Chapter 162: The Incantation Guardian (2/2)

Looking at the system notification that the oath had been successfully established, Lu Su almost wanted to rub his eyes.

However, Arthur was a brain-wave imaging game, so it was impossible for his vision to be playing tricks on him.

Not even illusion magic could forge these dynamic interface prompts.

"I've made the oath just like that?" Lu Su couldn't help asking.

This felt a bit too much like a child's play; shouldn't children at least link pinkies when making a promise?

Could it really count just because he repeated a question?

"Uh, Big Brother, it does feel a bit too fast indeed. This just shows that you yourself are extremely close to the Source of Magic, which is why you got such a natural and seamless reaction. As expected of the Big Brother I respect the most."

The voice of Qi Qi echoed from the void once again, "Generally speaking, when a ninth-circle wizard makes such an oath, the Source of Magic can't even be bothered to care. At best, it barely works for archmages. Even though Big Brother's destiny trajectory intersects and influences the fate lines of countless people, you are still in your growth phase. Logically speaking, little Qi should have given you another push before getting any reaction."

It was only then that Lu Su understood; the other party had deduced that he could dominate the world simply from the intertwining of fate lines.

"Ah, Big Brother, you are a priest of Thislevina, and the prerequisite for advancing into the 'Spellguard' class is possessing the Magic domain. So Big Brother, you definitely have this domain, which naturally facilitated the establishment of the oath, though the driving force should not have been enough on its own," Qi Qi reasoned step by step.

The Magic domain?

Advancement requirements?

It finally dawned on Lu Su why Mage Lane had been so desperate to become a priest; the secret lay right here.

Only priests could possess domains.

Any other method was far more difficult than simply becoming a 1st-level priest.

Lu Su knew that the Secret-Wielder feat could grant domain spells, but that wasn't a true Magic domain.

This meant that basically all Spellguards had to multiclass as 1st-level priests.

A myriad of thoughts suddenly surged through Lu Su's mind, filling him with deep emotion.

The moment he stepped into the floating city, the Goddess had instructed him to become a Archivist, yet she still required him to retain his 1st-level priest status.

So this was the reason.

It was as if he was born to become a Spellguard.

"Big Brother, have you ever come into contact with the 'Ultimate Scroll'?" After pondering for a moment, Qi Qi in the void finally asked this question.

Lu Su didn't expect this secret to be seen through as well, so he nodded.

However, he didn't pay it too much mind. Both the Morin Stele and the Ultimate Scroll were products of the same era, so they were bound to have some connection.

"That solves the case then. As expected of my respected Big Brother. Having touched one of the avatars of the Source of Magic, it's only natural that you could connect to the oath so quickly," said the stele Qi Qi from the void.

Hearing this answer, Lu Su, who already held the Ultimate Scroll in extremely high regard, realized he had still underestimated it.

Ever since the Third Goddess of Magic ended the Weave format, the entire Weave had automatically contracted, evolving into one of the fundamental laws of every plane.

On one hand, the number of successful wizards had decreased, which was also the reason why high-level wizards had become harder to produce in recent years.

People could no longer feel the rhythm of the Weave binding to them at every moment.

And after the Weave self-collapsed, it acquired another name—the Source of Magic.

Thinking of this, Lu Su began to suspect that perhaps certain things were not entirely directed by the Goddess of Magic.

Rather, was it an inclination of the Source Will toward him?

Lu Su felt that his reputation as a transmigrator probably wasn't that resounding.

However, the ultimate reason would likely only become clear once he achieved high-level wizard status in the future.

"Big Brother, while the iron is hot, let's hurry up and perform the advancement simulation," Qi Qi requested from the void.

By now, Lu Su knew how to respond and directly nodded.

[Adventurer Midsummer, you temporarily acquire the class abilities of the prestige class "Spellguard".]

[Adventurer Midsummer, you temporarily acquire the class abilities of the prestige class "Metamagic Shaping Master".]

Looking at the prompts, a massive stack of abilities suddenly flooded into Lu Su's character sheet.

Immediately following that, his dynamic interface refreshed further—

[Adventurer Midsummer, you temporarily acquire metamagic feats: Quicken Spell, Silent Spell, Still Spell, Maximize Spell, Empower Spell, Heighten Spell, Twin Spell, Chain Spell, Persistent Spell, Sculpt Spell.]

"Big Brother, you can try using some of those abilities now," Qi Qi reminded him from the void.

At this point, Lu Su also began to examine his future prestige class abilities.

He had a basic understanding of the Spellguard, and the most unbeatable among them was the "Supernatural Spell" ability acquired at 4th level.

It allowed any spell to be cast as a supernatural ability.

Supernatural abilities did not require any spell components or costs.

Thinking of this, Lu Su activated the ability and directly cast the spell "Identify" on his own cloak.

The entire process required no chanting and no somatic gestures—it was purely executed via a supernatural ability, terrifyingly simple.

Instantly, the magical radiance of "Identify" fell upon Lu Su's starry cloak, and all the data regarding the cloak's various abilities rushed into his mind on the spot.

Having verified his thought, Lu Su felt a trace of shock.

Being able to cast spells without cost was already broken enough; this meant he could cast free Wishes and various spells that normally demanded heavy sacrifices.

Furthermore, the standard casting time for "Identify" was normally "one hour."

In the past, Lu Su's mouth would go numb from chanting incantations just to finish that nearly one-hour-long spell.

Yet just now, by casting "Identify" through the "Supernatural Spell" ability, it only required a single "standard action."

This also meant that any spell with a casting time exceeding one round could be converted into a standard-action casting via the "Supernatural Spell" capability.

In this way, many spells that originally required ten minutes or an hour to cast suddenly became remarkably convenient.

Ordinarily, these spells would be extinct in actual combat unless they could be buffed to last the entire day.

But now that he could cast them as a "standard action," the frequency of using such spells would undoubtedly skyrocket.

At this moment, Lu Su cast his gaze toward the Metamagic Shaping Master. The slight gasp of breath he took earlier for the Spellguard instantly turned into a massive gulp of air, and he even drew in another breath without pausing.

A mere 1st-level ability, "Metamagic Manipulation," shattered all of Lu Su's imaginations regarding class abilities.

To call that ability divine power would not be an exaggeration at all.

"Metamagic Manipulation" allowed him to sacrifice his own attribute scores to pair spells with metamagic feats.

This way, he didn't need higher-level spell slots to prepare them.

Normally, if a regular wizard wanted to cast a spell paired with the "Persistent Spell" feat, they had to consume a spell slot six levels higher, which was equivalent to using a 7th-circle spell slot to cast the simplest 1st-circle spell.

Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut could not be more apparent than this.

However, paired with this ability, based on the cost of 2 attribute points per level of enhancement—

Lu Su only needed to pay 12 attribute points, such as sacrificing 12 points of Constitution, to cast a 1st-circle spell with the Persistent Spell enhancement.

That 6th-circle spell slot requirement, replaced by 12 attribute points, actually seemed quite fair.

Yet, Lu Su could subsequently use spells to restore his attributes, or even gain immunity to attribute damage—though he hadn't tested this much yet and would need to verify it in practice.

Even so, this level of potency was somewhat broken.

As long as Lu Su endured until 6th level to acquire this ability, he would practically become slightly invincible.

By the time he reached 9th level, gained potential points, and simultaneously obtained the Spellguard's "Supernatural Spell" ability, it wouldn't just be about sweeping through everyone at the 9th-level tier.

He might even be able to challenge 6th-circle wizards upward, and that was no exaggeration.

"Big Brother, how does it feel?" Qi Qi asked with concern from the void.

Lu Su nodded, "Truly very powerful."

It was just a pity that he was currently only a 3rd-level minor wizard; although he had gained the revelation of these two new prestige classes, it would still take some time to truly master them.

Suddenly, Lu Su felt the energy belonging to the Metamagic Shaping Master fade away at an unbelievable speed.

"Oh, oh, Big Brother, don't be nervous. The Metamagic Shaping Master ability is too difficult and too powerful. So the simulation effect is only to this extent, but it's still enough for Big Brother to acquire this class in the future, so don't worry," Qi Qi hastily explained.

"Is anyone else currently holding this prestige class?" Lu Su suddenly grew curious.

"No," Qi Qi replied concisely from the void.

"No? What does that mean?" Lu Su was somewhat surprised.

"It means there is currently no Metamagic Shaping Master in this world."

Some of Arthur's prestige classes were extremely rare, but no matter how rare they were, there was always a group of people behind them.

Hearing this answer, Lu Su suddenly felt a trace of oppressive pressure in the surrounding air.

"Because this class originates from a certain unofficial pink realm of the multiverse," Qi Qi explained. "The things from that world are far too powerful; we even suspect it was merely the projection of some cosmic will rather than something that truly existed. Therefore, that multiverse world has never belonged to the officially registered multiverses."

"However, the 'Metamagic Shaping Master' prestige class somehow drifted into various multiverses. But because it affects the will of the world, once someone advances into it, it basically cuts off the path for anyone else," Qi Qi explained.

At this, Lu Su couldn't help but examine himself, "You mean, once I advance into this class, basically nobody else can ever attain it?"

"Yes, Big Brother. Congratulations on advancing into Arthur's sole hidden prestige class," Qi Qi's voice returned to its flattering tone.

Lu Su knew that Arthur was not the traditional online game he used to play; there had never been anything like server-wide unique hidden classes.

Yet, encountering a concept that nobody would believe if spoken aloud made Lu Su feel as though he were dreaming.

However, this also meant that in the coming time, he needed to race against the clock to reach 6th level and preemptively secure this prestige class.

Otherwise, too many complications could arise if things dragged on.

Once someone else obtained this prestige class, it would mean Lu Su's own path was cut off.

Especially now that Lu Su had experienced how powerful the 1st-level ability of the "Metamagic Shaping Master" was—capable of subverting many rules—his awe transformed into desire.

Possessing these two prestige classes would truly mark the beginning of him acquiring the power to dictate his own destiny.

"Hey, Big Brother, those few mages didn't eat their fill, and their power is about to be squeezed dry by me. You probably won't be able to stay here much longer. Why don't you bring back a few more bags of local specialties? Anyway, your current advancement is only enough to support you up to 9th level—"

Suddenly, Lu Su's field of vision was flooded by a stream of notifications: [Adventurer Midsummer, you temporarily acquire the class abilities of the prestige class "xxx".]

Spell Warden, Ruby Guard, Devout Pleader, Elite Magewarrior, Elite Apostle, Spellweaver, Rainbow Disciple...

He frowned slightly. When on earth would he ever finish advancing through all of these?