Overpowered Wizard-Chapter Ch57: The Darkrun War

Overpowered Wizard-Chapter Ch57: The Darkrun War

It took about a standard year before everybody made it to Level 300. That was with them maxing all of their growth options without skipping corners.
More impressively, the gap between disciples and their Ultra Gods had closed somewhat. For example, it was safe for Zarian to take things a little seriously against the disciples. A better measurement was how they could hold their own against Third Ignition Foodie and survive ten whole seconds against Fourth Ignition Foodie.
While it took a year on Infinita’s time table to hit Level 300, Zarian’s group had been at this for about a decade in total time. Whenever they hit significant growth periods and needed a downer to merge, perfect, and reshape their profiles, they went into Zarian’s pocket dimension.
Lately, Hannah had contributed more to making these pockets, mixing primeval rainforests with magic-techno havens. The pocket dimensions became a little more elaborate when Foodie had thrown in her own ideas into the creation process. Eventually, those became the basis of some weirder experimentation where they would use samples from the flesh and powers of each member of the group to cook up and expand on the mini dimension. So far, they could develop multiple themed worlds with a bit of abyssal darkness, shining heaven, hellish gluttony, and more. And throughout it all, Gilbert had bounced back and suggested that this was all just caveman work compared to a real artist like his god.
He might have a point, but when they’d made life with a drop of his blood – well, it was by far some of the most lush and persistent life they’d ever seen. And it had a lot of fish, so he’d dropped the bible-thumping lunacy and become more of a happy camper about being experimented on and used for magic gene-splicing. Of course, they’d avoided creating humanoids and intelligent life. For now.
They’d also visited Corma.
From a distance.
Everything was alright over there, and Ruvaria was doing a grand job of protecting the newly ascended world. They were going through a welcoming event provided by the System and some Champions who were interested in taking over. Ruvaria had made it clear they wouldn’t do so. It hurt Zarian and Naomi both that they had to stay separated – it would be too much of a distraction to go see their love.
Ruvaria, however, had passed on her blessing from a distance.
While it was the Ultra Gods who’d made it to Level 300 faster than the disciples making it to Level 250, Zarian had given them other chances to win their rewards. Gilbert had his fishing trips across the Greater Realm and within the mini dimension. Bianca had gone on multi-world shopping sprees. Hannah had put Zarian and Foodie under the systemized knife for research. She was branching into bio-engineering to prepare for breaking boundaries for her real aim. Soul engineering. They’d decided they would wait until Level 500 before allowing Hannah to mess with souls.
Other than that, Naomi had finally settled the score.
Zarian woke up in the core of a dead world, his personal wards broken down except for the hardiest one. Magma, mantle rocks, metals, and dungeon debris floated around him in a cooling slurry. It didn’t take him long to remember Naomi riding him through a vacant world until they reached the core. He might’ve blacked out a bit. Fortunately, she was now passed out in his arms, making adorable snorts while wriggling about into him.
I’m sure of it now,
Zarian thought amusingly as he leaned back into the cooling core.
Ariana’s waiting. She’s always been waiting.
Readjusting his grip on his more mortal lover, Zarian mused on a suspicion that he’d held for a long time but didn’t have a definite clue about. But now that he was Level 300, he was sure of it. Ariana could’ve broken free by now. Or way before now. But she had done nothing for years outside of that small shift that had led to Roland’s death.
She’d been embarrassed by Bianca multiple times. Zarian was openly hostile to her. Ariana knew he and the Floridians were almost in the High Realm, where God Land and the Star Core were finally accessible, even if barred by another 200 levels.
Yet, she stayed passive.
Why?
Because she was setting a trap. With Lucy, most likely. He couldn’t be sure without being able to see further, but he considered it a likelihood. Lucy hadn’t spoken a word or made an appearance since the time Zarian had given her Reiki as a tribute.
What was going on up there? What did Ariana, Lucy, and Para have cooking? If they had a plan that required Zarian deeper in their reach, then there was time to settle some affairs and let his group relax in between some hard grind. Hence, he finally, finally, finally had his moment with Naomi.
Just as his musings ended, the powerful woman stirred from her sleep. She pushed aside continental chunks of magma rock and core pieces. She shifted a little, while staying mounted on him, letting loose a massive yawn that scattered away the wreckage of a dead dungeon at the center of the dead world. Then she rubbed at her eyes, smacked her lips, and smiled hungrily down at Zarian.
“I lost it too soon,” she said. “I was trying to fuck you through an entire world.”
“Halfway there,” Zarian said amusingly.
She laughed huskily and bent down, curling into his naked chest, the soft parts of her squeezing in tight. She eyed his face from a lower angle before slowly climbing up like a stalking panther. Even in the darkness, her luscious lips glistened, drawing him with their softness as they kissed again.
A ferocious need nearly took them over. They stopped short of mauling and full planet-busting, settling to just kissing. There was the real threat of Naomi clawing away the last defensive wards protecting his more fragile wizard body, but that was more of a lazy solution. He had other ways of restraining her. Many ways, in fact.
She would be into that.
Another round could be in order if Naomi pressed her case harder. She didn’t. She softened up a little more, and the kissing and squeezing and stroking became more tender. She took his breath away, reminding him of the first time they met when he was a kid off the streets and she was a Marine Recruiter who dressed herself sharply to accentuate her best stuff.
“I had dreams about you. Before all of this,” he said into her mouth.
“And not nightmares, Recruit?” she replied, smiling.
“This was before you used to terrorize me and whipped me into shape. When we first met. The way you saw me for me and what I can become. You wanted the best for me. I felt that.”
“I’m not sure. Back then I just wanted to be the top recruiter. I wasn’t much of a person until I got here and became what I am now.”
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“I guess we’re living the dream, Sergeant Washington.”
“It’s Staff Sergeant to you, private.”
They kissed some more and relaxed for a while, Naomi becoming softer and more comfortable in his arms. All the toughness and hard edges and attitude melted away. All the rage and savagery and battle instincts were set aside. Maybe she couldn’t be as soft and cute as Ruvaria, but she didn’t have to be. Zarian liked Naomi for Naomi, and Ruvaria liked her, too.
“I think that’s all I need for now,” she whispered. “Strange, huh? You’ll think I’ll act like a jackrabbit. Yeah, I need more of this. A lot, really. But it wouldn’t feel right to keep going like this, y’know?”
“You want to see Ruvaria again.”
“Is that weird?”
“Ruvaria’s really good at making you feel safe and loved. Whatever wounds you have, she’ll nurture and heal them. Way better than me.”
“Huh. Yeah. I can feel that. I never thought I’ll be into cute little elf gilfs, but here I am.”
“Preaching to the choir.” Zarian cocked a grin. “We’re totally sandwiching her and teasing her, right?”
“Oh, hell yeah. Double team on that elf. Eiffel tower and all! I can get creative!”
“She’s getting buried alive. The two of us are built up pretty well. We might crush her.”
“I bet she’s expecting it. Ain’t no way she’s been around for 10,000 years without a checklist. That little freak.”
“Always start with the ears.”
The two of them laughed. They cuddled for a while and talked aimlessly and kissed when words weren’t enough for their affection. They both desired Ruvaria to make them complete, but for now, they had each other.
He wanted more time. He could make more time in a pocket dimension. With the others’ help, they could make their own dimension and have up to five enormous worlds of distinct natures to increase their time. But he didn’t dare for the same reason Naomi knew to hold back still.
This was just a brief break. Any more delay could work against them and kill their own momentum. It was unfortunate that after this, they might not have another long and tender break until the universe was saved.
The separation that came was hard on them both. Naomi even cried a few tears and wasn’t afraid of letting Zarian see. She let him wipe them away with a thumb before she seized his hand with a crushing grip and planted a few kisses on the knuckles, the back, and on the palm. Then she let go and put on her war face.
After getting cleaned and dressed, they linked up with the others.
“Everybody chose their new classes?”
They nodded.
All eternal. The added stats were massive, +32 a piece on top of what they already accrued. +10 Free Points for being Paragon Rankers. Zarian’s choice followed one of his previous choices.
System Archwizard. It came with two eternal traits. The others made similar choices, going for eternal traits and stats that piled up on some min-maxed advantages or to balance out their weaknesses.
Foodie, Eldritch Archchef.
Bianca, Beyond Light.
Hannah, Senior Systemizer.
Gilbert, Godsent Soldier.
Naomi, Demonic Cultivator – she finally gave up on free good and reverted to free evil. It turned out way better for her, improving her build by leaps and bounds. She could match Bianca far easier now and challenge Foodie a little more.
Chances were, Eternal Quality might be the end of the road for qualities. There was Divine Quality, but that was a catch-all for anything unique and outside of the usual. Funnily enough, many of their divine traits were on the weaker side compared to eternal, celestial, and even mythical.
“Alright, I know we’ve gone over this a lot already, but it must be stressed that we’re probably going to be nonstop for real now. I don’t trust it’ll be safe for us to slip into our getaway dimension while in the High Realm,” Zarian said. “We might not have time to spruce up our profiles anymore, either. It’s probably going to get messy from here out.”
Nobody complained. They were all ready for the last realm. With a nod, Zarian initiated the ascension. He, Hannah, and Foodie manipulated the System to bypass the usual placement tests. They kept everyone together when they landed in the High Realm.
Zarian was still clearing his head and adjusting to the higher aura density when a maw filled with anti-magic teeth came down on him. Foodie and Naomi responded together, the latter empowered by the former, as the two punched the monstrous maw out of Zarian’s way.
The attack came so fast. It was almost a surprise, but Zarian had a spell ready if the two had failed to defend him.
Foodie and Naomi pummeled the creature back. Bianca followed up with a draw of his power and a killing stroke of her hard-light greatsword. Gilbert drew power and pumped the area with buffs for his allies and debuffs for their enemies. Hannah turned to scan the situation, and Zarian worked with her – they were the brains of the group, their analytical processing running the fastest.
They even spoke through the System in a closed-net space constructed by them.
<
Hannah:
Dragons are attacking. All heavily cloaked. I can’t get an exact read. They must be empowered by Ariana.>
<
Zarian:
More than just Ariana. I sense condensed Shadowfell magic. I think this has been going on for a while. Lucy’s against us for sure.>
<
Hannah:
That can be the reason for the blackout up here. There’s been a secret war this whole time. We need to move and scan the situation more safely!>
The messages between them would’ve seemed instantaneous as Zarian worked out ways for them to move out. A curtain of shadow magic blocked his perception beyond the world they landed on, making it too dangerous to jump off to somewhere else without getting intercepted. As Zarian tested the shadow veil, Foodie, Naomi, and Bianca killed the dragon. It took about nine seconds, which was a long, long time for them.
“That was only Level 315,” Foodie said. “That was tougher than it should’ve been.”
Zarian was the highest at Level 307. Everybody else was Level 300 or a little more above that. Taking nine seconds against a Level 315 enemy when they had all of their advantages didn’t bode well for their chances.
“Everyone,” Zarian said, as he looked out across a volcanic land. “We’re in for a rough time.”
Thousands of dragons swooped through the air from all directions. More wormed through the volcanic earth to come at them from below their reception platform on top of a lone mountain. Zarian noted the powers of more humanoid dragons casting disruptive wards and blocks against teleportation, wormholes, and other means of transportation. They attacked Zarian’s gravity and dimensional magic, too.
And the system magic was far more secure than normal.
“So, they’re going to make us fight for it?” Naomi cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck around.
“Wow, we’re going to get challenged hard core!” Bianca’s smile sharpened. “Don’t judge me, okay? But … I’m looking forward to it.”
“Is that Bloodthirsty Bianca I’m sensing?” Naomi teased.
“Nooooo! I can never be bloodthirsty. I’m the goodest good!”
“We’ll be alright,” Gilbert grunted.
“Don’t even say it,” Hannah mumbled.
“What? All I was going to say is that I’m feeling confident.”
“Sure you were.”
Zarian shook his head at the disciples before sharing a knowing look with Foodie. The Darkruns were more worried than their humans. But they kept that to themselves as the seconds ticked down before the first awe-inspiring barrage came down as dragon breaths of many elements and from every direction.
With a polite flip, Zarian reversed the flow of power. Instead of pumping up his disciples, he drew from them their traits and skills. He drew from them their likeness. Then he met the barrage of the dragons with his own.
***
“Milady … there are dragons,” Slim groaned. “We must kill the evil dragons. We must.”
He tried to struggle against her, but Para was too strong for that. He’d given up too much of himself. She owned his body in all ways except for consuming him wholly.
“Please, milady! Please!” Slim begged as they waited on a moon while looking down upon the dragon death barrage and Lucy’s cordon.
“I’m sorry,” Para whispered. “We should stick with the plan. Ariana was certain of this. And these aren’t the dragons of your universe.”
“Oh,” Slim said sadly. “Yes. Of course.”
He still fought against her, even if not as vigorously as before. It made Para sick. A new sensation entered their relationship. Their discipleship was losing its power, their bond untethering.
No, no, no.
“Please believe in me. Please don’t forsake the discipleship.”
“Please don’t forsake me,” Slim mumbled in return, still fighting her.
Para gave in. With a flap of the cloak, and leap of Slim’s empowered legs, they zoomed toward the back of the dragon formation. It wouldn’t hurt Ariana’s plan much if they assassinated a few dragons, would it?
The moment they felt a psychic dragon try to take them over – they angled in the offender’s direction where there were multiple of them. Neither Slim nor Para liked anyone foreign trying to take over their minds, especially evil dragons. Before they struck, half the Paragon World disappeared in an overwhelming blast as dragons died by the tens of thousands.
Zarian was on the warpath, and nobody outside of his group was safe. That didn’t stop Slim and Para from taking out a few psychic dragons and restrengthening their discipleship bond before getting the hell out of there.
The Darkrun War had finally begun.

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Chapter Ch57: The Darkrun War