Chapter 471: Advancement

Outside Northwind Fortress, the Steel Dragonwing Palace.

Cassius lay quietly on the ground, his massive dragon body rising and falling with each breath, while the scent of sulfurous smoke filled the palace.

The current red dragon, from head to tail, was nearly forty meters long. Even the palace, built to be exceptionally spacious, now felt somewhat cramped for him.

"Huff—"

"Finally about to advance. A season of harvest indeed."

Cassius yawned, exhaling a puff of sulfur-laced white smoke, then slowly lifted himself with his powerful limbs and tail.

The red dragon fixed his gaze on the panel before him, a hint of joy flashing in his pale gold pupils.

[You gained 200xp]

[You gained 100xp]

[You gained 900xp]

Ever since unlocking the Experience Store and the Undead Research Institute, Cassius’ experience accumulation had skyrocketed. Hundreds of thousands of players across the empire were continuously contributing experience to him.

Although each contribution was minor, the sheer volume and frequency made up for it.

On top of that, in the Elemental Plane of Fire, he had devoured numerous fire genies, slain two Emirs, and even personally killed a Pasha.

In just a few months, despite possessing the ancestor dragon template—akin to an "experience black hole"—Cassius had still managed to gather enough experience for his next upgrade, heralding his next enhancement.

[You gained 900xp]

[Your total class level has increased to 19]

[Your current classes: True Dragon Sorcerer 15 / Bloodscale Berserker 3]

Cassius made his choice without hesitation. Even setting aside the influence of his curse, reaching level 16 as a True Dragon Sorcerer granted a rare opportunity to enhance attributes.

[You have chosen to advance [True Dragon Sorcerer] to level 16]

[Due to the innate spellcasting of dragons, your effective caster level is now 21]

[Upon reaching level 16 in this class, you gain 2 Legendary Attribute Points (capable of increasing attributes beyond 20), which may be freely assigned.]

Cassius’ breathing grew slightly heavy.

In his battles against the fire genies, he had earned several new achievements, such as [Fire Genie Devourer] and [Infamous Terror].

However, those [Bronze]-tier achievements were insignificant at his current stage—barely contributing even a fraction of an attribute point.

At his level, every bit of improvement was incredibly difficult, even approaching the threshold of demigodhood.

But now, he could finally grow stronger once more.

[You have chosen to enhance: Charisma]

[Charisma: 33 → 35]

Both his caster level and external influence had improved simultaneously, yielding effects far beyond his expectations.

The surrounding Weave seemed to tremble, resonate, and rejoice at the birth of a new master of magic.

In that moment, Cassius felt as though he could see the Radiant Sea beyond the Crystal Sphere—countless Material Planes, floating like bubbles upon an endless ocean—sensing a magical source far grander than the Weave itself.

"The Primordial..."

"This universe is far vaster than I imagined—another new threshold has been reached."

Even in his previous life, no player had ever reached such terrifying heights in a single spellcasting attribute or attained such an absurd caster level—but Cassius had done it.

However, the greedy dragon quickly shook off his grand, distant thoughts and fixated his pale gold eyes on the panel, eagerly anticipating the high-circle spells that would soon appear.

The source of magic?

The mysteries of the universe?

He wasn’t some knowledge-seeking mage—just a magic-wielding brute. Those lofty, intangible concepts paled in comparison to getting his hands on actual spells.

[You have obtained a 9th-circle dragon spell—[Dragon’s Arcane Reaving]]

[Dragon’s Arcane Reaving (Dragon Reaving)]

9th-circle Abjuration Spell

[Wizards often mock sorcerers for their lack of countermeasures, unaware that millennia ago, dragons created this spell specifically to slay the troublesome titan priests.

This spell functions similarly to Greater Dispel Magic, but allows the caster to absorb dispelled or countered spell effects, transferring them onto themselves as if they had cast them.]

"Dispel magic, huh?"

"Not bad—getting such a high-tier abjuration spell right off the bat."

For a dragon, who never lacked raw power, most Evocation spells were redundant, and Necromancy was only useful for certain special dragon species like shadow dragons.

But Abjuration, Conjuration, Transmutation, and Illusion—those were far more valuable.

At high levels, spell duels between individuals rarely involved massive spell bombardments—no tsunamis versus meteor swarms, as that was highly inefficient.

As a common joke in his past life went, high-level duels often boiled down to "I nullify your spell, I dispel your nullification, I counterspell your dispel"—the ultimate stack of counterplay.

Cassius was quite pleased with [Dragon’s Arcane Reaving].

"Now, what’s the second spell?"

[You have obtained a 7th-circle dragon spell—[Dragon’s Simulacrum]]

[Dragon’s Simulacrum]

7th-circle Illusion Spell

[By expending materials and experience, you create a duplicate of a target creature. The duplicate retains half the original’s overall strength, identical abilities, absolute loyalty, and the ability to share senses and memories with you.]

"Simulacrum!"

Cassius’ eyes widened with joy.

If the gods of fate existed, and if they were beyond this Crystal Sphere, he must have been personally blessed today.

Simulacrum was another spell with vast utility.

Creating a duplicate with half his strength, identical abilities, and shared consciousness?

Finally, he wouldn’t have to handle everything himself!

—Not that this red dragon was ever particularly diligent to begin with. Unless his minions couldn’t handle it, he rarely involved himself.

A familiar sensation surged through him, as immense spell knowledge flooded his mind.

For Cassius, even learning a 9th-circle spell took only a few breaths.

First, he conjured a ball of flame before him, extended his claw, and let arcane light flicker upon it as he cast his newly acquired spell.

[Dragon’s Arcane Reaving]

"Whoosh—"

An invisible force enveloped the fireball, causing it to dim before vanishing entirely.

A moment later, the fireball reappeared in Cassius’ grasp.

"So this is reaving..."

"Now, let’s try Simulacrum."

With a flick of his claw, Cassius tore open space, withdrawing a vast hoard of gold and elemental minerals from his treasury before effortlessly casting the spell.

[Dragon’s Simulacrum]

A beam of light flashed, and behind Cassius, a figure identical to himself materialized—though more translucent, like a mirage.

Immediately, he felt his power "transmitting"—or rather, "copying"—into the phantom.

"Creating my own duplicate... what a fascinating sensation."

The red dragon observed as the shadow solidified, while simultaneously viewing his own body through the duplicate’s perspective.

One consciousness, seamlessly inhabiting two bodies—perhaps the ancient dragon sorcerers were the true pioneers of the Mechanist Church’s "consciousness upload" philosophy.

Cassius retracted his will, and the simulacrum returned to a "machine-like" state, standing idle without further action beyond obeying orders.

He hadn’t fully powered it yet, only allocating one-tenth of his strength, and it would dissipate in a few months.

This was just an experiment.

"Still, it shouldn’t go to waste... I’ll send it to the Anstica Mountains to hunt demons."

The red dragon simulacrum received its orders, left the palace, and beat its wings forcefully, soaring southward toward the Anstica Mountains.

—This greedy red dragon was even exploiting his own shadow.