Recaps

He Xi and Baron Ul’s guards fought through the Goblin horde, but the Goblin Shaman slowed them and unleashed a Giant Goblin. He Xi killed the monster with a massive Earth Spike that nearly reached the Mud Doll on the bell tower, leaving the group stranded beneath it and forced to defend themselves.

• He Xi used [Earth Spike Technique] to split the Goblins in the alley, allowing Baron Ul and the guards to break through into the bell tower plaza.
• The Goblin Shaman cast [Slow Technique], making He Xi, Baron Ul, and the guards move with great difficulty.
• A Giant Goblin charged at He Xi, who spent all his magic to kill it with an angled stone spike that rose toward the bell tower.
• The stone spike stopped several meters below the Mud Doll, leaving He Xi exhausted and the group unable to reach their apparent objective.
• Baron Ul led the guards toward the spike so they could limit the directions from which Goblins could attack, while Bruce tried to scare off nearby Goblins.

He Xi and Bruce used the Mud Doll’s deafening sound to disrupt the Goblins attacking Plint Town. With the Shaman dead and Kadan’s reinforcements joining Baron Ul, the Goblins began to flee.

• He Xi signaled Bruce to climb the stone spike and bite the Mud Doll’s head, triggering a deafening rumble that overwhelmed the Goblins.
• Baron Ul and his guards seized the opening to fight back against the disoriented Goblins.
• Kadan led the guards and townspeople out of the cellars to support Baron Ul, then charged the Goblin Shaman.
• Kadan’s attack broke the Shaman’s bone staff, but Goblins crowded around him and blocked his pursuit.
• He Xi struck the Goblin Shaman with [Earth Spike Technique], killing it and ending its control over the Goblins.
• Kadan, Baron Ul, and the others routed the Goblins, which scattered through Plint Town.

He Xi hunted goblins with Bruce through the night and advanced Earth Spike Technique to Lv.2, gaining one Wisdom and the ability to create three spikes at once. As he prepared to leave the next morning, Bruce revealed that the Mud Doll’s hair smelled like real human hair.

• He Xi and Bruce searched Plint Town’s alleys for goblins while Baron Ul and Captain Kadan organized the larger purge.
• He Xi killed stragglers but gained little proficiency and no traits from ordinary goblins.
• Bruce found a large goblin hiding behind a haystack, and He Xi killed it with Earth Spike Technique.
• The kill raised Earth Spike Technique to Lv.2, granting He Xi one Wisdom and allowing him to summon three spikes simultaneously at reduced mana cost.
• He Xi returned to the cabin, slept, and packed his notes, potions, and dagger.
• Bruce told He Xi that the Mud Doll’s hair was human hair, leaving He Xi alarmed.

He Xi questioned Baron Ul about the goblin army and learned that Matt’s family had disappeared after visiting Blackstone Mine, where more than thirty goblin laborers were kept. The baron revealed that Viscount Rick had forbidden miners’ families from approaching the mine after rumors of goblins abducting other creatures, leaving He Xi with reason to suspect the mine was tied to the invasion.

• He Xi visited Baron Ul before leaving Plint Town and asked whether the town’s losses had been assessed.
• Baron Ul reported twenty townspeople dead or missing, and He Xi suggested the goblin army might have come from Blackstone Mine.
• Baron Ul said the mine held over thirty goblin laborers, and Karl revealed that Matt and his family had not been seen for months.
• Baron Ul explained that Matt’s mother and sister may have gone to the mine to bring him food, despite the rule forbidding miners’ families from entering.
• He Xi condemned the decision to keep goblins in the mine to suppress human miners’ wages, and Baron Ul disclosed rumors that goblins had abducted kobolds.

He Xi rejected Baron Ul’s reluctance to investigate the Goblin attacks and went to Blackstone Mine to look into the possibility that Goblins had abducted Matt’s relatives. He found the mine operating normally and learned that Matt was resting in an overseer’s hut, leaving the mine’s connection to the attacks uncertain.

• He Xi questioned Baron Ul about the Goblins and the deaths in Plint, but Baron Ul declined to investigate the mine and offered compensation instead.
• He Xi decided to investigate Blackstone Mine himself, while resolving to avoid acting rashly if he encountered danger.
• He Xi and Bruce reached Blackstone Mine after a four-hour journey and saw miners resting as if nothing unusual had happened.
• He Xi offered a miner a copper nail in exchange for directions to Matt, and the miner pointed him toward the overseer’s hut.

He Xi investigated the mine, learned that the Goblins were being forced to work in chains, and returned at night to kill them. He extracted the Bloodline Solidification trait and wondered whether it could protect his Bloodline Power from Salamachis's contract.

• He Xi questioned a miner and learned that the Goblins worked long hours while shackled, and that several had already died.
• He Xi returned to the mine after dark and sent Bruce to lure the foreman away.
• He Xi found more than twenty chained Goblins gathered around their dead companions and killed them with Earth Spike Technique.
• He Xi extracted Bloodline Solidification and considered using it to prevent Salamachis from extracting his Bloodline Power.

He Xi escaped Blackstone Mine after gaining a new trait, and a week later William learned that the goblins there had been wiped out, disrupting his secret labor operation. William ordered his research stopped and an investigation begun as he recalled how he had convinced Viscount Rick to keep the goblins as miners.

• He Xi hid from the returning overseer, then left the mine with Bruce after confirming the Strongman had passed.
• A week later, William learned that an experiment had produced a Purple-skinned Goblin, which had helped the Giant Goblin break out of the remote mine.
• William dismissed the servant’s concerns about the escaped goblins until he heard that every goblin at Blackstone Mine had been killed and his shipment could not be delivered.
• William ordered the research halted, the evidence erased, and the person responsible for destroying his Oak Town operation investigated.
• William recalled persuading Viscount Rick to keep the goblins as cheap labor while secretly pursuing a more reckless plan.

He Xi traveled toward Rose Town with Bruce after leaving Plint, hoping to earn money and qualify as a mage and adventurer. When Bruce’s branch landed on a noblewoman’s carriage, she ordered He Xi to board, threatening to charge him for her horse if he refused.

• William accelerated Goblin production at Blackstone Mine and considered selling the Goblins to other mine owners or customers.
• He Xi and Bruce continued their journey to Rose Town after He Xi decided he could not investigate the Goblins in Plint further and was running out of money.
• He Xi reflected on his spell training and planned to become an Apprentice Mage and register as an adventurer in Rose Town.
• Bruce found a branch and brought it to He Xi, who threw it down the road, accidentally hitting an ornate carriage.
• Miss Anise ordered Fred to bring He Xi and Bruce aboard, and threatened to make He Xi pay for Nightshade if he refused.

He Xi accepted Annis’s offer to escort her to Rose Town for a Gold Shield and introduced himself as Galen. When Odin tried to force him out of the carriage, Annis fired Odin and declared Galen her new guard.

• Annis invited He Xi and Bruce into her carriage and offered to hire He Xi as a guard to Rose Town for one Gold Shield.
• He Xi accepted the payment and told Annis his name was Galen and that he came from Hord.
• Odin rode up and demanded that Annis remove the stranger from the carriage, claiming responsibility for her safety.
• Odin ordered the coachman to stop, then blocked the road with his warhorse when Annis ordered the carriage to continue.
• The carriage jolted to a halt and threw Annis into He Xi’s arms, after which she fired Odin and called Galen ten thousand times stronger than him.

He Xi used Earth Spike Technique to expose Odin as a fraudulent adventurer, then persuaded Annis to let him keep Odin’s deposit in exchange for forgetting her connection to Hord. The carriage continued on with He Xi counting fifty Silver Scales and wondering why Annis had offered such a generous escort fee.

• He Xi trapped Odin and his horse with Earth Spike Technique, and Odin surrendered after realizing He Xi was a mage.
• Annis stopped Odin from leaving and exposed him as a riding instructor who had pretended to be a professional adventurer.
• Odin returned his fifty-Silver-Scale deposit and ran after his startled horse.
• He Xi questioned Annis about Hord, and she reluctantly agreed to let him keep the deposit if he forgot what he had heard.
• Bruce retrieved the money pouch, and Fred drove the carriage onward while Annis sulked.
• He Xi counted fifty Silver Scales and wondered why Annis’s family had offered Odin such a high fee.

Hoxi learned from Annis that adventurers used the Appraisal Spell to estimate levels and identify monsters, and he realized the guild’s numerical system matched the attributes on his own status panel. Annis began explaining the spell’s origins, leaving Hoxi newly aware of how widespread and useful it was.

• Hoxi told Annis he was an uncertified apprentice, and she asked for his numerical level.
• Annis discovered Hoxi had never heard of the Appraisal Spell or the Labeling Spell and questioned whether he was really from Hord.
• Hoxi claimed he had stayed home studying magic, then asked Annis to explain the spells.
• Annis described how the Adventurer’s Guild replaced subjective ability rankings with levels based on five basic attributes.
• Hoxi checked his status panel and saw that his attributes produced the same level calculation Annis had described.
• Annis explained that Master Bornhard had created the Appraisal Spell to estimate overall levels and identify monsters.

He Xi learned that [Appraisal Spell] and [Labeling Spell] required costly Skill Scrolls, then arrived with Annis at the crowded Roadside Inn. The innkeeper quoted five Silver Scales per night, and Annis asked what the rooms were like and whether they had baths.

• Annis explained that Master Bornhard had created [Labeling Spell] and read the label on He Xi's dagger aloud.
• Annis told He Xi that both spells had to be learned from Skill Scrolls and gave him their prices.
• He Xi realized he could not afford the scrolls and ignored Annis's warning about buying genuine ones.
• He Xi and Annis reached the Roadside Inn at dusk and entered its crowded, noisy common room.
• Annis asked the innkeeper for three rooms, and the innkeeper said they cost five Silver Scales each; Annis asked about the rooms and baths.

He Xi and his companions found that the inn had only one room available, so coachman Fred took the storage room while He Xi and Annis stayed in the carriage. When two men tried to steal the carriage and Black Night, He Xi and Bruce frightened them into fleeing without their clothes and took their dagger and money pouch.

• The landlady told Annis that only one room remained, and Fred paid for the storage room and hurried away.
• He Xi relaxed in the carriage after bathing and planned to register as an adventurer and seek work in Rose Town.
• Bruce noticed Dimi and his companion sneaking up to steal Black Night and the carriage.
• He Xi and Bruce pretended that Bruce was an Undead Dog guarding a necromancer's carriage, frightening the thieves into surrendering their belongings and stripping off their clothes.
• He Xi collected the dagger and money pouch, then found that the pouch contained only Copper Nails.

At Rose Town’s gate, Wilson planned to confront the carriage occupants and reclaim the belongings Dimi and his brother had lost the previous night. The Tidal Trade Union’s young lady arrived to a grand welcome, while the Shadowless Squad crept toward her carriage, unaware of the banners behind them.

• Wilson told Dimi that Four Seas General Goods manager Mr. Ford was waiting to welcome the Tidal Trade Union’s young lady.
• Dimi worried about confronting the people from the previous night, but Wilson insisted they had been fooled and promised to recover their belongings.
• Dimi spotted the black-horse carriage approaching Rose Town, and Mr. Ford ordered the trade union banners raised.
• Wilson, Dimi, and the other Shadowless Squad members crept toward the carriage under the trees.
• Inside the carriage, He Xi lamented that the young lady had ordered their confiscated clothes thrown away.

He Xi and Annis arrived at Rose Town, where Wilson and the Shadowless Squad tried to rob their carriage. The guards arrested Wilson and his companions, and Captain Andre revealed that the squad was suspected of staging thefts around town.

• Wilson and the Shadowless Squad blocked He Xi and Annis's carriage, and Wilson demanded the carriage, horse, and passengers.
• Blue-coated Strongmen subdued Dimi and the other two companions, then seized Wilson when he threatened Fred.
• Manager Ford welcomed Annis and apologized after she questioned Rose Town's lawless reception.
• Captain Andre arrested Wilson and the others despite Wilson's claim that Rose Town needed the Shadowless Squad.
• Captain Andre told Ford that the squad consisted of Rogue Apprentices suspected of stealing items and pretending to find them for profit.

He Xi arrived in Rose Town with Annis, accepted his payment, and set off to find the Adventurer Guild. Annis learned that her father had arranged for her to marry the missing heir of the Atmesia Family and vowed to escape and become an adventurer.

• Annis ordered Ford to clear the road, and the carriage entered Rose Town without obstruction.
• He Xi admired Rose Town, accepted the Gold Shield from Annis, and left the carriage with Bruce.
• Ford told Annis that her father, President Raymond, wanted her to learn to manage shops while they searched for the Atmesia Family heir.
• Annis recalled her father's failed search for the heir and his plans for her marriage, then resolved to escape and become an adventurer.
• He Xi asked a roadside peddler for directions to the Adventurer Guild, and the peddler pointed him west along Rose Avenue.

He Xi and Bruce explored Rose Town and stopped for spicy Rock Sheep skewers, while a woman in an alley noticed He Xi and decided to lure him. The chapter ended as she pretended to stumble into him.

• A peddler tried to sell He Xi a town guide, but Bruce warned him off and they continued west without buying it.
• On Rose Avenue, Bruce smelled barbecue and led He Xi to a stall advertising Yaxixi's Dragon's Breath Roast.
• The vendor explained that the skewers were Rock Sheep Kid meat seasoned with fiery Red Dragon's Wrath chili powder, and He Xi bought two for thirty copper nails.
• He Xi gave Bruce the unseasoned skewer and ate the spicy one himself as they filled their stomachs.
• A scantily clad woman spotted He Xi, assumed he had money, and pretended to stumble into him as he passed the alley.

He Xi reached Rose Town’s Adventurer Guild after rejecting a woman’s flirtatious invitation and learned about the guild’s origins. Inside, he surveyed the adventurers and felt out of place among their equipment and imposing presence.

• He Xi steadied a flirtatious woman but left without following her into an alley after receiving no Favorability prompt.
• He Xi found the Adventurer Guild and read how Viran Ironcrown I founded the Hearthstone Stronghold during the Endless Winter.
• He Xi entered the crowded guild hall with Bruce and assessed the adventurers’ strength and gear.
• He Xi noticed a towering figure in dark plate armor whose presence made him feel pressured.

He Xi registered as an adventurer under the name Galen, choosing Mage as his occupational focus and taking the lowest rank without an assessment. With Bruce, he then looked over the Black Iron commissions and found several local jobs.

• He Xi watched Zander leave the guild, then went to the reception counter to register as an adventurer.
• He Xi paid one Silver Scale to skip the strength assessment and registered under the name Galen with Mage as his occupational focus.
• Clara used a rune-engraved stone slab to make He Xi a Black Iron Rank V adventurer's badge.
• He Xi fastened on his badge and went with Bruce to inspect the commission board.
• He Xi read the Black Iron listings for a missing cat, an ale escort, stonemason's work, and a barn roof repair.

He Xi found no suitable contracts at the guild and went outside to seek a temporary party. After revealing his earth magic, he drew several groups’ interest and began discussing a possible partnership with the experienced knight Hulk.

• He Xi rejected the low-paying clearance contracts because he wanted to kill monsters and gain potential traits.
• He Xi went to the square outside the guild, where adventurers gathered to form temporary parties.
• Gold Beard dismissed He Xi as a rogue until He Xi used Earth Spike to reveal he was a mage.
• Several parties tried to recruit He Xi, and Hulk approached with an offer to discuss joining his group.
• He Xi introduced himself to Hulk as Galen and asked what contracts his party usually took.

He Xi, introducing himself as Galen, joined Hulk's party and impressed its members with his wandless Earth Spike Technique. After Bruce revealed he could speak, Hulk explained that his party, Dragon Fang, had access to more lucrative, privately recommended monster-clearing requests.

• He Xi met Hulk's teammates Belt, Laila, and Zoya, who questioned whether an eighth-level mage could contribute.
• He Xi demonstrated that he could cast Earth Spike Technique instantly without a wand, surprising the party.
• He Xi introduced his contracted dog Bruce, who waved and announced that he liked females, leaving Hulk's teammates astonished.
• Hulk explained that his party was called Dragon Fang and that the guild privately recommended better-paying, more troublesome requests to capable parties.

He Xi agreed to join the Dragon Fang Squad on a commission to clear Spined Boars near Stone Creek Village, and Hulk explained how team rewards and adventurer rank advancement worked. The squad prepared to register He Xi and set out the next morning, with Hulk insisting everyone carry their own emergency supplies.

• Hulk explained that team captains proposed reward shares, which the guild recorded toward each adventurer's rank advancement.
• Hulk told He Xi that the squad had accepted a commission to clear five to eight Spined Boars from Stone Creek Village's water source, and He Xi agreed to join.
• Hulk revealed that the squad's previous Demonic Wolf mission had left Belt and Laila injured and used up a Healing Potion, so he wanted He Xi's magic to help control groups of enemies.
• Hulk told the squad to bring emergency supplies for the next mission, and Zoya left to buy some while Belt and Laila went to shop.
• Hulk invited He Xi to return to the guild and register his adventurer's badge under the Dragon Fang Squad before they departed for Stone Creek Village the next morning.

After registering his party, He Xi searched for dinner and lodging before tomorrow's mission and chose the Orcs and Lutes tavern. He ordered Orcish Liquor and roasted Cracked Hoof Bull ribs, and Grimm's favorability toward him increased.

• He Xi abandoned his plan to explore Rose Town and headed into an alley to find food and a place to stay.
• He Xi entered the Orcs and Lutes tavern and met its scarred Half-Orc owner, Grimm.
• He Xi ordered a glass of Orcish Liquor and a serving of roasted Cracked Hoof Bull ribs, asking for extra bones for Bruce.
• He Xi spotted the tavern's rules and asked Grimm how much the food and drink would cost.
• Grimm's favorability toward He Xi increased, granting him five Parsing Points.

He Xi learned why Grimm named his tavern Orcs and the Lute, uncovering the story of Grimm’s mother and the bard she loved. As He Xi enjoyed Grimm’s cooking, Grimm’s favorability toward him rose, bringing him closer to the points needed to extract a trait.

• He Xi paid Grimm for homebrew and ribs, checked his Parsing Points, and asked how the tavern got its name.
• Grimm told He Xi that his orc warrior mother had saved a human bard, become involved with him, and named Grimm after he left her; after her death, Grimm opened the tavern to honor her memory.
• Grimm explained that he had beaten a bard for flirting with his waitress, but the two had later been seen walking together, and he wondered whether to change one of his tavern rules.
• Grimm served He Xi roasted Cracked Hoof Bull ribs with bread and sauce, and He Xi praised the meal as Grimm’s favorability toward him increased.

Hoxi left Grimm's tavern after convincing him to keep his staff-protection rule, then extracted the Primal Feast trait and discovered it could grant him a temporary boost from monster meat. He ended the chapter with increased Constitution and Strength, while his bloodline power was still due to be extracted in two days.

• Hoxi enjoyed Grimm's Cracked Hoof Bull ribs, earned more of Grimm's favor, and packed the leftovers for the road.
• Hoxi persuaded Grimm not to remove the tavern's staff-protection rule, though he suggested Grimm be gentler with troublemakers.
• Hoxi found a cheap inn, bathed, and used his 21 Parsing Points to extract Primal Feast from Grimm.
• Hoxi equipped Primal Feast with Adamantine Stomach, triggering a beneficial effect from the Cracked Hoof Bull meat he had eaten.
• Hoxi checked his status and found his Constitution and Strength boosted by two for nearly six hours.