.
• Hope showed Tang Qi her map and explained that the [Silver Medal] might already be nearing the hoard, prompting him to ask why the Red Scarf Gang chose the recently formed group.

Tang Qi and Hope formed a wary alliance to reach the Dragon Hoard, agreeing that Hope could take one item while Tang Qi kept the rest. After resting, Tang Qi woke to Dawn’s warning about a flail snail and recognized it as an unexpected opportunity.

• Hope explained why the Red Scarf Gang was helping Wendy Silver Shield and urged Tang Qi to claim the hoard before another party arrived.
• Tang Qi and Hope signed a Fair Contract banning them from attacking or sabotaging each other and giving Hope first choice of one treasure item.
• Hope showed Tang Qi her Rune Pact pendant, and they discussed their magic and the party’s tactics.
• Tang Qi and Hope decided to rest before descending farther into the dungeon, with Dawn keeping watch.
• Dawn woke Tang Qi after spotting a colorful flail snail crawling through the cave, and Tang Qi recognized it as a windfall.

Tang Qi and his companions reached the Sixth Floor, a blinding crystal maze, and began marking a route through it while the Red Scarf Gang pursued them. Elsewhere, Wendy Silver Shield’s party found a map hidden inside a Crystal Golem.

• Tang Qi traded the gang members Dawn had killed to the spores for the Flail Snail’s anti-magic shell.
• Tang Qi woke Kuru and Hope, and the group descended to the Sixth Floor before their pursuers could catch up.
• Hope explained that the Sixth Floor was a maze she could not map from memory and proposed marking their route and checking each right-hand path.
• Tang Qi lent Hope the Slaver Pen, which had infinite ink, and the group set off to search the maze for the Dragon Hoard.
• Rumi wondered whether someone had been helping their party, but Gravel dismissed his suspicions.
• Wendy Silver Shield spotted parchment inside a Crystal Golem, and Gravel recognized it as a possible map.

Wendy’s party followed a detailed map through the Sixth Floor maze, found signs that another group had advanced ahead of them, and reached the Dragon Hoard’s sealed doors. Xingchen exposed Tang Qi’s ambush, and Wendy realized he had been waiting for her party to open the vault.

• Wendy, Gravel, Rumi, and the sleeping Xingchen followed the map toward the Dragon Hoard while Wendy wondered whether the dungeon’s challenges had been arranged for her.
• Rumi found the Red Scarf Gang’s corpses, and the party followed the other adventurers’ trail deeper into the Sixth Floor maze.
• The group found signs of powerful enemies, including skinned Displacement Beasts and ashes left by a [Disintegration Spell], but Wendy chose to continue.
• Wendy discovered that the stone slab from the beginning of their expedition fit the Dragon Hoard’s doors, while Gravel urged her to open them quickly.
• Xingchen cast [Fireball] at Tang Qi, who was hiding nearby, but a Flail Snail absorbed the spell and released a force-field surge.
• Tang Qi attacked Gravel with Dawn’s help, and Wendy recognized him and concluded that he had erased the trail and waited for her party because he lacked the vault key.

Tang Qi and Wendy fought over the key to the Red Scarf Gang’s hoard, with their companions joining the battle in the maze. As the fight left both sides badly injured, a distant sound of waves made Wendy question what Tang Qi had done.

• Tang Qi explained how he had endured the maze’s monsters and traps while Wendy had only needed to bring the key, then demanded that she surrender it.
• Wendy refused to abandon her promise to share the treasure with her companions, and the two sides agreed to settle the dispute in battle.
• Gravel, Dawn, Xingchen, Rumi, Wendy, Kuru, and Hope fought amid fog, wind, spells, and insults; Wendy knocked Kuru unconscious, while Tang Qi wounded Rumi with Silver Tongue.
• Xingchen’s Fireball was countered and then detonated by Dawn’s Supreme Holy Slash, leaving Dawn severely injured and Tang Qi singed.
• Tang Qi insisted the fight continue, then told Wendy to listen as the sound of waves rose from deeper in the maze.

Tang Qi used the maze’s connection to the Underground Sea to flood the corridors and gain the advantage over Wendy’s group. After Stella Starlight vanished, the groups called a truce and Tang Qi prepared to open the treasure vault with Hope.

• Tang Qi explained that Yiwu had chewed through the crystal wall, connecting the maze to the Underground Sea and raising the water level.
• Wendy and Dawn fought Tang Qi while Xingchen and Hope used spells to hinder him and the others.
• Tang Qi recognized Xingchen as Stella Starlight, who used Suggestion Spell to tell him to keep what he needed, let Yiwu eat the rest of the treasure, and cover for her at the Mage Academy.
• Stella disappeared in white mist, and Gravel broke free of Hope’s darkness spell as the rising water submerged the maze.
• Wendy returned the stone tablet and led her group toward the fifth floor, taking the unconscious Kuru with them.
• Tang Qi helped the badly injured Hope stand and asked if she was ready to open the treasure vault.

Tang Qi, Hope, and Dawn escaped the flooded maze through an underwater passage, and Tang Qi saved Hope when her breathing potion wore off. In a cavern beyond the Underground Sea, they began dividing the treasure, and Hope found the scabbard they had sought.

• Tang Qi led Hope and Dawn away from the Red Scarf Gang by swimming through a breach toward the Underground Sea.
• Hope's Underwater Breathing Potion wore off, and Tang Qi shared the Manta Ray Cloak's oxygen with her until they reached the surface.
• Tang Qi and Hope climbed onto a cavern shore with Dawn's help, then dried off and prepared to split the loot.
• Tang Qi identified several magic items among the treasure, including illusionary armor, a Magic Missile Wand, a Shivering Lyre, and fire-resistant plate armor.
• Tang Qi found a birthday letter addressed to Wendy and set it aside to return to her.
• Hope found the scabbard in one of the chests.

Tang Qi and Hope shared the Dragon Hoard’s treasures, and Yiwu’s magical meal revealed new effects and a possible growth boost. After Yiwu’s Charm Potion mist affected Tang Qi, Hope questioned why he had saved her, leaving their uneasy partnership shaped by her belief that every kindness was a transaction.

• Hope explained Valenne’s reputation as the only god still performing miracles, while she and Tang Qi agreed that she would keep the Saint’s Sword Sheath and he would take the other treasure.
• Tang Qi fed unwanted magical items to Yiwu, whose Shivering Lyre shriek frightened Hope and whose growth seemed to accelerate after eating the items.
• Dawn recognized the sheath as familiar and hesitated over it, while Tang Qi wondered whether it was connected to the Sword of Dawn.
• Tang Qi realized Xingchen’s Suggestion Spell had prompted him to feed Yiwu and resolved to ask her about the dragon and its growth.
• Over a farewell meal, Hope asked why Tang Qi had saved her and told him a fairy tale that explained her belief that kindness always came with a price.
• Tang Qi revealed that Yiwu had swallowed a Charm Potion and sprayed its mist into his face, making him avoid looking at Hope.

Tang Qi escaped the dungeon through the Underground Sea, returned to the Golden Oak, and reunited with Little Beard and Little Rascal. Hope left with the Saint's Sword Sheath, and Tang Qi discovered that she had lied about her name and their contract never took effect.

• Hope initiated an intimate encounter with Tang Qi, then vanished in a burst of fire after drawing a magic circle; Dawn warned that Hope had a fiendish patron.
• Tang Qi outfitted himself and Dawn with new gear, then swam through the Underground Sea and found a route out to the Inner Sea.
• Tang Qi returned to the Golden Oak after twenty days and began writing about his escape in his Guide and Journal.
• Little Beard and Little Rascal visited Tang Qi, and Little Rascal returned a blade bearing the name Hope Valentina.
• Tang Qi tore up the Fair Contract after realizing Hope had used a false name, while Hope dispelled the illusion on the Saint's Sword Sheath and wondered whether she would see Tang Qi again.

Tang Qi learned that Dragon Gold City had sealed Deepwell and its sewers after corpses began reanimating, and discovered Kuru and Gravel were still trapped inside. Meanwhile, Catherine wrestled with her feelings for Tang Qi, and Geya attended a Poet Academy meeting where Ulasang demanded to know who had copied and spread the Stone of Oblivion’s contents.

• Little Beard told Tang Qi that the Lionheart Lord had sealed Deepwell and Dragon Gold City’s sewers after investigators traced reanimated corpses to the dungeon.
• Tang Qi realized Kuru and Gravel had not returned from Deepwell, then warned Catherine that Anbi’s beastkin symptoms were worsening before Catherine pressed him about his affair.
• Geya recalled that Ulasang had mistakenly believed Tang Qi Weinberg was dead and that she had delivered the news to Moonlight Castle.
• Bruto joined Geya at the Poet Academy’s meeting, where Ulasang warned students not to discuss the Stone of Oblivion’s contents.
• Ulasang asked the poets who had copied the Stone’s contents and spread them through the academy, leaving Geya to suspect Bruto had undertaken it.

Geya watched Bruto and his fellow poets defy the Poet Academy’s repression, while Headmaster Ulasang used magical tools to investigate who had copied the Stone of Oblivion. After Bruto and Houston were seized, Geya found a new diary entry on the stone suggesting Tang Qi might still be alive.

• Bruto told Geya he had organized poets to rebel against the academy’s censorship, and she refused to join while warning him that Ulasang was giving the culprit a chance to confess.
• Ulasang deployed Construct Guards and questioned the poets with a Stone of Honesty and a Telepathy Helmet, while Geya realized the academy had evidence against whoever copied the diary.
• Bruto confessed, and Houston challenged him before Bruto voiced his dreams of writing truthful poetry for ordinary people; the guards dragged both bards away.
• Ulasang ordered the remaining poets to keep silent, but Geya recognized that Bruto’s defiance had stirred a spark of freedom among them.
• Geya visited the Stone of Oblivion and discovered a new diary entry dated August 27, Year 1000 of the Lost Era, in which Tang Qi wrote that he had left Deepwell and discovered the dungeon’s truth.

Geya read Tang Qi’s diary about The Guide and his dungeon expedition, becoming frustrated when he withheld the truth about Dragon Gold City but relieved to learn he was alive. Tang Qi then discovered that his rising fame had earned him new abilities and a rare magic item, and wondered what other rewards awaited him.

• Geya read that The Guide had sold well, stirred up anti-Guide marches among Dragon Gold City’s dwarves, and brought Tang Qi some fame.
• Geya followed Tang Qi’s account of meeting Hope, escaping the Red Scarf Gang, exploring the dungeon, and surviving an encounter with hags, though he left the truth about Dragon Gold City unexplained.
• Tang Qi found that his Journal listed him as somewhat known, with 227 followers, and enhanced his Verbal Abuse cantrip with greater psychic damage and an optional taunt effect.
• Tang Qi gained Mastery: Scimitar and received the rare Hag’s Eye, which could let him pose as a hag and form a Hag Gathering without suffering its penalties.
• Tang Qi wondered where he could find two hags to join his gathering, then turned his attention to the next reward, the Blade of the Mind.

Tang Qi reviewed the rewards from his dungeon expedition, including new combat abilities, a deceptive contract, and an extra use of Poet’s Inspiration. After sharing brunch and teasing Catherine at the tavern, he recognized something suspicious about two new customers and attacked the green-skinned woman as Catherine slipped out the back door.

• Tang Qi gained Blade of the Mind, Unfair Contract, Frenzied Sword Dance, Mighty Step, Guide, Inspiration Expert, and a dwarf-resistant Laughing Spell from his Journal.
• Tang Qi slept late, then learned Catherine had spent the morning shopping while Anbi went out to play with Hogg and George.
• Tang Qi told Catherine he planned to visit the Mage Academy, and she asked him to buy mushroom seasoning while he was in the city.
• Tang Qi offered Catherine a Pressure Potion and agreed to bring back seasoning for everyone after telling her about his dungeon expedition.
• Two cloaked customers entered the tavern and ordered Star Plum Wine; Tang Qi recognized the woman’s pale green skin and drew his curved saber to strike her as Catherine hurried out the back door.

Shivana Liehhou brought Houke and disguised Goblins to Dragon Gold City to collect promised food and supplies for her tribe. After entering Golden Oak, she mistook Tang Qi for the black-haired man she wanted to fight and attacked him, while Houke joined the battle.

• Shivana Liehhou left the Goblins outside Dragon Tail Pass and entered the city with Houke, intending to wait until nightfall before continuing.
• Chuck Greenbottle guided Shivana and Houke through Dragon Tail Pass, sold her Tang Qi Weinberg’s Twilight Forest Guide, and led them to Golden Oak.
• Shivana learned about Werewolves from Chuck, rejected his mint leaf, and arrived at Golden Oak seeking rest and Star Plum Wine.
• Shivana sensed people quietly leaving the room behind the tavern curtain and reached for her Great Axe as Tang Qi suddenly attacked her with his curved blade.
• Shivana knocked Tang Qi’s blade aside and swung her axe, while Houke tore free of his bedsheet and charged at Tang Qi with his hand axes.
• Tang Qi cast Laughing Spell at Houke, but Houke resisted it, and Tang Qi realized the spell had failed because Houke had suffered severe brain trauma.

Tang Qi confronted Shivana and used his curved blade to fight her while testing its ability to infuse emotions. He subdued her rage with the Blade of the Sage, leaving Shivana confused by her sudden calm.

• Shivana recognized Tang Qi's curved blade and learned that Black Snake was dead.
• Tang Qi refused to let Shivana and Houke leave, hoping their presence would reveal what Dragon Gold City's lords were planning.
• Shivana charged Tang Qi with her Great Axe, but he used Mighty Step to evade her attacks and cut her several times.
• Tang Qi's Blade of the Mind prompted Shivana to question the meaning of her rage and violence, interrupting her attack.
• Tang Qi explained that he had infused the blade with the emotions of Sage Mode and named it the Blade of the Sage.

Tang Qi stopped Shivana and Houke from escaping after they attacked the tavern, but the guard captain covered for them and warned Tang Qi to leave Dragon Gold City. Tang Qi then went to Northern Copper Furnace to sell his Flail Snail shells, surprising the Dwarf shopkeeper.

• Tang Qi used Blade of the Mind and Verbal Abuse to disrupt Shivana, but the guard captain arrived and stopped her from revealing who had sent her.
• The captain claimed Shivana and Houke were his relatives, paid for the tavern damage, and warned Tang Qi that important people had noticed him and that he should leave Dragon Gold City.
• Catherine checked that Tang Qi was safe, while Tang Qi declined to close the damaged tavern and hurried off.
• Tang Qi asked Chuck to buy supplies from a list and gave him gold coins, then headed to Deep Well District to sell the shells.
• Tang Qi entered Northern Copper Furnace and showed the Dwarf shopkeeper his intact Flail Snail shells, leaving the shopkeeper astonished.

Tang Qi sold monster spoils to a dwarf blacksmith and learned that Beastkin attacks had made the Deep Well District dangerous. At Dawn’s orphanage, he found Jasmine suffering from the Beastkin curse and used his [Blade of the Mind] to try to suppress it, leaving her frightened but alive.

• Tang Qi sold his monster materials to a dwarf blacksmith for a hundred gold and promised to publish a guide that included ways to collect intact Giant Snail shells.
• Guards stopped Tang Qi in the Deep Well District and warned him that a recent Beastkin rampage had left victims in hiding; they told him the first killing had happened at the orphanage.
• Dawn explained that an orphan named Bode had turned into a werewolf and badly wounded Jasmine, while other children risked infection because they had hidden him.
• Tang Qi arrived at the orphanage and told Dawn he needed a bodyguard, but then asked to examine Jasmine rather than make her leave the girl.
• Tang Qi infused his curved sword with calm and cut Jasmine’s skin to deliver its effect, then applied a Healing Potion to her wounds after she woke frightened.

Tang Qi helped Jasmine recover from the beastification curse and brought Bode to the guards, while Dawn faced Jasmine’s refusal to forgive him. Tang Qi then warned Dawn that the orphanage children might be Beastkin and that whoever corrupted Dean Marian could pose a danger to them and the city.

• Tang Qi explained that Jasmine’s beastification symptoms could be managed through isolation and a priest’s guidance, while Jasmine described how Dean Marian had bitten Bode after someone showed her something.
• Jasmine refused Dawn’s help and told him she could not forgive him for his indirect role in her brother’s death, even though he had saved her.
• Tang Qi and Dawn carried the beastified Bode to the guards, claiming they had found him unconscious in an alley.
• Tang Qi confronted Dawn about secretly hoping that his atonement would earn Jasmine’s forgiveness, and Dawn admitted his motives had been self-serving.
• Tang Qi told Dawn that many children in the orphanage were probably Beastkin and warned that whoever had driven Marian mad could corrupt them too.

Tang Qi experienced Stella Starlight’s memories through her dreams and learned how she was connected to the Dreamwalker bloodline. Stella revealed that Yiwu was the reincarnation of Eve Edel, the Golden Country’s last Princess, and warned Tang Qi that Leon Lionheart had already been targeting him for half a month.

• Tang Qi accompanied Stella into her dreams, witnessed her daily routine, and watched her confront Leon Lionheart about the Dragon Egg and the death of her former sovereign.
• Tang Qi saw memories of the Golden Country’s fall, Eve Edel’s murder by Leon, and the founding of Dragon Gold City, then awakened beside Stella.
• Stella explained that she had merged with the spiritual entity Starlight, whose memories were passed on through her bloodline, and that Yiwu was Eve Edel reborn inside the Dragon Egg.
• Stella said she had tested Tang Qi and wanted him to protect the Princess, but he needed the Sword of Dawn, whose wielder Stella believed had died in the Northern Lands.
• Tang Qi learned that Leon wanted to prevent Eve’s return and that Stella opposed him, then discovered Leon had been targeting him for half a month already.