Chapter Summaries

Arthur collected the barrier oil and its instructions from Rick and Dill, then urged them to keep the farm vigilant and train their men for real combat. On the journey home, he teased Pendragon before studying the Holy Temple Knight training method and confirming his suspicion.

• Rick and Dill gave Arthur a notebook detailing how to make barrier oil without the Hunter ritual and a waterskin of barrier oil.
• Arthur warned Rick and Dill to keep everyone on the farm alert, then encouraged them to train Cook and the others.
• Arthur suggested recreating battlefield conditions, and Rick and Dill planned a controlled training ground with arrows, explosions, and flames.
• Arthur decided Rick's Farm could train his subordinates to protect themselves as his operation grew more dangerous.
• Arthur lectured Pendragon about trusting no one, then carried the cat by the scruff in his mouth and teased him.
• Arthur studied the Holy Temple Knight training method Rick had given him and said his suspicion had been correct.

Arthur connected the Templar Knight training method to the Death Warrior Potion and considered whether hidden forces had steered the Silver Age toward its end. After returning to the Courtyard with pastries, he noticed a tall, white-haired woman watching him.

• Arthur found that the fourth-stage Templar Knight potion nearly matched the Death Warrior Potion, apart from blaze grass and warrior mushroom.
• Arthur reflected on the Berserker Potion, noble bloodline decline, and the possibility that an unseen hand had driven the Silver Age toward its end.
• Arthur arrived at the Courtyard carrying Pendragon and pastries made by Lady Mary, then gave Merlin and Gawain egg tarts.
• Arthur spotted a two-meter-tall, white-haired woman watching him and asked who she was.

Arthur met Mrs. Susan, who reminisced about how she had fallen for his grandfather, Charlie, and revealed that Charlie had given a former lover a gold mine. Susan introduced herself formally, and Arthur called her Grandma Susan.

• Arthur welcomed Mrs. Susan and changed before meeting her in the Medium's Hall.
• Mrs. Susan recalled watching Charlie build a cabin near Swallow Castle and described how he had invited her in from the rain.
• Mrs. Susan said Charlie had given a woman in Swallow Castle a gold mine, making her rich and earning her noble status.
• Arthur hid his astonishment at Charlie's extravagant gift, and Susan's lingering resentment faded as she remembered Charlie's declarations of love.
• Susan introduced herself as Mrs. Susan, and Arthur addressed her as Grandma Susan.

Arthur met Mrs. Susan, who explained the Countess of South Los’s original plan to send him to sea and why it had changed after his message about Malinda. The chapter ended with Mrs. Susan telling him that the Grand Duke of Inner Bay had promised the swordsmanship tournament champion a noble title and land.

• Arthur sincerely greeted Mrs. Susan as his grandmother and learned more about her standing in South Los.
• Arthur told Mrs. Susan that Old Charlie had gone to Barney, and she gave him the Orange Cat Faction’s entry-rank ritual chart, Great Orange, and its base material, phantom stomach.
• Mrs. Susan explained that the Countess had planned to send Arthur to sea as a public test before appointing him head of the Sixteen Advisors, but his message about Malinda troubled her and forced a change of plans.
• Mrs. Susan described the Countess’s temper and offered to introduce Arthur to her, while Arthur mentioned Malinda’s admiration for the Countess to ward off possible matchmaking.
• Mrs. Susan told Arthur that the Grand Duke of Inner Bay had announced a noble title and land for the South County Swordsmanship Tournament champion.

Arthur learned that the Golden Lion Family had raised the South County Swordsmanship Tournament’s champion reward to draw him to the Inner Bay and test his identity, while backing Joel Coleman as a rival. After Mrs. Susan promised compensation and help for Malinda and his businesses, Arthur returned to 2 Kirk Street and discovered something surprising when he opened the box containing the Orange Cat Faction’s Initiation Chart.

• Arthur reasoned that the Golden Lion Family’s Old Lion was using a noble title and territory to lure him to the Inner Bay while balancing pressure from another family branch.
• Mrs. Susan explained that the Old Lion had raised the tournament reward partly to promote Joel Coleman, the strongest young fighter in the Inner Bay, as a rival to Arthur.
• Arthur said he looked forward to crossing swords with Joel Coleman, and Mrs. Susan promised to secure his compensation for the pirate purge and look after Malinda and his businesses.
• Arthur watched Mrs. Susan leave, then returned to 2 Kirk Street and reflected on how both the Golden Lion Family and the House of South Los balanced competing interests.
• Arthur opened the box containing the Orange Cat Faction’s Initiation Chart and was surprised by what he found.

Arthur used XP to bring the Cat's Orange ritual closer to its ultimate state and examined the Initiation Chart for Orange's Greatness. While studying its unusual illustration, he discovered the name Herke hidden in the bushes.

• Arthur's chart confirmed that Cat's Orange could be advanced with XP and potentially reach its ultimate state.
• Arthur recalled how practitioners of the Tortoiseshell Longevity ritual were hunted for their rumored life-extending blood, and remembered Antil's account of killing his long-lived friend.
• Arthur wondered whether the ultimate state of Cat's Orange had produced the Golden Lion Cat's extraordinary physique and light-speed punches.
• Arthur opened the Initiation Chart and found a colored-pencil illustration of an orange cat pinning a dragon, tiger, bear, and wolf beneath its weight.
• Arthur inspected the bushes in the illustration and discovered the name Herke hidden among them.

Arthur examined Herke’s Initiation Chart and the Phantom Stomach, then slept while Mrs. Susan resolved to use the House of South Los’s resources to advance him. Meanwhile, Arthur’s second Exquisite Puppet arrived outside the Lotus Leaf Inn.

• Arthur recognized Herke’s handwriting on the Great Orange Initiation Chart and inspected the Phantom Stomach, a spatial base material with exceptional potential.
• Arthur weighed the costly options for becoming stronger, put the chart and stomach away, and went to sleep.
• Mrs. Susan returned to the estate and decided she would find a way to secure an Ascension Ladder for Arthur despite Malinda’s presence.
• Mrs. Susan resolved to use the House of South Los’s resources to raise Arthur to the tenth rank because the Cat Cave’s Ascension Ladder had broken.
• Arthur’s second Exquisite Puppet arrived outside the Lotus Leaf Inn under his conscious control.

Didian prepared to flee South Los with her family after a dangerous client’s commission tied her to Dorn, but she chose to face the threat alone. Arthur noticed Sapier’s unexpected awakening and set out to recruit Didian, believing Sapier would follow her.

• Didian ordered her siblings to pack and take their mother to Swallow Castle while she prepared to confront the danger herself.
• Didian gave Sapier her savings and told him to protect their family, then left without involving her friend Garcia.
• Sapier decided to get his family settled in Swallow Castle and then return to South Los to fight their enemies.
• Arthur sensed Sapier’s awakening through the [Exquisite Puppet] and decided to recruit him by approaching Didian.
• Arthur left the inn and climbed onto a rooftop, preparing to act amid South Los’s darkness.

Didian killed the client and his men, then carefully made her way back toward the Lotus Leaf Inn as Arthur followed her. Two armed men cornered her with a middle-aged stranger, who asked what she knew about Arthur Credos.

• Didian slit the throats of two sentries, set fire to the building, and killed the client and his core subordinates with a crossbow and explosives.
• Arthur watched Didian’s actions through the [Exquisite Puppet] and decided she was worth recruiting because she cared deeply about her family.
• Didian circled twice to avoid leading danger back to the Lotus Leaf Inn, but remained uneasy that someone was watching her.
• A middle-aged man confronted Didian in an alley while two armed men blocked her escape with hand crossbows.
• The middle-aged man asked Didian how much she knew about the 'Medium,' Arthur Credos.

Didian was trapped by a middle-aged man who used her as bait to draw out Arthur Credos, and she fought back despite expecting to die. Garcia arrived in time to save her from the crossbow bolts, and the middle-aged man taunted them before an unseen speaker answered him.

• Didian realized the middle-aged man had used the supposed client as bait to lure someone connected to Arthur Credos.
• Didian shot the middle-aged man, then faced two crossbowmen and fired back as their bolts flew toward her.
• Garcia arrived with two bottles of ale and threw them, miraculously knocking the bolts away from Didian.
• Didian pulled Garcia behind her and armed herself with a fallen bolt while Garcia took up a broken bottle.
• The middle-aged man mocked Didian and Garcia for protecting Arthur Credos, but someone answered, “Oh, is that so?”

Arthur used the [Exquisite Puppet] to stop a middle-aged attacker sent by the Old Lion, then introduced himself to Garcia and Didian as Grindelwald of the [Black Cat Followers].

• The middle-aged man knocked down Didian’s bolt and tried to escape while searching for the hidden speaker.
• Garcia’s returning broken bottle struck the man in the back, and Didian’s second bolt pierced his neck, but he kept fighting.
• Arthur realized the Old Lion had likely sent the man as a warning and revealed the [Exquisite Puppet] as Grindelwald.
• Grindelwald provoked the man, then froze him solid with a snap of his fingers as Garcia and Didian watched.
• Grindelwald greeted Garcia and Didian on behalf of Arthur Credos, naming Arthur as the current 'Black Cat' and the South Los Swordsmanship Tournament Champion.

After Grindelwald left, Didian remained wary of the favor owed to his mysterious lord, while Garcia awkwardly followed her and tried to explain his broken promise. A raven returned to 2 Kirk Street, where Malinda watched from an approaching carriage.

• Grindelwald thanked Didian on his lord’s behalf, promised the disturbance would not happen again, and shattered the frozen middle-aged man’s body before leaving.
• Didian warned Garcia that owing a favor to someone powerful was dangerous, while privately wondering what the Lady of the Long Night wanted from them.
• Garcia apologized to Didian for breaking the wine he had bought with his writing payment and admitted he had meant to use it to prove he had kept an old promise before confessing his feelings.
• Didian kicked Garcia and walked away, and Garcia limped after her, calling for her to wait.
• A raven flew to 2 Kirk Street, where it watched Merlin and Gawain cleaning the courtyard before meeting Malinda’s gaze from her approaching carriage.

Arthur welcomed Malinda, who brought him two unusual ravens and their Contracts. The Raven Feast bonded with them and revealed they would evolve into Mystic Creatures in seventeen days, though its worsening damage threatened Arthur’s plan to raise an army of mystic ravens.

• Arthur explained that Rick, Cook’s father, had given him Barrier Oil, then invited Malinda to meet Rick sometime.
• Malinda gave Arthur two ravens and their Contracts, describing the first raven’s talent for finding herbs and gemstones and the second’s skill at building nests and gathering followers.
• Arthur used the Raven Feast and the Hand of the Void to release the ravens, which accepted him affectionately.
• The Raven Feast revealed that Breath of Death was transforming the ravens and that they would evolve into Mystic Creatures in seventeen days, but the damaged item had deteriorated further.
• Arthur named the ravens Stolas and Mapa.

Arthur discussed the unusual bloodlines of the newly named ravens Stolas and Mapa with Malinda, then told her the South County Swordsmanship Tournament champion would receive a noble title and a fief. He suggested Malinda use her position as the mother of their child to take a slightly irrational action in support of his bid.

• Stolas and Mapa showed submission to Muninn after Arthur named them, while Malinda wondered how Arthur had affected them.
• Malinda suspected Arthur's bloodline explained his influence over the ravens, but Arthur said he had not figured out the cause himself.
• Arthur and Malinda ate Mrs. Mary's clay-pot beef, and he told her Mrs. Susan had brought him the Orange Cat Faction's Initiation Chart and base materials.
• Arthur revealed that the grand duke had changed the tournament champion's prize to a noble title and a fief.
• Arthur told Malinda that local favorite Joel Coleman had the home-field advantage and hinted that she should act irrationally to support him; Malinda asked what he meant.

Arthur encouraged Malinda to use the South Los Bounty Tavern to reach into the Inner Bay, and she decided to place a massive bounty on Joel Coleman. After bantering with Arthur and returning to Caesar Manor, Malinda ordered Edwin to offer 100,000 gold coins and three auction treasures, including an Initiation Chart, for Joel’s head.

• Arthur suggested Malinda use the newly acquired Bounty Tavern to contact the Inner Bay’s underworld and deal with people obstructing her there.
• Malinda admitted she liked Arthur, then rushed to the Washroom after he pretended to check whether she had a fever.
• Malinda returned, accused Arthur of provoking her, and forbade him from using barrier oil in the Medium’s Hall before leaving through a Smoke Ring.
• Anna quietly washed the dishes while Arthur went back to sleep.
• At Caesar Manor, Malinda ordered Edwin to offer 100,000 gold coins and any three treasures from the Lady of the Long Night’s Auction for Joel Coleman’s head.

Malinda ordered bounties on the Inner Bay attackers and people who had targeted the Count of South Los, while worrying about Arthur. After Arthur settled in with Lady Anna, he invited a hesitant visitor inside, and Langbain and Garcia finally reached Kirk Street to meet him.

• Malinda offered a 100,000-gold-coin bounty for Joel Coleman and instructed Uls to post additional bounties across several territories.
• Arthur woke at night, thanked Lady Anna for caring for him, and ate the meal she had prepared.
• Mr. Duer saw Lady Anna floating through the house and fled in terror, while Arthur planned to visit him with her later.
• Fuginn spotted a hesitant guest nearby, and Arthur sent Kuliqi to invite the guest in while asking Lady Anna to prepare tea.
• Langbain brought Garcia to Kirk Street with gifts to thank Arthur, then Garcia joyfully called out, “Didian!”

Didian, Langbain, Garcia, and Sapier encountered Kuliqi, whom Langbain and Didian recognized as a Death Hound, on their way to visit the Medium. They followed the dog to 2 Kirk Street, where the Medium welcomed them inside.

• Langbain and Didian cautiously introduced themselves while shielding Garcia and Sapier, then learned that both men had recently gained unusual strength or senses.
• Kuliqi appeared, and Langbain identified the yawning Labrador as an allegedly immortal Death Hound.
• Didian and Langbain suspected Kuliqi belonged to the Medium and decided they could not politely leave after the dog had led them to 2 Kirk Street.
• The four followed Kuliqi to the Medium's home, where the gate and front door opened and a young voice welcomed them.

Arthur received Didian, Sapier, Langbain, and Garcia at 2 Kirk Street after his staged displays of danger made them wary and impressed. Didian offered allegiance for herself and Sapier, but Arthur told them his [Black Cat Followers] were full for the time being.

• Didian, Sapier, Langbain, and Garcia walked through the threatening corridor, where Didian searched for traps and Langbain feared the dangers of Arthur's home.
• Arthur watched the visitors through the house's mechanisms and decided to win them over through acting rather than exploiting their weaknesses.
• Arthur greeted the four visitors, reassured them that 2 Kirk Street was safe, and served them tea with Lady Anna's help.
• Didian offered allegiance for herself and Sapier while Langbain was still gathering his words.
• Arthur told the visitors that his [Black Cat Followers] were full for the time being, leaving them frozen in surprise.

Arthur told Sapier and Didian that major arcana rank powerhouses Kang Si'ang and De'erqiao had joined him, leaving the visitors convinced they were unqualified to pledge themselves to Creados. Langbain, Didian, Garcia, and Sapier thanked Arthur and insisted he accept their gifts, and Arthur called for Grindelwald.

• Arthur told Sapier and Didian that Kang Si'ang and De'erqiao had pledged allegiance to him and joined the [Black Cat Followers].
• Langbain explained that Kang Si'ang and De'erqiao were major arcana rank powerhouses, stunning Didian and Langbain and silencing Sapier.
• Garcia nearly asked Arthur to become a male lead, but Langbain and Didian covered his mouth before he could finish.
• Langbain gave Arthur three Healing Potions, while Didian and Sapier offered their gratitude and willingness to repay his help.
• Arthur said he had helped because the matter had begun with him, but Didian, Langbain, Garcia, and Sapier insisted their gifts were fair repayment.
• Arthur called out to Grindelwald.

Arthur dismissed Didian, Garcia, Langbain, and Sapier after assuring them Grindelwald would arrange their work and keep them safe. Grindelwald gave them strict reporting instructions and directed Sapier to meet Merlin, while Arthur shifted his attention to the cloaked Glaster approaching Baron Harold’s Manor.

• Grindelwald emerged at Arthur’s call, and Arthur reminded him that Didian, Garcia, Langbain, and Sapier were not enemies.
• Arthur reassured Didian that Grindelwald was trustworthy, then ended their meeting and returned to reading.
• Grindelwald warned the four against taking advantage of Arthur’s kindness and ordered Langbain and Garcia to give Didian weekly reports.
• Grindelwald instructed Didian to send Sapier to Merlin at 2 Kirk Street if he missed a report, and told Langbain to alert Merlin about emergencies.
• Grindelwald mocked Sapier’s strength and challenged him to test it against Merlin, while Arthur watched through Fuginn.
• Arthur turned his attention to Glaster as the cloaked man headed toward Baron Harold’s Manor.