Chapter Summaries

Four new players received beginner quests, and the veterans organized teams to guide them while promoting their clothing. The players split up to complete their quests, with [Dark Archmage] heading south alone to hunt Vine Sheep.

• Ed gave the four newcomers a choice of land reclamation, gathering, or combat quests and asked the veterans to help them.
• [Good Times Don't Last] and [Shit Appraisal Master] offered to carry the newcomers in exchange for buying their clothing.
• [Dawn Ah] joined [Good Times Don't Last] to reclaim land, while [Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger] and [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] joined [Shit Appraisal Master] to hunt monsters.
• [Howling Pothos] advised [Dark Archmage] on fighting alone after she said she preferred to play solo.
• The ten players split into four teams: the two middlemen took three newcomers on quests, four veterans went to Upperstream Village to repair a roof, and [Dark Archmage] headed south toward marked Vine Sheep locations.

Ed asked Seraphina about dragons and the nature of domains, learning how their powers and the Demonic Tide affected the world. He left with a clearer understanding of domains and continued seeking knowledge about dragons.

• Seraphina explained that dragons had different bloodline powers, and that her abilities centered on flame, with lesser powers over metal, space, and secret pacts.
• Ed realized that Seraphina's bank accounts were pacts whose protections grew stronger with the value of the metal used.
• Seraphina defined a domain as a powerful being's ability to impose rules on an area and explained how her domain protected her coins and Dragonborn Village from the Demonic Tide.
• Seraphina warned that domains could not prevent every danger and that their casters risked stronger erosion, mental collapse, and devastating backlash.
• Ed connected Baron Tuer's failed attempt to protect his family with the dangers of domains, then asked Seraphina to continue teaching him about dragons.

Ed learned that dragons’ instincts and treasured collections could drive them to defend their domains even at the cost of their lives, and that dragons often fought when they met. He offered Seraphina his help in future conflicts in exchange for a higher credit limit.

• Seraphina explained that Amber Dragons preserve humans they collect by stopping time, leaving them to decay inside amber-like stasis.
• Seraphina estimated that several dozen dragons had survived the Demonic Tide, though many may have died protecting their domains and collections.
• Seraphina said dragons’ cherished pursuits helped them preserve their identities over their long lives.
• Seraphina told Ed that dragons normally lived far apart, and Ed inferred that they fought when they encountered one another.
• Ed offered to assist Seraphina if she went to war with another dragon, asking her to lend him more money in return.

[Dark Archmage] resisted a strange fruit’s influence and watched a Vine Sheep gorge itself until it fell from a tree. She accepted the combat quest and completed it by poking the dying monster, then was directed to claim her reward from Ed.

• [Dark Archmage] ignored the beginner quests at first and headed into the wilderness to see which task she could complete most easily.
• [Dark Archmage] resisted the fruit’s compulsion and decided to record the plant for the bestiary rather than warn the other players.
• [Dark Archmage] watched a Vine Sheep climb a tree with its vines and eat several fruits until it fell and lay dying.
• [Dark Archmage] accepted the combat quest and poked the Vine Sheep, completing the quest.
• [Dark Archmage] read the completion notice and wondered why it praised her courage and strength.

[Good Times Don't Last] helped [Dawn Ah] farm while explaining that players’ real bodies remained asleep during the game, and [Dawn Ah] warned that their motionless condition resembled a vegetative state. Elsewhere, [Shit Appraisal Master] guided two newcomers through their first hunt and warned them that too many corpses could summon the [Rat King].

• [Good Times Don't Last] told [Dawn Ah] that veteran players’ real bodies stayed asleep and showed no movement beyond steady breathing.
• [Dawn Ah] identified this state as a vegetative state, alarming [Good Times Don't Last] and prompting him to wonder if he was effectively dead in real life.
• [Dawn Ah] decided he needed to record himself and tell his advisor about the game’s unexplained immersion.
• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] killed a Vine Sheep with her shovel while [Shit Appraisal Master] helped the newcomers finish their beginner quest.
• [Shit Appraisal Master] explained their options for turning in quests or taking repair work, then warned that piles of monster corpses could attract the [Rat King].

[Shit Appraisal Master] explained death and logout rules to two new players, who planned their work around the costs and safe zones. Meanwhile, Bishop Duolin toured his diocese, warned Midstream Village about impostors, and was left facing an unexpectedly silent crowd.

• [Shit Appraisal Master] told [Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger] that resurrection costs depended on how much of a corpse was recovered, and advised players to log out in safe zones.
• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] and [Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger] decided to patch roofs for money before returning to the castle in the evening.
• Bishop Duolin ignored Yiden's advice, rode toward the three villages, avoided Dragonborn Village, and continued to Midstream Village.
• The chief of Dragonborn Village watched the riders leave and sent a guard to inform the castle about them.
• Duolin introduced himself to Midstream Village as its new bishop, warned the villagers that only his tax collector was legitimate, and ordered them to report suspicious visitors.
• The villagers remained silent after Duolin's speech, so he singled out a younger villager and called him forward.

Duolin’s patrol mistakenly believed villagers were hiding something from the church, but the villagers interpreted his visit as an attempt by apostates to collect taxes twice. Meanwhile, [Do Some Farm Work] uncovered a basement while players mixed cement, leaving them curious about what lay below.

• Duolin questioned a villager, then learned the village might already have paid its taxes and promised not to collect them again.
• The villagers decided Duolin’s party were apostates and sent the young man to tell Lord Adrian, hoping to earn a longer tax exemption.
• [Zhongde] directed players mixing primitive cement, but the mortar drained through a hole opened by [Do Some Farm Work]’s flying shovel.
• [Howling Pothos] warned the others that the ground might collapse as [Do Some Farm Work] crawled to the opening and discovered a basement.

[Zhongde], [Great Wei Boxing Champion], and [Howling Pothos] discovered that the hole beneath the village was the entrance to a rogue mage’s cabin, which killed [Do Some Farm Work] as it emerged from underground. The cabin finished appearing at the village entrance, and [Howling Pothos] realized it was putting down roots.

• [Do Some Farm Work] explored the basement and was crushed by the closing floor, becoming a headless corpse.
• [Zhongde] and [Great Wei Boxing Champion] recognized the basement from Kaping’s story about a rogue mage’s cabin, and the ground began to shake.
• [Zhongde], [Great Wei Boxing Champion], and [Howling Pothos] set aside [Do Some Farm Work]’s body and prepared to face the emerging boss.
• Kaping arrived at the village entrance and realized that the story his grandfather had told was true.
• The wooden cabin emerged fully from the ground and stood motionless as the players watched.
• [Howling Pothos] noticed the cabin putting down roots and warned the others to be careful.

Howling Pothos, Zhongde, and Great Wei Boxing Champion fought a wooden monster attacking Upperstream Village while Kaping called for Bishop Adrian's help. Ed learned that the Tree Worship Church was also heading toward the area and ordered nearby Soul Returners to join the fight.

• Howling Pothos pushed Zhongde and Great Wei Boxing Champion out of the way of wooden spikes erupting from the ground beneath the mage's hut.
• Howling Pothos assigned himself to draw the monster's attention, sent Zhongde to attack, and told Great Wei Boxing Champion to fetch reinforcements, but Kaping said he could contact Bishop Adrian.
• Ed saw the battle through the leaf fused into Kaping and learned that a player had been killed by the wooden hut monster.
• Good Times Don't Last told Ed that a half-dragon was waiting by the bank, and the guard reported that the Tree Worship Church had passed Dragonborn Village toward Midstream Village.
• Ed ordered Good Times Don't Last to gather every nearby Soul Returner to help against the monster and the Tree Worship Church.

Players accepted two emergency quests tied to Upperstream Village: protecting it from an aberration and confronting five Tree Worship Church apostates. As several players headed to join the defense, Good Times Don't Last hired dragonborn mercenaries for backup.

• Three players accepted both emergency quests and learned from a messenger that five apostates had left Midstream Village for Upperstream Village.
• Shit Appraisal Master told the messenger they served Bishop Adrian, then explained to Pond Fish and Old Abyss that villagers regarded players as elite warriors and Ed as a bishop.
• Good Times Don't Last, Dawn Ah, and Dark Archmage accepted the quests and prepared to support the fight at Upperstream Village.
• Good Times Don't Last ruled out hiring the sleeping Seraphina and used Ed's panel to hire dragonborn mercenaries for twenty silver per person per day.

Duolin and four Tree Worship Church clerics reached Upperstream Village and joined three men fighting a wooden house monster. The men welcomed them as allies, though their groups had not yet coordinated.

• [Good Times Don't Last] hired a young Dragonborn Village guard and brought him along to fight a powerful enemy.
• Duolin rode toward Upperstream Village, wondering about the villagers’ condition and blaming the apostate for their suffering.
• After hearing a scream, Duolin led the clerics through the fleeing villagers and found a headless body and three men battling a wooden house monster.
• Duolin shot the red target in the monster’s window with a hardwood arrow, staggering the creature.
• Duolin ordered the Holy See guards into the fight, and the three men hailed them as allies.

Duolin and the warriors fought the wooden house monster, which entered a more dangerous phase and badly wounded [Howling Pothos]. After Duolin rescued him from the monster’s crushing attack, [Howling Pothos] told him to target its legs.

• Duolin realized the newcomers were likely fellow members of the Tree Worship Church and transformed his hand into a wooden axe after hearing that axes could harm the monster.
• The wooden house monster opened its door and spat out a severed head before changing shape and revealing red lights inside its maw.
• The monster fired a wooden spike through [Howling Pothos] and pinned him to the ground.
• The monster leaped into the air and crushed the ground beneath it, but Duolin dragged [Howling Pothos] out of the impact zone.
• [Howling Pothos] told Duolin to chop the monster’s legs first, and Duolin shouted the order to the others.

Duolin, [Zhongde], [Great Wei Boxing Champion], and the garrison soldiers fought the wooden-house monster, losing [Zhongde]'s left arm but managing to cripple the monster's hind legs. They began chopping into its body, and two glass vessels fell from a hole in its wall and shattered.

• Duolin took command and used ranged attacks while [Zhongde] and [Great Wei Boxing Champion] chopped at the wooden-house monster's hind legs.
• Vines caught [Zhongde] and began pulling him toward the monster's maw, so [Great Wei Boxing Champion] rushed in and cut the vines.
• When the vines kept threatening [Zhongde], [Great Wei Boxing Champion] severed his left arm, allowing the vines to consume it.
• Duolin and another garrison soldier chopped through a hind leg, diverting the monster's wooden stakes, which struck a nearby villager's house.
• [Zhongde], [Great Wei Boxing Champion], and the garrison soldiers severed the other hind leg and began chopping the monster's walls.
• Two glass vessels fell through a hole in the monster's wall and shattered on the ground.

Duolin ordered the group to retreat into Upperstream Village and fight the wooden house monster in the streets, but the monster began demolishing the village and the defenders were overwhelmed. As villagers prayed for Bishop Adrian, a youthful voice gave the command “Hang Upside Down,” prompting Kaping to remember how Baron Tuer had defeated the monster a hundred years earlier.

• After a guard lost his leg, Duolin ordered the surviving fighters to lure the wooden house monster into Upperstream Village.
• [Zhongde] and [Great Wei Boxing Champion] followed Duolin’s order, while the monster pursued them and ignored the fallen guards.
• Kaping struggled to remember how the monster had been defeated before as villagers watched it destroy their homes.
• The monster countered the fighters’ tactics by demolishing houses and walls, injuring two more guards and forcing Duolin’s group to retreat.
• Kaping and the villagers prayed for Bishop Adrian as the battle turned desperate.
• A youthful voice commanded, “Hang Upside Down,” and Kaping remembered that Baron Tuer had buried the monster alive using a family secret technique.

Ed and the reinforcements turned the battle against the wooden house monster around while helping the wounded and resurrecting Do Some Farm Work. The fighting continued on even terms as Ed began stitching Do Some Farm Work’s head back onto his body.

• Ed used his psionic power to lift the wooden house monster, then directed the reinforcements to help the wounded.
• Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger used a vine bandage to stop Howling Pothos’s bleeding and followed his instructions to retrieve the dead players.
• Howling Pothos told Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger to bring Do Some Farm Work’s remains to Ed for resurrection.
• Ed’s interference and the others’ attacks kept the wooden house monster from recovering, while Duolin’s squad and the reinforcements fought it on even terms.
• Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger paid ten silver coins for Do Some Farm Work’s resurrection, and Ed began joining his head to his body with vines.

[Do Some Farm Work] revived and returned to the fight against the wooden house monster as Ed rejected Kaping’s suggestion to bury it again. As the battle wore on, [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] awakened a Deadwood Vine implant and gained control of it.

• [Do Some Farm Work] saw his revival progress reach 100% and logged back into the battlefield.
• [Do Some Farm Work] took an axe from [Howling Pothos] and joined the fight against the wooden house monster.
• Kaping told Ed that Baron Tuer had once buried the monster underground, but Ed refused to let it survive.
• [Good Times Don't Last] and the others noticed that the monster’s vines were turning dark red as it weakened.
• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] pierced her neck with the Deadwood Vine, passed the implant check, and felt a third hand.

Ed and the players killed the wooden house monster by severing its tentacles and crashing it roof-first with Ed’s new Chaos technique. After the battle, Little Green tried to eat Ed’s Territory Secret Pact, and [Howling Pothos] swung an axe at [Pond Fish and Old Abyss].

• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] trapped the wooden house monster’s tentacles with vines and shouted for the others to cut them before she bled to death.
• Ed used Hang Upside Down to lift the monster while Duolin leaped in and severed its tentacles.
• Ed used his new Chaos command to disorient the blinded monster, which crashed roof-first and died.
• The players and Church guards attacked the monster’s remains as its flesh dissolved and its roots absorbed its nutrients.
• Little Green tried to eat the Territory Secret Pact, so Ed placed it inside a slit in his forearm for it to digest without interfering with his use of the bead.
• [Howling Pothos] hopped over to [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] and swung an axe at her head.

After defeating the monster in Upperstream Village, Ed and the players received their quest settlements and turned on the Church guards they suspected were Tree Worship Church apostates. Duolin was restrained by Ed as the arrests began.

• [Howling Pothos] cut the blood-draining vine from [Pond Fish and Old Abyss], who survived and received her quest settlement.
• Little Green sent players their settlements, while several players suspected the remaining emergency quest concerned the Church guards.
• [Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger] and [Good Times Don't Last] treated the wounded guards, and Duolin mistook the players for fellow Church elites.
• Duolin approached Ed to ask about capturing the apostates, but Ed clasped his hand and shouted, "Arrest the apostates!"
• The players' outlines marked the five Church guards as enemies, and they began arresting them.
• Ed restrained Duolin with barbed vines and covered his mouth as he protested that it was a misunderstanding.

After the players captured five Church guards, Ed Adrian reassured the villagers of Upperstream Village and offered them a new home beside Shattered Castle. The villagers faced the loss of their ruined village as Ed began turning the crisis into a chance to bring them closer to the castle.

• The players subdued and bound the five Church guards, completing the emergency quest and earning rewards based on their contributions.
• The villagers gathered around Kaping and thanked Ed Adrian for saving them, then asked what they should do after their homes were destroyed.
• Ed realized the villagers trusted him and that he needed their support if he wanted to establish himself in the world.
• Ed urged the villagers to relocate for their safety and promised the Church’s elite warriors would help rebuild their village.
• Kaping asked where the new settlement would be, and Ed pointed to the open ground beside Shattered Castle.

Ed persuaded the villagers of Upperstream Village to relocate by offering to build them new homes, and the players began salvaging materials from the ruined village. He then confronted the bound Duolin, who insisted there had been a misunderstanding, and Ed accused him of refusing to talk.

• Ed offered to build new homes for the villagers of Upperstream Village in exchange for relocating them, and warned the hesitant villagers about the dangers of staying.
• The villagers decided to leave, and Ed told them to pack their belongings for departure in half an hour.
• Ed gave the players a quest to recover reusable building materials from the village ruins, and they began searching with the visual assistance feature.
• Ed approached the vine-bound Duolin and freed his mouth, but Duolin claimed there had been a misunderstanding.
• Ed rejected Duolin's explanation and said he still did not intend to speak.