Aozaki Aoko [574-576] (Patreon)

Chapter 574: The Golden Skins of the World Serpent

With the upper level of the study smashed to pieces, there was nothing left to explore there. Aoko leapt straight into the lower level's book pit.

Whether by intention or not, neither Aoko nor Iriolarthas had let any attack spill over onto these bookshelves. Their tacit understanding left the book pit perfectly preserved, as if no one had ever been here.

Aoko casually picked up a book and flipped through it, immediately noticing that every book here was full of valuable content—no wasted words, all substance—just like the math textbooks she'd used at the University of Tokyo: concise and dazzling in their clarity.

All the books delved deep into magical knowledge. It wasn't just spellbooks—they covered all branches related to magic, such as the fundamental principles of magical effects, alchemy, potion-making, and enchanted item crafting.

Aoko was quite pleased with the quality of the lord's collection; the books here would keep her busy researching for a long time. This was probably the true treasure of Ythryn City.

As a side note: though Iriolarthas looked like he'd had his skull smashed by Aoko and seemed dead, he hadn't been utterly destroyed—as a lich, most of his soul resided in his phylactery.

Not that he hadn't suffered losses: he became a half-lich precisely because the soul in his phylactery was malnourished and left him unable to move. Unless someone dug up his phylactery, he'd remain buried deep underground, never to see the light again.

For now, Aoko set the books aside—she'd have plenty of time to study them later. She turned her attention to the real treasure in the book pit.

The Staff of Power hovered quietly on its pedestal, waiting for a new master to claim it.

Aoko, completely unashamed, grabbed the staff. Her own Midnight Staff was slung on her back for now.

The staff was cold to the touch, but the surging nether magic inside made it clear this was no ordinary stick. Although its appearance was unremarkable—just a pitch-black rod—the material was eerily familiar.

Pitch-black? Aoko's mind flashed. The staff's heavy, dark material was identical to the broken obelisk fragment she'd seen.

No wonder Vinelanda had called it a controller. Aoko had guessed it might require some special spell to activate the obelisk, but it turned out the real mechanism was resonance between matching materials. Lesson learned.

Aoko was satisfied with the black staff, though she had a strange feeling it would be important for some major event later on.

With this in mind, she gripped the Staff of Power with both hands, raised it above her head, and chanted, "Olostin."

The entire central tower trembled briefly, startling her teammates who were cleaning up after the battle, but the shaking soon faded.

The central field's force shield deactivated another layer. Aoko's action was actually one of the eight arcane rituals, so she'd unlocked one of the seven shields.

This picking the lock from inside the house routine wasn't superfluous—the lord's ritual had an extra function, which Aoko had deduced from other Ythryn records.

As she'd predicted, the Staff of Power's pedestal in the book pit split open, revealing a downward staircase to a hidden chamber.

Aoko took a deep breath. From the moment she found the secret entrance, her Divination instincts had been screaming at her. She didn't notify her teammates, instead masking the entrance with illusion magic and descending alone.

The spiral stairs weren't long; in minutes, Aoko reached the secret room.

At first glance, it was a typical wizard's lab, cluttered with apparatus, books, and scrolls. But nothing in the room caught her eye like the object floating in a crystal case at the center.

Or rather, the moment she saw what was inside, she couldn't look away.

A golden scroll, made of some unknown but real material, like a sheet of gold leaf—about eight inches long, radiating an intense magical glow. Of all the magical items Aoko had seen since coming to Faerûn, this was by far the most extraordinary.

Unprompted, Aoko tapped the crystal case with her Staff of Power. The case melted away as if it had never existed, and the golden scroll floated to her, landing in her hand.

The scroll felt slightly warm—almost exactly her own body temperature.

She wasn't sure if the warmth was real or an illusion, but a powerful urge surged in her heart: Open it. Open it.

In that instant, Aoko understood what she held: a Nether Scroll—one of the hundred golden scrolls made from the Sarrukh's skin.

This was the true origin of the Netherese Empire, and the essence of the creator race's magical civilization.

The other ninety-nine Nether Scrolls were long lost; the one in Aoko's hand was likely the last obtainable by mortals.

Her feelings now were much like when she first accepted Aozaki's Fifth Magic Crest: excited, but afraid.

Just as she was about to give in and read the scroll, Mystra's voice echoed in her mind.

"Aha, looks like you're quite lucky," the goddess of magic drawled.

Aoko snapped out of her trance. "I suspected where this scroll might have gone, but I never thought it would end up here, hidden by a half-lich idiot for so many years."

"Can I read it?" Aoko asked cautiously.

"Of course," said Mystra unconcernedly. "But you'd best pray to me first; I can protect you from being overwhelmed by the knowledge and divine power hidden inside."

"I understand," Aoko nodded. "I'll study it in a suitable environment."

"And don't tell anyone about its existence—not anyone in the Outer Planes, at least. The Golden Scroll's allure could spark a bloodbath you can't handle," Mystra warned.

"I know," Aoko whispered. "I haven't told anyone, nor do I intend to."

Chapter 575: Introduction to Arcana

Having carefully stowed the Golden Scroll in her imaginary space, Aoko composed herself and left the secret room as if nothing had happened, picking up a few materials as spoils of war.

Among them: a scroll of Tarrasque summoning, a multicolored crystal rod, and a small metal box containing four vials of mercury (500g each).

The crystal rod and mercury were components for the spell "Create Golem," which allowed wizards to create loyal constructs. Aoko and her team had dismantled quite a few of these on their journey, leaving a strong impression.

The only downside was the constructs' ugly design: bald, light-green-skinned men. Aoko resolved to modify the spell later—at the very least, she'd turn the bald bros into beautiful girls.

Emerging from the basement, Aoko called her teammates and recounted her discovery of the secret room, the golem-creation spell, and the Tarrasque summoning scroll. While not wholly sincere, it was honest enough.

Her teammates were satisfied; Aoko kept her composure. Everyone was happy.

Under Simon's direction, Edgin, Doric, and Holga also salvaged many valuable magical items and lab equipment from the upper lab—at least, valuable for Simon's research.

However, Simon kept sighing over the many treasures smashed in the fierce battle—so much gold lost, in his eyes!

Most of their goals in Ythryn City had now been accomplished. The rest involved the Mythallar core and would require their full strength—so no rushing.

Back in the mansion, everyone feasted and then retired to their rooms. Aoko entered the secret workshop, carefully took out the coveted Golden Scroll, and laid it on the table.

She kept her eyes closed the entire time. She knew that if she accidentally glimpsed any of the scroll's contents, she'd be compelled to read it all, which would take a full month.

Once the scroll was ready, Aoko removed the holy symbol from her neck, held it in her hand, and invoked Mystra's name.

Perhaps Mystra had been waiting for her—she soon connected with her daughter on the mortal plane, pouring divine power into the holy symbol, making it glow and illuminating both the workshop and the Golden Scroll.

Aoko noticed that, once the symbol glowed with Mystra's power, the scroll's uncanny allure vanished.

She still thirsted for its knowledge, but now it was the pure curiosity of a mage, not some insidious compulsion woven into the scroll.

Even after thousands of years, even with its original creator now apathetic, the power embedded in the Golden Scroll was still active and still dangerous.

But Mystra's divine power shielded Aoko from its corruption, letting her safely study the treasure.

"I'll compress the time in this room," Mystra reminded her. "Once you begin, you can't stop until you finish reading. Be fully prepared."

Aoko nodded—she'd long since prepared. Her body was different from normal humans; her magical circuits and crest could keep her alive without food or drink for a long time.

Moreover, her magic circuits were not part of the Fifth Magic itself, but reflected a fundamental principle of the universe, letting her draw endless magical power. This was why Aoko was a better Fifth Magic inheritor than Touko.

"Ready?" Mystra asked again. This time, Aoko just took a deep breath and nodded decisively.

"I'm ready. Let's begin."

Mystra said nothing more, but the holy symbol's light grew even brighter. Time in the room became isolated from the outside world—like a Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

Aoko's magically enhanced eyes glowed faint blue as she stared at the Golden Scroll. She hadn't recognized the Sarukh-created script before, but the scroll's power now let her read it effortlessly.

Of course, understanding the language was only the first step. If the reader wasn't intelligent enough, they couldn't comprehend all the knowledge within, wasting their month.

Aoko was clearly not such a case—she hungrily absorbed every word.

Her magical knowledge came directly from the Weave itself—a source different from all other mages. It was the consensus of all spellcasters in the Astral Kingdom up to now, making her the most modern spellcaster in some respects.

However, such consensus was practical, not fundamental, which meant Aoko often knew how to use magic, but not always why it worked.

The Golden Scroll, however, revealed an entirely new world: the ultimate foundations of all magic in the universe.

With the help of many great powers (the Sarrukh, Jergal), the Sarukh summarized these principles from their observations of nature and all things, recording them on the Golden Scroll.

The scroll's content was divided into five parts: Introduction to Arcana, Magical Creation, Advanced Constructs, Planar Mechanisms, and Arcane Discourse.

These corresponded to: fundamental magical principles, magical item creation, construct creation, planar research, and artifact crafting.

The scroll in Aoko's hands was one of the twenty Introduction to Arcana scrolls—the most coveted part for most spellcasters.

If compared to an Earth book, Aoko thought it was Toril's equivalent of Newton's Principia Mathematica—though the Golden Scroll's truth was even closer to the secrets of the universe.

Chapter 576: Legendary Destiny

Time flew by. For Aoko, it was nearly the blink of an eye—literally, she didn't blink even once in a month, as her magic circuits kept her eyes functioning.

Each time she finished a page, the scroll's text would update, revealing new content, until she had read it all.

The knowledge from the Introduction to Arcana scroll permanently changed Aoko's understanding of arcane magic. What once seemed familiar now appeared even more complex and clear.

By reading this scroll, Aoko gained vast abilities in spell identification and analysis, increased her arcane saving throws, and made her spells much harder to resist.

It was like a physicist advancing from classical physics to relativity, and then to quantum mechanics—a leap in cognitive understanding.

This transformative change granted Aoko enormous insight, letting her naturally reach 20th level as a spellcaster.

For most Faerûn residents, 20th level is the limit of mortals—the end of the spellcaster's path—but for the truly gifted, it's just the beginning.

Having already inherited the path of the legendary metamagic user from deep within the Weave, Aoko simply needed to fulfill her legendary destiny to advance to this prestige class.

Legendary destiny is a kind of quest that forms for spellcasters at 20th level or higher—a mission or epiphany that, once accomplished, truly makes one a legendary spellcaster.

At this moment, Aoko's expression was grave: her legendary destiny pointed to a powerful opponent.

She didn't know who this opponent was or their strength—but when she met them, she'd know instantly.

Given Mystra's hints, there was still an enemy in Ythryn City she couldn't yet handle. Even after her breakthrough, Aoko wasn't sure of victory.

But she wouldn't shrink away; one only gets one legendary destiny in a lifetime. She wasn't about to become a coward, stuck at the threshold of legend.

Having resolved herself, Aoko cleaned off a month's worth of dust with a cantrip, stood up, and stretched.

Mystra's Hyperbolic Time Chamber-like gave her 31 days; she spent 30 reading, and planned to use the last day to sleep and recover from her mental exhaustion.

…

When Aoko woke up and began her meditation, only a single day had passed outside. Her teammates were unaware that she had crossed the threshold.

Though she wasn't truly a legendary mage yet, being a 10th-level metamagic specialist and a 20th-level spellcaster was a massive boost.

Most importantly, she finally gained a fourth 9th-level spell slot, greatly improving both her burst and endurance, and easing her daily spell slot selection anxiety.

As for new spells, she hadn't had time to study Iriolarthas's spellbook in detail, but she'd long coveted the spell Disaster Black Blade. She learned its basics immediately and finished mastering it during her meditation.

Yet her greatest improvements were in her feats—10 levels in metamagic finally granted her all the standard metamagic feats.

The most important was "Enhanced Metamagic"—allowing her to reduce by 1 the spell slot cost of any metamagic, and, together with her limited immediate metamagic uses per day, greatly reducing the cost of stacking multiple metamagics.

Many high-level spells had previously been impossible to metamagic, since the required level would exceed 9th. With Enhanced Metamagic, new strategies became possible.

There are nine basic metamagic feats: Empower, Extend, Delay, Heighten, Maximize, Quicken, Silent, Still, and Widen.

Aoko had mastered seven; for her last pre-legendary feat, she chose "Widen Spell," which allows her to adjust a spell's area and shape—much more versatile than just "Extend."

Having reviewed her new abilities, Aoko felt more confident. True power is only power you hold in your own hands.

A wizard is a profession that needs time to turn knowledge into strength, unlike those who can grow stronger through training alone. Aoko understood this deeply.