Recaps

Lance realized his low-cost hemostatic ointment could earn him a substantial profit, then showed it to Flora. She confirmed its exceptional effects and concluded that Lance's Talent worked like a Class Bonus, leaving him ready to ask about selling the ointment through her shop.

• Lance calculated that his ointment's low production cost and strong effects could bring in at least fifteen copper coins in profit per jar.
• Flora visited Lance's apartment and examined the healed wounds on the gray rabbit, marveling at how quickly the ointment had worked.
• Flora found no sign of special alchemical techniques and inferred that Lance's Talent improved the effects of finished products like a Class Bonus.
• Flora explained how professional specializations enhanced potion makers' products and why her shop held the Adventurers' Guild supply contract.
• Lance recognized that his system's Research function had simulated the world's Class Bonus mechanism and asked whether he could consign his ointment at Flora's shop.

Flora agreed to help Lance sell his special Hemostatic Ointment through her aunt’s shop and possibly secure Guild orders. Lance set out as the adventurer Raven to gather materials near the joint clearing operation’s first vanguard, but Damian stopped him outside the Guild.

• Flora judged Lance’s Hemostatic Ointment competitive with Trollblood Potion and agreed to discuss selling it with Aunt Morwenna.
• Lance packed most of his ointment for Flora, repaid her for the books, and changed into his adventurer disguise as Raven.
• Lance saw the nearly hundred-member first vanguard preparing to advance into Copper Creek Forest and attack Thornspike Hill and nearby monster settlements.
• Lance accepted a Silverflake Grass gathering commission so he could collect Blood-Clotting Moss and observe the wounded adventurers’ potion needs.
• Damian called Lance “Senior” outside the Guild, appearing battle-worn from recent fighting with Gnolls.

Damian thanked Lance for helping him become a more capable adventurer, gave him a handmade safety charm, and received a jar of Lance’s Hemostatic Ointment. After Damian joined his team, Lance set off for Copper Creek Forest and spent his Knowledge Experience on Wilderness Survival.

• Damian told Lance about learning teamwork and survival skills from his captain and thanked him for his advice.
• Lance gave Damian the alias Raven, and Damian presented him with a handmade homecoming knot for safety.
• Lance accepted the knot, warned Damian to stay alive, and gave him a jar of Hemostatic Ointment.
• Damian left with his team, and Lance set out for Copper Creek Forest half an hour after the vanguard.
• Lance viewed his expanded Knowledge tab and spent all 30 Knowledge Experience on Wilderness Survival.

Lance gathered enough Silverflake Grass and Blood-Clotting Moss to fulfill his commission and make about 150 jars of hemostatic ointment, but the forest’s instability and frequent monster encounters led him to leave early. On his way out, he encountered someone fleeing from the vanguard’s front line.

• Lance gained Wilderness Survival knowledge and noticed that Copper Creek Forest’s restless environmental state was shifting toward greater instability.
• Lance killed a Webweaver Spider with his bow, but his arrow ruined its valuable venom and silk sacs.
• Lance realized the vanguard’s clearing operation had driven monsters into the outer forest, where he had already fought a boar, slimes, goblins, and the spider.
• Lance counted his gathered materials and estimated they could produce about 150 jars of ointment, with a potential profit of roughly twenty-three silver coins.
• Lance stopped gathering and headed home, but encountered someone fleeing from the vanguard’s front line.

Lance learned that a Goblin War Chief had trapped the adventurers and that Damian had fled downstream, so he headed into the forest to find him. Damian was cornered by Goblins at a stream, exhausted and surrounded.

• A wounded adventurer told Lance that a tactical Goblin War Chief had ambushed the team and that Damian had gone downstream as a decoy.
• Lance sent the wounded adventurer toward safety, then ran southeast to search for Damian.
• Damian fought Goblin Brutes and Spearthrowers on a pebble shoal as more Goblins joined the encirclement.
• Damian's Breath Combat Technique left him drained, and he struggled to defend himself against the surrounding Goblins.

Damian collapsed after the Goblins overwhelmed him, but Lance arrived in time to rescue him and fought through the encirclement. Lance killed Goblin Scouts while holding off the Brutes, leaving him one kill away from unlocking the next stage of Biological Research.

• Damian’s Breath Combat Technique backfired, and he lost consciousness as the Goblins closed in to kill him.
• Lance shot three Goblin javelin throwers, then charged through the Scouts to reach Damian.
• Lance confirmed Damian was alive and defended him with his shield and Fine Steel shortsword.
• Lance killed several Goblin Scouts as the remaining Goblins retreated and tried to exhaust him.
• Lance killed six more Scouts and came within one kill of unlocking the next stage of Biological Research.

Lance died while protecting the unconscious Damian, but his Ouroboros Ring revived him and unlocked Goblin Weakness Insight along with the Great Deed class path Pale Sentinel. He returned to the fight healed and armed with new advantages as the surviving Goblins recoiled in fear.

• A Goblin Scout attacked Damian from behind, so Lance turned to stop it and exposed his back to the other Goblins.
• The Goblins wounded Lance and killed him, leaving fewer than ten survivors from their force.
• Lance’s Biological Research reached LV2, unlocking Weakness Insight for Goblins as he lay dead.
• Lance’s Ouroboros Ring revived him, healed his injuries, and registered the Great Deed “I Successfully Defied Death.”
• Lance saw the Goblins’ weak points marked in red and made the surviving Goblins retreat in fear.

Lance slaughtered the Goblins threatening him and Damian, then carried the unconscious boy back with a rescue party. The adventurers returned to Grayrock Town, while Gareth anticipated meeting Lance again at the dungeon.

• Lance used [Weakness Insight] to kill the Goblins’ scouts and brute, then slaughtered the remaining Goblins over ten minutes.
• A rescue party led by Gareth arrived and found Lance standing among the Goblin corpses with Damian unconscious behind him.
• Gareth offered to report Lance’s deeds to the guild and arrange a ride back to town; Lance gave his name as Raven and carried Damian away.
• After Lance left, Gareth’s ranger assessed his abilities, and Gareth said they would likely meet again at the dungeon.
• Lance rode back to town in a wagon with the wounded, while the other adventurers kept their distance from his blood-soaked, foul-smelling armor.

During the evacuation convoy, Lance learned the guild was paying for wounded adventurers’ treatment and saw an opportunity to sell his improved Hemostatic Ointment. He examined the demanding requirements for the Pale Sentinel class and recalled the legend of Alvis, whose wager with the ferryman had earned him the Great Deed “I Defied Death.”

• Lance asked an injured adventurer why so many wounded were being evacuated and learned the guild president had ordered their return and covered their treatment costs.
• Lance realized the guild’s mass treatment program could make his affordable Hemostatic Ointment a valuable procurement choice.
• Lance reviewed the Pale Sentinel class requirements and judged that its skill prerequisites were manageable, but its monster-fighting trial would be difficult.
• Lance considered how Hvergelmir’s Boiling Surge might help him endure the trial’s prolonged battle while guarding a target.
• Lance recalled Alvis’s legend, in which the aged hero wagered his soul with the ferryman by claiming there was a road with no end.

After returning from the Underworld, Lance chose the rare [Pale Sentinel] class and tried to quiet his body's craving for battle. He bought a guide to class advancement and learned the class system's tiers before finding a section on attributes and advancement restrictions.

• Lance decided to choose [Pale Sentinel] over [Swordsman] and began planning a new skill tree.
• After confirming Damian was safe, Lance returned home and realized his body was excited by the recent battle.
• Lance slapped his trembling hand and calmed himself by recalling illustrations of cute girls.
• Lance spent twenty silver coins on the Basic Guide to Class Advancement at the town bookstore.
• Lance read about the [Ascension Stairway], the level twenty cap, and the four tiers of class holders.
• Lance stopped at the guide's chapter on attributes and class advancement restrictions.

Lance learned that reaching the [Pale Sentinel]’s Constitution requirement meant breaking the human Attribute Lock, which could be overcome with rare potions or racial Talents. He planned to raise his basic attributes through training and use his [Biological Research] module to gain monster Talents, leaving him with a path toward the profession’s demanding requirements.

• Lance learned that ordinary humans’ basic attributes capped at 10, while becoming a [Pale Sentinel] required 12 Constitution, 10 Spirit, and 10 Perception.
• Lance discovered that the Troll Amber Potion could break the Constitution Attribute Lock, but its 13-gold price was far beyond his means.
• Lance recalled that reaching LV3 in [Biological Research] could let him plunder a species’ racial Talent and considered researching high-Constitution monsters.
• Lance decided to raise his basic attributes through training before seeking ways to surpass the Attribute Lock.
• Lance read that professionals of every path had to endure grueling training to reach the mortal limit and qualify for advancement.

Lance calculated that his Hemostatic Ointment could earn him as much as twenty-five silver coins in daily profit during the joint clearing mission, and planned to approach Flora about selling it. Meanwhile, the Grayrock Town Adventurers' Guild's brightly lit office contained a sand-table map of Copper Creek Forest marked with monster movements and adventurer positions.

• Lance reviewed the requirements for becoming a [Pale Sentinel] and hoped to exchange merit points for a Breath Combat Technique.
• Lance remembered he had not asked Flora about the Hemostatic Ointment and decided to visit her the next morning.
• Lance calculated that he could produce about 144 jars of ointment a day, earning a net profit of twenty-five silver coins if he sold them all.
• Lance estimated that after the joint clearing mission, selling one-third of his wartime volume could still earn him six silver coins a day.
• Lance went to bed eager to speak with Flora, while the guildmaster's office at the Grayrock Town Adventurers' Guild remained lit and its Copper Creek Forest map displayed monster and adventurer positions.

Necros, Homan, and Martha reviewed the first day of the joint clearing operation, revising their plans after unexpectedly severe casualties and supply use. Necros refused to cut support for the adventurers and ordered the guild to negotiate for affordable Troll's Blood supplies before the Violet Academy students arrived.

• Necros discovered that a Goblin stronghold had been misclassified, revised the attack route, and ordered Homan to investigate the scouting failure and double compensation for the dead adventurers.
• Martha reported that the vanguard had nearly exhausted its reserve hemostatic potions, while Homan explained that mana turbulence had made the monsters unusually aggressive and increased injuries.
• Necros rejected Martha's suggestion to reduce supplies and insisted the practice zone had to be cleared before the Violet Academy students arrived.
• Homan warned that buying supplies at the current rate could leave too little money for mission rewards, but Necros refused to lower treatment standards or risk adventurers' lives.
• Necros told Martha to renegotiate with Morwenna Potion Shop and the Silver Bottle Alchemy Firm for lower prices or a cheaper potion with most of Troll's Blood's effects.

Necros reviewed the intern list and battle reports to find a suitable mentor for Cecilia Rosenthal. He settled on Raven as a promising candidate because Raven controlled his desires, stayed rational, and had risked himself to rescue a friend.

• After arranging supply plans and personnel transfers, Necros asked Homan to bring him the vanguard's battle reports.
• Necros studied the intern list and worried most about Cecilia Rosenthal, whose internship needed to fulfill Gideon's hopes without putting her at risk.
• Necros rejected a veteran team for its rigid tactics and another team for its excessive focus on profit.
• Necros read Gareth's report about Raven and examined Raven's mission file, finding that he had chosen safe gathering commissions despite his strength.
• Necros learned that Raven had rushed into danger to save a friend, and judged him responsible and potentially suited to guide Cecilia.

Necros added Raven to Cecilia’s internship list, intending to make the apprentice do difficult gathering work. Lance planned to leave the guild if his Hemostatic Ointment business proved reliable, then visited Flora at Morwenna Potion Shop, where she remained annoyed that he had stood her up.

• Necros wrote Raven’s name beside Cecilia’s on the internship list and planned to speak with him when he next came to accept a commission.
• Lance woke from a dream, decided to check the ointment’s sales, and considered resigning from the Adventurers' Guild if the business brought in steady income.
• Lance bought limited-edition pastries before heading to Morwenna Potion Shop.
• Lance saw Flora’s notices advertising insect repellent powder and the new Hemostatic Ointment for 25 copper coins.
• Flora recognized Lance, sulked behind her book, and told him to choose potions from the shelves.

Lance brought Flora a Forest Berry Tart to make up for teasing her, then asked whether his potion-related Talent could remain useful if he pursued a combat Class. Flora explained secondary Classes and the danger of Soul Wear, leaving Lance to wonder whether she had read his own advancement guide.

• Lance gave Flora the Forest Berry Tart, and she happily accepted the apology.
• Flora told Lance that Aunt Morwenna had taken his potion to the guild for the joint sweep procurement contract.
• Lance asked Flora whether his potion-enhancing Talent would be wasted if he did not become an Alchemist.
• Flora explained that people could advance to a secondary Class, but its level could not exceed their primary Class.
• Flora warned Lance that taking two similar Classes could cause Soul Wear and slow his growth.
• Lance asked Flora whether she had read Basic Guide to Class Advancement.

Flora explained how secondary Classes caused Soul Wear, while Morwenna returned with news that Lance’s Hemostatic Ointment had won a major order at full price. The chapter ended with Morwenna asking whether Lance had enough stock to fulfill the order, leaving him worried about his limited production capacity.

• Flora explained that secondary Classes broadened skills but did not raise base attributes, and said rumors mentioned special Classes or legendary potions that could prevent Soul Wear.
• Lance considered whether the benefits of secondary Classes would outweigh their penalties for his system modules.
• Morwenna returned to the potion shop and recognized Lance as the source of the successful potion bid.
• Morwenna told Lance and Flora that the Hemostatic Ointment had beaten Silver Bottle Alchemy Firm’s offer and secured the order at twenty-five copper coins per jar.
• Lance learned that Morwenna had also won accompanying potion orders, then asked how many jars of ointment the main order required.
• Morwenna asked whether Lance already had a large stockpile, while he remembered he could produce at most 144 jars in twelve hours.

Lance agreed to produce 900 units of Hemostatic Ointment for Morwenna before fleeing to start work. At Violet Academy, Cecilia departed for practical training in Grayrock Town, leaving Hill worried as Gideon noticed her concern seemed to go beyond Cecilia’s safety.

• Morwenna demanded 900 units of Hemostatic Ointment from Lance and ordered daily collections from his residence before noon.
• Lance promised to make the ointment immediately and hurried out of the apothecary, while Morwenna warned Flora to stay away from him.
• Hill clung to Cecilia and pleaded with her to return safely, then angrily blamed Professor Gideon for allowing the trip and rejecting her request to accompany the students.
• Cecilia calmed Hill, said farewell to her aunt and Professor Gideon, and joined the students departing for Grayrock Town.
• Hill watched Cecilia leave with a worried expression, and Gideon noticed that her concern seemed to go beyond Cecilia’s safety.

Hill explained that Cecilia was entering the brief Flowering Period when elves sought a lifelong mate, and worried that a blond man might win her over during her internship. Meanwhile, Lance completed an exhausting four-day push to brew nine hundred units of Hemostatic Ointment, then collapsed into sleep.

• Hill told Gideon that half-elves such as Cecilia had a short Flowering Period and could love only one mate for life if they found a soul-compatible partner.
• Gideon mistakenly thought Hill feared Cecilia would fail to marry and leave the Rosenthal family without an heir, but Hill said she feared a blond adventurer would steal Cecilia away.
• Cecilia spotted Hill in the crowd, waved to reassure her aunt, and departed on the mana-powered transport vehicle.
• After four days, Flora collected the final batch of Hemostatic Ointment from a filthy, exhausted Lance and left with the workers.
• Lance slept until the next day after working eighteen hours a day to brew nine hundred units of ointment.

After four days of brewing ointment, Lance earned a large profit and gained skill in Basic Potioncraft, then moved into a larger house with a cellar. He celebrated the move with Amber, Nia, and Flora, and the gathering began with Amber taking over the grill from Nia.

• Lance finished making ointment, earned 157 silver coins in net profit, and raised his total assets above one gold coin.
• Lance gained Basic Potioncraft LV1, advanced it to LV2, and increased his Pharmacology knowledge.
• Lance chose the two-story residence near Merchants' Square, moved in, and paid his former landlord 4 silver coins for cleaning.
• Lance hosted a backyard barbecue housewarming party, and Amber arrived with rye beer and games while Nia and Flora brought no gifts.
• Nia tried grilling meat, but Amber took the tongs after the food burned.

Amber brought out a witch-made magical card deck that revealed personal questions and changed color based on the honesty of the answers. Nia answered truthfully, while Amber gave Lance a gentle lie, and the group learned what the golden glow meant.

• Amber showed Nia, Flora, and Lance the magical item Illusory Iris Confession and explained that its cards asked difficult questions and changed color based on truthful answers.
• Nia drew a card asking whose sleeping face was cutest and chose Flora, making the card glow azure to confirm her answer was truthful.
• Amber teased Nia and Flora about having slept together, and Nia revealed she had watched Flora sleep after Flora got drunk.
• Amber drew a card asking who lost worst at their first game of Three Dragon Cards and answered Lance, though she remembered he had gone easy on her.
• Flora read the box's explanation that a pale gold glow meant a gentle lie told with good intentions.

During a card game, Nia learned that Flora planned to leave Grayrock Town to study alchemy in Viridia, while Amber revealed she would travel with her father’s adventuring party. Nia feared her friends were leaving, and Lance’s conflicted, apologetic expression suggested he had something of his own to tell them.

• Nia drew a card asking about her hoped-for future and sincerely said she wanted everyone to stay together in Grayrock Town.
• Flora drew a card asking if she had chosen a departure date, denied it, and revealed she might leave for Viridia to study alchemy.
• Nia worried Flora would not return, but Flora promised to come back after her studies, and the girls made a pinky promise to remain best friends.
• Amber revealed she would leave town with her father, who planned to rejoin his adventuring party, and promised to return during the team's breaks.
• Nia looked to Lance and saw that he wore a conflicted, apologetic expression.

After Nia fled in tears over her friends’ impending departures, Lance reflected on the meaning of the time they had shared and chose that he would still have met them. His answer awakened the King of Clubs’ reward, granting him the Azure Dragon Supreme Essence Style.

• Nia left Lance’s housewarming celebration in tears, and Flora followed to comfort her.
• Lance urged Amber to go after Nia, and Amber left him the crystal cards as a housewarming gift.
• Alone in the courtyard, Lance drew the King of Clubs and answered that he would still choose to meet his friends despite knowing they would part.
• The card dissolved into azure motes that merged with Lance, and the witch praised his choice.
• Lance received the Azure Dragon Supreme Essence Style and absorbed its knowledge as the new skill appeared on his system panel.

Lance learned the [Azure Dragon Supreme Essence Style] from Amber’s gift but lacked the energy pool needed to use it, so he sought a breathing technique. After upgrading his equipment and checking his guild merits, he discovered that even the cheapest technique cost far more points than he had.

• Lance resolved to find Amber and explain the value of the skill she had given him.
• Lance cleaned up after his friends’ gathering and went to bed determined to become a stronger adventurer.
• Lance spent about twenty-two silver coins on reinforced armor, a steel-plated kite shield, and a new shortsword.
• Lance visited the Adventurers' Guild and learned that he had 22 merit points for his contributions to the joint sweep.
• Lance checked the exchange catalog and found that the cheapest option, the Gale March Breathing Technique, required 100 merit points.

Lance considered which Breath Combat Technique could boost his damage output, but he could not afford the options in the exchange catalog. Guildmaster Necros summoned him and offered a special commission, leaving Lance wary that the praise was leading to an unpleasant assignment.

• Lance judged that the safe Gale March Breathing Technique added little to his stamina-based Talent and sought a high-burst technique instead.
• Lance found that even the cheapest available Breath Combat Technique cost far more than his twenty-two merit points.
• A clerk told Lance that Guildmaster Necros wanted to see him, and Lance followed the clerk to the guildmaster’s office.
• Necros praised Lance’s judgment and survival skills, then said he wanted to entrust him with a special commission.
• Lance suspected Necros’s praise meant he was about to be saddled with a difficult problem.