Recaps

Charles began his first-ring wizard studies after Ms. Boxi gave him course materials, a tower pass, and three months to prepare for an examination. He studied rapidly and met with Anderson to ask questions, earning his teacher’s growing approval.

• Ms. Boxi gave Charles basic materials for nearly twenty Abyssal Grimoire Studies courses, a pass to Anderson Tower, and a room on its third floor.
• Ms. Boxi told Charles to study for three months before she examined him and considered assigning him to an experimental team.
• Charles returned home and used Soul Coins to buy Anderson’s study notes and cultivation insights, quickly mastering the basics of several courses.
• After half a month of study, Charles collected questions and received an invitation to Anderson’s office for a lesson.
• Charles asked Anderson questions about cultivation, meditation, and specialized subjects, and Anderson became increasingly impressed by his ability to learn.

Charles received advanced planar, military, and espionage courses, then spent a year and a half building his magical knowledge and rising to lead a bloodline research group. The chapter ended with him successfully completing a bloodline modification on a wizard apprentice and ordering the assistant to collect the remaining payment after the apprentice woke.

• Anderson added Planar Mathematics, Planar Topology, Conquest Strategy and Tactics, and Shadow Espionage and Infiltration Techniques to Charles's studies, and Lady Boxi gave him the books and warned him about an assessment in half a month.
• Charles studied the new subjects and wondered whether Isata intended to invade otherworldly planes, but he set the thought aside and focused on learning.
• Over the next year and a half, Charles studied many specialized courses and first-rank spells, joined Boxi's bloodline research group, and rose from newcomer to one of its leaders within a year.
• Charles performed a bloodline modification on a second-class wizard apprentice, adjusting the potions when the apprentice's body faltered until the apprentice developed concealed scales and runes and stabilized.
• Charles declared the bloodline modification successful and told his assistant to treat the apprentice's wounds and collect the remaining payment after he woke.

Charles prepared to strengthen Bruce’s bloodline by acquiring a Minotaur Demon from the Abyss. After summoning the demon into his room, he struck it with a spell that magnified its pain.

• Charles finished an apprentice’s bloodline modification and returned to his lodgings to prepare for another experiment on Bruce.
• Charles set up a Summon Demon rune array and contacted Delis in the Abyss to ask whether she had prepared the requested creature.
• Delis confirmed that she had captured a Minotaur Demon and offered to send it over, then answered Charles’s summon before returning to the Abyss.
• Delis summoned the Minotaur Demon into Charles’s room, where it woke and tried to attack him.
• Charles hit the Minotaur Demon with the first-circle spell Pain Focus.

Charles began modifying Bruce with a first-ring Bull Demon's bloodline, hoping to raise his combat power to that of a Lesser Demon. The procedure progressed through the first infusion and Abyss rune etching, and Charles began injecting a second portion of bloodline essence.

• Charles subdued the Bull Demon, recorded its data, and collected samples from its blood and body for future research.
• Charles prepared Bruce for the operation, and Bruce said he trusted Charles and wanted to become stronger.
• Erika assisted as Charles opened Bruce's chest and abdomen and examined his organs and bones.
• Charles purified a portion of the Bull Demon's bloodline essence and injected it into Bruce's bone marrow.
• Charles used the Blood Abyss Resonance Spell as Bruce's body began changing, then etched Abyss runes into his skull, spine, and limb bones.
• Charles injected Bruce with a second, smaller portion of the Bull Demon's bloodline essence.

Charles completed Bruce’s demonic bloodline transformation by replacing his heart with a Minotaur Demon’s, and Bruce survived the ordeal. Bruce woke stronger, with horns beginning to grow, as Charles concluded that the transformation had succeeded.

• Charles gradually fused demonic bloodline essence and Minotaur Demon organs into Bruce, then replaced Bruce’s heart with the demon’s heart.
• Bruce wandered through memories of his life with Charles while resisting the frightening whispers in the darkness.
• Encouraged by Charles’s voice, Bruce pushed onward and transformed into a stronger, more demonic form with horns.
• Bruce broke through the darkness and woke on the operating table with his new heart beating strongly.
• Charles recognized that Bruce’s transformation had succeeded and congratulated him.

Charles learned that Anderson had been teaching him about planes to prepare him for plane wars. Anderson proposed sending Charles as a Shadow Spy Wizard to scout a newly acquired plane, establish an Outpost Base, and build a Teleportation Beacon.

• Charles monitored Bruce's recovery after his demonic bloodline transformation and provided him with nourishment.
• A crow summoned Charles to Anderson's office.
• Anderson explained that wizards relied on plane wars to obtain the resources needed for cultivation and experiments.
• Charles admitted that he had spent most of his credits on potions, equipment, and spells.
• Anderson proposed that Charles scout a plane, establish an Outpost Base, and build a Teleportation Beacon before Anderson led an army to conquer it.

Charles agreed to become Anderson’s Shadow Spy Wizard after learning he would receive a share of the proceeds from conquering a plane. After they signed an Isata-notarized contract, Anderson promised six months of training and offered him a choice of soul companions.

• Anderson explained how plane-conquest proceeds were divided and promised Charles a share for serving as his Shadow Spy Wizard.
• Charles accepted Anderson’s offer, and Anderson revealed that he was a Shadow Spy Wizard who would train him personally.
• Charles reviewed and signed a contract granting him his personal spoils and three-thousandths of Anderson’s proceeds after he established an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon and guided the army through.
• Anderson announced that he would give Charles six months of intensive training and let him choose a soul companion from those he had prepared.

Charles chose a Molten-Poison Flying Python egg as his spirit companion and learned about its abilities and potential. After returning home, he formed a soul contract and fed it his blood and mental power, causing the egg to begin hatching.

• Charles visited Lady Boxi, who offered him three sealed spirit companion eggs to choose from.
• Charles chose the largest egg, and Lady Boxi revealed it contained a Molten-Poison Flying Python, a dragonkin that could grow into a second-tier magical beast.
• Charles researched the flying dragonkin's fire and poison breath, combat abilities, and potential to grow closer to a true dragon.
• Charles activated the spirit companion contract, cut his palm, and smeared his blood on the egg.
• The egg absorbed Charles's blood and mental power, and its shell began to crack.

Charles watched the Molten-Poison Flying Python hatch, named it Scorchflame, and cared for it as their souls formed a contract. Anderson then taught Charles the basics of disguise, survival, and establishing an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon during a plane invasion.

• The Molten-Poison Flying Python hatched and slithered onto Charles, who named it Scorchflame.
• Scorchflame ate its eggshell, then monster meat and two Magic Stones, before falling asleep on Charles's shoulder.
• Charles sensed his soul connection with Scorchflame and chose to bear all soul-attack damage himself while it was still weak.
• Anderson taught Charles that disguise, including clothing, language, and magic, was essential for a Shadow Spy Wizard in another plane.
• Anderson explained that Shadow Spy Wizards needed combat, escape, and resource-gathering skills, and taught Charles how to establish an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon.

Charles continued preparing for his coming invasion of another plane, training Scorchflame and gathering demon essence to help Bruce advance there. Anderson summoned him to inspect Isata’s upcoming sale of plane coordinates and offered him a Luck Potion.

• Scorchflame asked Charles what they were eating, then summoned a Demon Worm and shared the roasted meat with Bruce.
• Charles extracted essence from a Lesser Minotaur Demon, intending to use it to help Bruce gain first-rank combat strength after they reached another plane.
• A crow delivered Anderson’s summons, and Charles went to his tower.
• Anderson told Charles that Isata was about to sell another batch of plane coordinates and invited him to choose a target.
• Anderson showed Charles a Luck Potion he had obtained ahead of time.

Anderson took Charles to buy coordinates for an unknown minor plane and gave him a Luck Potion so he could choose under its influence. After Charles selected a shop using divination, he was presented with five plane options and had to make the final choice.

• Anderson gave Charles a Luck Potion and took him to Isata’s commercial district to choose a shop selling plane coordinates.
• Charles drank the potion and used Feather Divination with one of Lady Boxi’s tail feathers to select a shop.
• Anderson brought Charles into the chosen shop, where Is arranged five minor-plane coordinate scrolls for them to examine.
• Is explained that one plane had a large desert region but was known to contain intelligent life, possibly human, while the other planes had almost no information.
• Anderson stayed silent as Charles considered the five planes, leaving the decision to him.

Charles used a Luck Potion while choosing planar coordinates, and the feather selected the largest of the five planes. After Anderson bought the coordinates, he brought Charles and Bruce to Isata’s cross-planar gateway to prepare for Charles’s expedition.

• Charles asked Is to switch the scrolls’ positions, then used Feather Divination to choose a set of planar coordinates.
• The feather’s path changed when Charles’s breath disturbed it, and Charles and Anderson agreed to choose the largest plane.
• Anderson paid Is for the coordinates and signed a contract granting Isata forty percent of the profits.
• Anderson arranged to use a Sage’s cross-planar gateway and returned with Charles and Bruce, who carried supplies in Demon-Sealing Boxes.
• Is led them through Isata to a small cross-planar gateway and explained that Anderson would eventually need to build his own.

Charles and Bruce crossed through an interplanar portal, but arrived in the middle of an endless ocean with no land in sight. After realizing they could not survive indefinitely in the water, Charles froze part of the sea to create a temporary foothold.

• Anderson activated the interplanar portal, and Charles and Bruce crossed into the unknown plane with the Demon-Sealing Box.
• Charles regained consciousness in the sea, where the floating Demon-Sealing Box stayed sealed and Bruce surfaced nearby in his heavy armor.
• Charles told Bruce to remove his armor and used Flight to search for land, but saw only ocean in every direction.
• Charles decided they needed a boat, then cast Frost Breath to freeze a small patch of seawater into a temporary foothold.

Charles and Bruce crossed the sea on a magically maintained iceberg and reached a small island after divining the direction of land. After scouting and exploring the island, Charles began planning how to gather intelligence and resources, build a boat, and establish a Teleportation Beacon.

• Charles used Star-Tear Divination and Feather Divination to find the direction of the nearest land, then had Bruce row while he made a sail from his clothes.
• After a day and a night at sea, Charles spotted an island and sent a crow projection to scout it, finding plants, birds, and no signs of intelligent life or danger.
• Charles and Bruce reached the island, where Bruce praised Charles as he stepped ashore.
• Charles and Bruce circled the island, found fresh water and seabirds, and killed two birds with Bone Needle Bees for dinner.
• From the island’s highest point, Charles considered gathering intelligence and resources, building a boat, establishing a Teleportation Beacon, and helping Bruce advance into a Lesser Demon.

Charles and Bruce established themselves on an island, where Bruce advanced to Rank One and Charles built a raft. After divination led them to a settlement, Charles discovered humans living there and sent Bruce to capture one.

• Charles gave Bruce the Minotaur Demon essence, and Bruce advanced to Rank One after consuming it.
• Charles and Bruce completed a raft and sailed toward a settlement Charles had located through divination.
• Charles sent a crow projection ahead and found a harbor with wooden houses and two ships.
• Charles spotted a drunken human near the harbor and ordered Bruce to bring him back.

Bruce captured Turner, a pirate from the Claw Pirate Crew, so Charles could learn about the plane. Turner revealed the crew’s size and Tide Warriors, and began explaining how someone could become one.

• Bruce knocked out the drunk Turner, carried him to Charles’s raft, and rowed away with Charles.
• Charles and Bruce tied Turner up on the raft and questioned him, using Language Comprehension to communicate.
• Turner identified himself as a member of the Claw Pirate Crew and said it had two ships, more than seventy people, and five Tide Warriors.
• Charles learned that Tide Warriors were stronger fighters and asked how they gained their power.
• Turner said becoming a Tide Warrior required borrowing power from a powerful marine magic beast, but claimed he could not do it without help.

Charles studied the Tide Warrior cultivation system, killed Turner after Bruce interrogated him, and decided to infiltrate the pirate crew. He and Bruce prepared to attack the Claw Pirate Crew at night, approaching their island while the pirates celebrated.

• Charles bought Turner's cultivation insights and learned that Tide Warriors used aquatic Magic Beast blood and crystal cores to advance.
• Bruce tortured Turner for information, then killed him and threw his body into the sea on Charles's orders.
• Charles learned that the Claw Pirate Crew had five Tide Warriors and more than seventy pirates, and decided pirates would provide a useful identity.
• Charles and Bruce rested, ate grilled fish, and prepared aquatic demons for their planned attack.
• The Claw Pirate Crew continued celebrating without noticing Turner's disappearance as Charles and Bruce's raft approached the island.

Giles led three Tide Warriors in a charge against Charles, hoping to kill the Tide Priest and end the battle. Charles revealed that he had summoned an army of Abyssal Kuo-toa, and sent three Rank One Kuo-toa to meet the attackers.

• Giles woke to screams of an enemy attack, armed himself, and watched the fighting from his house.
• Giles saw deep-sea mermen battling his crew and recognized that the ice-spike attack came from Charles, whom he believed was a Tide Priest.
• Giles ordered the other Tide Warriors to follow him and swam toward Charles's raft for a decapitation strike.
• Charles explained that he had prepared contracts for Abyssal Kuo-toa, including Rank One fighters and apprentice-rank cannon fodder.
• Charles ordered the three Rank One Kuo-toa circling the raft to attack Giles and the other Tide Warriors.

Charles and Bruce defeated the Claw Pirate Crew with help from Abyssal Kuo-toa, capturing several Tide Warriors while killing the pirates who resisted. The remaining pirates hid on the island as Charles ordered Bruce to persuade them to surrender.

• Charles summoned Abyssal Kuo-toa to fight the pirate Tide Warriors underwater while Bruce guarded the raft.
• Charles killed nine battle-hungry pirates with Bone Needle Bee and struck Giles with Soul Strike, allowing a Kuo-toa to wound and capture him.
• Charles ordered the Kuo-toa to take Giles alive, and they captured another Tide Warrior but killed the third.
• Charles and the Kuo-toa defeated the brave pirates, leaving fewer than half of the crew alive and the rest hiding among the island's ruins.
• Bruce threw two injured Tide Warriors onto shore, and Charles ordered him to persuade them to surrender.

Charles and Bruce subdued the pirates on the island, forcing most to surrender while the Abyss Kuo-toa killed those who remained hidden. Charles left the captured pirates tied up and ordered a young pirate to treat the wounded Tide Warriors.

• Bruce landed on the shore and demanded that the pirates drop their weapons and kneel, while Charles relit the candles aboard a nearby ship.
• One pirate surrendered, and most of the surviving pirates followed; Bruce struck an old pirate who pleaded that he had been forced into piracy.
• Charles directed the Abyss Kuo-toa to attack the pirates hiding in the dark, and they killed them despite one pirate’s attempt to surrender.
• Charles asked who could treat wounds, and a pirate pointed out a young man, whom Charles ordered to stop the bleeding of four injured Tide Warriors.
• Charles praised Dalle for identifying the young healer, offered him better treatment in exchange for service, and ordered him to bind the other pirates.
• Dalle fetched rope and tightly tied up the captured pirates.

Charles searched the pirates’ hideout and ship, finding valuable water-element Magic Stones and a captain’s log he learned to read with Giles’s notes. He ordered Bruce to interrogate the surviving pirates and keep only enough crew to sail the ship.

• Charles collected the fallen souls, dismissed the Mermen, and searched the captain’s hut, where he found a chest of water-element Magic Stones.
• Charles boarded the ship, found Giles’s books and captain’s log, and bought Giles’s Notes on Learning Written Language to read them.
• Charles ordered Bruce to interrogate the surviving pirates and told him to send uncooperative prisoners into the sea.
• Charles assessed the ship’s crew needs and instructed Bruce which skilled workers to retain, leaving him to handle the prisoners and crew selection.

Charles read the captured pirate captain’s logs and books, learning about the sea’s regions, resources, and dangerous sailing seasons. As he considered using the pirate island as a temporary stronghold, the Luck Potion’s scent and a falling wooden frame warned him that the island was unsafe, leaving him to wonder what danger threatened it.

• Charles read the voyage log and learned that the pirates had recently raided wealthy Fangtooth Island.
• Charles studied books describing the sea-dominated plane, its islands, and the seasonal dangers that limited sailing.
• Charles noted that Storm Month was only fifty or sixty days away and considered securing resources and a base for an Outpost Base and Teleportation Beacon.
• Charles judged the pirate island suitable as a temporary stronghold but too difficult to defend against a serious attack.
• A cracked wooden frame toppled beside Charles, and he sensed the Luck Potion’s scent again.
• Charles concluded that the island was unsafe and wondered whether pirates, natural disasters, or Fangtooth Island posed the danger.

Charles chose twenty pirates to join him and declared himself the new captain of the Claw Pirate Crew. After forcing the new crew to kill their former companions as a token of allegiance, he appointed Valen, Dalle, Bruce, and Bell to positions of responsibility.

• Charles had Dalle select twenty pirates to join the crew, then replaced several of Dalle’s choices with sailors who had useful skills.
• Charles declared himself captain of the Claw Pirate Crew, and the chosen pirates swore to serve him and took up weapons.
• Charles ordered the new crew to kill the remaining tied-up pirates, and the crew obeyed, with Valen striking first and Dalle joining in.
• Charles named Valen boatswain and Dalle second mate, and put Bruce in charge as vice-captain and first mate.
• Charles appointed Bell, who had been treating the wounded Tide Warriors, as the crew’s physician.

Charles reorganized the Claw Pirate Crew into factions under Dalle, Valen, and Bell, then ordered the island’s captives and supplies moved aboard. He distributed gold shells to win the pirates’ loyalty as he prepared to expand his crew.

• Charles divided the crew’s management among Dalle, Valen, and Bell and ordered the four captured Tide Warriors locked up for later interrogation.
• Valen led the sailors in removing the island’s supplies, books, Magic Stones, and a chest of gold shells.
• Charles ordered the kidnapped women locked up while he prepared to abandon the stronghold.
• Charles gave each pirate twenty gold shells and promised double shares to Dalle, Valen, and Bell; Dalle publicly pledged his loyalty.

After taking Fangtooth Island and loading its goods, Charles sailed away with the pirates and questioned the captured Tide Warriors. Giles recounted how he became a pirate, while Charles learned more about the plane’s kingdoms and political divisions.

• Charles had the pirates load Fangtooth Island’s goods, left the imprisoned women behind, and set sail with two ships.
• Charles decided to sell three captured Tide Warriors as slaves and interrogated Giles, threatening his wound until Giles agreed to talk.
• Giles told Charles how pirates had killed his family, how he joined their crew, and how he eventually became a Tide Warrior and captain.
• As Giles spoke, Charles learned that the plane held three major kingdoms and many smaller territories, with nobles controlling land and armies.