Overpowered Wizard

“Gracias, Bianca!” Zarian cheered, lounging comfortably in a high-back chair at the head of the dining table.

To his right was the open kitchen area where Bianca had crafted a feast that was her best cooking yet. She’d served platters of fluffed and scrambled gryphon eggs, crispy and spicy kraken calamari, baked sweet breads made from rare island crops, and more.

Bianca had even used some of their dwindling supply of Reiki’s uncommon coffee to top off their meal.

Zarian held a piping hot and steaming mug of the coffee in his right hand. He enjoyed the aroma and taste of every sip.

To think, Reiki would most likely have a higher quality coffee supply back home. She was an epic dungeon now. Somewhere in the Level 90s. She might even become a legendary dungeon soon.

Looking to his left, Zarian saw through the ceiling-to-floor windows the many island settlements below. From one corner, Zarian saw Hanger City carved out of the inner face of the continental wall next to the Floridian Hotel.

There were even great avians nesting near the city, some the size of elephants. When airborne, they soared with their magnificent fifty-foot wings spread wide.

Zarian watched one plow through mist cloud after mist cloud and release a resounding cry, banking past the citizens of Hanger City.

The people gave the creature no mind as they went about their day. They moved on stone lanes with no guard rails, with no safety nets. It was as if the mile-long drop below them was of no concern.

Cognizant of those economical tunnels, Hannah had only fixed the detrimental breaks in the continental wall. She’d left the tunnels – the life channels of the city – alone.

Returning his attention to the table, Zarian watched as Bianca, Hannah, Gilbert, Dawson, and Gisella feasted with him.

The latter two sat in one corner of the dining table, having gotten invited for breakfast because of their exemplary work while befriending Gilbert and not pissing off Hannah. The Storm Blaster strider and Blessed Cleric paladin remained mostly silent while the personalities of the Floridians took over most conversations.

Although, it was really Zarian and Hannah who’d dominated most of the conversation while speaking in Spanish, per Bianca’s request. At this point in their adventure, Spanish was as natural as speaking English for the Floridians.

“Si, gracias, Bianca, the meal was a pleasure,” Hannah said quickly, interrupting her part of the nerd jam session.

Bianca graced Hannah and Zarian with a queenly nod. The young twenty-year-old woman then raised her head smarmily. She shone with a light that encapsulated most of the open dining kitchen area.

Dawson and Gisella kept getting caught up with Bianca’s queenly charm. They thanked her profusely, using the limited Spanish they knew. Bianca, of course, kept acting even smarmier and shinier.

Zarian held back a chuckle at the ballooning ego of their Radiant Queen. He turned his attention back to the Runic Artificer, Hannah seeming to collect her thoughts after reaching the peak of their conversation.

“So, let me get this straight for myself and for the others who need things repeated to them like children,” Hannah said.

“I can hear your wrinkles folding from old age, Hannah,” Bianca retorted haughtily.

The epic dining chair under Bianca disintegrated.

The Radiant Queen, however, didn’t fall. She continued sitting regally with nothing but air under her, supported purely by the Strength of her bent legs.

Then she slowly stood up, maintaining her queenly bearing, looking expectantly at Dawson and Gisella.

The Storm Blaster clapped loudly for her. The Blessed Cleric nodded approvingly.

Bianca’s smarmy shininess only brightened.

Hannah looked pointedly at Zarian as if saying, ‘Do you see what I had to deal with for an entire season?’

She could’ve sent that straight to him through the spider network. But there was no need. The irritation on her face was clear enough.

“Be patient with young Bianca, dear Hannah. She is still grasping at the path set for her by a power above us all,” Gilbert said with a hint of his new holier-than-thou smugness.

Zarian lost his smile and frowned. It was hard to look at Gilbert.

The man was missing half of his face. The mustache and beard were gone!

Zarian glowered at the clean-shave and slicked gelled hair that made Gilbert look like one of those church nuts who kept knocking on people’s doors. Gilbert even wore a neat white long sleeve shirt, black slacks, and black loafers, his hands folded in front of him after he neatly ate his portion of breakfast.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Bianca didn’t seem to mind this version of Gilbert, especially when he came to her defense. Her smarminess brightened further, becoming a little blinding for Dawson.

Zarian felt a little bothered, too, at least as an entity of darkness and free evil. “I get the feeling, dear Gilbert, this extreme makeover of yours will not last.”

“My body is a temple, and so I’m treating it as so. This is part of my path of becoming better,” Gilbert said, again with a hint of being holier-than-thou. “You can follow my example and see for yourself how much better it is. Maybe that’ll help you on your misguided path, dear Zarian.”

Zarian fidgeted in his seat. The extremes between Ganja Gilbert from yesterday and Holier-Than-Thou Gilbert today were a little trippy. The latter bugged Zarian the most

It was as if the Christian was waging a subtle war against the Ultra God.

Zarian growled, his tail shifting with agitation around his waist.

Hannah sighed. “Let’s ignore them and get back on topic, Zarian.”

“There is no ignoring me!” Bianca announced.

“The power of Christ compels me to save your souls,” Gilbert argued.

“Para,” Zarian called.

Summoned to action by the call of her host, the invisible and incorporeal phantom made the pots, utensils, plates, and all sorts hover into the air menacingly.

Dawson squawked as electricity licked between his fingers. Gisella broke out into prayer pointed toward Serveserf.

Honestly, they had nothing to worry about, as Para set her sights on Bianca and Gilbert.

A barrage of phantom-slung knives, pots, pans, platters, spatulas, and such flew forth. Bianca used one finger coated in bright magic light to flick kitchen projectiles away from her. Gilbert drank a small sip from his coffee as various projectiles bounced off his impenetrable body.

Nothing seemed to really stick, which was fine. Para was keeping the smarminess of the Radiant Queen and Rescue Ranger occupied.

Hannah picked up the conversation where they last left off. “Stop me if I’ve mistaken anything, but based on what we’ve discussed, it seems to me we are truly not fit to stay in this world any longer, but we must stay because of grand developments. Naomi is hitting a tier of power that’s immense and scary, to where she’s a detriment to herself, to you, and to the world as well. You’ve demolished the Grimrock Castle Mountains and damaged the moons because of your fight with her, for example. That placed you in a two-month coma while Naomi’s likely to stay in a coma anywhere from the next half year to a year. But by the time she wakes up, she might be even scarily stronger, if she achieved Third Ignition.”

Pausing, Hannah reached up to readjust her Solid State Spectacles before she continued. “Currently, things are looking positive for our side against the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds. We’re going to need to plan for what happens after they succeed, because the implications of success go beyond mere rewards. You and Para’s idea about expanding into an empire is going to be tricky to navigate without us being there at our would-be capital. But of course, there’s more. There’s the Carrowmore Thousand Year Tournament next Early Summer. With Early Winter around the corner, we’re only going to have six months from there before the tournament.”

With a sigh, Hannah rubbed at her temples. “Then there’s the ascension of an entire world. So, not only do we have to deal with the consequences from the Dark Quarrel of Mountains and Moons, we also have to deal with how you shook the world while up against a more powerful corrupted with a +1 class, the aftermath of winning a mythical regional event, the potential rise of an empire based on us, a tournament at the most infamous evil city across the Lesser Worlds who is highly nefarious, and the trials and tribulations that this world will face by going up to the Greater Realm, where Master Rankers and Champion Rankers will wait in ambush.”

Right when it seemed like Hannah finished, she found another thread. “Oh, and it’s likely we’ll see repeat attacks from the elves of the Forever Empire because of some involvement between you and Ruvaria. Not only can they summon Champion Regressors from the Greater Realm, they might go as far as awakening ancient elves from cryosleep who are far older than Ruvaria. Such monsters would’ve been born and raised in the Absolute Era. Such monsters would see the current state of Corma and want it changed with absolute brutality. Which makes me wonder about this sticky point: why can I not bomb the Promised Continent and remove the elves from the equation if Ruvaria doesn’t seem to care now that she’s free evil?”

“Ruvaria’s a friend of ours,” Zarian said carefully. “I want to free her family from the clutches of tyrannical and absolute good. That way, she’ll have a family to love again.”

Hannah furrowed her brow and pressed her lips into a thin and frustrated line.

Gilbert remained holier-than-thou and patient under the barrage of forks and pots. He did smile at Zarian’s words, no doubt thinking of Zarian being noble.

Bianca frowned. She stopped deflecting Para’s barrage of utensils and kitchen objects and released a pulse of light and free good +8, sending all flying items clattering against the walls.

Piercing light shone from the Radiant Queen’s eyes, her gaze intensifying, her frown deepening. She tilted her head toward Zarian as more free good energy filled the dining kitchen hall.

The Conquest Wizard looked back with his void-like eyes, his composure remaining as cool as ice, while Dawson and Gisella looked worried under the pressure of Bianca’s power.

The two breakfast invitees turned toward the nearest exit.

Bianca waved a hand behind her and blocked the way out with a solid wall of light.

“Zarian,” Bianca called tensely.

“Bianca,” Zarian replied calmly.

“Why do I sense there is more between you and Abuela Ruvaria?” Bianca released a mad and teetering laugh, shattering her regal persona. “Zarian! Papi! You know you can’t with Abuela Ruvaria, right?! She’s, y’know, mi abuela!?”

“Wait, what?” Gilbert roused from his perfect man act, blue eyes going wide. “No, you didn’t, did you, chief? No way!”

Hannah said nothing. Her eyes remained hidden behind her flawless and reflective spectacles.

So, the game is up. Might as well go all in, Zarian thought.

It was bound to come out eventually. Please make this entertaining for me and my glorious research, Para shared via mind.

Zarian imagined himself in a soap opera before standing dramatically from his seat, the high-backed chair clattering behind him. He held a serious gaze on his face as Bianca screamed.

“No! No, no, no, no! You couldn’t have! You cannot! Not the abuela, Zarian! Not my precious Ruvaria!” Bianca had tears flowing down her cheeks. “How could you do this?!”

Gilbert reacted with an emotional shout, like a man discovering some horrible news. “It can’t be true! Please don’t let it be true. Do you know how many fudging jokes I have prepared for something like this?! I can’t say any of that now! Don’t let it be true or I might break!”

Hannah removed her spectacles from her eyes and palmed her face.