Chapter Summaries

Fors struggled with feeling left behind as the people around her advanced, while Lorry encouraged her to follow her own pace and revealed that his hoped-for future seemed unlikely. After peaceful days in Desi Bay, Lorry boarded the Golden Dream and met its captain, Edwina Edwards.

• Fors told Lorry she felt pressured by the rapid advancement of her friends, and he reminded her that her own opportunities and path were different.
• Fors offered to help Lorry with his revenge, while he privately reflected that revenge was only a small part of what he faced.
• Xio returned with Albert, interrupting their conversation, and later booked airship tickets for the 11th.
• Lorry sold an Elder Tree Fruit to the Psychology Alchemists for seven hundred pounds, bringing his available funds to more than fifteen thousand pounds.
• On the evening of January 11th, Lorry secretly boarded the Golden Dream and met Captain Edwina Edwards.

Lorry questioned Edwina about Admiral of Blood Seniol and asked to join the Golden Dream temporarily to digest his potion. Edwina offered him a better proposal, leaving him to consider it.

• Lorry described his education and mystical knowledge to Edwina, then verified her identity by recalling a childhood secret Sebastian knew.
• Sebastian revealed himself through the White Bone Ring and teased Edwina before urging her to discuss business with Lorry.
• Lorry asked whether Seniol knew about Rose School members traveling between the Northern and Southern Continents, and Edwina explained his role as the School’s link between them.
• Lorry asked to join the Golden Dream as a temporary crew member to search for lost treasure and digest his Mystery Pryer potion.
• Edwina told Lorry she had a better proposal for him to consider.

Lorry agreed to join the Golden Dream in place of its third mate and arranged to obtain a Fire Thief item before taking the position. After Edwina transformed his Calm Mask into a ring and Lorry paid her, he began browsing her collection while Edwina reunited with her teacher, Sebastian, and asked what had happened.

• Edwina offered Lorry the third mate's place aboard the Golden Dream, explaining that he would need a Fire Thief item to take on the role.
• Lorry said he could obtain a similar item himself, and Edwina told him to inform her when he was ready.
• Lorry asked Edwina to make his Calm Mask more discreet, and she transformed it into a ring.
• Edwina accepted two hundred pounds from Lorry for the work and his expenses aboard the ship, while offering him Jodson's treatment and a share of any treasure.
• Lorry declined Edwina's guest room and noticed the book titled "Groselle's Travels" among her possessions.
• In the next room, Edwina reunited emotionally with Sebastian, who praised her, and she asked him what had happened.

Sebastian explained to Edwina how he turned himself into the White Bone Ring to preserve his identity and continue advancing, and offered his research to the Church in exchange for potions. Edwina accepted the deal on the Church’s behalf, but Sebastian said he could not return and demanded at least one Sequence 5 potion and one Sequence 4 potion.

• Sebastian said that, apart from Luca Brewster, the teachers who had mocked his pursuit of eternal life were dead.
• Sebastian told Edwina that he had found a way to escape his current state, but explained that he could not become human again while his strength remained at Sequence 6.
• Edwina deduced that Sebastian’s method had two stages: preserving himself as a Sealed Artifact, then advancing and extending his lifespan before returning to the real world.
• Sebastian revealed that his body and soul had become the White Bone Ring through a ritual, allowing him to keep consuming potions and raising his level.
• Sebastian offered his research to the Church in exchange for at least one Sequence 5 potion and one Sequence 4 potion, and Edwina agreed to submit the deal for the Church’s decision.
• Edwina asked Sebastian how he had devised the method and its ritual.

Sebastian discovered that a god had given him the knowledge for the eternal life ritual, while Edwina explained how Lorry could strengthen the Curse of Eternal Life with a Mysticism Mentor potion. Lorry agreed to buy the potion with Edwina lending him the rest of the money, provided he treated Sebastian well.

• Sebastian realized that he could not remember the principles behind the eternal life ritual and recalled that a god had revealed it to him in a prayer room.
• Edwina offered Lorry the White Bone Ring, but he declined because he believed it was waiting for someone else.
• Sebastian told Lorry that he owed Edwina fifteen thousand pounds for a Mysticism Mentor potion that could advance the Curse of Eternal Life.
• Edwina explained that the potion would strengthen the Ring's Simulation ability, grant it Sebastian's secret arts, and might help locate the souls of its previous owners.
• Lorry offered seven thousand pounds and agreed to repay Edwina's interest-free loan for the remaining amount within three months, on the condition that he treat Sebastian well.

Lorry accepted a free Anti-Divination Charm from Edwina, then used teleportation to return toward Backlund and seek Leonard Mitchell. He reached Leonard’s home at 7 Pince Street that evening and waited at the door.

• Lorry accepted Edwina’s Anti-Divination Charm and learned it would last at most three months, after which another would cost three hundred pounds.
• Edwina told Lorry that the Golden Dream would reach the waters near the City of Generosity in three days, but Lorry said he could teleport instead.
• Lorry teleported away from the Golden Dream, while Edwina’s crew mistakenly wondered how he had left the captain’s cabin unseen.
• On a deserted island, Lorry failed to divine Leonard Mitchell’s location, but divined that returning to Backlund that day would let him buy what he wanted.
• After recovering some spirituality, Lorry entered the Spirit World and arrived at 7 Pince Street in Backlund that evening.
• Lorry rang the doorbell and waited until someone inside called out to ask who he was.

Lorry visited Leonard to buy the Sealed Artifact Fire Seed, offering information about Amon and Mobet in exchange. After the Old Man accepted the deal, Lorry gave Leonard both pieces of information and agreed to pay six thousand pounds for the glove, which he examined before pushing back across the table.

• Lorry arrived at Leonard’s home and said he had come to see Him, prompting Leonard to realize the visitor knew about the Old Man.
• Lorry offered information about Amon or Mobet in exchange for a Sealed Artifact corresponding to the Fire Thief level.
• The Old Man told Leonard to ask for both pieces of information, and Leonard negotiated a price of six thousand pounds for Fire Seed.
• Lorry revealed that Amon was in the Forsaken Land of the Gods and Mobet was outside the Real World in a peculiar state.
• Leonard described Fire Seed’s abilities and negative effects, then handed it to Lorry for inspection.
• Lorry examined Fire Seed and pushed it back toward Leonard, leaving him bewildered.

Lorry used an illusion to complete a transaction with Leonard, obtaining the black “Fire Seed” glove while evading Pallez’s attempt to parasitize it. He reflected on the power of Truth Insight and planned to use Roselle’s Diary to draw Klein into a confrontation.

• Lorry paid Leonard six thousand pounds for the “Fire Seed” glove and vanished with it.
• Leonard questioned the Old Man, who explained that the visitor had been an imagined illusion and that Pallez had hidden a Worm of Time in the glove.
• Lorry revealed that he had created the illusion with the Book of Dimensions and used Truth Insight to detect Pallez’s tampering.
• Lorry decided to wait for Vice Admiral Iceberg’s arrangements and use Roselle’s Diary as bait to bring Klein into a confrontation with “Steel” and the others.

Lorry returned to Backlund and joined Fors, Xio, and Albert for a feast before accepting Fors’s invitation to stay overnight. The next day, he reached Bayam disguised as Jodson and set out to pursue pirates while the real Jodson went elsewhere.

• Lorry decided to visit Bayam to investigate the Rose School members who had returned to the Southern Continent.
• Lorry arrived unexpectedly at Fors and Xio’s home, where they invited him to share their New Year feast.
• Lorry volunteered to buy sweet iced tea and Desi pies, then accepted Fors’s offer to sleep in the guest room.
• Lorry and the real Jodson disembarked in Bayam, where Jodson warned Lorry not to damage his reputation by pursuing women.
• The real Jodson left for another passenger ship, and Lorry prepared to hunt pirates in Bayam.

Lorry waited in Bayam for the White Agate and used Danitz’s silver cup to confirm the ship’s arrival. When Danitz was attacked after meeting Gehrman Sparrow, Lorry sent his materialized Scholarly Man to intervene, leaving the fight underway.

• Lorry watched Old Lynn’s contact point from a dockside inn and used the Book of Dimensions to materialize a Scholarly Man.
• The Scholarly Man used Danitz’s silver cup for Dream Divination and confirmed the White Agate would arrive in Bayam that evening.
• Lorry waited until the White Agate docked, then spotted Danitz and Gehrman Sparrow near the harbor.
• A man stabbed Danitz in the chest and another attacker spread frost across the floor as Danitz tried to escape.
• Lorry ordered the Scholarly Man to help Danitz, and the Scholarly Man blocked the pursuers before firing an Air Bullet at the man with the scalpel.

Scholarly Man distracted the pirates pursuing Danitz and fought off Scowal and Steel Maveti. After Maveti trapped him with Corrosion, Scholarly Man used a Paper Figurine Substitute to steal Huntley’s Flying Carpet, then escaped into the sea.

• Scowal narrowly dodged Scholarly Man’s Air Bullets while Lorry watched from another dimension and identified the pirates joining the chase.
• Steel Maveti ordered the pirates to keep pursuing Danitz as Scholarly Man attacked them from the rooftops and wounded one of their number.
• Scholarly Man tricked Scowal with a false finger snap, but Maveti blocked the real Air Bullet with an ice wall and used Frost to extinguish Danitz’s fires.
• Maveti used Corrosion to slow Scholarly Man while Huntley prepared the Flying Carpet for the pirates to escape by air.
• Scholarly Man used a Paper Figurine Substitute to appear beside Huntley, knocked him away, took the Flying Carpet, and escaped into the sea.

Lorry recovered the peacock-blue carpet and learned that the Hunter was staying at the Azure Wind Inn, while Danitz met Edwina in a dream and told her about the ambush. The dream ended with Gehrman Sparrow appearing as Edwina offered to help Danitz hunt Steel Maveti.

• Steel Maveti ordered his zombies to find the man suspected of helping Danitz and vowed to cut him apart.
• Lorry asked the scholarly man to divine the Hunter's whereabouts, learned he was at the Azure Wind Inn, and headed there through the storm.
• Danitz fell asleep at the inn and realized he was dreaming when someone knocked in the captain's familiar rhythm.
• Edwina appeared in Danitz's dream, taught him about ritual magic, and listened as he described the ambush and embellished Gehrman Sparrow's help.
• Gehrman Sparrow entered the dream, and Edwina offered to assist him in hunting Steel Maveti for Danitz's revenge.

Klein agreed to work with Vice Admiral Iceberg’s crew against Steel’s gang, while Lorry waited for a chance to join the hunt and prepared his abilities. Edwina’s contact brought Jodson to the inn, where Klein recognized the bounty hunter and confronted him.

• Klein agreed to hunt Steel’s gang but refused to help Danitz with revenge, and Edwina offered to contact Jodson.
• Danitz revealed that Jodson was in Bayam, prompting Klein to recognize the man as a hunter with a 5,200-pound bounty.
• Lorry waited at an inn for Edwina to contact him, then selected sixteen abilities to simulate with the Curse of Knowledge.
• Edwina contacted Lorry, who put on the White Bone Ring and headed to the Azure Wind Inn.
• Klein woke, went to meet Danitz and the blond-haired man, and identified him as “Flower Bow Tie” Jodson.

Klein and Danitz met with Jodson, who offered to serve as a mobile reserve in their plan against Steel’s group. After Jodson left, Klein decided they could use him as a second Hunter and learned that a charm could summon him within ten minutes anywhere in the City of Generosity.

• Lorry jokingly introduced Jodson as “Flower Bow Tie,” while Klein and Danitz silently struggled to keep up their composure.
• Klein retreated to his bedroom, and Jodson told Danitz that the captain had nearly died and would deduct time spent fixing Danitz’s mess from his leave allowance.
• Danitz later told Klein that Jodson would provide necessary assistance as a mobile reserve and share spoils only if he had to intervene.
• Klein proposed having two Hunters prepare traps for Steel’s group, and Danitz was surprised to learn that Klein considered Jodson the second Hunter.
• Danitz showed Klein a black charm that could summon Jodson within ten minutes while they were in the City of Generosity.

Klein inspected the Sheriff charm that Lorry had given Danitz, while Lorry prepared to track the charm’s holder and considered his plans involving Laticia Dorella and the Book of Calamities. The chapter ended with Lorry writing that Laticia and the Moses Ascetic Order had found something in a forgotten temple on Symeem Island.

• Danitz gave Klein the Sheriff charm, and Klein confirmed that it had tracking capabilities.
• Klein realized the charm had cost Lorry far less than the two hundred pounds Danitz had been told it was worth.
• Lorry decided not to join Klein’s hunt for Steel’s gang because he had other plans involving Laticia Dorella and the Book of Calamities.
• Lorry instructed a Wraith to track and monitor Danitz while staying concealed from his powerful companion.
• Lorry wrote that Laticia Dorella and the Moses Ascetic Order had entered Symeem Island’s primeval jungle as archaeologists and found something in a forgotten temple.

The chapter recounted how the dying Sea God Kalvetua’s attempt to survive drew Klein into a race to find its hiding place. It ended with Lorry having already found Kalvetua and its Legacy, leaving it undecided who would claim the remains.

• Laticia and her companions took the Book of Calamities from the ancient Elven ruins, worsening Kalvetua’s condition and driving it to seek a new body through the Holy Sword.
• Klein met the rebel leaders with Danitz, noticed the Holy Sword, and sent Danitz to report Kalvetua to the Church of Storms.
• As Kalvetua prepared a catastrophe, Klein used a sacrifice to locate it, and his attempt to protect himself accidentally caused the Sea God to perish ahead of time.
• Klein used his mystical connection to reach Kalvetua’s hiding place before Sea King Jahn Kottman could find it.
• Lorry had already encountered Laticia and her companions on Symeem Island, obtained the Book of Calamities, and found Kalvetua, leaving the fate of its Legacy unresolved.

Lorry returned from Symeem Island with roast meat for Fors and Xio, and urged Fors to advance to Trickmaster. Meanwhile, Danitz’s ambush in Bayam turned into a fight as Maveti and his allies attacked him, ending with Klein noticing Gehrman under Wraith possession.

• Alger visited the Gold Coin Casino after Lorry had departed for Symeem Island, while Danitz later left the casino as well.
• Fors’s Messenger delivered a letter from Fors to Lorry and reminded him to complete a prayer within three days; Lorry learned Fors had finished digesting her potion.
• Xio confronted Fors about delaying her advancement and the second volume of The Decameron, then joined Fors in eating the roast meat Lorry brought back.
• Lorry told Fors to eat first and then advance to Trickmaster, while Xio silently considered his instruction.
• The Mandated Punishers struck John Smith and his companions in Bayam, and Maveti, Huntley, and Scowal pursued Danitz after spotting him.
• Maveti froze Danitz with frost, but Danitz escaped an attack by turning into a paper figurine; Maveti and his allies then charged him, while Klein noticed Gehrman frozen by Wraith possession.

Danitz chose to stay and rescue Gehrman Sparrow after realizing the enemy attacking him was Bonebreaker Sebas, not Admiral of Blood Seniol. He used a feint and an explosive fireball to break Steel Maveti’s icy restraint, leaving the fight still underway.

• Danitz considered fleeing but decided he could not abandon Gehrman or bring disgrace on himself and the Golden Dream.
• He crushed the black charm and realized Steel Maveti’s ally using evil spirit possession was Bonebreaker Sebas.
• Danitz formed a plan to break through Steel’s blockade and interrupt Sebas’s attack on Gehrman.
• He tricked Steel, Scowal, and Blood-colored Thorn Huntley into thinking he was escaping, then ran in the opposite direction.
• Steel slowed Danitz with freezing wind and snow, but Danitz detonated his fireball behind himself, dispelling the cold and breaking free at the cost of injuries.

Lorry used the Fire Seed glove to steal Evil Spirit Possession from the Wraith possessing Klein, freeing Klein to fight alongside him. As Steel and the others turned on them, Lorry kept Bonebreaker Sebas occupied while Klein faced Steel, but Sebas became intent on taking Lorry’s White Bone Ring.

• Danitz provoked the Wraith possessing Klein, giving Lorry a chance to use Truth Insight and steal Evil Spirit Possession.
• Klein regained control of his body, thanked Lorry, and watched Danitz flee from Bonebreaker Sebas and Steel’s companions.
• Lorry offered to occupy Sebas while Klein handled the other three, and Klein agreed on the condition that Sebas would not interfere.
• Lorry shot Sebas with the Sure-Hit Revolver, then used Distortion to redirect the ice arrows Sebas had sent after Danitz.
• Klein moved the fight toward Danitz and told him to hold off the others while Klein took on Steel.
• Sebas spotted the White Bone Ring on Lorry’s hand and rushed toward him, judging it more valuable than pursuing Danitz.

Lorry fought “Bonebreaker” Sebas, using the Knight’s Hand and layered prohibitions to counter the Wraith’s abilities. Lorry broke free of Sebas’s entanglement and possessed him, leaving Sebas immobilized.

• Lorry drew “Bonebreaker” Sebas away from the others, exposed him with gunfire, and put away the Sure-Hit Revolver.
• Lorry used the Knight’s Hand to prohibit Wraith Shriek and Frost Domain abilities, preventing Sebas from using several of his attacks.
• Sebas used Wraith Entanglement and switched between his Wraith and physical states to battle Lorry at close range.
• Lorry invoked a punishment against Wraiths and ghosts, broke free of Wraith Entanglement, and charged at Sebas.
• Sebas blocked Lorry’s attack, but Lorry disappeared and possessed him, leaving him unable to move.