Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Boarding”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins prepares to treat Qiao Si, but Qiao Lak attempts to escape by ordering several death-sworn men to attack.
• Hawkins’s Curse Spirit emerges as a scythe and effortlessly kills the attackers.
• Qiao Lak uses a silver Cursed Relic dagger containing the curse “Fire Ghost,” summoning a flaming giant to fight Hawkins.
• Hawkins’s Curse Spirit destroys Fire Ghost with a single blow. The chapter explains that Hawkins’s Curse Spirit is exceptionally durable and has an advantage over Qiao Lak’s borrowed Cursed Relic because it is connected to Hawkins himself.
• Hawkins kills Qiao Lak by cutting his throat. Qiao Lak falls overboard and dies, despite threatening to take revenge.
• Jennie is traumatized by the violence, while Qiao Si regains consciousness and immediately resumes her duty of protecting Jennie.
• Qiao Si confronts Hawkins with a dagger, insisting that protecting Jennie is her responsibility even if it costs her life.
• Hawkins offers both women a place on his ship, arguing that he may be their only protection from the powerful Lords and factions seeking Jennie’s Cursed Relic.
• Qiao Si agrees to board under two conditions: Hawkins and his crew must not harm Jennie, and Jennie must not be forced to fight. Hawkins accepts both conditions.
• Mark arrives by jumping from the Black Knife but lands in the spot where Jennie urinated in fear, creating a moment of comic relief.
• Qiao Si and Jennie board Hawkins’s ship, becoming new members of his crew.

Character Developments

• Hawkins: Demonstrates the overwhelming strength and durability of his Curse Spirit. He is ruthless toward Qiao Lak but shows restraint and practical judgment concerning Jennie. His offer to protect the women reveals a more responsible side, while memories of a woman from his past suggest lingering regret.
• Qiao Lak: His arrogance collapses into terror once his power proves ineffective. His death highlights the weakness and entitlement of the nobles of the Seven Seas.
• Qiao Si: Remains fiercely loyal to Jennie despite fear and uncertainty. She is willing to die for her duty but also recognizes that Hawkins offers their best chance of survival.
• Jennie: Becomes emotionally overwhelmed after witnessing Qiao Lak’s death, revealing her vulnerability and dependence on Qiao Si. She feels guilty for failing to support Qiao Si during the crisis.
• Mark: Provides comic relief through his careless landing and is shown to be part of Hawkins’s established crew.

Significant Themes

• Loyalty and duty: Qiao Si’s identity is defined by her decade-long commitment to protecting Jennie.
• Power and entitlement: Qiao Lak’s noble status cannot save him once he faces someone genuinely stronger, exposing the emptiness of privilege without ability.
• Trust and survival: Qiao Si must place Jennie’s safety in Hawkins’s hands, even though she does not fully trust him.
• The nature of Cursed Relics: The chapter explains that relics are formed from final wishes and the spirits of the dead, making them powerful but unstable and potentially dangerous to their users.
• Found protection and chosen bonds: By joining Hawkins’s ship, Qiao Si and Jennie enter a new protective relationship and become part of his crew.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins humiliates and intimidates Qiao Lak before killing him.
• Qiao Si confronts Hawkins but ultimately negotiates with him rather than fighting.
• Hawkins and Qiao Si discuss Jennie’s protection and establish the conditions for joining his crew.
• Qiao Si comforts Jennie after the attack, while Jennie apologizes for her earlier fear.
• Hawkins’s grim confrontation with the women is undercut by Mark’s accidental comic entrance, ending the chapter on a lighter note.

Chapter Summary: Deep Sea Canteen

Key Plot Points and Events

• Every ninety-nine days, the Deep Sea Canteen opens to holders of special Canteen Cards. The Lords of the Seven Seas gather in its Golden Hall to eat rare dishes and exchange intelligence.
• Dempsey, Lord of Hard Biscuit Island, arrives worried because his ally Jabus, Lord of Vitalia Island, is absent. Jabus’s disappearance—or apparent madness—has become a serious concern.
• The Lords learn that Jabus’s downfall is connected to Hawkins, the “Son of Pirates,” son of Huo Blackblade. Hawkins has obtained multiple Cursed Relics and apparently defeated Jabus, possibly by attacking him in the Dream Realm.
• The Lords debate control of Vitalia Island. Dempsey suggests rewarding whoever kills Hawkins, while Aldrich proposes that the killer receive one-third of the island and the remaining four Lords divide the rest equally.
• Conrad reveals more alarming intelligence: Hawkins has become a Curse Caster with Curse Power dozens of times greater than normal. One of Hawkins’s own Curse Caster combatants is reportedly as strong as Conrad but was effortlessly defeated by Hawkins.
• The Lords acknowledge that Hawkins is a dangerous, mobile threat who could eventually endanger any of their territories. Aldrich urges them to kill him before he becomes another catastrophe like the Pirate Queen.
• After the Lords leave, the canteen falls into darkness. Terrifying chewing sounds and the screams of several Lords suggest that something within the canteen has attacked or consumed them, creating a shocking cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Dempsey: Shows concern for Jabus but remains politically cautious. He refuses to act recklessly against Hawkins without knowing the nature of his Cursed Relics.
• Mallory: Maintains his aggressive, mocking personality. Although he treats Hawkins as a potential challenge, his interest and fighting spirit reveal that he is not intimidated.
• Aldrich: Reinforces his position as the most powerful and strategically minded Lord. He controls the political discussion, sets the terms for Vitalia Island, and emphasizes the danger Hawkins poses.
• Conrad: Initially evasive and playful, he ultimately shares his intelligence because he fears Hawkins may threaten Bottle Island. His admission shows that even powerful Lords are genuinely afraid of Hawkins.
• Liam: Provides a more skeptical perspective, questioning whether Hawkins can truly defeat the Lords despite his immense Curse Power.
• Jabus: Though absent, his condition becomes central to the discussion. His defeat or madness demonstrates Hawkins’s ability to overcome one of the most difficult opponents in the Seven Seas.

Significant Themes

• The rise of a new threat: Hawkins is transforming from a pirate into a force capable of challenging the established rulers.
• Power versus strategy: The Lords recognize that raw Curse Power does not determine victory; abilities, Cursed Relics, and favorable circumstances can matter even more.
• Political opportunism: The Lords discuss dividing Vitalia Island even while Jabus’s fate remains uncertain, showing how quickly danger becomes an opportunity for territorial expansion.
• Fear beneath authority: Although the Lords present themselves as confident rulers, their cautious discussion reveals anxiety about Hawkins’s unpredictable movements.
• Hidden danger and false security: The canteen appears to be a place of luxury and negotiation, but its final transformation into a scene of horror suggests that even the most powerful Lords are vulnerable.

Character Interactions

• Dempsey and Mallory exchange hostile insults, reflecting their longstanding rivalry.
• Mallory provokes Aldrich, but Aldrich’s cold warning silences him and reinforces Aldrich’s dominance.
• The Lords negotiate over Vitalia Island, with Dempsey pushing for a direct reward system and Aldrich imposing a shared-distribution agreement.
• Conrad provides the key intelligence about Hawkins, prompting Aldrich and the others to reassess the threat.
• Dempsey and Mallory correctly infer that Hawkins may have used the Dream Realm to defeat Jabus, recognizing that Jabus’s unusual abilities made him difficult to kill by ordinary means.
• The chapter ends with the Lords’ apparent vulnerability to the Deep Sea Canteen itself, turning their political gathering into a mysterious and horrifying trap.

Key plot points

• Hawkins and his crew arrive at House Fishing Port and find House Town deserted, ruined, and littered with corpses. The remains include mothers who tried to protect their infants.
• Strange, enormous clawed footprints suggest another creature has been involved in the destruction. Hawkins senses that it is connected to Jabus, though the tracks do not belong to Jabus himself.
• In a nearby forest, House Town’s surviving homeless youths emerge from a concealed cave. Their perceptive leader, Ai Miye, senses Hawkins approaching and mistakes him for a terrifying monster.
• To protect the others, Ai Miye runs away to draw Hawkins off. He catches up, stops her from falling, and persuades her to return with him. The other youths remain at the hidden base.

Character developments and interactions

• Hawkins is saddened and angered by the devastation. He sees every life as precious, a belief shaped by loss and long solitude. Despite his intimidating power, he treats Ai Miye gently and shows protective, almost paternal concern.
• Ai Miye is brave and self-sacrificing, but also deeply wary of adults because she has seen human trafficking and cruelty. She distrusts Hawkins’s reassurances and doubts he is a pirate, though she follows him back.
• The youths depend on Ai Miye’s judgment. When she orders them to hide, the eldest boy takes charge, while another tries to attack Hawkins with a wooden stick and is easily stopped.
• Mark and Qiao Si recognize Hawkins’s unusually somber mood. Qiao Si calls him a good man and urges Jennie to stay close, since Hawkins is the one most able to protect her.

Significant themes

• The value of life and the cost of loss: Hawkins’s experiences have made him cherish life, intensifying his grief at the town’s slaughter.
• Trust and trauma: Ai Miye’s suspicion is not simple stubbornness; it reflects the danger and deception she has witnessed.
• Self-sacrifice and protection: Ai Miye risks herself to shield the other children, while Hawkins’s response reveals a similar impulse to protect the vulnerable.
• Appearance versus reality: Hawkins looks and acts unlike the pirates Ai Miye knows, but his power and unknown past leave her uncertain whether he can be trusted.

Chapter Summary: “Hawkins’s Hidden Agenda”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins and Ai Miye return to the children’s earthen cave, where Mark is confronting them with his weapons drawn but has not attacked.
• Hawkins proposes taking the orphans in as future subordinates rather than harming them. His main motivation is compassion: he does not want them to continue living as starving, homeless children.
• Ai Miye decides to trust Hawkins and tells Arthur and the others to lower their weapons. The children gradually emerge and accept Hawkins’s protection.
• Hawkins brings the thirteen children aboard the Black Knife, where they are welcomed with a large meal. The children are initially cautious but quickly relax after eating.
• They pass through House Town without being overwhelmed by the corpses, having already grown accustomed to death through their harsh lives.
• On the ship, one child discovers Julian, the bat-like transformed human. Ai Miye correctly senses that Julian is actually a person, surprising Mark and challenging his understanding of the world.
• Hawkins asks Mark whether any of the children might become Curse Casters. Mark doubts that even one can succeed, so Hawkins decides to train them first as sailors and logistical workers.
• After the children finish eating, Hawkins announces that he has something to discuss with them. Ai Miye and Arthur immediately fear that his kindness concealed a sinister motive.

Character Developments

• Hawkins reveals a more compassionate side. Although he is capable of killing without hesitation, he wants to rescue the children from poverty and give them stability. He also takes their abilities and future prospects seriously, consulting Mark about their potential.
• Ai Miye moves from suspicion to active trust. She recognizes that Hawkins’s restraint—waiting for her decision despite his overwhelming strength—demonstrates respect. Once she chooses to trust him, she confidently encourages the others to do the same.
• Arthur remains wary and protective of the group. He suspects Hawkins may sell them to cruel nobles and continues to distrust Hawkins even while accepting his food and protection.
• Mark acts as Hawkins’s practical adviser. He understands Hawkins’s intentions and explains that becoming a Curse Caster is extraordinarily difficult, steering Hawkins toward more realistic training goals.
• The children gradually shift from fear and defensiveness to comfort and enthusiasm, especially after receiving food and experiencing Hawkins’s hospitality.
• Julian remains largely inactive, but his unusual condition reinforces the chapter’s focus on curses, transformation, and the limits of ordinary understanding.

Significant Themes

• Trust and judgment: The children must decide whether to trust someone far more powerful than themselves. Ai Miye learns that trust can be based on observed respect and restraint rather than complete certainty.
• Kindness beneath appearances: Hawkins’s identity as a pirate does not automatically define his morality. His actions challenge the assumption that pirates—or powerful people—must be cruel.
• Poverty and survival: The children’s hunger, exposure to death, and loss of companions illustrate how deprivation can shape morality and emotional responses.
• Protection and responsibility: Hawkins takes responsibility for the children’s future, while Ai Miye and Arthur struggle with the fear that accepting help may come at a hidden cost.
• Nature versus nurture: Hawkins believes the children’s youth makes them easier to train and shape than adults, suggesting that upbringing and opportunity strongly influence ability.
• The limits of common sense: Julian’s transformation, Ai Miye’s uncanny intuition, and Hawkins’s extraordinary power repeatedly overturn Mark’s expectations about what is possible.

Important Character Interactions

• Hawkins reassures Ai Miye that her companions are waiting for her, giving her the freedom to choose rather than forcing her compliance.
• Ai Miye persuades Arthur and the other children to surrender their weapons and accept Hawkins’s protection.
• Hawkins and Mark discuss whether the children can become Curse Casters, establishing a practical plan for their future aboard the ship.
• Ai Miye identifies Julian as a transformed human through instinct alone, while Mark struggles to process yet another violation of his assumptions.
• Arthur secretly warns Ai Miye that Hawkins may be planning to sell them, revealing the group’s lingering fear.
• Hawkins’s final announcement—delivered after the meal—causes Ai Miye and Arthur to suspect that his generosity has a hidden agenda, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary: “Falling into the Dream Realm”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ai Miye’s survival of House Town and her meeting with Hawkins are presented as the result of interconnected causes rather than coincidence. Her unusual intuition comes from a distant ancestor who was a powerful Curse Caster; although the curse itself has faded from her bloodline, some abilities remain.
• Hawkins intends to explain his true plans to Ai Miye and the other children. However, Ai Miye’s inherited power reacts violently to his intentions. She covers her ears, screams, and releases a sphere of black energy.
• The energy begins pulling Ai Miye away. Hawkins grabs her arm, but both are dragged into the strange phenomenon and disappear.
• Qiao Si suspects the children may have harmed Hawkins, but Mark intervenes, insisting that Hawkins is powerful enough to survive. The children are left frightened by Ai Miye’s sudden transformation and mysterious abilities.
• Hawkins and Ai Miye find themselves in an oppressive, dark space. Hawkins protects Ai Miye while attempting to resist the crushing force around them. After an uncertain period, they fall onto a gloomy circular stone platform.
• They discover only one route out: a stone path leading into darkness. Hawkins reassures Ai Miye and tries to determine what happened.
• Ai Miye accuses Hawkins of intending to sell the children to nobles. Hawkins dismisses the idea, explaining that he wants them to join his ship rather than exploit them.
• Hawkins promises Ai Miye that she and the other children can remain aboard permanently. He offers her the position of apprentice until she decides what she wants to do.
• Hawkins and Ai Miye cautiously follow the path. Curse Power cannot be projected in this realm, so Hawkins uses the Eternal Sea Chart to help protect and guide them.
• After about ten minutes, they find an ancient-looking corpse. A red bead emerges from its forehead and flies into Ai Miye’s, causing her to arch backward and collapse unconscious.

Character Developments

• Ai Miye: Her extraordinary intuition and inherited supernatural power are revealed. Her fear of betrayal and abandonment stems from House Town’s cruelty, but Hawkins’s reassurances begin to build her trust. She also shows a strong sense of responsibility toward the other children.
• Hawkins: Although his motives initially appear suspicious, he demonstrates genuine concern for Ai Miye and the children. He protects Ai Miye during the transition, patiently answers her fears, and accepts responsibility for their future.
• Mark: He remains calm and trusting of Hawkins, defending the children and preventing Qiao Si from reacting violently.
• Qiao Si: His instinct is to protect Hawkins and hold the children accountable, but he ultimately accepts Mark’s judgment.
• Arthur and the other children: They become frightened and confused after witnessing Ai Miye’s power, seeing their formerly familiar companion in a new and unsettling way.

Significant Themes

• Fate and causality: Events that seem accidental—Ai Miye’s survival, her inherited ability, and her meeting with Hawkins—are shown to be connected through chains of cause and effect.
• Inherited power and identity: Ai Miye’s abilities originate from her ancestor, suggesting that supernatural traits can persist across generations even after the original curse disappears.
• Trust in a cruel world: Ai Miye expects exploitation because of her harsh upbringing, while Hawkins attempts to prove that loyalty and protection are possible.
• Protection and found family: Hawkins begins treating the children as members of his future crew rather than disposable tools, and Ai Miye’s hopes for Arthur and the others reveal her desire for a permanent family.
• The unknown and supernatural danger: The mysterious realm suppresses Curse Power, contains an ancient corpse, and ends with Ai Miye being possessed or affected by a strange red bead.

Important Character Interactions

• Hawkins tries to speak honestly with Ai Miye, but her inherited power reacts before he can explain himself.
• Mark shields Arthur and the other children from Qiao Si’s anger, arguing that the incident was accidental.
• Hawkins comforts Ai Miye, holds her during their passage through the dark realm, and later takes her hand as they explore.
• Ai Miye repeatedly questions whether Hawkins will betray or abandon them. Hawkins reassures her that she may remain on his ship and choose her own future.
• The chapter ends with Hawkins unable to prevent the red bead from entering Ai Miye, creating a new crisis and leaving her fate uncertain.

Chapter Summary: “Ancestral Inheritance?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins discovers that Ai Miye’s consciousness is unharmed, but the mysterious red bead has vanished from her body.
• After half an hour, Ai Miye awakens and explains that she has witnessed her bloodline’s memories and recognized the nearby corpse as her ancestor. The bead was not merely a memory fragment but a Bloodline Inheritance that only members of her lineage can activate.
• Ai Miye reveals that they must complete a series of trials to obtain the ancestral inheritance and escape the area.
• The first trial is an Arena battle. Hawkins enters and faces a strange, regenerating stick figure armed with a highly flexible spear.
• Ordinary attacks, Curse Power, and the Eternal Sea Chart fail to damage the figure. Hawkins eventually realizes that the opponent cannot be defeated conventionally and wins by grabbing it and throwing it outside the Arena, where it dissolves back into the Arena’s patterns.
• Hawkins and Ai Miye proceed to the second trial, which is another Arena battle. This time, Hawkins faces a massive floating Blue Giant.
• Hawkins tests the giant with electricity. The first attack has no visible effect, while a stronger Ball Lightning attack damages the giant—but the same injury is reflected onto Hawkins.
• The chapter ends with Hawkins recognizing that the Blue Giant possesses a dangerous damage-reflection ability and that defeating it will be difficult, especially because he cannot afford to prolong the fight.

Character Developments

• Hawkins: His confidence is tempered by helplessness when Ai Miye’s condition becomes impossible to understand or control. During the trials, he demonstrates adaptability, careful observation, and tactical intelligence rather than relying solely on strength. He experiments with different attacks and identifies the first opponent’s weakness.
• Ai Miye: She awakens with a deeper understanding of her identity and heritage after activating the bloodline inheritance. She becomes the guide to the ancestral trials but depends on Hawkins to fight on her behalf.
• Hawkins and Ai Miye’s partnership: Their trust becomes more apparent. Ai Miye openly relies on Hawkins, while he willingly protects and assists her, joking about “respecting the old and cherishing the young” as he takes on the battles.

Significant Themes

• Human limitations: Hawkins is reminded that exceptional abilities do not make him omnipotent. He cannot control or even fully understand everything happening to Ai Miye.
• Inheritance and identity: Ai Miye’s ancestral memories connect her to her lineage and reveal that her heritage is central to escaping the trials.
• Adaptability over brute force: The first trial shows that success depends on understanding an opponent’s nature and victory conditions rather than simply overpowering it.
• Curiosity and the will to live: Hawkins’s willingness to study unfamiliar enemies reflects his belief that life is valuable because it allows him to encounter new and unknown experiences.
• Risk and consequence: The Blue Giant’s reflected damage emphasizes that every attack may carry an equal cost and that careless power could be fatal.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins checks Ai Miye after she collapses and remains with her until she awakens.
• Ai Miye explains the Bloodline Inheritance and the requirements of the trials, while Hawkins presses her for practical information about escaping.
• Ai Miye permits Hawkins to fight in her place, confirming that bringing a trusted helper is allowed.
• During both Arena battles, Ai Miye encourages Hawkins and warns him not to lose focus.
• Hawkins responds with humor and teasing, helping maintain their rapport despite the danger.

Chapter Summary: Eternal Sea Chart

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins enters the second trial, where he must face an overwhelmingly powerful Blue Giant. Since Curse Power and his Curse Spirit are unavailable, the trial appears impossible for an ordinary person.
• Using his intelligence, physical strength, and knowledge of the Blue Giant’s abilities, Hawkins exploits a loophole: the giant cannot reflect damage caused indirectly by the environment. He uses the Arena itself to injure and dismember the creature, eventually throwing it out and passing the trial.
• Hawkins and Ai Miye proceed through the opened passage and discover an ancient horn, revealed to be Ai Miye’s ancestral inheritance and a powerful Cursed Relic called the Devil’s Horn.
• Hawkins exposes the “Ai Miye” accompanying him as her ancestor possessing her body. He demands that the ancestor leave Ai Miye, but she refuses.
• To force her out, Hawkins destroys the Devil’s Horn with the Eternal Sea Chart. The ancestor’s spirit emerges, but Hawkins’s Curse Spirit devours the horn fragments, absorbing their immense power.
• The Eternal Sea Chart evolves and becomes more closely bonded with Hawkins. Its abilities include Eternal Space, Appraisal Eye, Resurrection of the Dead, Devouring Evolution, Eternal Spirit, Endless Treasure, and Endless Quests.
• Hawkins discovers through Appraisal Eye that Ai Miye’s ancestor still remains inside her. He uses Devouring Evolution to consume the evil spirit, overcoming her final resistance.
• Hawkins carries the unconscious Ai Miye into Eternal Space. He discovers that the space contains a replica of the Black Knife and House Town, but without corpses, decay, or living beings—an apparently lifeless copy of the Seven Seas existing within the Sea Chart.

Character Developments

• Hawkins: Demonstrates exceptional strength, tactical reasoning, and decisiveness. He learns to exploit the Blue Giant’s limitations rather than overpower it directly. His destruction of the Devil’s Horn shows his willingness to take extreme risks, and his successful absorption of the relic significantly strengthens his bond with the Eternal Sea Chart.
• Ai Miye: Remains unconscious and largely powerless during the chapter, but her body is revealed to be threatened by her ancestral evil spirit. Hawkins ultimately rescues her by removing the possessing entity.
• Ai Miye’s ancestor: Revealed as deceptive and manipulative. She pretends to be Ai Miye after awakening, attempts to protect the Devil’s Horn, and threatens Hawkins with the possibility of trapping him outside the real world. Her confidence collapses once Hawkins destroys the relic and devours her.
• Curse Spirit: Gains enormous power by consuming the Devil’s Horn fragments and becomes more fully integrated with Hawkins and the Eternal Sea Chart.

Significant Themes

• Cleverness over brute force: Hawkins succeeds in the trial by identifying a technical weakness in the Blue Giant’s damage-reflection ability.
• Appearance versus identity: The apparent Ai Miye is actually her ancestor, emphasizing the danger of judging characters by appearance or memories alone.
• Power through sacrifice and evolution: Hawkins’s human form limits some of his biological abilities, but his adaptability and evolving relic compensate for those sacrifices.
• Control and independence: Hawkins refuses to allow Ai Miye’s ancestor to control another person’s body, asserting his own will even when threatened with potentially severe consequences.
• Creation and imitation: Eternal Space presents a replica of the Seven Seas, raising questions about the difference between reality and an artificial copy.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins and the Blue Giant engage in a one-sided battle shaped by strategy rather than direct combat.
• Hawkins and Ai Miye’s ancestor confront one another over control of Ai Miye and ownership of the Devil’s Horn.
• Hawkins uses the Eternal Sea Chart and Curse Spirit against the ancestor, first destroying her source of power and then devouring her directly.
• After defeating the ancestor, Hawkins protects Ai Miye by carrying her into Eternal Space, where he begins exploring the Sea Chart’s mysterious internal world.

Chapter Summary: “Resurrection”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins explores the Eternal Sea Chart’s inner world, Eternal Space, and discovers that although the environment naturally restores itself, objects altered or destroyed with Curse Power retain their new forms.
• He uses Curse Power to repair a broken bowl into a decorated porcelain cup and transforms the shabby houses of House Town into beautiful homes, renewing their furniture as well.
• Hawkins attempts to use the sea chart’s Resurrection of the Dead ability to revive his former comrade, Pei Jin. The attempt fails because it consumes all his Curse Power before the resurrection can be completed.
• Ai Miye awakens aboard the Black Knife and finds herself alone. Sensing Hawkins nearby, she goes to House Town and gratefully embraces him, believing he helped free her from her ancestor’s possession.
• Hawkins explains that they are inside the sea chart, in a recreated version of House Town. The place resembles the real town but lacks its animals and differs in various details.
• He tells Ai Miye that Arthur and the others remain outside aboard the Black Knife and that she must stay safely inside Eternal Space while he investigates the dangerous external situation.
• After several hours recovering his Curse Power, Hawkins considers whom to resurrect. The ability requires him to know the person’s appearance and exact time of death.
• Ai Miye names several deceased children from her past and also mentions Asmodeus, a capable older brother. Hawkins chooses Asmodeus as the first person to resurrect because he would be more useful as a sailor.

Character Developments

• Hawkins gains a deeper understanding of the sea chart’s abilities and limitations. He confirms that Curse Power can permanently reshape objects and environments, while resurrection requires enormous energy and specific knowledge of the deceased.
• Hawkins reveals strong emotional ties to people from his past, including his parents, wife, children, comrades, and soldiers. His desire to revive them exposes his unresolved regrets.
• He also shows practical judgment by choosing Asmodeus over the children, prioritizing someone who may contribute to the crew.
• Ai Miye becomes more emotionally dependent on Hawkins after surviving her ancestor’s possession. Though frightened by being left alone, she responds maturely and agrees to remain in Eternal Space.
• Their relationship grows warmer and more intimate, with Hawkins treating Ai Miye affectionately as his apprentice while also acknowledging that she took most of the risk during the inheritance ordeal.

Significant Themes

• Resurrection and loss: Hawkins’s desire to revive the dead reflects his inability to let go of his past, while the failed attempt emphasizes that resurrection has severe costs.
• Power and limitations: Even a seemingly miraculous ability depends on energy, memory, and precise information.
• Creation and restoration: Hawkins reshapes House Town into a comfortable home, symbolizing his attempt to create safety and stability within an otherwise dangerous world.
• Responsibility and compensation: Hawkins recognizes that he benefited greatly from Ai Miye’s ordeal and intends to repay her, showing an awareness of fairness despite his pragmatic choices.
• Home and belonging: The transformed House Town becomes a potential refuge for Hawkins and Ai Miye, contrasting with their uncertain and dangerous life outside.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins comforts Ai Miye after her possession and reassures her that she is safe.
• Ai Miye thanks Hawkins for saving her, while Hawkins privately recognizes that he owes her for helping awaken the Eternal Sea Chart.
• Hawkins explains Eternal Space and the sea chart to Ai Miye, who reacts with wonder and anxiety.
• He promises to return every half hour if necessary, strengthening their trust.
• Ai Miye helps determine the next resurrection target by naming people she wishes to see again, leading Hawkins to select Asmodeus.

Key plot points and events

• After three years trapped in a ring, Asmodeus receives a resurrection offer from Hawkins and accepts immediately. Hawkins brings him back to life in Eternal Space, where Asmodeus can remain safely; sustaining him outside it would require ongoing Curse Power.
• Hawkins discovers the ring anchors Asmodeus’s resurrection. Keeping it in the Sea Chart can reduce the cost and allow repeated resurrections. The ring’s curse causes its wearer to suffer an intense need to relieve themselves every two hours, while its ability makes signed contracts stronger when infused with Curse Power.
• Hawkins spends half an hour creating a communication and mission system for his resurrected companions. A superluminal computer beneath Vitalia Island serves as its infrastructure, and a contract-bearing statue provides access.
• The new “I Love My Family Group” includes a chat, an exchange system for abilities, treasures, and money, and a mission page connected to the Eternal Sea Chart. Members can earn points by completing missions; failure incurs penalties.
• Hawkins invites Ai Miye and Asmodeus to sign up. Ai Miye uses her Guide ability as her signature, but panics when a loading bar appears in her vision. Hawkins laughs and explains that it is not a bug.

Character developments and interactions

• Asmodeus emerges from years of isolation deeply grateful for his second chance. Though killed by pirates, he does not condemn all pirates and is willing to trust Hawkins, who has rescued him.
• Hawkins confirms that his resurrection power genuinely restores the dead, though it has substantial costs and limitations. He also reveals a desire to create a chosen family and a practical plan for sharing work and rewards with its members.
• Ai Miye joyfully embraces Asmodeus and reassures him that Hawkins is a good person, despite his being a pirate. She trusts Hawkins, though she becomes frightened by the unfamiliar interface.
• Hawkins, Ai Miye, and Asmodeus begin forming a close-knit group: Hawkins offers membership as a way to make them “a true family,” and the others respond with curiosity and trust.

Significant themes

• Second chances and courage: Asmodeus’s willingness to protect others earns him resurrection, even as he remembers doubting that choice.
• Chosen family: Hawkins values emotional bonds over blood ties and builds a system to unite and support his companions.
• Limits and costs of power: Resurrection is real but consumes enormous Curse Power and depends on Eternal Space and the ring.
• Trust and cooperation: The group system turns individual missions into shared work, with clear rewards and consequences.

Chapter Summary: “Lost”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins, Ai Miye, and Asmodeus use a magical contract that allows them to understand written language through the Chat Group. Hawkins warns them not to depend on it entirely and promises to arrange proper lessons.
• Asmodeus signs the contract despite fearing that “bugs” will grow from his eyes. His fear proves unfounded, and he quickly learns to communicate through the Chat Group.
• Hawkins assigns Asmodeus to scout the outside world because Asmodeus can be resurrected repeatedly. By linking to Asmodeus’s camera feed, Hawkins and Ai Miye can see what he sees.
• Hawkins opens a passage from Eternal Space into the Dream Realm. Asmodeus passes through and immediately begins falling. A strange, shadowy appendage seizes and destroys him.
• Hawkins resurrects Asmodeus, discovering that the ring serving as his anchor makes the resurrection relatively inexpensive in Curse Power.
• Hawkins asks Asmodeus to scout again so they can identify the mysterious entity and find a way out. Though terrified, Asmodeus agrees because he can be resurrected.
• During the second attempt, Asmodeus does not encounter the entity. Hawkins initially assumes he emerged in a different location, making their escape even more difficult.
• By comparing the two video feeds, Hawkins realizes that Asmodeus emerged from the same place both times but fell in opposite directions. His first apparent “downward” fall and second “upward” fall created the illusion of different locations.

Character Developments

• Hawkins demonstrates caution and strategic thinking. He recognizes that his limited experience as a Curse Caster makes powerful enemies—especially Ai Miye’s ancestor—dangerous to underestimate.
• Ai Miye becomes more comfortable with the Chat Group and shows warmth toward Asmodeus, laughing at his fear and worrying about the danger he faces.
• Asmodeus is established as timid but loyal and courageous. Although the shadow entity traumatizes him more severely than his death at the hands of pirates, he agrees to risk himself again to help the group.
• Hawkins’s willingness to resurrect Asmodeus and call him “family” strengthens their bond, while Asmodeus’s repeated sacrifices deepen his trust in Hawkins.

Significant Themes

• Family and loyalty: The group’s cooperation and Hawkins’s reassurance transform them into a makeshift family.
• Courage despite fear: Asmodeus is not fearless; his bravery comes from acting even while terrified.
• Knowledge and observation: Hawkins relies on careful comparison and analysis rather than rushing into danger himself.
• Limits of power: Resurrection is useful but not limitless, and Hawkins understands that his own death would be permanent.
• The unknown and survival: The Dream Realm remains mysterious and hostile, emphasizing the group’s vulnerability and uncertain path to escape.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins humorously encourages Asmodeus to overcome his fears while still treating him as a valuable member of the group.
• Ai Miye and Asmodeus communicate through exchanged glances and the Chat Group, developing playful camaraderie.
• Hawkins comforts Asmodeus after his death, promises to resurrect him, and formally invites him to address him as family.
• Ai Miye briefly suggests abandoning the second scouting attempt when she sees Asmodeus’s terror, but Asmodeus chooses to continue.
• The chapter ends with Hawkins using the group’s shared video feeds to correct their misunderstanding and uncover a crucial clue about the Dream Realm’s spatial behavior.

Chapter Summary: “Return and the Ambusher”

Key Plot Points and Events

• In the Dream Realm, Hawkins studies the surrounding dangers by repeatedly sending Asmodeus out to explore and die. They determine that different directions lead to different hazards: the sun above, a giant black hand below, black mud to the left, and a black hole to the right.
• Hawkins confirms that Curse Power can disrupt movement in the Dream Realm, allowing someone to alter their trajectory. He prepares to leave Eternal Space and guide everyone back to safety.
• When Hawkins enters the Dream Realm, he is immediately rejected because he is alive and forcibly expelled into the real world. He lands near House Town and realizes that living beings cannot remain inside the Dream Realm.
• Asmodeus continues volunteering to help despite his growing fear and repeated deaths. His repeated experiences gradually numb his terror, while Ai Miye remains concerned for him and Hawkins.
• Hawkins returns to House Town and discovers that Mark’s group has been attacked. Qiao Si and two children were killed, while Arthur was wounded. Mark has hidden the survivors in a storage room to protect them from the unseen attacker.
• Jennie grieves over Qiao Si, realizing that Qiao Si had become more than her guard—she was her closest friend and sister figure. Mark urges Jennie to use her dream-related abilities to locate the enemy, but she is too traumatized to sleep.
• Hawkins examines the corpses and the attack angles, deducing that the killer used a long-range weapon. He searches for the attacker instead of immediately joining Mark’s group.
• The enemy launches another attack, but Hawkins dodges it. He identifies the attacker as a transparent, long-haired middle-aged man using a blowpipe to fire compressed-air projectiles. The man is surprised that Hawkins avoided his normally invisible and deadly attack.

Character Developments

• Hawkins demonstrates growing tactical skill and caution. He methodically investigates the Dream Realm, tests Curse Power’s effects, and analyzes the ambush rather than recklessly confronting the enemy.
• Asmodeus becomes increasingly courageous and self-sacrificing. Although repeated deaths terrify him, he accepts responsibility for protecting Hawkins and Ai Miye and gradually becomes desensitized to death.
• Ai Miye remains compassionate and protective, comforting Asmodeus and worrying about Hawkins. Her decision to remain in Eternal Space reflects both her concern for Asmodeus and her awareness of the danger outside.
• Mark is forced to confront his helplessness. Despite his confidence and desire to protect the group, he cannot locate or counter the hidden attacker and feels the burden of keeping the survivors alive.
• Jennie experiences profound grief and guilt after Qiao Si’s death. Her inability to use her dream abilities reveals how severely trauma has affected her.
• Qiao Si is shown, through Jennie’s memories, to have been loyal and forgiving, continuing to protect Jennie despite Jennie’s earlier betrayal.
• The ambusher is introduced as a highly dangerous assassin who relies on invisibility, concealment, and compressed-air attacks. Hawkins’s successful dodge challenges his assumption that his weapon is impossible to evade.

Significant Themes

• Courage and sacrifice: Asmodeus repeatedly risks death because he believes protecting the others is his responsibility.
• The nature of fear: Repeated exposure gradually dulls Asmodeus’s terror, while Jennie’s grief prevents her from functioning effectively.
• Powerlessness and responsibility: Mark and his group are vulnerable against an enemy they cannot see, emphasizing how dangerous the wider world remains.
• Adaptation through knowledge: Hawkins survives the Dream Realm and the ambush by observing patterns, testing abilities, and using careful deduction.
• Loss and regret: Jennie’s mourning forces her to recognize Qiao Si’s importance and the emotional cost of her earlier betrayal.
• Unreliable reality: The Dream Realm’s distorted space and shifting dangers reinforce the chapter’s emphasis on uncertainty and the limits of ordinary perception.

Important Character Interactions

• Ai Miye comforts Asmodeus after his repeated deaths, strengthening their emotional bond.
• Asmodeus offers to accompany Hawkins and shield him from danger, but Hawkins refuses so Asmodeus can remain with Ai Miye.
• Hawkins promises Ai Miye that he will return safely, reinforcing their trust and mutual dependence.
• Mark harshly pressures Jennie to use her abilities, but her grief exposes the emotional strain within the survivors.
• Hawkins’s investigation directly leads to his first confrontation with the invisible ambusher, setting up the next conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Black Market Bounty”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• A middle-aged assassin attacks the Black Knife using compressed-air weapons, killing three crew members, including Qiao Si, while the others hide in a storage room.
• The assassin loses track of Hawkins, who uses stealth and a blade drawn from his Sea Chart to ambush him.
• Hawkins severs the assassin’s legs, interrogates him, and learns that a bounty has been placed on everyone aboard the Black Knife through the Black Market. Each crew member’s head is worth 10 Gold Coins.
• The assassin explains that the Black Market is a secret island between Yazhong Island, Blackwood Island, and Hard Biscuit Island. It serves powerful and hidden clients, including nobles, assassins, and resistance financiers.
• Although the assassin begs for mercy, Hawkins kills him brutally, refusing to forgive him for murdering his crew and attempting to kill the others.
• Hawkins returns to the storage room with the assassin’s corpse. Mark and Jennie had been discussing whether Mark could knock Jennie unconscious so that she could use her dream-based ability to locate the killer.
• Mark’s hesitation reveals that he has developed romantic feelings for Jennie and cannot bring himself to hurt her.
• After explaining the Black Market threat, Hawkins orders the crew to recover the bodies of the dead and move their supplies.
• The chapter ends with Hawkins storing the supplies in Eternal Space, while Mark worries that the crew may abandon the Black Knife to evade further assassins.

2. Character Developments

• Hawkins demonstrates his intelligence, stealth, and ruthlessness. He skillfully exploits the assassin’s momentary distraction and uses psychological pressure during the interrogation. His deliberate choice to prolong the assassin’s death shows his anger and unwillingness to forgive someone who killed innocent crew members.
• The middle-aged assassin is exposed as cowardly and poorly suited to close combat. Despite his profession, he panics once wounded and begs for his life. His death emphasizes the danger of attacking Hawkins and the consequences of killing Hawkins’s people.
• Mark becomes more protective of the crew and especially concerned about Jennie. His inability to strike her reveals a new emotional vulnerability and suggests that he is falling in love with her.
• Jennie remains frightened and traumatized by Qiao Si’s death, but she is willing to use her ability to help identify the murderer and seek revenge.
• Hawkins’s crew is shown to be vulnerable despite their loyalty and strength, as one assassin manages to kill several members and drive the survivors into hiding.

3. Significant Themes

• Revenge and justice: Hawkins’s merciless execution reflects his desire to avenge Qiao Si and the other victims rather than offer forgiveness.
• The danger of the underworld: The Black Market expands the story’s criminal and political setting, revealing that the crew has attracted organized bounty hunters and powerful hidden enemies.
• Fear and vulnerability: The assassin, normally a killer, becomes terrified when placed in the position of a victim. This reversal highlights the emotional reality of death threats.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Hawkins takes responsibility for protecting his crew and honoring the dead, while Mark tries to protect the survivors.
• Emerging romance: Mark’s feelings for Jennie begin to surface, adding a lighter and more personal emotional thread amid the violence.
• Adaptability and strategy: Hawkins survives not through brute force alone, but through careful observation, misdirection, and tactical use of his abilities.

4. Character Interactions

• Hawkins and the assassin engage in a tense interrogation, with Hawkins mocking the man’s weakness and forcing him to reveal the Black Market bounty.
• Mark and Jennie discuss using Jennie’s dreams to locate the killer, creating both emotional tension and comic awkwardness when Mark cannot bring himself to knock her out.
• Hawkins interrupts this moment and teases Mark, later correctly guessing that Mark has fallen for Jennie.
• Mark reports the assassin’s attack and the Black Market to Hawkins, privately fearing the captain’s many enemies but wisely keeping those thoughts to himself.
• Hawkins’s harsh treatment of the assassin contrasts with his teasing, familiar relationship with Mark and his broader responsibility toward the crew.

Chapter Summary: “Clean the Toilets!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins explains the advantages and dangers of Eternal Space. Matter created there cannot normally enter reality, meaning people who rely on Eternal Space’s food could suffer fatal bodily collapse when they leave.
• To solve this, Hawkins develops several plans, including:
  • Transferring an entire island into Eternal Space to provide stable food.
  • Creating a Curse Power Bank.
  • Preventing people with too many Eternal Space atoms in their bodies from leaving.
  • Establishing a self-sustaining cycle within Eternal Space.
• Hawkins transfers the Black Knife’s supplies into Eternal Space and brings Mark, Arthur, Jennie, and the others inside. They are amazed by the artificial world, though Arthur and the children adapt quickly.
• Hawkins confirms that Asmodeus was genuinely resurrected and promises to revive Tom, Jason, Qiao Si, and the others later that night, when curse power regenerates more efficiently.
• He has everyone sign contracts and join the Chat Group. He then creates an announcement board, forum, and video site, uploading information and a video about Asmodeus’s experiences in the Dream Realm.
• Hawkins assigns Mark to train Arthur and the other children as sailors. The group plans to continue toward Little Will Island while stopping at the Black Market, unless Jennie obtains reliable information about Jabus.
• Hawkins begins developing the Curse Power Bank, which will allow him to store and later withdraw curse power. Contracted members will eventually be able to exchange Exchange Points for it.
• Mark takes Arthur and the others sailing within Eternal Space. They discover the task and exchange systems, which offer Exchange Points for various jobs and powerful bodily enhancements.
• Although Mark is tempted by the advanced items and weapons, he is wary of the available tasks. In the end, he reluctantly accepts a toilet-cleaning task to earn Exchange Points.

Character Developments

• Hawkins becomes increasingly focused on managing Eternal Space as a complete society rather than merely using it as a private refuge. His plans involve infrastructure, food production, currency, security, communication, and resource management.
• Mark remains loyal and responsible, accepting the role of sailor instructor. However, he is also overwhelmed by the advanced technology and tempted by the Exchange Page’s powerful enhancements and weapons. His desperation to obtain them leads him to accept the humiliating toilet-cleaning job.
• Arthur begins recovering from his injuries and is eager to learn about Eternal Space. He is curious about Jennie’s intelligence abilities and his unknown parents.
• Jennie presents herself as an all-knowing intelligence officer, but Arthur exposes the limits of her Dream Realm abilities. She is embarrassed by the exaggeration but still wants to prove her usefulness.
• Asmodeus is established as one of Hawkins’s revived combatants and becomes an important example of Hawkins’s resurrection abilities.
• Ai Miye helps introduce the others to the task system and teases Jennie about being a freeloader.

Significant Themes

• The cost and limitations of miracles: Resurrection and world creation are possible, but Eternal Space’s matter cannot freely cross into reality, creating serious biological risks.
• Building a functioning society: Hawkins moves beyond individual power and begins constructing systems for food, currency, communication, training, contracts, and resource exchange.
• Power and dependence: Everyone relies on Hawkins for access to Eternal Space, curse power, resurrection, and advanced technology, reinforcing his position as leader.
• Curiosity versus caution: The characters are fascinated by the Exchange Page’s extraordinary abilities, but they must balance their desires against uncertainty and danger.
• Humor and mundane labor: Despite the chapter’s grand concepts—immortality, resurrection, and artificial worlds—the immediate way to gain power is cleaning toilets, creating a comic contrast.

Character Interactions

• Mark questions Hawkins about Asmodeus’s resurrection and refuses when Hawkins jokingly offers to let him experience death firsthand.
• Arthur asks about Tom and Jason, and later questions Jennie about whether her intelligence ability allows her to know everything.
• Jennie boasts about her knowledge but admits she cannot immediately discover Arthur’s parentage.
• Hawkins organizes the group through the Chat Group, assigning Mark his training duties and outlining their travel plans.
• Ai Miye informs Mark about the task system, prompting him to investigate the available jobs and exchanges.
• Mark’s interactions with the Exchange Page reveal his growing admiration for Hawkins’s power and his willingness to endure embarrassing work to obtain advanced abilities.

Summary: “Modifying the Black Knife”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Conrad sends an enhanced Bat to investigate the deserted Black Knife after Julian has been unconscious for some time.
• The Bat detects fresh blood on the ship and nearby rooftops, allowing Conrad to reconstruct the events: Julian survived an attack, an assassin using a Cursed Relic appeared, and the ship was later abandoned.
• Conrad speculates that the bounty on Hawkins may have been placed by Dempsey or Aldrich, since Hawkins poses a major threat to both.
• Conrad transforms the Bat into a tiny winged humanoid and questions Julian. He considers ordering Julian to infiltrate Hawkins’s group and report information.
• Julian warns that Hawkins is frightening not only because of his strength but because his thoughts and intentions are impossible to understand. Conrad abandons the plan, realizing Hawkins might detect the deception.
• Conrad frees Julian, who flies away to seek blood. Soon afterward, a liquid humanoid arrives on the Black Knife, finds it empty, and angrily transforms into a giant before smashing through the ship’s hull and sinking it.
• The following day, Hawkins and Mark emerge from Eternal Space and discover that the Black Knife lies beneath the sea.
• Hawkins determines that Julian survived and suspects one of Jabus’s former subordinates sank the ship. He regrets not killing Julian earlier, though he had originally kept him alive to study how long a transformed animal could survive without feeding.
• Rather than abandon the Black Knife, Hawkins dives underwater, analyzes the damage, and concludes that a creature capable of changing size and moving powerfully underwater punched through the ship.
• Hawkins salvages the vessel by modifying barnacles and seaweed through his biological abilities. He attaches the altered organisms to the hull and seabed, creating a means to repair or raise the ship.
• The Black Knife eventually rises from the ocean, astonishing Mark.

Character Developments

• Conrad becomes increasingly cautious about Hawkins. He recognizes Hawkins as a dangerous and unpredictable opponent and decides that gathering intelligence is essential before taking action.
• Julian remains valuable to Conrad despite his weakened condition. His knowledge of Hawkins’s personality demonstrates that he understands Hawkins better than Conrad initially expected.
• Hawkins shows scientific curiosity and ruthless practicality. He admits that Julian’s survival was originally an experiment, but he also demonstrates determination by refusing to abandon the Black Knife.
• Mark remains loyal but comically eager to return to Eternal Space and continue cleaning toilets. His reaction also emphasizes his awe at Hawkins’s abilities.
• The mysterious liquid attacker is revealed as powerful enough to destroy the ship but is left unidentified.

Significant Themes

• Intelligence and preparation: Conrad believes information is more valuable than immediate confrontation, especially when dealing with Hawkins.
• Unpredictability and psychological danger: Hawkins’s inscrutable motives make him more threatening than his raw power alone.
• Survival and adaptation: Julian survives starvation and injury, while Hawkins adapts the Black Knife to recover from catastrophic damage.
• Scientific experimentation and control: Hawkins treats living organisms—including Julian and marine life—as subjects that can be studied and modified.
• Power through transformation: Several abilities involve changing form, size, or biological structure, reinforcing the chapter’s focus on adaptability and hidden capabilities.

Character Interactions

• Conrad questions Julian about infiltrating Hawkins’s group, but Julian’s warning about Hawkins’s perceptiveness makes Conrad reconsider.
• Conrad frees Julian rather than killing him, preserving the possibility that Julian may remain useful.
• Hawkins and Mark discuss the sunken ship, Julian’s survival, and Hawkins’s ability to remain underwater.
• Mark’s request to return to Eternal Space is interrupted when the modified Black Knife resurfaces, highlighting both his comic relief role and Hawkins’s impressive resourcefulness.

Key plot points and events

• The Black Knife has transformed into a fast, partly living ship: vines cover its rocky hull, open doors, make furniture, and even propel it through the water with huge tentacles.
• Mark is increasingly unsettled by the ship—and by Hawkins, whose abilities and authority seem far beyond what Mark can understand. Even Mark’s Curse Spirit, Silver Wolf, acts submissively around him.
• Mark and Arthur spot pirates attacking a merchant ship. Mark wants to take the pirate-killing mission for Exchange Points rather than keep cleaning toilets, and Hawkins authorizes the group to engage.
• The group’s messages reveal that revivals now cost Exchange Points after each person’s free revival, encouraging everyone to earn and save points. Qiao Si and Asmodeus volunteer; Arthur is barred from fighting but agrees to record the encounter for a possible future livestream.
• The pirates are the Blackedge crew, led by Eugene, longtime rivals of Hawkins’s Blackblade Pirates. Eugene taunts Hawkins about the apparent destruction of his crew and Jon’s death.
• Hawkins kills Eugene instantly with lightning and orders the others eliminated. Mark, Qiao Si, and Asmodeus quickly defeat most of the crew; only three pirates remain alive.
• Hawkins notices that completing missions eases the physical strain caused by his unusually fast metabolism, reinforcing the value of involving more people.
• Mark then warns Hawkins that something is wrong aboard the merchant ship.

Character developments and interactions

• Mark shifts from grudgingly admiring Hawkins to feeling genuine awe and apprehension. He also takes initiative by organizing the pirate mission, though he remains focused on its practical reward.
• Hawkins displays his overwhelming power and personal vendetta against the Blackedge Pirates, while treating the mission system as a way to ease his own physical burden.
• Arthur defers to Hawkins’s judgment and is eager to contribute, but Mark prevents him from joining the dangerous fight. He instead takes up Ai Miye’s suggestion to record it.
• Qiao Si is highly motivated to earn Exchange Points, partly because she has been claiming most of the available toilet-cleaning missions.
• Asmodeus joins despite doubts about his combat ability and manages to wound some pirates.

Significant themes

• Power, awe, and dependence: Mark and Arthur increasingly rely on Hawkins, whose capabilities make him seem almost godlike.
• Survival and resource management: Revival chances and Exchange Points turn missions into a means of securing future lives.
• Teamwork and risk: The group’s combined effort makes short work of the pirates, while the warning about the merchant vessel hints that the real danger may lie beyond the apparent fight.
• The uncanny: The Black Knife’s living, tentacled transformation blurs the line between ship and creature.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins investigates the merchant ship after sensing an ominous aura connected to a life-sacrifice ritual.
• He discovers the corpses of a newlywed couple. The woman’s verdigris dagger contains a ruby, which activates an artifact capable of summoning a creature from the Dream Realm.
• A massive red-furred monster begins forcing its way through a rift into reality. Hawkins severs its arm by opening and closing a spatial passage into Eternal Space.
• He realizes the monster is a living organism rather than an energy construct, suggesting that creatures may be born within the Dream Realm even if beings from the real world cannot remain there.
• Hawkins lures the monster into Eternal Space, where he has absolute control over forces, movement, sound, and space. He immobilizes and captures it.
• The eight-meter-tall, bull-headed creature proves nearly impervious to Hawkins’s physical, electrical, fiery, and corrosive attacks. Its twelve-strand DNA structure contains enormous amounts of energy and is far more complex than human DNA.
• Hawkins confines the monster in a prison he constructs on an isolated island, intending to study it later.
• He returns to the ships, orders the crew to salvage supplies from the Blackedge, and discovers that Eugene had accumulated far less wealth than Hawkins’s original identity.
• The Blackedge is burned and sunk along with the merchant ship, symbolically burying the dead and their stories at sea. Hawkins then continues his voyage and eagerly returns to Eternal Space to experiment on the captured creature.
• Meanwhile, Mark discusses the pirate battle in the group chat. The crew earned exchange points for killing pirates, and Mark becomes excited by the possibility of attacking the Pirate Queen, who commands over ten thousand pirates and seventeen warships.

Character Developments

• Hawkins demonstrates his calmness, intelligence, and scientific curiosity. Even when facing a monster capable of killing him instantly, he relies on strategy and the advantages of Eternal Space rather than brute force.
• His investigation expands his understanding of the Dream Realm, especially the possibility that it contains naturally born living organisms.
• Hawkins also reveals a ruthless experimental side, viewing the captured monster primarily as research material.
• He briefly shows compassion when observing the dead newlyweds and acknowledging that their lives and stories should be left to rest.
• Mark remains confident and practical, accepting Hawkins’s success without doubt. His enthusiasm for exchange points develops into greed and an interest in confronting increasingly dangerous enemies.
• Arthur is given responsibility for steering the Black Knife under the pretext of training, suggesting Hawkins’s group is gradually assigning him practical duties.
• Eugene’s poor financial habits are contrasted with the original Hawkins’s careful, survival-oriented tendency to save wealth.
• The crew members’ chat reveals growing familiarity and camaraderie among Mark, Qiao Si, Asmodeus, Ai Miye, and Jennie.

Significant Themes

• Science and discovery: The monster becomes evidence that the Dream Realm may support its own forms of life, challenging previous assumptions about its nature.
• Power through control rather than strength: Hawkins cannot damage the creature directly, but Eternal Space allows him to dominate it by controlling fundamental forces.
• Human vulnerability: The newlyweds’ deaths and the monster’s overwhelming strength emphasize how fragile ordinary humans are beside supernatural powers.
• Death and remembrance: The burning and sinking ships represent the burial of the victims’ stories and the closing of a tragic episode.
• Morality versus curiosity: Hawkins feels sorrow for the dead but immediately turns the captured monster into an object of experimentation, highlighting the tension between empathy and scientific ruthlessness.
• Greed and progression: The group treats pirate battles as a way to earn exchange points, while Mark’s interest in the Pirate Queen shows how quickly practical rewards can encourage reckless ambition.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins and the summoned monster engage in a one-sided confrontation, with Hawkins using spatial manipulation and domain-like control to neutralize it.
• Hawkins gives Mark orders regarding salvage operations, ship destruction, navigation, and Arthur’s training.
• Mark, Arthur, and the crew cooperate in transferring supplies from the Blackedge before it is destroyed.
• In the group chat, Mark boasts about his kills and exchange points; Qiao Si, Asmodeus, Ai Miye, and Jennie compare their results and warn him about the Pirate Queen’s overwhelming power.

Summary of “Bastard Victor”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Five days after Jabus’s disappearance, Vitalia Island has collapsed into lawlessness. Without his rule, towns are overrun by bandits, criminals, and disorder.
• A new threat has emerged: enormous, blood-covered monsters called Long-Haired Demons. They are nearly invulnerable, immensely strong, highly sensitive to blood, and massacre entire communities, especially at night.
• At Margaret’s Home, fifteen-year-old George lies awake, devastated because Victor has won over Avril, the girl George loves. George believes Victor only desires Avril physically and fears she will become another exploited orphan.
• George witnesses a Long-Haired Demon kill an old man and destroy a house. Despite his jealousy and resentment, he decides to risk himself to warn Avril.
• George breaks into a nearby inn and finds Victor and Avril. He warns them about the demons, but Avril initially refuses to leave with him.
• A burly stranger intervenes, strikes Victor when he threatens George, and helps George escape. Victor and Avril later realize George was probably telling the truth and decide to flee as well.
• The town descends into panic as dozens of Long-Haired Demons invade, slaughtering fleeing residents and crushing bodies beneath them.
• George and the burly man attempt to reach the town’s outskirts, but the route is blocked by demons. Victor leads Avril toward Harbor Village, hoping the sea will prevent the monsters from following.
• George spots Victor and Avril and calls out to Avril. His shout attracts a demon’s attention, while Victor argues that large groups are more likely to be attacked. George nevertheless runs toward them, forcing the burly man to follow.

Character Developments

• George: Moves from jealousy and self-pity to courage and self-sacrifice. Although heartbroken by Avril’s rejection and Victor’s relationship with her, he chooses to warn her rather than abandon her.
• Victor: Is revealed as arrogant, selfish, and physically abusive in his treatment of Avril, but he also shows practical intelligence during the crisis. He quickly assesses the danger and identifies Harbor Village as a possible escape route.
• Avril: Initially appears to side with Victor and rejects George’s warning, but becomes frightened and uncertain once the danger becomes undeniable. She depends on Victor to guide her.
• The burly man: Acts decisively and protectively. He dismisses Victor’s threats, protects George, and makes quick decisions while fleeing the demons.
• The townspeople: Their panic highlights how helpless ordinary civilians are against the Long-Haired Demons. Some flee recklessly, while others freeze in despair.

Significant Themes

• Chaos after the collapse of authority: Jabus’s harsh rule maintained order, and his disappearance leaves ordinary people vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
• Courage versus selfishness: George’s love is initially mixed with jealousy, but his willingness to save Avril proves more honorable than Victor’s possessive behavior.
• Survival and moral choices: The characters must decide whom to trust and whether to help others when doing so may increase their own danger.
• The brutality of power: Both Victor’s social arrogance and the demons’ physical violence demonstrate how the weak are preyed upon by those with greater power.
• Fear and mass panic: The demons’ attack turns the town into chaos, showing how quickly civilization and cooperation can collapse under overwhelming terror.

Character Interactions

• George’s internal conflict centers on his love for Avril and hatred of Victor, yet he still risks returning to warn them.
• Victor taunts George and claims Avril as “his woman,” revealing his possessiveness and contempt.
• The burly man challenges Victor’s authority, slaps him, and becomes George’s ally during the escape.
• Avril refuses George’s rescue attempt but later relies on Victor’s judgment when the demon attack begins.
• George’s attempt to reunite with Avril unintentionally draws danger toward the group, creating tension between his desire to protect her and Victor’s survival-focused strategy.

Chapter Summary: “The Ugly Monster”

Key Plot Points and Events

• George, Avril, Victor, and the burly man flee the Long-Haired Demon by taking the narrow smuggler’s path around Negotiation Mountain.
• The path is only about thirty centimeters wide, forcing people to proceed one at a time along the cliffside.
• The Long-Haired Demon follows them despite its size, climbing directly along the mountainside with its fingers instead of using the path.
• As the monster slaughters the people behind them, Victor sacrifices himself to save Avril and the others. He grabs the Demon’s tail, causing it and a section of the mountainside to fall into the sea.
• Avril believes Victor has died and continues on with George and the burly man.
• After crossing the path, the survivors hear screams below and turn back. They encounter Jabus, a blood-covered man who is killing people.
• Beneath the cliff, Victor survives the fall because he can swim. He discovers that the Long-Haired Demons die when they enter seawater.
• Victor returns to the surface furious and determined to avenge Avril, believing she may still be in danger.
• George reveals his cowardice and selfishness, privately dismissing Avril as someone unworthy of risking his life for. He becomes trapped between Jabus behind him and the Long-Haired Demon ahead.
• The narrative shifts to Jennie, who wakes from a dream and informs the Chat Group that Jabus is in Two-Harbor Town.
• Mark, Hawkins, and the crew of the Black Knife travel to Harbor Village near Two-Harbor Town, where refugees report that the Long-Haired Demons have occupied the town but cannot enter the sea.
• Mark recognizes Victor aboard a sailboat. He approaches him and reveals that Jabus killed Avril.
• Victor is stunned, dropping his knife when he learns the identity of Avril’s killer.

Character Developments

• Victor: Develops from a resentful, guarded man into a genuinely self-sacrificing and courageous figure. He risks his life to protect Avril, survives the fall, discovers the Demons’ weakness, and becomes consumed by revenge.
• Avril: Shows trust and emotional attachment to Victor. His apparent sacrifice deeply affects her, though she forces herself to keep moving.
• George: His apparent concern for Avril is exposed as self-serving. He is willing to abandon her when protecting her becomes dangerous, contrasting sharply with Victor’s sacrifice.
• The burly man: Acts decisively and protectively, urging others forward and attempting to return when he hears more people in danger. His death demonstrates the severity of the threat.
• Jabus: Is revealed as a dangerous, silent killer operating in Two-Harbor Town. His presence creates a second threat besides the Long-Haired Demons.
• Mark: Continues acting boldly and somewhat playfully, but also shows interest in helping Victor and investigating the situation.
• Jennie: Uses her dreams to identify Jabus and Victor, providing crucial information to the group.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice versus selfishness: Victor risks death for Avril, while George abandons the idea of protecting her when danger becomes real.
• Courage and revenge: Victor’s heroic sacrifice transforms into a desire for vengeance after he learns Avril was killed.
• Appearance versus reality: The “ugly monster” is not the only danger; human beings such as Jabus and George can be equally monstrous through violence or betrayal.
• Survival and resourcefulness: The characters exploit the mountain path, and Victor’s survival reveals that seawater is fatal to the Long-Haired Demons.
• Love and loyalty: Victor’s feelings for Avril motivate his sacrifice, while Mark questions whether Victor’s actions came from love or desperation.

Important Character Interactions

• George persuades Avril and Victor to take the mountain detour, while Victor reluctantly agrees.
• Victor bids Avril farewell, confesses that he wanted to marry her, and sacrifices himself to stop the Demon.
• George attempts to hurry Avril onward after Victor’s fall, revealing his practical but emotionally detached attitude.
• George shields Avril from Jabus but internally decides she is not worth dying for.
• Mark confronts Victor and provokes him by questioning his bravery.
• Mark finally tells Victor that Jabus killed Avril, setting Victor on a likely path toward confrontation and revenge.

Chapter Summary: “Could Jabus Be Better?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jabus’s tyranny has become so entrenched that many residents still obey and revere him, despite his cruel taxes and apparent madness.
• Mark teases Victor for being afraid of Jabus, while Victor admits that he fears dying before he can avenge Avril.
• Victor reveals that Avril was the only person who believed in his now-abandoned dream, explaining his determination to pursue revenge.
• The Black Knife docks near Harbor Village, where Mark and Hawkins are attacked by Long-Haired Demons.
• Mark’s Curse Spirit, Silver Wolf, instantly kills one demon through speed, invisibility, and razor-sharp claws.
• Hawkins uses his Eternal Spirit—an extremely durable black mist—to restrain and transport the remaining demons into Eternal Space. The demons die immediately after leaving Vitalia Island, suggesting that they may depend on the island to survive.
• Hawkins begins wondering whether Jabus might possess a similar weakness, but Jennie and Qiao Si cannot provide information about whether Jabus has ever left the island.
• Victor joins Hawkins and Mark, claiming that he knows the location of a cave where he saw Jabus enter. He asks to deliver the final blow in Jabus’s defeat, and Hawkins leaves the possibility open.
• Victor explains that Jabus took George away instead of killing him like the others. This raises the possibility that Jabus may have had a specific reason for sparing or capturing George—or that he may have regained his sanity.
• As the group travels toward Two-Harbor Town, Hawkins investigates the Long-Haired Demons and discovers that their bodies contain no blood or normal organs. Instead, they are filled with black hair.
• After Mark removes the demons’ hair, a human face is revealed beneath it, proving that the monsters were transformed from people.
• Mark theorizes that Jabus can create puppets. Hawkins remains cautious, suggesting that the bodies may be repurposed “waste” rather than conventional puppets, though he suspects Jabus is pursuing some unknown objective.

Character Developments

• Victor shows both fear and courage. Although terrified of Jabus, he chooses to leave the ship and guide Hawkins and Mark because of his desire to avenge Avril. His request to strike the final blow demonstrates his personal commitment to revenge.
• Mark continues to act casually and teasingly, but he is observant and protective of the group. He notices Victor’s fear and questions the mystery surrounding George.
• Hawkins remains analytical and increasingly wary. He studies the demons’ weaknesses, considers the implications of their dependence on Vitalia Island, and recognizes that a seemingly rational Jabus could be even more dangerous than a mad one.
• Jennie is revealed to fear Jabus despite her former reverence for him. Mark also suspects she may have feelings for Victor, though she denies liking him and claims to love someone else.
• Jabus remains absent but becomes more mysterious and threatening. His control over the Long-Haired Demons, his possible transformation abilities, and his decision to take George alive suggest a larger plan.

Significant Themes

• The power of habit and authoritarian control: Jabus’s rule is so deeply ingrained that people continue supporting him even under oppressive conditions.
• Fear versus courage: Victor’s fear does not prevent him from pursuing revenge, suggesting that bravery lies in acting despite terror.
• The danger of uncertainty: Hawkins emphasizes that a calm, rational Curse Caster may be more dangerous than a mad one because hidden abilities and intentions are harder to predict.
• Human transformation and dehumanization: The Long-Haired Demons are revealed to be altered human beings, showing the horrific physical consequences of Jabus’s power and the way his rule reduces people to tools or materials.
• Revenge and personal motivation: Victor’s grief over Avril drives his actions, while the mysterious fate of George introduces questions about Jabus’s motives.
• Power and weakness: The discovery that the demons die outside Vitalia Island raises the possibility that even Jabus may have exploitable limitations.

Important Character Interactions

• Mark mocks Victor’s fear of Jabus, but Victor responds honestly about his lost dream and desire for revenge.
• The Chat Group provides humorous tension through Mark’s suspicion that Jennie likes Victor and Jennie’s evasive response about the person she actually loves.
• Hawkins and Mark demonstrate their combat abilities together, shocking Victor and the observers aboard the ship.
• Victor earns a place in the group by offering crucial information about Jabus’s whereabouts.
• Hawkins, Mark, and Victor collaborate while investigating the origins of the Long-Haired Demons, with Mark’s Silver Wolf helping reveal their human identities.

Chapter Summary: “Don’t Hurt George”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Hawkins realizes that Jabus and George may share a blood connection because their names begin with similarly pronounced syllables. He speculates that George could be Jabus’s illegitimate descendant and wonders why Hawkins would need the blood of one of his own descendants.
• Hawkins, Mark, and Victor travel to Negotiation Mountain, where Victor previously saw Jabus take George into a hidden cave.
• Hawkins searches the cave but finds no sign of Jabus. Instead, he discovers George transformed into a gigantic, pig-faced Long-Haired Demon.
• George reacts violently when Hawkins approaches, repeatedly shouting, “Don’t hurt George!” Hawkins lures him outside to avoid fighting in the confined cave.
• George proves vastly stronger and more durable than expected. He uses a tree as a club and sends Mark flying with a single swing.
• Hawkins realizes that George’s body is extraordinarily tough—even strong enough to collide with the Eternal Spirit without injury. He also detects a strange form of Curse Power within George, unlike the purified power used by Hawkins and Mark.
• Rather than kill George, Hawkins decides to capture him alive, partly because George differs from ordinary Long-Haired Demons and may possess important secrets.
• Hawkins eventually binds George’s legs and arms with black mist. George struggles fiercely but is gradually restrained.

Character Developments

• Hawkins: Becomes more cautious after recognizing George’s immense durability and unusual Curse Power. Although he dislikes George’s behavior, he still views him as a child and deliberately avoids killing him. His curiosity about George’s origins and connection to Jabus also deepens.
• George: Is revealed to be a massive, monstrous creature with a childlike mind and intense fear of being harmed. Despite his frightening appearance and aggression, his repeated pleas suggest vulnerability and innocence. His physical strength and defensive abilities are far beyond those of normal Long-Haired Demons.
• Mark: Tries to act confidently and flatter Hawkins but is immediately overwhelmed by George, who launches him through the air with a tree. His defeat emphasizes George’s power while adding comic relief.
• Victor: Serves mainly as the guide to the hidden cave and is shocked by George’s transformation and strength.
• Jabus: Does not appear, but his absence becomes significant. The possibility that he and George are related raises questions about his motives and Hawkins’s blood-gathering plan.

Significant Themes

• Identity and lineage: Similarities in naming conventions suggest emerging family lines and raise the possibility that George is connected to Jabus by blood.
• Appearance versus character: George looks like a terrifying monster but behaves like a frightened child, complicating the distinction between monstrosity and innocence.
• Protection and violence: George’s repeated cry, “Don’t hurt George,” contrasts sharply with his violent attempts to defend himself. The chapter explores how fear can produce aggression.
• Power and restraint: Hawkins demonstrates strength not by killing George, but by adapting his strategy and capturing him alive.
• The unknown nature of Curse Power: George possesses a distinct form of power, hinting at deeper differences between him, ordinary Curse Casters, and the Long-Haired Demons.

Character Interactions

• Hawkins questions George’s possible relationship to Jabus and later confronts George directly in the cave.
• George attacks Hawkins defensively, forcing Hawkins to draw him outside.
• Mark volunteers to fight George but is instantly knocked away, exposing the gap between his confidence and George’s actual strength.
• Hawkins explains George’s unusual toughness and power to Mark and Victor, then uses the Eternal Spirit to restrain George rather than destroy him.