Chapter 424

It was still the first half of the night, the peak period for Spirit Net members to be online.

As soon as the news was published, it spread at an astonishing speed, drawing an audience of at least a hundred thousand people.

The report contained numerous images documenting the entire process, from the underground creatures gathering their forces to setting out on their expedition. Everything was covered, from the army’s composition and numbers to its marching direction.

At the end, it even included a rough assessment of the underground creatures’ likely motives.

In other words, the nighttime operation that the drow, duergar, and kuo-toa had spent so long preparing was exposed almost as soon as it began, with half of Faerûn watching.

Every city and village around Baldur’s Gate was now on alert.

Once a “secret operation” was no longer secret, its effectiveness was bound to suffer.

Fifteen minutes later, the Holrewen News Office published a second report.

This one detailed Anser’s achievement in single-handedly defeating a duergar army, describing the general course of the battle and its outcome.

More than a thousand underground creatures had been killed, including the duergar commander and his elite personal guards.

Nearly a thousand human slaves had also been rescued.

Keep a low profile, but make a big impact!

Two enormous red dragons had appeared during the battle. To prevent rumors or misinterpretations from spreading, Anser had no choice but to step forward and publicly take responsibility for the battle ahead of time.

With the previous report already generating so much attention, this second announcement immediately set the comment sections and discussion forums ablaze.

The people of Faerûn were finally beginning to understand just how ridiculous Anser was!

Who the hell went around taking on entire armies single-handedly? His methods might differ each time, but his feats just kept getting more outrageous.

Without the extensive photographic evidence, many people would never have believed it. They would have assumed some bard had made the whole thing up.

Ordinary people enjoyed the spectacle, while professionals were shaken to their core.

This level of combat power was well beyond what most people thought a professional could achieve.

The Weave had been in turmoil for so long that some people could barely remember what legendary spellcasters had been like. They couldn’t help treating Anser as the new benchmark for legendary power.

Inside the Black Tower, Anser closed the Spirit Net and stopped reading.

‘Why do I always have to be the one to kick things off? I’m not some kind of savior,’ he grumbled inwardly.

He had already contributed more than enough this time. What happened next was up to the Lords’ Alliance.

He kicked off his shoes, lay down on the bed, and turned his attention inward.

The twenty-sided die of fragmented gold floated silently in his mind, with a corner of its fourteenth symbol now illuminated.

‘Level up! Level up!’

He could hardly wait any longer!

He brought up his Character Sheet and touched the class option:

Increase his Sorcerer level or choose a new class.

‘Increase Sorcerer level.’

[Level Up: Level 20 Sorcerer!]

[Your True Dragon power has increased. Gold Dragon Power +2, Silver Dragon Power +2.]

[You have gained a new class feature: Arcane Apotheosis.]

[You can learn two new spells, two Evocation spells, and one Signature Spell.]

[You have mastered two Epic Boon feats. You can manifest two innate magical abilities as supernatural abilities. Your Magic Power Control level has increased.]

A succession of notifications sounded, making Anser grin from ear to ear.

Level 20!

The endpoint for ordinary professionals, the pinnacle of mortal achievement. One more step, and he could enter the legendary realm!

That day had arrived so quickly that even Anser found it a little unreal.

His memories of fleeing Baldur’s Gate were still vivid. The terror that had kept him awake at night seemed like something he had experienced only recently.

‘A whole new beginning!’ he thought with a sigh.

He invested all four points of True Dragon Power into Intelligence, raising it to 29.

His weaknesses couldn’t be allowed to remain weak, and his strengths had to be exceptional.

His new feature, Arcane Apotheosis, was the Sorcerer’s ultimate ability.

…

Arcane Apotheosis: You have mastered control over your innate magic, bringing it into perfect harmony with the source of your bloodline.

While Innate Sorcery was active, he could use Metamagic without expending sorcery points.

…

The ability was fairly straightforward, but it represented a tremendous improvement for a Sorcerer.

Sorcery points were far too scarce, and converting them involved losses. Even Anser had to carefully manage how many he spent.

A Sorcerer was already a Sorcerous Incarnation and could activate Innate Sorcery by spending two sorcery points.

A Level 20 Sorcerer could activate Innate Sorcery twenty-two times in total, for a combined duration of twenty-two minutes. That was an almost absurd amount of time to work with.

The two features complemented each other perfectly. A Sorcerer could first spend sorcery points to activate Innate Sorcery, then cast spells using Metamagic at no additional cost, effectively transforming into a magical artillery battery.

It was equivalent to making every Metamagic option a permanent effect while the feature remained active, fully deserving of the name Arcane Apotheosis.

‘That’s powerful.’

An ordinary Sorcerer could apply only two Metamagic options to a single spell, but he could use nine!

Next came spell selection.

He opened the spell list and discovered that the highest-level spells were still ninth-level spells, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

Apparently, the current class system didn’t include tenth-level spells. He would have to study and create those himself.

Only one ninth-level Evocation spell remained, Ravenous Void, so his other choice had to be the eighth-level spell Maddening Darkness.

…

Ravenous Void: 9th-level Evocation

Base Range: 1,000 feet (300 meters)

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute.

Choose a point to create a devastating spherical field of force with a radius of 30 feet (9 meters).

When the field appears, objects and creatures within 100 feet (30 meters) are pulled directly toward its center. Creatures must make a Strength saving throw or be dragged into the center, taking 5d10 (5–50) force damage and becoming restrained.

For the duration of the spell, the spherical field and the space within 100 feet (30 meters) of it are considered difficult terrain. Nonmagical objects that are neither worn nor carried and are entirely within the field are destroyed.

If a creature is killed by this spell, both the creature and all nonmagical objects it carries are annihilated.

…

Ravenous Void was particularly effective against professionals with insufficient Strength. Anyone unable to withstand the sphere’s powerful pull would be restrained at its center, where the relentless force would gradually annihilate them while they were still alive, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

Maddening Darkness was an eighth-level Evocation spell that created a sphere of darkness with a radius of 60 feet (18 meters). Even darkvision couldn’t penetrate it, and ordinary magical light couldn’t illuminate the area.

The darkness was filled with madness. Those inside could hear screams, whispers, and maniacal laughter. Anyone who failed a Wisdom saving throw would suffer 8d8 (8–64) psychic damage.

It was an outstanding battlefield-control spell, extremely useful in certain situations.

Anser wasn’t in a hurry to choose his Sorcerer spells. Instead, he decided to select his Signature Spell first, since the range of available options was much broader.

Since it was going to be his Signature Spell, he naturally wanted something with the greatest potential and the most powerful effects.

He narrowed his choices down to three spells: Foresight, Imprisonment, and Invulnerability.

Foresight granted a target a limited ability to anticipate events in the near future.

Imprisonment was arguably the most difficult sealing spell to overcome, with an absurdly powerful ability to restrain its target.

Invulnerability was simple and brutally effective: it made the caster immune to all damage until the spell ended.

One Divination spell and two Abjuration spells, all drawn from the Wizard spell list.

‘This is such a hard choice!’

After agonizing over it for quite a while, he ultimately played it safe and chose Invulnerability!

‘I’ll pick the others next time.’

Foresight could only anticipate events a few seconds or a few dozen seconds into the future. It didn’t provide actual visions, but rather a vague, continuous sense of impending danger, primarily useful for avoiding threats.

Invulnerability lasted ten minutes. It might not make someone truly invincible, but it certainly made them capable of taking a beating. Ordinary attacks would have absolutely no effect against the spell.

‘Abjuration really is powerful. I wonder how Invulnerability actually works?’