Aozaki Aoko [556-558] (Patreon)

Chapter 556: Slaad Green Frog Astronomer

The suspected half-lich skull, who didn’t seem quite sane, flew away. Even at the end, Aoko never managed to make out what the thing was mumbling about—like the meaningless babble of an elderly Alzheimer’s patient.

“Who do you think that skull was? Which Wizard of the Debon Star?” Simon asked Aoko curiously.

“I suspect it’s the Lord of Ythryn City… the necromancer among the Debon Star Wizards,” Aoko admitted, “But it’s just a guess—I can’t be sure. Until we’re ready, we’d better avoid it. A Master Arcanist is bound to be tougher than someone like Sofina, right?”

“Judging by its state, it doesn’t look that powerful…” Edgin commented.

“Best not to gamble,” Aoko thought for a moment, then answered, “If it is Auril, and we beat it back to its senses and restore its power, I won’t be able to handle the consequences… This is, after all, the floating city of the Nether Empire.”

“Heh, you’re right,” Edgin replied. “Shall we head to the Observatory in District 15, then?”

“Yes, exactly,” Aoko nodded. “Let’s just record the ritual details at the observatory.”

The observatory, like the other Debon Star towers, looked very similar except for size.

If Aoko had to describe it, it was a bit like a slimmed-down version of the Burj Al Arab hotel on Earth.

One side of this conical tower was supported by a ring of arched buttresses, standing perfectly vertical to Ythryn City’s ground. Around it stood a circle of expressionless humanoid statues, their features blurred by two thousand years of time, but their heroic postures still hinting at their former glory.

After so many days in Ythryn City, Aoko’s team had developed a smooth method for kicking down doors: Simon would command a construct shield guardian to smash the door, then the buffed-up Doric and Holga would rush in, followed by the spellcasters Aoko, Simon, and Edgin in the back row.

There weren’t many enemies in the observatory—just three Electro-Guards, and a somewhat unique Hypnosmagen.

Compared to its two peers, the Hypnosmagen had a very unusual attack method: as a psychic construct, it would constantly try to command intruders to leave the observatory using telepathic power. But thanks to the mind-protection rings they all had, courtesy of Mind Flayer mage Omeluum, it couldn’t do anything to them.

They followed their routine and easily dealt with the roomful of magical guards, making their way to the observatory’s top floor, where the ritual stele was located.

To Aoko’s surprise, someone was already in the room with the giant astronomical telescope.

It was a huge frog in a blue wizard’s robe and crystal glasses—a Slaad Green Frog.

Aoko was nervous at first, but then puzzled, because the Slaad Green Frog seemed to completely ignore their intrusion—just going about its own business.

It would carefully adjust the telescope’s angle, then jot things down in the books on the table—looking every bit the unworldly astronomer.

“What’s going on? Are Slaad Frogs some kind of high-intelligence scholar race?” Edgin whispered.

“The tablet is right over there,” the Slaad Frog Astronomer said in slightly accented Loross, “Take it and leave. Don’t disturb my research!”

As it spoke, the Slaad Green Frog’s gaze never left the magical telescope, giving off a “too busy to die” vibe.

Aoko nodded, motioning for her companions to help her record the inscription on the stele embedded in the observatory, not bothering the strange scholar any further.

The tablet from the Tower of Prophecy looked like a giant dagger, stabbed straight into the observatory’s ceiling—Aoko could just imagine how much this Slaad Frog Astronomer must have resented it.

“He probably wasn’t originally a Slaad Frog,” Aoko whispered, “One way Slaad Frogs reproduce is through infection by a Chaos Slaad phagocyte—probably a failed magical experiment.”

Holga glanced at the astronomer and felt a twinge of pity, but quickly suppressed it.

“Is there any way we can help him?” Holga couldn’t help asking.

“It’s too late,” Aoko shook her head. “Even if you remove the Slaad phagocyte infection, the transformation is irreversible. Only a 9th-level Wish spell might have a tiny chance to restore him, but I can’t cast that.”

No one was a saint, so they let the matter go and focused on the ritual inscription.

The inscription on the tablet was in Draconic, but the phrasing was different from what Aoko had previously found in books.

It read: “Keep your focus but loosen your tongue; reveal your secret to the crowd.”

“What does that mean?” Edgin frowned. “Sounds like a riddle?”

“I get it,” Aoko thought for a moment. “It means the ritual performer must loudly reveal a secret of theirs in front of others, at a specific location.”

“That’s a bit odd…” Simon glanced at Aoko. “Want me to do it? My secrets are all harmless—no problem if I reveal one.”

“Hah, forget it,” Aoko chuckled. “I’ve got as many secrets as there are stars in the sky—I can pick any one to satisfy this ritual, no problem!”

Having obtained the correct ritual step, Aoko’s team didn’t bother the astronomer further. Before leaving, Aoko even fixed two of the magical guards they’d damaged—a small gesture of compensation.

After leaving the observatory, they didn’t rush to perform the ritual, but detoured to the Tower of Enchantment in District 7, two blocks from the Tower of Prophecy.

Aoko hadn’t closely examined this Debon Star tower with her All-Seeing Eye before, but she had a nagging feeling that something troublesome (though not deadly) was waiting inside.

Chapter 557: A Heavy Blow is Necessary!

Aoko considered for a moment and decided to scout the top floor of the Tower of Enchantment with Arcane Eye.

Hiding behind a nearby statue, she summoned the Arcane Eye and floated it to the top floor window.

The outer wall of the tower was inlaid with a ring of interlocking, multicolored bricks. Looking closely, Aoko saw that each brick was covered in runes—after some study, she recognized them as Chain Summon runes.

If the tower’s master detected hostile invaders surrounding the tower, these runes would instantly trigger, summoning a horde of creatures to defend the tower.

Aoko marveled at this, guiding her Arcane Eye around the summoning circle, memorizing its layout.

Then, the Arcane Eye squeezed through a broken window, immediately seeing many glowing orbs embedded in the ceiling, as well as four old hands patrolling the room along set routes.

In the room’s center was a stone pillar holding a sand table, displaying the tower and its surroundings.

Aoko’s eyes widened—on the sand table, behind one statue, she saw a miniature of her own party! Luckily, no mage was currently watching the sand table.

Otherwise, with the summoning runes outside, they might have had to fight a whole army of summoned monsters—and the commotion could even attract the flying skull.

As Aoko tried to maneuver her Arcane Eye closer, a subtle detection ward was triggered, and the patrolling Bigby’s Hands immediately sensed the intruder.

The glowing magical hands swarmed the Arcane Eye, smacking it against the wall until it shattered.

“Ouch!”

Caught off guard, Aoko cried out and clutched her right eye. While the Arcane Eye’s destruction didn’t injure her, the pain was unavoidable. Her teammates quickly checked to see if she was hurt.

“Attacking my Arcane Eye? That’s no ordinary animated spell. Time for a heavy blow!” Aoko cast Cure Light Wounds on herself to relieve the pain while cursing.

Without waiting for her teammates, she shoved two Disintegrate scrolls into Simon’s hands and, taking advantage of the party being together, cast Teleport to the tower’s top floor.

She wasn’t worried about conserving spell slots—if she ran out, she could just rest.

Upon arrival, four Bigby’s Hands charged her. Without hesitation, Aoko fired off two Empowered Disintegrates, taking out the two nearest hands.

Simon immediately used the scrolls, reciting two short incantations to activate them, taking out the third hand.

The fourth hand was grabbed by Doric, transformed into an owlbear. She bit into the hand’s soft part and thrashed it around until it was knocked out.

The animated hand, never having encountered such a situation, was left bewildered.

With the first two dealt with, Aoko turned to the stunned hand and cast a third Disintegrate, ending the battle.

She only used Disintegrate because animated force spells had absurd resistances—Disintegrate, which counters force effects, was the best choice.

“This tower’s owner is such a show-off!” Aoko fumed. “All animated spells, but all of them Bigby’s Hands! Couldn’t they show some variety?”

“Calm down, Aoko,” Edgin soothed. “The owner is probably dead anyway. Even if you triggered his trap, you can’t really get revenge.”

“Revenge?” Aoko’s eyes lit up with an idea. “Actually, if I can find his corpse, I can summon his soul and then…”

“That’s a bit much! We may rob graves and steal things, but torturing souls is too evil,” Simon said quickly. “That’d make us real villains.”

“Fine!”

Aoko put her hands on her hips, dropping the soul-torture idea. Instead, she circled the sand table, casting detection spells.

The more she examined it, the more she realized the model tower was off—it radiated strong enchantment aura, and the weave showed a vortex distortion.

This usually indicated a demiplane entrance. Creating a demiplane in the Material Plane caused the weave to flow in and form a vortex.

If you had to compare, it was like how, in relativity, mass distorts spacetime.

“Step back,” Aoko warned her teammates. “This is probably a demiplane entrance—the real treasure is likely hidden inside.”

Everyone stepped back, Simon and Edgin buffing the party for safety, while Aoko tapped the sand table with her staff’s gem.

No trap, no explosion—just a glowing portal quietly appeared above the model.

“Wow,” Edgin said, impressed. “That’s well hidden.”

“Let’s go in,” Aoko said, “but stay close—there might be traps inside.”

They all joined hands, and Aoko, holding Holga’s hand and her staff, reached into the portal.

A wave of dizziness swept over them as they arrived in a dim, foul-smelling lair, with the gateway back to the tower behind them.

Chapter 558: Fountain of Youth

“This smell is familiar,” Doric wrinkled her nose. “There’s something bad here—everyone be careful!”

“The structure of this lair is unstable…” Aoko observed. “Seems to connect to other places?”

She was right. Besides the Material Plane, the lair also connected to the Ether Plane near the Celestial Sphere. The locals used this passage to roam and raid the Ether Plane…

They walked down a tunnel lit by eerie green light, growing wider and finally opening into a large room.

The room was somewhere between a natural cave and a rough underground hall—dead roots and jagged rocks mixed with uneven brick walls and artificial objects.

There were many wooden experiment tables, covered in bizarre items: jars of eyes, brains with wriggling tentacles, shriveled hearts pierced with silver pins but still beating.

The scene was familiar to Aoko—she remembered similar settings from games in a previous life. The only creatures with a lair like this were hags.

As Aoko realized what the lair’s owner was, a murky green ray shot from the shadows—but Simon’s unique “Shining Shield” spell blocked it.

Three figures in tattered robes, looking like ugly, muscular old women, emerged, eyeing the party maliciously.

“Let’s see what kind of brainless adventurers have come this time?” the first hag croaked. “These girls look nice—skin them, and we’ll be able to trick a lot of people next time—”

“But there are only two girls! The third is too big, too old!” the second hag complained. “I don’t want to wear a brute’s skin—that’s too rough!”

“You’re lazy and greedy anyway—let us have them, you can stay home and watch the place,” the third hag eyed Aoko unpleasantly. “I want the redhead; you two can split the horned one!”

“Night hags,” Aoko said, putting no stock in their threats, as one wouldn’t argue with dogs. “Watch their claws and teeth—getting scratched can give you Demon Fever.”

“Leave the magic to you guys,” Holga’s eyes reddened and veins bulged—she was raging. She hefted her axe, eager for a fight. “I’ll chop them up!”

Battle erupted. Aoko patted Holga’s back, casting Delayed Haste; Edgin inspired them with bardic magic; Simon cast Grease.

The barbarian woman dashed forward like a blur, chopping off the second hag’s arm and drawing a piercing scream.

The other two hags were startled by Holga’s ferocity and failed to react before being ambushed.

By Aoko’s reckoning, Holga had started as a level 14 barbarian. In this adventure she’d gained three levels, now level 17, and her strength had grown from 19 to a terrifying 23.

What does 23 Strength mean? A young red dragon, the strongest of the chromatics, barely reaches 25 Strength. Holga was practically arm-wrestling with a young red dragon. No wonder she could chop up a hag so easily.

With Haste, Holga quickly dismembered the hag who insulted her, the head rolling to the third hag’s feet, eyes still moving in terror.

The first hag tried to escape with Greater Invisibility, but Aoko immediately revealed her with a powerful Glitterdust, blinding her.

The third hag, desperate, cast a 6th-level necromancy spell, Enervation Gaze, at Holga.

But as a concentration spell, it was easily countered by Aoko’s Spellthief feat, redirecting the target from Holga to the first hag, who coughed up blood, likely afflicted with a disease.

Doric, now a snowy owl, clawed out the first hag’s eyes and dodged a disease ray from the third hag.

As her teammates worked together to rout the hags, Aoko finished her casting: with a gesture, a glowing force blade appeared—her favorite, Mordenkainen’s Sword.

With a light swipe, she silently beheaded the third hag, while Holga split the blind hag’s skull with her axe.

Battle over.

Holga spat on the bodies disdainfully. “Disgusting creatures! How did they end up in the Nether floating city?”

“Probably because this place connects to the Ether Plane,” Aoko mused. “The Ether connects to the Feywild, so these three night hags likely found this demiplane by accident.”

“This place smells awful,” Edgin grimaced. “Can we leave if we’re done—”

“Guys!” Doric called from further away. “Come look at this!”

Aoko and the others went over, quickly captivated by what Doric found:

A spring, ringed with pebbles, crystal clear yet faintly glowing gold. The reflection in the water seemed to reach into the soul, an indescribable pull making it hard to look away.

Aoko immediately understood what the spring was, and why it drew mortals so powerfully—its name said it all.

It was a Fountain of Youth.