Advancement

On the outskirts of Northwind Keep, within the Steel Dragonwing Palace. Cassius lay quietly on the floor, his massive draconic bulk rising and falling with his breath as sulfurous smoke drifted through the hall. By now, the red dragon measured nearly forty meters from head to tail. Even this palace, built to be exceptionally spacious, felt somewhat cramped for him. "Whew..." "Finally time to level up. A bountiful harvest at last." Cassius yawned, puffing out a plume of sulfurous white smoke. Bracing the floor with his muscular limbs and tail, he slowly pushed himself up. The red dragon stared intently at the panel before him, a flicker of joy showing in his pale gold pupils. [You have gained 200 XP] [You have gained 100 XP] [You have gained 900 XP] ... Ever since opening the Experience Shop and the Undead Research Institute, Cassius's experience had grown with astonishing speed. Over a hundred thousand players across the empire were constantly channeling XP to him. Though the amount per transaction was minuscule to him, the sheer base size and frequency were staggering. On top of that, he had devoured numerous efreet on the Elemental Plane of Fire, slain two emirs, and even personally killed a pasha. Only a few months had passed, yet even with a progenitor dragon template that could be described as an "experience black hole," Cassius had accumulated enough XP for his next level-up and was on the brink of another enhancement. [You have gained 900 XP] [Your total character level has increased to 19] [Your current classes are: True Dragon Sorcerer 15 / Bloodscaled Fury 3] Cassius made his choice without the slightest hesitation. Even setting aside the curse, reaching Level 16 in True Dragon Sorcerer offered a precious opportunity to increase an ability score. [You have chosen to advance True Dragon Sorcerer to Level 16] [Due to innate draconic spellcasting, your current caster level is: 21] [Upon reaching Level 16 in this class, you gain 2 Epic Ability Points (which can increase an ability score above 20), to be allocated to any attribute of your choice.] At once, Cassius's breath quickened. During his campaign against the efreet, he had earned several new achievements, such as Efreeti Devourer and Notorious. Yet those copper-tier achievements were negligible to him now, unable to yield even a single full ability point. At Cassius's current tier, raising an attribute by even one point was exceptionally difficult, bordering on the realm of demigods. And now, he could finally advance once more. [You have chosen to increase: Charisma] [Charisma: 33 → 35] His caster level and his capacity to project influence outward had increased simultaneously, producing an effect far beyond his imagination. The surrounding Weave seemed to quiver, resonate, and cheer at the birth of this new high-tier master. In that instant, Cassius seemed to behold the Phlogiston Sea beyond the crystal spheres, glimpsing Material Planes bobbing like bubbles upon its surface, and sensing a source of magic far greater than the Weave. "The Primordial..." "This universe is vastly more grand than I imagined. This is yet another whole new level." Even in his previous life, no player had ever achieved such terrifying casting attributes in a single stat, or attained such a towering caster level—yet Cassius had done it. Soon, however, the greedy dragon snapped back from his grand, distant reverie. His pale gold eyes fixed intently on the panel, silently praying for the high-circle spells about to appear. The origin of magic? The mysteries of the cosmos? He was no wizard delving into esoteric secrets; he was just a magical barbarian. How could such ethereal concepts compare to concrete spells in hand? [You have acquired the 9th-circle Draconic Spell—Dragon Reaving] Dragon Reaving 9th-circle Abjuration [Wizards often mocked sorcerers with their Dispel Magic, unaware that tens of thousands of years ago, dragons created this spell specifically to slaughter troublesome titan priests. Similar to Greater Dispel Magic, the caster can transfer the dispelled or countered spell effect onto themselves, as if they had cast it themselves.] "Dispel Magic, huh..." "What a fantastic start! To draw a high-circle abjuration spell right off the bat." For dragons, who never lacked raw energy output, most evocation spells were useless frills, and necromancy was only practical for specialized breeds like shadow dragons. Abjuration, conjuration, transmutation, and illusion, however, were vastly more useful. In high-tier duels between individual spellcasters, massive back-and-forth spell barrages rarely occurred. Pitting something like Tsunami against Meteor Swarm offered dreadfully low cost-efficiency. As a popular joke from his past life went, duels usually amounted to: "I negate your spell, I dispel your negation, I counterspell your dispel"—the ultimate nesting doll. And Cassius was exceptionally satisfied with Dragon Reaving. "Now then, what about the second one...?" [You have acquired the 7th-circle Draconic Spell—Dragon's Simulacrum] Dragon's Simulacrum 7th-circle Illusion [Consumes a certain amount of materials and experience to create a duplicate of a creature. This duplicate possesses half the prototype's overall combat strength, identical abilities, absolute obedience to you, and shares senses and memories with you.] "Simulacrum!" Cassius's eyes widened instantly, brimming with delight. If a god of fate truly existed, even if not within this crystal sphere, he had surely received a personal blessing today. Simulacrum was another spell with immense versatility. It could produce a copy with half the original's strength, identical abilities, and shared consciousness. He would finally be freed from handling everything himself! —Not that this red dragon had ever been particularly diligent to begin with. Unless it was something his vassals couldn't resolve, he rarely bothered to intervene. A familiar sensation washed over him as a torrent of magical knowledge surged into his mind. For the Cassius of today, mastering even a 9th-circle spell took only a matter of breaths. Cassius first created an orb of flame before him. Then he extended his sharp claws, coating them in the magical aura of a spell, and cast his new 9th-circle magic. Dragon Reaving. "Whoosh—" An invisible force seized the flaming orb. It instantly lost its luster, then dissipated into nothingness. Yet the orb reappeared right within the red dragon's palm. "So this is reaving..." "Now let's try the simulacrum." With a wave of his claw, Cassius tore through space, retrieving a vast hoard of gold coins and elemental ores from his treasury. Then, with practiced ease, he cast the spell. Dragon's Simulacrum. A shimmer of light gleamed, and immediately, an identical figure materialized behind Cassius—save that it was far more ephemeral, hazy as a mirage. Next, Cassius felt his power being "transferred"—or more accurately, "copied"—into the illusory silhouette. "A duplicate of myself... What a wondrous sensation." The red dragon watched the figure slowly solidify, even as he observed his own true body through the duplicate's eyes. A single consciousness shared between two bodies, capable of creating copies—the dragon sorcerer ancestors could truly be called the originators of the Machine Cult's concept of "mind uploading." Cassius reeled back that thread of consciousness, and the simulacrum reverted to its "automaton" state, making no movement other than obeying commands. He had not completed the simulacrum spell to its full extent; he had only channeled roughly a tenth of his true body's power into it, and it would dissipate entirely in a few months. It was merely an experiment. "Still, this simulacrum shouldn't go to waste... I'll send it into the Anstica Mountains to hunt for demons." Receiving its orders, the red dragon simulacrum walked out of the palace, beat its wings vigorously, and took flight toward the Anstica Mountains to the south. —This greedy red dragon was even exploiting his own shadow.