Aozaki Aoko Case File

Aoko didn't wake up until noon the next day, slowly getting out of bed. She rubbed her head, unsurprised by the late hour—she had exhausted herself the night before, finishing off with some wine. Sitting dazedly on the bed for a moment, she suddenly remembered she hadn't done her meditation for the day. She quickly jumped out of bed, washed up, and dressed swiftly.

Sitting at her desk, Aoko picked up her fountain pen and refilled it with special ink. Then she opened her spellbook, focused inward, and began communicating with the Woven Fragment within her. The strange, colorful scenery of the Woven Fragment reappeared before her eyes. She maintained a firm grip on her sense of self as she examined the rewards she had gained from defeating Lugh Beowulf.

First, she discovered that her wizard level had increased from 9 to 10. Her intelligence had also risen, from 22 to 24—an incredibly formidable level for a human. Even among wizards surrounded by monsters, her intelligence was exceptional. This higher intelligence meant a deeper connection with the Arcane, and Aoko had gained an additional 4th-level spell slot and a 5th-level spell slot, allowing her to prepare more scrolls each day.

Through this deeper connection, she had earned the right to learn a new feat. According to her previous plans, Aoko wanted to progress to the rank of Archmage, and the only barrier was obtaining metamagic feats. From the many options, she chose Heighten Spell as her first metamagic feat.

Why not choose Quicken Spell? For one, Quicken Spell required a spell slot four levels higher than the original spell. Since she could currently only cast 5th-level spells, it wasn't practical. Moreover, by preparing her scrolls in advance, she could still achieve quick spell releases. So, at this stage, the Heighten Spell was more useful and versatile than options like Quicken Spell or Empower Spell.

A rush of knowledge filled Aoko's mind, leaving her momentarily dazed. She now understood everything about the Heighten Spell metamagic feat. Though mastering it would take some time, Aoko was confident in her ability to quickly integrate this new power, further enhancing her combat capabilities.

The excitement of gaining a new feat made her feel a sense of progress more satisfying than even outwitting her sister's dog…

In addition to the feat, Aoko also fished out two new spells from the Woven Fragment: Ball Lightning, a 5th-level evocation spell, and Xymb's Spell Matrix, a 5th-level transmutation spell. The former was a standard evocation spell that boosted her firepower as magical artillery. The latter, however, was unique and versatile. The matrix could store a spell of up to 3rd level, which she could activate with a simple gesture when needed.

A remote-controlled bomb, she thought. I could store a Fireball in it, hide somewhere far away, and blow it up with just a gesture. Is there anything more satisfying?

However, there was a downside. Activating the matrix with a gesture would harm the caster. According to what Aoko had learned, this injury seemed to manifest as a loss of vitality in the real world. Although she had a strong life force, she instinctively disliked anything that would weaken her. As a result, she decided to reserve this double-edged spell for special occasions.

After confirming the new spells, Aoko began her main focus for today's meditation: advancing her class. She immersed her consciousness deeper into the Woven Fragment, reaching a place she had never been able to explore before. Using the knowledge she had gained about the Archmage class, she synchronized with this deeper part of the Weave.

Previously, whenever Aoko attempted this, she was met with resistance. But this time, the Weave responded, pulling her into a deeper immersion. As her connection deepened, Aoko became excited, realizing that previously inaccessible knowledge and abilities were being gradually fed into her mind. At the same time, a mechanical-like will seemed to ask what she was willing to give up in exchange.

If possible, Aoko didn't want to give up anything. But the answer to this unyielding will was clear: she would have to sacrifice something to gain the power of an Archmage. Aoko immediately understood this was a consequence of the Archmage's school specialization ability. She would need to abandon one school of magic, aside from divination and abjuration, as her opposition school, losing the ability to learn or research new spells from that school (though her existing spells would remain unaffected).

After careful consideration, Aoko decided to forsake necromancy, choosing it as her opposition school.

Once she made her decision, the influx of knowledge and power accelerated. Simultaneously, something seemed to change within her physical body back in the real world.

...

When Aoko finally opened her eyes, her meditation had ended, and she withdrew from the deep connection with the Woven Fragment. She raised her hands, clenching and unclenching them repeatedly, carefully feeling the power she had just obtained. A wave of joy washed over her.

In short, she had gone from being an ordinary wizard to becoming an Archmage, reaching her first level in the class. If there were a character sheet, Aoko's class levels would now show: Wizard (10th level) + Archmage (1st level), bringing her total character level to 11. Unlike multiclassing into other casting classes, which didn't increase one's maximum caster level, gaining a prestige class like Archmage allowed her arcane caster level to increase cumulatively.

In other words, Aoko had effectively gained two character levels in a single meditation session—a significant boost in power.

As she carefully sensed the changes in herself, the first thing she noticed was that she now had access to a 6th-level spell slot! However, since she didn't yet know any 6th-level spells, she would have to wait until her next meditation session to fish out some spells of this level from the Woven Fragment.