Aozaki Aoko [589-591] (Patreon)

Chapter 589: The Paragon of Archmetamagicians

If the Archmage is an advanced class for wizards, then the Legendary Archmetamagician is a legendary advancement on top of that—the three are successive, each building on the last. This is unlike how Aoko suddenly multi-classed as a cleric (without prerequisites).

In other words, her caster level is now Wizard (10) + Archmage (10) + Legendary Archmetamagician (1), for a total caster level of 21.

Incidentally, Mystra increased Aoko's cleric level from 4 to 5 the moment she synchronized with the Mythallar core of Ythryn, which is why she was later able to cast Cure Critical Wounds successfully.

Advancing to Legendary Archmetamagician not only gave Aoko three extra daily uses of instant metamagic but, for the first time, also granted her a legendary feat!

Legendary feats are special abilities far stronger than ordinary ones. For example, the metamagic feat Instant Spell usually requires the caster to expend a higher-level spell slot to instantly cast a lower-level spell, which is quite costly.

But in the case of the legendary feat Automatic Quicken Spell, the caster can instantly think and release a low-level spell.

Originally, low-level meant 3rd-level or lower spells. With this feat, the caster can use instant spellcasting indefinitely for spells of that level, without consuming higher-level slots.

With repeated practice, the range of low-level spells this feat applies to can grow, which demonstrates the power of legendary feats. In a sense, Aoko already possesses this feat; Archmetamagicians are absolute experts in this area.

Beyond these superior metamagic feats, there is another legendary feat almost every legendary caster must choose: Legendary Spellcasting.

Its effect is simply described: "Grants the ability to create and cast powerful spells beyond all existing spell systems."

But its impact is anything but simple, as it is a prerequisite for casting legendary spells.

After the Second Goddess of Magic's ban, the "High Magic" (spells above 9th level) created by Netheril's archmages could never again be cast, but the legendary spellcasting system survived.

All these spells are incredibly powerful, but most importantly, once you have this feat, you can create your own unique legendary magic based on your knowledge and needs. Is there anything cooler than that?

For Aoko, there was no dilemma—her first legendary feat had to be Legendary Spellcasting. She chose it without hesitation.

The moment she gained Legendary Spellcasting, Aoko's consciousness was pulled deeper into the Weave than ever before. Where she'd previously reached the deep Weave around 9th-level spells, now she reached a realm she'd never even imagined.

Before gaining this spellcasting ability, Aoko had already met Mystra—she'd been pulled by the goddess into the Weave's 9th-level depths, mistakenly believing that was its deepest layer. But as her caster level rose and she learned more, she realized just how wrong she'd been.

The Weave's Legendary Magic layer lies on the edge of the goddess's ban on High Magic.

That doesn't mean legendary spells are always less powerful than high magic; rather, high magic can break the boundary between mortals and gods.

The most famous example is the world's only 12th-level spell, Karsus's Avatar.

This spell allowed the caster to replace a deity's mind with their own, instantly ascending from mortal to god.

Though it had many reckless flaws, if Karsus's target hadn't been Mystra herself, he really could have become a god with it. 

Legendary spells, however, don't have this problem. No matter how strong, their power and effect are still within the limits allowed by the goddess. They won't cross the line and risk collapsing the world's entire magic system.

Wandering this edge of order reminded Aoko of when she'd entered the vortex to the Root—similar, but fundamentally different.

Here, she discovered the existence of something called a Seed.

With her legendary spellcasting feat, Aoko immediately understood the mechanism of seeds: they are the cornerstone of legendary magic.

A legendary spell is built on the seed the caster acquires. Through study and research, the seed is combined with various factors, forming a towering tree—that is, a legendary spell is complete.

Aoko sensed many seeds here: some lazy, some dangerous, even one that looked like it could explode at any moment.

These seeds varied widely in effect and difficulty to obtain. Aoko was overwhelmed by choices.

Her insight allowed her to pick one or several as the foundation for her first legendary spell. Should she go for something stable and easily controlled for a simple legendary spell, or something risky for a far greater effect?

After a brief pause, Aoko realized she felt no confusion deep down—maybe because it's just in her human nature, or maybe because of another part of her soul at work.

Following her instinct, she chose the seed she most yearned for: Evocation—Energy Seed.

After becoming a wizard, Aoko never wanted to admit she was just a blaster, so she spent ages studying intricate, complex spells, and achieved much.

But now, at the legendary level, when choosing her first legendary spell's seed, she obeyed her instincts.

For someone like Aoko, destruction is a delicacy, evocation is the elixir of youth. No matter the crisis, as long as Aoko can blow things up, there is always hope.

Chapter 590: Spring in Icewind Dale

There are many legendary spells tied to the Energy Seed; the most famous is the Legendary Fist of Seven Sorrows—Hellball.

This spell has a DC of 90 to recognize, and its power is terrifying.

It fires a ball of energy at the target, which explodes, dealing 10d6 acid, 10d6 fire, 10d6 lightning, and 10d6 sonic damage to all creatures in its area.

Sounds great, right? But it's extremely fast and has a huge explosion radius. If the caster isn't quick enough, they'll take at least 10d6 damage themselves.

If Aoko wanted this legendary spell, she'd need to gather the Area Change factor, Single Action Casting factor, Ray Emission factor, and a Recoil factor to lower research difficulty.

By linking the seed with these four factors, Aoko could research the original Hellball.

But Aoko isn't reckless—she wants a legendary spell that devastates enemies without self-destruction. So, removing the Recoil factor is a must.

Hellball is just an extreme case. There are many other powerful, useful evocation spells; Aoko won't put all her eggs in one basket.

The famous inventor of Cloudkill, Archmage Tolodine, created the high magic spell Tolodine's Killing Wind.

Its original form created a massive death cloud with instant-kill effects for 24 hours.

But due to Mystra's ban, the original high magic version can't be used. Later wizards turned it into a legendary spell.

Usually, high magic-to-legendary conversions aren't too different, but not here: the legendary version is a joke.

Its effect is downgraded from save or die to just dealing acid damage over time—a souped-up Acid Fog. Not impressive at all—Aoko would never waste a seed on this.

A better example is Magma Burst, a legendary spell that summons a mini-volcano in the target area, inflicting massive fire damage for 20 hours.

It's a strategic, high-destruction spell with few side effects.

In short, even just with evocation seeds, Aoko has many legendary spell options. It'll take a lot of time, money, and resources to research and learn one, so she's in no rush.

Before beginning legendary spell research, it's time to handle other matters.

Having completed her legendary advancement ritual, Aoko awoke from deep meditation.

She opened her eyes and looked around: the Mythallar core was as usual, her party chatted and ate by a campfire.

Aoko tidied her robe and floated down from the air, landing with a sound that drew her companions' attention.

"How'd it go?" Simon asked eagerly. "Did you succeed?"

"Of course," Aoko said, barely hiding her pride. "I'm finally a Legendary Archmetamagician!"

"So now I've teamed up with a legendary wizard," Edgin said dryly. "Every Harpers' legendary wizard I've met acts all high and mighty, like they've already become gods and can't be bothered with mortals."

Well, you have to keep up appearances.

"What now?" Doric asked. "Do we leave? The Everlasting Rime outside isn't over yet."

"Probably because Auril's divine power hasn't faded," Aoko guessed. "But don't worry—the Mythallar core is with us. Without Auril's power, the Everlasting Rime is rootless and will eventually vanish on its own!"

"'Eventually'—how long is that?" Edgin asked cautiously.

"Um… until summer, probably," Aoko replied after thinking. "But I'm not waiting that long—I'll use the Mythallar's weather control to disperse the Everslating Rime. The people of Icewind Dale have suffered enough."

With that, Aoko raised her holy symbol, aligning its gem with the Mythallar core.

A golden cone of light enveloped the Mythallar, shrinking it until it was just smaller than the symbol's gem, then it flew inside.

Aoko lowered the symbol and peered at the gem, now like a strange amber—not with an insect inside, but a whole, working Mythallar core.

"Let's go," Aoko called. "Let's end this endless night!"

Ythryn, now deprived of its Mythallar, returned to darkness.

All its magical apparatus stopped. Some wizard towers might have elemental pools, but for the city as a whole, it was a drop in the ocean.

Vinelanda, the brain-in-a-jar still in her lab, seemed to notice but didn't react—she'd long expected this.

She'd known the black-market obelisk in the plaza was destroyed, and fixing it with a staff of power was a pipe dream. But she wasn't hysterical.

She no longer had that function—she'd discarded it long ago.

Time was plentiful; with near-immortality, Vinelanda wasn't anxious.

Even without its heart, Ythryn's people would survive in the darkness until the city rose again.

Chapter 591: Light of Destruction

Aoko used Teleport to bring her party to the icefields between the Reghed Glacier and Ten-Towns.

Maybe it was her imagination, but the eternal wind seemed to slow a bit. Sunlight pierced the clouds, making it less like endless midnight.

"Wait here," Aoko said, taking out her holy symbol. "I'm going up to use the Mythallar's climate control—if it works, the Everslating Rime should end."

"Please, Aoko," Edgin said earnestly. "Whether you succeed or not, on behalf of Ten-Towns, thank you."

Aoko accepted the thanks without protest—whatever her motives, ending the Everslating Rime was fact.

She never liked false modesty, especially if it would burden her friends.

She tapped her staff on the ground and shot into the sky.

As she rose, the air grew colder, but her planar protection bubble kept her safe.

Breaking through the clouds, Aoko reached thousands of meters up, the harsh sun making her squint.

Sunshine was nothing new to her, but for Ten-Towns, tormented by Auril, it was precious.

She chanted a short incantation; her holy symbol's gem flashed gold, projecting the Ythryn Mythallar into the sky. Its magic lit up the world like a second sun.

Synchronizing with the Mythallar, Aoko aimed her staff at its center.

She focused, activating its embedded climate control.

On the ground, Edgin and the others watched as a gap appeared in the clouds, widening as the gray-black turned snow-white. Sunlight poured onto the battered land below.

Day broke.

"Haha, she did it!" Holga laughed, hand shading his eyes. "I knew it'd be easy for Aoko!"

"Defeating a god isn't easy," Edgin replied, smiling at his old friend. "This'll be the highlight of my adventuring life—too bad it can't become a song…"

"No, you should still write it," Doric argued. "I want to hear it, and so do Simon, Holga, your wife, your daughter… I doubt Aoko would mind."

"Looks like everyone insists!" Edgin's eyes lit up. "But we should check with Aoko first—lyrics need the hero's approval!"

"I think this is the first time Edgin's done that," Simon whispered to Doric. "I've never seen him care about copyright…"

As her friends discussed making this song catchy, Aoko noticed something strange in the sky.

To the southwest, over the Spine of the World, a black shadow rose and flew rapidly toward the East Haven of Ten-Towns.

Aoko quickly cast Eagle's Eye, squinting to see: it was a massive black dragon, armored in heavy scales!

Why was there a dragon here? And it didn't match any dragon she knew—not metallic, not chromatic, not legendary… It looked a bit like Deathwing from Azeroth?

Surely he hadn't crossed over to Faerûn for a Cataclysm…?

Aoko quickly stowed the Mythallar. The Rime wasn't fully dispersed, but the weather magic was in motion and didn't need constant power.

She teleported back to the ground, interrupting her friends' excitement to share what she'd seen.

"!!!" 

Edgin was stunned, then broke into a sweat. "East Haven can't stop a dragon like that! If it attacks each town in turn, it'll hit Targos…!"

"Looks like it's time for one more fight," Holga said. "If we come home to find a dragon's trashed our town, our victory's meaningless!"

"You're right—it's just a dragon!" Simon said, resolute. "Count me in for the slaying!"

"And me," Doric nodded at Simon. "I'm curious about dragon anatomy—and their meat."

"I'll teleport us into East Haven's inn," Aoko said. "I'll go after the dragon; you evacuate the people."

"No problem," Edgin nodded. "Harper work as usual!"

…

Dragons.

For the people of East Haven, the word was almost myth.

In their hard, mundane lives, dragons only appeared in bedtime tales to scare children.

But today was different—a colossal dragon, armored like a tank, soared over the city, its presence so oppressive that some citizens died from sheer terror.

Alarm bells blared as Speaker Waylen rallied guards and adventurers, scrambling to evacuate as many as possible before the dragon struck.

But the dragon would not wait.

On someone's command, the black dragon opened its jaws, unleashing a torrent of radiant light from south to north, splitting East Haven in two with its breath weapon.