Recaps

He Xi stole reports from Griffin Fortress and followed Investigator Evan’s lead to find Damian Shaw, where Reynard initially attacked him after mistaking him for a Bhaal follower. Damian recognized He Xi’s greeting as one from Kalatou, then prepared to ask him a serious question.

• He Xi slipped out of Griffin Fortress with three case files while two guards searched the archives for reports about the murders.
• He Xi read Investigator Evan’s account of Bhaal’s followers’ four-stage ritual hierarchy and discovered an old bounty and a warning about his teacher, Fivik Kvais.
• He Xi and his companions reached No. 14 White Gull Avenue, where Reynard attacked He Xi until he showed Damian’s booklet, Bloodweeper’s Closed Eyes.
• Damian called He Xi upstairs, and He Xi learned that Reynard was the monk instructor from the academy and that Damian was a turtle-like grandmaster.
• Damian noticed He Xi’s cupped-fist greeting, asked whether he had visited Kalatou, and then asked whether Bishop Kolfus had sent him.
• Damian’s favor toward He Xi increased after He Xi honestly explained his greeting and expressed interest in Kalatou, and Damian began to ask him a solemn question.

He Xi persuaded Damian to let him help stop Bhaal’s followers, and Damian warned him to guard against taking pleasure in killing. After He Xi agreed to locate the Murder Tribunal, Damian revealed the cultists planned to target him, then let He Xi rest; when Reynard later summoned him, Damian was contemplating a ring and how to explain something to him.

• He Xi insisted on helping Damian despite the danger, explaining that he wanted to stop innocent people from being killed and that killing brought him no pleasure.
• Damian warned He Xi that enjoying killing could turn him into a follower of Bhaal, then asked him to find the Murder Tribunal before nightfall and report to Reynard.
• He Xi showed Damian a parchment indicating that Saza planned to kill him, but Damian revealed Reynard had found a matching order and crushed it with his strength.
• Damian told He Xi to focus on rescuing the innocent and rest at the monastery; He Xi slept there with Bruce, Trist, and Ulag nearby.
• After lunch, Reynard summoned He Xi to see Damian, who was studying a floating ring and wondering how to tell him about it.

He Xi appraised Damian's spell-storing ring, discovered and tested its stored spells, and filled it with a powerful Lightning Bolt at Damian's request. He Xi and his companions then entered Descent into Malbolge to investigate the Murder Tribunal, leaving them unsure where to begin.

• He Xi appraised Damian's Spell-Storing Ring and identified its stored spells as Fly Spell and Dark Vision.
• He Xi triggered both spells, then filled the ring with a max-level Lightning Bolt for Damian.
• Damian offered He Xi a reward, and He Xi asked to learn monk combat techniques for polearms.
• He Xi left with Bruce, Trist, and Ulag to find the Murder Tribunal's entrance while wondering what Damian was hiding about Saza.
• Bruce misunderstood talk about Descent into Malbolge, and the group arrived at the establishment and entered.
• He Xi, Trist, and Ulag stood uncertainly inside Descent into Malbolge and wondered where to begin investigating.

He Xi investigated Malbogi for a possible Bhaal cult connection and entered a performance hall after learning its afternoon guests came to see Lamasha. When Lamasha danced close to him, she noticed his scent and regarded him with probing curiosity.

• He Xi asked Deborah whether anyone unusual had visited Malbogi, and she gave him a ticket to Lamasha’s three-thirty performance.
• He Xi paid for admission while Ulag and Trist waited outside, then entered the ballroom with his dog and asked it to sniff for anyone who smelled of blood.
• Lamasha began her dance, and He Xi noticed her resemblance to the singer Wennai and wondered whether she also had a demon contract.
• Lamasha danced to the edge of the stage, leaned close to He Xi, and quietly remarked on his scent.

He Xi and his companions captured Sanders, a Bhaal follower, and learned that the Murder Tribunal was in the Dock District and the attack on Griffin Fortress would begin at ten. A message from Lamasha led He Xi to a strange Tower of Wisdom, where he found a chained pink-skinned winged being awaiting him.

• He Xi and Bruce spotted Sanders carrying a dagger resembling one found at the monastery, and Maeve lured him to a private room.
• He Xi, Ulag, and Trist subdued Sanders and learned the Murder Tribunal was near Butcher Street and the attack was scheduled for ten that night.
• He Xi kept Sanders alive and prepared to leave through a window, but Lamasha's steward arrived with an invitation and a key, offering a back-alley exit and answers to He Xi's questions.
• He Xi followed the steward's directions to the Tower of Wisdom and climbed into a room resembling a classroom.
• He Xi found a chained pink-skinned winged being who resembled Lamasha and raised his wand.

He Xi resisted Cambion Ramasha Zirvien’s seduction and delayed her attempt to make a contract by pretending he needed his wife’s approval. After learning Ramasha was likely Salamachis’s daughter, he considered using her to test whether learning a demon’s Real Name could let him control it.

• Ramasha tried to charm He Xi, but he resisted with [Steady Mind] and used Earth Spike to stop her when she approached.
• He Xi pretended that his wife’s consent was the only thing preventing him from accepting Ramasha’s offer, and Ramasha’s Favorability toward him increased.
• Ramasha offered to awaken the Abyssal power in He Xi’s blood and began preparing a contract, but He Xi questioned her connection to Salamachis and stalled the ritual.
• He Xi claimed his wife was on the West Continent and persuaded Ramasha to wait a few days before signing the contract.
• After leaving, He Xi read about Cambions and suspected Ramasha Zirvien was Salamachis’s offspring, then considered learning Abyssal to reconstruct Ramasha’s Real Name and test whether it could control her.

He Xi and his companions tracked the Bhaal cultists to a hidden entrance beneath a shop on Butcher Street. After sacrificing their captive cultist’s head to open the passage, they descended toward the Murder Tribunal.

• The Sisters of Justice punished Lamasha for summoning them and cutting off the summoning, while Lamasha insisted her human target would return and offer his soul.
• He Xi, Ulag, Trist, and Bruce traveled toward the Hidden Valley District as He Xi worried about the missing Mr. Alvin and Trist wondered where Harvey had gone.
• Baxter learned that the black-clad cultists planned to sacrifice him that night, while Harvey and a talking rat discussed escaping from their underground prison.
• He Xi’s group met Reynard at an abandoned stone shop on Butcher Street and brought a captured Bhaal worshipper to the hidden entrance.
• When the passphrase alone failed, the captive explained that the door required a fresh head and blood; He Xi killed him and placed his head on the carved slab.
• The bloody slab opened into a dark passage, and He Xi’s group descended toward the Murder Tribunal.

He Xi and his companions defeated two undead monks guarding the underground passage, rescued Alvin and several captives, and found Vincent dead. After learning a master-level turtlefolk had been involved, Reynard rushed toward his teacher, and He Xi followed as a message announced the turtlefolk’s death.

• He Xi identified Kili and Finch as undead monks, and Reynard charged in to fight his former junior brothers.
• Ulag and He Xi helped defeat Kili while Reynard killed Finch.
• He Xi found Alvin alive behind the iron door and helped free Baxter and the other captives, while Harvey released the imprisoned councilors.
• He Xi discovered that Vincent had died and escorted the survivors out through the underground passage.
• Harvey told He Xi that a master-level turtlefolk had been among the cultist leaders, and Reynard raced toward his teacher.
• He Xi followed Reynard to the dock district, where a prompt reported that the turtlefolk had been killed.

Damian killed Saza and Lorenzo, but the divine essence they carried flowed into Lorenzo, who began gathering power from his siblings. After a portion of Lorenzo’s essence vanished toward the southeast, He Xi received a fragment of Bhaal’s divinity and quickly rejected it as a harmful entry.

• Damian confronted Saza by the river, defeated him, and killed him after Saza refused to repent.
• Lorenzo arrived and attacked Damian, who used a Mithril ring to unleash lightning and kill him.
• Lorenzo absorbed the divine essence from Damian and Saza, then returned to Griffin Fortress and ordered the attack’s truth to be revealed.
• As Lorenzo rested in his office, an entire portion of divine essence left his body and vanished toward the southeast.
• He Xi received the entries Breath-Holding and Essence of Bhaal, chose Essence of Bhaal, and felt an urge to hurt a nearby dog.
• He Xi switched back to Thick Skin and dismissed Essence of Bhaal as trash.

He Xi attended Lorenzo Warren’s press conference and learned that the Watchers planned sweeping security checks, while the truth about the attack and Damian’s death remained concealed. Back home, He Xi’s companions planned their journey to Valkenheim and proposed forming an official adventurer party, leaving him to choose its name.

• Lorenzo Warren blamed Bhaal’s followers for the attacks, claimed the Watchers had killed the fortress assailants, and announced plans for expanded investigations and identity checks.
• He Xi left the press conference with Alvin, who questioned the Watchers’ account of the turtlefolk attackers; He Xi reassured him without revealing what he knew.
• Reynard followed Damian’s letter and departed for the Sea Cliff District, while He Xi considered the possibility that another of Bhaal’s offspring was seeking divine-power fragments.
• He Xi agreed to help Harvey search for dragon nests, and Trist said he would travel to Valkenheim as well; He Xi gave Trist 500 Gold Shields for his share of the councilor rescue reward.
• Harvey proposed that He Xi form and captain an official adventurer party, and Trist and Bruce asked to join; He Xi began considering what to name it.

He Xi reunited with the Adventurer Guild, saw Trist off toward Valkenheim, and learned that the Watchers were searching the routes there for Bhaal’s followers. Back home, He Xi mastered Withered Leaves Bloom and found Tata waiting in a revealing outfit, leaving him to ask whether she was trying to seduce him.

• He Xi, Harvey, and Trist submitted their completed commission forms under the party name Dragon Revival, while guild members speculated about their achievements.
• Shepherd advised Trist to seek passage to Valkenheim at the eastern harbor and warned that the Watchers were inspecting the routes; Trist then departed, and Harvey flew home as an owl.
• Harvey met Alvin to review a newspaper article about their adventure, and the two argued over how to portray Harvey’s role.
• He Xi practiced Minor Image with Bruce and studied the necromancer’s notebook before learning Withered Leaves Bloom, which drained nearby plants and restored vitality to allies.
• Tata called He Xi into her room and showed him a blue-and-white outfit, asking for help with its straps; He Xi asked whether she was trying to seduce him.

He Xi tested whether Tata still trusted him after removing [Judgment Loss], then practiced [Minor Image] with a newly equipped trait that altered how he sensed spellcasting. The chapter ended with him asking a half-dressed Tata for her fur as a possible illusion component.

• Bruce heard sounds from Tata's room, guarded the door, then tried to summon Zoya for help because it feared no one would make dinner.
• He Xi confirmed Tata showed no abnormal reaction after he withdrew [Judgment Loss], and Tata privately resolved to confront Zoya about her feelings for their master.
• He Xi kept the dagger [Vicious Cut], reviewed his funds and Bishop Kolfus's spell notes, and practiced [Minor Image] in his room.
• He Xi equipped [Weird Magic (Phantom)] and found that it disrupted his usual understanding of the spell model and urged him to cast differently.
• Tata opened her door in a maid outfit held against her bare shoulders, and He Xi explained that he had come to pull out her fur.

He Xi tested an altered illusion spell on Bruce before hurrying to the Magic Academy to audit a third-circle Illusion School class. Instructor Adeline began teaching [Major Image], and the chapter ended with her explaining that an illusion’s core was reality.

• He Xi made an illusion of roast meat in Bruce’s bowl, startling the dog, then gave him cheese as compensation.
• He Xi rushed to the Magic Academy and met Moni, who explained her financial worries and warned him that Instructor Adeline was cold and blunt.
• Ravenwood recognized He Xi as a powerful first-year student, while other students watched and speculated about him.
• Instructor Adeline began teaching [Major Image] and gave He Xi a textbook when she noticed he had none.
• Moni answered that illusion relied on light, sound, scent, and temperature, and Adeline clarified that its true core was reality.

Adeline taught the class [Major Image] and challenged students to fool her with realistic illusions. He Xi used [Weird Magic (Image)] to create a convincing phantom of Anya, earning credit while leaving the real Anya stunned.

• Adeline explained that convincing illusions needed realistic behavior as well as appearance, then set the class goal of fooling her once with [Major Image].
• He Xi used [Weird Magic (Image)] to simplify the spell model and discovered it could create a lifelike phantom from a strand of the target’s hair, though his first attempt produced an unclothed Tata.
• He Xi suspected the mutated spell only worked on women, borrowed hair from Anya, and created a remarkably accurate phantom of her.
• The phantom accused He Xi of peeping, and Adeline mistook it for Anya and awarded her one credit for its realistic details.
• The real Anya sat speechless as He Xi silently asked whether the deception had worked.

He Xi taught Anya his unusual method for Major Image, enabling her to master the spell and pass Adeline’s final assessment early. Ravenwood, impressed by Anya’s sudden skill, sent Wright to ask He Xi for the technique, and Ravenwood approached He Xi himself at the chapter’s end.

• Adeline praised He Xi’s illusion and awarded him a credit, while also rewarding Anya for her cooperation.
• He Xi explained his notes to Anya and transferred the Weird Magic (Image) trait, allowing her to understand and cast Major Image.
• Anya created a convincing illusion of herself, and Adeline awarded her two credits and counted her as having passed the final assessment.
• Ravenwood noticed Anya’s success and learned from Wright that He Xi had taught her a special construction technique.
• Wright asked He Xi for the trick on Ravenwood’s behalf, and He Xi told him Ravenwood should come ask directly.
• Ravenwood approached He Xi, who stood and greeted him.

He Xi taught Ravenwood a Weird Magic incantation that could create a phantom from a target’s hair, and Ravenwood successfully tested it using Anya’s hair. At the classroom assessment, Ravenwood failed to cast a phantom of himself and concluded that the spell only worked on women, so he asked Instructor Adeline for a strand of her hair.

• He Xi gave Ravenwood the Weird Magic incantation and dagger, then explained how hair could serve as casting material.
• Ravenwood used Anya’s fallen hair to create her phantom, and He Xi reclaimed the Weird Magic entry when Ravenwood took the dagger.
• He Xi told Anya he had sensed that Ravenwood bothered him because Anya disliked him, raising her favorability toward He Xi.
• Ravenwood announced that he had mastered phantoms and challenged Instructor Adeline to distinguish him from his copy.
• Ravenwood failed to cast a phantom with his own hair and decided the spell only worked on women, then asked Adeline for a strand of her hair.

He Xi humiliated Ravenwood during Adeline’s class, then helped him save face and gained his favor. After class, He Xi headed to the magical pet breeding garden to practice a healing spell and look for a mount.

• Ravenwood failed to cast the altered spell onstage, prompting Adeline to scold him while Anya celebrated learning it.
• He Xi reassured Anya and explained that he had targeted Ravenwood because of his arrogant attitude and his connection to Oren.
• Wright insulted He Xi, and Ravenwood punched him before accepting He Xi’s explanation that nerves had caused his failure.
• He Xi privately advised Ravenwood about the spell, gained his favor, and removed the [Judgment Loss] entry from him.
• He Xi left the Tower of Strength and went to the academy’s magical pet breeding garden to practice [Withered Leaves Bloom] and seek a mount.

He Xi mastered Major Image and accompanied Bruno to investigate why his mysterious blue horse, Luna, feared people. After He Xi tried speaking with Luna, a notification identified it as a Velen Fairy Horse and reported that its favorability toward him had increased.

• He Xi practiced Major Image beside the giant frog and mastered the skill.
• He Xi asked Bruno for his white griffin, but Bruno refused and instead asked him to help his horse.
• Bruno flew He Xi to his home, where He Xi met Bruno's wife, Manabu, and saw the blue horse Luna.
• He Xi granted Luna the Nandes Regional Common Language trait and tried to ask what frightened it, but Luna remained silent and trembled.
• A notification identified Luna as a Velen Fairy Horse and recorded that its favorability toward He Xi had increased.

He Xi discovered that carrots raised Rustling Leaf’s Favorability and began planning to find foods the Velenna fairy horse liked, hoping to communicate with it and earn a mount from Bruno. After Bruno offered a Twilight Nightmare Horse as a reward, He Xi ended up invited into Bruno’s home for dinner, where Bruno’s daughters eagerly questioned him.

• He Xi identified the trembling horse as a Velenna fairy horse, summoned Beilu, and learned that she had never seen one before.
• He Xi had Bruno fetch carrots, and Rustling Leaf ate them, increasing its Favorability and giving He Xi Parsing Points.
• He Xi told Bruno he would return daily with Beilu to test foods, and Bruno’s Favorability toward him increased.
• Bruno offered He Xi a Twilight Nightmare Horse if he could restore Luna, but refused to let him borrow Luna as a mount.
• Bruno’s wife, Manabu, called him back, and Bruno brought He Xi inside for dinner, where Bruno’s daughters crowded around He Xi with questions.

He Xi helped Signey seek an introduction to Ulag, uncovered Bruno’s lie about the cost of his fairy horse, and trained his Withered Leaves Bloom spell while considering his future mage specialization. After bringing Ringleaf back from the woods, he returned home to find a familiar silver-haired woman cooking dinner.

• Signey asked He Xi to introduce her to Ulag, and He Xi agreed to ask the dwarf whether he was interested.
• Manabu discovered Bruno had hidden the true cost of Luna, so Bruno admitted the fairy horse had cost 80 Gold Shield.
• He Xi asked Kazmir to pass Ulag Signey’s message, then took Ringleaf into the woods and raised Withered Leaves Bloom to Level 2.
• He Xi considered whether to specialize as a Conjurer, Evoker, or pursue necromancy while training the spell and feeding Ringleaf carrots.
• He Xi returned to Bruno’s home with Ringleaf, then went back to No. 46 and found a silver-haired woman preparing meat pies and welcoming him to dinner.

He Xi reunited with Zoya, welcomed her home, and learned how she had used a passage from a novel to fool Priestess Alus while searching for a way to leave the Eastern Continent. As Zoya’s favorability rose and He Xi planned to use a future entry to learn Star Magic and approach Alus, the pair grew intimate again, ending with Zoya checking whether he was feeling well.

• He Xi embraced and kissed Zoya after her return, while Tata watched with confusing jealousy and Bruce silently tried to stop her from staring.
• At dinner, He Xi praised Zoya’s and Tata’s grilled meat pies, earning favorability and Parsing Points from both of them.
• Zoya told He Xi she had copied a fictional scroll-making passage for Priestess Alus and planned to keep her distracted with passages from other novels.
• He Xi admired Zoya’s magical talent, noted that he needed 17 more Parsing Points to extract her entry, and planned to meet Alus as a scroll scholar to learn about Star Magic.
• Zoya joined He Xi in bed, and after they kissed, she checked him and announced that Little He Xi seemed unwell.

He Xi and Zoya discussed her acceptance of his closeness with Tata, while Zoya admitted she trusted Tata to keep him company during her absence. The next morning, He Xi visited Mushroom Cottage with Zoya and Bruce and heard that Ulag had spent the night drinking with Bruno and was expected to return.

• Zoya restrained He Xi and asked whether he behaved normally when she was away, then told him Tata had spoken to her about his attraction to her.
• He Xi explained that he had held back with Tata because he worried about hurting Zoya and was unsure whether Tata's devotion was entirely her own choice.
• Zoya said she did not object to He Xi liking Tata, and she trusted Tata to care for him while she was away; she also revealed that she had once punished Tata after Tata suggested having He Xi's babies that night.
• After spending the night together, He Xi wondered how to talk to Zoya about Isla, whose bracelet he still wore.
• The next morning, He Xi brought Zoya and Bruce to Mushroom Cottage and found Bruno drunk after Ulag had stayed drinking with him and Signey until near dawn.
• Bruno said Ulag had left twenty Gold Shield for the wine and had been told to return that afternoon to keep proving himself to Signey.

He Xi and Zoya discovered that Ringleaf could become a spirit-like presence inside Zoya, communicate telepathically, and recognize her as resembling the elves who raised it. They returned to Bruno with Ringleaf, but before He Xi could explain what had happened, Bruno demanded to know why the dwarf blacksmith had not come to meet his daughter.

• Zoya approached Ringleaf, and the trembling fairy horse moved closer and let her stroke it.
• He Xi practiced [Withered Leaves Bloom] in the woods while Zoya explored with Bruce and Ringleaf.
• Ringleaf turned into blue light and disappeared into Zoya, then reappeared beside her and began communicating with her telepathically.
• Zoya relayed that Ringleaf remembered a swaying black box on salty water and elves with pointed ears, brown hair, green eyes, and double-headed curved weapons.
• He Xi learned that Ringleaf could sustain its spirit-body by drawing on Zoya's mana without noticeably changing her reserves.
• He Xi and Zoya led Ringleaf back to the Mushroom Cottage, where Bruno confronted them about the absent dwarf blacksmith.

He Xi and Zoya visited Bruno, who learned that Ringleaf had bonded with Zoya and agreed to give the horse to them in place of the mount he had promised He Xi. Bruno then taught Zoya how to sense and contact her pocket plane, while He Xi left with a reminder to find Ulag and explain the situation.

• He Xi told Bruno that Ulag had missed their appointment, and Bruno insisted the dwarf must have stayed away because he had drunk too much.
• Bruno discovered that Ringleaf no longer trembled and watched it appear and disappear into a pocket plane near Zoya.
• After learning that Ringleaf had bonded with Zoya, Bruno offered to give it to them for 80 Gold Shields, then settled the price as repayment for the mount he had promised He Xi.
• Bruno explained the Ether Plane and pocket planes, then used Ether Root and a magic circle to help Zoya learn to contact Ringleaf's pocket plane.
• He Xi thanked Bruno and promised to find Ulag, while Bruno reminded him to explain the frog language after returning to the academy.

He Xi and his companions attended Cross Auction House, where a rare spell scroll tied to his earnings sold for 300 Gold Shields. He Xi contacted Flora about several questions and kept his reasons from Zoya, leaving her curious as the auction continued.

• He Xi, Bruce, and Zoya waited in Private Box Four while Bruce repeatedly ordered roasted ribs and claimed he was saving money for He Xi.
• Cross opened the auction, and Deborah presented a rare scroll of [Leomund's Tiny Hut] as the first lot.
• Bidders competed over the scroll until Private Box Three won it for 300 Gold Shields.
• He Xi considered asking Flora about scroll-making materials, Skill Scrolls, and low-ranking demons, then sent Beilu to find Flora at Observer's Tower.
• Zoya asked He Xi why he needed Flora, but He Xi called it a secret and returned his attention to the auction, leaving Zoya watching him curiously.