Anser returned to Holrewen alone, planning to keep a low profile for the time being.
The repercussions of what had happened were still spreading. Before long, he would be thrust into the spotlight, so it was best not to draw too much attention to himself.
Still, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Enemies with families and property of their own definitely wouldn't dare provoke him lightly. Push him too far, and he could drop a Meteor Swarm on their heads every day.
Who could possibly put up with that?!
Maybe countries would eventually create a new type of anti-air unit, whose soldiers did nothing but stare at the sky through telescopes all day to watch for falling meteors.
The method might be stupid, but it would certainly work.
If Anser tried the same thing again, it probably wouldn't be nearly as effective.
'Those orcs probably won't let this go, but they might change targets,' he thought.
The orc coalition had suffered a devastating loss. No matter how stubborn they were, they wouldn't dare continue besieging Suzail.
They might instead target other small towns, capturing them and using humans and elves as hostages to counter indiscriminate, large-area spells like Meteor Swarm.
'Let Cormyr deal with that headache.'
No matter how desperate Anser was for experience points, he couldn't keep charging onto the front lines. If he did this a few more times, the Chosen of the Dark Axis gods would probably team up specifically to kill him.
'Next time I want to farm experience, I can go to Baldur's Gate.'
But it probably wouldn't work nearly as well there. Underground creatures preferred staying underground, and Baldur's Gate had plenty of sturdy stone buildings that might be able to withstand a Meteor Swarm.
'Forget it. Time to level up first!'
He lay down on the bed and sank his consciousness into his mind.
The shattered-gold d20 floated silently there, its thirteenth symbol only a tiny sliver away from fully lighting up.
'Even something on that scale wasn't enough to satisfy you?'
He silently grumbled, brought up his Character Sheet, and touched the class option:
Increase Sorcerer level or choose a new class.
'Increase Sorcerer level.'
[Level Up: Level 18 Sorcerer!]
[Your true dragon power has increased. Gold Dragon Power +1, Silver Dragon Power +1.]
[You gain a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer feature: "Draconic Companion."]
[You can learn one new spell, one Evocation spell, and one Enhanced Metamagic ability.]
[You gain one new Feat. You may manifest one of your innate spells as a supernatural ability.]
Of his two points of true dragon power, he put one into Charisma, raising it to 30.
This value was also known as the dividing line between mortals and gods. Supposedly, it was extraordinarily difficult to break through, and even ancient dragons struggled to surpass it.
'Could this be the biological limit under the current rules of the universe?' Anser wondered.
He couldn't figure it out, and he currently had no way to break through that limit anyway, so he simply stopped dwelling on it.
He put his other point of true dragon power into Dexterity, raising it into the extraordinary range.
'And there's still Constitution.'
Ordinary Feats couldn't raise an ability score into the extraordinary range, but there was a racial Feat that could.
He browsed through the Feat list and selected "Draconic Ability Increase."
...
Draconic Ability Increase: The potential of your draconic bloodline awakens, allowing you to realize part of your innate gifts. Constitution +1.
...
Good thing he was a true dragon. An ordinary human would have hit their physiological limit at this point and could only gamble on a Legendary Feat.
With both Dexterity and Constitution entering the extraordinary range, the number of magic items he could Attune to increased by two, allowing him to Attune to nine items in total—an even more ridiculous number than an Artificer.
'Extraordinary ability scores across the board. That probably isn't something you see often in the mortal world.' Anser was exhilarated.
At level 18, the Sorcerer gained a new feature, "Draconic Companion."
...
Draconic Companion: You can cast Summon Dragon without expending resources once per day.
When you cast Summon Dragon, you do not need to maintain concentration.
...
This feature was fairly useful. He could summon a draconic spirit at any time to help him fight, and the draconic spirit's strength would continue increasing with the spell's level.
'Another helper isn't bad.'
There weren't many 9th-level Evocation spells, so he directly chose "Phoenix Flames," which had already caught his eye before.
...
Phoenix Flames: 9th-level Evocation
You unleash searing sacred flames, allowing them to consume your own body and everything around you.
All creatures within 40 feet (12 meters) of you must succeed on a Constitution Saving Throw or take 30d6 (30–180) radiant damage and become exhausted.
If a creature is killed by this spell, its body is incinerated.
Ten minutes later, you rise from the ashes and return to your optimal condition.
...
This spell was rather unusual. At first glance, it looked like a self-destruction spell, but it actually combined the abilities to feign death and resurrect oneself, with its resurrection effect equivalent to the 9th-level spell True Resurrection.
'If I really can't win, I can just blow myself up.'
He really didn't want to endure the agony of being burned alive, but if there truly was no other choice, then that was what he would have to do. Better to have the option available.
Besides, the resurrection time wasn't fixed. He could simply wait until the enemy had left before resurrecting. A little earlier or later wouldn't matter.
'Phoenixes aren't the only ones who can be reborn from the flames. Six-winged true dragons can do it too!' he joked to himself.
The second 9th-level spell was also an easy choice.
...
Time Stop: 9th-level Transmutation
You briefly stop the flow of time for everyone else. Base duration: 12–30 seconds.
During this period, time is frozen for other creatures, but you can act normally.
If your actions affect the flow of time experienced by a target creature, the spell may end as a result.
The spell also ends if, after casting it, you move more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) from the position where you cast it.
...
This was a top-tier control spell, except it didn't control other people. It controlled time itself.
Many people thought Time Stop froze time, but what it actually did was allow the caster to step outside the current flow of time and move freely.
In reality, the outside world's flow of time continued normally.
For precisely that reason, all forms of Magic Resistance and Legendary Resistance were ineffective against Time Stop.
'At the very least, it'll give me a chance to unleash a burst of attacks or escape.'
Next came his Enhanced Metamagic ability. He chose "Enhanced Careful Spell," because it was the only Enhanced Metamagic option he had left.
...
Enhanced Careful Spell: When you cast a spell that forces other creatures to make a Saving Throw, you can alter the spell's effects to protect certain creatures from its harmful effects.
You may choose a number of creatures up to twice your Charisma modifier (minimum of one creature).
...
'Pretty useless.'
Even doubled, that was only twenty creatures. For him, it really wasn't all that useful.
'I've selected every Enhanced Metamagic option now. I wonder if this Adventure Trait has any other changes?' Anser couldn't help feeling a little expectant.
The final item was the manifestation of a supernatural ability granted by "Arcane Bloodline."
He had already saved up two opportunities. This time, he didn't want to keep saving them. It would be better to convert one directly into strength.
He opened the spell list and supernatural ability list at the same time and carefully browsed through them. Suddenly, he noticed that his newly selected spell, "Phoenix Flames," was also glowing faintly.
'Looks like I'm destined to become a true dragon reborn from the flames.'
Without hesitation, he selected "Phoenix Flames."
[Charisma: +1, Dexterity: +1, Spells: Phoenix Flames, Time Stop, Feat: Draconic Ability Increase (Constitution +1), Arcane Bloodline: Phoenix Flames, Enhanced Metamagic: Enhanced Careful Spell. Confirm?]
"Confirm!"
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---