Chapter Summaries

Suren infiltrated the pirate fleet and used a surprise strike to kill Captain Yark, freeing Mr. Mirror from the pirates’ Soul Chain. After escaping the surrounding pirates with Steinitz's Chessboard, Suren was rescued by Mr. Mirror, but they found the Fairwind trapped in the Chaotic Storm Belt, and Mr. Mirror was badly injured.

• Suren disguised himself as a pirate, slipped between ships, and absorbed the Memory Fragments of mechanics who had died aboard a slave transport ship.
• Suren coordinated with Mr. Mirror, who drew the pirates into position and gave him Captain Yark’s location; Suren struck blindly through a cabin wall and killed Captain Yark.
• Surrounded by pirates, Suren used Steinitz's Chessboard to disappear into an independent space with a pirate underling, then hid beneath Ötzi the Iceman's Shroud.
• After Mr. Mirror told Suren to release the space, he killed the underling, and Mr. Mirror found him and carried him away from the pirates.
• Suren and Mr. Mirror escaped the Black Reef fortress, but the Fairwind had entered the Chaotic Storm Belt, and Mr. Mirror spat out a mouthful of blood.

After the Fairwind fled into the Chaos Wind Belt, Suren and the injured Mr. Mirror were stranded at sea in a storm. They survived in Suren’s inflatable raft, drifted toward human territory, and were eventually rescued by a merchant ship.

• Mr. Mirror lost consciousness after admitting she was badly injured, and she and Suren fell into the sea.
• Suren rescued Mr. Mirror, inflated his emergency raft, and kept them afloat as the storm carried them eastward.
• Suren treated Mr. Mirror’s chest wound while her Cold Poison leaked from it, and she soon awoke and explained the injury.
• Mr. Mirror praised Suren, gave him the Tartarus Soul Lamp Chain, and told him to conceal his aura while they waited out the storm.
• After the storm passed, Suren and Mr. Mirror watched the sunrise, determined they were drifting northeast, and let Mr. Black’s group continue without them.
• Several days later, a passing merchant ship found Suren and Mr. Mirror and took them aboard.

Suren and Mr. Mirror boarded Benson’s merchant ship after claiming to be shipwreck survivors, and Suren impressed Jick by answering his rune questions. Marianne and Laman secretly discussed a plan to kill people aboard and disguise the deaths as pirate attacks.

• Suren signaled Benson’s merchant ship and introduced himself and Mr. Mirror as survivors from a sunken ship heading north.
• Benson welcomed Suren and Mr. Mirror aboard, while Marianne questioned their origins and Jick admired their inflatable lifeboat.
• Jick tested Suren’s rune knowledge, and Suren answered every question, convincing Jick that he was an exceptionally capable teacher.
• Marianne privately met Laman, and they decided to make their move on the northern route and blame any deaths on pirates.

Suren reached Gadulant Port with Mr. Mirror and learned that the Lu Ying Royal Academy held one of Isaac’s mysterious manuscripts, giving him another reason to visit the capital. After they entered Gadulant, the city guards recognized Mr. Mirror during their inspection.

• Suren planned to seek rare materials in the Northern Ice Plain for a Third-Tier augment armor focused on controlling minds and bodies.
• Jick told Suren about the Royal Academy and its collection of Isaac’s relics, including a black-smoking notebook called the Manuscript of Divine Connection.
• Suren and Mr. Mirror arrived at Gadulant, where Mr. Mirror criticized the empire’s stagnant society and Captain Benson identified the pirate Stuart’s corpse displayed at the harbor.
• Suren and Mr. Mirror entered the city after passing its energy inspection, but the guards stared in surprise when Mr. Mirror removed her hat.

Suren and Mr. Mirror entered Gadulant Port, where corrupt guards and the Sea Serpent Gang targeted them. After Suren killed the gang members who ambushed them, Mr. Mirror recognized her family crest on a stolen amulet and learned that related demihuman slaves were being held by the merchant Roskin.

• Mr. Mirror entered Gadulant with Suren, and guard captain Pence ordered the Sea Serpent Gang to kidnap her.
• Suren and Mr. Mirror explored the city’s trading market, where Suren bought Mr. Mirror a rose and thieves stole her handbag.
• Suren and Mr. Mirror followed the thief into an alley, where Suren used his Thread Control Secret Technique to kill the gang members and capture Politt.
• Politt revealed that Pence had sent the gang to abduct Mr. Mirror, and Mr. Mirror discovered that Politt’s amulet bore the Isaac Family crest.
• Politt said the amulet had been taken from demihuman slaves now held by the merchant Roskin, and Suren killed him and stored the bodies.

Suren and Mr. Mirror learned that the totem amulet belonged to the Daru Tribe and headed toward the evening slave auction while exploring Gadulant Port. After shopping for alchemical materials, they unexpectedly encountered Captain Pence, who had tried to kidnap Mr. Mirror.

• Suren and Mr. Mirror discussed the Daru Tribe's alliance with Sir Isaac after Suren erased the gangsters' remains.
• Suren and Mr. Mirror learned that Roskin's Sub-Human slaves might be auctioned that evening, then dined at an airship restaurant.
• Ekaterina Lance discussed her plan to win the Sub-Humans' trust and gathered intelligence about mechanical blueprints, pirates, and the Regadi Family.
• Suren glimpsed Ekaterina's airship and caught fragments of her conversation, including references to a grand noble and a useless nobody.
• Suren and Mr. Mirror browsed Gadulant's alchemical market, bought materials, and ran into Captain Pence.

Suren confronted Viscount Primor and Squad Leader Pence after they tried to detain him and Mr. Mirror so the viscount could seize her. Suren killed Pence and fought through the viscount’s guards, while the attack drew the attention of powerful figures across Gadulant Port, including the Mistmoon Earl and the Blood Earl.

• Suren recognized Pence and realized he had lured Viscount Primor to the shop to shift suspicion from the Sea Serpent Gang’s failed abduction attempt.
• Pence falsely accused Suren of smuggling and ordered him and Mr. Mirror detained, while Viscount Primor demanded that they be taken away.
• Mr. Mirror challenged the attempted detention under Lu Ying law, but Pence declared that the viscount’s word was law.
• Suren grabbed Pence and killed him with a Wind Element-powered punch.
• Suren pursued Viscount Primor and battered his guards with Hormone Rampage and Gold Element Armor as the terrified viscount fled.
• The news reached a purple-haired woman, an armored military group, and the Mistmoon Earl, who set out with the Blood Earl to investigate.

Suren confronted Count Ossaka over Viscount Primor’s attempted abduction of his wife and the many assaults Primor had committed, while Mr. Mirror arrived to confront Blood Earl Antonio. Antonio recognized Mr. Mirror as the Ancestor Lord and knelt before her, leaving the gathered crowd stunned.

• Suren held Viscount Primor suspended in crystalline threads as Hatidge Owens and the Flaming Lion Legion surrounded the street.
• Count Ossaka arrived and threatened Suren, who cut off Primor’s fingers and accused Ossaka of knowing about his son’s crimes.
• Suren’s accusations drew the attention of onlookers, while Antonio examined the mysterious threads and considered Suren’s origins.
• Mr. Mirror appeared beside Suren and asked Antonio whether Primor deserved to die; Antonio answered that Primor was guilty and should die.
• Antonio recognized Mr. Mirror’s bloodline, knelt before her, and called her the Ancestor Lord.

Mr. Mirror’s departure from Gadulant was disrupted when a woman used a Sealed Item to manipulate Count Osaca into ordering an attack, and Suren was separated from his protectors. Left on his own, Suren recognized his dependence on powerful allies and disguised himself to travel more cautiously.

• Antonio killed Primo for offending the Ancestor Lord, while Mr. Mirror spared Count Osaca and started to leave.
• A purple-haired woman wrote a plot in the Cursed Script, causing Count Osaca to order his knights to seize Mr. Mirror and Suren.
• Mr. Mirror sent Suren through a mirror to a mansion, then fought alongside Antonio before withdrawing from Gadulant.
• Mr. Mirror told Suren she was leaving early and asked him to buy Daru Tribe slaves at the auction.
• Suren realized he had grown reliant on Mr. Mirror’s protection, changed his clothes and appearance, and set out in disguise.

After gathering leads on rare mental-type beasts, Suren attended Gadulant Port’s auction and learned that its final item was the Super Mechanical Warrior blueprints. The blueprints drew competing plans from the Mafah Empire, the northern Military Intelligence Department, and Ekaterina Lance, leaving the auction poised to become a struggle over the valuable technology.

• Suren posted a bounty for information about mental-type beasts, then memorized leads concerning a Nightmare Octopus near the Lomen Strait and a Nightmare Spider in the Silent Forest.
• At the Dolphin Tavern, Suren learned that pirates had placed a bounty on a group wearing Gold-Patterned Cloaks and heard that the auction would include rare goods and draw powerful visitors.
• Suren saw Blur Turner and the Mafah Empire’s Hammer legion pass the tavern, then suspected the auction’s mysterious final item was related to the Super Mechanical Warrior.
• Suren entered the auction and found that its catalog contained many goods from Old Lindun, including a mysterious item he suspected was the Super Mechanical Warrior blueprints.
• Ekaterina Lance learned the blueprints would be auctioned and decided to let others act first while preparing to obtain them and investigating the vampire woman.
• Agents of the Military Intelligence Department confirmed the blueprints were at the auction and planned to intercept the Mafa delegation if they could not win the bidding.

Suren won the complete Servantless Secret Art and bought two hundred Daru Tribe captives, then freed them and learned that Pasu had prophesied he would face a deadly tribulation. After Suren killed Sea Serpent Gang attackers at the docks, a battle broke out on Oak Street, and he suspected the Mechanical Warriors from the Mafa Empire were involved.

• Suren outbid the wealthy guests for the complete Servantless Secret Art, angering Kai Lei Fischer, who ordered a local investigation.
• Suren outbid Booth Three for two hundred Sub-Humans and brought them to his ship at Gadulant Port.
• Suren used the Daru Tribe oath and the Isaac Family crest to convince Pasu and the other captives that he had come to honor an old alliance, then freed them and helped them depart by ship.
• Pasu prophesied that Suren would face a deadly tribulation but that the ocean would protect him.
• Suren killed Poison Fang Frank and the Sea Serpent Gang members who ambushed him at the docks.
• Suren heard a battle erupt on Oak Street and suspected that Mafa Empire Mechanical Warriors were fighting there.

Suren watched the battle between Mafa’s Mechanical Warriors and Lu Ying’s forces, then realized the Mafa delegation planned to escape by submarine. Lu Ying unveiled Chronos’ Bow of Time Curse to stop them, and Suren slipped toward a mech that had fallen into the sea.

• Suren observed Mafa’s Mechanical Warriors fighting Lu Ying’s forces and studied their armor, weapons, and weaknesses.
• Suren recognized Blur Turner’s magnetic ability and watched powerful sorcerers and other experts join the battle.
• Suren deduced that the Mafa delegation was buying time to escape by sea, and a submarine surfaced near Civilian Pier Seven.
• Lu Ying’s forces used Chronos’ Bow of Time Curse, sacrificing the archers’ lifespans to bring down several Mechanical Warriors.
• Suren noticed that the Time Arrows had struck the mech pilots rather than damaging the armor, then quietly headed toward a mech that had fallen into the sea at Pier Five.

Suren salvaged and studied an intact Colonel-Grade Ship-Slaying Type IX Mechanical Armor after the battle at Gadulant, then left on a merchant ship bound for the northern ice fields. The ship entered an unusually thick fog, and the sailors spotted something terrifying.

• The Mafah Mechanical Warriors escaped from Seven Harbor Pier aboard a submarine, while Ekaterina ordered her people to stand down after learning the Regadi Family and Grand Duke Raphael were pursuing the blueprints.
• Suren recovered Dies Fassai’s armor from beneath Pier Five and learned from his memories that the officers had served as bait to get the blueprints out.
• Suren examined the armor overnight, copied its runes and structure, and considered adapting its technology for Mechanical Puppets.
• Suren boarded the Maupassant, bound for the northern ice fields, and listened as Mark and the Night Cat Adventurer Group shared stories of the sea.
• The Maupassant entered an unusually thick fog, and the crew shouted after spotting a terrifying sight.

Suren realized the fleet had sailed into an ambush set by Grand Duke Raphael’s secret battleship, while William Regadi and Master Maburrit used divination to locate him. The chapter ended with Suren identified as their target, though the Regadi family’s reasons for pursuing him remained tied to the original owner’s past and Fick’s inheritance.

• Suren recognized the War Fog and saw the enormous iron battleship Duke Raphael, which had stopped the fleet in the Bartholomew Strait.
• Suren deduced that the battleship was ambushing the fleet to recover the stolen blueprint and realized its carrier might be aboard one of the ships.
• Suren felt someone divining his location and sensed a hostile gaze locking onto him from the battleship.
• Aboard the Duke Raphael, Vogt Raphael met with Lady Portia and discussed the blueprint and the political ambitions of their families.
• William Regadi reviewed intelligence about Suren and discussed eliminating Fick, while Lady Portia urged him to pursue power and his marriage plans.
• Master Maburrit located Suren aboard the ship flying the parrot flag and identified him to William and Lady Portia.

Suren used his water-walking Spider Spear, Spatial Displacement, and a lethal hormone technique to flee William Regadi, who pursued him with legendary Wind Augment Armor and killed him with a powerful wind attack. Suren’s Thanatos's Decoy Puppet took the fatal blow, and as he began to revive, he accepted a mysterious offer of power.

• Suren escaped the fleet across the sea, but William Regadi pursued him using the Feather of the Wind God Bird and overwhelming Wind Element abilities.
• Suren used Three-Stage Hormone Rampage and Worgins' Pocket Watch to speed toward a deep-sea cavern, hoping the ocean would shelter him as the Daru Tribe Druid had prophesied.
• William summoned the Wind Void Attendant and struck Suren with the Song of the Wind Whisperer: Arrow of Xuan, tearing his body apart.
• Thanatos's Decoy Puppet took the fatal attack, while William left believing he had killed Fick.
• As Suren’s consciousness faded, he grasped at the Law of Death and answered, "I want it," when a mysterious voice offered him power.

After awakening from death with mutated Mental Power and a newly awakened Death Reaper talent, Suren killed two pirates and tore off his arms to escape Anti-Magic Shackles. He began a Third-Tier advancement ritual aboard the pirate ship as its crew approached.

• Pirates rescued Suren from the sea, confiscated his belongings, and locked him in Anti-Magic Shackles because they wanted the passwords to his Rune Treasure Chests.
• Suren regained control of his body when he heard the pirates abusing prisoners, and his Death God phantom frightened two pirates to death.
• Suren realized Thanatos's Decoy Puppet had caused Mental Power Mutation, greatly increasing his power while threatening to overwhelm his rationality.
• Unable to break the Anti-Magic Shackles, Suren tore off both arms, summoned his Eight-Armed Spider Spear, escaped the chains, and began healing himself.
• Suren used the Diviner's Three-Colored Mask in a Third-Tier advancement ritual and sensed more than eighty pirates approaching through his awakened Soul Perception.

Suren advanced to the third tier amid a massacre aboard the Red Shark Pirates’ ship and discovered that the Death Reaper’s second awakening let him inspect souls and selectively extract complete memories and skills. After the Reaper state triggered dangerous whispers, he began crafting a mithril mask to suppress his mental aberration, only to discover a new benefit of his third-tier advancement.

• Suren advanced while his puppets and Spider Spear slaughtered the pirates, and the Death Reaper phantom revealed a new soul-perception ability.
• Suren tested the phantom and learned to inspect souls, select specific memories or skills, and extract them more completely than before.
• Suren harvested useful information from the pirate chiefs, then heard whispers while activating the second-stage Reaper state and suppressed the resulting disturbance through meditation.
• Suren learned that the Red Shark Pirates’ captain had taken his storage ring, communicator, and Sereia’s Blessing to Blizzard City, while the three prisoners in the hold died by suicide.
• Suren forged a mithril mask to help control his mental aberration and began engraving it, discovering that his new multiple-minds ability made the work unexpectedly effortless.

Suren used his new Multi-Mind Multitasking ability to craft a mask that soothed his unstable mental power, then dismantled and mastered a powerful Mechanical Armor. He sailed to Blizzard City aboard the slaughtered Red Shark Group’s ship and waited for its leader to investigate, preparing to confront him.

• Suren carved a Fourth Tier rune mask with his Spider Spears, painted it as a Clown Mask, and found that it absorbed his excess mental power.
• Suren deduced how to dismantle the Mechanical Armor without triggering its self-destruct mechanism and took it apart to study its components.
• Suren reassembled and controlled the Mechanical Armor, considering how Mental Tentacles and nervous systems could enable a future Mechanical Puppet Legion.
• Suren steered the Red Shark Group’s corpse-filled ship into Blizzard City’s harbor, where its arrival caused alarm and rumors of a ghost ship.
• Suren hid on the docks in his Clown Mask and waited for the Red Shark Group’s leader to arrive; when a bearded man came with disguised companions, Suren recognized them and watched with murderous intent.

Suren followed Captain Bourne into a secluded alley and killed him in a Chessboard space, then searched his soul and recovered information about his stolen belongings. After returning to Blizzard City, Suren headed for the Black Market and spotted Jick, the fur-trading family’s son, whose leg appeared crippled.

• Bourne ordered his men to investigate the Blood Shark and suspected that the missing prisoner’s companions had rescued him.
• Suren followed Bourne and his four subordinates into an alley, then pulled Bourne into the Chessboard space and fought him.
• Bourne attacked Suren with his frog transformations and acid techniques, but Suren used his abilities and the Black Scythe to kill him.
• Suren stripped Bourne’s soul of his Water Element Law comprehension and learned that Bourne had sold Seraya’s Blessing and the Goblin Communicator to the Black Market.
• Suren returned to the alley, took one of Bourne’s lackeys into the Chessboard space, and frightened the remaining pirates into fleeing.
• Suren headed toward the Black Market and recognized Jick, Benson’s fur-trading family’s son, walking with an apparently crippled leg.

Suren watched Jick try to kill Marianne and Laman, then arranged for Jick to survive the city’s punishment. In Blizzard City’s Black Market, Suren tracked down a young woman named Katyusha who had bought his rings, but her elusive soul made him wary as they discussed buying them back.

• Suren saw Jick plant two bombs to attack Marianne and Laman, but secretly disabled the trigger on the final bomb before Jick could die with Laman.
• The City Guard arrested Jick and subjected him to Wind Punishment, while Suren paid a bail deposit to ensure he survived until the next day.
• At the Blackbeard Tavern, Suren overheard three survivors of the Red Shark Pirate Group arguing over a ransom and their lost reputation.
• Suren bought Old Lindun mechanical equipment in the Black Market and spent nearly all his savings while seeking materials and information.
• A local guide led Suren to Katyusha, who confirmed she had bought his two rings and said her teacher wanted her to keep them.
• Suren invited Katyusha to the Star Hotel café to negotiate, then sensed that her soul was strangely difficult to perceive.