Recaps

He Xi visited the Tower of Illusions to learn about Alser’s Steps, but found he could not afford to register for a solo trial. As he left, he ran into Ferdinand and Otto, who were negotiating with Reese to help him improve his ranking.

• He Xi learned that solo registration cost as much as a three-person trial and took a rulebook to study later.
• Reese argued with Ferdinand and Otto over their increased fee for helping him earn enough points to reach the top fifty.
• Reese snapped at He Xi for listening in, but Ferdinand and Otto recognized him and greeted him excitedly.
• He Xi greeted Ferdinand and Otto by name.

He Xi reunited with Ferdinand and Otto, agreed to join Cyril for Alser’s Steps, and learned how the two had been raising money. At the Observer’s Tower, Fivik and Flora made a bet to test He Xi in a dream, leaving Fivik wary of Flora’s plan.

• He Xi met Ferdinand and Otto at the Tower of Illusions, and they explained Cyril’s insect obsession and their plan to charge students for his help with Alser’s Steps.
• Ferdinand and Otto raised their price for Reese from fifty to eighty Gold Shields, and Reese reluctantly agreed to pay.
• He Xi agreed to join Cyril’s Alser’s Steps challenge and promised to treat Cyril, Ferdinand, and Otto to a meal afterward.
• At the Observer’s Tower, Fivik reconstructed a spell model while discussing He Xi’s relationships with Flora.
• Flora proposed a dream-based bet with Fivik over how He Xi would respond, with the Frost Lizard Cooling Mat and another item as stakes.
• Fivik accepted the bet, and Flora whispered her plan to her, leaving Fivik visibly uneasy.

He Xi examined forbidden records in the Observer's Tower and was drawn into a dream that tested his desires and romantic choices. He resisted giving Flora a direct answer, but she teased one out of him before knocking him unconscious.

• He Xi arrived late and joined Fivik and Flora in examining books about Leomund and Eight Leaves on the sixth floor.
• He Xi read Leomund's travel notes before discovering a strange book titled "Door of the Unawakened" that pulled him into a dream.
• In the dream, He Xi imagined returning to the Blue Planet and taking either Isla or Zoya with him, but he realized Fivik and Flora were testing him and refused to choose.
• Flora questioned He Xi in a second dream, and He Xi kissed and touched her before she knocked him unconscious.
• After sending He Xi away, Flora laughed as she realized she had gotten her answer without him saying it aloud.

He Xi returned from Flora’s dream test with his memories supposedly blurred, while Flora concealed what had happened from Fivik. Outside 46 Sea Breeze Street, Trist resisted a voice urging him to sacrifice the dragon egg, just as Ulysses arrived to investigate the mysteriously repaired streets.

• He Xi woke in the Observer's Tower corridor, remembered his dream with Flora, and suspected she had intervened before telling Fivik that he could not remember it.
• Flora told Fivik that He Xi would keep stirring up trouble, won their bet, and concealed the intimate details of the dream by describing its subject as a Moon Pupil Elf knight.
• Trist waited outside 46 Sea Breeze Street and resisted a voice that urged him to sacrifice the ancient dragon egg and frame others for its loss.
• Ulysses arrived on a Griffin and learned that the night guard Huo'er claimed a skeleton had repaired the ruined streets.

He Xi and Bruce discovered that Trist’s alarming scorpion-and-mushroom soup was delicious, while Trist’s hidden inner voice revealed that a contract gave him only two days before it could claim his soul. Trist asked He Xi for help, leaving the danger to their friendship unresolved.

• He Xi learned that the druid had repaired the clock tower, while Trist kept quiet about the owl’s hostile challenge.
• Trist prepared scorpion, slime, and Walking Mushroom soup, and Tata panicked when she saw the scorpion.
• He Xi tasted the soup, praised it, and refused to share it with Bruce, while Trist’s favorability toward him increased.
• A voice inside Trist demanded a better sacrifice and threatened to devour He Xi and take his dragon egg.
• The voice revealed Trist’s contract would expire in two days, and Trist asked He Xi for help.

Trist failed to offer Duga to the Lord of Rifts and Dimensions, who demanded that he kill Sahuagin instead, while He Xi sought a way to find fishmen. He Xi and Trist joined the Blood Sea Wolf to pursue Sahuagin commissions and learned the gang kept the fishmen around to preserve its lucrative work, ending with Trist silently reacting to the squad leader’s claim that Drow Elves were fishmen who had fled underground.

• Trist attempted to sacrifice Duga, but the Lord of Rifts and Dimensions rejected the Goblin and demanded Sahuagin souls; Trist let Duga live and left it gagged in the room.
• He Xi asked Kazmir about commissions involving Mermen and learned the Blood Sea Wolf intercepted them to control cargo-ship work at Dragon Roar Dock.
• Trist joined the Blood Sea Wolf as an apprentice ranger, with He Xi posing as his servant, and the squad leader assigned them to work against Sahuagin that night.
• He Xi questioned why the gang only drove Sahuagin away, and the squad leader admitted he preserved them because their attacks brought the gang a steady stream of commissions.
• The squad leader claimed Drow Elves were fishmen who had fled underground, and Trist’s face darkened as He Xi looked at him.

He Xi and Trist encountered blood-maddened Sahuagin at the docks, where Trist killed several and captured one for a sacrifice. Trist revealed the dangerous contract sustaining her, and after He Xi helped her feed the Sect Master a mushroom-covered Sahuagin, the entity granted her more power and fell asleep again.

• Slark and another Sahuagin prepared to defend their cargo from the Sea Wolf Gang, but Trist swiftly killed one and seized another.
• The blood from the corpse drove nearby Sahuagin into a frenzy, and the Sea Wolf Gang captain was nearly killed before Trist used beams of light to defeat the attackers.
• He Xi extracted the Sahuagin Language trait and learned that Trist’s Sect Master demanded intelligent souls; he agreed to help her sacrifice a Sahuagin and invited her to stay on Sea Breeze Street.
• He Xi wrapped the captured Sahuagin in basement mushrooms and Trist offered it to the Sect Master, who devoured the sacrifice, praised her, and granted her power.
• He Xi saw that Trist had gained new power, while Bruce noticed the fishy smell coming from the sack.

He Xi disposed of the Fishman, gained Superior Dark Vision, and worried about facing his teacher after she learned what he had done. As Alser’s Steps began, Lidona prepared with her team and Anya teased her about a first-year junior.

• He Xi dragged the Fishman sack to the docks and sank it in the sea so he could conceal the Goblin’s fate from Trist and the Sect Master.
• He Xi spent 40 Drow Elf Parsing Points on Superior Dark Vision and tested his new ability during a walk with Bruce.
• He Xi spent a restless night worrying about what Flora would tell his teacher, then decided to sleep before the next day’s Alser’s Steps.
• On May 9th, students gathered in the Tower of Illusions for Alser’s Steps, where rankings and June Steps Assembly eligibility were at stake.
• Lidona reviewed her team’s plans for the Red Fang War Camp while Anya and Lexi teased her about Alex and a first-year junior.

Lidona and her friends discussed unfair ways students might boost their Alser’s Steps rankings, then spotted Reese paying a first-year who seemed to be selling help. Lidona was astonished when the first-year who arrived beside the boy was He Xi.

• Anya and Lexi teased Lidona about challenging He Xi, but Lidona said she might bring him to Alser’s Steps instead of dueling him.
• Margot, Reese, and Ravenwood taunted Lidona and her friends, who mocked Reese for his earlier defeat before the three nobles left.
• Lexi explained that students could exploit loopholes in Alser’s Steps to help others earn rankings, and described a first-year in a dark blue robe with two chubby attendants who sold routes and assistance.
• The friends saw Reese hand a pouch to the dark-blue-robed first-year while one attendant checked its contents, apparently making a deal.
• He Xi approached the group, and Lidona recognized him with astonishment.

He Xi reunited with Cyril before entering Alser’s Steps, where the pair chose a dangerous route through Emberwing Mosquito territory. Reese woke late and recalled how he had once been eliminated in three minutes and forty-two seconds after encountering Red Fang General Groot.

• He Xi reunited with Cyril, who told him Isla planned to attend the next joint-tier meet.
• Reese resented paying Cyril for help and privately threatened He Xi, while Lidona watched He Xi without returning his greeting.
• He Xi and Cyril entered the illusion realm and woke in a battlefield tent as Reese remained unconscious.
• Amon briefed them on escape routes from Ashpine Valley, and Cyril chose the perilous southern route near Blood Banner Slope to distract the Red Fang Tribe and earn more points.
• Reese woke and bragged about the tent as a favorable starting point before recalling that Groot had killed him at an outpost in three minutes and forty-two seconds.

Lidona led Anya and Lexi out of the Shattered Outpost and chose the eastern route toward White Heron Ferry to conserve their strength while pursuing a high score. Meanwhile, Cyril unleashed a swarm of Emberwing Mosquitoes on the Red Fang camp, opening a path to its supplies, prisoners, and treasure chests, and Reese vowed to reclaim his lost dignity and rewards.

• Lidona used Lexi’s illusion and her own sound magic to distract two orcs, then led Anya and Lexi through a tunnel to safety.
• General Valen told the three mages to withdraw to White Heron Ferry and let them choose two soldiers to accompany them.
• Lidona reviewed the scoring rules and chose the eastern Old Mine Road over the more dangerous southern route.
• Reese questioned Cyril’s decision to approach the Red Fang camp by the southern route, but Cyril began chanting instead of answering him.
• Cyril commanded his Blood Mosquitoes to awaken a swarm of Emberwing Mosquitoes and send it toward the orc camp.
• As the orcs and direwolves fled the swarm, Cyril pointed out that the team could reach supplies, prisoners, and treasure chests, and Reese vowed to claim them.

Cyril’s group used a mosquito swarm to drive the orcs from their camp, letting scouts mark crates for looting while they planned to rescue prisoners and burn supplies for points. He Xi secretly collected the marked loot ahead of Reese and left the story heading toward the pass.

• Cyril’s mosquito swarm forced the orcs to abandon their camp, and scouts searched and marked crates while the group hid nearby.
• Cyril explained that they would loot the camp, rescue Lorne’s captured soldiers at a pass, and burn the orcs’ rear supplies to earn enough points.
• Reese and Cyril searched the marked crates together while He Xi refused Reese’s offer of [Dark Vision] and went to loot alone.
• Reese found seven marked crates empty and blamed He Xi for somehow reaching them first.
• He Xi, already carrying a load of valuables, took another turquoise from a marked box, pointed its scratch marks toward Reese, and headed for the pass.

He Xi and his companions ambushed the orcs guarding a camp, while Reese underestimated He Xi’s magic. He Xi revealed overwhelming lightning power and destroyed the orc squad, leaving Reese stunned.

• He Xi spotted four orcs guarding captured soldiers and discovered a hidden tent where the rest of the squad was resting.
• He Xi gave Reese three extra stones, and the group planned to lure the guards into an ambush with Cyril’s familiar.
• Cyril and He Xi struck the approaching orcs with crossbow bolts and Magic Missiles, while He Xi used [Lightning Guidance] to finish one.
• Reese prepared [Dagger Cloud] as the orc squad charged, but He Xi unleashed a devastating [Lightning Bolt] that left the squad leader badly wounded and the other orcs charred.
• He Xi cast another massive lightning bolt, killing the squad leader and the remaining orcs as Reese watched in shock.

Reese suspected that He Xi was connected to the mysterious headmaster, but chose to focus on earning points by freeing captives. He Xi decided to skip burning the orc supplies and lead the group directly to White Heron Ferry, leaving Reese worried about their chances against its powerful defenders.

• Reese recognized He Xi's extraordinary abilities, speculated that he might be tied to the headmaster, and decided not to pry into the secret.
• Reese took the orc centurion's keys and freed the Lorne captives to earn points and improve his ranking.
• Cyril explained that burning the orc supplies would bring General Red Fang's cavalry and estimated that the direct route to White Heron Ferry would be faster.
• He Xi weighed the risk of losing his entry credits against the chance to explore the next illusion and proposed that the group attack the ferry instead of burning supplies.
• He Xi told Reese about the new plan, and Reese worried that their team lacked enough fighters to face the ferry's ambushers.

He Xi and Reese reached White Heron Ferry, where they had to hold off an ambush while the raised bridge lowered. The attackers included a two-headed ogre that He Xi recognized from the Heather Wasteland valley.

• Reese worried that He Xi would run out of mana, but He Xi insisted they proceed and asked Reese about his spells and tactics.
• Cyril explained that the bridge would take ten minutes to lower and the ambushers would arrive in the third minute, leaving them to hold out for seven minutes or kill their attackers.
• As the bridge began descending, He Xi had Reese cast [Longstrider] on him when he spotted an approaching figure.
• A two-headed ogre suddenly teleported into the crossing and blasted Reese away with a powerful attack.
• He Xi recognized the ogre as the same creature he had encountered in the Heather Wasteland valley.

He Xi faced a Two-Headed Ogre that combined devastating melee attacks with dangerous magic, while Reese overcame his fear and tried to help. The chapter ended with He Xi drawing the ogre’s attention again and preparing to fight it without retreating.

• He Xi dodged the Two-Headed Ogre’s hammer while fighting off two wolf riders, and Reese watched in terror.
• Reese steeled himself, spotted the ogre’s right head maintaining a spell, and crept closer to interrupt it.
• The ogre cast [Silence Spell], preventing Reese from chanting, then turned toward him and prepared a fireball.
• An earth spike knocked the ogre’s hand off course, and He Xi’s lightning struck its right arm, saving Reese.
• He Xi drew the ogre’s attention back to himself and recalled how difficult it had been to defeat during their previous encounter.

He Xi fought the Two-Headed Ogre while protecting Cyril and Reese, then drew the monster and approaching pursuers away so his teammates could escape across the ferry bridge. Cyril and Reese returned to the Tower of Illusions believing He Xi was dead, but his name remained on the live roster with points pending settlement.

• He Xi killed a wolf rider and Dire Wolf with a lightning bolt that also struck the Two-Headed Ogre, while Cyril and Reese fought the other wolf rider.
• The Two-Headed Ogre feinted toward Cyril and teleported above He Xi, but Earth Spikes impaled it and [Final Sanctuary] shielded He Xi from its club.
• He Xi and Reese attacked the Two-Headed Ogre, which entered [Berserk] and charged Reese as the Redfang General's personal guard approached.
• He Xi repeatedly struck the ogre with lightning and told Cyril and Reese to retreat while he drew away their pursuers and the monster.
• Cyril and Reese crossed the lowered ferry bridge, entered the teleportation curtain, and returned to the Tower of Illusions lobby.
• Reese searched for He Xi and saw his live roster entry listing Alser's Steps, First Step—Red Fang War Camp, with points pending settlement.

He Xi survived the collapse at White Heron Ferry by recovering beneath the rubble and using the Two-Headed Ogre’s decaying life force to heal. After finding the ferry bridge clear, he chose the dark red portal instead of returning to the hall, leaving his next destination uncertain.

• Redfang General Groot abandoned the search for He Xi and ordered his remaining soldiers to return to Ashpine Valley.
• Anya and Lexi emerged from the illusion realm, and Reese and Cyril realized the Two-Headed Ogre appeared in challengers’ scenarios at random.
• Reese told Margot and Ravenwood that He Xi was fighting the Two-Headed Ogre, then refused to leave the hall before He Xi returned.
• The Two-Headed Ogre’s corpse withered beneath the rubble, and its life force healed He Xi’s crushed body.
• He Xi emerged from the soil, crossed the lowered ferry bridge, and entered the dark red portal.

He Xi entered the second floor of the Tower of Illusions, woke in a strange mist-covered forest, and agreed to escort the injured Rowan to Balvey Town. Meanwhile, Lidona secured enough points to qualify and decided to guide He Xi after confronting Cyril, who she mistakenly believed was carrying him through the trials.

• He Xi woke in a bleak forest with a pale sun, severe dizziness, and only some of his magic power restored.
• He Xi met the injured Rowan, learned the forest was in Valoshia, and saw his Appraisal Spell produce unreadable symbols when used on the man.
• He Xi agreed to escort Rowan toward Balvey Town and walked with him into the fog.
• Lidona settled 330 points and reached rank 42, while Anya and Lexi urged her to rest after her difficult trial.
• Lidona saw He Xi was still inside the Tower of Illusions and went to warn Cyril not to involve him in deals for points.
• Cyril said He Xi did not need his help, but Lidona announced she would take He Xi on challenges and teach him how to handle danger and cast spells.

He Xi returned from the illusion challenge ranked seventeenth and revealed that Rowan had killed him after a curse drained his stamina and magic. He left the hall planning to seek advice about the curse, while Lidona resolved to investigate the second stage and Reese gained new teammates.

• Reese revealed that He Xi had mastered Lightning Bolt, and the rankings showed He Xi in seventeenth place with 480 points.
• He Xi invited Lidona to explore the second stage with him, but she fled in embarrassment and decided to seek her mother's help investigating the illusion.
• Reese described how challengers died in the second stage, and He Xi recounted receiving a quest from Rowan before discovering Vladislav von Karnstein's Curse was draining him.
• Rowan attacked He Xi, whose wristband's holy light injured Rowan, but He Xi's magic failed and Rowan killed him.
• He Xi shared the second-stage information with the students, thanked Reese for helping against the two-headed ogre, and saw other teams recruit Reese.
• He Xi declined to challenge the illusion again immediately and planned to ask his teacher and Flora about the curse and the strange effects on his magic.

Fivik confronted Cross over the proceeds from her wand and hag-material sales, then discovered she had spent more than the money she earned at Cross Auction House. After Cross balked at her costly materials list, Fivik left without paying her debt, and Nimo arrived to say her disciple was looking for her.

• Fivik accused Cross of withholding nearly eighty thousand Gold Shield in auction proceeds and threatened him with lightning.
• Fivik checked the ledgers and learned that her material purchases had left her owing Cross 9,023 Gold Shield and 70 Silver Scale.
• Fivik asked Cross to supply another costly list of materials, but he balked at extending her credit without collateral.
• Fivik left the auction house without consigning her scroll or paying her debt and wondered where she could get money.
• Nimo appeared beside Fivik and told her that her disciple was looking for her.

He Xi discussed the spell failures in Alser's Steps with Fivik, who explained how its illusion differed from a true demiplane and required him to solve its restrictions. Fivik set winning the rankings as a condition before He Xi could pursue the dragon egg, then gave him spell materials and urged him to learn practical magic.

• Fivik explained that the illusion in Alser's Steps was a trial built within a hidden demiplane, and He Xi inferred that its restrictions were meant to be overcome.
• Fivik required He Xi to take first place in Alser's Steps before he could follow clues to the dragon's lair, and He Xi agreed.
• Fivik gave He Xi a restored [Leomund's Tiny Hut] scroll and notebook, and told him to sell the scroll and split the money with Flora.
• He Xi deduced that Fivik was avoiding the nearby auction house because she owed them money, and Fivik struck him for figuring it out.
• He Xi studied the complicated spell notes, and Fivik warned him not to learn Flora's improved casting method.
• Fivik urged He Xi to learn practical spells while challenging the Illusory Realm, and He Xi asked which low-level spells to prioritize.

Fivik Kvais planned He Xi’s spell and physical training, then revealed that Flora had tested him through the dream and urged him to seek her help with curses. At the Observer’s Tower, He Xi described the curse and Rowan’s attack, prompting Flora to recognize the word “Vistani” and lead him to her private library.

• Fivik Kvais recommended practical spells and close-quarters training to help He Xi prepare for dangerous terrain, monsters, and nearby attackers.
• Fivik Kvais explained that Flora had tested He Xi through the dream, while He Xi misunderstood her comments and tried to hide his thoughts about Flora.
• Fivik Kvais reassured He Xi, told him to get along with Flora, and sent him to ask her about unknown curses.
• He Xi told Flora about the stamina- and magic-draining curse on the second tier of Alser’s Steps and described Rowan’s sudden attack.
• Flora recognized the word “Vistani,” then took He Xi toward her private library.

He Xi learned that Flora wanted him to use [Detect Magic] to investigate the curse from his dream, then confronted her about knowing what he had experienced. After they agreed not to lie to each other, He Xi imagined an unusual outfit for Flora, and she sent him outside to try creating it with [Shape Garment].

• Flora explained how [Detect Magic] could help He Xi infer the source of a curse from its aura.
• He Xi asked Flora whether she knew about his dream, and she admitted that she did.
• Flora saw through He Xi's excuse about his teacher, and he blurted out an unfamiliar expletive before changing the subject.
• He Xi complimented Flora's outfit, increasing her favorability, and they agreed that whoever lied would have to grant the other one request.
• Flora used [Shape Garment] to inspect He Xi's imagined clothing design, then told him to wait outside while she tried it.

Lidona rejected Kalan’s offer to team up and headed to the Observer’s Tower, while He Xi helped Flora try on an outfit that left her flustered. When Lidona arrived and called Flora “Mother,” Flora hid He Xi and hurried to answer the door, leaving him listening in.

• Anya, Lexi, and Lidona discussed their training and the difficulty of clearing Alser’s Steps’ second stage.
• Kalan asked Lidona to help his team, but she refused; he then pressured Anya to persuade Lidona by mentioning her father’s cooperation with the Jaxos Family.
• Anya told Lexi she would pretend Kalan had threatened her and planned to get Rowan to team up with Lidona.
• Lidona recalled her distrust of Veron Jaxos and hurried toward the Observer’s Tower.
• He Xi saw Flora wearing the secretary outfit he had designed, and Flora teased him before the golem announced Nana’s arrival.
• Flora hid He Xi as Lidona approached and called her “Mother,” then opened the door before He Xi could warn her that her clothes were disarranged.