Chapter Summaries

Baron Ul returned to Eagle Claw Manor and learned that Cyril had been spending time with He Xi and pursuing insect magic. He had Cyril locked in his room and told Duggan to leave, while Ferdinand and Otto decided to help Cyril catch mosquitoes.

• Baron Ul heard the report about the stone pillar in Plint’s western outskirts and discovered that Cyril was still there with He Xi.
• Cyril hurried in and told Baron Ul that he had found insects he could connect with, but admitted he had gone to see He Xi.
• Baron Ul ordered guards to drive He Xi out of Plint and seized Cyril when he tried to leave with Duggan to test his insect control.
• Baron Ul ordered Cyril locked in his room and told Duggan that he no longer needed to spend time teaching him.
• Duggan agreed to leave for Fernandez the next morning, while Ferdinand and Otto silently agreed to catch mosquitoes for Cyril.

Cyril proved he could command mosquitoes through a blood-offering ritual, convincing Duggan that he had a talent for becoming an Insect Mage. The group prepared to leave for Fernandez, while Baron Ul secretly tried the ritual and only got bitten.

• Ferdinand and Otto returned with three giant mosquitoes, and Otto persuaded Duggan to bring them to Cyril.
• Cyril let the mosquitoes drink his blood and recited a ritual, then successfully ordered them to perform precise flying patterns.
• Duggan told Baron Ul that Cyril had established an unprecedented connection with the mosquitoes and urged him to pursue the path of an Insect Mage.
• Cyril credited He Xi with teaching him the ritual, and Duggan announced they would leave for Fernandez the next morning to meet Professor Meli.
• After the others left, Baron Ul tried the ritual himself, but the mosquito kept drinking his blood without obeying him.

He Xi mastered the Light Spell and planned to leave Plint Town with Bruce to earn money as an adventurer. When they investigated a foul smell near town, they found Goblins and discovered that an eerie zone was blocking sound; then they spotted a black-haired doll hanging from the bell tower.

• He Xi mastered the Light Spell after hours of practice, but his Wisdom did not increase.
• He Xi told Bruce they would leave the next day, skip the Lord’s invitation, and focus on earning money for adventuring.
• Bruce smelled a foul odor, and He Xi found several Goblins at the town entrance.
• He Xi and Bruce discovered that an invisible boundary around Plint Town blocked sound, and the Goblins would not cross it.
• He Xi and Bruce headed west toward Eagle Claw Manor, smelled blood, and saw a black-haired doll hanging from the town bell tower.

He Xi used a flash of light to rescue Baron Ul and his guards from a Goblin attack outside Plint’s soundless zone. As the group considered how to coordinate with Captain Kadan inside town, He Xi focused on the bell tower as a possible way to signal him.

• He Xi and Bruce found Baron Ul and a small squad of guards surrounded by Goblins at the northern entrance to town.
• Bruce warned He Xi that they had reached the soundless zone, so He Xi followed its boundary to get within range of the guards.
• He Xi cast [Light Spell], blinding several Goblins and giving Baron Ul’s guards time to retreat.
• Baron Ul recognized He Xi and offered him a place with the Eagle Claw family, but He Xi urged him to focus on rescuing the people in town.
• Baron Ul explained that Captain Kadan might be gathering the guards inside Plint for a coordinated attack, and He Xi looked toward the town’s bell tower.

He Xi and Baron Ul led their group into the Goblin-infested town to reach the bell tower and destroy the Mud Doll believed to be causing the silence. A Goblin shaman enraged the surrounding Goblins, leaving the group surrounded and under mounting pressure.

• He Xi identified the bell tower as the likely source of the silencing field, and Baron Ul led the guards toward it with He Xi protected in their formation.
• He Xi’s group entered town, fought through Goblins, and found its streets strewn with blood and corpses.
• A young guard rushed into his home and was killed by Goblins; He Xi and Baron Ul found his mutilated body and killed the Goblins lying in wait.
• He Xi used repeated [Light Spell] attacks as the group fought toward the bell tower, while Bruce helped trip and bite Goblins.
• A Goblin shaman appeared and used its staff to enrage the Goblins, weakening the effect of He Xi’s light spells.
• The berserk Goblins broke through the guards’ formation, and Goblins poured from the alleys until He Xi’s group was surrounded.

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.