Chapter Summaries

Chen Lun awoke imprisoned in the Age of Mysteries world and learned that the Red Apple Church planned to sacrifice him and the other captives. After a grotesque prisoner’s arm drove his Sanity down, his character panel activated as he collapsed.

• Chen Lun woke in a filthy cell with a head wound while two guards discussed sacrificing the prisoners that night.
• Chen Lun recognized the guards’ Red Apple Church emblems and realized he had transmigrated into the game world without a way to log out.
• Chen Lun saw the other captives, tried and failed to open the cell door, and heard a woman warn him about the guards and monsters outside.
• The woman revealed eyeballs covering her arm, and Chen Lun lost Sanity, collapsed, and activated his character panel.

Chen Lun realized that the mutation in the prison was likely linked to a dangerous Red Apple Church artifact and searched his character panel for a way to escape. He discovered that he had only one life and found a damaged Grade B artifact, Siren's Song, hanging around his neck.

• Chen Lun watched guards remove the mutated woman and suspected that mystical contamination had caused her transformation.
• He recalled that the Red Apple Church was studying occult artifacts and feared the prison was testing the dangerous Sun-Averting Potted Plant.
• Chen Lun examined his character panel and learned that he was an NPC without player resurrection, a year before the open beta.
• He noticed that his Charisma bonus came from equipment and found a handmade shell necklace around his neck.
• Chen Lun identified the necklace as the damaged Grade B Occult Artifact Siren's Song, a shell with hypnotic powers.

Chen Lun recognized Sister Froy as a future leader of the Red Apple Church and used what he knew of her past to draw her toward him. He began pretending to grieve for a little sister, and Froy approached him as the prisoners awaited their sacrifice.

• Chen Lun examined the hypnotic necklace and considered using its power to find a way to survive.
• Sister Froy entered the cell with bread and apples, and Chen Lun realized the sacrifice was likely imminent.
• Chen Lun recalled that Froy had lost her beloved older brother after he joined the Red Apple Church to protect her from being sold.
• Chen Lun pretended to cry for his little sister, stirring Froy to approach him.
• Froy asked Chen Lun what was wrong, and he told her that he missed his little sister.

Chen Lun accepted the quest to rescue Froy and followed the Red Apple Church’s sacrifices to secret chamber seven, pretending to be mindless after she warned him not to eat the apple. Brother Will brought the group to a chamber with an altar and an old notebook as the sacrifice began.

• Chen Lun told Froy about his deceased sister, and she warned him to eat the flatbread but not the apple.
• Chen Lun unlocked and accepted the A-rank hidden quest chain to rescue Froy from the Red Apple Church.
• After eating the flatbread, Chen Lun hid the apple and pretended to be vacant when the other sacrifices began acting mindless.
• Brother Will ordered the sacrifices taken to secret chamber seven and kicked Chen Lun when he fell behind.
• Chen Lun arrived with the group in a chamber containing a square altar and an old leather-bound notebook.

Chen Lun was forced to read the lethal notebook after the other sacrifices died, and he collapsed in agony. As the guards prepared to dispose of his body, it began to murmur, leaving Monk Will and the others startled.

• The sacrifices who read the notebook went mad and died, and Monk Will ordered Chen Lun to take his turn.
• Froy stopped the ritual briefly, but Monk Will rejected her objection and ordered the sacrifices to continue.
• Chen Lun opened the notebook, screamed, and collapsed like the previous victims.
• As the guards prepared to put Chen Lun's corpse in a sack, the mustached man heard it murmuring and alerted Monk Will.

Chen Lun pretended to babble after surviving the ritual, while secretly gaining the Beast Tamer class and skills from Philip's Diary. Over three days, he slowed his interpretation of the notebook to keep Will dependent on him, and had earned about 500 EXP and learned another Beast Tamer skill.

• Will heard Chen Lun murmuring and ordered the guards to raise him so Froy could record his words.
• Chen Lun recited fragments about a pangolin and seven gemlike seeds, then kept repeating himself when Will demanded more.
• Chen Lun accepted the Sequence 9 Beast Tamer class and gained Beast Speech, EXP, and Philip's Diary as a quest item.
• Will mistook the diary for a dangerous anomalous artifact and ordered the guards to care for Chen Lun so he could keep interpreting it.
• Over the next three days, Chen Lun recited less each day while Froy recorded his words, and he read more than half the Beast Tamer's Handbook, gained roughly 500 EXP, and learned another exclusive skill.

Chen Lun revealed his supernatural ability to Froy and promised to help her escape, then arranged for her to assist with his plan. Froy led him to Basement No. 7 for the day’s sacrifice, where they passed two guards.

• Chen Lun told Froy he planned to escape and take her with him.
• Chen Lun summoned rats and learned from them about the prison’s levels, iron doors, and guards, convincing Froy he was a supernatural being.
• Chen Lun whispered his plan to Froy, and she responded with growing hope.
• Chen Lun reminded Froy that he was still a sacrificial offering, and she led him toward Basement No. 7.
• Chen Lun acted like a drooling idiot as Froy coldly passed the returning guards, one of whom leered at her.

Chen Lun distracted the guards with bats and Mustache, then read Philip's diary and told Will a fabricated myth about the seven gourds. Will interpreted Chen Lun's repeated words as clues and ordered animals brought to the basement, where Chen Lun learned traits from a pangolin.

• Bats attacked a guard, and Mustache struck him before Brother Will arrived and reprimanded them.
• Chen Lun read the Beast Tamer's Handbook until his progress reached 70%, then discovered Philip's diary described his skill [Friend of Animals] and disturbing encounters with animals.
• Chen Lun recited a myth about Purple Angel and the seven gourds, and Will became convinced it revealed the history of the orthodox gods.
• Froy suggested that the pangolin, snake, and scorpion might represent higher Sequences, prompting Will to order the guards to find those animals.
• Will brought the three animals to the altar, and Chen Lun learned the pangolin traits [Ant-eating] and [Tree climbing] through [Animal Mimicry LV1].

Chen Lun used Animal Mimicry to learn burrowing, then secretly dug an escape tunnel from his cell while keeping Will distracted with a cryptic performance. The next morning, he was led back to Basement Seven for the church’s planned work, while an elderly priest prepared a vial of blood for a mysterious offering.

• Chen Lun learned the pangolin’s burrowing trait, then pretended to collapse after hinting at the Earth Faction and the original sin of greed.
• Will hurried off to report his interpretation, while Froy helped Chen Lun leave the basement and warned him that Father Carter was a powerful Transcendent.
• Over two days and nights, Chen Lun used rats to carry dirt away as he dug a tunnel out of his cell.
• An elderly man in a red robe entered the church with a vial of blood, saying he hoped the moon would enjoy the offering.
• Brother Will woke Chen Lun and led him, Froy, and Mustache back to Basement Seven to carry out the planned work.

Chen Lun finished Philip’s diary, learned Friend of Animals, and accepted a quest to recover Philip’s buried legacy. He dropped his act, killed Will, and accepted a quest to free the captives, leaving the Red Apple Church hostile toward him.

• Chen Lun finished reading Philip’s diary and learned the passive skill Friend of Animals.
• Chen Lun discovered Philip had hidden his savings and supernatural objects beneath Viscount Pompey’s estate, triggering the hidden quest Philip’s Legacy.
• Will ordered Froy to take Chen Lun to the basement, but Chen Lun revealed he had never been controlled and seized Will with his serpent-like arm.
• Chen Lun killed Will, earning experience and a warning that the Red Apple Church would turn against him.
• Chen Lun accepted the quest Mercy to free the imprisoned sacrifices in exchange for experience and Copper Crowns.

Chen Lun helped Froy escape the prison, then disguised himself as a guard and fought his way toward the cells holding the sacrifices. After his disguise was exposed, he summoned a swarm of rats against the reinforcements.

• Chen Lun told Froy to escape through a tunnel while he stayed behind to draw attention, and the two exchanged names before she left.
• Chen Lun ambushed the mustached guard and his companion, killed them, and took the key ring to the prison cells.
• Chen Lun spent over a thousand experience points to raise his Beast Tamer level to 8 and max out Animal Mimicry.
• Chen Lun disguised himself in a guard's coat and hat, but two guards spotted that he lacked the Red Apple Church tattoo.
• Chen Lun killed the two suspicious guards with a sword, then summoned a swarm of rats to attack the arriving reinforcements.

Chen Lun rescued the sacrificial offerings from the Red Apple Church and fought his way through the guards, but Rotting Hounds and armored guards pursued him. He turned to confront the hounds and struck one with his sword.

• The priest poured blood onto the strange sunflower, which cried out and pointed toward something beyond the basement.
• Chen Lun freed the sacrificial offerings, gave the keys to a rat so they could escape, and drew the guards away from them.
• Chen Lun killed the guards with the help of rats, then was attacked by a Rotting Hound and contracted mild rotting poisoning.
• More Rotting Hounds and two armored guards appeared, forcing Chen Lun to flee toward his cell and escape tunnel.
• Chen Lun turned to fight the pursuing hounds and drove his sword into one Rotting Hound's brain.

Chen Lun escaped the underground prison after fighting through rotting hounds and armored guards, only to find Froy captured by Father Carter outside. He sent a swarm of rats and bats against the priest, who recognized Chen Lun as supernatural and dismissed the attack as insufficient.

• Chen Lun killed one rotting hound, then used bats and rats to distract the others while he fought them down.
• Two armored guards attacked Chen Lun, but he threw his damaged shortsword and fled back to his cell.
• Chen Lun crawled through the hidden tunnel and followed Froy's scent to its woodland exit.
• Chen Lun found Father Carter holding Froy beside a strange sunflower that was reaching toward her.
• Froy urged Chen Lun to run, but Chen Lun ordered his rats and bats to attack Father Carter, who identified him as supernatural and said the swarm was not enough.

Chen Lun fought Father Carter, using his animal abilities to bring the priest down, but discovered Carter could transform into a hulking Butcher. The chapter ended with Carter charging again and Chen Lun’s second ultrasound attack failing to surprise him.

• Father Carter struck Chen Lun hard, but Chen Lun restrained him long enough for rats and bats to swarm and wound him.
• Carter broke free and relentlessly attacked Chen Lun, who dodged and countered with an ultrasound burst that disoriented the priest.
• Chen Lun chopped Carter in the neck, apparently snapping his bones and knocking him to the ground.
• Carter grabbed Chen Lun’s ankle, kicked him into a tree, and transformed into a three-meter-tall Butcher.
• Chen Lun stood and attacked Carter with ultrasound again, but Carter showed that he anticipated the move.

Chen Lun fought Father Carter while the [Sun-Averting Potted Plant] attacked Froy, then used his newly strengthened body and the plant’s fury to turn the battle against the priest. Father Carter lost his Golden Apple Pendant and suffered a pierced chest, while Froy remained unconscious and in danger.

• Father Carter’s Golden Apple Pendant dispelled Chen Lun’s hypnosis as the [Sun-Averting Potted Plant] attacked Froy and pierced her eyes with its branches.
• Chen Lun vowed to save Froy, but Father Carter struck at him and mocked his attempt to fight back.
• Chen Lun gained quest and combat rewards, spent his experience and attribute points to strengthen himself, and tore off Father Carter’s arm with Pangolin Armor and Serpent Body Transformation.
• Chen Lun used hypnosis to provoke the [Sun-Averting Potted Plant], which pierced Father Carter’s chest and swallowed his Golden Apple Pendant.

Chen Lun killed Father Carter and rescued Froy, but the Sun-Averting Potted Plant had fused with her and would kill her within two months. He fled with the unconscious Froy, while the Red Apple Church arrived to hunt them down.

• Chen Lun killed Father Carter and found Froy unconscious with the Sun-Averting Potted Plant fused inside her.
• Chen Lun completed the first two stages of the Silent Nun quest chain, then learned Froy had less than 60 days to live without high-sequence flesh-faction mysterious substance.
• Chen Lun realized the Red Apple Church had intended to use Froy as a vessel and would likely tamper with the substance to control her.
• Chen Lun picked up Froy and a red badge left at the scene, then hurried away before the church could find them.
• A fat red-robed monk arrived with wardens, spearmen, and Rotting Hounds, and saw the battle’s wreckage.

After escaping prison, Chen Lun hitched a ride to town with a Silver Dragon Trade Association caravan while caring for the weakened Froy and considering his next steps. The caravan reached a bridge checkpoint, where Walsh went to speak with an armed officer.

• Walsh led the caravan while Jit wondered why a Red Apple Church nun had been attacked by wild beasts.
• Chen Lun used [Siren's Song] to persuade Walsh to give him and Froy a ride, and Jit found the pair suspicious.
• Chen Lun examined the Surging Badge he had taken from the dead priest and pinned it to his chest for its strength and endurance bonuses.
• Chen Lun decided to find lodging in town and seek a way forward with Froy's quest while she rested beside him.
• The caravan stopped at the town bridge checkpoint, and Walsh dismounted to identify himself to a bearded officer.

Chen Lun escaped a Red Apple Church search by hypnotizing a guard, but the Rotting Hounds sensed traces of supernatural power in his carriage. Brother Stuarton chose to protect himself rather than stop the caravan, and Chen Lun parted ways with it after entering town.

• Walsh presented his documents at Jadeite Town’s checkpoint, where Brother Stuarton ordered the Red Apple Church guards to search the caravan for a murderer.
• A hypnotized guard checked Chen Lun’s carriage and reported finding no suspicious persons, despite Chen Lun hiding inside with a nun.
• The Rotting Hounds barked at Chen Lun’s carriage, and the guards moved to surround it as Chen Lun prepared to fight his way out.
• Stuarton ordered the guards to let the caravan pass and had Jit detained and gagged when he tried to report what was inside the carriage.
• Stuarton decided to report the incident to the bishop, ordered Jit beaten, and Chen Lun parted ways with the caravan after entering town.

Chen Lun took a Silver Dragon Trade Association token from Walsh and brought the unconscious Froy to an inn in Jadeite Town. After a drunk harassed him, the inn cat attacked the man, and Chen Lun settled Froy in their room.

• Walsh recognized Chen Lun as a Transcendent and gave him a Silver Dragon Trade Association token, which Chen Lun accepted while denying what he was.
• Chen Lun inspected the token, considered using it for a plan, and chose to stay at the Scimitar Inn with Froy.
• Chen Lun paid the innkeeper for a quiet room, two days’ lodging, food, and water.
• Ham approached Chen Lun and made a crude offer involving Froy, but the innkeeper’s cat attacked him before Chen Lun carried Froy upstairs.
• Chen Lun laid Froy on the bed and poured himself a glass of water.

Chen Lun spent experience and skill points improving his Angler subclass and Beast Speech, then reflected on his unfamiliar Fate Faction path. After Froy woke blind, he arranged food, a bath, and new clothes for her, and left her hoping that the mystical realm might someday restore her sight.

• Chen Lun maxed out his Angler subclass and Beast Speech, saving his remaining points for unexpected situations.
• Chen Lun considered the challenges of advancing along the Fate Faction pathway, which he knew little about.
• Froy woke and explained that although her eyes were blind, the Sun-Averting Potted Plant had given her keen senses.
• Chen Lun took Froy to eat and bathe, then bought clothes and other supplies for them.
• Froy thanked Chen Lun for her new dress and lamented that she could not see it, so he told her that the mystical realm might let her regain her sight someday.