Aozaki Aoko Case File [145]

On the sixth morning of the Holy Grail War, during her meditation, Aoko discovered that she had leveled up.

Since her class as an Archmage is an advanced form of Mage rather than a multiclass option, she couldn't simply choose to increase her Mage class level.

Currently, her Archmage level has reached Level 3, and her total character level has risen to Level 13. Just looking at her character level alone, she'd undoubtedly be considered a hero of the realm. In any major kingdom, she could easily land a position as a court mage.

However, on this Earth in the Nasuverse, the status of a national hero pales compared to that of a Magician. For instance, the Second Magician, Zelretch, could confidently declare, "I can single-handedly take on the entire world!" without worrying about someone stepping in to take him down.

Through this meditation, Aoko gained her first new ability: a special Archmage power called Collaborative Metamagic. With this ability, Aoko could share her already-learned Metamagic capabilities with an allied target nearby.

For example, if Touko were to use the Bridge of Giants spell near her, Aoko could share her Extended Metamagic ability with Touko, thereby lengthening the spell's duration. In short, it's a powerful support ability.

In addition to Collaborative Metamagic, Aoko also acquired a new ability called See Ethereal. She wasn't entirely sure what use this ability had in the Nasuverse. When she focused her attention, her vision would shift to a gray, foggy world, where only her own body glowed faintly.

Based on knowledge she had extracted from the Weave, this ability likely allowed her to see creatures residing in the Ethereal Plane while remaining in the Material Plane. However, since the surface world of the Nasuverse no longer had true Ether, let alone Ether-filled beings, this ability seemed almost useless.

These two abilities brought limited improvement to Aoko's overall strength. However, the real highlight of her level-up came later: she had unlocked her first 7th-level spell slot.

Honestly, spells at the 6th level and below were starting to feel slightly redundant for Aoko in the Nasuverse. Most offensive spells could be replaced by her overwhelmingly powerful Magic Bullets. What she truly found useful were functional spells, such as Wall of Force, Teleportation, or Dimension Door—spells that compensated for her shortcomings.

At this point, Aoko felt more like a legendary warrior dabbling in wizardry—already possessing immense offensive power while using magic to patch up her weaknesses.

Still, Aoko had a hunch that she wouldn't have to wait long before finding a way to leave the Nasuverse and venture into other worlds. For a magician, such a thing was practically routine.

Returning to the present: now that she had a 7th-level spell slot, it would be unthinkable not to have a 7th-level spell to go with it. Excited, Aoko connected her consciousness to the depths of the Weave to search for a suitable spell.

As with her previous experiences of leveling up, Aoko found that her resistance to the dazzling, chaotic energy of the Weave had grown stronger. She focused her mind and dove deeper into the intricate, magical realm, eager to see what she could uncover.

After some effort, Aoko emerged rubbing her slightly aching head, and began transcribing the newly acquired spell knowledge into her spellbook.

On the surface, her harvest seemed decent this time: she had obtained knowledge of one 6th-level spell and one 7th-level spell.

However, upon closer inspection of the contents she was transcribing, it became clear why Aoko was frowning.

First, the 6th-level spell she had obtained was the well-known Antimagic Field from the school of Abjuration. This spell was undoubtedly powerful and practical, creating a 10-foot-radius spherical zone within which all 1st- to 4th-level spells were suppressed or nullified.

But the problem was this: were the Nasuverse's magecraft and spells considered "magic" that could be suppressed by Antimagic Field? To find out, she'd need to test it against another magus someday.

Next came the main event of the day: the 7th-level spell she had acquired, Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion.

This spell was undeniably a symbol of a high-level mage's prestige, allowing a wizard to enjoy the height of luxury even in the most desolate of wildernesses.

The spell's effect created an extradimensional mansion within casting range that lasted 24 hours. Upon entering the mansion, the caster could close and hide the entrance at will.

The interior of the mansion featured numerous grand rooms and halls, with clean, fresh air, a comfortable temperature, and fully customizable furniture and decor.

The mansion also came equipped with enough ingredients to prepare a nine-course meal for 100 people and 100 translucent servants to serve anyone who entered. The appearance and attire of these servants were entirely up to the caster, and they would obey the caster's every command.

In addition to preparing food, the servants were capable of simple tasks such as tidying up, cleaning, repairing, folding clothes, lighting fires, serving food, and pouring drinks. The higher the mage's level and intelligence, the more capable the servants became.

However, anything originating from within the mansion, including the servants and objects, would vanish into smoke upon leaving the mansion—except for consumed food, which remained.

To be frank, Aoko loved this spell. Even though its material component was a finely crafted model of a mansion made of marble, it was still incredibly practical. But to receive this as her only 7th-level spell during the Holy Grail War? She didn't know what to say.

Besides, Aoko had no talent for sculpting. After some thought, she decided to ask Touko to carve a few marble models of the Kuonji estate for her in the future. Alice's house was certainly comfortable enough to sleep in.

For now, these two spells had only been transcribed into her spellbook. She'd save the actual process of learning and preparing them for after the Holy Grail War.

Getting free spells from the Weave was undeniably thrilling. The problem was that the spells she obtained seemed completely random.

Over the years, Aoko had experienced months of fishing for spells and catching nothing, as well as days where she snagged five or six spells in one go. In short, the process was entirely unpredictable.