Chapter Summaries

Victor Nye advanced to Silver Rank with the Ascension Magic Array, but Osman subdued him, erased his mind, and concealed his disappearance. Meanwhile, Kraun steadily purified the Alienated Zone until Color Out of Space launched a desperate attack, leaving their battle underway.

• Victor told Osman he planned to publicly announce his Silver Rank advancement, but Osman ordered him to keep the Ascension Magic Array secret.
• Osman captured Victor, confirmed he had told no one about the array, and left him mentally incapacitated while promising the Nye Family twenty years of prosperity.
• Kraun entered the Alienated Zone and used Golden Light techniques to divide and purify it, hoping to force Color Out of Space into the open.
• Color Out of Space sensed that Kraun's Law could destroy it and chose to attack before losing its home-ground advantage.
• Kraun answered Color Out of Space's five-colored attack with Golden Light Domain and Palm Thunder, weakening its glow.

Kraun destroyed the Color Out of Space with a Solar Thunder Seal, purified its Alienated Zone, and created a Golden Light Dao Seed. After Bastet swallowed the seed, Kraun discovered he could transmit knowledge through it and tested the connection's range with his Beasts.

• Kraun used Time Stop and the Solar Thunder Seal to destroy the Color Out of Space, earning ten thousand proficiency points for his Golden Light Incantation.
• Kraun spent five days purifying the Alienated Zone, then returned to Hamus City to create a Golden Light Dao Seed.
• Kraun disciplined Fugin for trying to flee and told both Beasts to train and face danger instead of running away.
• Bastet swallowed the Dao Seed, opened his Sea of Consciousness, and formed a hidden connection to Kraun through which Kraun instantly transmitted the Visualization Method.
• Kraun sent Fugin and Bastet to the city wall and began testing whether he could still sense the Dao Seed and communicate with Bastet from three kilometers away.

Kraun tested the range of his Golden Light Dao Seeds, empowered his followers, and established a secure messaging protocol as war approached. He then visited Fland to discuss Del’s promotion and ask where to find another Alienated Land.

• Kraun tested his Golden Light Dao Seed’s communication range through Bastet and Fugin, finding that he could sense it at about ten kilometers.
• Kraun granted Dao Seeds to five loyal Transcendents, whose training advanced their abilities and increased his own Golden Light Incantation proficiency.
• Kraun taught Del, Melissa, Lia, and Lorraine new abilities, restricted Golden Light Potion sales to himself, and set a Sunfire Liquid check before anyone could message him.
• Del asked Kraun to grant Janice a Dao Seed, and Kraun agreed to consider it after she graduated from the Training Base.
• As war neared, Kraun visited Fland and asked about Del receiving Cardinal status and the location of another Alienated Land.

Kraun learned that Del would not receive a bishop position under the Holy See’s new promotion rules, then traveled to investigate another Alienated Zone. He killed the Starry Creature Color Out of Space and gained twelve thousand points of Golden Light Incantation proficiency.

• Fland told Kraun that the Holy See had suspended bishop promotions for newly advanced Tier 3 Transcendents unless they performed a great service.
• Fland marked an Alienated Land southwest of Rhine City, and Kraun flew toward it after declaring he would purify the area.
• Kraun found signs of habitation at an abandoned chapel, where he killed a lurking Tier 3 Katakan and collected its materials.
• Kraun replenished his energy and entered the Alienated Zone, where his Golden Light Domain cleared the polluted laws around him.
• Color Out of Space attacked Kraun, but he struck it with the Solar Thunder Seal and pursued it as it fled.
• Kraun killed Color Out of Space with Palm Thunder, purified the Starry Creature, and gained twelve thousand Golden Light Incantation proficiency points.

As the Faruk Kingdom prepared for war, Kraun volunteered to hunt the enemy’s Two-Headed Chimeras and discovered that the Golden Light Dao Seed could increase his proficiency from far away. In Blei City, Pope Osman concealed his search for Silver Rank life essence and resolved to accelerate his plan after learning that the Pope of the Church of the Lord of Storms had died.

• Kraun found that the Savage Bone Breathing Technique complemented the Golden Light Incantation, and he realized the distant Golden Light Dao Seed was still giving him proficiency gains.
• A month later, Fland briefed the gathered forces in Rhine City on the approaching enemy and ordered them to reorganize for battle.
• Kraun volunteered to kill Two-Headed Chimeras, and Fland approved the mission while warning him to protect himself.
• Del identified Kraun to the other officers, who learned that four Silver Rank powerhouses would take part in the battle.
• Osman refused the Kingdom Senate’s request to investigate the Blei City disappearances and offered rewards for Silver Hearts to obtain more life essence.
• After reading that Alessio Hart had died, Osman decided to speed up his plan to repair his damaged Life Essence.

Kraun attacked the Cultist base, lured away Northland Giant Bear cubs, and killed Solacha and several Chimeras while evading a trap. Somla recognized that the failed ambush had cost the Kurud Tribe many warriors and that only a Tier 5 opponent could stop Kraun.

• Kraun bombarded the Cultist camp, then drove several Northland Giant Bear cubs out of it with gunpowder shells.
• Kraun seized a cub and fled toward Rhine City as Silver Warriors pursued him, hoping to lure him into a hidden magic array.
• Kraun fought the pursuing Chimera riders while they guided him toward a valley, then blinded them with Golden Light Illumination.
• Kraun beheaded Solacha Lionheart and killed a Silver Rank Chimera, taking their hearts before pursuing enemies fled.
• Kraun sensed danger and escaped before reaching the hidden array, and Somla raged over the Silver Warriors’ losses.

After the disastrous battle, Kraun escaped with a Northland Giant Bear cub, removed its existing contract mark, and made it his own beast. Back at Rhine City, he collected the Pope’s rewards, handed over more spoils, and prepared to command troops in the next phase of the war.

• Somla ordered the tribe to count its losses and revise its battle plan after losing Chimeras and Silver Warriors, while Daru searched desperately for his missing Northland Giant Bear cub.
• Kraun met up with his Metal Avatar, removed the cub’s Spirit Seed, planted his own, and flew with it toward Rhine City.
• Kraun returned to Holy Fire Cathedral, where Fland told him that the Pope’s envoy had brought rewards for his Silver Rank victories.
• Kraun showed Fland the hearts of four Silver Rank enemies, including three hearts from a Two-Headed Chimera, and refused to sell any of his Flame Essence yet.
• Kraun agreed to command a unit, proposed adding his Guard Team to the combat ranks, and said he would wait for the enemy to attack before moving against its remaining fifteen Chimeras.

Daru lost his bond with Bear Cub after Kraun took the cub, while Kraun named it Arcturus and began caring for it. As war approached, Kraun visited Tiffany and Rodney, gave them Golden Light Dao Seeds, and taught them protective spells, leaving them better prepared for future dangers.

• Daru realized his bond with Bear Cub had vanished and fainted from grief, while his cousin secretly rejoiced at the loss.
• Kraun fed the awakened Bear Cub Heart-Clearing Talisman Water, named it Arcturus, and sent for Billy to help raise it.
• Kraun visited Tiffany and Rodney in Rhine City as war with the Cultists approached, and the family avoided discussing the conflict.
• Kraun gave Tiffany and Rodney Golden Light Dao Seeds and taught them the Heart-Clearing Incantation, Golden Light Body Protection, and Golden Light Seal.
• Tiffany asked whether Julia and Martin could learn the arts, and Kraun promised more Dao Seeds within half a year while noting Rodney had reached Tier 2.

Kraun advanced his cultivation, granted Janice a Golden Light Dao Seed, and sent Del to seek information on other Alienated Lands while he scouted the Andes Mountains. A month later, the Church Allied Forces remained stuck outside the enemy camp, and their dwindling provisions forced their commanders to reconsider the deadlock.

• Jason returned to his quarters after meeting Del and considered pledging himself to Kraun, envying Del's new equipment and fortune.
• Kraun practiced Flame Breath, the Savage Bone Breathing Technique, and the Golden Light Incantation, then checked his progress at dawn.
• Del brought Janice to Kraun, who gave her a Golden Light Dao Seed after she swore her loyalty and reminded her to take responsibility for her duties.
• Kraun ordered Del to ask the Cardinal about other Alienated Lands and left Del in charge of the troops while he went to scout the Andes Mountains.
• Osman extracted Life Essence from the Silver Hearts delivered from Rhine City and distributed the promised rewards.
• A month later, Fland told the Rhine City operations headquarters to propose ways to break the deadlock as the enemy remained entrenched and the Allied Forces' provisions dwindled.

As the Cultists' fortified camp and exploding bats stalled the Church's campaign, Kraun proposed using crude airships to exhaust the enemy's aerial forces. He learned that the Saxon Family was quietly challenging the Church's authority, then returned home and focused on training.

• Cavendi and Theo described the military deadlock, the Church's supply shortages, and the danger of a costly direct assault.
• Theo revealed that the Saxon Family had at least two Silver Rank experts, and Fland explained its history and the growing tension between royal and Church authority.
• Kraun proposed building crude airships to draw out and deplete the Cultists' exploding bats, and Fland agreed to contact the Curiosity Manufacturing Association.
• Kraun returned to 36 Baker Street, where Arcturus complained about being bullied by Fugin and Bastet.
• Kraun trained in the Savage Bone Breathing Technique and checked his progress in the Golden Light Incantation.

The McLean Family debated Fland’s request to establish a branch in the Faruk Kingdom and pursue an alliance through marriage with Kraun, then organized an investigation party. Meanwhile, Kraun advanced his Savage Bone Breathing Technique and awakened a Silver Dragon phantom; the chapter ended as he learned that guests from Budamia had arrived and Fland wanted him to show them around Rhine City.

• Grenio heard the McLean Family debate Fland’s proposal and decided to send an investigation party led by Plinton, with Morgan as his deputy and eligible young women among the group.
• Kraun used the Time Hourglass while training, strengthened his Blood-Qi, and advanced his Savage Bone Breathing Technique to Tier 5 as a Silver Dragon phantom appeared.
• Kraun imagined that further advancement might let the Dragon Shadow become a real creature and continued training with renewed motivation.
• Harry Dale visited Kraun on Fland’s behalf, and Kraun noticed that Harry had advanced to become a Tier 3 Exorcist Priest.
• Harry told Kraun that guests from the Budamia Kingdom had arrived and that Fland wanted Kraun to accompany them on a tour of Rhine City.

Miners uncovered a sealed metal box containing a strange creature, and Dais was infected after opening it. Meanwhile, Kraun met the McLean Family members and learned Archbishop Fland hoped to arrange a marriage alliance, leaving Kraun to consider Eliza and Freya.

• Johnson and the other miners uncovered a metal box, found Cold Jade nearby, and left the box sealed after briefly opening it and seeing a strange creature inside.
• Dais searched the mine for more Cold Jade, opened the box, and swallowed some of the liquid that shot into his mouth before leaving like a puppet.
• Fland introduced Kraun to Plinton, Eliza, and Freya, members of the McLean Family visiting Rhine City.
• Kraun took the McLean Family members to local taverns and served as their guide around Rhine City.
• Fland told Kraun about the McLean Family's Silver bloodline and proposed a marriage alliance, asking which woman he preferred.
• Kraun considered Eliza and Freya and found Eliza's lively nature more appealing than Freya's cold demeanor.

Kraun improved his Golden Light Incantation practice while the McLean Family prepared to test his combat ability in a spar with Plinton. Elsewhere, Dais transformed into a mass of blood that infected the miners, who rose and silently left the dormitory.

• Kraun practiced the Savage Bone Breathing Technique and Golden Light Incantation, discovering that his visualization proficiency had increased by 20 percent.
• Freya told Eliza she resented being treated as a marriage candidate, while Eliza accepted Kraun's Silver Rank as a good reason to consider him.
• Plinton asked Fland to arrange a spar with Kraun and prepared to face him in his enchanted armor and with his Soul-Infused Weapon.
• Dais burst into blood that seeped into the sleeping miners, and the infected miners got up and walked out of the dormitory.
• Kraun arrived at Fland's Training Ground with Harry, who said the Cardinal planned to send him out once the war began; the others waited for Kraun to spar with Plinton.

Kraun defeated Plinton twice in a sparring match, then left with Eliza while Plinton studied how to counter him for a rematch. In Hamus City, Nick received an urgent report that miners at the Mining Area had died or become strange.

• Fland urged Kraun to give Plinton a serious challenge, and Kraun agreed to test the McLean Family's resources as well.
• Kraun used his armor and time-manipulating abilities to defeat Plinton in two exchanges, leaving him injured and embarrassed.
• Plinton reviewed the fight and resolved to find a way to defeat Kraun in a rematch that night.
• Eliza invited Kraun to eat with her, and he accepted as she asked him to call her Isa.
• Nick learned that many miners at the Mining Area had died and the survivors had become strange, and he was asked to decide what to do.

Kraun defeated Plinton in a late-night spar and considered how to learn the secrets of godhood, while Nick investigated unexplained deaths and strange behavior at the Mining Area. Nick went to inspect the original attack site and the surviving miners.

• Kraun fought Plinton in Fland's Training Ground, using repeated Earthquake Slams to disrupt his balance before knocking him out of the area.
• Plinton admitted defeat and left, then vomited among the flowerbeds; Kraun wondered what gods competed over and considered seeking answers from the Holy See or the McLean Family.
• Kraun experimented with the newly advanced Savage Bone Breathing Technique, then called Arcturus to practice the Golden Light Incantation.
• Nick traveled to the Mining Area, where Yusef explained that ore carts had stopped arriving and suspicious miners had been confined.
• Nick asked whether an evil god was responsible, but Yusef said the miners' condition differed from the earlier Ratman incident and that there was no evidence of a sacrifice.
• Nick asked Yusef to take him to the original site and the surviving miners, whom Yusef warned were impossible to communicate with.

Rhine City’s forces sent bombing airships to bait the Cultists’ bat monsters, while Kraun guarded the main attack and destroyed the remaining creatures with the Solar Flame Art. The bombing began without resistance, leaving Kraun and Fland suspicious as Somla’s forces prepared to act.

• Fland explained that Kraun was a Spirit Controller with a special bloodline, while Plinton asked about the battle plan and Fland described the strategy of wearing down the Cultists.
• Kraun flew toward the enemy camp, practiced his breathing technique, and considered training Del, Lia, Lorraine, and Melissa as Spirit Controllers.
• The bait airships drew out the Bat Monsters, and Kraun killed the remaining creatures with the Solar Flame Art after the main Rhine City force arrived.
• Somla watched Kraun destroy the Bat Monsters and ordered his attendants to wait until Kraun came closer before deploying.
• The bombing airships reached the Cultists’ camp and began dropping bombs, but the enemy’s Chimera forces did not respond.
• Kraun searched the camp with his spiritual perception, while Plinton wondered whether the Cultists’ silence was a trap and Fland chose to wait.

Nick ordered the Hamers Mining Area sealed after discovering that an unknown creature was infecting miners through blood, while Kraun fought an enemy ambush and destroyed two Tier 5 Soul-Devouring Jellyfish with his Talismans. After surviving, Kraun decided to strike the enemy camp and charged the remaining Chimeras.

• Nick found that infected miners became monsters within seconds and ordered the Hamers Mining Area sealed, with troops summoned from Hamus City.
• Nick sent a coded message to Kraun and Fanny asking them to learn about the crisis, while Kraun prepared to fight an approaching Chimera force.
• Two Tier 5 Soul-Devouring Jellyfish ambushed Kraun with Psychic Magic, but he recovered and used the Lunar Thunder Seal and Solar Thunder Seal to create an Annihilation Black Hole.
• The black hole swallowed both Soul-Devouring Jellyfish and turned a Chimera and its rider into black sand, shocking Somla, Fland, and the others.
• Kraun decided to attack the enemy camp before it could threaten him again and charged the remaining Chimeras as their riders tried to flee.

After Rhine City’s victory over the cultists, Kraun confirmed his advancement and learned that the enemy planned to scatter, infiltrate the city, and unleash Evil Beasts. Back home, he replaced some of his lost weapons by crafting Lunar Thunder Seals and successfully making his first Mind-Clearing Pendant.

• Kraun told Fland and Theo that his Breathing Technique had advanced, discussed the enemy’s defenses, and asked when the Holy See would deliver his rewards.
• Plinton told Morgan that Kraun had reached the fifth tier and urged the McLean Family to begin negotiating a marriage alliance.
• Somla’s council decided to scatter the tribe, wait for the Mind Flayers to hatch, and release the Evil Beasts against the enemy.
• Kraun examined the Cold Jade from Hamus City, paid Nick through William, and crafted four high-quality and two ordinary Lunar Thunder Seals.
• Kraun spent fifty-one pieces of jade before successfully crafting a Mind-Clearing Pendant and unlocking Curio Crafting on the Gold Wall.

Kraun sent Fanny, Melissa, Lorraine, Fugin, and Bastet to help resolve the crisis at the Hamers Mining Area, while Rhine City prepared for the Cultists’ possible return. After several quiet days, Kraun’s Time Hourglass Spirit Familiar advanced, revealing a new silver star beneath its base.

• Kraun received an urgent report that an unknown threat had halted production at the Hamers Mining Area, and he sent Lorraine and Melissa with Fugin and Bastet to help Nick find and defeat it.
• Kraun gave the group Mind-Clearing Pendants, and Fanny told Melissa and Lorraine that Kraun had reached Tier 5.
• Three days later, scouts reported that the Cultists had abandoned their camp in the Andes Mountains, and Fland ordered the Arsenal to operate at full capacity.
• Fugin discovered that the possessed monsters feared intense heat, helping the Mining Area team identify the enemy’s weakness and bring the crisis under control.
• Fland asked Kraun whether he would accept a future appointment as cardinal, and Kraun said he was more interested in the knowledge held by the Church than in becoming pope.
• Five days later, Kraun saw a new silver star appear beneath his enlarged Time Hourglass after its power briefly affected his perception of the world.

Kraun discovered Time Hourglass’s new Tier 4 abilities, tested them on Arcturus, and left to investigate a monster at Hamers Mining Area. Meanwhile, Osman declared Kraun a Tier 5 Transcendentalist and nominated him as his successor to protect his own position.

• Kraun explored Time Hourglass’s upgraded skills, including time distortion, Time Stop, Bullet Time, Time Regression, Time Clockwork, and Void Rift.
• Kraun tested Time Stop and time distortion on Arcturus, then returned to practicing the Savage Bone Breathing Technique.
• Fland told Kraun that a Tier 4 monster at Hamers Mining Area had infected soldiers and outmatched Cavendi and Lannister, so Kraun agreed to go there.
• Osman read reports claiming Kraun had slain two Tier 5 Soul-Devouring Jellyfish and worried that Kraun’s growing power threatened his position as Pope.
• Osman wrote letters declaring Kraun a Tier 5 Transcendentalist, recommending him as a Red-Robed Archbishop and the next Pope, and ordered Moon to deliver them.