Aozaki Aoko Case File [475] (Patreon)

Reprogramming Bernard and the other tower guardian constructs went very smoothly.

To Aoko, Yrre’s construct language was like assembly language on Earth—only more ambiguous, influenced by the magical nature of the constructs. Their logic could be fuzzy, as long as the descriptions were close enough, the intended effect could be achieved.

After a series of reprogramming, Aoko found that there were essential differences between Bernard and the other constructs.

If ordinary tower guardians were just robots executing orders, Bernard’s complex core had reached the standard of an artificial being.

Although Bernard’s self-awareness was still limited, he clearly had basic emotions and independent thought. If Aoko had arrived a few years later, Bernard’s loyalty to Yrre and Lenore might have stopped him from accepting her as his new master.

So, having completed the reshaping of Bernard’s will, Aoko breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been a shame to destroy such a useful subordinate just because of awakened self-awareness.

With Simon’s assistance, Aoko spent about two days reprogramming all the constructs—including Bernard—making them fully loyal construct soldiers, ready for the coming battle in Neverwinter.

Besides the construct upgrades, Aoko poured all the divine insight she gained from her trip into the deeper Weave into her Metamagic Specialist class, raising her spellcaster level to 17 (total level 18).

At this point, reaching spellcaster level 17 was crucial for Aoko—this was when she first gained access to ninth-level spells in the arcane system.

Even in Faerûn, where liches are everywhere and demigods are common, this made her a great wizard in a formal sense.

A ninth-level caster is on a whole different level from an eighth-level one. Before, Aoko thought she could contend with Sofina with teamwork, but didn’t think she could win head-on.

But now, it was different. Even with only one ninth-level abjuration spell, Mordenkainen’s Disjunction, having it made all the difference.

Aoko felt that as long as she used this spell well, she had a seventy percent chance to defeat Sofina head-on—unless Sofina herself was an Archmage, which Aoko thought unlikely.

Besides a ninth-level spell slot, Aoko also gained two special class abilities at this level. The first was Spellsteal.

This ability let her use caster level checks to try to seize control of an opponent’s concentration spells, especially when divine spellcasting was involved for either side.

It was a tailor-made ability!

Aoko had just gained a cleric level, and now got this ability—it was hard not to suspect someone was arranging things behind the scenes…

The second ability was an upgrade to her metamagic: Instant Metamagic. Once per day, she could use any metamagic ability instantly, without prior preparation or increasing casting time.

More importantly, normal metamagic requires using higher-level spell slots, but this ability let her use metamagic at no extra slot cost.

No extra cost—faster, stronger, bigger, longer-lasting spells!

With these two abilities, Aoko was overjoyed. She couldn’t wait to try her cost-free, instant ninth-level Sunburst in the tower’s backyard, blowing a big hole in the ground and startling Edgin and Holga awake—they thought Sofina had attacked.

“So now you’re a ninth-level caster?” Edgin sized up Aoko. “Meaning you’re on the same level as Sofina? Awesome!”

“Our odds just went up,” Holga grinned. “Forge’s days are numbered, ha!”

“Not so fast,” Aokoi shook her head, stopping Edgin and Holga from celebrating too soon. “What we know is, Sofina has a ninth-level Time Stop, and she’s not an Archmage. But I don’t know her exact skill—she could have more ninth-level spells we don’t know about.”

“But she’s probably a lich,” Simon said optimistically. “And you’re a cleric! That’s a direct counter, right?”

“I don’t even know where her phylactery is,” Aoko shrugged. “A lich with a well-hidden phylactery is basically immortal—she could come back after a few days and cause more trouble.”

“Just dealing with Sofina isn’t that big a deal,” Edgin waved. “As long as we take down Forge before she revives, and let the old lord of Neverwinter retake the city, Sofina won’t matter.”

Edgin was right—there were plenty of powerful people in Neverwinter.

Based on what Xenk had told them, the Thayan Red Wizards planned to use the High Sun Game, with its huge crowds, to perform the Beckoning Death ritual and turn many into undead, making a huge army. Then the city’s heroes couldn’t stop them.

Aoko didn’t know if Beckoning Death was a spell or some artifact, but clearly it required someone to perform it.

If Thay hadn’t sent more Red Wizards to help Sofina, she’d be the one conducting the ritual.

If Aoko could ambush Sofina during the ritual, it would definitely hurt her—a large necromantic ritual interrupted will have nasty backlash.

“You’re right,” Aoko nodded. “Let’s get all our allies in position near the Neverwinter arena. As soon as Forge and Sofina show their true colors, we’ll jump out and hit them hard!”