In a room over in Altenfeld, Winterflow Duchy, Zack's nose was buried deep in some level 3 spell theory. He was hoping to unlock some magical secrets and get a better grasp on spell patterns.
With a grunt, he set his badge aside. He'd initially planned to master those level 3 spells before taking on the big shots at level 3, but there was something fishy about these spells he dug up in the library. They had the same symbols as the level 2 ones, just arranged differently.
The arrangement was all wonky, not following the neat structure of the level 2 spells. And sure, when he tried them out, they packed a bit more punch than the level 2 ones, but boy, did they guzzle up more mana, and casting them was like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube.
Wasn't this supposed to be an upgrade? To get to the bottom of it, Zack ditched the spell books and dove into some theory books instead. Lo and behold, he stumbled upon something that shed light on the mystery. Turns out, the arrangement of symbols in level 3 spells was all about "concept".
See, from level 0 to level 2, wizards were just mimicking stuff they saw in the world, like lightning, by arranging symbols into patterns. They tinkered with these patterns so that lesser wizards could tweak the spells, like making lightning zigzag or gather into a ball.
But here's the kicker: these artificial arrangements weakened the spell, making it less powerful than the real deal it was trying to copy. In level 3 spells, though, wizards were getting wise to the game. They were starting to grasp the core concept behind the phenomenon and arranging the symbols in the most natural way possible to capture its essence.
So, here's the deal: it's all about understanding. Even if other wizards have the spell pattern for a level 3 spell, they won't be able to cast it properly unless they really get what's going on. You could tell them all about the concept the spell is based on, but they'd still struggle unless they truly comprehend it.
The books dished out examples of concepts related to the lightning element, giving wizards a general idea of where to start. And after thousands of years of history, the lightning magic tower wizards pretty much exhausted every possible lightning-related concept. There were hundreds of spells for each concept, but wrapping your head around them wasn't a walk in the park. Level 2 wizards could spend centuries and still not fully grasp a single concept.
Checking out the list of concepts in the book, Zack knew exactly which one he was after. You see, he's all about speed, specifically the "Fast" concept in lightning. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But according to the book, spells on this concept were surprisingly scarce. That's because the "Fast" concept dips into the tricky realm of time, which is a real tough nut to crack.
Zack let out a sigh. Unfortunately, he couldn't just borrow the book right now. Despite his shiny new badge, which he got when he leveled up to 2, being able to work like a charm, he had to physically be in the tower's library to snag those level 3 books. Bit of a bummer, really.
He shut the book with a flick of his wrist and stepped out of his room. In the kitchen, Fannie was whipping up something. Lately, she'd been all about cooking. She mentioned something about reading it in novels that wives ought to cook for their husbands. She said it all with a blush and a shy little voice.
"Aww, you adorable little thing," Zack thought, tempted to ruffle Fannie's hair and tell her she didn't have to go through the trouble. But seeing her so happy, he figured he'd let her have her fun. Little did he know what he was getting into.
Sure, there were plenty of cooking books at the bookstore, just like in his past life. If Fannie stuck to the recipes word for word, he was pretty sure the food would turn out decent, if not spectacular. But nope, Fannie had her own ideas. She thought she could jazz things up, add her own special touch to make the dishes even tastier. Problem was, she wasn't exactly a kitchen whiz.
As he stared at the purple... thing on his plate that was supposed to be steak, Zack pondered his life choices. But he couldn't bail now, not with Fannie stealing glances at him from the dining table. She'd cooked this steak knowing it was his favorite, and he couldn't let her down after all that effort.
Well, Fannie had tasted it already, so it couldn't be that bad... right? Cutting into the steak, Zack was surprised to find it black on the inside. How on earth could a steak be purple on the outside and black on the inside when it came from a regular old cow?
Bracing himself, Zack popped a piece into his mouth, ready to keep a straight face no matter what. But to his amazement, the steak... wasn't half bad. It was actually decent! Heck, it was even above average in texture, not tough or rubbery like some steaks can be. He grabbed another piece just to be sure.
Well, slap some truth on that saying about books and their covers! Zack grinned and nodded at Fannie, digging into his meal with gusto. Fannie beamed back at him, her smile stretching from ear to ear. They chatted away, Zack not one for the whole "no talking while eating" rule.
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After finishing up, Zack headed to his room to hit the hay. Today was his one day a week where he slept like a regular person instead of meditating. Sure, he could technically replace sleep with meditation, thanks to his body and spirit being buffed up by the mana of a level 2 wizard ages ago. But he liked sticking to his old apprentice habits, just to stay grounded and remind himself he's still human, not some power-hungry wizard.
In the dead of night, his detection spell pinged. It wasn't a strong warning, so whoever was approaching didn't mean any harm. Zack sighed, knowing exactly who it was without even opening his eyes.
Sure enough, Zack caught a whiff of a sweet fragrance and soon felt a soft, warm sensation snuggling up to his chest. Opening his eyes, he saw Fannie with her eyes closed, breathing evenly and her heart beating steadily, pretending to be asleep. But he could see right through her concealment spell, noticing her heart was actually racing.
Without a word, he just pulled her closer, and he could see Fannie's lips curl into a smile as she nestled in even tighter. Closing his eyes again, Zack drifted back to sleep. He'd told her after the first time they slept together that it would be the last, but here they were, for the third time, Fannie sneaking into bed with him.
She knew he knew she was sneaking in, yet she'd still play innocent come morning. Zack even suggested they just start sleeping together from the get-go, since he'd gotten used to it and could control his reactions, plus it actually made for a more peaceful sleep.
But Fannie, bless her heart, was holding onto her pride, still refusing to admit she was sneaking in on purpose, blaming it all on her supposed sleepwalking. Zack found it amusing and let her have her fun. To her, it was like a game, each time she snuck in, she'd use a better concealment spell. Well, as long as she was happy, he figured.
The next day dawned, and Zack woke up to Fannie's beautiful smile once again. They got their supplies together before heading out of the city, hoping to bump into the saintess. After wandering aimlessly in the forest for a few hours, they stumbled upon not one, but two grand priestesses rushing through the trees.
Zack and Fannie activated their Stealth ability. It seemed like every time they ventured out, they'd "always" run into level 2 powerhouses. Yes, "always." Wasn't that just bonkers? Consider this: there were only 12 level 2 powerhouses in the Holy Empire, which included the inquisitors—comprising grand priestesses and paladins. And since they were in the eastern side of the Fulminar Empire, where the saintess operated, there were only the inquisitors working directly under her in this area.
So, technically, there were only 6 grand priestesses in this massive territory, yet they still bumped into them every single week! And it's not like these grand priestesses were specifically hunting down Fannie or Zack. This only fueled Zack's suspicion that Fannie was some kind of magnet for level 2 powerhouses, maybe even level 3 ones.
It made him wonder if fate had Fannie learn magic under him just to throw a wrench in the Holy Empire's plans. It all seemed so random.
As the day was winding down and they were about to head back to Altenfeld, Zack's heart skipped a beat. He sensed a powerful aura coming from the west. Signaling to Fannie, he said, "You know the drill, don't get involved in the fight. Got it?" Fannie nodded.
The plan was simple: if they ever encountered a true level 3 powerhouse, only Zack would engage in battle alone. In any case, Fannie knew Zack had some seriously OP concealment abilities, so she could rest assured he could escape if need be.
Making sure to conceal his true identity as Lucius, not Zack, he donned his blue devil mask and moved toward the direction of the powerful aura. Floating midair, Zack caught sight of the figure ahead and took a sharp inhale. It was the saintess!
This time, Zack's objective wasn't to draw attention or stall for time. It was to eliminate. So, he activated his [Invisibility], blending into his surroundings seamlessly.
Author Note: [Invisibility] = [Stealth] + [Camouflage] ; [Stealth] = [Hidden Strength] + [Environmental Mimicry] just in case you forgot.
With his [Triple Enhancement] - max output, Zack flickered into the saintess's blind spot and aimed his finger. With the power of his God Series spell, [Zeus's Thunderbolt] - Stormwrath, a massive spell pattern unfurled, summoning hundreds of lightning spears, each the size of a small building, around him.
The saintess, just about to speak and question the person before her—obviously a level 2 powerhouse given his ability to fly—suddenly found him vanish into thin air. Her danger instinct blared, and in that split second, she unleashed her domain. But before she could fully comprehend what was happening, numerous massive lightning bolts hurtled toward her.
BOOM!
From her still active domain, Zack concluded the saintess was still alive. Peering through the dust and smoke, he spotted the silhouette of a massive angel in the saintess's original position. Its three pairs of wings unfurled, sending debris flying as it revealed its majestic stature.
Unfortunately, the angel also bore the scars of battle, missing two of its left wings, with the left side wrecked and bearing deep scars, almost reaching the saintess at its center. This was proof that Zack's earlier attack had some impact. The saintess glared around furiously, demanding, "Come out if you dare, don't hide like a coward!"
Her challenge was met with nothing but a distant rumble. Unbeknownst to her, a thick cloud spanning two kilometers had gathered above her.
High above the clouds, Zack peered down at the saintess with a cold smirk. "You think you're invincible with your domain? Let's see how you fare against an ocean's worth of mana!" A massive spell pattern unfolded, covering a one-kilometer radius around him, its complex patterns swirling dizzyingly.
Beneath the spell, vast amounts of lightning gathered at five locations within the thundercloud. The cloud's scale was so immense that Zack couldn't conceal all of it with his mana, not that he needed to. With a pointed gesture, five skyscraper-sized thunderbolts descended from the cloud toward the pale-faced saintess.
[Zeus's Thunderbolt] - Zeus's Wrath! DESCEND!