Overpowered Wizard

Zarian was standing in the ground floor lobby of the Central Library Artillery Tower.

Looking around, he saw the floor and gilded furnishings were waxed and polished to a shiny mirror-like finish. The windows were big, thick, and spotless, letting in the unfiltered light of the twin suns on a cloudless, blue-sky day.

The doorways were framed by the hardest high-quality material Hannah and her golems had dug up from below. That worked out great for showing off to visitors who thought themselves important or affluent.

The centerpiece was a wolf dragon’s skull, the same one Princess Bianca had slain. It took up a lot of space with fangs as large as a man was tall, but the lobby area was quite spacious, anyway.

Zarian looked up at the giant skull as various visitors and villagers who had business at the tower gossipped while moving around the lobby. Most of their conversations had something to do with him.

The treatment was interesting. It was very unlike how he was treated when he was once a homeless reject, a dropout from the Marine Corps.

He was far removed from that now, and he had lots of new things to work on. Hell, he was even finding some joy in his political pursuits, such as growing the freedom alignment.

Almost everyone in the lobby who wasn’t in the guild was either neutral, good, or free. In fact, there were more free aligned folks than good and neutral combined, which was a first.

The freedom recruitment drive had kicked up a notch because of the paladins’ gross failure to ruin Ride-or-Die Village and seal away the Dark Lord. Their loss last week was Zarian’s gain, because freedom was spreading, and that warmed his cold, free evil +4 heart.

He liked the freedom alignment a lot. Although, it wasn’t as strong as traditional evil and traditional good in certain areas.

For Zarian, his ability to have more control over his sharp cunning held it back, keeping his evil genius from reaching its full potential. However, he had an easier time directing free evil instead of getting directed by evil.

For Bianca, it was much, much harder to use the full power of free good. Theoretically, she could match the power of traditional good, but she needed to achieve the highest idealization of goodness.

To do that, she needed a sense of selfless purity that went beyond being super good in the moral sense. That was hard. Yet, the princess was doing her best to make it work anyway.

Zarian glanced at Bianca. He was still trying to get used to the new look. For the first time in a long time, she wore something else than her eternal garden dress.

Now she wore a dark green and black dress that was billowy at the bottom. It was covered in gem-like leaves that rustled like a dark forest on a windy, stormy night. The most surprising part was that the new outfit came with roman-like sandals instead of leaving Bianca barefoot.

The dark look even came with a quick redo on her nails, which were all painted black. The same went for her lipstick and mascara. Altogether, the effect was stunning.

Zarian was dressed mostly black, from his shirt down to his trousers and loafers. The guild emblem was stitched in dark red on the left side of his chest.

His dark red cloak twisted, flapped, and curled like living leather around him and Bianca. Para did a great job of making them look extra out of place and dynamic.

They had no personal bodyguards or escorts. They didn’t need them. Not when looks alone seemed killer already. Anyone who wanted to attempt an assassination was in for a world of hurt.

It was obvious that some self-important visitors wanted to break the gap and speak with the two. But the double villainous appearance kept them at bay, at least for now.

Zarian took a few seconds to come up with something to say. Then he found the perfect thing.

“You’re looking a little dark, aren’t you?” Zarian asked.

“It’s one of Abuela Ruvaria’s epic outfits, and it’s as old as the Dark Era and very pretty on me,” Bianca said, with a bright smile.

That one smile from her emboldened the onlookers. No dark dress and villainess appearance could hold them back for long once the legendary Light Princess and her extroverted ways shone. 𝙧ἈΝỖ₿Ёṣ

It was like she had a spotlight following her everywhere.

Zarian let out a dark sigh that made the magic lobby lights flicker ominously. He leaned on his scariest traits – Dark Affinity, Uncanny Valley Effect, and the Dreaded One – to hold back the tide of egoists.

He was almost tempted to use Lore Eater to feast on their surface thoughts, but Zarian knew from experience there were some surface thoughts he would prefer to avoid. Some people, men and women, had some weird fantasies surrounding the Floridians, especially Princess Bianca.

Out of everyone, she only became more beautiful, more glamorous, and more attractive from the past months of hard training and magical food eating. She had grown a little taller, too, and looked like a walking demigoddess.

Next to the monstrous Dark Lord, the contrast between them was apparent even if they were dressed darkly together. Bianca was becoming more of a mythical figure compared to when she first started as a scared, teary-eyed rum promoter.

Bianca stroked her elegant fingers through her long, amber hair. Her radiant amber eyes glanced back at the wolf dragon skull, with her pretty and plush lips pressed into a pout. Then she turned away and fixed a brilliant smile back on her face.

“You’re a beautiful chica, Bianca,” Zarian said. “You can really get yourself an elf husband if you convince the old lady hard enough. I’m sure she has better sons, grandsons, and great grandsons lying around on that continent of hers. All for the picking.”

Bianca didn’t respond. She only smiled. She was still a hard nut to crack right now.

Wow. I thought Naomi and Hannah were the hardest to get through when they were upset. But maybe Bianca is on a different level. How do you break past the walls of someone who is a master of making everything seem okay and happy?

Granted, it was more obvious that Bianca was dealing with issues in the months prior. But they had avoided talking about it because of their own progression paths.

Now that Empress Ruvaria was in the picture, Bianca seemed like she was back to her old self, but not quite.

She’s still on the fence about leaving behind the village and going to Grimrock. I wonder if anything will change if we talk things out.

Maybe they would. Maybe they wouldn’t.

The time for pondering was over. The egoists were champing at the bit and pressing closer.

These weren’t the people Zarian wanted to deal with right now. They were delegates from different kingdoms, different privateer guilds, and unique self-interested nobles who existed on the peripherals.

There were even a few humans who were part of the evil alignment, mostly representatives of criminal syndicates. They wanted to get closer to the universe-infamous Dark Lord for obvious benefits.

Zarian reached around Bianca’s waist. She leaned into him with a grace that was breathtaking for most of the onlookers.

Zarian moved her around, leading as the man, as Bianca spiraled perfectly on beat with him. The end of her dress and Zarian’s cloak fluttered and billowed together as Zarian cast Void Waltz.

With two more steps, he took their dance from the lobby to the south district, which was taken over mainly by gardener refugees.

Usually, Zarian avoided the area. He knew sentiment there was against him mainly for being the Dark Lord and the main blame for the civil war.

Today, he didn’t care. He wanted to check on the towers holding orphanages. While he did that, he let Bianca wander and follow any fancy she felt, talking to random people on the streets.

Zarian did all he could to dim his scary factor, which was easier with Bianca shining like a beacon of hope next to him. This part of his community service tour was a light warmup, so he could also concentrate on other things in his head.

As Bianca talked with random refugees, who were around Level 10 or below that, Zarian noted how scared they were in the presence of the princess and Dark Lord. But they couldn’t escape even if they wanted to.

Bianca’s sheer personality and charming magic had them caught in a vice grip. It was almost one or two steps away from outright mind control.

It would’ve been worse if it wasn’t for the system suppression that made it easier for Level 80s to interact with Level 10s and below. Or the Level 80s’ sheer presence would’ve crushed those who were far, far weaker.

Zarian wondered if all the magical energies in his and Bianca’s body were palpable enough to have a weight to it, which was a curious idea.

The Level 10s had very low stats. They needed a decent amount in Wonder to feel the supernatural, at least. Yet, the Level 10s could feel the magnitudes of difference between them and the dark-light duo just fine.

Zarian wondered if the Level 10s had the system nudging them, warning them, or at least the ones who had enough stats in Wonder. Most people were faithful folks, so maybe they had enough to feel nudges from the System.

It was either that or Zarian and Bianca were really that scarily powerful even when they were trying to be casual under System Suppression.

There were other little things Zarian found notable. Most of the refugees were close to Level 10 if they hadn’t already passed it with a class. Even the young children were halfway to Level 10, some further along than others.

After some thought, Zarian concluded that the journey to Ride-or-Die Village and living in this region was passively boosting experience gains and pushing everyone’s levels to a more reasonable place, Level 10 and above.

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That might not seem like much compared to Zarian, his friends, and the guild members. But it was better than the low gains in the Eternal Garden Kingdom.

That was nice to see. What wasn’t nice was how sluggish they all looked, regardless of levels and stats.

Zarian noticed many of the refugees had lost and uncertain looks in their eyes. They all had water, food, and shelter, but they still appeared sullen.

“They need work,” Zarian muttered, while somehow finding himself buried under a pile of children.

They were out in a courtyard with a garden and some hedges. Bianca had convinced the children to pile up on top of Zarian.

Nobody was going to tell her no, even if the worried adults desperately wanted to. The children seemed unaware of the danger, or they decided not to care about the subtle System nudges.

Thus, the Level 84 Madness Wizard, the husband of Evil Goddess Shadowfell and Dark Lord of the Infinita Star System, ended up beneath a dog pile of reckless kids who were around Level 5 and classless.

He looked quite defeated as the children cheered and shouted, making victorious sounds children liked to make.

From his perspective, they seemed so fragile a part of him hoped the system’s suppression remained rock solid for this situation to go without a hitch. Or the sentiment toward him in the south district would tank further.

Another part of him realized the gardener’s population was growing and becoming more permanent. The village was so efficient that it could meet many of the people’s needs.

That was nice for now, but Zarian could already see the signs of despondency, hence why he thought they needed work. The type of work that mattered, paid decently, and encouraged people to reinvest in their lives.

That hadn’t concerned him or the others because of the event against the wolf dragons. But the way things were now couldn’t stay the same.

They needed a more robust economy that wasn’t centered on just entrepreneurial adventurers. They needed to encompass regular people in the low levels, which normally was the majority of people.

I’ll bring it to the attention of Hannah and Rhea. In fact, I’m sure the Hemlock woman would be useful there, Zarian thought.

As a part of Zarian considered the economics and societal progress of the village, a major part of him studied the Parasite Cloak +2. But doing so required him to unravel certain fractures in his mind to get into the essence of Para’s designs.

He did so gently and slowly, not wanting to disturb Para while she was playing with the little orphans.

The cloak formed two dozen hands and tentacles, all gentle, as she playfully chased after shrieking kids and hoisted up the ones who she caught. She even went as far as patting the back of a crying little boy who had fallen over.

The adults in charge of the orphans watched with wide-eyes while caught under Bianca’s inescapable charm.

A lot was happening at once, and Zarian wanted to work on multiple facets at the same time with the utmost of focus. Hence, him having High Rune Mindframe slotted in his alpha section, leaving all of his grimoires in the beta section with his Level 0 skills.

Did it suck that his powerful wizard abilities had to be in the beta section? A little, yes. But the moment Zarian had slotted High Rune Mindframe into the alpha section, he felt its true power come to light.

All the multitasking he was doing prior to having this amazing skill felt sloppy, dangerous, and inefficient. It turned out he was making it all work through sheer Willpower.

Now he felt his fractured and unraveled thought processes happening under safer and more structured conditions. It really felt magical, hence why High Rune Mindframe scaled with Mysticism alone.

It was almost like he had a cybernetic enhancement applied to his mind, but the mystical kind instead of a chip.

Thus, Zarian could do multiple key things at once. He could play with a bunch of little orphans. He could use his free evil +4 to think up ideas to create productive villagers, because it looked like the refugees were going to stay for the long run. And he could use a large part of his mind to unravel and flow between the hard rune mechanics of Parasite Cloak +2.

Nobody had a clue of how much mental work and madness it took to explore the depths of Para’s essence and existence safely. How could they?

On the outside, Zarian seemed focused on interacting with the mortals. On the inside, his mind was a hive of activity that would’ve killed most people from the sheer mental workload.

Yeah, that skill combiner outcome was clutch, Zarian thought with a different section of his partitioned mind.

When do we get another skill combiner? We already have the Lesser World Boss Killer achievement. Maybe when we become Masters? Or maybe when we ascend? Do I have to kill a Greater World Boss?

After an hour of playing with orphans, they were now walking around the south district. Most gardeners made themselves scarce to avoid them.

Bianca turned to him. “What’s next?”

Zarian was thinking about dealing with some passive aggressive hostilities from the striders who were targeting the remaining paladins in the village. Before he waltzed himself and Bianca over to an area between the central district and north district, he noticed someone on the street corner who he’d seen back in Central Bramblevale.

Zarian grinned and waved. “Hey, old man! Still selling cabbages?”

The old cabbage seller turned to the Dark Lord and smiled. “Oh, milord, don’t you concern yourself with me! The cabbage business hasn’t been quite profitable for quite a while now. But I hear up here in these savage frontiers, there are much more interesting opportunities.”

Zarian redirected his walk to the former cabbage seller. The old man had some friends hanging around. They looked like they wanted to flee as Zarian and Bianca moved their way.

“Hello! You all look so wonderful. I need to grow up like you.” Bianca was all over them before they could run. Now they were stuck, mesmerized by her extroverted power.

Zarian chuckled as he patted the former cabbage seller on the shoulder to snap him free of Bianca’s charm. The old man returned a smile that was both nervous and genuine.

“What opportunities?” Zarian asked.

The old man looked around shiftily. Then he leaned closer and said, “There is a mystical plant that has relaxing effects. Great for apothecary and alchemical purposes. And it can help promote the growth of other crops when you recycle certain parts for compost. But it is a dangerous plant to harvest. Hard to reproduce, too.”

“How so?” Zarian asked.

“It is said that it grows best in soil that is watered with dragon blood.”

“No way.”

“It is true, milord. In fact, I heard word that you’ve slain a dragon, yes? If you go back to the soil where its blood wet the land, you may find the Dragon Blood Cloud Flower. But be very gentle. The plant needs to be cared for in a delicate manner.”

“How do you know this?”

The old man smiled, his face wrinkling deeply. “I once heard it in the old stories, milord. And I once heard it from the people who had lived here when I was a young man looking for work.”

Zarian nodded. He turned and called out. “Empress Ruvaria? Is Dragon Blood Cloud Flower exactly like he described?”

To the great shock and surprise of the old man, his friends, and other onlookers on the street, Empress Ruvaria made an appearance. She wore a very sleek white dress. The hem ending around her pale thighs. She also wore very thin sandals and little gloves.

She scowled up at Zarian. “It’s more impressive than that. But there are more interesting plants and wild crops in this region that most humans cannot understand the significance of.”

Corma’s Chosen One, Ruler of the Promised Continent, turned to the former cabbage seller. She graced him with a gentle look that was youthful, beautiful, and kind. A look that didn’t express how she was holding back the immensity of her power by many magnitudes with some help of System Suppression.

The old man collapsed onto his knees in front of the empress’s feet. He could barely talk while in the presence of a bonafide elf, the strongest of the Lesser Worlds.

“Child of cabbages, you prove to be wiser and more knowledgeable than most of your kind,” said the empress “Thus, I will grant you a small boon for being enlightened enough to make me think well of you.”

Empress Ruvaria waved her hand over the old man’s head.

Zarian barely caught the subtle enchantment she placed on the man. Somehow, she enchanted the person instead of an item.

Zarian hadn’t known that was possible until now.

The former cabbage seller looked up in awe as the empress turned back to Zarian.

“Don’t make it a habit to call me out whenever you want. You know how I feel about these public outings,” she scolded.

“Yes, yes, sorry, sorry. But thank you,” Zarian said.

Bianca was creeping around to ambush the empress from behind. Ruvaria disappeared before Bianca could get a hold of her. The princess frowned, then she shrugged and went back to being her cheery self.

Zarian and Bianca chatted up the elders, warming them up after the eventful appearance of an elf, a creature of myth they only heard about in stories.

Zarian found it interesting how he could call up Empress Ruvaria, and she would respond right away for him. Most people would go their entire lives not knowing or ever seeing an elf, at least in the Walled Continent.

At some point, it seemed like some of the gardener refugees could look past Zarian being the blame for their civil war and see that he wasn’t much of a threat to them.

Maybe that was because of Bianca playing up her role at his side.

Or maybe he was doing a decent job improving sentiments by appearing on the street level. That way, the mortals could see and interact with him directly, making him less of a bogeyman.

Either way, he left the south district feeling as if his approval ratings were going up a little.

He was thankful there was no major system mechanic for transforming a village into an empire. That would occupy too much of his attention if there were clear rewards for that other than having a fortified home and some plebs to do with what he wanted, which was mainly to see things improve for everyone who played by his rules.

After all, the reason Ride-or-Die Village existed was to leave something for the guild members to take care of and grow old in. Eventually, Zarian and his friends had to leave the village behind and let the people govern themselves.

Zarian took Bianca’s hand for another waltz. They stepped out from the void and landed outside of the wall near the northwest corner. They stood on a field of vibrant green grass and wildflowers.

Amid the wildflower patches, Bianca turned sharply to a specific spot. Following her lead, Zarian noticed a few plants that gave off a lot of magical energy.

Bianca had noticed them faster because of her investment in the Wonder stat.

The specific plants that caught their interest were orange-red in the middle with black petals and a golden stem. It looked like a scaly sunflower in shape, honestly.

Zarian used his Identify trait and told Bianca what he saw.

<Dragon Blood Cloud Flower (Epic): The bud holds concentrated energy purely distilled from the mystical blood of a dragon. The petals contain medicinal, alchemical, mystical, and other craft worthy purposes. The stems are hard and scaled, rich in nutrients while also useful for crafting purposes. You can do a lot with a plant like this, even if all you do is make good liquor from it. You need to research how to reap it correctly to avoid spoiling the epic flower.>

“Bianca?” Zarian called.

“Yes, Zarian.”

“Do you think Hannah would think of this as a very nice gift?”

“I think she will.”

“Great. I have some stuff to bring to her attention, but I can start with giving her dragon flowers.” Zarian sighed, looking at the cloudless day. “I also have a gift in mind for you.”

“Oh, papi, you don’t have to!”

Zarian frowned. “Bianca, I’m going to ask my wife to get a message to Earth. You’ll be the first to get a crack at communicating with your family. If it works, then I’ll invite the others to try.”

Bianca said nothing for the next half hour. Then, with a hoarse voice, she asked, “You aren’t going to order your wife, are you?”

“No. I’ll make a trade with her. Hopefully, whatever Luciana wants isn’t too out there. You know how over the top my wife is.”

“You shouldn’t, Zarian. Not for me. Not…” Bianca trailed off.

“You don’t have to explain yourself. I just want to do this for you. I want you to know I do care, Bianca. And I am sorry.”

Bianca fell silent again. She became dimmer and withdrawn. Zarian wasn’t sure if that was a positive sign or a negative sign. He waited for her while they stood in a small patch of epic dragon flowers.

Once Bianca was ready to move on, Zarian pulled her into a waltz so they could continue their tour around the city. He also left dozens of spectral spiders to watch over the dragon flowers until they figured out how to reap them.

Now that they knew they could farm plants using dragon blood, Zarian wondered what other special goods hid in this region and beyond.

They could make a hell of an industry here that would make Ride-or-Die Village more than just a pit stop and tourist destination for adventurers and foreigners. Zarian could imagine something incredible existing here for the guild after he and the others left.

Foodie should be here to see it, Zarian thought. Maybe she can have a big impact here as well.

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