Chapter Summaries

Leon chose to kick Dark-Devouring Midir and insult him, then returned to the dungeon weakened but blessed with power against Abyss Creatures. Malu was tricked into a well by a thief disguised as a knight, while Sword Saint Gapar faced a strange choice between two monsters.

• Leon chose to kick Midir and tell him to stop eating garbage, so Midir filled his mouth with darkness and punished him before he died and returned to the room with a blessing and black mud.
• Delu said he had met Andre and learned martial arts, while Leon recovered with his help.
• A group of Abyss Creatures appeared, and Leon charged them with his Backhand Sword as Delu worried about his mental state.
• Malu chose to rescue the knight from the well, but the disguised thief kicked her into it and stole her chance to claim his weapon.
• Sword Saint Gapar encountered a Mushroom Man and a Rotten Kindred and was asked to choose between exchanging a punch with the Mushroom Man or embracing the Rotten Kindred.

Jia Paer survived a forced encounter with the Rotten Kindred but contracted Scarlet Corruption, then gained the Grave Lord Servant class and used Grave Lord Greatsword Dance to defeat an Abyss-Corrupted Nargacuga. Meanwhile, Gong Qiying watched the trial and noted changes needed before the dungeon’s official launch.

• Jia Paer chose to hug the Rotten Kindred, became infected with Scarlet Corruption, and fought beside it to defeat the Abyss Creatures.
• Jia Paer returned to the empty room, opened the teleportation treasure chest, and fought Abyss-infected Gulus while wondering about the Abyss’s connection to Zane Dungeon.
• Jia Paer chose Blessing: Skull Leap and unlocked the Grave Lord Servant class after obtaining three Grave Lord blessings.
• Jia Paer used Grave Lord Greatsword Dance against an Abyss-Corrupted Nargacuga, severely wounding it before defeating it.
• Gong Qiying watched Jia Paer through the Crystal Ball and planned to adjust how adventurers’ stats affected Graces before the official launch.

Gong Qiying tested the new roguelike mode in Zane Dungeon, built with Val Dungeon’s Rogue authority, while considering how to expand it and what authorities might be won in the coming Deathmatch. Malu and Te Er immediately tried another run after dying, while Jia Paer continued onward with Scarlet Corruption still draining his life.

• Gong Qiying reviewed the roguelike rules and watched thirty-seven elite adventurers react to random Blessings, events, and Elite Monsters.
• Gong Qiying studied Val Dungeon’s Rogue authority, which let him create balanced Blessings and realistic event illusions without spending Spirit Power on their monsters.
• Gong Qiying learned that each Dungeon Lord had unique authorities that could be plundered after a Deathmatch, and he looked forward to discovering Calamity Nest Dungeon’s authority.
• Malu and Te Er returned to the teleportation chest after dying to an Elite Monster and decided to start another run.
• Jia Paer, still suffering from Scarlet Corruption with no cure in sight, opened the teleportation chest and hoped the next level would help him.

Jia Paer cured his Scarlet Corruption with Solaire’s help, but a later encounter with a Rotten Kindred infected him again and eliminated him. Leon and Delu defeated an Abyss-Infected Stray Demon, found a fragment of the Wolf Knight painting, and discovered an altar where they could exchange Proofs of Past Battles before deciding to enter another run.

• Jia Paer accepted Solaire’s invitation and chose to have his Scarlet Corruption cured.
• Jia Paer encountered a Rotten Kindred, chose to hug her, and was infected with Scarlet Corruption again, which eliminated him.
• Leon and Delu fought the Abyss-Infected Stray Demon; Leon used a Dung Pie to draw its attention, and they defeated it with magic and sword attacks.
• Leon exchanged Humanity for Thief’s Pocket and received Painting Fragment "Wolf Knight" · Part One, which depicted a wolf identified as Sif.
• Leon and Delu later died in a terrible event and returned to the starting point, where they discovered an altar that let them exchange Proofs of Past Battles.
• Leon urged Delu to enter the Roguelike again after spotting the Negative Harvest blessing on the exchange list.

Leon and Delu returned from a day in the Roguelike with four Proofs of Past Battles, then met Da Er at a crowded tavern, where Leon told him about a painting fragment of Artorias. Inspired to seek guidance from the legend, Da Er decided to enter the dungeon, and the next morning he found Malu, Leon, and Sword Saint Gapar waiting at the portal.

• Leon and Delu earned four Proofs of Past Battles, and Delu exchanged his for Lure Skulls while Leon saved his reward for something better.
• Leon and Delu left the dungeon, ate grilled skewers, and went to a crowded tavern, where they found Malu, Te Er, and Luo Jieer.
• Leon met Da Er and learned that Da Er's fame after the Battle of Val City had drawn survivors and others to him, leaving him uncertain about the responsibility they placed on him.
• Leon showed Da Er a Painting Fragment depicting Wolf Knight Artorias, and Da Er resolved to enter the dungeon to seek the hero's story for guidance.
• The next morning, Da Er arrived at the portal and found Malu, Leon, and Sword Saint Gapar there.

Da Er joined Leon and the Strategy Team in Zane Dungeon, where Jia Paer cleared an arrow barrage and the group entered Abyss Reincarnation together. Dynamic Difficulty empowered the Skeleton Monsters, while Da Er’s Bone Revival blessing made them regenerate repeatedly, leaving everyone except Jia Paer back at the starting point.

• Da Er watched Leon win over his gray wolves, then Malu led the group into an arrow barrage and Jia Paer charged through it to defeat the giant.
• Da Er and his wolves fought the Soul Eater before the group entered the teleportation chest, where his wolves were left behind.
• Da Er chose Bone Revival, Jia Paer chose Hard Bone, and Leon picked another blessing before the group began the Skeleton Monster trial.
• The enhanced skeletons proved difficult for everyone except Jia Paer, and Da Er realized his blessing was rapidly restoring the monsters’ bones.
• The skeletons kept reviving until everyone but Jia Paer returned to the starting point, and the group warned each other to read blessings carefully.

Leon and Da Er discovered that Zane Dungeon’s monsters grew stronger according to the whole team’s strength, so they entered the roguelike stages as a pair. After Da Er received a Wolf’s Blood blessing and the two defeated an Abyss-corrupted knight, they reached an event about survivors threatened by the Abyss.

• Leon concluded that the dungeon scaled its monsters to the combined strength of the adventurers, and the team split into smaller groups to make progress.
• Leon and Da Er cleared a stage together, and Da Er received the Abyss Watchers blessing through the Wolf’s Blood within him.
• Leon used sleep bolts from a scatter crossbow against an Abyss-corrupted Aaron Knight Captain, but Da Er chose to fight with his Farron Greatsword and dagger instead.
• Leon and Da Er defeated the knight and continued through the dungeon, where Da Er finally encountered an event about survivors facing Abyss corruption.

Da Er left the survivors a Silver Necklace to protect them, then suffered growing Abyss Infection as he and Leon fought through the Roguelike stages. Their next challenge was an Invisible Bridge, where they discovered the monsters were bait for a giant iron ball.

• Da Er chose to leave the survivors the Silver Necklace, but the knight’s battle against the Abyss infected him and left the survivors’ fate uncertain.
• Leon encouraged Da Er to believe the knight would defeat the Abyss Lord, then chose not to learn spells because he lacked a staff.
• Leon and Da Er cleared stages and defeated a second Elite Monster while Da Er’s Abyss Infection passed halfway and made him feel unusually powerful.
• Leon and Da Er entered an Invisible Bridge challenge, used Rainbow Stones to test the path, and found the bridge was wide enough to cross safely.
• The pair kicked hooded monsters off the bridge, then heard a huge object rolling toward them and realized the monsters had been bait.

Leon and Da Er survived the Invisible Bridge trap only to discover that Leon’s attempted rescue had sent Da Er plummeting into the rift. Meanwhile, Jia Paer chose a spell from the altar, learned Carian Greatsword, and reached the final boss: the Demi-Human Sword Saint.

• Leon threw Da Er toward the starting point to save him from the invisible iron ball, but Leon was crushed and returned to the room with five Large Cracked Glintstones.
• Da Er returned moments later after accidentally falling off the bridge and eventually slitting his own throat; he and Leon agreed to keep the incident quiet.
• Leon and Da Er continued exploring and wondered how far Jia Paer had progressed through the dungeon.
• Jia Paer chose to learn a random spell from the Bandit's Treasure Chest and received Carian Greatsword.
• Jia Paer cast Carian Greatsword, felt underwhelmed by its simple effects, and entered a fight with the final boss, the Demi-Human Sword Saint.

Jia Paer fought and defeated Ongji, the Demi-Human Sword Saint, in the Roguelike stage, earning the Stars Linked Sword and choosing Carian Greatsword as his learned skill. After realizing the Tear Drop Larva was still missing, he returned to Gong Qiying, who considered the coming Deathmatch with the Calamity Nest Dungeon a test of his suspicions about the world's strength.

• Jia Paer initially doubted Ongji's title but respected his skill after they clashed swords at close range.
• Ongji used speed, smoke-like movement, frost attacks, and magic to challenge Jia Paer, who fought back with sword techniques and battle aura.
• Ongji spared Jia Paer while he was restrained, earning his respect, before Jia Paer eventually won by exploiting Ongji's fragile body and trading injuries.
• Jia Paer honored Ongji, cleared the Roguelike stage, claimed the Stars Linked Sword, and chose to learn Carian Greatsword.
• Jia Paer realized he had entered Zane Dungeon to find a Tear Drop Larva, but it was still missing.
• Gong Qiying reviewed Jia Paer's fight, considered the upcoming Deathmatch with the Calamity Nest Dungeon a test of dungeon strength, and noticed Jia Paer's bond value nearing twenty.

Jia Nage planned to use his authority to trap the Zane Dungeon’s adventurers, while Gong Qiying watched Leon and Da Er clear a Roguelike run and then explore another area. The group entered cramped rooms beneath the city wall, where a huge jar suddenly stood up and charged at them.

• Jia Nage blamed the Gray Song priest for the Calamity Nest Dungeon’s isolation and planned to plunder Gong Qiying’s Spirit Power before taking revenge.
• Leon and Da Er defeated the Demi-Human Swordsman, received their rewards, and returned to the starting point without finding a Painting Fragment.
• Jia Paer joined Leon, Da Er, and two wolves, and they shared stories while waiting for Malu and the others.
• Malu’s group left the Roguelike to explore the cramped rooms beneath the city wall, where Leon collected a Slave Headscarf and Malu found a huge jar.
• The huge jar stood up and spun toward Malu and the others, leaving them no room to dodge.

Leon and his companions fought a Warrior Pot in the Tomb Area, then continued descending through increasingly abyss-tainted ruins. They rescued an injured Warrior Pot, who led them through a hidden door into a flower-filled cemetery where smaller Warrior Pots played.

• The Spinning Charging Warrior Pot knocked Leon unconscious, and Te Er held it back while Malu tried to attack until Da Er smashed it apart.
• Malu read that Warrior Pots housed the corpses of honored heroes, and Da Er fed Leon a Raw Meatball and an antidote to wake him.
• The party continued deeper into the Tomb Area as the rooms gave way to unfinished structures and more monsters infected by the abyss.
• Malu spotted an injured Warrior Pot being besieged by monsters, and Delu attacked the assailants while the others approached.
• The Warrior Pot led Leon and his companions through a hidden door into a warmly lit cemetery with flowers and smaller Warrior Pots playing.

Leon and the Strategy Team befriended the Warrior Pots, completed a quest for the materials to repair Carl, and received rewards before following the pots’ directions to a boss Fog Gate. They left Malu with the Friendly Pot talisman, while Leon accepted a flower, and a summon mark for Warrior Pot Carl appeared outside the gate.

• Leon accepted a Warrior Pot Shard and read a tablet describing how the pots had fled to the graveyard, where the Abyss corrupted their home and Carl was injured.
• Carl asked the group to find materials to repair the pots, and Leon negotiated a better reward if they succeeded.
• Malu plucked a Yellow Wildflower, then used a flower-blooming scroll to cover the graveyard in blossoms, delighting the Little Pots and earning the group food and flower wreaths.
• The Strategy Team found the warehouse, defeated its Elite Monster, and returned the repair materials to Carl, who gave them an upgraded Warrior Pot Shard and a Friendly Pot talisman.
• Malu won the Friendly Pot in a dice roll against Leon, and the group followed Carl’s directions to a boss Fog Gate.
• A summoning mark appeared before the gate, offering Warrior Pot Carl as a helper.

Malu summoned Warrior Pot Carl to help Leon's group fight a Death Knight wielding lightning-charged dual axes. The party defeated the Death Knight, but Carl shattered after protecting them, while Leon became eager to claim the axes' weapon skill.

• Malu summoned the battered Warrior Pot Carl, and the group hung their flower crowns outside the Fog Gate before entering the grave chamber.
• The Death Knight attacked with Knight Lightning Spears, and Leon recognized that its dual axes might be a new weapon for him to covet.
• Jia Paer coached Da Er as he fought the Death Knight, but Da Er's finishing move left him vulnerable to Lightning Whirlwind Chop.
• The Death Knight entered its second phase, drained Te Er to heal itself, and rushed Malu, but Carl struck it with a rising dragon punch and bought the group time to recover.
• Da Er and the others joined forces to defeat the Death Knight, while Carl collapsed and exploded into fragments.

Leon and Malu mourned the Warrior Pot after he shattered during the Death Knight battle, while Leon reviewed what their team had learned in Zane Dungeon. At the Dessert Shop, Bei Er Tuo arrived on behalf of the New Strategy Team and challenged Leon to a race to clear the dungeon, with the loser surrendering the title of Strategy Team.

• The Warrior Pot shattered after fighting the Death Knight, and Malu blamed herself when she found his remains among the grieving Little Pots.
• Leon comforted Malu and took her to the Dessert Shop, where he reviewed the team's discoveries and plans for their next dungeon run.
• Bei Er Tuo introduced himself as a member of the New Strategy Team, which Malu said had emerged during Leon's absence and provided the tomb information.
• Leon accused Bei Er Tuo's team of deliberately withholding trap details, and Bei Er Tuo defended their choice to share only part of what they had learned.
• Bei Er Tuo delivered his captain's challenge: Leon and the New Strategy Team would compete to clear Zane Dungeon first, and the loser would give up the honor of being the Strategy Team.

Leon and his companions learned that real people bound by the Soul-Sucking Ghost Oath could invade others and steal their souls, while a group of thirteen oath-bound invaders plotted to take Zane. The next day, Leon’s team returned to the dungeon to refine their route and find the Warrior Pot, but an abnormality appeared after they defeated the giant and archers.

• Leon punched Bei Er Tuo for challenging him, and Bei Er Tuo reported back to Lu Lu Wo, the New Strategy Team captain.
• Lu Lu Wo gathered thirteen Soul-Sucking Ghosts and ordered them to block Leon’s team until they took Zane.
• Leon’s team agreed to accept the New Strategy Team’s challenge by outpacing them in dungeon exploration.
• Delu told Leon that real people bound by the Soul-Sucking Ghost Oath could invade others and plunder their accumulated souls.
• Leon’s team returned to Zane Dungeon to revisit explored areas and find the Warrior Pot for Malu.
• After Leon’s team defeated the giant and archers, an abnormality descended.

Leon and his companions fought off three invading Soul-Sucking Ghosts, but the invaders destroyed his Backhand Sword with a corrosive trap. As Leon set out to continue exploring the dungeon, two more invaders appeared.

• Black Dog, Snot Slug, and Big Goat attacked Leon, Delu, Malu, and Te Er, while a Mass Silence Spell blocked magic.
• Leon used Swift Slash to defeat the three invaders, who had armored themselves with corrosive Rust Monster shells.
• Black Dog revealed that the invaders had deliberately used their armor's corrosion skill to destroy Leon's Backhand Sword before he died.
• Leon mourned his ruined sword, then calmed himself and continued exploring with Malu and the others.
• Leon and his companions were invaded by Soul-Sucking Ghosts Lao Ma and Xi Ke.

After repeated invasions left Leon exhausted and his Backhand Sword broken, Gong Qiying gave him a way to lure past invaders and urged him to publish his combat techniques. Leon decided to share what he knew, while the New Strategy Team explored the graveyard and opened a door after killing a Warrior Pot.

• Leon left Zane Dungeon after fighting at least ten Soul-Sucking Ghosts, and a blacksmith told him the Backhand Sword could not be repaired.
• Leon visited Ma Lei Da Magic Item Shop, where Gong Qiying showed him a Mocking Tongue that could attract invaders, especially those who had attacked him before.
• Gong Qiying advised Leon to publish his techniques so ordinary adventurers could defend themselves and close the information gap exploited by invaders.
• Leon agreed to organize and release his knowledge, newly resolved to pursue that plan instead of focusing on the New Strategy Team's challenge.
• The New Strategy Team killed a Warrior Pot, found a Yellow Wildflower among its drops, and opened the door it had been guarding.

The New Strategy Team uncovered the pot graveyard, where Lu Lu Wo and her teammates were killed by Living Pot Contents and Warrior Pots after opening a chest containing a Dung Clump. After reviving, the team continued into a dark tunnel using Light Spell instead of keeping the firelight, and Lu Lu Wo became separated from everyone as a strange voice spoke.

• Bei Er Tuo revealed an invisible door, and Lu Lu Wo led the New Strategy Team into the pot graveyard to claim its treasure.
• Lu Lu Wo found a Dung Clump in the chest, which caused the surrounding pots to break and release Living Pot Contents that trapped her with their deafening cries.
• Lu Lu Wo attacked the monsters but was swallowed, and Warrior Pots charged into the team, killing the New Strategy Team.
• The team revived at the bonfire, returned to the graveyard entrance, and chose to leave it unexplored before proceeding toward the Death Knight's path.
• Aisi used Light Spell in the dark tunnel instead of keeping the firelight, and Lu Lu Wo suddenly found herself alone as an eerie voice said, "Our family has fallen into decline."

Lu Lu Wo and her companions were trapped in a Darkest Dungeon-like illusion on a hidden path, where sacrificing torches at an altar caused real Limping Ones to appear. After Lu Lu Wo awakened from the illusion, she discovered that five Limping Ones had spawned because the whole New Strategy Team had offered torches.

• Lu Lu Wo entered an illusion that made her believe she was inheriting a manor and leading expeditions against monsters in a gloomy town.
• She watched her companions die or deteriorate during the illusion, while pink flashes repeatedly suppressed her doubts and memories.
• During a failing dungeon expedition, Lu Lu Wo sacrificed a torch at a crimson altar, summoning a Limping One inside the illusion.
• Lu Lu Wo recovered her memories, realized she and her companions were on the hidden path behind the Death Knight boss room, and warned the others that they were trapped in illusions.
• A real Limping One appeared on the path, and four more emerged because every member of the New Strategy Team had sacrificed a torch.