Chapter Summaries

After testing his Petroshapian transformation, Xia Xiu realized his limited EVE reserves made learning a Visualization Method or breathing method important. He chose his Deer College majors and began planning how to earn enough academic points to stay enrolled.

• Xia Xiu tested firing crystal blades and raising a silicon crystal formation, then estimated he could maintain siliconization for only a few minutes with his current EVE reserves.
• Xia Xiu received Professor Lauengen’s assignment to master an applied thaumaturgy within a month, along with a Common Seal Construction Method attachment.
• Jarvis reminded Xia Xiu that first-year students needed academic points from exams, competitions, papers, and club activities to complete their credits.
• Xia Xiu selected memetics and anomalous arts as his Esoteric Studies subjects, drawing on his past experience and interest in Deer College’s powerful memes and anomalous arts experts.
• Xia Xiu chose classics from the History and Social Sciences Group as his Mundane Studies subject, hoping to use his knowledge of ancient Terra to write papers for academic points.

Xia Xiu met Camille and Ushas at the Three Portlands Observatory to plan a club at Deer College. After discussing club requirements and ideas, they settled on finding a club concept that could complete community tasks for grade points.

• Xia Xiu received Camille’s invitation to help start a club and traveled to the Three Portlands Observatory.
• Camille explained that Deer College required five members to establish a club and that starting one could help first-years earn grade points.
• Ushas suggested a Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Club, while Camille admitted she had not decided what kind of club she wanted.
• Xia Xiu described several club ideas from his memories, then proposed focusing on tasks that earned grade points.
• Camille explained that residents of four Deer College residential areas issued community tasks, and Xia Xiu suggested forming a club like a neighborhood committee.

Xia Xiu, Camille, and Ushas decided to form the Mysterious Animal Research Club to study and protect mysterious animals in Three Portlands. Camille planned to submit the application and recruit more members, while she and Xia Xiu discovered they shared a classics major.

• Xia Xiu and Camille rejected Ushas's idea for a recreation club and discussed possible club plans.
• Camille revealed that she had the innate [Synesthesia] trait and connected it to her cryptozoology major.
• Camille proposed the Mysterious Animal Research Club, and Xia Xiu agreed while Ushas grumbled that she had not voted.
• Camille said she would handle the club application, and Xia Xiu suggested posting a recruitment notice on Deer College's campus forum.
• Camille asked Xia Xiu about his mundane studies major and learned that they had both chosen classics.

Xia Xiu learned about gemstone-assisted non-spiritual casting at Deer College and finished his Numbers and Science assignment ahead of his classmates. That evening, Eden issued a regional directive to recover a dangerous flesh anomaly and its escaped researcher in Fog City.

• Professor Byron taught his students how gemstones could ease thaumaturgical casting and gave each one a ruby to study Fireball’s structure.
• Xia Xiu completed Professor Dylan’s assignment, while Ushas and Camille struggled with the problems and Dylan warned the class about enemies who could suppress their abilities.
• Xia Xiu returned to Anderson Dormitory and received Eden’s directive about researcher 09, who had escaped with anomaly 4-331.
• Eden dispatched the White Gloves to recover 4-331 and asked other Heaven Lineage members in the region to assist or complete the mission.

Xia Xiu traveled from Three Portlands to Fog City and discovered that the Flesh Supremacy Lineage’s shared locations did not match Eden’s prediction. He infiltrated a gathering of Flesh followers, where Harry sensed someone lurking in the shadows.

• Ximen and Evan arrived in Manchester and discussed their mission to capture or kill 09 and recover 4-331.
• Xia Xiu received leave from Deer College after promising Professor Laugen he would study basic four-branch applied thaumaturgy within a month.
• Xia Xiu teleported to Fog City and saw that the Flesh Supremacy Lineage’s shared locations pointed somewhere other than Manchester.
• Xia Xiu put on a white mask and headed to greet his fellow Flesh followers.
• Harry convened a gathering at a private manor, where the attendees discussed Kradashi’s disappearance and the New Flesh orders.
• Harry struck his staff against the floor and ordered someone hiding by the staircase to come out.

Xia Xiu arrived at a gathering of Yarn’s believers, fought briefly with Dorn, and introduced himself to Harry as Mephistopheles. After learning that the escaped creation of Adaposs had not been found, Xia Xiu followed Harry to see something that shocked him.

• Xia Xiu arrived at the hall with three BIO-202 Models, and Dorn attacked him before Harry stopped their fight.
• Harry recognized Xia Xiu’s Mark of Ya’en and welcomed him as a Chain Breaker and fellow believer.
• Xia Xiu gave his name as Mephistopheles and asked about the escaped creation of Adaposs, but Harry said it had been avoiding them.
• Harry led Xia Xiu to the rear courtyard, where Xia Xiu saw an object that made his pupils contract.

Xia Xiu joined Harry and Dorn in tracking an intelligent Adaposs flesh creation that had evaded capture. Harry revealed that he needed Xia Xiu’s help to perform a ritual that could locate it, and offered him a sealed jar containing a white worm in exchange.

• Xia Xiu examined a caged flesh cube and learned from Harry that it was an untamed creation that did not obey Flesh Supremacy Lineage holders.
• Harry explained that the intelligent Adaposs creation had left misleading traces at several locations and was likely hiding from the Clock Tower.
• Dorn mocked Xia Xiu for keeping his field closed, while Xia Xiu silently marked him as a target.
• Harry led Xia Xiu to a ritual circle bearing Nadocks’s Seal and explained that the Eye of All-Seeing ritual required three Flesh Supremacy Lineage holders’ fields.
• Harry begged Xia Xiu to help capture the Adaposs creation and offered him a sealed jar containing a white worm.

Harry performed an overclocked ritual that located March and Lisa at Tilbury Port. He and Xia Xiu set out with Dorn to catch them before they could escape Fog City.

• Xia Xiu recognized the white worm in Harry as BIO-006 and promised to help him find Adaposs's creation.
• Harry performed a ritual using seven rats, triggering the [Overclocking] phase and consuming EVE particles.
• The ritual showed March and Lisa at the Port Authority General Cargo Terminal in Tilbury Port.
• Harry identified the location and left with Xia Xiu and Dorn to pursue March and Lisa.
• At Tilbury Port, March told Lisa they would stow away on a cruise ship and escape Fog City.

At Tilbury Port, Harry and Xia Xiu captured Lisa and killed March after a battle aboard a cruise ship. Xia Xiu took March’s corpse away to deliver to Eden, but first stripped it of valuables, including an experiment diary.

• March and Lisa hid in a shipping container, but Dorn broke in and attacked them.
• Lisa fought Dorn, then tried to escape with March by reaching for the ship’s mast, but Harry struck her with a fireball and brought them down.
• Harry summoned a Suffering Flesh Walker, which severed Lisa’s head; March grabbed her and tried to flee, but Harry shot him.
• Lisa attacked Harry in fury, but the Suffering Flesh Walker cut her body apart and captured her head.
• Harry prepared to turn March’s corpse into a BIO Species, but Xia Xiu stopped him and let Harry leave with Lisa.
• Xia Xiu carried March’s corpse to a secluded place and searched it, finding money and an experiment diary.

Xia Xiu read an experiment diary chronicling how a researcher grew close to Item#4-331, named Lisa, and planned to escape with her. The diary ended with them fleeing the Central Containment Room and setting out to leave Youyang.

• The researcher documented experiments with Item#4-331, an undying lump of flesh that could divide and reshape itself, and taught her Terran writing and human anatomy.
• The researcher named the increasingly human subject Lisa, and Lisa grew affectionate toward the researcher while refusing to cooperate with other experimenters.
• After Lisa kissed the researcher, the researcher decided to rescue her from the project and planned their escape from Orléans and Youyang.
• The researcher and Lisa trained, mapped the Central Containment Room, and prepared to evade the flesh faction by using Lisa's flesh duplicates.
• The researcher lured three Mechanical Golems into a trap, then escaped with Lisa through a sewage tunnel.
• The researcher and Lisa reached freedom and set off to leave Youyang.

Xia Xiu reported March’s death to Eden and received a revised directive to retrieve 4-331 in Fog City. After collecting [BIO-006] from Harry, he asked for a list of the Fog City Qualified so he could recruit more followers.

• Xia Xiu finished reading the Experiment Diary and decided to report the [Central Containment Room]’s anomaly weaponization project to Eden.
• Xia Xiu submitted March’s corpse to the Red Book, completing half of his directive and receiving an order to retrieve 4-331 in Fog City.
• Evan and Ximen realized their Burial Agency team had pursued the wrong target in Manchester and set off for Fog City.
• Harry told Xia Xiu that he had used the [Way of the Whole Flesh] on Adaposs’s creation and gave him the bottle containing [BIO-006].
• Xia Xiu asked Harry for a list of the Fog City Qualified, then left with Dorn while checking that their location sharing remained active.

Xia Xiu met with Evan Lowell and Ximen Fulica, agents of Heaven, and traded intelligence about the Flesh-Eating Cult for powerful Thaumaturgy Imprint Seals. After showing them evidence of the cult’s experiments and revealing that he knew where 4-331 was, he hinted that he had an even greater gift for them.

• Xia Xiu introduced himself to Evan Lowell and Ximen Fulica, who invited him to return to the Sanctum and offered to help him leave Deer College.
• Xia Xiu gave Evan and Ximen a roster of Flesh-Eating Cult practitioners in Fog City and asked for three Thaumaturgy Imprint Seals in exchange.
• Xia Xiu handed them the Experiment Diary, and Evan and Ximen reacted with fury to its account of weaponized anomalies.
• Ximen said Xia Xiu’s information and capture of 09 could earn him enough for an Appointment Letter.
• Evan asked Xia Xiu about 4-331, and Xia Xiu confirmed that he knew its location before offering the two agents an even greater gift.

Xia Xiu sold information about Harry and Dorn to Ximen and Evan, who split up to pursue them. Evan cornered Harry in his basement laboratory and defeated the Suffering Flesh Walker, leaving Harry at his mercy.

• Xia Xiu gave Ximen and Evan intelligence about Harry and Dorn in exchange for a fee, then left them to pay his café bill.
• Evan went to Harry's residence while Ximen headed to the underground tavern Dorn frequented.
• Harry placed a rune-covered lump of flesh in a culture vessel and planned to use it to advance in rank during the next Divine Feast ritual.
• Evan attacked Harry's residence, and Harry tried to escape through a tunnel after a Binding Field blocked his teleportation scroll.
• Evan appeared in powered armor, killed the Suffering Flesh Walker with a Chainsword, and reached for the terrified Harry.

Ximen destroyed the Brent Underground Tavern while fighting its nonhuman patrons, then was arrested by the Clock Tower. Evan told Xia Xiu that Ximen was in jail, and Xia Xiu went with Evan to bail him out.

• Dorn celebrated a windfall from Harry and joked with a green-skinned creature about his new brother, Mephistopheles.
• Duomalen attacked Ximen, but Ximen's guardian spirit, Azazel, appeared and terrified the tavern's patrons.
• Ximen unleashed Azazel's [Flame Aura], burning the tavern and most of the creatures inside, then wounded Dorn and slaughtered the survivors.
• Ximen contacted Evan to complain about reimbursement before Clock Tower mages surrounded him and arrested him for violating the Aether Supervision Protocol.
• Evan visited Xia Xiu at the Fog City National Library, told him Ximen was jailed, and Xia Xiu agreed to come along to bail him out.

Ximen and Evan gave Xia Xiu the promised gemstones, Thaumaturgy Stones, and access to three thaumaturgies after their mission to recover 4-331. Ximen invited Xia Xiu to return to the Sanctum, but Xia Xiu refused and decided to remain at Deer College.

• Ximen signed an eighty-thousand-Youyang-Currency reimbursement form after the Clock Tower charged him for the Brent District cleanup.
• Ximen told Xia Xiu that he and Evan had recovered the item and promised to bring him a present the next day.
• Ximen and Evan brought Xia Xiu gemstones and fifty Thaumaturgy Stones as payment for his help.
• Evan authorized Xia Xiu to obtain the three thaumaturgies he had requested through the Book of Preaching.
• Ximen invited Xia Xiu to return to the Sanctum, but Xia Xiu refused because he planned to stay at Deer College.

Xia Xiu returned to Three Portlands, where Camille greeted him and walked him back to Deer College. After settling into Anderson Dormitory, he reviewed the thaumaturgic techniques he had learned and considered which ones to convert into traits.

• Camille and Ushas waited near the Portal, and Camille hurried to greet Xia Xiu when he returned.
• Camille walked Xia Xiu through the rain toward Deer College while Ushas went ahead to her dorm.
• Camille and Xia Xiu parted at the Douglas Fir boundary, agreeing to see each other the next day.
• Xia Xiu unpacked in Anderson Dormitory, then reviewed three thaumaturgic techniques in the Red Book.
• Xia Xiu considered how thaumaturgists converted techniques into traits and combined traits into modules.

After receiving 300 Gospel Points for completing a containment directive, Xia Xiu spent some to connect to Heaven’s Wisdom Tree and acquire a Light Attendant Class. He reached the guarded tree and selected a silver model with a Meta Domain Module, leaving the purchase awaiting payment.

• Eden awarded Xia Xiu 300 Gospel Points for completing Mission 4-331 with the Burial Agency’s White Gloves.
• Xia Xiu reviewed the functions of Heaven’s Three Sacred Trees and paid the fees to connect to the Wisdom Tree.
• Xia Xiu crossed the Rainbow Bridge into the ether sea, where Cherub Type I Guardian Spirit Number Two ordered him to maintain solemnity.
• Xia Xiu requested a Light Attendant Wisdom Fruit and chose the silver model with a Meta Domain Module.
• Number Two demanded a 10-point search fee, which Xia Xiu paid before the chapter ended.

Xia Xiu ate the Light Attendant Wisdom Fruit and gained three thaumaturgy circuits that enhanced his light magic, speed, and strength. He stayed in the Wisdom Tree to test his new powers until Number Two forcibly sent him back to the physical world.

• Number Two gave Xia Xiu the Light Attendant Wisdom Fruit, and Xia Xiu ate it as instructed.
• Xia Xiu’s lineage scanned the fruit and formed Light Attendant thaumaturgy circuits on his spirit body.
• Xia Xiu inspected the circuits, which included three Light Body Transformation forms and a locked Meta Field circuit.
• Xia Xiu refused Number Two’s order to leave and practiced flying with his circuits in the Wisdom Tree.
• Xia Xiu used the Type II Speed form and threw two Octant Light Wheels, prompting Number Two to open the Rainbow Bridge and eject him from the Ether Sea.
• Xia Xiu returned to Anderson Dormitory, Room 404, and complained after falling off the sofa.

Three Portlands traveled toward the Youyang mainland as Deer College's first-year students completed their monthly written exam and began their practical assessment. Camille performed well, Ushas failed, and the assessment paused with Muji, Lifenel, and Xiu Abraham still to be tested.

• Three Portlands set off toward the Youyang mainland after spending a month in the Fog City region.
• Xia Xiu finished Professor Dylan's difficult mathematics exam early, while Ushas complained that the questions were too hard.
• Professor Laugen began the practical assessment, and Billy Porter barely grazed the target with his fireball spell.
• Camille Siffney struck and shattered the target with a water spell, earning a good-plus rating, while Ushas failed with her Sand and Soil Spell.
• Laugen saw that Muji, Lifenel, and Xiu Abraham remained on the roster, then called Muji forward.

Muji, Lifenel, and Xia Xiu completed their thaumaturgy assessments, with Xia Xiu earning an exceptional A+ across all four elements. Professor Laugen announced that students would begin specialist courses and have more time for experiments and club activities, and Xia Xiu left with Camille and Ushas to find somewhere quieter to talk.

• Muji earned an A- for Water Bullet and received lower results for his other three elements.
• Lifenel cast all four elemental spells, earning B+ grades across the board.
• Xia Xiu used a finger-gun gesture to cast four spells with excellent accuracy and earned an A+ overall.
• Professor Laugen announced the end of the monthly assessment and introduced specialist courses and reduced hours for the other required subjects.
• Camille and Ushas approached Xia Xiu, and the three agreed to move somewhere else to talk.