Chapter 82: Awakening and a Great Harvest

Mo Er's prophecy ultimately failed; he employed many methods, confirming that the entity he was linked to was a quasi‑god from the water‑element plane. After discarding the possibility of a prank, he finally verified one point.

The subject of his investigation—the dragon—was under the direct gaze of a deity.

He did not know whether this was good news or bad news.

He could no longer complete his task, because the deity's will thwarted his prophecy; no rational creature would continue the pursuit, which was bad news for him.

But for the royal house, a dragon that saved a city and ruined the Abyssal sacrifice ceremony had a powerful divine force behind it. This might be a very good opportunity, and Mo Er keenly sensed this.

Thus he gave a decision opposite to his arrival—just to handle it perfunctorily.

In the following days, the investigation team spent each day in Rosa Castle indulging in wine‑filled pools and meat forests, enjoying banquet delicacies and fine wine, yet they said nothing about the investigation.

Ke Li Te found it odd, but she was pleased; she even arranged more entertainment for the team members.

The half‑hearted investigation ended quickly amid song and dance, but before Mo Er left, he spoke privately with Ke Li Te.

"You know, Count, the Abyssal sacrifice ritual spreading covertly within the realm and the neighboring Sai Si Ke, as well as the Sai Er behind it, are inseparable."

Mo Er, the ancient god, sipped tea deliberately, sitting on a chair in the reception hall, and said.

Ke Li Te nodded; Luo Si Li En had long told her that her foolish brother's collaborator was a Sai Er mage, and she had already reported this information to the royal house.

"The royal house is angry, very angry," Mo Er sighed.

"His Majesty Saint De Li Si has made up his mind, and has already reached an accord with the Lai Se Man Witch Nation; our war with Sai Si Ke is about to begin."

Ke Li Te's pupils narrowed; Mo Er's words instantly put her on alert. Sai Si Ke borders the eastern part of the Yinbu Tu Kingdom, and De Gen Cheng lies precisely on Yinbu Tu's eastern frontier.

"De Gen, Ge Ben Lan, the two cities will become the front line of the border."

"His Majesty has begun expanding the army; in a year the troops will march to the border and impose military control over your two cities."

"You should make plans early, Ke Li Te. The royal house harbors strong goodwill toward the dragon behind you, which is why I secretly warn you here. You need to prepare within this year so that you may preserve the honor of the Rosa family in the forthcoming war."

Mo Er set down his teacup and said word for word, "This war will be a total war!"

After speaking, without waiting for the stunned Ke Li Te, Mo Er left.

After he left, Luo Si Li En and Lao Luo An emerged from the shadows, their faces equally grim.

"Military control?! On what authority!" Luo Si Li En said angrily.

"They certainly can," Ke Li Te replied coldly. "A hundred years ago, during Sai Er's invasion of Yinbu Tu, De Gen Cheng was completely seized by those red‑robe mages, who used it as a base to extend their forces as far as the royal capital."

"If Lai Se Man had not intervened, a strong assault on Sai Er would have forced its retreat; Yinbu Tu might have, like Sai Si Ke, become a vassal of Sai Er."

"Since the royal house has resolved to launch war, it will not allow the front line to fall."

Lao Luo An drew his black sword and sneered, "Let them come. I will kill every fool who lays a hand on the master's property!"

Luo Si Li En said disdainfully, "Think with that brain smaller than a mouse—how can we fight an entire kingdom's power?"

"My suggestion is to adopt a wait‑and‑see stance and accumulate strength. The war is inevitable; what we should do is actively cooperate with the military and protect the master's assets as much as possible," Luo Si Li En analyzed.

Ke Li Te nodded helplessly, "It can only be that way. As a Yinbu Tu native, I also prefer to defend my homeland and kill those disgusting Sai Er."

Lao Luo An snorted coldly, dissatisfied with the decision, but a 2‑to‑1 vote forced him to concede, "Do as you wish."

Ke Li Te thought for a moment and said to Luo Si Li En, "We have another year; I think we need to start expanding the Rosa family's private army. I suppose that's why Mr. Mo Er reminded me. After a year, the military will take over the forces of the two cities and all surrounding towns, so we must recruit enough mercenaries now."

Luo Si Li En thought for a moment and said, "I'm not really worried about the army; the master's underground Monster Army is not weak, and once the master awakens, he can recruit more monsters to submit under his dragon guise at any time."

Ke Li Te was about to frown in objection when Luo Si Li En continued, "No need to fear exposure. From Mo Er's words I can guess the royal house wants something from the master, and their attitude is very proper."

"Moreover, don't forget, the master is now a benevolent dragon who saved a city; even if he has some Monster dependents, no one will oppose him."

Ke Li Te shook her head and warned, "You forget that the master's sleep duration is uncertain; how can you know when he will awaken? The Monster Army's primary duty is to guard the master's slumber."

"Proceed simultaneously: expand the private forces while awaiting the master's awakening. We have scarcely obtained legitimate rule over De Gen Cheng; it must not be casually destroyed by a war."

The three reached a consensus and left the reception hall, preparing for the war to start a year later. — Fifteen months later, Underdark.

In the dark cavern, a massive creature rose and fell rhythmically, its breath laced with sparks; mana streamed from its nostrils, and blue Arcane Flowers bloomed in every corner of the cave.

【9】 Suddenly, its dim‑yellow vertical pupils opened, standing out starkly in the dark cavern.

Suddenly, the sallow‑yellow vertical pupils opened, standing out markedly in the dark cave.

It awoke.

Naimi Xisi yawned, stretched lazily, and scrambled to his feet; the dead skin shedding from his body fell to the ground, revealing fresh dragon scales to the air.

"Ah, how long has it been…"

The dragon swung its head, trying to shake off the newborn swelling, but accidentally slammed into the wall, growing larger. Its body stretched twenty‑five meters, standing ten meters tall; it clenched its claws. Though still weaker than same‑age dragons, it could now probably kill a Coyote Wolf.

Naimi Xisi called upon his mind, projecting the data of his youth stage before him.

True name: Naimi Xisi

Race: Juan Ce Long (Psychic Dragon) variant, growth stage: Young Dragon. Body stats — Strength: 15, Dexterity: 17, Constitution: 18, Intelligence: 28 (16+12)

Perception: 23 (16+7)

Charisma: 27 (16+11)

Supernatural abilities: three times daily — Darkvision; five times daily — Juan Ce Long elemental breath; five times daily — Psychic gas breath; at will — Read memory; at will — Memory alteration; at will — Common sense alteration; at will — Mind Control; at will — Mana shockwave; at will — True Dragon shape‑changing; at will — Dispel/banish Undead.

Traits: immune to mind damage, immune to mind control.

Class: Sorcerer (Spellcraft, prophecy) — 10th level; Mage — 10th level; Psychic Sorcerer — 10th level; Cleric — 11th level.

Mage (Sorcerer) spell resources: Cantrips — at will; First-circle spells — 19 (Intelligence +12); Second-circle spells — 17 (Intelligence +11); Third-circle spells — 15 (Intelligence +10); Fourth-circle spells — 13 (Intelligence +9); Fifth-circle spells — 11 (Intelligence +8).

Cleric spell resources: Cantrips — at will; First-circle Divine Spells — 13 (Perception +7); Second-circle Divine Spells — 10 (Perception +6); Third-circle Divine Spells — 8 (Perception +5); Fourth-circle Divine Spells — 6 (Perception +4); Fifth-circle Divine Spells — 4 (Perception +3); Sixth-circle Divine Spells — 3 (Perception +2).

Mana point spell resources: 133 points (88 + Intelligence +45).

Feats: Improvised Supermagic, Arcane‑Mana Fusion, Arcane‑Divine Fusion, Cleric Paradigm Power — 【Divine Supermagic】.

Activated gem: Mind Gem, activated ability: Mind Control, spell resources amplified tenfold.

Witnessed miracle: the birth of Naimi Xisi.

Equipment: Mind Remote Control Magic Ring, Protective Elemental Energy Damage Ring, Master‑grade Plastic Energy Magic Ring, Obsidian Death Staff (legendary), Darkest Moment (Lesser Artifact), Throne (Artifact/? unknown), Moon Cloak (Artifact).

At the same time, the newly acquired Sixth-circle Divine Spells are: 【Blade Wall】 【Healing】 【Heroic Feast】 【Command】.

Naimi Xisi emerged from the dark cavern; his whole body was covered with patterns formed by interlacing light‑blue and pale‑gold, giving an eerie beauty. The surrounding Magic Net vibrated constantly with his movement, and mana coalesced and dispersed around him at all times.

Naimi Xisi felt his power and just wanted to raise his voice to the heavens: "I am now! Huge! Strong! Not to mention the massive attribute‑point increase, Spell Slots, the breakthrough of Five‑ring Spell Slots and Six‑ring Divine Spell Slots, even the joy of increased Mind Gem control quotas."

The biggest change for Naimi Xisi is the four newly added talents.

As the magical runes on Juan Ce Long's scales fully matured, Naimi Xisi, while sleeping, absorbed a heavenly magnitude of Magic Net power; this power filled his body, rendering each of his organs semi‑energized, and thus he gained an extremely powerful ability to manipulate Arcane Power.

Improvised Supermagic, as the name suggests, compared with the massive cost mortals must expend to cast Supermagic spells, at this point Juan Ce Long has mastered the power to supermagic at will.

Naimi Xisi has obtained all means of Supermagic spells, including but not limited to—Spell Instant Cast, Spell Expansion, Spell Strong Effect, etc.

Moreover, when casting Supermagic spells, Juan Ce Long, from the adolescent dragon stage onward, can reduce the Supermagic casting cost by one ring for each age tier, but must increase at least one ring as the casting cost.

For example, take Supermagic 【Spell Instant Cast】; normally to instant‑cast a spell, a regular Mage needs to add four Spell Slots as cost, meaning that to instant‑cast a one‑ring spell, the Mage must prepare a Five‑ring Spell Slot.

But Naimi Xisi, while in the Young Dragon stage, can reduce the cost by two Spell Slots! He only needs to use one Five‑ring Spell Slot to instant‑cast a three‑ring spell!

And as his age tier increases, he can even manage to instant‑cast spells by adding only one Spell Slot! Moreover, he can freely amplify spell power, for example using the two Supermagic specializations 【Spell Strong Effect】 and 【Spell Extreme Effect】, which can stack to increase spell power by at least two‑and‑a‑half times!

For the current Naimi Xisi, spells of three rings or lower can all be instant‑cast at will! The power of Improvised Supermagic, combined with his massive Spell Slots, has boosted his Combat Power to a geometric degree.

The power brought by growth does not stop there; Arcane Power, Divine Spell, and Psychic Ability intertwine within Naimi Xisi's body, with Arcane Power as the foundation, the three fuse, granting Naimi Xisi two talents.

The effect of Arcane‑Mana Fusion is that whenever Naimi Xisi uses an Arcane Power, he can choose to expend his Mana to charge the spell's power, doubling the spell's effect! Arcane‑Divine Fusion works similarly, except it consumes a Divine Spell slot of the same ring to charge the Arcane Power.

With these two talents, Naimi Xisi can simultaneously expend Mana and a Divine Spell slot to double a spell's power! If he then applies the Supermagic 【Spell Strong Effect】 and 【Spell Extreme Effect】, he can amplify the spell by four‑and‑a‑half times!

Of course, stacking 【Spell Extreme Effect】 and 【Spell Strong Effect】 requires raising five Spell Slots; even though Naimi Xisi can reduce the cost by two slots, he can now only amplify a two‑ring spell at most.

As for the final talent, it is more conventional: it is the exemplary power that the Cleric class gains after reaching level 11. Naimi Xisi's Cleric class also advanced two levels while he slept, resulting in him acquiring this ability upon waking.

The so‑called 【Holy Supermagic】 is a method by which Clerics study to supermagic Divine Spells; after a Cleric dispels undead, they can use its energy to charge Divine Spells, enabling Divine Spell supermagic.

However, most Clerics' 【dispel/banish Undead】 supernatural abilities have limited uses; Naimi Xisi's ability to use it arbitrarily is very rare, so 【Holy Supermagic】 is not a method Clerics can employ frequently.

In fact, Naimi Xisi speculates that this ability likely stems from a bit of latent gene inherited from his never‑met wise angel father.

Naimi Xisi comfortably retracted the Small Light Panel; the Cleric class granted by Omega came at just the right time. This growth‑induced boost in Combat Power is unprecedented; he believes that if he meets that Judgement Soul Demon again, he could slay it without ever needing to use 【Darkest Moment】 at all.

The so‑called Supermagic—i. e., overload magic—is a method of strengthening spells; all eight specific Supermagic techniques are written on the attached image, but the author couldn't post them due to word‑count limits.

This is for readers who want to see it; it's fine if you don't. I will later write which Supermagic is used and how many ring Spell Slots must be raised as cost, so no need to memorize. The basics most used are Extreme Effect, Strong Effect, Instant Cast, and Expansion.

Also, don't look for Arcane‑Mana Fusion or Arcane‑Divine Fusion; I made those up.

(End of Chapter)