Recaps

After Annis’s failed attempt to give He Xi her cookies, Zoya accepted the gift on his behalf and walked home with him. Back at 46 Sea Breeze Street, He Xi ate dinner, wrote to Teacher Fivik about Shadow Hand, and Beilu arrived to an uneasy atmosphere.

• Zoya asked He Xi whether he would have joined Annis as an adventurer if Annis had invited him when he first came to Rose Town, and He Xi honestly said he probably would have.
• Zoya picked up the cookies Annis had dropped and asked He Xi to take the tin home, calling it a precious gift.
• He Xi took Zoya’s hand, and the two walked together toward 46 Sea Breeze Street with the tin.
• At dinner, Tata came downstairs bundled against the night wind, and He Xi listened as Zoya described Starfall Land and the Moon Pupil Elves.
• He Xi wrote to Teacher Fivik to ask about the Shadow Hand after the assassination mission at the Iris Theater.
• Beilu flew through a miniature portal and declared her arrival, then sensed that something was wrong.

He Xi confronted Beilu for selling information to Annis and sent a letter to Teacher Fivik. Fivik’s reply, relayed by Nimo, confirmed He Xi’s suspicion that the black Adventure Card’s mission was abnormal, while He Xi resolved to investigate its risks before using it again.

• He Xi questioned Beilu about Annis, and Beilu admitted she had traded information for a roomful of candy.
• He Xi ordered Beilu to deliver his letter to Teacher Fivik and threatened to trap her in a lampshade if she leaked more information.
• Nimo brought back Teacher Fivik’s reply and a note from Piper Brightfoot, who warned that the card’s killing job seemed suspiciously easy compared with his own strange assignment to catch a boot thief.
• He Xi examined Piper’s heavily censored note and concluded that the black Adventure Card had a problem, including failing to update its points.
• He Xi reviewed his level and attributes, decided to pursue the third-circle spell Earthstone Eruption through the card, and planned to investigate its mechanics and risks first.

He Xi and Zoya discussed the expense of her regular trips between continents and her promise to bring back a method for making scrolls. While He Xi studied Starfire Spell, Zoya went to the Adventurer Guild to collect payment for an old commission and encountered someone who recognized her.

• Zoya told He Xi she planned to return to the West Continent on the third of next month and explained that the return teleportation cost 50 Gold Shields.
• He Xi offered to ask Madam Flora about making scrolls, but Zoya declined and gave him Priest Alus's notes on Starfire Spell to study.
• Zoya left He Xi at home and went to the Clocktower Square Branch of the Adventurer Guild in Fernandez.
• Zoya submitted an investigation commission and received 2 Gold Shields and 60 Silver Scales.
• A voice from behind Zoya greeted her as the lightest shadow in the dock district.

Kazimir Nightfire recruited Zoya for a dangerous investigation into a suspected Undead Mage, and Zoya invited He Xi to join the party as its mage. He Xi accepted the commission, which was scheduled to begin after his classes the next morning.

• Kazimir Nightfire showed Zoya a 150 Gold Shield investigation commission and asked her to join his party.
• Zoya agreed to take the commission and said she knew a suitable mage to recruit.
• He Xi struggled to decipher an Elvish blueprint before Zoya returned home with the commission notice.
• Zoya explained that her teammates would return the next day and invited He Xi to investigate the strange thief and undead in Hidden Valley District.
• He Xi agreed to join the commission.

Bankrupt Cracklings was a rundown tavern where factory workers and desperate adventurers drank and traded rumors about skeletons near the factories. Kazmir arrived with Ulag and Grot, and as Ulag argued with the innkeeper over the liquor, Kazmir secretly traced a spell model.

• The chapter described how Crackling Drip became known as Bankrupt Cracklings after customers joked that the failing shop was as bankrupt as they were.
• Workers at the tavern discussed seeing skeletons near the waste pit and a bear-sized skeleton outside a factory, and feared an Undead Mage was targeting them.
• Kazmir approached the workers, who recoiled at his tiefling appearance, and asked to speak with them.
• Ulag complained that the tavern's liquor was terrible while Grot apologized to old Burton for his companion's behavior.
• Kazmir watched the commotion and secretly traced a Spell Model, which flashed pink in his palm.

Kazimir gathered clues about undead sightings before He Xi joined Zoya and the adventuring party to investigate thefts at Kuss Chemical Workshop. After fighting the skeletons that emerged from the sewers, He Xi found soil in one of their buckets, leaving the group with a new clue to pursue.

• Kazimir used [friends] to learn that undead had been rummaging through materials near Blackwater Ditch and entering the sewers through the third drainage pipe in groups.
• Zoya arrived at the tavern with He Xi and Bruce, and Kazimir introduced himself before Zoya stopped him from embracing He Xi with a dagger.
• At Kuss Chemical Workshop, Ulag, Grot, Kazimir, Zoya, He Xi, and Bruce waited for the undead while introducing their abilities.
• Three skeletons emerged from the sewer carrying iron buckets, then began to retreat when the party blocked their path.
• Ulag destroyed one orc skeleton with his axe, Zoya destroyed a human skeleton with a spell, and the remaining skeleton fled into the sewer.
• He Xi examined one of the discarded buckets and found damp soil with a faint residue of magical power.

He Xi and his companions pursued a skeleton through Fernandez’s underground passages and encountered a dangerous Black Pudding. He Xi freed Ulag’s axe by making the creature split, but the two halves remained alive and the fight continued.

• He Xi theorized that the undead were digging up magic-soaked soil, then followed the fleeing skeleton into the sewer with his companions.
• The group passed through sewage pipes and ancient Goblin-era tunnels, where Kazmir explained the passages could lead toward other city districts.
• Ulag found a Black Pudding above a low archway, and it began corroding his battle axe.
• He Xi identified the creature and warned the group about its acid and ability to split when struck by sharp weapons.
• He Xi pierced the Black Pudding with an Earth Spike, splitting it and dropping Ulag’s axe, which Ulag retrieved as the battle continued.

He Xi and his companions defeated the Black Puddings and pushed deeper into the underground cavern, where they were attacked by a vast undead horde. He Xi’s lightning cleared a path, but Grot’s attempt to turn the undead ended with them charging faster, leaving the party in danger.

• Zoya froze the Black Puddings into collectible remains and revealed she had learned Earth Spike from David’s notebook, teasing He Xi about who was the idiot.
• The party entered a glowing cavern, where Bruce warned them that many undead were approaching.
• Zoya, Kazmir, Ulag, and He Xi fought the skeleton horde, and He Xi’s Lightning Bolt devastated its ranks and advanced his spell proficiency to level three.
• Kazmir spotted stitched-together zombies behind the skeletons, and Grot tried to repel the undead with a prayer.
• Grot’s prayer empowered the zombies instead, making them charge faster as Ulag’s defenses buckled and Grot wondered if the Lord had abandoned him.

He Xi and his companions fought their way through a cavern full of zombies and stitched-together pig corpses, then discovered that fungi were controlling some of the bodies. After identifying the threat, He Xi urged the party to investigate deeper, concluding that whoever was inside was not a high-level Undead Mage.

• Ulag, Grot, Bruce, Zoya, and Kazmir battled zombies and grotesque pig abominations while He Xi struggled to breathe after casting Lightning Bolt.
• He Xi raised a stone pillar to block the passage and cut off the undead reinforcements, allowing the party to defeat the enemies in the cavern.
• The party saw a dismembered zombie pig crawl through the mud, and He Xi found dark green fibers controlling its body.
• He Xi received the Ecological Command trait, and Kazmir realized that fungi were controlling the pig corpses even though genuine skeletons were also present.
• Ulag wanted to press on while Kazmir urged retreat, but Zoya deferred to He Xi, who said they could investigate because the hidden foe was not a high-level Undead Mage.

He Xi and his companions entered the underground hall and killed a fungus-infested figure, whose bursting spores exposed a hidden fungal operation. He Xi found a log identifying the figure as academy mage Vitt Riati, whose experiments had involved an ancient stone door and controlling undead servants.

• He Xi explained that the weak skeletons and the fungal network’s fear suggested no powerful Undead Mage was directing them, and the group rested before entering the passage.
• The companions fought through skeletons and zombies; He Xi failed to control a zombie dog with [Ecological Command] and destroyed it with Magic Missiles.
• The group reached an abandoned goblin engineering station and Ulag decapitated a fungus-infested figure, which burst into a cloud of spores.
• He Xi found blood-scented black soil and purple-black liquid seeping through the wall, and suspected factory waste had awakened fungi that were moving corpses to gather nutrients.
• Kazmir found an academy notebook beside the stone table, and He Xi read that Vitt Riati had discovered an ancient stone door and sought undead servants to operate its mechanism.

He Xi discovered that a researcher’s mutated fungi had parasitized his brain and taken control of the undead, then the group found a map to a ruin and decided to return to the city before exploring it. As they left, Kazmir developed the same maddening brain itch described in the diary.

• He Xi read the diary and realized the researcher’s fungi had controlled the skeleton horde by parasitizing his brain.
• Kazmir found a map pointing toward a ruin, but He Xi and Kazmir agreed the exhausted group should return to the city and prepare before exploring it.
• The group headed out while Kazmir complained about the air and scratched the red marks between his horns.
• When Ulag teased him about his skin care, Kazmir stopped and said his brain itched.

The party discovered Kazmir carried a malicious fungal curse, and Grot could only suppress it temporarily. After they escaped the sewer, sunlight triggered pain in Kazmir’s head, while Ulag’s supposed itching proved to be ordinary grime.

• Ulag and Zoya prepared to stop Kazmir when he admitted his head felt itchy, but Grot found no poison or disease.
• Grot sensed a vile magical aura around Kazmir, and He Xi suspected the Mutagenic Spores had cursed him.
• Grot used Remove Curse to suppress the curse, though he could not fully remove it.
• The party left the sewer, and sunlight caused Kazmir’s head to hurt like needles were stabbing it.
• Grot urged everyone to check for symptoms, and Ulag mistook dried sewer grime for an infection before Kazmir asked when he had last bathed.

After Kazmir was infected by the mutated fungus while the others remained unaffected, He Xi planned to investigate its source and find a cure. He Xi took Zoya and Bruce home to bathe, while Kazmir and Grot went to try the temple.

• Ulag revealed that he had not bathed since before the previous winter’s first snowfall, horrifying Kazmir.
• Grot suspected that stronger physiques resisted the fungal parasite, but Kazmir was the only one besides Bruce who had been infected.
• Bruce proudly announced that he was unaffected and regularly bathed, making Kazmir even more indignant.
• He Xi said he would take the notebook to the academy to investigate the fungus, while Kazmir and Grot tried the temple for a cure.
• He Xi took Zoya and Bruce to Sea Breeze Street, where Tata scrubbed Bruce in the downstairs bathroom as someone bathed upstairs.

He Xi and Zoya bathed together, but Zoya stopped their intimacy to explain that Priestess Alus wanted her to unite with a High Elf to continue the Moon-Eyed Bloodline. He Xi proposed a spell to help Alus conceive with someone else, and Zoya accepted his explanation before making a tactical retreat to bed.

• He Xi washed Zoya in the bath, and she tried to stop him from going too far.
• Zoya told He Xi that Priestess Alus wanted her to bear a High Elf's child to continue the Moon-Eyed Bloodline.
• He Xi angrily rejected Alus's plan and offered to use a spell to increase her chances of conceiving with a High Elf.
• Zoya laughed at the thought of Alus pregnant, apologized to He Xi, then claimed she needed to rest and slipped out of the bathroom.

He Xi went to the neighborhood market with Tata and Bruce to buy ingredients for dinner, but a newspaper report about the Iris Theater caught his attention. He recognized that the article had distorted the murder and assault there to portray Warren as a hero, and left to buy pork with the newspaper hidden in his Dimensional Bag.

• He Xi checked himself for strange symptoms after seeing mushrooms grow from Vite's skull, then planned his weekend cooking with Tata.
• He Xi, Tata, and Bruce headed to the neighborhood market, where He Xi promised to teach Tata basic cooking techniques.
• He Xi bought Magic City Weekly and read its report claiming Allen had been murdered, Gareth had attacked Rolinde, and Warren had rescued her and taken over the theater.
• He Xi noticed the article omitted the missing ledger and checks and portrayed Warren as generous, then tucked the newspaper into his Dimensional Bag.
• He Xi told Tata he had read some interesting creative writing and went to buy pork.

He Xi served dinner to the Royces and used the conversation to learn about the Iris Theater murder, the newspaper’s compromised report, and Rolinde’s connection to Valen. He also learned that Wennai had canceled her planned shelter visit, while Alvin Royce suspected He Xi had deliberately embarrassed him in front of his wife.

• He Xi served the Royces his braised pork, and Mrs. Royce praised its flavor while Alvin attributed it to magic.
• He Xi asked Alvin about the Magic City Weekly’s report on the Iris Theater tragedy, and Alvin revealed that Allen West had allegedly embezzled charity funds and Gareth had reported him.
• Alvin told He Xi that Rolinde had been Valen’s lover planted beside Allen, surprising He Xi.
• Alvin said Wennai had canceled her planned visit to the shelter after the newspaper published its misleading report.
• He Xi asked whether Alvin would have covered Wennai’s visit, prompting Alvin to hide his interest after noticing his wife’s look.
• Alvin secretly accused He Xi of deliberately making him look foolish, and He Xi answered with a knowing smile.

He Xi helped Aislin improve her curved Magic Missile technique during class, then accepted her invitation to dinner after she approached him outside the academy. Lionel was left convinced that He Xi had a private connection with the princess.

• Mirabelle taught the students to curve Magic Missiles around obstacles, while He Xi advised them as they practiced.
• He Xi pointed out Aislin’s hesitation in adjusting her spell circuit, and she asked him how to improve her missile’s follow-through.
• He Xi reported the class’s progress to Mirabelle, who asked him to prepare practical content for the next lesson.
• Lionel questioned He Xi about his conversation with Mirabelle and Aislin, then admitted he admired the princess.
• Aislin invited He Xi to lunch, and when he said he had plans with Lionel, she invited him to dinner instead.
• He Xi accepted Aislin’s dinner invitation, leaving Lionel stunned and accusing him of having impure intentions.

He Xi used Vite’s journal to pressure Bruno into discussing Mutagenic Spores and offered special training for Bruno Croak. At dinner, Aislin invited He Xi to the Winter Kingdom, mistakenly believing he was romantically involved with Lidona, and decided she could use his practical nature to help find the being she sought.

• Lionel added to his notebook that He Xi was skilled at hiding his connections and motives.
• Stun reported that Lidona was close to He Xi, while Aislin explained she needed to find a being who could help her return to the Winterlands and save her ailing father’s kingdom.
• He Xi confronted Bruno with Vite’s journal and offered to help with Bruno Croak’s project in exchange for information about Mutagenic Spores, but Bruno denied involvement.
• He Xi later threatened to expose Bruno Croak’s failed training unless Bruno accepted his special training methods, leaving Bruno shaken.
• Aislin asked He Xi whether he fancied anyone, then invited him and his beloved to visit the Winter Kingdom after concluding that Lidona was the woman he loved.
• After He Xi left with packed steaks for Bruce, Aislin told Ston Ironcrown she could use He Xi to investigate the being’s whereabouts.

He Xi returned to Bruno’s breeding grounds and used his unusual ability to teach the giant frog commands, while Bruno tried to keep his students away from the experiment. The chapter ended with Bruno hearing his students’ voices coming from the pond and rushing to investigate.

• Bruno explained why giant frogs could make practical mounts and described the expense and difficulty of training griffins.
• He Xi asked Bruno for a griffin and used the possibility of Lionel learning about Bruno’s secrets to pressure him.
• He Xi told Bruno he planned to teach the giant frog to read, then mimicked a frog’s call to give it the command to sit.
• Bruno hurried away when students arrived, and he told them the giant frog was unstable after falling into a fertilizer pit so they would avoid its pond.
• After Bruno distracted Lyle and returned to the pond, he heard his students’ voices coming from it and cast Leap to rush over.

He Xi demonstrated that speaking a giant frog’s language could make it follow commands, convincing Bruno that the approach might become a new beast-training theory. The students were eager to help test it, and Bruno assigned them other work while he planned the next steps.

• He Xi imitated frog calls, and Bruno Croak sat upright and obeyed him.
• He Xi explained that learning a creature’s language could communicate commands more effectively than rewards or punishment, while Bruno questioned whether the method could work with other beasts.
• Bruno’s students said they had approached after hearing strange calls and praised He Xi’s method as a potential new theoretical framework.
• He Xi asked Bruno how to proceed, allowing Bruno to present the method as his own research direction.
• He Xi proposed recruiting more people to test the approach, and Bruno told the students to organize the Demonic Beast encyclopedias while he developed a syllable-breaking plan.

He Xi pressured Bruno into taking him to the Tower of Wisdom by threatening to pursue the research project with students instead. There, Bruno explained how a failed Demiplane experiment eight years earlier destroyed the tower’s upper floors, leaving He Xi uneasy about the incident.

• Bruno tried to get He Xi to teach him command words before handing over the Mutagenic Spores data, but He Xi demanded the promised data and formula first.
• He Xi implied he might team up with students to propose the research topic, so Bruno reluctantly agreed to take him to his laboratory.
• Bruno showed He Xi the Tower of Wisdom’s newly rebuilt fifth floor and explained that the tower once had thirteen floors.
• Bruno said a colleague’s attempt to make two Demiplane gates interact had caused a spatial accident that blasted away the upper eight floors.
• Bruno compared He Xi’s reckless imagination to his absent colleague, and He Xi hurried Bruno onward to get the data and leave.

He Xi examined Bruno’s records of the fungi he had developed with Vite and learned that V-1 had begun showing deliberate, dangerous behavior. He took Bruno’s culture formula and a letter from Vite, then left with some of Bruno’s improved fungus to investigate its origin and protect his friend from spores.

• He Xi read Bruno’s research journal and learned that Bruno had studied fungi to restore his injured winged lizard, while Vite had approached him with research aimed at controlling undead.
• Bruno showed He Xi records revealing that V-1 anticipated flame, competed for nutrients, and spread toward a rat corpse’s central nervous system, so Bruno withheld the culture formula.
• Bruno explained that Vite stole the formula and stopped replying after Bruno noticed the fungi’s apparent awakening.
• He Xi asked for one of Vite’s letters so he could find Vite’s former residence and search for clues about the fungi threatening his friend.
• He Xi learned Vite’s return address was near Kuss Chemical Workshop and persuaded Bruno to give him enough of the improved Stalked Grouper Fungus to keep alive.

Tata’s cooking improved while Zoya read a suggestive spell booklet, and He Xi learned about the seasonal beast tide and planned to investigate Vite’s old residence. At the orphanage, He Xi reunited with Grot and finally confronted Wen Nai Kefu Si, who confirmed she had commissioned Allen’s assassination.

• Tata cooked increasingly well, leaving Bruce disappointed that there were no scraps for him to eat.
• He Xi discussed the beast tide and adventurer commissions with Zoya, then gave her Vite’s address so they could investigate the mutated fungi.
• He Xi visited the orphanage and met Grot, who said the temple had removed Kazmir’s curse but that Kazmir had lost some hair.
• He Xi donated money to the orphanage and learned that Mr. Valen was addressing the crowd in the front courtyard.
• Wen Nai Kefu Si appeared in the alley and admitted that she had issued the commission to kill Allen.

He Xi uncovered Wennai’s interest in his demonic aura, reported her to Flora, and exchanged Shadow points for an Earthstone Eruption scroll. At the Drunken Sailor Tavern, Kazmir chose to help Grot investigate the mutated spores at the Old Pump Station Back Street instead of joining the spring hunt.

• He Xi questioned Wennai about the mission’s real-time updates, resisted her charm with [Steady Mind], and declined her invitation; Wennai privately wondered whether he was bound by the same bloodline contract as others she had encountered.
• He Xi told Flora that Wennai carried the aura of having been watched by Salamarkis, and Flora said she would investigate Wennai while treating the demon as a separate matter.
• He Xi exchanged 27 Shadow points for an Earthstone Eruption scroll and received it from Sir Bruce.
• He Xi returned home and told Zoya about Grot and Kazmir; Zoya explained that Grot had invited them to celebrate their completed sewer commission.
• At the Drunken Sailor Tavern, Kazmir said he would skip the spring hunt to investigate the Old Pump Station Back Street address with Grot, despite Ulag’s teasing and Grot’s offer to investigate alone.

He Xi and his companions searched for clues about Vite in Fernandez and learned that a box of mushrooms had been sent to his former home from Mist Town. They traced the lead to the Heather Wasteland and considered joining the spring hunt there, where He Xi saw a chance to improve his strength.

• He Xi told Kazmir and Grot he would help investigate the unknown curse hazard rather than leave them to face it alone.
• He Xi, Kazmir, Grot, Zoya, and Ulag searched Vite's ransacked room, then questioned workers at the Bankrupt Cracklings Tavern.
• A worker identified the handwriting on a rent note as Idni's, and He Xi persuaded her to show them a box of Vite's belongings.
• He Xi found a shipping receipt naming Mist Town as the sender's address, while Idni revealed she had eaten the mushrooms in the box as soup.
• Ulag and Zoya said Mist Town was in the Heather Wasteland, where Goblins and ogres gathered for the spring beast tide.
• He Xi decided the Heather Wasteland could serve both the spring hunt and his training, but he first needed to ask Instructor Mirabelle for leave.