Overpowered Wizard

Zarian took his time to relax in the high-quality bed and comforters, even though that was hard for him. His mind whirred with flashes of his dreams, some of which might not have been dreams.

He recalled his adopted daughter coming to the defense of Ride-or-Die Village at their hour of need. After the battle, various figures had gotten drawn toward her like moths to flame.

None of the figures seemed like immediate threats, but their intentions could make things awkward at family gatherings.

There was also the issue with Ekri the freaking Tailor.

A part of Zarian wanted to skip-and-a-hop over to the village to check in. He didn’t follow that inclination because he wanted to trust Foodie could handle herself. She was on a journey of discovery, and the young goblin woman needed time to settle with her life away from Grimrock.

Ah, yeah, I destroyed Grimrock. In fact, he could recall putting the moons through the wringer as well. What the hell got into me and Naomi? Why did we go so far?

Zarian palmed his face and moaned. With a sweep of Aura Mastery + Devourer of Secrets and Stories, he could tell how much time had passed since the climactic wizard-versus-cultivator fight.

The hedges outside of the cabin were shriveling, turning shades of darker colors, preparing for the coming of winter. He figured he was in Mid Autumn still, maybe close to turning over to Late Autumn.

He’d been out for a while, long enough for a lot to change, long enough for him to miss out on Bianca and Gilbert ranking up, if they somehow found a decent enough challenge to push them to Level 100. That gave him a positive rise in excitement, but it also brought him back to square one.

“Do not put the blame on just yourself. In fact, I blame Naomi more.”

Para slithered from around Zarian’s back with the head and body of a dark-red and leathery serpent. She’d taken on more of the serpent motif lately, which Zarian hadn’t questioned much.

Shapeshifting as a snake seemed to fit Para along with being his cloak or his kilt. No matter what shape she took, she spoke with eloquence and intelligence.@@novelbin@@

“Her pursuit of power for her dao has blinded her to the costs. She’s gone too far in leveraging you and risking herself. But I’m getting ahead of the conversation. I think Ruvaria could explain things better.”

Zarian kept his mouth shut. He could hear Para readying herself for an argument if he tried to refute the placement of blame. He also knew he was biased.

His dreams had a linchpin of safety that revolved around Naomi. He retreated to that when things became too much for him, regardless of his dreams being visions of what was happening currently or just a mess of things that his eldritch mind could conjure.

Focusing on what he’d learned from his Devourer of Secrets and Stories, Zarian knew the cabin he was in had legendary materials and enchantments all designed by Ruvaria. He knew he was near the Stone Sea River, but on the side closer to Crossdeath and other places he’d seen.

He still had to cross the Stone Sea river to get to the Windy Strider Kingdom and link up with the others.

But how could he just up and go? The Grimrock Castle Mountains were gone, and the World of Castles and Caverns was forever changed.

It was night outside. The darkest shades felt sharper, more dangerous, more animalistic. They waited like a pack of wolves for him to lead them out on the hunt again.

Zarian wasn’t sure how to feel about that just yet, since it looked like his sealing style hadn’t failed him outright.

Raising his hands, the greater cuffs on his wrists remained intact. The durability of Corma Dwarf Adamantium remained a high point, at least for now, at least on the surface.

When he delved deeper into himself, he saw some troubling signs. The inky blot in his soul was covering more distance.

Zarian sighed. The thing he worried about most had sped up.

Sealing Entropy.

The eventual breakdown of all sealing techniques. He would need to advance his sealing style and maybe get better cuffs.

“You know what’s screwed up?” Zarian asked.

“What?” Para hissed.

The wizard shifted into a seat, his lion tail unwrapping from around his waist. It felt a little stiff after being stuck in an awkward position for nearly two months. 𐍂ΑꞐộΒÈṡ

Taking his time before answering, he stretched his tail and let it wave behind him as it wanted. Para’s serpent body wound from the middle of his back, coiling smoothly around his shoulders and neck.

“Hitting Three Percent Darkness was kind of fun.” A small smile lit up his face. “In that moment, I stopped Overwhelming Darkness from taking over and I bested the monster that Naomi’s becoming. But only for a moment.” His smile dimmed. “Now … I can only hope Naomi’s alright and that the damages aren’t horrific.”

“She is alright, as far as you can describe someone in her state with the world ‘alright,’” Para said. “However, it is best that Ruvaria explains further. Just make sure to brace yourself.”

“I know, I know,” Zarian said.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

With his aura, he saw Ruvaria reading a slim book in the kitchen area, which was sectioned off from the sleeping chambers.

The cabin was a big, fancy place. Almost like a rich person’s lodge while nestled in a beautiful glade surrounded by formidable hedges, courtyards filled with ancient, vine-covered statues, and darkened towers.

They were in a subtle valley between two fortress hillocks that might’ve been part of the foothills belonging to the formerly formidable Grimrock Castle Mountains.

Zarian swept his aura and devourer traits south of the cabin where Grimrock should be. It was truly gone. He and Naomi had demolished it.

Granted, that was mostly on him. He’d unleashed more power than what was suitable for the setting.

“It all felt like a dream,” Zarian said, looking up at the ceiling. “It’s hard to believe I was that guy who wrecked the mountains and the moons.”

“You certainly are him.” Para nuzzled against his cheek. “A dangerous and apocalyptic host, you are. But who am I to judge? I’m a man-eating article of clothing.”

Zarian chuckled. Para laughed with a hiss. They kept Ruvaria waiting, but that seemed to be okay.

The elf empress continued to flip slowly through her slim book, so Zarian turned his attention to the dinging noises in the back of his head. They were growing steadily louder for the past few minutes, and Zarian was sure the Star System wanted him to acknowledge his notifications before moving on.

That was fine with him.

<Your freedom alignment (Free Evil +5) grew: +7!>

<Your skill, Overwhelming Darkness, leveled up from 23 to 40!>

<Your skill, Lion Prince, leveled up from 6 to 9!>

<Your skill, Parasite Cloak +3, leveled up from 81 to 82!>

<Your skill, Spectral Spider Network +3, leveled up from 74 to 76!>

<Your skill, Intense Arcana Hat, leveled up from 9 to 15!>

<Your skill has advanced! From Intense Arcana Hat to Intense Arcana Hat +1!>

<Your skill, Grand War Mage Body Furnace, leveled up from 3 to 9!>

<Your skill, Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile +2, leveled up from 35 to 48!>

<You’ve leveled up from 106 to 115! +54 Willpower, +18 Wonder, +27 Mysticism, +108 Free dispensed!>

<Achievement rewarded! Planetary Terraformer (Unopened)!>

<Achievement rewarded! Moon Wrecker (Unopened)!>

<Achievement rewarded! Civilization Terrorizer (Unopened!)>

<You’ve grown, earning +10 Willpower, +2 Agility, +5 Wonder, +5 Mysticism!>

Zarian let out a low whistle at all of his gains. He could feel himself becoming more willful especially from having over 50 points dumped on the Willpower stat.

He was surprised the most by how much he’d grown from one fight with Super Naomi. He might’ve gotten levels from demolishing a range of castle mountains and damaging two freaking moons.

If it wasn’t for the penalty of being in a Lesser World when he should be in a Greater World, then he might’ve gotten more levels and stat points.

He imagined that Naomi’s Dao of Power would yield some ridiculous growth. She wasn’t here right now, which was a little worrisome, but Zarian felt the tranquility inside of the cabin should mean that things were okay with Naomi.

Ruvaria wouldn’t just sit there calmly, reading her book, while holding back some negative news about Naomi’s condition.

Or maybe she would.

He didn’t want to become too paranoid. He had free evil +7 now, which was scary to behold. He imagined if he delved deep enough into his free evil, his genius and cunning would be monstrous. He might not want to lean too far into that unless the situation called for it.

Zarian moved onto the next thing on the list. He checked the changes that came with Intense Arcana Hat +1.

<Intense Arcana Hat +1 (Level 15): Improve all aura abilities and increase your mental capacity intensely. Scales with Wonder and Mysticism. Advancements: +1 doubles the potency and prowess of this skill at the base level. Concentrate with even more intensity to increase benefits.>

“Oh, I like that,” Para hissed. “Should we try it on?”

Zarian’s nappy head was without an arcana hat. After some thought, he decided against summoning the hat just yet. “Later. Let’s check the achievements.”

Para nodded her serpent-style head as Zarian opened up his achievements.

<Achievements opened!>

<Planetary Terraformer (Mythical): You’ve terraformed a planet while in the early Level 100s. Not only is that terrifying, that’s just plain ridiculous. Most Master Rankers aren’t destroying mountains until they’re well past Level 150. You wiped out an entire mountain range and made it easier for people to reach another area on the continent. Hence, +150 Wonder.>

<Moon Wrecker (Mythical): Why the moons? What did the moons do to you? You couldn’t satisfy yourself with demolishing just one moon, either. You’ve wrecked two moons with one attack. Take this reward, you moon wrecker: +150 Mysticism.>

<Civilization Terrorizer (Mythical): Do you have any idea how many people you’ve scared across one continent? One world? They all knew it was you being up to no good with your ridiculously destructive fighting. At the very least, you didn’t destroy the universe again. Here’s +150 Willpower.>

Zarian fell backward. Para grew larger and wound around the bed.

The dump in stats was no small thing. Having an extra 450 shared by Willpower, Wonder, and Mysticism had him reeling.

His soul and mind became more willful. His sense of magical power and luck grew greater. His technical touch for magic grew finer along with his aura recovery.

Para was also heavily affected since she scaled with Willpower, Wonder, and Mysticism. Their connection as host and parasite became greater, enhancing Zarian’s body while raising his appetite.

By the time he settled down, he noticed Para had grown more serpent bodies, with each one as broad as his torso. Each dark red and leathery serpent stretched and slithered about, fork tongue flicking out from their many mouths, as if she was a hydra in search of food.

“We’ll eat soon,” Zarian said. “Let me deal with the Free Points first.”

Para hissed in agreement, seeming to act more bestial for the moment. She wasn’t herself when she was hungry, and Zarian didn’t feel like himself either. His ravenous appetite came with gut wrenching pain.

Thankfully, he had a lot of Willpower. He also had enough Free Points to make either his Willpower, Wonder, or Mysticism hit 1000 stats for another achievement.

“Willpower is becoming more important for me,” he said. “And my class as the Conquest Wizard seems to like it. It also makes you more powerful, Para. So let’s push Willpower to 1000, and I’ll put the rest in Wonder so it can keep up.”

Zarian invested his points and rode out the changes. He opened up the epic achievement, One Thousand Willpower, and gained +50 Willpower. His base stats now looked like this while factoring no buffs:

Willpower: 1050

Strength: 127

Agility: 142

Wonder: 982

Mysticism: 954

Free Points: 0

Total Stats: 3,255

With Overpowered Times Two factored in, then his total stats came out as 4,069effortlessly or 4,883 with effort. By factoring his other soft and hard buffs, his range of power went up even more based on stats alone.

It was all ridiculous. It also made Zarian and Para starving.

But wait, there was one last thing Zarian wanted to check.

He pulled up his rank. Last time he saw it, he was in the high 4000s. That wasn’t the case anymore.

Rank: Master (31st Mage).