Big Recap

Noteworthy Characters

• Aaliyah
• Aditi
• Altera
• Brittlely Bright
• Challenger Sarah
• Cobalins: Bigboy, Blop, Box, Desley, Drool, Figlop, Knock, Rendy, Tin, Tooky, Yogurt
• Devron
• Dhane
• Du Dolly
• Evelyn
• Kevin
• King Gigeneepa
• Kishtenai / Mother of Shadows
• Lumanima Vvitablade
• Nick
• Niveus
• Octoralis
• Penny
• Reditus Kora/Lora
• Reditus Leon
• Ricky
• Tom
• Veritus Scyla

Implicit Skills

Arachnomancer

• Soul Spider
• Spider Rider
• Vibration Sight
• Attuned Hearing
• Arachling Language
• Spider Climb

Assassin

• Improved Agility
• Backstab
• Silent Step
• Shadow Fade
• Summon Mount
• Critical Sight

Skills

Arachnomancer

• Exploding Spider · Lvl. 3
• Venomous Spiders · Lvl. 1
• Modify Vibrations · Lvl. 1
• Web Wall · Lvl. 2
• Spider Armor · Lvl. 1 (The only change)
• (2 unused skill points)

Assassin

• Venom Bite · Lvl. 1
• Venom Extract · Lvl. 1
• Shadow Shift · Lvl. 1

Chapter 1

Honey! I shrunk the Cobalins!

Dhane—the supposed King of Shadows and Hope Bringer—is now the “proud” leader of Dedu Tedu Novus in Terralacoos, the land of lakes. After the cemetery of Shadows was destroyed, Cobalins escape Ceratree City by death and Return in their new village, excited to be free.

The one big problem? War is coming. Lots and lots of war.

So, Dhane comes up with a genius plan to shrink the village, making it impossible to find. What should have been an innocent experiment (with only one possible casualty, that being Knock) turns out to be far more serious. The whole village shrinks, leaving it at the bottom of a perfect sphere with lake water pouring in on all sides.

Chapter 2

Ctrl-Z! Ctrl-Z!

Imminent destruction threatens the new village! Dhane quickly tries to reverse the effect, but… he doesn’t know how. In his search, he finds symbols to create a force field, saving the village at the last second.

Exhausted, he takes a breather and quickly falls asleep. He dreams of a now-destroyed Dedu Tedu, the previous village, and an ancient voice urges him to “Save them.”

Devron—also known as Foot Slayer—discovers a hidden staircase at the center of the village. Dhane and Knock decide to explore it and make sure there are no monsters below. They find a geode room of glowing pink crystals and three massive, mana-generating diamonds. A golem, made of stone and crystal, attacks.

Chapter 3

Sleep Deprivation [Trait]

Knock charges! Octoralis attacks! And Dhane drools at the pretty crystals…

Despite suffering from the Sleep Deprivation trait—that’s robbing him of most of his cognitive ability—he deduces the importance of the large diamonds for the village’s protective barrier. Without them, the village will not survive.

To help in the fight, Dhane grabs a pink crystal and lures giant Quartz Crabs away from Octoralis’s fight with the golem. The chase ends when an enormous creature suddenly appears.

Chapter 4

How to cook a king crab?

Dhane encounters King Gigeneepa, a giant crab desiring mana rather than crystals. While Octoralis fights the Quartz Guardian, Dhane negotiates with the king, offering mana in exchange for protecting the diamonds.

King Gigeneepa is thrilled to be the Captain of the Adamguard and quickly destroys the Quartz Guardian. He then learns that Dhane is from the surface and proposes an alliance, asking the “Surface Kingoo” to help the crabs.

Chapter 5

“I couldn’t possibly defile your name with my unclean lips.” —Rendy

After an attempt to visit the Mother of Shadows fails, Dhane passes out and wakes up at the inn. There is a severe food shortage and idle Cobalins. He struggles with the overwhelming responsibility of being the leader, of being responsible for so many others. With Octoralis’s support, he resolves to do his best.

Chapter 6

Build more pylons

To help alleviate the food problem, Dhane gives Rendy—a proactive Cobalin who is managing the inn—all the breakfast items he took from Challenger Sarah’s guild. He leaves to find Devron and learns about town building. Given how disorganized the previous town—Dedu Tedu—was, Dhane decides on a controlled system.

Devron organizes the Cobalins to scavenge for food while Dhane’s stuck doing the boring work.

Chapter 7

How to make Cobalin pancakes. Step 1…

Dhane appoints Tooky as the official Carrot Master and assigns him a plot of land. The Cobalin couldn’t be happier and gets to work immediately. It’ll provide food, but the village is also in serious need of housing. Dhane experiments with his first blueprint of a cabin and… drops it on a Cobalin.

Good thing no one was watching…

Everyone’s watching.

Chapter 8

A leader delegates (and delegates and delegates some more)

Dhane discovers that blueprints in the village management system are automated, self-assembling constructs that require money and resources. They need more resources…

He appoints Cobalins to leadership roles: Bigboy as the Master of Lumber, Tin as the Master of Cobblestones, Box as the Master of Builders, and Blop as the Master of Thatch. Can never have too much middle management!

Octoralis tests the limits of her range while fighting tainted crabs, providing Dhane with a stream of experience. Knock, who had been missing until now, appears with an urgent quest.

Chapter 9

“I look out the window, and what do I see? Kako Bacon growing on trees!”

Knock leads Dhane to a hidden, moving dungeon, emphasizing the urgency to reach it before it disappears. Inside, it’s nothing like a normal dungeon. It has a blue sky and green hedges and… a bacon tree. A poisonous bacon tree. Knock becomes addicted to cursed Kako Bacon, forcing Dhane to restrain him.

They are attacked by a Staziboar—a boar-like mob that stands upright on two hooves. Dhane, lacking weapons and his soul spider, fights strategically using his Assassin skills and Venomous Spiders, eventually killing the Staziboar. He collects loot, including a powerful polearm, and subdues Knock. As they catch their breath, a horn sounds from deeper within the dungeon, revealing approaching enemies.

Chapter 10

Shadow Fade is kind of awesome

Dhane distracts Knock with the promise of bacon to keep him quiet as Staziboars approach. Hiding in the shadows, Dhane realizes his Shadow Fade skill makes them invisible. After looking around, the Staziboars leave, and Knock’s addiction to Kako Bacon finally ends.

Dhane and Knock work together to defeat the dungeon for loot and money, necessary things for a growing village. Knock reaches level five and gets his mount.

Chapter 11

The slowest mount to ever exist…

Dhane and Knock discover a Dungeon Map that outlines the hedge maze and indicates the boss’s location. Knock reveals his mount, a giant caterpillar he names Green Lightning.

While preparing to tackle the rest of the dungeon, Dhane discovers that the Cobalins were once human children. That’s kind of fucked up… He becomes more determined to protect them.

The two of them navigate traps and confront Staziboars using strategy: Dhane’s skills and Knock’s illusions. Knock levels up and is appointed the Master of Defense.

Chapter 12

Brittlely Bright, Maker and Baker of All Things White

Dhane and Knock enter the boss’s lair after accepting complementary health potions. They encounter Brittlely Bright, a Minotaur dungeon master. She offers them cookies and proposes a peaceful discussion rather than a fight. It’s feedback from the King of Shadows she wants in exchange for loot.

He provides detailed suggestions for optimizing the dungeon’s traps, patrols, and overall layout. Brittlely rewards him with two experience orbs, allowing him to level up to 11. He also receives Katsen Leather Armor. It has a skill to turn him into a cute house cat. Girls will love this trick!

Dhane proposes a partnership to allow Cobalins to train in her dungeon. Brittlely Bright accepts.

To exit the dungeon, Dhane eats a candy skull and dies.

Chapter 13

Terrible news concerning Penny…

Dhane finds himself in the realm of divinities. Octoralis is back. The further from him she traveled, the harder it became, and eventually, she saw white eyes watching her. She never wants to do that again.

The Mother of Shadows and the Sisters of Death are relieved to find him safe. They thought the Changed Reditai had sacrificed his soul for power. Dhane realizes that Penny was taken and sacrificed. He struggles with guilt and anger, wanting to save her but not having the power to do so.

The Mother of Shadows urges him to take a new skill, Spider Armor, to enhance his defenses. Dhane reluctantly agrees as he is pulled back to the land of the living.

Chapter 14

Drafted into the wrong army

Dhane wakes up in a new location, tiny in size, lying on a stone slab. He encounters a giant man who turns out to be a normal-sized priest of Light, while Dhane is minuscule.

He returns to normal size after a brief encounter, vomiting on the priest in the process. Another priest, Kora, takes over, displaying surprising strength and charm. She talks about the mandatory draft for the Army of Light and flirts with him and how, despite sharing the same name as the King of Shadows, he isn’t anything like the king.

They are in Glimmerpond, a town built over a lake on wooden posts. It’s full of people in line, forced to join the war against the King of Shadows. Dhane ends up needing to join the draft along with them, and Kora arranges for a Tester to determine his role.

Chapter 15

Introducing a new class: Archssassin

Agnes, a Tester, uses a device to reveal Dhane’s stats. Despite his efforts to hide his information, his unique class—Archssassin—is exposed. He’s instructed to report to Challenger Terry, which is the absolute last thing Dhane wants to do. He needs to escape before he’s discovered as the King of Shadows.

Chapter 16

Looking fine, Dhanelle!

All Dhane needs is a private moment to transform into an adorkable cat and get the hell out of Glimmerpond. He sneaks out of the line leading up to Challenger Terry and steps into a high-end dress shop. The owner, a flamboyant Du Dolly the Dress Designer, helps “Dhanelle” pick out a dress. With a splash of makeup, Dhanelle proves herself to be quite sexy.

Chapter 17

“Who’s a pretty kitty?”

Katsen Polymorph turns Dhane into a cat, and he sneaks into the other room that actually has a window he can escape from. The room is occupied by the Diamond Royal Azalea and her two friends, wearing nothing but their undergarments.

Dhane gawks. Octoralis chides him. And karma puts Dhane at the center of the young women’s attention. They pick him up and make disparaging remarks about his tiny penis. When asked, “Who’s a pretty kitty?” Dhane replies, in his King of Shadows voice, “I am.”

Chapter 18

Defenestration: the act of throwing someone out the window

Cat-Dhane is promptly defenestrated. He navigates the bustling streets, avoiding guards and blending into the crowd. A kind but eccentric cat lady hides him in her bag, but guards intercept her. Dhane’s cat disguise expires, revealing his true form. In a panic, he equips his bone mask, inadvertently exposing his identity as the King of Shadows. The guards flee in terror and to alert everyone of his presence.

Chapter 19

King Dhanelle

Dhane tries to calm himself and the terrified cat lady by removing his scary bone mask and equipping his jester mask. He then attempts to pass through Glimmerpond’s checkpoint by using a distraction by giving out Kako Bacon. Naturally, the first person he asks is a vegetarian.

He encounters a young woman who believes he is part of the Resistance and allows him to cut in line. However, when it’s his turn, his metallic character sheet displays the name “King of Shadows.”

Dhane tries to delay but is forced forward. Challenger Terry takes the sheet, which Dhane realizes is only reflecting his intent. So, in an effort to change the name, he tries not to think of himself as the King of Shadows. The sheet updates to… King Dhanelle.

A suspicious Challenger Terry forces Dhane to remove his mask.

Chapter 20

Love at first sight

While removing his mask, Dhane invests his skill point into Spider Armor, thinking it will help him against Challenger Terry. The man, however, reacts awkwardly to Dhane’s female disguise, buying into it wholeheartedly.

Dhane uses this to his advantage, securing a marker to access the waypoint. As Dhane leaves, rumors of the King of Shadows’ presence spread, causing panic. Terry calls after him. Instead of running, Dhane maintains his disguise and finds that Terry only wants his contact information for a date. <Awww. Say yes, Daddy!>

At the waypoint stone, Dhane encounters two priests of Light. Just as the waypoint activates, a crowd approaches, and Dhane experiences excruciating pain as he is transported, indicating something has gone terribly wrong.

Chapter 21

Back at Ceratree City’s arena. FFS!

The waypoint transports Dhane to Ceratree City’s arena. He quickly identifies the surrounding guards, adventurers, and priests of Light. But… no one is paying attention to him. The arena is being used to determine leadership rank by competitive duels.

The waypoint is powered by blood magic, which uses health instead of mana. That explains the pain. It’s not a trap. They’re simply using this to get around the locked waypoint problem introduced by declaring war.

Remaining disguised as Dhanelle seems to be in Dhane’s best interest. Of course, Aaliyah—his old ally—sees straight through it and warns him of the dangers he faces. It’s nothing new. Just another day…

Oliver, a nice kid working the waypoint stone, gives Dhane a tour of the arena. During this, Dhane learns about a masquerade party being hosted by the Royals, a rare and prestigious event. Oliver hints that the Veritai will be attending to reveal a secret that will end the war.

Chapter 22

Well… fuck. Dhane can’t run.

Dhane decides to stay and compete for a leadership rank to gather crucial information on the Veritai’s secret plans. After consuming several rounds of free food—storing lots of it for his starving kids—he registers for the competition.

Chapter 23

Who doesn’t want to wear a coat of spiders? /Raises hand/

Sitting in the bleachers for Tier 3 contestants, Dhane watches a low-level duel. He changes into the teal clothing required for the competition. As he waits, he meets Ricky, an Assassin who is experimenting with drugs.

Aaliyah tells Dhane that he has her support.

Dhane, despite his fear, activates his Spider Armor. Anything to help secure a win in the forthcoming duels is worth a little… discomfort. The little demons come out of nowhere. Aaliyah beats the living daylights out of him in an attempt to help—so helpful—and everyone evacuates the bleachers.

Chapter 24

It’s time to duel - queue the fight music!

Dhane is led into a pocket realm for him to choose a weapon. The duel is to test skill, not equipment. The weapons all have white blades until touched, then the weapon duplicates. The dagger he chooses feels alive. Curious, he requests its affinity to find that it’s a trapped soul of Shadow wanting his help. Dhane gives it mana, and it nearly drains him, applying Mana Shock in the process.

Back in the arena, Ricky is Dhane’s opponent. The new dagger helps. It provides instinctual knowledge of how to best use it in a fight, which makes him far more effective than he expected.

Ricky gets an attack in on Dhane, dealing damage to his armor. The match is called off for cheating since an Assassin doesn’t have an armor skill. Escape seems to be the only option now.

Chapter 25

Zapper, no zapping!

Aaliyah interrupts Dhane’s plan to escape, revealing her determination to become a team lead and pick him. The ancient entity chooses this time to whisper <Save them>. So, Dhane relents and allows a guard named Imani to put a Lightning Rope around his wrists and take him down to the Hall of Guilds.

While they walk, Dhane focuses on controlling his life essence. The Lightning Rope uses his essence to shock him. After getting it wrong a few times, her learns to decline such pleasures. Imani gives Dhane a service mark, which functions as a tracking device. It also tracks his daily steps and other useful things.

Chapter 26

You’re not… possessed…

Dhane explores the crowded Hall of Guilds and notices the absence of Cobalins. That’s strange. He had assumed the Cobalins were still here since they weren’t all in his Dedu Tedu Novus.

He spots Challenger Sarah at the nearly empty Sanguis guild and decides to find a seat there to get away from the noise. Sarah attempts to grab him, but he catches her wrist. He believes he’s possessed by his dagger. The dagger says he’s not possessed.

Right…

Sarah lets Dhane stay. He finds a corner table and reads the stats on his possessing dagger. They are strange and oddly linked to his current stats.

A young woman in a white sundress approaches. She has white hair and vibrant red eyes. Her name is Evelyn, a low-level vampire who works at the guild. She asks him for essence, and he agrees. When she gets a taste of him, she realizes he’s a divinity’s Chosen, and she begs to be his blood slave.

The ancient entity whispers <Save them>, and Dhane decides to have Evelyn help him get back to the cemetery of Shadow so he can destroy it again.

Chapter 27

(Anyone think this recap is a little long?)

Evelyn pretends Dhane is her boyfriend—“Don’t get any ideas”—to avoid suspicion as they navigate the Sanguis guild. They proceed to the undercroft, where Evelyn reveals a hidden passage to the labyrinth. It leads them to the cemetery of Shadow, which is still destroyed.

Evelyn realizes Dhane is the King of Shadows. She panics. But Dhane reassures her that he is not the monster she believes. As guards approach, Evelyn decides to trust Dhane and kisses him to give them a reason for being there.

Chapter 28

Mr. Magic Cat’s performance

Dhane and Evelyn are detained in a spacious bathroom—why does heaven have bathrooms?—repurposed as a holding area. Bound by Lightning Ropes, they wait with the other detainees to be processed.

In an effort to remove their Lightning Ropes, Dhane performs a magic trick. With Octoralis’ help, he manages to replace the symbols in the bindings, making them his own and depositing them. The trick impresses everyone and earns him gold coins from the guards.

Imani enters with Reditus Kora—another detainee—who firmly believes that the priests of Light should not be forced into the war. Other guards enter, looking for Evelyn. They take her back to her guild to be punished for breaking their laws.

Chapter 29

How not to be drafted

Dhane undergoes processing, receives a service mark with three black dots, and is quickly returned to the Hall of Guilds. He’s worried about Evelyn’s imminent punishment and blames himself. Whispers pique his curiosity, and he overhears a secret message giving a specific time.

Gorlan, the Master of Arena, commands the crowd to line up by guild entrances. Dhane joins the Assassins’ guild line and attempts to deter leaders from picking him by adding fake negative points to his service mark. This works until Ricky arrives and insists on recruiting Dhane, offering him the role of party leader.

Chapter 30

I am the King of Shadows! No… I’m serious…

Dhane—acting leader of the Hard As Nails squad—quickly recruits Reditus Kora and finds Aaliyah in a familiar bathroom, being held for throwing food at the judges.

Outside the city, they use their squad tent, an item that expands into a shack. It’s barely large enough to hold a door and lantern. But the inside is a spacious and furnished living space.

In private, Aaliyah confronts Dhane about his plans, and he reveals his need to attend the masquerade to uncover the Veritai’s secrets and figure out what happened to the Cobalins.

Dhane reveals his true identity as the King of Shadows to his team, explaining his dual affinities. He also tells them who the Cobalins really are: kids, at least they were initially. The group agrees to support Dhane, recognizing the Changed Reditai as a common enemy.

Ricky shares details about his affiliation with the Resistance. He wants to know what Dhane’s plan is. His plan? It involves lipstick and a dress, much to Octoralis’s delight.

Chapter 31

Look at the cute couple!

Dhane, disguised as a woman, goes on a date with a nervous Challenger Terry. At the party venue, they find life-like stone statues of Cobalins used as decorations. But Dhane knows they are not merely decoration. These are the missing Cobalins.

After a bizarre and popular musical performance by Nick, the meat merchant, Veritus Scyla takes the stage.

Chapter 32

The Fire Opal

Veritus Scyla gives a speech about the dangers posed by those of Shadow. She introduces a new weapon—a dagger and blood crystal—that can trap a soul. She uses it on a fox-like creature named Siiba, turning her into stone.

After this demonstration, Veritus Scyla presents an even better weapon: the Fire Opal. It’s a perfect prison for souls, allowing the Army of Light to permanently remove those of Shadow from Olindale. The ancient entity in Dhane’s soul whispers, <Save them>, all but confirming that this was the point the entire time.

As the demonstration concludes, a group of prisoners, including Tom, Aditi, Kevin, and Reditus Leon, are paraded onto the stage.

Dhane decides to act.

Chapter 33

And you get a bacon, and you get a bacon, and you get a bacon!

Dhane uses all of his Kako Bacon to create a distraction. It works splendidly. Sweet chaos breaks out as the addiction takes hold. Challenger Terry—also known as Tarebear—rushes Veritus Scyla to get the bacon firmly planted in her cleavage. Preoccupied with the charging beast, she drops the Fire Opal.

Using Shadow Shift, Dhane retrieves the Fire Opal and tries to also take the blue crystal necklace from Veritus Scyla’s neck, but it burns his hand.

The Changed Reditai flee, and Dhane works to free the prisoners. They change the symbols on their collars—so that they will Return in Dedu Tedu Novus’s cemetery—and jump to their deaths.

Before Dhane can follow, he hears his name from an impossible voice. Penny?

Chapter 34

She that should not exist…

Dhane pursues the woman through a library and down several flights of stairs. When he catches up, he discovers that it really is Penny, but she’s no longer the Penny he knew. She’s a Changed Reditai with white hair and silver-gold eyes.

Penny attempts to use a sacrificial knife on him. It doesn’t work, as it requires his essence like the Lightning Rope, but Octoralis is keeping it contained. The Changed Reditai know about Evelyn. Dhane believes they will do to her what they did to Penny. He escapes the waiting guards by jumping through a massive stained-glass window to get to her first.

Chapter 35

<Daddy, you hissed!>

Dhane uses his horse, which—naturally—has eight eyes, to race through the city toward the Hall of Guilds. Guards pursue, but Octoralis leads them away.

He storms into Sanguis’s guild and finds Evelyn in a cell. Two Changed Reditai outside the bars are already there. He shows them no mercy, turning them into piles of soulless ash.

He gives Evelyn the Fire Opal and his collar, and then Octoralis kills her in one attack to the back to send her to safety. But it is then that Challenger Sarah steps in, and he finds himself trapped.

Chapter 36

“Your ass… well, you understand, I’m sure.” <Daddy! That’s rude!>

Challenger Sarah, outraged, demands to know what he’s done with Evelyn. Dhane spots a collar in the ash and attempts to get it, but he’s unable to Shadow Shift through the cell bars. He needs Sarah to unlock the cell, so he uses his King of Shadows persona to taunt her.

It doesn’t work… (And way to poke the vampire!) Challenger Sarah picks up on what he’s after and deposits the collar to her inventory.

Dhane tries to summon a portal to the realm of divinities, but this, too, doesn’t work. He’s stuck. Or maybe not. A single point of pink light shifts into the shape of a flower petal. It becomes a moving dungeon entrance.

Octoralis blocks the door. And Dhane jumps through the portal.

Chapter 37

<Hiii hiii!> —Zizi, the MVP spider

Dhane steps into Brittlely Bright’s dungeon. He tells her she needs to move the dungeon again. She says that’s impossible. It will break her reality. But if she doesn’t, then all those of Light will invade, and her core will be destroyed.

She agrees to move the dungeon, but not before Challenger Sarah and her guards enter. The dungeon breaks. The sky cracks. The world tilts. And Dhane fights Sarah until they are the last two.

She puts the collar on him, which is linked to the wrong cemetery. He releases his spider armor to get her to let go, then contains his essence and removes the collar, placing it on her instead.

Before he dies from a bleed effect, he tells her to go home.

Chapter 38

Atempius, the Fallen divinity of hope

In the realm of divinities, Dhane confronts the Mother of Shadows about the Cobalins being kids. She explains that the divinities have strict rules, and she couldn’t tell him.

The ancient entity that has been helping him was a Fallen divinity named Atempius, a divinity that broke the rules and was replaced. He refused to move on until he knew the Cobalins were safe. He used his death in Brittlely Bright’s dungeon to show her where Dhane was and how to save him.

The Mother of Shadows tells Dhane to trust his instincts. She chose him for a reason. And before he Returns, she reveals her name as Kishtenai.

Epilogue

Home sweet home

Dhane wakes in Dedu Tedu Novus beneath the dome of water. The village is still tiny, hidden away from the dangers of the world. The Cobalins and refugees are excited to see him.

Knocks asks about his Desley. Dhane gets the Fire Opal back and uses the mind interface to release her. He would also release the others, but he needs to build up the village first. Lots to do!

He attends to various village matters: buys Cobalins clothing, gives his Ring of Strength to Bigboy, checks on Tooky’s carrot farm, and pays King Gigeneepa in mana (plus interest). Exhausted, Dhane returns to the inn only to find Evelyn asleep in his bed. He lays down next to her and passes out.

Later, he wakes in time for dinner. Nick is handing out steaks to very excited Cobalins. Desley Returns to find Knock is the Master of Defense. Everyone seems to be getting along well until a scream pulls their attention to the cemetery.

Dhane rushes there. The dungeon portal is gone. Standing at the center is Challenger Sarah, holding a torn collar in one hand and her phone in the other. He Shadow Shifts forward and uses the sacrificial knife on her, but not before she sends their location to the Army of Light.

Epilogue 2

A diamondoo is missing!

King Gigeneepa, Captain of the Adamguard, takes his responsibility very seriously, which is why he’s quite distraught to find one of the giant diamonds missing and a naked man standing in the pink geode room.

Epilogue 3

A mad Tarebear…

Challenger Terry is very, very upset.