Once they were far enough away from the village, it was easier for Zarian and his fellow Floridians to ignore the plight of the poor kiddos. They also ignored the growing rampage of an introverted elf monster being out in public among a bunch of weak normies.
Hannah parked the rune cart on the side of the road and opened up the back. Loner held watch while everyone else changed into their latest adventure outfits.
Zarian slipped into a new pair of trousers and boots, which were all black except for the dark red emblem and motto on his right thigh. He was going light on the armor and staying topless. At this point, Para served as his best armor.
As for the enchantments, Hannah had designed the leggings and boots for darkness enhancements plus the adventure-necessary additions such as self-repair, self-cleaning, and high durability.
Zarian liked how they made his legs look shadowy even under a bright spring day.
Bianca was his opposite. She wore white and silver except for the dark red emblem and motto stamped on the midsection of her battle dress.
Looking her up and down, Zarian was a little surprised that Bianca was wearing footwear instead of returning to being barefoot. The new shoes were a pair of high-heeled boots with enchantments for added agility plus the adventure-necessary stuff.
“No more of the old elven dress?” he asked.
“Hannah can make my dresses in specific ways that are better for me,” Bianca said. “I still love the old one, but I want to be ahead of the seasonal trends and not get stuck on them.”
“This is less about enchantments and more about fashion, isn’t it?” Zarian asked.“Do not speak about what you don’t know, Zarian Darkrun,” Bianca said mysteriously. “A fashionista is like a wizard, you know?”
“Do I know? Or do I not know?” Zarian asked.
“Those are the questions you must answer to truly understand,” Bianca said, trying to sound profound.
“Uh huh,” Zarian grunted.
Gilbert chuckled before directing his words toward Hannah. “I’m just glad you’re not throwing the whole kitchen sink at us again, egghead.”
He wore dark heavy armor like a proper paladin or knight. With a flick of his left arm, the brace on his forearm expanded into a large and boxy runic shield. He also had his own nifty and demonic-looking gauntlet on his right arm. The horned and wrathful face of a demon stood out on the back of the hand.
Zarian narrowed his eyes and smiled at Gilbert’s Repenting Gauntlet. Gilbert ignored him and the others when they looked at his gauntlet.
Gilbert added to his original statement. “I never used all those extra bells and whistles you’ve given me, to be honest with you. I solved most issues with the classic solution of hitting the big bad thing more and more until it dropped.”
Hannah sighed while sitting on a crate inside the rune cart. The interior of the self-driven vehicle was orderly and almost futuristic, with lines of runic blue and purple engravings from the enchantments on the surfaces.
The cart matched Hannah very well, especially when her skin-tight, magic smart suit glowed in an array of enchanted colors that flowed down the seams and contours of her body. Six shrunken golem balls revolved around her, as if she was a planet and they were an array of moons. She readjusted her slim, smart gloves before looking down to examine her lightweight boots.
She looked like she was the main entertainer at a lit up rave party. Zarian could see Hannah being a techno DJ in another life, one where she grew up with a dream to engineer the best music instead of engineering aerospace tech.
“I have so many enchantments and unique runes now,” Hannah said. “I can almost do anything, even if not effectively. Yet, you all want nothing more than just the simplest layers stacked on top of each other, with self-repair and self-cleaning.”
Hannah shook her head in disappointment at them. “I can do so much more for you than just that.”
Zarian shrugged. “You know me. I’m complex enough. And look at these two?” He stuck a thumb at Gilbert and Bianca.
Gilbert was flexing randomly in his armor. Then he stooped down to jostle around the armor section that was covering his groin.
Bianca looked up into the twin suns directly before randomly spiraling around in her battle dress, making the metallic skirt flare out. She stopped and kicked up each leg as if to show off her high-heeled boots to the world.
Hannah sighed. “Yes, point taken. I suppose I can’t help but make my armor complex because it’s my business to do so. Yours enhances darkness entirely, as requested. Bianca’s dress enhances some of her Agility but focuses mainly on her aura recovery and providing extra light if she needs it. Gilbert’s practically a walking fortress. I haven’t remodeled Naomi’s yet, but I assume she wants as many mental boosts as I can add to hers.”
“Sounds like you’re doing your best work yet,” Zarian said, smirking.
Hannah huffed. “Yes, well, I somehow made them legendary without the Star System’s overt help.”
Gilbert and Bianca froze. They slowly turned to Hannah.
Zarian chuckled. “Yes, you two, we’re wearing true legendary outfits that Hannah made because she’s so smart and talented and awesome.”
“Please, Zarian, stop,” Hannah pleaded.
“Sure, sure, maybe. Other than Hannah being the best, she used some advanced materials Ruvaria had given her, right, Hannah?”
“She handed them to me plus some extra because I needed to make these for you.” Hannah gestured behind her.
One of her six revolving golems released pulses of blue and purple magic. Four half circle pieces that looked alike came flying out.
Zarian used Aura Mastery to create a hardened cushion of air. He took the items from Hannah’s runic control and had them hover in front of him.
“Hold up now,” Gilbert said, his eyes moving left and right shiftily. “Y’all are doing too much crazy mystical stuff now. This little hat on my head can’t keep up, and now I’m feeling left out.”
“Maybe you should join me in meditation instead of spending so much time with your girlfriends,” Bianca said, smiling behind her hand. “Then you’ll be all mystical like the rest of us.”
Gilbert frowned at her. But he kept his mouth shut.
Zarian examined the new items with Aura Mastery + Identify.
<Greater Cuffs of the Twenty Dark Lock Sealing Style (Legendary): These pair well with your sealing style technique. Once they’re locked on, only the creator of these cuffs or a highly sophisticated magic user of the sealing arts can get these off of you. Or you must play a certain mini game that has a difficulty that matches a fraction of the power of your Overwhelming Darkness. Concentrate to expand for more details.>
Zarian concentrated.
<Greater Cuffs of the Twenty Dark Lock Sealing Style (Expanded Details): These are made from an alloy that uses Corma Dwarf Adamantium, one of the strongest materials you can find across many of the Lesser Worlds. The alloy was specifically made by mystical cavern dwarves far underground during the height of the Promised Dwarven Empire in the Absolute Era, when the dwarves were at the peak of power because of their technological approach that combined magic and craft in significantly advance ways.>
<It was unfortunate and fortunate that the dwarves made an enemy of one of Infinita’s Absolute Kings, a title reserved for the most significant rulers of the Absolute Era. The remnants of dwarven magic and craft from 15,000 years ago still exist in this world to this very day, but buried by time and secrecy.>
Zarian looked wide-eyed at the crazy lore before glancing up and meeting Hannah’s eyes. From that look alone, Zarian imagined Hannah knew the significance behind the Corma Dwarf Adamantium. There was a strong chance that dwarven magic tech was connected to the golem tech of the Forgotten Kingdom.
Maybe the Forgotten Kingdom descended from the old Promised Dwarven Empire from many years ago. Some sort of cataclysm, which was most likely caused by Empress Ruvaria, had buried the Forgotten Kingdom while wiping out the orcs during the Reset Era. Many years before that, in the old eras before the reset, Ruvaria’s father, an Absolute King, had done the same to the dwarves.
Like father, like daughter, the elven rulers had a huge effect on this world. But what would the Floridians gain in the end?
At this point, Hannah has advanced so fast I can only wonder what more she would learn from the Forgotten Kingdom, Zarian wondered. There’s a real chance that when we finally reach the Forgotten Kingdom, we’ll be too OP for the setting. I hope Hannah doesn’t get disappointed by that.
Looking at the cuffs themselves, Zarian saw how they were black and split in halves. They were wider and thicker than regular handcuffs and had no chains tethering them to each other. They also had twenty little cubes along the edges, which were Hannah’s defining signature and a necessary component for Zarian’s sealing style technique.
The others might notice it later, but there were little cube-shapes in all of their outfits. That was because Hannah had used a mix of traditional crafting and her Cube Maker Magic +2 to create her items in record time.
Zarian hadn’t seen it himself, but Hannah even had her own workshop and forge in the heart of the tower. Because of her traits, especially the ones that intensified her learning speed and memory, she could achieve more in crafting at a faster rate than what others could accomplish traditionally.
Hannah, you’re so OP on this world it’s a disservice to you for you to think you aren’t good enough. Even I can’t really compare my wizard side to Overwhelming Darkness.
Zarian shook his head and rid himself of his thoughts. He smiled at the hovering cuffs before he slowly panned his view around and looked straight at Gilbert.
“Well, officer. I’m guilty as charged, I suppose,” Zarian said, his smile widening.
The big man sighed before flicking his shield arm and making the armament fold into its brace. He grabbed the halves of one cuff and snapped them on Zarian’s right arm between the wrist and the meat of the forearm. Gilbert did the same to the other arm.
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Immediately, Zarian felt the pressure from his Overwhelming Darkness fade. He’d grown so used to it he was nearly shocked to feel the dark tide being cast away. Zarian then felt a little sad that he couldn’t remain this free for long.
“You don’t have to cultivate the entire way,” Bianca blurted out.
“I should cultivate as much as I can,” Zarian said. “It’s my burden to bear.”
Gilbert kept his opinions to himself. Hannah closed up the back of the cart with her runic Willpower and a pulse of magic. The double metal doors swung shut for her. Then the cart rolled forward gradually with no visible driver.
It looked like one big metal trailer with six wheels that had the benefit of properly made spring suspensions and enchantments helping it get across any rough patches ahead.
Zarian let the sealing patterns covering his arms fade. He shook his arms about to get used to the weight of the cuffs.
They were much better than the gauntlets for sure. He quite liked them and appreciated having more of his flesh open for future parasite maneuvers.
“Alright, let’s do this. All the way from the top,” Zarian said.
Para shifted forms from a mystical and glimmering cloak to a super shiny and voracious battle kilt. The spiders swooped down from on top of their webbed boards, landed on Zarian, and applied a fresh layer of gravity runes to his back using their smartly woven arcane webbing.
Zarian went through the sequence step by step.
He reformed the dark seal patterns on his arms like full sleeve tattoos. He merged a portion of his consciousness with Para’s consciousness. He completed the hand signs and chants as the spiders triggered the webbed gravity enchantment for intensifying the conceptual weight of his actions.
Then he said, “Cultivate.”
Two-thirds of his concentration went to cycling around threads from Overwhelming Darkness through his spirit and body. He used Aura Mastery to keep his profile functional and to help him be present in the moment. When he felt the monstrous hunger of Overwhelming Darkness, Para’s influence kept him human and focused.
Once the cultivation was in full swing for a dozen loops, Zarian focused on adjusting to his overt weakness as if he was relearning to walk. He took a few steps forward, back, and from side to side. He rotated his arms around and threw a couple of punches.
The world felt muted. Gray. He felt contained and stuffed. This was indeed a burden, but he wasn’t completely defenseless. He could still push out Aura Mastery for hundreds of feet. He could still fight. Or at the very least, he could defend himself long enough to seal his Overwhelming Darkness and use full Aura Mastery.
Zaria nodded, coming to terms with the situation. “You all must be wondering if this sucks? Yes. But there’s a bright side.”
“Oh, I love bright sides,” Bianca said.
“Other than facing another Lesser World Boss, my training is going to be legendary,” Zarian said. “And the same for you guys. I believe we have some new skills to play with, so we might have to reshuffle our alpha and beta skills around.”
Hannah sighed aloud as she continued walking on the ground with the others, the rune cart following behind them. She looked up at a mostly blue sky with a few blocky clouds.
River moats and twisting streams babbled around them as fields, gardens, and hedge forests blossomed with new flowers between old courtyards of stone. Statues that were buried under snow and ice from the winter months were now wearing new growths of creeping vines as Early Spring prepared to shift to Mid Spring.
“I can’t, Zarian,” Hannah said. “All of my alpha skills are important. Enchantment +2, Rune Alteration +2, Rune Scan +2, Cube Magic Maker +2, and Summon Magical Intelligence +2. In fact, I can’t even touch Summon Magical Intelligence +2 or I’ll rip Magi away from the tower. So that must stay in the alpha section and I have a hard time imagining the others as beta.”
“Put Enchantment +2 in beta and let your Mystic Rush Tank have some fun under the sun,” Zarian said. “Besides, you have enough abilities and stats to make Enchantment +2 very viable as a beta skill, even if it’s harder. Maybe you might even find more insight from that if it’s harder.”
Hannah looked at him for a long while. Then she crossed her arms and let out a bratty huff before looking away.
Zarian didn’t have to ask if she made the change or not. He could tell by how tense she was that she was following his advice.
Not my fault you cannot understand how strong you are, Zarian thought. I need to keep the pressure on you guys. One of you may become the Adventurer King or Queen.
“Mm, I have Searing Flash Array +2, Light Step +2, Refraction +2, Light Construction +2, and Shining Mark +2 in the alpha,” Bianca said. “I guess I can learn to make Searing Flash Array +2 better with it in the beta, so I’ll switch that with Super Serene Rampage.”
“I’m not putting Healing Force +2 in beta,” Gilbert grumbled. “That’s hella irresponsible.”
“I’ve packed up some health potions I bought from a decent alchemist,” Hannah said.
“You know that stuff ain’t much good. You can’t convince me to put something so life-saving in the beta.” Gilbert sounded adamant.
“I’ll be extra careful and smart if you put it in the beta. And so will Bianca,” Zarian said. “In fact, we’ll share our thoughts with someone else before we have the inclination to go crazy. Right, Bianca?”
The Light Princess smiled silently.
“Right, Bianca?!” Zarian insisted.
She sighed. “Yes, okay, si, fine, fine, papi. I will be much, much smarter.”
Gilbert palmed his face. He groaned. “Fine, fine. I’m holding you both to it. I guess I’ll drink less just in case. There, I put Healing Force +2 in the beta section. Now I have Adrenaline Jolt +2, Tranquilizing Touch +2, Summon Spirit Steed +2, and Unified Monk Force in the alpha.”
Zarian blinked. He opened his mouth, but Gilbert cut him off.
“Sacrificial Blow +2 is going in the beta section with Health Force +2. I figure I can work on being a more traditional tank this way without the extra oomph and crazy vitality sacrifice,” Gilbert said. “Besides, the only person who makes the most out of Sacrificial Blow +2 isn’t here right now, and even then she hits like a mountain on her own.”
“Still a bold move to go with only four alpha skills when you have a fifth slot,” Zarian admitted.
Gilbert shrugged. “Y’all got way more mystical stuff going on. I do my best work to grow while out here in the wilds or doing stuff that actually helps people. Now, is it safe to assume we have to deal with anything nasty that comes our way before we reach this lake of yours?”
Zarian smiled. He had spectral spiders already stationed along the route and scouting stuff out. There was nothing crazy like angels or world bosses on their way to the special lake.
They still had some dangerous creatures moving about actively and patrols of aggressive kobolds scouting around. With winter gone, there was more of everything on the frontier in search of prey and bounty.
“Nothing crazy. It’ll be a light and easy-going trip,” Zarian said.
After several days and a dozen easy fights, Zarian, Gilbert, Hannah, Bianca, Loner, some new skeletons, and the rune cart made it to the perimeter of the big lake Zarian had found in Late Winter. It was Mid Spring when they parked the rune cart in a busted courtyard, leaving the new skeletons to guard it.
They hopped to the top of some dilapidated towers and took in the view.
Bianca let out a cheerful scream. Hannah observed the lake with silent awe. Gilbert was also stunned into silence. Loner didn’t seem to make a big deal of the view.
“Zarian, this is one hell of a birthday gift,” Gilbert said.
Zarian chuckled. The view was amazing. The surface of the lake was like a perfect mirror reflecting the vine-covered castles surrounding it. The reflection even included white blocky clouds and a blue sky, making it all look quite grand and pristine.
Better yet, Zarian’s consistent cultivation had borne more fruit while on the way here.
<Your skill, High Rune Mindframe, leveled up from 5 to 6!>
<Your skill, Overwhelming Darkness, leveled up from 4 to 5!>
<Your skill, Parasite Cloak +2, leveled up from 41 to 42!>
Even Para benefits from the cultivation, Zarian thought. She’s acting as my shield against the hunger of Overwhelming Darkness, and that’s a pretty big deal.
Zarian wasn’t sure how much better he was at controlling Overwhelming Darkness, but he figured there would certainly be some improvements. Eventually, he would have to test those improvements on something that was worthy of his One Percent Power.
There was one big issue with cultivating, however. It was hard to study his grimoires and learn new spells. Para had a similar issue, which disrupted her learning prowess.
Certain mental abilities, such as Lore Eater, weren’t as powerful while their attention was so drastically reduced because of the cultivation. In fact, Zarian imagined his Willpower was heavily impaired along with other stuff.
I might have to stop cultivating now and then so Para and I can study properly, Zarian thought. I want to learn some new spells and then get back to working on the gravity spell.
So much to do.
So much to do.
Before he said anything aloud to the others, Zarian felt something through the spider network. The others failed to notice, which wasn’t their fault. They didn’t have his Aura Mastery.
Turning sharply to the source of the signal, Zarian gained impressions and feelings that were transmitting from far away. The signal came from the direction of the Blood Prairies, but further north than Zarian had gone.
“Guys, I have to go,” he said. Everyone looked at him sharply based on the tone of his voice. He didn’t leave them in suspense for long. “Naomi’s calling for me.”
They all grew tenser. But then they eased up when he smiled. “I don’t think she’s dying or anything. But it must be serious for her to reach out to me like this.”
Zarian rolled his neck and shoulders around, feeling ready to head out and face some actual danger. “Go ahead and set up here. I’ll go see how Naomi’s doing. Then once I come back with her, we’ll have ourselves a lake day and do a ceremony for Loner’s advancement as an expert.”
Zarian glanced at the gold notification hovering over Loner.
<You can advance Goblin Skeleton Loner, a Level 74 Runic Enforcer, into an Expert. Would you like to do that now?>
It’ll be nice for Naomi to be here for it, Zarian thought. But first, I need to see what’s happening with her.
More importantly, he wanted to know how much Naomi had grown since they last talked. Zarian was very curious based on how things went before she’d departed. Thinking about that made him feel thrilled and hungry.
“Go on, chief,” Gilbert said. “We’ll hold things down here while we wait for you two.”
Bianca gave two thumbs up.
Hannah nodded. Loner also nodded.
“Be back in a jiffy,” Zarian said.
His personal squad of aura-mastering spiders rode on his battle kilt as he waltzed through the void. Before he knew it, he felt his heart hammering more and more in excitement at seeing Naomi again. He also gave his profile a quick scan to make sure he’d distributed his Free Points and was properly prepared to fight.
It could be another Lesser World Boss that Naomi was going after. If that was the case, then Zarian wanted everything ready before he sealed away Overwhelming Darkness and stopped cultivating. Then he could test the full might of his new aura abilities against a more appropriate challenge.
The things lurking in the void fled away from him quickly. They could feel his growing hunger like a wild fire turning into a huge inferno.
<>
Origins: Zarian Darkrun, 22 yr-old Human, Born Late Winter, Dreaded Outsider, Dungeon Master, Freedom Leader, Dark Lord, Aura Master
Level: 85
Class: Madness Wizard (Legendary)
Alignment: Free Evil +4
Traits: Dark Affinity (Rare), Overpower (Epic), Identify (Rare), Aura Channeler (Rare), Frenzy Zone (Uncommon), Uncanny Valley Effect (Rare), Void Mysticism (Rare), Lore Eater (Epic), Thematic Law/Floridian Mindset (Divine), The Dreaded One (Epic), Bearer of the Twenty Dark Locks Sealing Style (Legendary), Unraveled Mind (Rare), Aura Mastery (Legendary)
Alpha Skills (5/5): Overwhelming Darkness (Level 5), Parasite Cloak +2 (Level 42), Spectral Spider Network +2 (Level 32), Summon Wizard Hat +2 (Level 36), High Rune Mindframe (Level 6)
Beta Skills (6/15): Advanced Grimoire of the Voidling Exile (Level 9), Advanced Grimoire of Black Magic (Level 1), Advanced Grimoire of the Hell Gator (Level 1), Willful Might (Level 0), Wondrous Speed (Level 0), Mystic Toughness (Level 0)
Stats Per Level: +2 Willpower, +2 Wonder, +3 Mysticism, +7 free
Willpower: 426
Strength: 41
Agility: 43
Wonder: 349
Mysticism: 539
Free: 0
Achievements: Honored Outsider (Divine), SSS Dance with White Silk Reiki (Epic), Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom (Legendary), Divine Knock Knock (Divine), Junior Manslaughterer (Uncommon), Initial Pacifist Gauntlet (Rare), First Human Gnoll Elder of Corma (Epic), SSS Genius Beyond the Lore Eater (Epic), Boon Wrecker (Divine), Befriending Gods (Divine), Rare Dungeon Master (Rare), Lizard Slayer (Uncommon), Divine Enemy (Divine), Dreaded Outsider (Divine), Freedom Leader (Divine), Master Breaker (Mythic), Attrition Warfare (Legendary), Lesser World Boss Killer (Divine), Arch Cherub Silencer (Divine)
Spells: Bloody Lifesteal (Uncommon), Deploy Expert Skeletons (Epic), Black Fire (Rare), Quagmire Pit (Uncommon), Dread Mire Bite (Rare), Dread Mire Bellow (Epic), Dreadnought Hell Gator (Legendary), Void Authority (Epic), Void Layer (Legendary), Void Waltz (Legendary), Void Shout (Legendary)
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